REALLY low-light concert photography

[DavidP #28649]

"Live" (well, almost) from Douglas Corner Cafe in Nashville, TN.

From Tin Pan South (a songwriter's convention).



That's Billy Gilman with the microphone, as Jessica Andrews and Marcel Chagnon look on.

EOS-1D @ ISO 3200, f/2, 1/30 with the 85/1.2

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[Guillaume in Paris]

Oh, come on David... Is a flash too expensive for you? (grin)
Guillaume
http://www.at-sight.com
Sports & general event photography

 

[Girish Jadav]

Hello,

His problem is he don't know how to use 550EX.

GJ

Oh, come on David... Is a flash too expensive for you? (grin)
Guillaume
http://www.at-sight.com
Sports & general event photography

 

[DavidP #28649]

If only I had the money for a Metz. LOL.

For something like that shoot, I'd put the 550-EX in manual mode.

Several reasons I don't use flash in there:

1) It's VERY dark in there, and flash really is annoying. Doesn't seem to stop others, though.

2) Flash destroys a lot of the "mood" caused by the lighting.

3) Bounce flash is almost impossible. The ceilings are at least 16 feet high, and are dark green. Bounce would be almost impossible.

Focusing is a real bear in that venue. Even with the -1D. I could sometimes focus on the face of the person sitting where Billy is in that picture. That particular image wasn't too tricky, since the microphone was right there and at the right distance.

But when anybody esle sang (say Marcel, from his location in that image), essentially NOTHING would give a real focus lock. I could see the green light flashing all the time.

It was also so dark that it was very difficult to see for perfect focus. In those areas, I had to be at ISO 3200, f/1.4, 1/30 sec.

His problem is he don't know how to use 550EX.

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[Simonize]

Great photo David - I really like it.

You're right, any sort of flash would have killed the ambience. I actually really like the noise in the image - looks like old film grain and works really well with the duotone colours you've chosen. Nice work!

Cheers
Simon

 

[DavidP #28649]

Thanks.

I used Fred Miranda's B&W actions to get that sepia tone, BTW.

Great photo David - I really like it.

You're right, any sort of flash would have killed the ambience. I
actually really like the noise in the image - looks like old film
grain and works really well with the duotone colours you've chosen.
Nice work!

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[Stuart Allen]

Great shot David... good idea going duotone.

I know most people complaing about noise but, I actually like the effect it can give to an image. Look forward to seeing more of your lowlight concert photos...

 

[H. Meijer]

Lurking this forum for some time now, this is the first time for me i write a comment on your pics.
Great shot!!!!

Nice atmosphere, good composition and keeping the grain in the picture. Like i said, a great shot. And please, prob. useless to say to you (cause i know you won't) , don't use flash, flash ruins a lot in a picture.

Cheers,
Harry

"Live" (well, almost) from Douglas Corner Cafe in Nashville, TN.

From Tin Pan South (a songwriter's convention).

That's Billy Gilman with the microphone, as Jessica Andrews and
Marcel Chagnon look on.

EOS-1D @ ISO 3200, f/2, 1/30 with the 85/1.2

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[Imp-]

David, I noticed the horizontal banding. Is this still an issue with the 1D? I thought it was fixed with the firmware upgrade or something. I may be wrong.

"Live" (well, almost) from Douglas Corner Cafe in Nashville, TN.

From Tin Pan South (a songwriter's convention).



That's Billy Gilman with the microphone, as Jessica Andrews and
Marcel Chagnon look on.

EOS-1D @ ISO 3200, f/2, 1/30 with the 85/1.2

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

--
Gallery - http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=396863

 

[Noel Carboni]

From Tin Pan South (a songwriter's convention).
http://www.neonlightsimaging.com/images/billy_jessica_marcel.jpg

Several things I really like about this photo:

1. All the musicians' mouths are closed. There's a certain visual tension in that.

2. The whites of the eyes of the two musicians on the right are riveting. There is love in their look.

3. Technically your color choice is excellent, and you've made good use of the grain.

This is album cover material.

-Noel

 

[DavidP #28649]

I noticed this, too. This is with the refurb 1D I got, I believe (I need to double-check).

It had a slightly higher serial number than my first one, so I assumed that it had the hardware fix done for banding.

After seeing some of these ISO 3200 images, I'm beginning to wonder about that.

I need to compare the images from this same venue from both cameras in order to make an informed comparison.

It's possible that I need to have the HNL fix done on this refurb. I hope not, since the warranty (through Canoga) has expired. Maybe Canon will have pity on me. LOL.

David, I noticed the horizontal banding. Is this still an issue
with the 1D? I thought it was fixed with the firmware upgrade or
something. I may be wrong.

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[Brett Delmage]

Several reasons I don't use flash in there:

1) It's VERY dark in there, and flash really is annoying. Doesn't
seem to stop others, though.

2) Flash destroys a lot of the "mood" caused by the lighting.

I agree. I don't (want to) use flash anytime it would disrupt others' enjoyment of the music.

It was also so dark that it was very difficult to see for perfect
focus. In those areas, I had to be at ISO 3200, f/1.4, 1/30 sec.

David, I've enjoyed seeing your concert photographs, as I also like to photograph concerts and events using available light. Thanks for posting this one, and the details.

--
Brett Delmage
A bag of gear, a platter of images and a joyful pastime.
photography - thinking inside the box

 

[DavidP #28649]

1. All the musicians' mouths are closed. There's a certain visual
tension in that.

I think I was focusing more on getting the perfect expression from Jessica and Marcel on this particular shot. I have others where Billy's actually got his mouth open, but this one really seemed to be the best overall.

One day I'll learn how to watch three people at once, I guess. LOL.

2. The whites of the eyes of the two musicians on the right are
riveting. There is love in their look.

It shows, huh? Marcel and Jessica are "an item". If it wasn't obvious, she's sitting in his lap in that picture.

Billy was the special "surprise guest" that night (not a surprise to me since he sat next to me), and when he came up to sing, Jessica gave up her chair and sat on Marcel's lap.

3. Technically your color choice is excellent, and you've made
good use of the grain.

I used Fred Miranda's actions for this. Just the simple black/white conversion (no filters), and then the "low sepia" action. That's my favorite sepia of his -- I often use one of the black/white conversions with a color-filter, though -- just depends on the image.

This is album cover material.

Thanks -- a bit busy, IMO. This was the same action, though, that I used on this shot -- which WILL be an album cover:



(Note -- text was just me fooling around with it)

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise

 

[DavidP #28649]

Thank you.

Everybody should try it once. If only to test for front-focusing.

David, I've enjoyed seeing your concert photographs, as I also like
to photograph concerts and events using available light. Thanks for
posting this one, and the details.

--
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons
http://thewilkinsons.crosswinds.net
Photography -- just another word for compromise