VIRGINIA BEACH — News 3 photojournalists typically produce several news videos each week, but there’s a special kind of story you can tell with a single frame.
So, when Something in the Water returned to Virginia Beach last weekend, we asked photojournalist Justin Fleenor to do something a little different: capture still photos for our website and social media.
Full Coverage: Something in the Water 2023
Over the three days — until it was canceled on Sunday afternoon due to severe weather — Fleenor took hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of photos. We’ve hand-picked a few of his best captures to highlight his work, and asked him to share his experience covering the festival. This conversation with WTKR's director of digital media, Jon Sham, has been lightly edited for clarity and context.
Sham: Tell me about this first image of the barricades along Atlantic Avenue?
Fleenor: It was interesting because the festival was delayed by the weather. So it was almost ‘a hurry up and wait’ leading up to that throughout the whole week. And then we get there and you could tell people were ready to go. But this first photo here seeing the difference between a normal Atlantic Avenue and seeing this, it just showed that they had so many different elements, so many different crews and staff and city volunteers.
Sham: There seemed to be a lot of flair and fashion in the way people dressed for the festival. Sort of matching the vibes of the event colors, signage, etc… How would you describe the attire among the people who attended?
Fleenor: People almost treated this as either a ‘come as you are’ or ‘we're going to the Vibe Prom’, because there were so many different styles that embodied who just people were at their core and who they choose to be and and who they want to be in public. So, people were very much able to be themselves.
Fleenor: This was really a chance for people to just be themselves, dress as they want and really feel free and what they're able to express with their friends or their families. There were so many bright colors, the neon colors like greens and pinks and yellows, and it was just really fresh and bright.
Sham: The festival had an impressive lineup. What was it like to photograph some of these A-list artists?
Fleenor: As I grew up with Third Eye Blind, so it was pretty wild to see them in in concert, and and and then there were artists like Maren Morris, Arcade Fire — just they were they were all over the stage and they brought such an energy, and that the crowd was able to reciprocate.
Sham: What was it like to shoot from the crowd instead of the photo pit?
Fleenor: The photo pit is great for artist shots where you're able to get just those tight, crisp type shots. But but the opportunity we had to be in the crowd among the fans and the community... just to be around those people and feel their energy as they're watching the same show that I'm watching and taking it all in.
Fleenor: It's a different kind of experience. I was able to work, but I was also able to absorb that energy and try and put it into my work as well.
Sham: Tell me about this photo. Why the focus on the phone?
Fleenor: I got hooked on taking photos of people taking photos more than a decade ago… because you're capturing what's happening, but then you're capturing through the eyes of somebody else who's capturing what's happening. So you can see what their focus is on this shot.
They've got the bright lights. They want to record it, remember it for later on. And it gives a really unique perspective. I think I love taking these shots because anybody can take a shot just showing the festival as a whole. But if you can see it through the eyes of somebody else who's just really having a great time and absorbing that energy and just letting loose and being free for a little bit.
We've had a tough few years. And for people to be able to come out to this festival and just not think about the cameras at home, not worry about the concerns at work and just kind of be free and themselves and with their friends and family members that this is the way to see it through their eyes.
Sham: Something in the Water features a lot of rap and R&B artists, but they also brought in acts like the Jonas Brothers and Third Eye Blind to span across many genres.
Fleenor: It was really just just amalgamation of just so many different genres coming together. Pharrell has that reach that very few artists have, and he's able to kind of transcend… But the crowd before the Jonas Brothers. So you could see just the crowd just coming down the boardwalk. Just keep coming and keep coming. I'm like, this is going to be a big show. And it was disappointing that they were only performing for 25 minutes, but they had a great show. They performed the hits.
Sham: Tell me about the weather. It was obviously a factor throughout the weekend.
Fleenor: Weather is always something that is just something you can't control and something you always have to keep in the back of your mind and try and plan around it. But you can't always plan around that. This was good because Saturday was great.
I've been to Bonnaroo where it's just scorching out there and there's barely any shelter in the middle of the farm. And people have people passing out left and right from the heat. Burning Man is the same way. But this festival, the weather really played a role in terms of Friday's delayed opening. People didn't let it get them down.
Sham: Lil Wayne was one of the biggest names on the setlist. What was his show like? What was the crowd like?
Fleenor: The crowd was absolutely massive for that show. Up until then, that was the biggest crowd. And then after that was Pharrell's friends. But the Lil Wayne show, he brought the show like he did 20 years ago. And he was so gracious to the crowd at the end of every song, he would say thank you like it was his first time performing. He seemed so gracious and the crowd was so hyped about this show and the energy was nuts. Like there was nowhere to move. And people were just so excited to be in there.
Sham: Pharrell’s "surprise" friends got a ton of hype and speculation in advance. Do you think he delivered? Did the crowd feel that way?
Fleenor: I was excited when Diddy came out because I remember growing up with Puffy. That was when [Pharrell, Diddy & Busta] were talking about going to Military Circle Mall back in the day. Any time they would mention just hanging out in Norfolk or Virginia Beach or Portsmouth, you would hear cheers from different parts of the crowd.
