I was assigned to swim with the fishes this afternoon. Well, not really, but I was sent out to cover the canoe races down by the lake...and as part of my dedication to journalism I waded out into the lake to take my pictures.

The weather here today might be the BEST weather I've ever experienced at Cornerstone it's nice and breezy and in the low eighties. Compared to a normal hot and humid Cornerstone day it's like heaven on earth.

While I was out there I saw this guy taking a bath in the swimming area.

Third Day on the mainstage yesterday evening. I shot this just before my run in with "The shoulder of DOOM!" (Duh, duh, duuuuuhhhhhh!)

Ouch

It would be a common misconception to think that I wasn't getting any training this week but that would be far from the case. Every day there's a brick... ride somewhere, walk somewhere, ride somewhere, walk somewhere. This combination becomes trickier as the sun begins to set and tonight I performed my very first endo with my thousand-some dollar camera around my neck. Riding back from the mainstage I took a shortcut down a path that heads towards the quad area without riding all the way up to the main street that winds around the grounds. I have a flashlight in my mouth so it's not like I'm invisible, but some guy apparently wasn't watching and walked his shoulder into my solar plexus.

Surprisingly, my life didn't flash before my eyes.... my camera's life did. It survived, but I was a bit worried for a moment. My body, for the most part is ok but I've got a few scratches and things that I'm assuming are going to ache momentarily.

More photos in a bit but I've got to wait for my SLOOOOW USB card reader to suck up a gigabyte worth of images. (10 minutes in and it's halfway downloaded)

In the meantime head over to Steve's blog for some photos

bb_63005.011, originally uploaded by bthemn.

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I like the look in his eyes as he searches for the volleyball

bb_63005.014, originally uploaded by bthemn.

His shirt asked me to ask him about his vow of silence... regrettably, I didn't get a chance to.

bb_63005.006, originally uploaded by bthemn.

bb_63005.002, originally uploaded by bthemn.

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Sports beat

bb_63005.008, originally uploaded by bthemn.

I'm on the sports beat this afternoon, wandering from the soccer fields to the basketball courts to the skateboarding halfpipe and back again. I'm just doing some photo editing before heading back out again.

Enjoy.

Brian (who's sunburnt. blah)

If it's noon it must be morning...

Last night ended at 2:30 as Allan and I FINALLY got the podcast to output correctly. Ghosts in the machine. Allan did a pretty great job providing a soundscape tour of the grounds. Flip over to the website and give it a listen.

The photography staff meeting is starting in a minute, but blogging and photography will start fairly soon.

The last 10 hours have been a mess... heading back towards the trailer, I slammed my breaks on and bent my polarizing filter a little bit. Then, the podcast didn't work. After that, my bike tire was flat and my headlamp wasn't working. This morning, the zipper on the front of the didn't broke to disastrous effect. UGH. I hope things are smoother today. Bye!

fields of green

Brian.Behm.Corn.Frontgate, originally uploaded by bthemn.

One of the things that's inextricably linked in my mind with Cornerstone is driving down Highway 41 from Galesburg looking out at the vast fields of corn. Now that I live in Colorado Springs, it's even a bit more awe inspiring that they're FLAT fields of corn that stretch out onto the horizon. With things being flat you get these swaths of sky that go on seemingly forever. The corn almost seems to glow with its neon chlorophyll.

Brian.Behm.Frontgate.Sign, originally uploaded by bthemn.

marching ants

Brian.Behm.Frontgate.Vehicles, originally uploaded by bthemn.

Ah the long lines of people waiting to get in. As I rode out to the entrance for the next couple of shots I could feel the exhaust shoot out onto my legs. The air was hot, the exhaust was hotter. The sun is down now and since the festival hasn't started yet there isn't an especially lot going on.

We headed off to WalMart to pick up a few things and now we're hanging out in the coverage trailer soaking up the air conditioning.

All in all, an uneventful evening.

Allan Aguirre a guy I've grown up respecting as an artist is sitting to the right of me editing his podcast for the fest... as he edits, every so often he makes himself laugh, thus making everyone else sitting here laugh.

The first panoramic of the fest

Quite a few things are still in the process of being assembled before the festival starts tomorrow. To the left you can see people off at the beach in the distance and towards the center you can see the big sinkhole that forms a natural amphitheatre around the mainstage. As usual, you have to click the image to see the bigger version.

tent_assembly, originally uploaded by bthemn.

There's a veritable city of tents being assembled throughout the grounds. One can be utterly amazed looking out at the fields of nylon that there are such varieties of sleeping arrangements.

I'm always amazed by the people who camp on a hill and end up sleeping on a slant... not for me. I found a nice little shady spot that I'M HOPING is going to be fairly quiet, though Angela mentioned that our tent neighbors a couple spots down started to unpack some drums. Dear Lord protect us from hippie drum circles.

walking_beach, originally uploaded by bthemn.

Since Cornerstone hasn't actually started yet and there isn't any music aside from bands on little 'generator stages' it seems that the place to be is definitely the beach. People have been flocking down to the water all afternoon.

Angela_Hot

Angela_Hot, originally uploaded by bthemn.

Did I mention that it's humid here? Did I ever mention that Colorado Springs is technically a type of desert and there isn't much humidity?

Both of the above are true. It's generally a shock to come down to lower altitude ANYWAY because the air is so much thicker, but combine that with high humidity and it's just not a pleasent experience... and to think that once upon a time I was a midwesterner. The blood leaves the system quickly, I guess.

and so it begins...

I'm currently sitting in a trailer, wired into a router that's hooked up to an antenna that's beaming me internet access from a node several miles away. My cellphone is in my pocket and working. I shouldn't have these amenities in the middle of a cornfield in Western Illinois, yet here I am covering this festival for the 11th time.

It's HOT. I mean, peel your skin off and sit around in just your bones hot. By the end of the fest, people will fall prostrate throughout the festival, not out of reverence, but sheer heat exhaustion. When they do, people will carefully step over them and maybe wish them good will. It happens every year... some people call it the "Cornerstone Burn". Each year, people swear that they're not going to succumb to it, but it's seeps in slowly.

All systems are go. My camera is here and working... the computer is up and running... internet access is up and running. We're ready for some coverage! Stay tuned for more blogging and photos throughout the next few days.

a pic for tri-mama

Tri-Mama asked the other day for a shot of the front range. On my way to the office this afternoon, I snapped these pics for a panorama. Click to enlarge

what one finds while cleaning

cleaning out the hard drive, I stumbled on a set of unstitched photos from the main quad at Cornerstone. I stitched them together and thought it looked kind of cool. This is where all of the food at the fest is located and two of the cooler stages. The giant tent off in the distance is the merchandise tent.

You'll need to click to see the whole picture