Kevin Hollenbeck's Memorial Band Photographer Gear Giveaway
People, let me tell you about our best friend, Kevin Hollenbeck and how we want you to have his cameras.
Kevin Hollenbeck, aka "Shadowcaptain"
Kevin was ubiquitous in the Dresden Dolls band scene and so many other music scenes. He was the person that a lot of rock stars relied on to Get Things Done when they came through town. I remember Kevin telling a story of how he ended up in a Volkswagon Jetta, driving it like a get-away car, hunched over the wheel, swerving around ducks and trash cans with Weird Al Yankovic in the back seat, careening dangerously towards an amusement park where there may or may not have been a roller coaster they wanted to ride at 2:00 in the morning. And while this sounds like the fevered dream of many a person, it wasn't Kevin's fevered dream, it was a true story, though I may have gotten some of the details wrong.
Kevin Hollenbeck, aka Shadowcaptain, was a photographer from the Washington D.C. area who passed away of colon cancer in 2022 leaving an incredibly large group of friends devastated. Kevin was a theater person who loved music and spent his career helping indie bands with his photography. His kindness and enthusiasm put him at the center of a lot of amazing experiences with musicians. He left behind a lot of photo equipment and to honor his legacy, we want to give that equipment to people who will continue to support bands and theater.
Here's how you can win one of Kevin's cameras.
Amongst Kevin's gear, there are three DSLR kits, two point and shoots, a gopro-style kit, a film camera kit and two lensbaby lenses in Nikon F (not Z) mount.
We'd like to to give the DSLR's to people who do not already have a DSLR - so if you've got a camera already, get out there and take pictures and support bands. Go go go! If you're currently rocking your cell phone, we may be able to upgrade you.We'd like to give these to the people who can do the most to help indie music.
There are some caveats to getting these:
- We ask that every time you post a photo that you took with Kevin's gear, you tag him in the social media: #ShadowCaptain - that way we can all follow along with your career and the new life that Kevin's cameras have.
- You can't sell Kevin's gear. You can only give it away. If you upgrade your equipment, pay Kevin's things forward to someone else who needs them.
- If you're over 40 years old, talk to your doctor about getting a colonoscopy. Colon cancer is curable and this simple procedure could be the difference between a long happy life, and your friends memorializing you by giving your stuff away, even if the memorial is something you would really love (as I'm sure Kevin would be tickled pink about this one.)
Decide what you're interested in, either a DSLR kit, a point and shoot, the gopro(ish) camera, the film camera, or the nikon lensbaby lenses.
Put your six best photos together with a statement of no more than 500 words. Tell us your vision for music photography. This can include what music means to you, how you see photography as part of music, what excites you most about music photography and, importantly, your plans for helping out indie musicians. Do you know particular bands you want to help out? Tell us about them! Is there a music scene that you're a part of? Tell us about it!
Convert your file to a .pdf no more than 4.5mb in size and send it to kyle@kylecassidy.com with the subject line Kevin's Gear. Gigantic files will be rejected and email with different subject lines might not get filtered properly.
(You can use adobe's pdf compressor to help you get your file size down: https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/compress-pdf.html)
INCLUDE IN YOUR ENTRY WHAT PHOTO GEAR YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, YOUR NAME, AND YOUR CONTACT INFO.
Entries are due by December 31, 2023. We'll let the winners know sometime in December and we'll get your gear out to you asap.
Judges:
Jim "Kimo" West has been the guitar player for Weird Al Yankovikc's band since its formation.
Amanda Palmer is one half of the Dresden Dolls
Kyle Cassidy is a photographer from Philadelphia who's done a number of album covers and photo books about music.
Thanks to Natalie Serwan for handling the logistics of this.
Here's what we're giving away:
Lot 1 - Nikon D7500Nikon D7500 BodyNikon VR 18-140mm 3.5-5.6 ED LensNikon 85mm 1.8 G LensNikon 35mm 1.8 G LensLowepro Camera BackpackSunpak Ultra 7000TM TripodWireless Remote Trigger2x BatteryCharger
Lot A
Lot A continued
Lot 2 - Nikon D5100Nikon D5100 BodyNikon 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 ED LensNikon VR 70-300mm 4.5-6.3 ED Lens2x Pro Series Multi-Power Battery Grip for D5100/5200 (not pictured)Lowepro Camera BagSunpak Travellite TripodProfessional LCD Viewfinder kit2x BatteryUser ManualCharger
Lot 2
Lot 2 continued
Lot 3 - Nikon D3000Nikon D3000 BodyNikon 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 ED LensNikon 55-200mm 4-5.6 ED LensSunpak Travellite TripodProfessional LCD Viewfinder Kit1 BatteryCharger Included
Lot 4 - Nikon Coolpix P900CameraUser Manual2x Batterycharger
Lot 5 - Nikon Coolpix P600CameraQuick Start Guide2x Batterycharger
Lot 6 - GearPro CameraCameraAccessories KitCar Charger Included
Lot 7 - Minolta XG-M Antique Film CameraCamera 45mm 2.8 Lens
Carson Mini TripodTextured Lens Cloth
Lot 8 - Lensbaby Scout Lens w/ 12mm Fisheye Optic for Nikon F mount cameras
Good luck, thank you, buy some merchandise from bands, tell your friends about music you like and get a colonoscopy.
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