Stealthy Phil Lesh

[skifurthur]

This was a very fun show to attend and take pictures at. Phil Lesh (of Grateful Dead fame) put a flash game up on his website and you had to win the game to get a link to buy tickets for 2 shows at the NYC nightclub, SOBs (Sounds of Brazil).

The theme of this show was stealth. Stealthy ticket announcement. The official web page stated

No taping (stealthy taping only.)

I spoke to one of the people that had a hand running the show about credentials and he said the rule was no professional cameras (stealthy only). So, armed with my 350D and a brand new EF-S 17-55 IS, a stealthing I did go. Every shot was taken between 1/200 sec and down to 1/30 sec, f/2.8 and ISO 400. IS ruled the night.

As usual, any critique or suggestions are very much welcome.

1.
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/phil/PhilLesh_20070410_067.jpg

2.
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/phil/PhilLesh_20070410_093.jpg

3.
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/phil/PhilLesh_20070410_199.jpg

4.
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/phil/PhilLesh_20070410_235.jpg

5.
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/phil/PhilLesh_20070410_279.jpg

6.
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/phil/PhilLesh_20070410_295.jpg

7.
http://www.amsaddler.com/canon/phil/PhilLesh_20070410_337.jpg

[René Damkot]

ISO 400 ??? Must have been a ton of light!

You even managed to clip the red channel ;)

First three are nice.
#4 and 5 suffer from the music stand or electronic drum (or whatever it is)

However I would try to correct the clipping in the red channel in #1, 3, 4 (possibly blue channel as well) and 5. Doable if you shot Raw, quite a bit harder if you shot jpg.

[skifurthur]

ISO 400 ??? Must have been a ton of light!

You even managed to clip the red channel ;)

First three are nice.
#4 and 5 suffer from the music stand or electronic drum (or whatever it is)

However I would try to correct the clipping in the red channel in #1, 3, 4 (possibly blue channel as well) and 5. Doable if you shot Raw, quite a bit harder if you shot jpg.

There was a fair amount of light, but I think it had more to do with where I was standing. If I wanted to I could have reached out my hand and changed Phil's bass pedal settings.

The item that you see is a teleprompter. Old rock stars need some help remembering the lyrics sometimes. ;)

When you say correct the clipping, I'm not sure what you mean by that. I do have those photos in raw. I do not have an up to date version of Photoshop and have been doing my editing in the latest version of Paint Shop Pro. I am thinking that Lightroom is in my near future.

[Inspired Photography]

If the light is there, the light is there.

Wether you are smelling the guys armpits or shooting telephoto from the back, it would not have THAT much difference, depending on the lighting setup.

Alot of stage lights are beaming from the roof and stuff, so by the time the light bounces off them and hits your sensor, you might be talking 1 stop (possibly two if you are really far away) difference from position to position.

Somebody please chime in if my logic is incorrect, it is late over here in Aus, but that is what i make of it.
Position affect on exposure is neglegable from my understanding.

Don't care for no 6, but like the set overall.

Rob

[René Damkot]

Your logic is incorrect. ;)
It's subject to lightsource distance that matters, not subject to camera...
Exposure will be the same if you fill the frame with a 200mm or capture the stage with a 20mm. Your lightmeter might be fooled different in both situations, but *the right exposure* stays equal.

edit: On the clipped channels: Click (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1503167&postcount=8) and another: Click (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/restore-clipped.shtml).

When you shot Raw, it depends on the raw converter: DPP sucks at recovering highlights (but is best colorwise; that's why I still use it). ACR and LR are quite good at recovering highlights, but need some serious tweaking to get the colors right.

You could try a different raw conversion, with WB in the lower 2000K region, exposure back as far as works (about -1/3 stop in DPP, about -1.7 in ACR) and is needed (depends on image), and maybe a bit of tone/hue correction toward green/blue, to get rid of as much red as possible. Then blend the two exposures in PS... (what PS do you have?)

[Inspired Photography]

Your logic is incorrect. ;)
It's subject to lightsource distance that matters, not subject to camera...
Exposure will be the same if you fill the frame with a 200mm or capture the stage with a 20mm. Your lightmeter might be fooled different in both situations, but *the right exposure* stays equal.

Thanks Rene, maybe that is what i was thinking of.

I didn't think position mattered much, if at all, so my 2am thinking wasn't all bad :D

Thanks for clearing it up.

Rob

[DwightMcCann]

Nifty ... and our usual high class discussions as a bonus! :-)

[johnstoy]

Aaay Ski,

We see you're really getting into this stuff... Congrats. on the great lens decision...

#2 really catches my eye... It's well composed, and the subject and guitar look AOK...

The other very colorful images could use some more PP and have great potential...

[skifurthur]

Yes. I find myself an in demand concert photographer and have sold more pictures than I have any right to already. Who knew? Not me for sure.

Each show I gain a little more knowledge and I hope to pick brains here as much as I can. I feel that I have made the right choices in glass already. Processing is something I will work on. I have a serious computer backround, so I'm used to learning new software.

Phil has been a part of my life since ''73 so to take those pictures was a gift from above.

[skifurthur]

Your logic is incorrect. ;)
It's subject to lightsource distance that matters, not subject to camera...
Exposure will be the same if you fill the frame with a 200mm or capture the stage with a 20mm. Your lightmeter might be fooled different in both situations, but *the right exposure* stays equal.

edit: On the clipped channels: Click (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1503167&postcount=8) and another: Click (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/restore-clipped.shtml).

When you shot Raw, it depends on the raw converter: DPP sucks at recovering highlights (but is best colorwise; that's why I still use it). ACR and LR are quite good at recovering highlights, but need some serious tweaking to get the colors right.

You could try a different raw conversion, with WB in the lower 2000K region, exposure back as far as works (about -1/3 stop in DPP, about -1.7 in ACR) and is needed (depends on image), and maybe a bit of tone/hue correction toward green/blue, to get rid of as much red as possible. Then blend the two exposures in PS... (what PS do you have?)

My version of PS (PaintShopPro?) is the latest, XI.

I will read all the tutorials you sent me and see what I can do with these images. Looks like a meaty subject and I can see I have some learning to do.

Thank you.

[René Damkot]

Ooops. Missed the 'Paint Shop Pro' bit.
PS = PhotoShop. PSP = Paint Shop Pro (never used it, so no experience there: I use PSCS2)

[Suicidenote]

Wow, the colors.....

I love #1, but would crop the extra "thing" at the top that is just coming into frame. Also would try to balance out some of the red.

The rest are good as well, but too bad that monitor, or whatever that stand is in front of him, is in the way.

[thelightofsound]

now that's what i'm talking about. you can't get any more "rockstar" than phil lesh. i didn't realize he uses a telepromt. when did he switch from the old fashion music stand? was this the show with warren and scofield on guitar? let's see some more of the band. i like number 2 the best. it has a very "in your face" look. i might crop a tad on the top and left. the telepromt is distracting. good set though and thanks for sharing.

[JtheVGKing]

wow, absolutely love the pics. #5 is kick-ass. I didn't think the 17-55 IS was all that great (limited focal length?), guess I was wrong...

[TARPONTIM]

How was the show great shots.

[skifurthur]

Wow, the colors.....

I love #1, but would crop the extra "thing" at the top that is just coming into frame. Also would try to balance out some of the red.

The rest are good as well, but too bad that monitor, or whatever that stand is in front of him, is in the way.

Thank you. It was a colorful show in a very intimate setting. From my vantage point, it was more like being on stage as part of the band rather then watching the performers on stage.

I believe that is a lighting fixture and yes, it should be cropped.

now that's what i'm talking about. you can't get any more "rockstar" than phil lesh. i didn't realize he uses a telepromt. when did he switch from the old fashion music stand? was this the show with warren and scofield on guitar? let's see some more of the band. i like number 2 the best. it has a very "in your face" look. i might crop a tad on the top and left. the telepromt is distracting. good set though and thanks for sharing.

Thank you. This was the first time that I have seen Phil Lesh use a teleprompter. From what I could see of it, it didn't just display lyrics. It appeared to show Phil what could be done if he changed key, timing, etc. I would call it teleprompter plus.

The line up the night that I took the pictures consisted of Phil Lesh (bass/vocals) Larry McCray (guitar/vocals), Larry Campbell (guitar/vocals), Christina Dufree (vocals), Steve Molitz (keyboards) and, as a last second replacement due to illness, Jaz Sawyer (drums). Warren quested and played the next night, which I attended and didn't photograph. John Scofield did not play, although I will see him with Phil tonight.

wow, absolutely love the pics. #5 is kick-ass. I didn't think the 17-55 IS was all that great (limited focal length?), guess I was wrong...

This was the first shoots I took with the 17-55 IS and I was very happy with how they turned out. Of course, unless you are very close to the action, this would not be the best lens. Often Phil was less than 4 ft away from my lens.

How was the show great shots.

The show was interesting. The regular drummer for Phil Lesh, came up ill and Jaz Sawyer filled in on less than 2 hours notice using a stripped down John Molo kit. Larry McCray had never played with Phil before and it showed. But, McCray has skills and rose to the occasion more than a few times.

The next night with Molo behind the kit and McCray more comfortable with the material, was much, much better.

I am also using some other software to see what I might change PP wise with these captures. Thanks for all the help and I will post what I come up with soon. I'm off to hippie dance with Phil & Friends shortly. No work, just play today.