Photos by Richard Roesler

August 25, 2018/September  - For those of you that may not know, I’m a Stirlingite!  A big, ugly, mustached, tattooed, Harley Shovelhead riding Stirlingite.  Although I discovered this talented young lady, by accident on a photography site, fortunately it was right before her first tour would bring her to Houston!  I wasn’t doing the AAMN thing yet, but had photographed some concert working for Bikernet.com and was able to get approved through her management that way.  And I am currently 5 for 5 on approvals for Ms Lindsey’s shows!  I’m in no way bragging, as there are better photographers than myself in Houston. 

For the Brave Enough tour, I received a message from the lovely ladies at Live Nation stating no photographers had been approved.  Bummed but what can you do?  Then about 30 minutes later I got another text, that read “Hold on, we’re working on something?”  OK?  Then the 3^rd message arrived “You’re approved!”  I still to this day do not know what transpired, but I am very thankful.  The only odd part, was upon my arrival there were chairs on the main floor?  By this time Lindsey fans had diversified quite a bit and the show had become a sit down evening.

Then I was approved for the Warmer In The Winter tour, but had been moved to front of house or the soundboards.  However the one constant in all 4 shows is Lindsey ALWAYS makes eye contact with me, usually multiple times!  I still thinks its because she wonders how I keep getting in!  I’ve repeatedly mentioned that she always gives me eye contact shots!  So this lastest tour with Ms Amy and Evanescence, I was approved again and knew it would be front of house, but at the Woodlands Pavilion, which is a bit farther than the previous tour.  While waiting at the back gate/guard shack, someone radioed to open the gate, a few seconds later here come 4 fairly big guys and one Ms Stirling in the middle and she looked directly at me! 

I’m sorta unforgettable and not in a good way, but I don’t really believe she knows who I am.  So I begin photographing the show, but she’s not looking, I am getting nada, not one eye contact shot!  And this is bumming me out and then I get home to do a quick sort and nothing, oh well, it is what it is!  There was one image I tried to convince myself that if I squinted and jumped up and down on one foot she might be looking at me?  But I knew it wasn’t true.  Finally a couple days later I decide to go through the image again and finish the sort, when I came upon an image that although it was underexposed, appeared like she was looking my way?  So I tweaked on the image some and yes she’s looking, but she is all the way at the other side of the stage.

So I start enlarging the image and yes she is looking, but what the heck?  I can’t actually be seeing what I’m seeing?  This talented young lady Michael Jordaned me, okay maybe I’m just losing it?  So I check the next image and confirmed yes she is looking at me and through her bow, which is a shot I captured of her on the Warmer tour and yes she Michael Jordaned me!  So I check the next image and she has this huge smile on her face like “Did you get that?” I was blown away!!  

The even stranger part is these were the last 3 images I took that night!  Technically they are not great and one of two things happened, which I wont go into, but even if there were dead on perfect, I don’t think I would share them?  Not because they make her look bad in any way, even the first two, there is sort of a smile in her eyes. 

I will be happy to show you them on my Ipad or phone, but to me it just shows the type of amazing person Lindsey Stirling is! 

lindseystiring.com

@lindseystirling

Till Next Time,

Richard Roesler