Those of you who know me are aware of how I am the eternal optimist and believe that anything and everything good is possible. Okay, those of you who really know me are aware that there is zero truth to that last statement at all. However, in the weeks leading up to August 10th, I was a hopeful optimist who believed that things might work out for the best. I was going to Heavy MTL, an annual festival of Heavy Metal music. It's held at Parc Jean-Drapeau which is on
Île Sainte-Hélène in Montreal. I was hopeful that there would be a way for me to bring my camera to the event and take some nice pictures of the groups as they played. I became even more hopeful when a few months before the concert, the Heavy MTL website changed their FAQ to read that cameras were allowed on the site, but that professional video and audio recording devices were not. As the weeks to the show grew shorter, I sent an email through the 'Contact Us' form that is available on the website, asking if my camera would be allowed on the island. I never got a formal response, just sent a link to a different FAQ that said professional detachable lens cameras were not allowed at the show. I was kind of disappointed, but at the same time, I had a bit of an urge to try and 
bring my camera none the less. After all, a Canon 30D is not really a 'professional' camera, it's a 'semi-professional' camera. Or so it says on Wikipedia. I thought if I showed up with just the camera body and one lens, I might have a shot at getting in with the camera hanging around my neck. I chickened out at the last minute, not wanting to be forced into making a trip back home or to have my camera be imprisoned at some shady coat-check station.So, I didn't heed the advice of American Express and I left home without it. Instead, I brought my Plan B, an old Kodak EasyShare Point & Shoot camera. The kind of camera that I laugh at when I see people use. You know what they say, desperate times call for 
desperate measures, and there is nothing more desperate than a guy who loves using a DSLR being reduced to trying to snap off pictures with a Point & Shoot. The second photograph that you see on this page is one of the shots that I came home with. It's also the only one that will see the light of day, and that's only because I'm using it as an example of why I hate point & shoots. I suppose if you look at the photograph quickly enough, there doesn't seem to be all that much wrong with it. You can see the band, the background and people rocking out in the foreground. However, the thing that sticks out most in this photo is the head you see at the bottom of the photo and if you try and blow the picture up any more than it is here on this page, you'll see that the members of the band are blurry, mostly because there is no function that allows you to shoot 'Manually' on this particular camera. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking "Eric, if you knew the pictures would be crap, why did you bother to bring the camera?" That is a good question. I brought the camera because I used it back in May when I took some pictures at a concert by The Darkness. Those pictures didn't turn out that bad, and I thought that in outdoor conditions and with better 
light, I might be able to get a few pics before the sun went down. The problem though, was that what I made up for in light, I ended up losing in distance. At The Darkness, I was about five people from the stage. For Heavy MTL, I was about 20 people back. Awesome positioning for enjoying the show, but not close enough for the camera that I was using. After all of that, I suppose that I should talk about the pictures that you do see here on the page. Still being in a rock and roll frame of mind, I decided to dig out some old photos from a few years back. I took these of my buddy Louie and his guitars. I didn't have the chance to ask him personally if I could use the pictures with him in them, though one does appear in an earlier blog post. Oddly enough, that picture, much like these, came up the day after I had attended a concert. These pictures were used as part of a school project where I had to shoot the pictures for, and then produce a physical copy of, a CD booklet. It was a great project that I loved doing. The very first picture was taken at f/2, 1/100sec, ISO 400 at 135mm while he played guitar at the top of a little hill. You may have noticed that the I also Photoshopped the heck out of it. I was just goofing around, but my friend loved the finished result and it 
actually found itself in the CD booklet. I'd try to explain what I did to get to that final result, but I have no clue. I just pushed lots of buttons and turned some dials and knobs. The shot that appears after the concert footage probably shouldn't even be shown, but I just love the way that the guitar looks. It was shot at f/3.5, 1/60sec, ISO 100 at 135mm and under studio lights as part of my courses. The reason it shouldn't have been used is because I cut the head off of the guitar. If you don't tell anyone, I won't either. The third shot of a guitar in it's case was shot at f/4, 1/8sec, ISO 400 at 25mm. I like how the guitar strings kind of lead you off to nowhere. The final picture was kind of a reverse portrait, but with the head of the guitar in focus, while my buddy is blurred in the background. It was shot at f/2.2, 1/160sec, ISO 400 at 135mm. I suppose I should end things here with a couple of things I learned. 1)Make sure the head of the guitar is in the frame. 2)When watching GWAR, make sure you're atleast 20ft from the stage or make sure to bring a fresh change of clothes. 3)Michael Starr does not look like a chubby Bret Michaels, he looks like a skinny Vince Neil. 4)Watch out for bodies coming at you from behind, and above, the closer you are to the stage, and most importantly, don't bring a Point & Shoot when a DLSR is what's needed for the job. Oh yeah, and that part about professional detachable lens camera being banned from the site. I wish someone would have told that to the folks with the Rebel XTI's and Nikon's who were changing lenses up on the hill between sets. Next time, I'm brining the Canon.
bring my camera none the less. After all, a Canon 30D is not really a 'professional' camera, it's a 'semi-professional' camera. Or so it says on Wikipedia. I thought if I showed up with just the camera body and one lens, I might have a shot at getting in with the camera hanging around my neck. I chickened out at the last minute, not wanting to be forced into making a trip back home or to have my camera be imprisoned at some shady coat-check station.So, I didn't heed the advice of American Express and I left home without it. Instead, I brought my Plan B, an old Kodak EasyShare Point & Shoot camera. The kind of camera that I laugh at when I see people use. You know what they say, desperate times call for 
desperate measures, and there is nothing more desperate than a guy who loves using a DSLR being reduced to trying to snap off pictures with a Point & Shoot. The second photograph that you see on this page is one of the shots that I came home with. It's also the only one that will see the light of day, and that's only because I'm using it as an example of why I hate point & shoots. I suppose if you look at the photograph quickly enough, there doesn't seem to be all that much wrong with it. You can see the band, the background and people rocking out in the foreground. However, the thing that sticks out most in this photo is the head you see at the bottom of the photo and if you try and blow the picture up any more than it is here on this page, you'll see that the members of the band are blurry, mostly because there is no function that allows you to shoot 'Manually' on this particular camera. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking "Eric, if you knew the pictures would be crap, why did you bother to bring the camera?" That is a good question. I brought the camera because I used it back in May when I took some pictures at a concert by The Darkness. Those pictures didn't turn out that bad, and I thought that in outdoor conditions and with better 
light, I might be able to get a few pics before the sun went down. The problem though, was that what I made up for in light, I ended up losing in distance. At The Darkness, I was about five people from the stage. For Heavy MTL, I was about 20 people back. Awesome positioning for enjoying the show, but not close enough for the camera that I was using. After all of that, I suppose that I should talk about the pictures that you do see here on the page. Still being in a rock and roll frame of mind, I decided to dig out some old photos from a few years back. I took these of my buddy Louie and his guitars. I didn't have the chance to ask him personally if I could use the pictures with him in them, though one does appear in an earlier blog post. Oddly enough, that picture, much like these, came up the day after I had attended a concert. These pictures were used as part of a school project where I had to shoot the pictures for, and then produce a physical copy of, a CD booklet. It was a great project that I loved doing. The very first picture was taken at f/2, 1/100sec, ISO 400 at 135mm while he played guitar at the top of a little hill. You may have noticed that the I also Photoshopped the heck out of it. I was just goofing around, but my friend loved the finished result and it 
actually found itself in the CD booklet. I'd try to explain what I did to get to that final result, but I have no clue. I just pushed lots of buttons and turned some dials and knobs. The shot that appears after the concert footage probably shouldn't even be shown, but I just love the way that the guitar looks. It was shot at f/3.5, 1/60sec, ISO 100 at 135mm and under studio lights as part of my courses. The reason it shouldn't have been used is because I cut the head off of the guitar. If you don't tell anyone, I won't either. The third shot of a guitar in it's case was shot at f/4, 1/8sec, ISO 400 at 25mm. I like how the guitar strings kind of lead you off to nowhere. The final picture was kind of a reverse portrait, but with the head of the guitar in focus, while my buddy is blurred in the background. It was shot at f/2.2, 1/160sec, ISO 400 at 135mm. I suppose I should end things here with a couple of things I learned. 1)Make sure the head of the guitar is in the frame. 2)When watching GWAR, make sure you're atleast 20ft from the stage or make sure to bring a fresh change of clothes. 3)Michael Starr does not look like a chubby Bret Michaels, he looks like a skinny Vince Neil. 4)Watch out for bodies coming at you from behind, and above, the closer you are to the stage, and most importantly, don't bring a Point & Shoot when a DLSR is what's needed for the job. Oh yeah, and that part about professional detachable lens camera being banned from the site. I wish someone would have told that to the folks with the Rebel XTI's and Nikon's who were changing lenses up on the hill between sets. Next time, I'm brining the Canon.
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