David Phelps' Barn Through the Lens
Through the Lens: Capturing David Phelps' Barn Bash in Culleoka's Country Paradise
When I arrived at the barn, the sun was low and golden. Simple wood and honest craftsmanship against a Tennessee sky. "A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams." Those words from an old realtor's sign seemed right for this place—not just a barn, but a gathering place, a landmark, something more.
I stood there with my gear, feeling the weight of responsibility and privilege. To document David Phelps' Barn Bash wasn't just another job. It was capturing a moment in Culleoka's history. A chance to show what makes this corner of Tennessee special. Our company believes in creating content that moves both people and properties. That day, watching guests arrive along the gravel drive, I knew we'd do exactly that. Sometimes the most tremendous honor isn't just taking pictures but preserving memories that matter.
When Music Meets Architecture: The Perfect Storm
It was just past five when the first guests arrived. Women in summer dresses and men in pressed shirts with sleeves rolled up against the heat moved slowly in the golden hour light. They were perfect subjects.
The barn stood three stories tall. White and Black paint weathered just enough to have character without looking neglected. Inside, timber frames rose like a cathedral. Acoustic heaven. No wonder Phelps chose this place.
"Music venues are mathematical equations," sound engineer Marcus Trent told me as he adjusted speakers. "This barn has the perfect height to width ratio, with enough wood to warm the sound but enough space to let it breathe." He tapped a beam overhead. "Can't build this kind of acoustic quality. Has to grow into it."
According to a Nashville Music Industry report, 78% of performers cite venue acoustics as the primary factor in memorable performances. This barn wasn't built as a concert hall, but it worked better than spaces designed by architects with degrees and computers.
I positioned remote cameras in the rafters before guests arrived. Four different angles to catch everything. You don't get second chances at live events. The wide angle in the northeast corner would capture the entire crowd. The 85mm near the stage would get tight shots of Phelps during his performance. Always be prepared. Always have backups.
The light changed every twenty minutes: first golden, then blue, then the warm glow of stage lights. Each shift required new settings and considerations. But that's the challenge. That's the job. Adjust and shoot. Adjust and shoot.
The Dance of Candid Moments: Being Invisible
The best event photographers make themselves invisible. I moved along the edges. Never in the way. Always watching. You learn to disappear.
A woman wiped away tears during "O Holy Night." Click. Two old friends reunited after years apart. Click. A child is asleep on her father's shoulder despite the music. Click. These unplanned moments tell the true story.
"Authenticity can't be manufactured," noted celebrity photographer Rita Sanchez in her 2023 interview with Shutter Magazine. "In an era of staged Instagram moments, genuine emotional documentation becomes increasingly valuable."
For corporate events, I shoot over 3,000 images to deliver 300 final photos. That's a 10% keeper rate. But for cultural gatherings like the Barn Bash, I might shoot 5,000 to get 400 worth keeping. More happens. More matters.
My approach:
Move constantly but never hurriedly
Anticipate moments before they happen
Become part of the background
Never use flash unless necessary
Look for emotional intersections between people
During David Phelps Barn Bash's acoustic set, I crouched near the front row, low and still. The 70-200mm lens let me capture his expressions without distraction: the weathered hands-on guitar strings and the closed eyes during high notes. Details matter.
A young couple slow-danced, though nobody else was dancing. I caught them silhouetted against stage lights. Sometimes, the audience becomes the show. Sometimes, the best photos happen at the edges.
Technical Challenges: When the Environment Fights You
The barn was beautiful but brutal. Dark corners. Harsh spotlights. Dust in the air. Heat rising. Everything working against clean images.
Professional event photography isn't about having the best camera. It's about knowing how to make images when conditions fight back. That night, they fought hard. But with every challenge, I adapted, ensuring that the beauty of the Barn Bash was captured in its entirety.
The temperature inside the barn reached 84 degrees. Humidity at 72%. Condensation on lenses when moving from air-conditioned areas to the main space. These are the real challenges they don't teach in photography school.
"Environmental photography is problem-solving at high speed," explains event photography veteran Thomas Walsh. "You're making hundreds of split-second technical decisions while maintaining a creative eye."
Equipment failures happen. My second camera's battery grip malfunctioned halfway through. No time to troubleshoot. Just adapt and continue. This is why professionals carry backups for their backups.
Technical considerations for the Barn Bash:
High ISO capabilities critical for low-light conditions (3200-6400 range)
Fast glass is an absolute necessity (no slower than f/2.8)
Dual card slots for immediate backup
Silent shutter modes during quiet performances
Heat-resistant equipment bags
During the acoustic segment, stage lights created extreme dynamic range problems. Expose for Phelps' face, and the instruments disappear into the darkness. Expose for the full scene, and his features blew out to unrecoverable white. The solution was bracketed exposures merged during post-processing—a technique typically reserved for landscape photography.
The real test came during the finale. Full band. Moving performers. Changing lights. Crowd reactions. All happening simultaneously. No time to check images. Just trust your settings and keep shooting.
Telling Stories Through Sequences: The Video Element
Photography freezes moments. Video preserves their momentum. Both matter.
We employed a three-camera video setup for the Barn Bash with a dedicated audio feed from the sound engineer. It's overkill for some events. Necessary for this one.
According to industry research by EventMB, event videos with professionally captured audio receive 70% more engagement than those relying on camera-mounted microphones. Sound quality isn't optional when documenting performances.
"Video documentation of cultural events serves commercial and historical purposes," archivist Dr. Sarah Williamson notes. "Today's marketing material becomes tomorrow's historical record."
The Barn Bash video required different thinking than the photography. It required longer sequences, establishing shots, reaction cuts, and building a visual narrative through movement and time.
Our approach to the video documentation:
Static wide camera covering the entire stage
Manned camera for performance close-ups
Roaming camera for audience reactions and venue details
A dedicated audio recorder connected to the soundboard
The edit would come later. In the moment, coverage was everything. Capture now, craft later.
Between songs, I recorded ambient audio of the crowd, the building, the surrounding countryside. These natural sound bridges would prove invaluable during editing. Details matter. Always have more than you need.
The most powerful sequence came unplanned. Phelps invited a young local musician onstage. Unrehearsed. Authentic. Their impromptu duet while the audience held phone lights aloft created the kind of footage marketing budgets can't buy. Real moments have power-manufactured ones that never will.
Beyond Documentation: Creating Heritage
The final images would serve multiple purposes. Marketing materials for future events. Content for Phelps' social channels. Documentation for the venue. But they represented something more.
They became part of Culleoka's cultural record. A small town's big night.
I've been shooting properties and events for fifteen years. The photos that last aren't always technically perfect. They're emotionally authentic. They capture something true about people and places.
"In real estate and event marketing, we're not just selling images—we're selling belonging," real estate marketing consultant Jessica Reynolds explained during our conversation after the event. "People don't just buy properties; they buy the lifestyle and community those properties represent."
When shooting concluded at 11:30 p.m., I had filled six memory cards. Over 6,000 images and two hours of video footage. But the real work was just beginning. Culling. Editing. Crafting the visual story from raw materials.
I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to document events like the Barn Bash. To create marketing content showcasing a venue and the community it serves. Our goal has always been creating content that moves both people and properties. Sometimes literally—helping properties change hands by showing their potential. Sometimes emotionally—capturing moments that move people to laughter, tears, or action.
This Culleoka barn isn't just timber and nails. It's a gathering place. A concert hall. A community landmark. The images we created don't just show what happened there one night. They show what could happen there again. They tell a story about place and possibility.
That's the power of visual storytelling in real estate. It doesn't just document what exists. It hints at what could be. It doesn't just move properties. It moves people toward properties. Toward possibilities.
And sometimes, if we've done our job right, toward home.
KENNETH PURDOM
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO
615-310-7171
Kenneth@KennethPurdom.com
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