At one of the gigs that I was taking pictures, I had the privilege of meeting the band that was providing entertainment for the night. The placement was good in the sense they weren’t in a corner somewhere. But they were in an equally challenging spot in order to take pictures of them. Pillars were in the way and the dance floor was right in front of them. They weren’t on a stage, so of course the view was limited of them(yes, because I’m short). So I did the only thing that would make sense, take a lot of pictures of them from the side. This actually worked out pretty nicely. By taking pictures from the side, I was able to isolate them from the background creating a bokeh effect. In other words, the background was far away, so it didn’t distract much from the singers and musicians. If I had shot them from straight on, the other instrument players would be in the background and the wall and windows were right there causing for distractions.

I have to also say, the colored led’s really enhance a picture. They had brought their own lighting and it really makes the picture seem like there was more going on. I did turn some of the pictures black and white, but that was to give some variation.

Now, you may notice some blur on some of the pictures. I was shooting at a slow shutter speed, so hand movements will be blurred even when there is flash. I was quite far from the subjects, so the flash wasn’t bright enough to freeze the singers and musicians. Since they were farther, I needed to get the brightest shot possible. I was shooting slow, had the aperture at its maximum…so what’s the last thing I can do? Really bump up the ISO. Most of these shots are shot at ISO-4000! At this point and time, you have to make a decision. Whether or not you want to shoot at even a slower shutter speed which is most probably going to produce blur, or shoot at a higher ISO and get noise? Again, with some of the high end camera’s you are supposed to go up that high. so…..why not?

I have slipped some photos of pianos and drums in there. I didn’t take them during the gig, but since those shots were related to music, I sort of stuck them in there.

Inspiration:

While eating dinner with them, one of them said something that struck out at me. He said that the clients would at times request well known songs that they as musicians would believe are garbage. What would make a well-known pop song, or rock song, garbage to an accomplished musician? The lyrics…Again, these gentlemen seemed to really know the technical aspects of their craft(one even was mentioning how he sat on the interview panel as students applied for Columbia’s school of music), so they appreciated the musical complexity of these pop songs, but disapproved the lyrics.

There are many times in which I accept certain things because of the “wrapping” it comes in. The lyrics in this case were wrapped with complex musical arrangements. It makes it easier to swallow. Many times, I fall short of my goals due to compromising on things that don’t meet my standards. On the surface, I see the good and bad in a decision that I have to make and I think I can just grab the good, but in the end accepting the filth that comes with it. What do I do then?…refocus on what I believe. My outward actions are based on my inward workings.

Luke 6:45 – “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”