fiddle player

Elaine · December 31, 2007

Today at church, we were treated to the fiddle playing of David Klinkenberg. This is as close to any sort of concert shooting I've ever done, and it was all just from my seat, so somewhat limited. I used both my lenses (17-55 2.8 and 85 1.8) and I was pleased with the sharpness on both. All were at ISO 1600 and I applied a bit of noiseware, but it wasn't all that necessary. This first one was cropped quite a bit...the others not quite as much. I was rather pleased with how these turned out, so I just wanted to share. Any pointers for next time?

#1

#2

#3

#4

photocat · December 31, 2007

Could not have shot it better myself. You did a very good job on the noise front. I still don't manage to get my shots that noise free. Even with seriously working with the histogram. Very nice shots. They give us a feel of how it was.

Jack'll do · December 31, 2007

Elaine wrote:

I was rather pleased with how these turned out, so I just wanted to share. Any pointers for next time?

I'd say you nailed it perfectly!

thumb

Mitchell · December 31, 2007

I really like the colors you captured on #2 and #3. You did a nice job with these.

How did you get such a good seat? Do the sinners sit up front??

3n-out · December 31, 2007

#3 and #4 are really nice shots. I think #2 is great but I would prefer it cropped to cut the stage out and believe it would be the best of the bunch if you did that. Good work showing the stage light and the mood of the moment.

Nicely done, good camera settings for this style shot.

jeffreaux2 · December 31, 2007

Hmmmm....

If I were you, next time, I would try real hard to duplicate what you've done here. These are very good, and seem to be perfectly exposed. Did you make a big ordeal of the WB or is the lighting there that good?

Either way, very well done.

System · December 31, 2007

great shots, elaine-

Elaine · December 31, 2007

photocat wrote:

Could not have shot it better myself. You did a very good job on the noise front. I still don't manage to get my shots that noise free. Even with seriously working with the histogram. Very nice shots. They give us a feel of how it was.

Thank you! I was so self-conscious taking pictures during a church service that I forgot to check my histogram even once!

I shot Av with -1/3 EC, based on what I remembered from shooting there before. The lights are so bright that hot spots are inevitable. But adjusting WB and tweaking the exposure and recovery tools in RAW seemed to do the trick.

Jack'll do wrote:

I'd say you nailed it perfectly!

Thanks, Jack!

Mitchell wrote:

I really like the colors you captured on #2 and #3. You did a nice job with these.
How did you get such a good seat? Do the sinners sit up front??

I got there a bit early so I could have my pick of seats. I found out where he would be on stage and sat in a place I thought might work for some pics...slightly on the left when facing the stage and about 6 rows up from the front. It seems to have worked out OK! Thanks for the look, Mitch!

3n-out wrote:

#3 and #4 are really nice shots. I think #2 is great but I would prefer it cropped to cut the stage out and believe it would be the best of the bunch if you did that. Good work showing the stage light and the mood of the moment.
Nicely done, good camera settings for this style shot.

Thank you! That silvery part of the stage in #2 is actually a raised platform that he alone was standing on, so it seemed appropriate to show a bit of it.

Thank you very much for commenting!

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Hmmmm....
If I were you, next time, I would try real hard to duplicate what you've done here. These are very good, and seem to be perfectly exposed. Did you make a big ordeal of the WB or is the lighting there that good?
Either way, very well done.

Thanks, Jeff! I was pleased with the exposure, since I forgot to check my histogram! I only reviewed the first couple shots on the LCD and then I just clicked and checked them out after I left the building. It was VERY hard to not sit there and chimp, but I thought that might be too distracting in church!

I just left it on auto WB...there are so many lights and different colors going on in there. I s'pose I could try to set a custom WB, but I think I would need to do that on stage under those lights. Anyway, it seems that I often end up just selecting Auto WB again in ACR and then sometimes tweaking the temp. I think Auto put it at the Tungsten setting at 2850 and I ended up around 3000 for these. And after viewing these shots, I've also determined that the lighting in there is really that good! They have lots of talented folks working on those details every week!

gefillmore wrote:

great shots, elaine-

Thank you, George!

jeffreaux2 · December 31, 2007

Elaine wrote:

Thanks, Jeff! I was pleased with the exposure, since I forgot to check my histogram! I only reviewed the first couple shots on the LCD and then I just clicked and checked them out after I left the building. It was VERY hard to not sit there and chimp, but I thought that might be too distracting in church! I just left it on auto WB...there are so many lights and different colors going on in there. I s'pose I could try to set a custom WB, but I think I would need to do that on stage under those lights. Anyway, it seems that I often end up just selecting Auto WB again in ACR and then sometimes tweaking the temp. I think Auto put it at the Tungsten setting at 2850 and I ended up around 3000 for these. And after viewing these shots, I've also determined that the lighting in there is really that good! They have lots of talented folks working on those details every week!

Thank you, George!

Well the histogram may have steered you wrong on these. That is if you wanted to stay to the middle it may have caused the shadows to lighten and thus introduce more noise. What you wound up with is perfect!!

3n-out · January 1, 2008

Elaine wrote:

Thank you! That silvery part of the stage in #2 is actually a raised platform that he alone was standing on, so it seemed appropriate to show a bit of it. Thank you very much for commenting!

Thank you, George!

Now that you mention it I can see it on the Stage in shot #3. Non-the-Less these are fantastic.

ShepsMom · January 1, 2008

These are very nice and well exposed. Good job Elaine

pyry · January 1, 2008

I find meself looking for things that, considering where and how you shot these, are probably a lot to ask for.

More dramatic lighting, more dynamic performance (from the fiddler that is), and maybe a slightly more roomy compositions. A couple of these do point in the right direction though.

Ok, my ideabulb just lit up, mind if I treat one these a bit?

Elaine · January 1, 2008

Thanks, Marina!

Pyry - Considering I was in a church service and not a concert, and that the last three were shot with an 85 mm from my seat (no zoom from the lens or my feet), more dramatic lighting and roomy compositions were not going to happen!

Feel free to share another idea for post processing.

ShepsMom · January 1, 2008

Elaine, how is this 85m working for you? Do you like it? I'm debating between 85mm and 17-50mm, are they 2 different lenses for different things, or should i have both?

Elaine · January 1, 2008

ShepsMom wrote:

Elaine, how is this 85m working for you? Do you like it? I'm debating between 85mm and 17-50mm, are they 2 different lenses for different things, or should i have both?

I have the 17-55 2.8 and the 85 1.8 and I think they are two different lenses for two different things. I'm lovin' both of them! They are both sharp! To be honest, I want to get a variety of the 70-200 2.8, and I'm not sure if my 85 would get as much use then, just because of the versatility of the zoom. However, I love how fast it is, and it's a great length for portraits, although probably not as ideal for groups. Even if it doesn't see a ton of use, it wasn't terribly expensive (relatively) and I don't forsee selling it off any time soon.

ShepsMom · January 1, 2008

Thanks Elain, i'll have both on my list.

pyry · January 1, 2008

Elaine wrote:

Thanks, Marina!

Pyry - Considering I was in a church service and not a concert, and that the last three were shot with an 85 mm from my seat (no zoom from the lens or my feet), more dramatic lighting and roomy compositions were not going to happen! Feel free to share another idea for post processing.

Yeah, I just couldn't help thinking what if... Might have been Stevie Wonder playing rather loud, 'cos this is close to what I saw:

fiddle player

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