Paint the Town Blue...

stromhammer

Concert Series. A friend from work plays in a local blues band and asked if I could get a few shots at their latest gig. I love blues an jazz so I said yes. This was also my first live performance shoot. Lighting is all natural, shot between 5:30 and 7:30 pm a Bancroft Park in Old Colorado City, Colorado Springs. The guys are working on their first CD and need some photos for the CD cover, fliers, and posters.

Let me know what ya think.

Equipment: Canon 40D w/ Sigma 70-200 f2.8.

I present, BJ Estares & Route 61

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


#7


#8


#9


C&C is welcome. Thanks for looking.

David

digidrone

I like these especially the processing of the last two...

Dmanning

I really like the framing and timing of #2. I really like the quality of the grain. Definitely post process right? It just doesn't look high iso grain to me. I would like to hear some info on your process for these images if you wouldn't mind sharing.

stromhammer

Dmanning wrote: »

I really like the framing and timing of #2. I really like the quality of the grain. Definitely post process right? It just doesn't look high iso grain to me. I would like to hear some info on your process for these images if you wouldn't mind sharing.

For starters, the last 2 images were processed using the Dave Hill Effect. You can Google it to get the whole process.

All the images were shot at 200 or 400 ISO. The grain was added in later. Start by doing all your color correction and sharpening then create two copies of your background layer. De-saturate the first copy(the middle layer) and turn the opacity down to 80%. Change the blend mode of the second copy to soft light (or overlay if you really want to push the limits). I found that if I boost the mid-tones in "Levels" first I could reduce the amount of contrast later. Now, flatten the image and add the amount of grain (Filter/Noise/Add Noise) that looks good to you. I only use between 5 and 10%. Then add a venette and your done.

This process creates that edgy, high contrast look that works well for blues and jazz. If you're shooting Yanni, on the other hand, go with the wedding-ish style with soft focus, Gaussian Blurr, vibrant colors, with lots of flowers and puppies and stuff.

You can see the entire set here:
http://stromhammer.smugmug.com/Music/BJ-and-Route-61/12949253_xregV#938496799_ozr9M

Hackbone

Love the grain here, Wow. Also the lucius or topazish on the guitar guy.

Shades of Hyperion

I really like #1, #4 & #9

stromhammer

Thanks for all the input. Makes me think that maybe I'm going in the right direction.