[iMoan]

August 30, 2007 at 10:16 am

I really like the facial expression you caught in the first pic. The angle of his head, giving a straight view of mouth/nose/eyes works really well for me.
It’s a pity about the floodlight behind his head, I always find them distracting when there’s another sufficient light source. FKoS are such a fast-paced band and I think you made the right call to capture this image while you could, rather than moving to the right to block the floodlight.
The second shot works well too, I like the composition and sharpness of the head banging member to the rear. The lead is close enough to you to record enough detail for his features without losing the focus on the other guy.

I’m not mad about the last shot simply because the other two are better. There’s just suggestion of his face, with the rest of the light soaking into the guitar. B&W is working pretty well here and considering the high amount of shadow, you don’t seem to have compromised graininess for a higher ISO? Nice one :)

[iMoan]

August 30, 2007 at 9:56 am

Hey there, thanks for the welcomes :)

Look forward to getting to know you around tund the site!

[iMoan]

August 30, 2007 at 1:28 am

I use Photoshop on my Mac and have The Gimp on my PC. You’re right, it does share a lot of Adobe features and is useful if there’s something I want to tweak on an image without changing machines. However I would strongly recommend PhotoShop as it’s user-friendly and a cleaner image-rendering process. The Gimp’s too disorganised.

[iMoan]

August 30, 2007 at 1:21 am

Got chucked out of the Kaiser Chiefs in Marlay Park on Sunday, for taking pics without a press pass. I was actually working there but just to get some social shots of competition winners, not live pics, so wasn’t issued a usual media pass. After a few bevvies later on, decided to try some nouveau-Arbus concert freak photography in the mosh pits and it was all downhill from there…

I would say NEVER give your gear to venue security. They probably wouldn’t steal it but you don’t know how gentle they’ll be with your bag. If caught, offer to wipe the memory card before they drag you out by the collar. Zero Assumption is your friend.
At big concerts, a lot of the time media passes depend on the promoter. MCD and Aiken are pretty strict with their passes unless you can prove the images will be used in promotion relating to the show. Others, like POD and WAV (Whelans and The Village) can be open to a nice phone call or email. If there’s a band you like and want to take pics of, it always helps to try contacting them through MySpace or their website info (unless they’re pretty famous), many have details of their management or bookers.
Many venues are okay with SLR cameras, Crawdaddy, Whelans and TBMC to name a few. Tripod is pretty harsh though. The security there don’t like PG’s at all…

[iMoan]

August 30, 2007 at 12:14 am

I’ve been experimenting with night photography over the last few months. It’s a whole new world to work with!
Traffic and light-trails were a good place to start off with, plus floodlit buildings and sky scapes. It’s great to get sharp focus in low light without compromising the graininess of a high ISO.

I’m just curious if anyone has suggestions for settings in different situations.
A sea at night? A forest? The sky?

I took a band out for some photos last night, using the traffic on the roads as a background to blur out all the irritating road signs/ buildings/fences etc. I set my Nikon (D200) to 320 ISO on f5.6-7.1 at about 10/sec. I used my tripod and a +1.7 flash, and asked the guys to compose themselves and stay dead still!
I’m happy with the overall effect, one out of three images were sharp and well-exposed. However, is there a way to burn more detail into the camera on a faster shutter?

[iMoan]

August 29, 2007 at 11:21 pm

Was really hoping to see “two well-muscled mates on stepladders with security torches and white umbrellas” here…
Very informative thread on the subject of a beginner’s home studio though. It’s definitely confusing, knowing how to take lighting a step further. Must bookmark this page and get saving!

[iMoan]

August 29, 2007 at 11:11 pm

Thought I’d add that the article linked by beef was very helpful. I’m contantly improving my photos but confess light-metering is proving a sticky subject. Hopefully this’ll help.

Cheers :)