A Different Kind Of Portrait

There  can be a lot of planning doing photography at a concert. Most of it is about three seconds in  the future. You can plan some things ahead of the concert, like what lens, where to stand, and setting the camera. After that you are shooting as you go. You see something and you have to decide how you're going to frame it, what settings and when to push the button. That is where continuous advance can be real handy. You will notice I used the 50mm lens all through the concert on previous posts. I had been using zoom lenses for a number of years and got quite used to the convenience. It can be real handy being able to frame a shot using that zoom feature. The usual line for using a fixed focal lens is "I'll use my feet to zoom".  I had placed myself at the front of the stage and had a lot of teens rockin' and rollin' behind me. I wasn't doing any zooming with my feet. These guys were doing their show, all over the stage, in and out of the lights. So I set the camera to continuous shooting and took photos on the fly. It was real interesting applying what I know and making decisions as they played. Interesting and fun. 

Here Graham was leaning over to some fans who were just beside me.

Used the 50 mm 1/100sec f1.7 iso 400

Time For A Change

I have been waiting all summer to post this picture. It is a favourite of mine and was one of the first ones I thought of when I started the blog. I thought maybe I should keep the blog in season so held it back. Finally I can post it! Took it in Salmon Arm while Cathe and I were out wandering with the cameras. It was a glorious October day as nice as today is. I am hopeful this is an indicator of what our autumn will be like because I wouldn't mind going out and getting more shots like this.

I used the beercan (70-210) at 210mm  1/500th sec f5.6 iso 200

Landmarks

While Dar and I were on our photography day we visited the old CN Rail station in Vancouver. While we were there I thought about our family and this building. My Grandfather and my Father both worked on the CN. My Brother and I both did for a time as well but we went on to different things. So when we were younger we often traveled by train and if coming this way would pass through this building. My Father actually had his office here for a time and I worked for a while across the street. Inside it now is a bus depot as well as a train station. There's a McDonalds where the restaurant used to be. It looks almost the same and does sound the same, the voices and steps and sounds echoing through that huge room. I have a photo that was taken over 50 years ago that I was curious to see if I could pick out the location.

Here is the previous one. My Mom and older brother on the left, 2 of my Aunts, then my Grandmother. Grandfather would have been taking the photo. This is the first photo I posted that I didn't take.

Boogie Till You Pu...... Oh Sorry

Like I said before I got so many Photo's of these guys that I liked I had to show some more.

 With the 50mm 1/25th sec at 1.7
My apologies to those who get notifications twice. Had to cheat a bit to get this in before midnight... 
There are more after the jump

Rock And Rolllllll !

The difficult part of going to a show like this and taking so many photo's is trying to decide what to show. As I get more used to this venue I seem to come home with more keepers. These guys are so enthusiastic and such showmen I could hardly put down the camera. So with that in mind I think I will show a few at a time for the next couple, three days. So here they are. 


Robert on bass and vocals

 All these are with the 50,  this was shot at 1/160th sec f1.7 iso 400 (on all the shots)
 
 Take the Jump to see a few more Photo's

Introducing "Fall With Them".

Today I was taking photos of our young friends band at the Surrey Youth Fest. I went right to the front of the stage to get a good vantage point. There was some concern I might end up in the middle of a "Mosh pit". I was quite fine though. These kids were an enthusiastic audience but I have to say they were a lot better than groups of adult audiences I've seen. Photography was more of a challenge here because they don't give these kids the bright lights but spot metering on them I was able, I think to catch their spirit. I enjoyed myself I got a lot of photos and quite a few are pretty good. I'm going to show some off for the next while. So here is Graham playing his heart out. 

Shot with the 50mm at 1/640th sec f1.7 iso 400

Found Light, Still Life

Here is a still life using that North facing window light. It was another little project by virtue of the fact we had a bowl of apples on the table at the time. The beauty of this is although I don"t control the light, I control how it's used. The light is falling on the subject and that's it. From there I control the composition, the angle of the light (instead of moving the light I move the subject), then the exposure settings. I shot aperture priority so I could control the depth of field. I only wanted the front apple in focus so I opened up the f stop to get a shallow Depth of field. I had the camera on a tripod so I didn't have to worry so much about  the shutter speed being too slow. Bringing all these different aspects of control together and here is what I got. Pretty much what I was looking for.

Taken with the 100mm macro 1/13sec f2.8 iso 400

Let's Get A Little Funky

This afternoon Jenn and I got together on a little project I had been thinking about for a few days. I wanted to try a backlit scene with the face going a bit dark but bright intense eyes. The look in my head changed a lot over the few days, changed again when I took the photo's and changed a lot more as I processed in the computer. The original idea I started with is there but I believe it ended up way cooler than I originally thought of.

I shot this with the 50mm 1/125th sec at f5.6 (What? not 1.7 you say?) iso 100. 2 flashes set behind and on each side triggered by a flash on the camera which also provided a little fill and glint in her eyes.
  I won't go into all the feats of wizardry with Photoshop (Elements), suffice to say there was much layering, colour desaturating, colour saturating, painting, light adjusting, and all sorts of things. Lot's of fun.
Just one thing I would like to add. I shot colour then converted in the computer. You can always convert colour to black and white but you can't convert black and white to colour. If you will notice her eyes are blue. A little more difficult to do with black and white. Notice I didn't say impossible.

Take Me Out To The Photo Shoot.... No That's Not How It Goes.....

One day a few years back I made a project of using the light of a North facing window. All the light from a North facing window is reflected which is a nice diffuse light. At least in my part of the world. I guess if I lived in Sydney Australia I'd be talking about South facing light. There were some baseball items I had around the house that I thought maybe I could create a nice nostalgic still life. Great thing is with still life you can plan it all and really take time to think of all the elements. I set the camera on the tripod and tried quite a few different arrangements. The ball had to be the central focus. I arranged the baseball jersey so it could be anonymous but still recognizable as a jersey. I really wanted the "Slugger" on the glove to be part of the photo. It's such a baseball word. I think in this one all the pieces fit together very well and with that light from the window created a nice "after the game" atmosphere. 

 

I used the 100mm macro lens 1/40th sec f2.8 iso 400 on a tripod.

Cast Adrift

My mother used to collect driftwood, sand it down and varnish it. There were really nice pieces some of which are still displayed in places. This was a small piece she kept at home. It always made us think of a small creature looking over it's shoulder. I have since inherited it.  Over the years I made a few attempts at photographing it and this was the best. The glass ball is a real Japanese float that broke away from a fish net and drifted across the ocean where my uncle picked it up off a beach near Seaside, Oregon. 

This is with the 100mm lens at 1/30th sec f16 iso 400. The camera was on a tripod. I had a white product backdrop on the table and taped to the wall. I shot with one flash directly overhead behind a large diffuser. Pretty much the same as the orange.

Walk Away

I decided to post this photo a few days ago. I became torn on what to say about it. There was the photography which is what the blog is about. I wanted to talk about how a  landscape photo can benefit from having someone part of it.  It gives perspective and makes the photograph personal. While I was preparing it for the blog something struck me. This photo made me think of that melancholy moment just after you've said goodbye to someone. They are still there but walking away, their thoughts moving on somewhere else. You wonder if you should call out. 
I just couldn't decide which idea to use. Oh,  I guess I went with both.

Does it feel a Cooler Out There?

Hate to be the one to bring this up but the weather is changing. Soon enough we will need our winter gear. This was a lucky find in Fort Langley a couple years back. The antique shop there is constantly changing their display somewhat. You just have to go there and work it once in a while and you can come away with some nice photo's.

 This was taken with a 24-85 at 45mm 1/100th sec f6.3 iso 200

Just For Fun

One day I decided I wanted to take some pictures of everyday things using my little kitchen studio. Which is a dining area, or table to pile stuff on when not being used to take photographs. I can't remember how the idea for the orange came to me, there was no theme or message. Just decided to make a picture. It was fun. 

I shot this one using the 100mm lens at 1/60th sec f16 iso 400. The camera was on a tripod. I had a white product backdrop on the table and taped to the wall. I shot with one flash directly overhead behind a large diffuser. I had another flash in front of the wedge shooting a stop or two down to brighten the inside of the wedge a bit.

There Is That Moment

As far as photography goes Peter (Nick) and I are often at loggerheads.It's basically about me being a parent rather than a photographer. Trying to hard too get a "nice" picture. This was some time ago but as I recall we had been struggling with each other trying to get the photograph I was looking for. He was being himself and ended up rolling around on the floor with a backdrop I had there. Then there was just a little moment where we connected..... 

 This is pre-digital and I am not sure which camera I used, either an old Hassleblad or Yashica TLR. Would have been Ilford B&W film exposure about 1/60th-1/125thsec at about f8 iso 100.  2 flash behind umbrellas, one on either side of him.

This Would Be A Good Time To Reflect

Building reflections can be fun. It takes getting the right angle at the right time of day with optimal weather conditions. It is something that has to be planned well ahead with all the elements coming together. Or, finding it by fluke which is how I got this. I didn't even see it, Dar did. Glad she did and point it out to me.

Taken with the 50mm at 1/200 f5.6 iso 100

Passing The Time

Approaching People to take a photograph has always been a bit awkward to me. It's the anticipation of how they may react. When Dar and I went out we both wanted to be a little more proactive. We asked a few different people through the day. Some said yes and a few said no. No one chased us away with sticks. These fellows were out passing the time enjoying the weather. I asked and they said sure and carried on talking. Dar and I took a few shots then chatted with them for a few minutes. It was a pleasant encounter. Thinking about it,I don't believe there is a special approach or anything. Just ask and if they say no, then don't. 

  Used the 100mm 1/80th sec f4.5 iso 100

A Different Eye a Different Story

While Dar and I were in an alley the other day we came across some chairs had been tossed out. We both stopped and took a few shots. I thought it was real interesting the different ideas we came away with. Hers she called Cirque De Sofa Rejects .  I thought that was great. The couple of photos I took gave me a different little story. Mine was All Star Chair Wrestling. I think you know who is about to get trounced in this one. 

 The 50mm 1/30th sec f4 iso 100

It Was Right In The Rain And Red

As the cooler wetter weather comes upon us I thought I would share a photo I took sometime ago. If you look closely at the drop you can see the plant this flower came from. It is a neat effect you can get with raindrops. I took this at the Fleetwood Park Garden in Surrey. I did look up the name but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

Shot with the 100mm macro  1/125th sec f5.6 iso 400

Make The Picture fit The Frame

Or new horizons?  There has been a bit of a trend to tilt the camera while taking pictures. It's not for everyone because it's a little different. I figure why not. It creates tension in the photograph. The building in the background looks wrong as it is leaning. You have to adjust your view on the picture to make it look right. This can be overdone but is fun.

 Taken with the 50mm  1/2000th sec f4 iso 100

How About Just A Few More

Just Thought I'd show a few more before moving on. I was very happy with the photo's I took at this concert. I look forward to doing this kind of thing again. 
I used this photo on Facebook asking people to come over and see my blog. I shall take this opportunity to show it here. I took this one of Nicolas Hernandez during sound check. It was interesting trying to get the exposure just right. The camera meter kept wanting to overexpose blowing out the bright side. I tried a few different ways around it, I can't remember what I did here but it worked.

Used the 100mm set to 1/60th sec at f9  the iso was 100

Follow the jump for some more. 

Hey! He Looked At Me!

Maybe it isn't anything to get all excited about but never happened to me a performer onstage watching me do my thing with the camera. Thing is, when that happened they seemed to linger a moment smiling. Almost as though they wanted to make sure I got a good shot. 

You know what? All the exposures are pretty much the same with minor changes in shutter speed. 
Mr Hernandez was the closest performer to me onstage so I caught him watching me point the camera at him a couple times. Once was during sound check but I was still figuring out some difficult lighting there so they didn't work. This time it did and once again he seemed to wait a moment while I clicked away. This was pretty cool for me. 

Most of the way across the stage Mr De Sedas must have noticed my camera and smiled for it. Very nice of him.

I Mean White (Balance)

See what I mean?

100mm 1/40th sec f2.8 iso 400

In this shot everything thing just made him a different shade of yellow. I tried daylight, shade, tungsten, fluorescent, pretty much all of them. Then the (yellow) light went on "He really is yellow!" Only in the shot, not really yellow in life, sorry Mr Church. 

 This (and pretty much every other shot) was taken with the 100mm lens 1/100th sec f2.8

The Glory Of The Light (Balance)

Well I finally went through all my photos from the Jesse Cook concert at the PNE. I have to tell you it sure was a chore figuring out white balance. They seemed to switch between daylight and tungsten... I am ever so thankful for RAW. Some I felt like I wasn't getting the colour right, then I thought, "Oh maybe he really was orange at that moment" . I plan to spread this over a couple days and here I will introduce the band members. 

This is Chris Church on violin

 I used the 100mm 1/30th sec f2.8 iso 400 (which is a little noisy on my camera)


Follow the Jump to see a few more. 

Chinatown Anywhere

This could have been taken almost anywhere. Chinatown in Vancouver, or Chinatown in San Fransisco, or Chinatown in Johannesburg (do they have a Chinatown?) or even, China

T

Taken with the 50mm 1/250th sec at f2.8 iso 100 

Guess what? There is a Chinatown in Johannesburg, 2 actually.

A Little Oddity

While at the PNE I sat on what I thought was a storm drain. I Looked down and realized I was being stared at. Just goes to show you have to look up, and look down. 

Don't have the exposure info handy but I bet it was the 50mm and the fstop was 1.7

A Little Downtown Eastside Story

When I am in the DTES I try to lend the people there a little respect. I think in many ways their privacy is more important than others. As a consequence there are some pretty dramatic photo's missed. Here I think I was able to take a photograph that says a lot about the life there. I never actually saw the lady in this picture and I don't believe she was aware I was there. This was a fine way to keep it. She was undisturbed and I came away with a photograph that to me was thought provoking.

I

 Used the 50mm 1/800th sec at f1.7 iso 100
  
Please take the jump 

A Little Converse-ation Piece

Here is another shot of the little marching band. Well, their feet anyhow.  

Here is the beercan (70-210) 1/200th sec at f10 iso 100     

Thrills and Chills

 We had fun watching the quad racing and this bump the other guy off the platform thing (whatever they want to call it). Of course it provides great photo ops. Here of course one guy is in the process of knocking he other guy off the platform thus winning the competition and getting points. Money too I would hope.... 

 

  

No exposure info here but the lens was the 70-210 beercan.

Something A Little Offbeat

We went to the PNE today. I am pleased to say I took 903 pictures. I was even having to dump some to keep shooting a bit towards the end. A real pro would probably say, "What Brook? Were you tired?" It was a lot of photos for me. Needless to say I am going to be able to occupy a few days of blog postings with this. Here is the first entry. 

 Taken with the beercan, 70-210 at 1/160th sec f10 iso 100

Just Another One

We're off to the PNE today hopefully for me to catch some good photos. I had said I was done with posting photo's from my day in the DTES but I had forgotten I wanted to post at least one more from the rear of the Ovaltine. So here it is and hope to have a picture or two from today for tomorrow. 

 Taken with the 50mm at 1/640th sec f1.7 iso 200