Here's the unedited version of Danny Ayers' interview. In this version, you can get the full details on how he started, his unforgettable moments as a photographer, and his Ground Zero experience.

Please tell us something about yourself?

I’m originally from the Bay Area but I arrived in Fresno in 1989 to further a bowling career as a professional. I turned pro as a Professional Bowler and became a member of the PBA in 1991.

I bowled in a few professional tournaments until a wrist injury stopped my professional career. Although my professional career ended I’m still a league bowler and enjoy watching the tour on Sunday mornings each week.

What do you do when you are not taking or processing photos?

There’s not a lot that I do that doesn’t involve some sort of photography. I’m working on a couple of photo projects currently that have been taking a lot of my free time.

I’m a passionate person and as a former athlete, I think all athletes are passionate people. I’ve been into photography my entire life but my love for athletics was first and everything else a distance second until my bowling career ended.

I took up photography once again in the early nineties when I started traveling as a professional bowler. I wanted to document my travels photographically and at some point be able to look back on my career and travels. I forgot how much I missed photography and it seemed I took photographs of everything I did.

I really enjoyed it and photography started to replace the passion I had for athletics. I didn’t really look to it as a career but it just seemed that I fell into it. I began college at Fresno State University and a friend encouraged me to apply for a photography job with the college campus newspaper.

I’d taken many photography classes over the course of my schooling, including high school, but I didn’t expect to get hired. I thought that the job would be reserved for students majoring in photography or mass communication/journalism. I met with the manager of the campus paper and he wanted to see my portfolio.

At that time I didn’t think I knew what a portfolio was or even of how to construct one. This was way before the Internet was part of our culture so I had to ask people within the mass communications department about how to put together a professional portfolio.

With the limited knowledge, I winged it. I bought a small attaché case, put some photos in it and returned the next day to present it. I couldn’t even guess what the manager was thinking but he offered me the job!

How was your life like when you were just a starting photographer

My very first assignment was a student union meeting and my job was to take photos of some of the speakers. These images were to run in the paper in the next edition of the college paper which was the very next morning. I had lived in darkrooms as a youth so the aspect of developing the film, processing the film—creating photographs from the magic of agitating a plastic pan were not daunting to me.

What frightened me was using computers to scan, upload photos to email addresses and just navigating myself through a computer. Even in the early days of computers, colleges and universities recognized the importance of computers, and the college campus paper was strictly computerized when it came to transferring any types of photos.

I had to figure out this new system very quickly or be left behind and lose the job. This particular photograph needed to be sent to an email address in order for it to get to the printer for publishing the next morning. I had no clue what I was doing and it took hours to get one simple image over to the right source for printing. I laugh nowadays because it seems so simple. Those were the early days of what is the norm today when it comes to photography and computers. As time passed and I aggressively pursued photography as a new career, I began to take on new photographic challenges.

What made you center your passion for photography on taking concert pictures?

People started asking me if I could photograph their wedding, a sporting event, a quinceanera, etc. My time in photography began to be too mundane and my patience started to wear a little thin with the scope of what I was doing photographically. At that point in my photo career I had photographed everything I wanted to and I felt there was just nowhere else to go in photography.

I was in line at a grocery store and overheard two gentlemen talking about a local music gig that they were doing that weekend. I started to talk to them about my photography and asked them if they had any photos of them singing. They said no. I offered my photographic services for that Saturday night and as they say, the rest is history.

I know what most people would say to this question and that is, “there are so many I just can’t name them all.” But the reality is, this is what I’m saying. There are just so many that I really can’t remember them all. I can name some of the memorable ones. I’ve photographed, at best guesstimate, at least 1,000 concerts and events in my career. Some memorable concerts I’ve covered have been KISS, Britney Spears, Dolly Parton, Cher, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Gwen Stefani, Taylor Dayne and, of course, Madonna.

One memorable moment that I was a part of was neither the most pleasant nor photo related. This moment has to do with the singing of the National Anthem. Whenever you’re at an athletic event they will always play or have someone sing the National Anthem and it’s one of my favorite parts of the event even outside of the event itself.

I was photographing a local volleyball game and they announced the singing of the National Anthem. The gentleman stood at the mike and began singing and half way through it he forgot the words to the song. I along with everyone else felt so incredibly bad for this man that the entire audience helped him finish the song.

Afterwards, he remarked that he would never sing this song in public again. That was the last time I ever saw him. That made a memorable moment for me for the wrong reasons.

To be honest there are not a lot of encounters when I’m taking photos at concerts. Everything is extremely regimented and you’re escorted wherever you go. Once the concert starts they cut you lose in a confined area where you must take your photographs.

The only two problems that a concert photographer encounters are the audience and maybe the performers themselves. Depending on where they allow you to photograph, people may get in the way; or if you’re shooting from the sound board, people’s heads or bodies can get in the way making it necessary to change the nature of the image.

With regards to the performers, it’s very hit and miss and almost a cat-and-mouse type of game. I’d very much rather be photographing a George Strait concert than Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. Mick is all over the place and even at his advanced age the man can still get around a concert stage.

Often photographers are chasing the performers to get the shots they need, and with a limited amount of time this can be very challenging. Outside of those two obstacles things should go relatively smooth for most concert photographers. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that there is trial and error with everything you do. Problems will always present themselves. I have fun with what I do but I’m always conscious that I’m a professional concert photography and I have to project that whether it be in my work or personally.

Life is about repetitive movements or motions, and just by doing it many times you will become better at it by default. The difference here is whether you possess the skills to be better than most. My advice is to expect the worse and hope for the best.

What preparations did you make for your award-winning-shots?

This might sound mellow-dramatic and its very cliché, but every picture must tell a story. It’s as simple as that. For me I try and take that to the next level and with every picture I take, “can I win the Pulitzer?” I never, ever take photos for me, just me, but always for the viewer, the audience.

I have a preconceived notion that the next image I photograph will be in someone’s home, printed in a magazine or book, hanging in a gallery or be held in an auction house ready for the highest bidder. Yes, of course I started out taking photos of everything—you must do that. You’ve got to see if you’ve got a talent for photography or even an eye for it.

All photographers must do this. You must start somewhere but then comes knowledge, the knowledge of your chosen profession. The knowledge of what to do and along with that, how you want your work portrayed. Some photographers, not all, don’t take the necessary time to value their work through knowledge, in other words they don’t respect their own work so how can they respect others.

I think you must study the forefathers, the pioneers, the ones who opened the door for people, for photographers, for concert photographers like myself. I feel this is very important and we don’t teach that to young aspiring photographers today. When another person can be emotionally moved by your work, work you’ve created, work that your eyes have laid witness to, it should be a powerful, earth-shattering experience. It is for me.

This is the passion I need to see that inspires me. There is more power in art; it creates more emotions than anything that I think man has created. When you possess that skill, you can make an impact on lives. Photography is an art. Most people think an artist is a painter, sculptor, or a writer, but most people don’t label a photographer an artist. I would gladly wear that label.

Back to the question: I try and compose, conceptualize each and every shot…in terms of concert photography it’s difficult to accomplish this since by the very nature of it, it happens at such a fast rate of speed. First of all you have to be confident that your settings in your camera are correct for a concert environment. Once you know this and you’re comfortable with that, everything should prepare you for an award-winning photographic art piece.

Concentrating in a concert environment is not really as hard as you think. I’d rather photograph a concert than a football game or an event that utilizes a very large playing field. You have to look at your subjects or the players that you have to photographically document.

First of all, it might be difficult to photograph a group like the Rolling Stones or KISS because of the simple fact that each individual person is famous in his own right. Acts with solo artists like Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Britney Spears or even Madonna don’t present these problems to concert photographers.

Covering a lot of athletic events in my career, football is the most challenging because first, you’ve got a lot of real estate to cover. Then you’ve got 4, 5, 6 or maybe 7 different players who all can be superstars. I can only imagine what it was like to photograph the 49ers in the eighties.

There were 4 or 5 superstars on that team, I mean legitimate, superstars on the roster, and everyone needed to be photographed each and every game. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Dwight Clark, Roger Craig and many others not to mention the coach, the late great Bill Walsh!

This is just one example of a loaded team where each athlete needed to be photographed. Even locally, teams such as Fresno State normally have 3 or 4 standouts. Junior colleges have their standouts and of course high schools are now producing outstanding athletes.

It’s been said that if you can become a good sports photographer the rest is a bit easier. Having started mainly as a sports photographer, I think that statement bares some merit of truth. Going into a concert and not knowing much about the artist is not smart. I will do as much research on the artist as I can to get to best images.

Fortunately for me I do main event shows, arena shows where there is a lot of film on them for me to gravitate to, thanks to YouTube. I study to see if they are stationary performers, such as Sarah McLachlan, or the polar opposite, like Steven Tyler of Aerosmith who is all over the stage and you have to be in a near jog to catch him.

You study to see if they are right or left handed. This will give you an understanding of which hand they will hold the mic in. I study so I don’t have to worry about all of the other nonsense at show time. You can’t do anything about the audience or the noise, but I can control what I think the performer will do on stage.

One such event involved Gwen Stefani of No Doubt. I was in the “Pit.” The pit is in between the front row and the stage. It’s prime real estate where all concert photographers love to be. You are as close to the performer without actually being on stage with them.

During Gwen Stefani’s first song, Gwen jumped off the stage onto one of her very large speakers that was placed within the pit and her shoe brushed the side of my face. I wasn’t hurt but this is one of the unforeseen actions that can take place. I’m sure it was generated from adrenalin or the rush of the crowd. Also, I’m always very nervous before a concert event.

I think about it all day and it doesn’t leave me until the last frame is shot. I’ve heard that musicians and athletes go through the same thing. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you still get nervous before a performance. I also know as a former athlete myself that I would get very nervous before an athletic event.

I think it’s the “not knowing” that makes us nervous about our performances. I never want to go into an event without being a little nervous about my pending performance. The day that it becomes too routine is the day I will leave the arena.

What changes did you have to go through in order to become the Danny Ayers that you are now?

I’m dealing with some health issues. I had neck fusion surgery within the last year that was unsuccessful and the long delays in treatment and dealing with a lot of entities pertaining to hospitals and doctors and lawyers have presented a whole new set of challenges that I’ve never faced.

You cannot change what has already happened; certain events in one’s life happen for a reason. You just have to make peace with those events. It’s just that simple. I recently lost my bowling mentor and the one person who has meant the world to me. His loss has taken a toll on me and I live to one day see him again.

He taught me the value of living every day to the fullest; he taught me patience. I know he’s looking down at me and saying dobar djecak which means good boy in Croatian.

You have a photography show called In the Round set for December 2nd at the Fresno City Hall. Can you give us a teaser on what photos to expect and other events happening during the show?

Please, you can’t expect me to give away all of my secrets, can you? I’m kidding. The majority of the show will focus on my concert photography but I may add a few surprises that your readers of this article will just have to show up to view in person.

You know Christmas is just around the corner; maybe your readers can get an early Christmas surprise by viewing one or two of my special photographic pieces. I did officially invite Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the event but he may be packing up his office and heading back to LA to start up his movie career once again.

Outside of that, food, fun, talking about photography, maybe music, and we’ll also have Twin Pomegranate Wine Company pouring wine that evening.

Well, my trip to New York City just after the events of 9/11 were some of the most gratifying and gut-wrenching experiences in my entire life and photo career. Nothing compares to those short 4 days that I spent in New York.

I was on my way back from New York City after I took my photos when I started to reflect on those days, and I came away with this: I left California a Californian, but when I left New York I left a little piece of my heart in that city. I did not go to New York for a visit, or a vacation; I was a photographic reporter working on capturing history. New York changed my life. I will never see things quite the same as I did in those 4 days.

It’s a very long story but I will paraphrase my trip to and from. I was coming home from a photo job in Stockton, California, when I heard on the radio about the Twin Light Towers that were to honor the souls lost on September 11, 2001. I’ve had such a strong feeling of how I needed to get to New York by any means necessary.

With little funds to make the trip there and back I turned to business people I knew who could sponsor my trip. In return, they would get one of my Twin Light photos. I was able to get the necessary funds within 3 days. I booked my trip on a Saturday and landed in New York City on Monday afternoon. Of course my first thoughts after getting off the plane were, what in the heck have I just done?

I began my journey by asking strangers how to navigate myself to my hotel which was near Grand Central Station. I dropped off my camera and personal items at the hotel and made my way into the big city. It was late and I remember that New York was experiencing a torrential down pour.

I thought to myself that this is great, I’m in New York on a photographic assignment, and it can’t rain any harder than it is now. The following morning I woke to beautiful blue skies to start my assignment.

My modes of transportation were walking, cabs, the subway, and ferries. I ferried myself across the Hudson River where I began to photograph the skyline of New York City.

As day transitioned into night, the faint sight of the Twin Light Memorial presented itself. It was truly beautiful and with that I turned my attention to my camera and what led me to this remarkable city. The lights over New York City began at 8pm and were extinguished at 11pm each night for the next 30 days.

I didn’t have a lot of time but I got the images I needed and was pleased how this portion of the trip turned out. The following day I made my way over to the platform of Ground Zero.

The mood was very sad; it was extraordinarily quiet in the middle of Manhattan and a city that occupies over 8 million people. This is what struck me initially. On the platform, my assumption was that I would be able to see into the pit. But all I could see were the tops of cranes which were used to excavate the rubble that once were the enormous Twin Towers.

I wasn’t unhappy at not seeing into the pit simply because this wasn’t the reason I was in New York City. And besides, I had already taken the images I needed to take. Once leaving the platform I began to walk the perimeter of the 16-acre site that once housed the 110-story Twin Towers and several other buildings that were damaged or destroyed on that horrible day in American history.

As I made my way near one of the corners of the 16 acres, a female New York City police officer inquired the reason I had so much equipment with me, and I told her the story of why I was in New York City. She took an interest in what I was doing and told me to wait a minute that she needed to speak to her sergeant.

When she returned, she said she wanted to take me to a location where I could get the images I needed. She escorted me to a building adjacent to where the Twin Towers once stood. I was not told by this officer where she was taking me until we got into the elevators.

Then she explained that she was taking me to a room reserved strictly for family members of all those who were lost in the attacks. She said simply that if anybody was in the room to respect their privacy and just take a few images. When the elevator stopped and we entered the room, no one else was there. “Have at it,” was all she said.

I stayed in that room for 2 hours taking hundreds of images with every medium imaginable. Twenty minutes into it the officer informed me they were in the middle of pulling out a body. I was shocked and dismayed by this news. I really hadn’t felt an enormous amount of emotions until that moment. I left a piece of my heart in that room, and I’ve never been the same.

What inspirational message can you give to artists, both beginners and veterans in their crafts?

Respect your craft, respect the men and women who came before us. If you know what you want and you’re good at it, be aggressive in attaining your dreams.

I hate the phrase, “fake it until you make it.” Never fake anything in life; be true to yourself and the craft you decide on. If you’re good at photography or anything else in life, you’ll never have to fake anything. Love and be passionate at what you do, everything will take care of itself.

I also want to thank Donna and Victor for giving me the time to talk about myself and the work I do. A big thanks to Maria Franco, Cindy Dunn and Angela at Fresno Arts Council in believing in me and giving me the opportunity to show at the Fresno City Hall.

Donna Paulino covers most of the topic for the Fresno Interactive Network, including interviews, profiles, and articles that inspire our readers about our local community. She is the social media manager and web producer for Socient, a Fresno web marketing agency that helps non-profit and community benefit organizations thrive with social media marketing, search engine optimization, and web design.

Follow her on Twitter:  @donnapaulino

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