Red, Hot... & Blue in Branson, MO

[bmoguy]

Shot this last week. A show with singers & dancers (no live musicians). The show progresses with song, dance & costumes from the early 1900 through the 1970's. Very fast paced, high-energy. The venue had good lighting, my biggest challenge was keeping them in the frame while trying to keep it as tight as possible. I shot all of these with the 17-55 2.8 and exif's should be intact. As always C&C encouraged. Thanks.

1.
http://www.1branson.com/photos/d/436-2/IMG_8634.jpg

2.
http://www.1branson.com/photos/d/462-1/IMG_8832.jpg

3.
http://www.1branson.com/photos/d/472-1/IMG_8932.jpg

4.
http://www.1branson.com/photos/d/474-2/IMG_8961.jpg

Compete Red, Hot... & Blue album (http://www.1branson.com/photos/v/Branson2007/Branson-Shows-2007/Red-Hot-Blue-20070130/) here.

[narlus]

i like the last one the best, nice and clear, good capture. the others aren't bad but they suffer a bit from 'muddiness'...maybe that's not quite the right term, but the colors tend to overwhelm any detail. i like the comp in #3 quite a bit.

[johnstoy]

I like the colors this way Narlus...They are somewhat saturated, but add that pastel richness...

So Basil, did u use the Image Stabilizer? was the 2.8 fast enough with out it?

where were you to shoot these including the close up in #4 ?

Everybody in the weddings and lens sections is raving about this new lens...what is your take on it?

[bmoguy]

i like the last one the best, nice and clear, good capture. the others aren't bad but they suffer a bit from 'muddiness'...maybe that's not quite the right term, but the colors tend to overwhelm any detail. i like the comp in #3 quite a bit.

Over-saturated/contrasty maybe? The details aren't as sharp as I would have liked them. I liked #3 too, but I feel like I'm missing detail, too much contrast in the lead female's face. I think I did OK capturing the "spirit" of the show, but I'm not thrilled with my overall picture quality, given the light I had available.

[bmoguy]

So Basil, did u use the Image Stabilizer? was the 2.8 fast enough with out it?

where were you to shoot these including the close up in #4 ?

Everybody in the weddings and lens sections is raving about this new lens...what is your take on it?

I love the lens. I usually keep the IS on, although I don't think it was a factor here as I had plenty of shutter speed.

As for where I was, I was seated 2nd row isle, which didn't have any seats in front of me, so I can't blame my location for and bad shots. :D

[bmoguy]

Last call. ;) Criticisms (constructive, of course:D) or suggestions? Thanks!

[René Damkot]

Bit too high contrast / saturation for my liking. I like the last one though it's not overly exciting... Decent image I guess ;)

[bmoguy]

Bit too high contrast / saturation for my liking. I like the last one though it's not overly exciting... Decent image I guess ;)

Sometimes they did slow down for a ballad or 2. :D

Looking at them now, I agree. I'd gotten a new monitor last month and calibrated with Spyder2Pro. After calibration I didn't see any change, I just thought, must have been pretty good to start with. Then people mentioned that my pictures looked "a little flat". Calibrated again, still no change. I did it a half a dozen times purposely making changes that should have been visible. By monitor wasn't showing the calibrated profile. Finally figured out that I needed to update my video drivers. So now I see a difference. Until that point I'd gotten used to correcting colors until they looked over saturated to me, but others thought they were good. Guess I'm still doing that. Guess I got a few more to re-PP. :D Thanks.

[bmoguy]

I know I said last call, but I re-PP'd the first 3, desaturating a bit, and trying out the Manyk SRS action I've seen mentioned. Not sure if I've improved them or not, but I really like that action for getting them ready for the web. Better or worse? Thanks.

1a.
http://photos.1branson.com/d/478-2/IMG_8634a.jpg

2a.
http://photos.1branson.com/d/480-2/IMG_8832a.jpg

3a.
http://photos.1branson.com/d/482-2/IMG_8932a.jpg

[René Damkot]

A lot better.