Big events and great photographs (not!) .... thank goodness for kind strangers!

What is it with big events and photographs?! I was SO looking forward to last weekend for some great, meaningful photo opportunities. But between low light and malicious camera-confiscating security guards (OK, I know he was only doing his job...) and my own ineptitude I didn't get a single one. Instead I have a bunch of mostly poorly focused, grainy, camera-shake photos.
Firstly DH and I had tickets to an outdoor concert featuring Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald of Doobie Brothers fame. I excitedly packed my DSLR and started taking photos as we walked from the carpark to the venue. This is the last photo I got to take:

Why, oh why, didn't I pack my point-and-shoot camera as a backup?!!
So I made do with my DH's phone. I'd never used it before. Whilst the light was still good I took a series of 5 photos to stitch together as a panorama of the event. Grainy photos, some were blurry, but I was able to piece them together in Photoshop OK:

I also took a few other photos whilst the light was good. It was such a lovely evening and quintessentially Australian setting. Quite special!
The row of dunnies:

The sunset:

But once it was dark the phone camera was hopeless. The kind couple sitting next to us had their Lumix camera and very kindly emailed me some photos and here's one of Boz:

The next day we took our eldest DD to the big city to settle into her hostel ready to start her Uni course. Lots to photograph, I thought! My photographer's eye (at least I thought I was developing one) completely deserted me. I tried a few lame shots.
The view of the city as we arrived:

The luggage in the back of the car - you can see her "L" plates, her bike and her pinboard of photos/memories:

This was a very significant day for my DD. We helped her move into her room (I took a bad photo of it) met so many other lovely parents and had a lovely lunch (took a bad photo of that, too). Perhaps I was too caught up in the events and emotion of the day to take proper shots. Then I met a wonderful man who is coincidentally in my local Camera Club. We compared cameras (my Canon 1000D vs his Canon 5D) and lenses (all I know was that his were BIG and HEAVY), then before I knew it he'd taken THIS shot:

Doesn't that just blow you away?! You'd swear it was taken in a studio with those light-reflecting umbrella thingies and a lovely blue backdrop, but it's just the natural light and the carpet! If you would like to see his gallery it is here: leedingedge.

So I am very thankful to these kind new friends for giving me some wonderful photos of thismomentous weekend!! And I realize how much more I have to learn! I think I'll have to join the local Camera Club, too!