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Sax Player

  • stasber
    Member

    Here’s one from the recent Cartoon gig at the Cork Jazz Festival. I’d be interested in your thoughts on it.

    One thing is the detail behind the mike – it’s actually the arm/elbow of the tenor sax player next to him (the subject) – not sure if it’s OK or if it distracts & I think cloning it out might detract more from the overall image, esp as there is no silhouette for the sax leading up to the mike & the mike itself would be otherwise left ‘hanging’ *scratches head*.

    (edit: image re-post)

    jb7
    Participant

    Hey stabser, really good shot, well composed, expressive, but you’ve chosen to make a very high contrast version. All the highlights seem to emerge from a sea of deepest black. Any chance of seing it printed on grade 3 rather than grade 5?

    stasber
    Member

    Oddly enough that was my first version of it (approx), however even that was a bit noisy, i.e. visible vertical (in this orientation) lines, so I decided to up the contrast. Will post that version tonight when I get home for a comparision & any further comments. Thanks for the observation.

    paperdoll
    Participant

    first impression – very contrasty…but I think it kinda suits the shot.

    stasber
    Member

    Alright folks, this was my previous incarnation of this one.

    jb7
    Participant

    wow, there are a lot of lines, is this normal? I don’t know Canon at all; I’ve only read reviews of the 1ds mk II, where they make reference to the superior high iso noise levels compared to everything else, but- don’t know what to say really-

    stasber
    Member

    I’ve had very good results even at 3200 with the 20D – the difference there being that I had good stage lighting and made a good exposure. Those results were noiseless or near-noiseless and in a theatre with a decent setup. When the lighting conditions are less than adequate then the above results is what can be expected. I think that any sensor will interpolate the data it receives in some way, and when an image or an area of the image is too far under-exposed, will pfaff about trying to make of it what it can.

    The original image is extremely under exposed, hand held at 1/20, f4.5 at ISO800. Looking at it I think maybe I caught it just as the red stage light turned off. Subsequently there’s a lack of data so upping the exposure will only introduce the noise you see. First reaction was to trash it. I initially tried to make it a high contrast conversion (the ‘previous incarnation’ above) but the noise was just.. ouch. Then I thought I might be able to rescue it by making it lith-like, as compostion & sharpness are good and there’s (I thought) just enough detail to work with.

    I think it kinda works, but still ponder if there’s something else I’ve not thought of. At the end of the day, if the image doesn’t do much for people then that’s grand, if I learn something in the process, other people help putting the finger on it. But then if it misses the mark then it just plain misses the mark!

    jb7
    Participant

    Your first take is the best option then, I suspected it might be something to do with exposure, I noticed you were shooting on manual, always a risky business to be at the mercy of the LD- even at a jazz gig, it seems-

    Valentia
    Member

    Gimme grade 5 every time :o Excellent!

    Ali
    Participant

    Really like this shot stasber. I wouldnt bother cloning out anything, perfect as is!! I think the white t-shirt works wonders in bringing out the mic. I think it would be lost without it somehow. Very nice shot, well done :)

    steelydan
    Participant

    Never knew Buddy Holly played the sax.. :lol: Nice photo tho you done well

    stasber
    Member

    Ali wrote:

    Really like this shot stasber. I wouldnt bother cloning out anything, perfect as is!! I think the white t-shirt works wonders in bringing out the mic. I think it would be lost without it somehow. Very nice shot, well done :)

    Thanks very much Ali and I’m glad you like it. At last someone replied to my question! It seemed one of those “in between” things which I wasn’t sure about completely.

    steelydan wrote:

    Never knew Buddy Holly played the sax.. Nice photo tho you done well

    Thanks steelydan, appreciated. Yes, Gary Baus has that look! He also presents ‘Doubletime’ nights, where he DJs music from the 1920-30-40s. And they’re brilliant – and no grannies in sight!

    Earlier in the week I finally completed the gallery for Cartoon, which they are very pleased with and even drew mention to the sax player images in particular. So I’m chuffed.

    And I’m taking pictures for Kila next Friday – can’t wait, should be a great night!

    Eddie
    Participant

    Thats a fine image, you have captured both the mood of the gig and also created a fine portrait. The image also has a traditional B&W feel to it, graphic and grainy.

    stasber
    Member

    Thank you Eddie. I like this style of pic and am looking to improving my technique to get some more results like that. Esp as I seem to find good examples in those well under-exposed critters!

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