[split] Haley in Vegas - January 2015

[ISCAT4HALEY]

I’m sorry I was so late to post directly. All I have to say it was an amazing 2 nights. I can only reiterate what swan and airhigh said so eloquently in their posts. I am not as expressive as they are. Patti is the real deal. I’ve never met anyone in my life more welcoming and cordial as Patti. She just makes you feel so comfortable and like you’ve been friends for years which for an introvert is very relieving. After talking to Patti and gushing over Haley, she escorted me to see Haley. Haley actually looked at me with familiar eyes. She said she remembered me from the last time in Vegas. Haley like Patti just makes people feel comfortable and relaxed and that she really appreciates you being there. She asked me my name and said are you the one that sent the flowers. I said yes with airhigh. She said they were lovely. I told her we saw the flowers she posted before on Instagram.I did get Haley some Beatle's gifts that both Haley and Patti liked. I said I was excited for her upcoming projects. I can’t remember specifics. I do remember though I got my first Haley hug and for me that was special. Patti also hugged me earlier which she does for everyone she meets. That’s just the very kind and caring personalities they are.

I positioned myself for recording where Team Haleyfans did last time in Vegas. It’s not as conducive to recording the singers as before with Haley since Scott Bradlee’s big band is there. But airhigh’s vantage point captured Haley and the others nicely. My location was really good at seeing Scott playing the piano up close. The singers were further away and unfortunately several mics that they set up obscured their faces. Sometimes the performers would move so you could see their faces. I tried to record most of the show the first night. I may have missed a one or two while changing batteries. I apologize I didn’t have time to get a monopod so some of my shots are shaky at times. I started off good but as soon as Haley started to sing, I started to shake badly. I don’t know if it was the effect on me by Haley or my arms were fatigued. I settled down after a while. I think All About That Bass and The House of the Rising Sun are okay.

The second night I decided to just record Haley’s numbers and sit next to the others at the table during the rest of the show which was spectacular by the way. I recorded Haley on Habits from the same angle as the night before since I shook the first night. I recorded the other two songs where airhigh was to get more of Haley. Since airhigh was filming good closeups of the performers, I figured my footage from the first night’s angle would be enough. As things happen, I only recorded part of AATB because my battery went dead. The sad part is I brought 3 battery backups. I thought I had enough battery life to last but didn’t. I replaced the battery so filmed Haley’s HOTRS completely. Airhigh got great video of all three. The finale was incredible where each musician and singer was highlighted. I recorded all of that part the first night. The second night airhigh did a great job of recording the finale with closeups and all. It really draws you into the energy of the show, which was so electric with the whole crowd dancing, roaring and cheering continuously. They really loved Haley, I think she received the most response but that could just be my impression.

I want to thank airhigh deeply. We are both not very tech savvy. I put my videos on his computer. I asked him if he would work on getting everything to Tusk through dropbox. He is working on that. I certainly hope the footage represents Haley in the best light since she so richly deserves it.

I will say I tried to get the full size vertical shot of Haley for Himm the second night. I told Haley what Himm wanted to do. Haley said sure and Haley was so accommodating to help frame a nice shot. She thought for a moment and said I’ll get on the steps I believe so I could get a front on view with her level or a little higher than me. Haley is one smart cookie. We ended up taking three pics. The first one my hand was in the frame which Haley noticed right away, I didn’t. She also asked why my pic was so bright. I showed her my exposure setting and we lowered it. She said we need to take another one. We did, but my framing was off. Haley looked at it and said we need to do it again. I ask you, what other celebrity would do this? The third shot looked fine to me, but Haley I could tell was not fully pleased. But I didn’t want to bother her anymore, she already went above and beyond. I said I liked it and she said as long as you’re pleased. I think the problem was a combination of my camera and poor photography skills. Airhigh and swan looked at the pictures in the hotel room. Swan and airhigh said the pictures didn’t look quite right. The lighting was bad and the resolution may not be good. So I’m not sure if any one of them is alright to post. I want to send them to Himm directly and not post so he can look at them. Maybe some photo editing will help. We’ll see, but Haley was so helpful, beyond belief.

The time with Haley, Patti, Nikki, Blake, airhigh and swan taking pictures and talking was my dream come true. I was taking a picture with Haley and Nikki and I was in the middle. When the pose was finished airhigh told me to Get Outta There real forceful and loud so he could get a shot with them. Cracked me up.

At the end Haley thanked me for the gift and I said that she has given us so many gifts through her singing and performing and Haley said it was nothing that what her fans do is very special. How humble is that. We hugged as I said thank you for the past two nights.

I just want to thank swan very much for taking such great shots with my camera. I think I should have had swan take the shots of Haley for Himm. I think I rambled enough.