MerleFest is fun for an event photographer.  Unlike some music festivals, MerleFest is photographer-friendly.  There are restrictions, of course - no admittance to the backstage areas, no selling of your photos without express permission from both the artist and from MerleFest.  But those don't matter to the music fan taking photos to cement his or her memories.

Here are some general tips for photographing musical events:

• You and a lot of other people are at a concert.  It's all about the music.  When taking photographs, make sure that you don't detract from people's enjoyment by making noise, standing in their way, or otherwise being intrusive.
• Your photos should be flattering to the artist.  If you capture an unattractive moment, delete that photo.
• Plan your photos before moving into position.  Check your camera settings and, if possible, take a test shot or two before moving into position.
• Take you pictures quickly, then sit down or move away.  You don't need lots of photographs of every song.  A few photos of the first song or two should do.  After that, enjoy the music.
• Microphones  have a tendency to show up in awkward places in photographs - sticking out of singer's ears, covering eyes.  Watch carefully when shooting.  I have found that I usually get the best results when I am photographing from the right side of the audience when facing the stage.  When singers reach the end of a line in a song, they tend to draw back from the microphone and look to their left a little (maybe toward their fret hand).  If you're on the right side of the audience, they'll be looking toward you.  That's the time to press the shutter button.
• The more members there are in a band, the harder it is to get all of them in one photo without someone being obscured.  Before moving toward the front, try walking behind the audience from one side to the other to see if there is an angle that offers a clear view of all band members.  When you find the best angle, look to see if there is a closer spot with the same angle that you can reach without disturbing fans.  If so, move there and take the photo.  Just remember, sometimes you just can't get that complete picture.

With so many stages to choose from, there are always opportunities to photograph.  Each venue is different, with it's own photographic advantages and challenges.  The Watson Stage features the headliners in the evenings, and the evening stage lighting makes for great photos.  However, unless you have a pass for the reserved seating area, you can't get close to the Watson Stage after 5:00 pm.  The Cabin Stage is adjacent to the Watson Stage, but there's no convenient area for a photographer to shoot from.  The Watson Stage and the Hillside Stage both are fairly high above ground level, so photographing from up front is a challenge.  It's often better to be a bit further back and use a lens with a long focal length.

The Creekside Stage and the Americana Stage are easily approached.  One big challenge at Creekside is avoiding bright spots in the background from tour busses and equipment.  Often, the best photos at Creekside isolate individual performers against darker backgrounds.  The Americana Stage offers a different challenge.  Since it faces west, afternoon light can be rather harsh and contrasty.  The Plaza suffers from similar harsh light.

Jim Lauderdale and Friends (Town Mountain) on the Creekside Stage at MerleFest 2011.  Note the distracting background.

Little Pickers, Traditional, and Dance are all tents, so the difficulties of dealing with sunlight go away.  The Mayes Pit, the Austin Stage, and the Walker Center are all indoor venues.

The Pickin' Place is an area where anyone is welcome to bring their own instrument and join in the music.  There's good music there, and a chance to get up close.  Keep in mind that jamming musicians typically sit or stand in a circle.  You'll be photographing over someone's shoulder.

One final, but important thought, don't forget to photograph everything else.  It's easy to get carried away taking pictures of performers.  When you get home and go through them, you may realize that your MerleFest experience was much more than what you captured.  Keep your eyes and mind open to all of the visual opportunities around you - the crowd, the Shoppes at MerleFest, the scenery, the craftsmen.  Take lots of photographs of things other than the performers.  If you're using a digital camera, electrons are free.  Use them up.

What's MerleFest like?

Besides offering lots and lots of great music, MerleFest has the best family-friendly atmosphere you could imagine.  It starts with your arrival at the main gate on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC.  Fans arrive by shuttle bus, bicycle, or on foot, and are often met by a bluegrass band playing outside the gate.  (All parking is at remote lots, with Boy Scout troops and others providing frequent shuttle service for donations.)  After a quick screening to ensure that no contraband makes it into the festival grounds, you walk out into the campus.  To your right is the Dance Tent and in front of you are the Shoppes at MerleFest.  More performance venues spread in all directions with enough space between to keep the music from overlapping.

Pick up a copy of the MerleFest program and check out the map and the stage schedule (if you haven't already).  Pick a direction - maybe straight ahead.

Peruse the Shoppes at MerleFest as you continue to walk.  Stop and visit the WDVX booth.  Jim Lauderdale and Roy Book Binder did in 2011.

Jim Lauderdale, WDVX Program DirectorTony Lawson, and Roy Book Binder converse at the WDVX booth at MerleFest 2011.

As you get to the end, check out the sand sculpture.  Watch it evolve as the festival progresses.

To your right is the Americana Stage, a more intimate setting than the two largest venues - the Watson Stage and the Hillside Stage.  Wander over and sit in the grass.  The music will be outstanding, and the audience will be listening.  That's one or the wonderful things about MerleFest.  The audience would rather listen than talk.  They're listening to good music that sounds good.  The quality of the sound systems at MerleFest is among the best.

If you chose to go left, you would quickly reach the MerleFest Mall where you can purchase CDs from the artists playing at MerleFest.  There are autograph tables near the Mall and schedules of when your favorites will be available.

Beyond the Mall, the area opens into the grounds in front of the Watson Stage.  And beyond that is the food court.  After a quick bite to eat, look at your schedule again.  This is the time when you realize that you want to be at the Hillside Stage - as far away from the food court as possible.

My advice - head for Hillside if you need the exercise or stop at any venue for a performance you will enjoy.

I'm studying eleven pages of printout.  It's the stage schedule for MerleFest 2012.  Thursday only takes one page since the gates don't open until 2:30 and only five stages are active.  Friday and Saturday take up four pages each, and Sunday takes up two.

I've been trying to catch up to Roy Book Binder for five years.  Last year, I was able to hear two songs from his Sunday morning set.  Is this the year for more?  I'm not going to miss The Greencards.  I won't miss them at home, so I won't miss them at MerleFest.  Greencards members Kym Warner and Carl Miner are also playing as a duo - and I hear great things about that configuration.

There's the Hillside Album Hour hosted by the Waybacks.  Each year they invite friends to join them in playing a classic album from start to finish.  It started in 2008 with "Led Zeppelin II" and continued with "Sticky Fingers," "Abbey Road," and "Eat a Peach."  This year's album hasn't been announced, but it should be fun.  (Recordings of the Hillside Album Hour from 2008, 2010, and 2011, and many other MerleFest performances can be purchased online through FestivaLink.)

And what about those artists that I haven't heard before.  I'm still trying to figure that out.

I'm running out of highlighter before I run out of MerleFest schedule.  More later.