Through the extraordinary eye of photography, Jennifer Biddle is bringing music and art together simultaneously.
As a military kid who moved around constantly, Jennifer finally created roots in Tulsa. Living in Germany on two different occasions, she found solace in the arts. She says, “the elementary schools had exceptional art and music programs. I excelled in both and studied piano, violin, sketching, and photography.” After moving back to the States, her options became more limited. She chose to stick with music and picked up the flute. She considered music the “love of her life” and went on to study it in college. After marrying her husband and moving cross country to Tulsa, she says, “I spent several seasons performing with two local community bands, and played percussion with a community orchestra. Tulsa has amazing people, a wide selection of classes where I can dabble in art or music, and a great place to raise my son.”
Biddle’s heart is happiest when she is connected to the arts. After a brief recess, she decided to try her hand at jewelry making. Becoming quite proficient, she picked up the camera to get shots of her collection for sale. At the encouragement of her husband, she enrolled in a photography class to get more familiar with her camera, and entice customers with alluring photos. The camera hasn’t left her hands since. She has since obtained her Certified Professional Photographer degree, and is working toward becoming a Master Photographer through the Professional Photographer’s Association.
Always the music lover, concert photography came as a sheer accident. Jennifer says, “my husband and I started attending a few local cover shows. We became regulars with Rocket Science, and I asked if I could bring my camera to one of their shows. It was a challenge with low ambient light, fast movements, and not impeding the enjoyment of the fans.” Shortly, she enlisted Imzadi and Poster Child into her catalog. “My favorite person is Steve McCabe. I have photographed him so many times! He is so versatile that I try and do something different each time. So far, I have been successful.” She was approached by Lennie’s Club owner Jeff Bray about purchasing some of her work to display in his club. She beams when she says, “Jeff and his wife Soncha are enormous supporters of the Tulsa music scene and my photography. It was a real honor to have a permanent gallery featuring music talent.” But it wouldn’t stop there.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Biddle Tulsa Concert Photography
A collaboration between Photog Inc. and Mark Dolph, a curator at The Gilcrease Museum, resulted in “Assignment Tulsa.” They wanted to feature themed photos representing Tulsa. Each month had a different theme, and one was entitled Tulsa People. “I spent the entire month wracking my brain for an idea. This also happened to be the same month I shot the Eddie Van Halen Tribute show.” One of the organizers, Josh Jones, played a few songs and and she says, "anyone who is familiar with him, knows he would slay the guitar solo.” She continues, “the audience swarmed the stage, and I had a difficult time finding real estate to get a good shot. I found an opening where the cell phones framed him, and took the shot.” As she was editing the photos, she was still on high with how amazing the show was. “I loved the stories the photos told. To me, the one of Josh told the story the best.” The story she is able to tell is seeing the joy in artists faces by doing what they love. Playing to a sold out crowd at the end of a Covid dry spell. Jennifer says, “one could almost feel it in the atmosphere. Everyone was just so happy to be there. I will never forget that.”
Her photo was one of several chosen for the display, and is now available for purchase. It will remain there until July 4th. One more item checked off the bucket list.