Here are a few points on small venue concert photography.  Here is the gear that I used:

• Nikon D70 w/50mm f/1.8 Nikon lens
• Nikon D80 w/70-200mm f/2.0 lens
• Domke F-2 camera bag (olive)
• Charged batteries in camera, extra in bag
• Extra memory cards (unless you have a large one - obviously we all have various gear and budgets)

Camera settings:

• 1600 ISO
• 1/60th second  - f/8 - set your camera to manual you can move the speed/aperture up and down as needed
• Single spot exposure setting - don’t use matrix it will throw things off
• Auto-focus on continuous - because the band is on the move

NOTES:

• Get close and move around
• Take lots of photos - many do not turn out and you don’t have time to check them on site

• Switch between the two camera/lenses
• Stay on the band and continue to look at them through the viewfinder
  • Look for group interaction
  • Look for expressions
  • Wait for exciting “build-ups” and then take the shots
• The reason that I mentioned the bag was because it does not raise any attention to itself. The shoulder strap allows you to sling it onver your shoulder and do whatever you need to do. The flap can be clipped op at will to allow you to easily switch cameras.

In my case in this shoot, the lights did not vary a great deal. The lighting stayed low and there were few times the band was well lit. I had to wait for the occasional times when the lights “were up”. In my case this was rare.

Post Processing:

• Backup everything to disc right off the bat
•  Mark all of your shots with stars (I use Adobe Bridge).
• Select all of the 3-4 stars or more shots
• You’ll most probably need to run filters to reduce the noise
  • Noise -> Reduce Noise
  • I set my strength at 10, reduce color noise 100%, sharpen details 15%, and set the preserve details based on the image

These are not hard rules, just the ones that I used; however, you WILL need to reduce the noise level.  I do not own Noise Ninja, and you may have this filter/software. I have heard it works very well.  Since these images will end up online, it is not that critical.  Should you make prints, you’ll have to take extra special care as the noise will be much more apparent at full size.

On a final note, using a flash unit won’t work very well in this setting. First of all, if you take a lot of shots, which you should, the flash will drive everyone (in and out of the band) crazy and you will be irritating. Secondly, flash lit shots don’t give the look that you want, which is a natural, “what you really see” look to the images.

Technorati Tags: concert, photography, photos, small venue, music, night, images, imagery, photoshop, reduce noise

105mm 1/25 Sec  f/6.3

 
105 mm 1/30th f/16

Technorati Tags: closeup, macro, nikon, 105mm, Nikkor, lens, mouse, photo, photograph

I had more than a few people ask me about the recipe for my Rosemary, Apple, Garlic Roast Chicken.

It is basic, simple, and easy enough for a guy like me to fix. So here’s my rundown on how I prepared it (now mind you, this is the “man” version, so don’t be too critical):

• INGREDIENTS
• Small, whole frying hen - the bakers are tougher and not as tasty IMHO  (You may have a tribe to feed and in that case get a larger one by all means, if the pot is big enough put two in)
• Fresh rosemary - its not cheap, but it adds immeasurable to the flavor and frangrance (an important part of the whole deal)
• One large apple - I picked a MacIntosh, use whatever apple - they’re all good - I peeled mine, but I don’t think it is necessary - just wash, core, and quarter in that case
• One large garlic clove - or is that bunch?  You know the bulb thing…
• 2 large roasting potatoes - these are the BIGGIES
• A little cooking oil - preferable peanut or canola (use butter if you are French and drink a lot of red wine) I used peanut oil - don’t need much
• Garlic powder, salt, and pepper and whatever you like to sprinkle on Chicken

• PREP WORK
• Preheat oven to 425
• Locate a large roasting pot. We have a large oval cast iron, porcelain coated one. These retain heat very well and cook evenly over the thinner aluminum models. Bottom line: use what you have - it’s not rocket science.
• Wash the chicken well under cold water - just a good habit in my opinion
• Core and cut up the apple in quarters - I peeled mine, this step is up to you
• Peal the garlic cloves - I use a lot - do what you will - this is the most pain in the neck of the process (You don’t necessarily need to peel them - I like to eat them after their cooked)
• Pull out 3 or 4 rosemary branches
• Peel the potatoes unless you like the peels (they have most of the nutrients) and in that case, scrub them
• Slice them in halves, or in my case, they were so big I did one into lengthwise thirds

• DOING THE DEED
• Pour the small amount of oil in the bottom of the roasting pot
• Place the potatoes as a platform for the chicken
• Shake garlic powder, salt and pepper liberally in the chicken cavity, then lightly on the outside
• Drop the peeled garlic into the cavity, followed by the rosemary twigs and then S-T-U-F-F the apple quarters as much as you can. I only got 3 quarters in and had to eat the last one (darn it!)
• Place the chicken on the potato platform and put the remaining potatoes around the edges of the pot
• The oven should be preheated to, oh yeah, 425 degrees (man, that is HOT) - Keep an eye on it…oven temps vary, the size of the chicken varies, depends on the temp of the bird too..you know the deal…
• Put the pot on the rack that should be positioned about 1/3 of the way up (I should have told you that earlier, but hopefully, you are reading this through before trying it
• Cook at this temperature for 30-45 minutes, then turn the heat down to about 375 degrees
• Cook for another 30 minutes or so
• Take the lid off, turn the oven to high broil and watch it brown to your liking - Man, it smells SO GOOD at this stage of the game
• When it is browned to your liking, turn oven back to bake and set to 275 degrees (you should be about 20 minutes out from eating)
• Put the lid back on and place back into the oven.
• By now, you should be salivating as the aroma will seem near heavenly - Oh Yeah!
• Now, just add the veggies - salad, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, or whatever you have on hand that seems good (it’s ALL good, you know)
• ENJOY

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I had a photo collection of eggs that I took in the studio for some time and decided to do some work in Photoshop and came up with "Eggcitement"

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Urban rail transport present humanity to you on a large platter.
Two bucks one way.

End of the line.

Technorati Tags: trains, atlanta, urban, public, transport, vehicle, city, society, culture, people, community, photo, photographs, abstract, graffiti

Analog Cameras are not dead…
…they’ve just been put on some dusty shelf…
Cat and I were out driving on a Saturday afternoon and passed an auction taking place in front of an old odds-and-ends store.  We decided to stop off, get a bidder’s number and follow the auctioneer around along with the group of potential buyers just in case something amid the “goods” was interesting.  The goods were varied and some of it was junk, some not.  As the saying goes, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.  A lot of things were going for ridiculously low prices.  As the auction went on, we arrived to an area that contained 4 Minolta camera bodies with 50mm lenses. The models were in the 200 series with one being a Minolta 101.  There were also a couple of Vivitar 85-205mm zoom lenses (they often sell for less than $10 a piece on eBay),  a decrepit naugahyde camera bag (headed for the landfill, unfortunately), and a dead Minolta flash unit.  The bidding started at $2 and I got caught up in the upward spiral and finally purchased the lot for $17.50.  I  was both tickled and shocked because I had no real need for the cameras. I have been shooting digital since the late 90s. Why did I feel the need for these relics?

Minolta SRT 101

My first serious camera back in the early 80s was a Pentax K1000.  I purchased it because it was a good camera at the time for a good price.  I just had it re-built several years ago. A very good manual camera for a student like myself at the time.  I learned a great deal about photography using that camera. Back then, I even learned how to develop black and white film, use the enlarger to expose print paper and develop the prints.  My K100 is still in mint condition and works like it did almost 30 years ago.  Do I have an affinity for the old gear?

It is still VERY COOL!

Minolta SRT201

These cameras are no different. They are great cameras even if they are about 30 some odd years old.  So, I cleaned them up with alcohol, Q-tips and lots of elbow grease.  One of the 4 camera bodies was shot. The other 3 were in good working condition. These are not made of plastic. These are solid metal and well made. You know, “they don’t make things like they used to…”.  The button batteries (for the light meter mechanism) were long dead. One was actually starting to leak, but no damage done.  So, I headed out for replacement batteries and, of course, film after work one day.  The batteries are around $3.50 a piece (I bought 2) and the film I picked up at Target (convenience in this case) 3 rolls of ASA400 Kodak UltraMax 24 exposures per roll at $7.98 for a grand total of around $15.

 
Minolta SRT 200

Now, it doesn’t take a math professor to figure out that I was only $2.50 shy of the cost of all the equipment that I had purchased.  However, what fun I have had so far for less than a nice dinner out.   These are neat cameras in their simplicity of design, ease of use,  and long life.  This gear when purchased new would have cost hundreds of dollars and now, they are selling for ridiculously low prices.

More as it DEVELOPS…

Technorati Tags: camera, 35mm, conventional, minolta, srt200, srt201, srt101, film, analog, manual, lens, lenses, slr

Nikon D80 + Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D Macro Lens (handheld)

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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The days are shorter now. The sun has moved down the map and the leaves have decided to quit photosynthesizing and the glucose remains in the leaves trapped until they die and fall to the ground.  It seems like everything smells earthier” in the fall.  Soon, it will be cool most of the time and we’ll be patiently waiting for the sun to hit higher up in latitude. Today passed by so quickly…just moments in time.