It all started with one picture. Jostled awake by turbulence, Art McConnell lifted his head to see a stunning sunset framing the wing of the airplane. Somewhere suspended between Munich and Berlin, he rummaged through the bag at his feet, located his camera and snapped a few photos. Moments later, the pilot corrected course and the image was lost but for the shots McConnell had taken.

A month later, a friend saw the image on the background of McConnell’s computer and encouraged him to try selling prints. They spurred one another to pursue photography as a hobby, purchasing Fuji XT-1 cameras and complementary lenses. The act of catching such fleeting moments couldn’t be more rock and roll to McConnell, a roadie whose day job, seeing a bird’s eye view of a stage, could send him anywhere in the world for months with just days notice.

“My whole life is on the fly,” remarks McConnell, who is grateful to have the opportunity to travel with his work. “I’m surrounded by music every day but I don’t take pictures of the acts or behind the scenes. I’d rather take a picture of the day off when I’m wandering the city.”

Initially, McConnell, 47, began taking photos as a release from the stresses presented in his line of work. An Usher tour in 2004 took him to Europe for the first time. Plastered to the windows of the bus, he was in awe with every change of scenery and he snapped photos at a rapid fire pace.

McConnell’s love for theater and being behind the scenes combined with his drive to go places manifested in taking more jobs that toured domestically and internationally.

Though he calls Philadelphia the place he’s from, McConnell’s family was always on the move. His father was a pilot, while his mother, a painter, encouraged McConnell in his artistic pursuits as a poet and storyteller. He 

remained gypsy-like in his college years, hopping from school to school, but sticking with pursuits that related to acting and the theater. At one point in Illinois he was dorm-less and relied on the kindness of a professor to provide a housing solution.

“I didn’t have a place to stay so she let me live on the stage as long as I would build the set,” confides McConnell. “For a couple months I would go to class during the day then build the set for the show and sleep on the couch in the back. I had a great time because I was learning acting, stage combat, and voice training, and also how to hang the lights and set craft.”

Read the rest of the story

or visit the Tallahassee Democrat to read more here