Monday, March 30, 2009

Bahamas pt 3: The final installment!


Kelly Clarkson
Originally uploaded by rachelparker
Alright so this is it. The last and final entry about the Bahamas trip last month. Man why on earth are yall reading my blog I'm so behind. But thank you!

It was definitely a music filled weekend. And no doubt I was exhausted by the end of it all. Late nights, Early Mornings, Afternoon Naps, and still way too much stuff to do, it was impossible to cram it all into 4 days! There were concerts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.. I mean really.. who needs sleep?

Ok no doubt I'm going to start with the main feature of the weekend and my personal fav, Kelly Clarkson.

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson

Unfortunately the crowd was pretty lame for most of the night, up until security let the younger fans move right up against the stage for the end of the set. You just have to feel empathetic for an artist who's trying to work a crowd that wants to sit down the whole time because they all won the trip for free and dont really care. With the exception of a few people. None the less the girl sang her butt of and tried her hardest to get folks to interact.

The Host for the weekend was Nick Lachey. I dont know why he didn't perform? I guess he doesn't have a band put together at the moment. He does have a new album coming out though? One song acapella wouldn't have hurt?
Nick Lachey Nick Lachey

Friday Night they had Lily Allen who is hilarious. I think I stressed this previously, but her songs just prove it. Opening for Lily was Secondhand Serenade. This was prior to the awkward hugging experience. I never saw it coming..

Secondhand Serenade Secondhand Serenade Lily Allen Lily Allen

Lastly Kevin Rudolph sang a few songs in the Dragon Club Thursday night. It's odd that my entry is going backwards but whatever. We all went to dinner and then went to the performance. One of the girls I met from from Baton Rouge was rocking out with Kevin during Let It Rock. Shout out Baton Rouge girls!

Kevin Rudolph Kevin Rudolph

Ok so that concludes the photo fun from the Bahamas. I do suggest going! It's lots of fun and the weather is fantastic. I'd love to go back and leave the camera at home. Who would have though I'd ever say that! There are more photos at www.kiddlive.com if you want to check them out.

I've got tons more stuff to edit. I'm shooting Britney tomorrow night. Nascar this weekend. I'll do my best to try and catch up. I've been doing a lot of reading lately as well. I've fallen victim to the Twilight book.. it all started as curiosity.. and now.. well you know. Hopefully everyone had a great spring break!

Until Later!
Rachel

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Bahamas pt 2


Kelly Clarkson
Originally uploaded by rachelparker
Ok so like I said.. last month Bahamas.. if you're confused read the previous entry.

So our Friday morning there, they had a bunch of interviews with the performers for the Pop Rocks Atlantis or whatever the concert was being called this year.

Of course I was very excited about Kelly Clarkson. During the interview she talked about how someone stole her dog.. they were trying to help find it after we got home. So if you know anyone in the Mansfield area who found a Golden Lab puppy like 6 weeks ago call in to the show http://kiddlive.com and let them know...

I got to chat with her for a couple minutes during the break. She recognized me from times I met her previously which was cool, then I asked her if she named her dogs Eddie and Bella (the ones she talked about in the interview) after Twilight. She admitted yes to Bella, but said Eddie wasn't named after Edward.

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson

Nick Lachey was very cool, the power at the resort went out and he was just hanging till it came back on then they finished. He seemed really cool. Not to sure why he wasn't performing at the show though. He was hosting.

Nick Lachey Nick Lachey Lily Allen Lily Allen

Lily Allen stopped by and she was really funny. She has no problem saying what she's thinking and I like that. After interviews were done she went walking by with some Cheetos and gladly shared them with Big Al Mack. Something I wish they had gotten on video.

They also had a couple Performance/Interviews from up and coming act Krista and Kevin Rudolph performing an acoustic version of "Let It Rock"

Krista Kevin Rudolph Secondhand Serenade Secondhand Serenade

The next day Secondhand Serenade did a little private acoustic performance/interview in a Suite at the resort. It was pretty neat except when I got the worlds most awkward hug ever in my life. John walked up to me and started hugging me with his guitar on and everything and the entire time I was thinking "my camera is going to scratch his guitar oh no!" What capped off the awkward was the room full of people staring at me. Sometimes I like attention.. most the time I don't.. and especially don't like to be the center of it. But I gave in and hugged him back. I guess he needed some Valentines day love?

Ok so that tops off the interviews! Performance pictures from the 2 concerts to come very soon! If you'd like to see more interview photos, there's a TON on http://kiddlive.com

Rachel

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Bahamas pt 1


Atlantis Resort
Originally uploaded by rachelparker
Ok so last month I got to go the the fantastic Atlantis in the Bahamas for the Pop Rocks Atlantis event.. It was gorgeous. I just wish I had done alot more touristy stuff, I was waking up so early that by mid day it was nap time for me, especially because of the late nights with the concerts and what not. I do think I need to learn to set the dang camera down every now and then though.

Though I do have to admit I walked onto the beach.. and remembered that I hate the sand. I also hate the sun because I burn easy, and lastly I hate to be wet... I'm probably the most pale person to return from the Bahamas. Now I know you're thinking the Bahamas is a horrible place for me to go. Well frankly I probably should have been wearing shorts and flip flops. So I guess the anger at the sand is my own fault. It was way pretty there though, the water was so clear. The weather was fantastic the entire time. I really loved the aquariums and marine life they had at the resort. I went through the predator tunnel and thought "Nsync totally stood here.." yeah I'm a loser.

It would have been cool to go snorkeling... and swallow my irrational fear of drowning (Cause I'm a totally fine swimmer). Maybe I should go see a therapist.. haha. Oh and I stumbled across the first ever Scuba Wedding at the resort. I thought that was pretty neat.

Here are some photos from around the resort.
Atlantis Atlantis Atlantis Atlantis
Atlantis Atlantis Atlantis Atlantis

That last one is the scuba wedding with the giant manta ray swimming over them. I would totally go back in a heartbeat and try to be more beach friendly. My only warning to anyone going is that food is way expensive, but the food at the deli was almost reasonably priced.

Ok there's more to come, I have pictures from the morning interviews with the performers plus show photos! Sorry about the delay in getting these up. I keep saying sorry! I really am trying. But I'm also trying to be more rounded so I've been reading actual books and stuff lately. I figure learning big words from reading is beneficial.
I'm debating if I want to read the book "Into the Wild" sometime soon. Yes I've seen the movie, I was envious of the locations those photographers got to shoot on.

Ok so till next time!
Rachel