Big budget gatherings are lit by stage professionals and showcase a fortune in multimedia technology. That does not mean we overlook the people, surroundings and small details that engage the eye and the lens — right down to the arrangement of soda cans. Of course, the big ones matter too.

The architecture of John C. Portman, famous for the Peachtree Center in Atlanta is also behind the Atlanta Expo Center — a big, brutalist setting for the color and energy of events. Here are some of our shots from the Peach.