Battle of Lexington Re-enactment

One Day Story

Blues singer TJ Wheeler talks to students about the soul that goes into the traditional style blues songs they are learning during music class at Grant Elementary School on September 7, 2011.



Fifth graders Shahed Mohamed and Gabriella Langille sing during music class, practicing blues songs for the Blues in Schools performance with blues singer TJ Wheeler at Grant Elementary School on September 7, 2011. The students performed alongside Wheeler at the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival on September 10.



TJ Wheeler instructs fifth grader Sara Kacem on how to place her foot on the ‘wash tub bass’, an instrument made from a metal bin and wooden rod attached by a rope, at Grant Elementary School on September 7, 2011. The ‘wash tub bass’ is played by placing one foot on the rim to hold the tub down, and strumming the taught rope. Different notes are produced by adjusting the tightness of the rope.



Grant Elementary School children wait in anticipation for their performance to begin on a stage at Flat Branch Park during the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival on September 10, 2011. The children practiced with blues artist TJ Wheeler for a week prior to the festival.




Blues artist TJ Wheeler plays the kazoo at the live performance of the Blues in Schools program at Flat Branch Park during the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival on September 10, 2011. Wheeler said, “I want to teach children not only about music, but about the heart and soul that went into the blues songs”.



Fourth graders Jack Welshons and Jack Martin dance to an island blues song during Grant Elementary School’s performance at Flat Branch Park during the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival on September 10, 2011. The fourth and fifth grade students practiced singing, dancing, and playing blues related instruments for a week before the performance as a part of the Blues in Schools program.




Audience members watch as Grant Elementary School students perform blues songs alongside blues artist TJ Wheeler at Flat Branch Park during the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival on September 10, 2011. The performance was part of the fifth year of Blues in Schools program and was free for the community.

Lammott Reflection

The more I read of Bird by Bird the more I enjoy it. In this section, I particularly liked the polaroid chapter. So many times as photographers setting out to photograph a story we have a certain image in mind of how we expect it to play out. However, the reality is, it hardly ever ends up going the way we expect. Keeping an open mind and letting the situation drive your story is the most important thing in my opinion when shooting a story. If you go into the situation too close minded about what your story will be cripples prevents real moments and deeper situations to unfold.

Editing Exercise