US Photographer Nukes Twitter Account After Dispute With Ryan Adams

A Florida photographer has apparently felt the wrath of Ryan Adams' fans after he and the veteran singer-songwriter had a disagreement over the snapper's use of flash during a festival set.

Tampa-based photographer Joe Sale deleted his Twitter account following the reported backlash, which started at the Gasparilla Music Festival on Sunday (US time) and eventually carried over to the social media platform.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Sale was using a flash from a platform near the sound desk, causing the troubadour — who suffers from Ménière's disease, an inner-ear disorder that can result in vertigo-like symptoms — to publicly admonish the photographer in an impromptu song. Sale, evidently unappreciative of being chastised, raised his middle finger at Adams in response.

After the fact, Sale expressed his frustration on his now-non-existent Twitter account, construing the event as Adams "not allowing photographers to showcase his talent", and indicating that he wasn't allowed to shoot from the pit or near the stage.

In response, Adams excoriated Sale: "No, asshole. It says NO FLASH! Because I have MENIERES DISEASE and have SEIZURES!!!! Ok, Ansel Adams?"

Sale asserted that he had "used the flash from over 2000 feet away … [and] shot the 12 other bands over 2 days w/o flash", telling Adams — whose condition is well known, even being advertised at all his shows — to "write a sob story about it".

"You are a fucking asshole," Adams replied.

Sale described the dispute as, "He blocked me, I blocked him, and then it was basically a back-and-forth between me and his fans." Deleting the account was an easy move, he says, because he "never received an ounce of business from Twitter".

As the Tampa Bay Times reports, Gasparilla spokeswoman Michelle Gutenstein has confirmed that Sale was a volunteer shooting for the festival — and that she won't be using any of his pictures as a result of the spat — but denies his claims that he was not made aware of Adams' condition before the gig, telling the paper all photographers were informed ahead of time.

The paper says that security guards were traversing the area, holding signs reinforcing the flash ban and informing fans of Adams' condition during his set. 

"It's famous," she said. "It's not like that was new information or any type of surprise. Everybody knows about his condition, anybody who's a fan coming to this festival, wanting to shoot him.

"It seems like no harm was really done, thank god."