May Flowers

It's been a while since I've done a double version of a photograph, but this situation kind of calls for it.  So, we're going to repeat a little thing here I like to call 'Let the Viewer Decide'.  My viewers are not the most vocal bunch as I've already done this twice before, back in May of last year, and also back in March.  While you blog followers have generally been silent, I do get a little feedback on these things over at the Eric Mahannah Photography Facebook Page, and I thank those of you who do so over there.  As most of you know, I'm not the biggest fan of using Photoshop to play with photographs, but I do use it for cropping my photos and I do use the other functions from time to time as well.  For today, the only change in the two photographs is the colour.  The first photograph on the page is the original, where nothing was done to it except for some cropping.  The second photograph I played around with the colours a little bit.  I asked My Lovely Assistant which version she liked best as she usually has the right answer to that question, but this time our opinion wasn't the same.  I like the first photograph the best.  I like the green background a little more than the second photograph, though I also like the colour of the flower better in the second photograph.  For me, the deciding factor was that in the second photograph, you notice a bit more of grain in the image as this one was taken during one of my famous "I forgot to reset my setting and shot these at ISO 1600" outings.  The photograph was taken at f/3.5, 1/1000sec, ISO 1600 at 68mm.  Feel free to discuss among yourselves which version you prefer, there is no right or wrong answer.

Go Habs Go

Over the past few weeks, those of you who are constant visitors to the site may have noticed a couple of hockey theme posts.  First there was Florence making some big saves and a few days back there were some Canadiens and Bruins fans posing for the camera.  At this moment, the Montreal Canadiens are still alive, though in bad shape.  Down three games to one against the New York Rangers, the team could possibly use a little boost.  If there's one thing that Montreal loves, it's to give a boost to the local hockey team.  This year, even the Montrel Biosphere decided to get in on the action.  The Biosphere is usually well lit at night, but this year they decided to light it up using the Bleu, Blanc, Rouge of the Canadiens.  I couldn't pass up such an opportunity to go back to one of my favourite spots.  You might even recognize the first photograph as I took one from the same spot last year.  Sadly, a couple of the street lights weren't working properly so I lost some star effects on a few light poles, but I like the overall effect of the photo.  I took both shots just after the sun had gone down, and I was very lucky to have some cars going over the bridge that connects Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame.  It was supposed to rain that evening so I had brought my umbrella with me.  It turned out to be a very wise decision.  It never did rain on me, but it was very windy.  So windy, that I actually used the umbrella to shield my camera from the wind.  I never would have gotten these shots without the umbrella because the wind was so strong that it would cause the tripod and camera to shake.  I really like the sky in both shots, and I really like the reflections in the water of the second.  There's a third photograph from this series that I really like, but it has a little story of its own, so I think I'll save it for a future update.  The first photograph was taken at f/22, 18sec, ISO 100 at 32mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 25mm.  I decided to do a different crop of the second photograph, because I like to play with my shots a little bit.  I figure putting it here is a good way to end this update.  Good luck to the Canadiens on Tuesday night,

Future Villains

Welcome back again to the show that never ends.  As I mentioned during my Steel Panther photo update, I had also managed to snap off a few pictures of the opening band, Future Villains.  They were the opening act on Tuesday night and I found it very difficult to get any photos of them at all.  While there were fewer bodies surfing by me during their set, the lighting for their part of the concert was very low.  I once again was shooting at f/1.8 during this show, though I also had to up my ISO into the Extended Range of my 30D, which is 3200.  I don't really like to shoot at ISO 3200 because I feel it results in lots of noise, but I also wanted to have some photographs of the show, so ISO 3200 it would have to be.  Before you go and think that this was nothing but a fun experience, I'd also like for it to be known that I did learn a little bit about shooting low-light shows.  I asked my buddy Pierre Bourgault if there was anything I could do to improve my shots, and he mentioned that by shooting at f/2.8 or f/4, my photographs might have been a little bit sharper since the 50mm lens that I was using isn't very sharp at f/1.8.  I'm not sure if I would have been able to do so during the Future Villains set, but I could have done so for sure during Steel Panther.  I'll keep that tip in mind if ever there is a next time.  To try and combat the low lights, I tried to take my shots while the band members were moving as little as possible and while the lights were at their brightest.  Getting back to Future Villains, they put on a good show.  They're a new band from California and they mixed some AC/DC and Deep Purple classics into a set of their original songs.  They were also nice enough to wait in the lobby while everyone was leaving to try and sell some merchandise and to thank everyone for having come to the show.  The first photograph you see here was shot at f/1.8, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/1.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm and the third photograph was taken at the same setting.  Here are a couple more photos to round things out.

f/1.8, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/1.8, 1/80sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm.

So ends my little adventure in concert photography.  It wasn't a perfect outing, but I still ended up with several photographs of both bands that I really like, and I also managed to learn something along the way.  The counts as a success in my books.  Can't wait until next time.

Steel Panther

This past Tuesday night I managed to mix two of my favourite things.  Photography and rock music.  The Heavy Metal band Steel Panther was in Montreal and playing before a sold-out crowd at the Metropolis.  I've had this date circled on my calendar for a long time now for two reasons.  One, I really wanted to see the show, and secondly, I had decided that this was the show where I was going to try and get my camera into the building to try and get some photographs of the show.   Some of you long time visitors may remember that a year ago I posted some photographs of the band The Darkness that I had taken at a show.  I was upset by the fact that I had only brought in a tiny point-and-shoot camera with me rather than my regular camera.  I felt even more burned when I saw people at the show with some regular SLR cameras. That's when the seeds of my little plan were planted in the back of my head.  Upon looking at the size of those SLR's, I noticed that they weren't really much larger than my camera once I took off the battery grip.  As for a lens, I needed something that would give me a wide enough view since I knew that I wouldn't be able to get to the very front of the crowd, and also something that would allow me to get the fastest shutter speeds possible in order to deal with what would be low light conditions.  It also had to be something small enough to successfully continue my little camera disguise.  I chose to go with my little 50mm lens.  It has an aperture range that goes to f/1.8, and is small enough so that it looks like the lens of a regular camera. With the disguise now complete, all that was left to do was to get past the security guards at the front door and the ticket takers just past the point of entry.  I figured there was no point in trying to hide the camera as all it would do would be to make me look suspicious.  I held it tight in my hand, but it was very visible.  So visible that I immediately noticed the eyes of the security guard lock in on my camera as I got closer to him.  Never stopping, I said a quick hello and walked into the building, not wanting to wait around and give him a chance to say anything.  Next stop was the ticket taker, and this time I did try and be a little more stealthy as I held the camera close to my body with my right hand as I presented my ticket with the left. Once the ticket was scanned, I was quickly up the steps and into the main hall, not even waiting for my buddy who was attending the show with me.  Once inside, we shared a smile of relief as he told me that he had noticed the eyes of the outside security guard as well and was sure that I was going to be busted.  We found a spot on the floor that I felt was close enough to the stage to get some photos, yet far enough away from what my friend said would be the mosh pit.  Steel Panther is more of a glam metal band so I wasn't so sure that there would be any moshing, but my friend Louie, a veteran of many a metal concert, told me that it would no doubt happen and if I didn't want to get caught in the mosh with my camera, we should take a few steps backwards.  Sure enough, he was right, and we were just in the right spot to avoid the slamming bodies, though not the crowd surfers, and still be close enough to the stage.  It was a terrific show, and even the crowd got into the act by dressing in the same 1980's fashions as the group.  I probably should have grabbed some photos of the crowd, but I was on a mission, and that mission was to get some shots of the concert.  You may have noticed by now that there are lots of photos here.  I chose the my 11 best and figured I'd just post them all up here as one update rather than split them into different parts.  I plan on doing another update with some shots I took of the opening band, Future Villains, in the near future, so I figured I might as well get all of the Steel Panther shots out right away.  My favourite is the fifth shot in this set.  I also really like the sixth.  I knew that there would be lots of body parts in my shots based on where I was positioned, so I decided I'd try to work them into my photographs.  I just thought that I'd try to use the hands in the air as my main focal point for a few shots and see how they worked out.  This one probably turned out the best.  It felt great to be able to both attend the concert and take photographs at the same time.  It was kind of thrilling to be able to mix both of my passions.  Here are the technical stats for my shots, which were all taken in AV Mode.  Photograph numbers one and two were taken at f/1.8, 1/2500sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm.  Photograph number three was taken at f/1.8, 1/2000sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm.  Photograph number four was taken at f/1.8, 1/2500sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm.  The fifth photograph was taken at f/1.8, 1/1600sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm.  The sixth photograph was taken at f/1.8, 1/1000sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm and the seventh photograph was taken at f/1.8, 1/1600sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm.  Here are a couple more shots to round things out.

f/1.8, 1/1600sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

 f/1.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/1.8, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/1.8, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

So much fun.  I had a blast, the crowd had a blast and everybody went home happy, even if the voice and ears weren't working quite as well as they had been before the first note was played.  Hopefully there will be more nights like this in the future, and I won't need to smuggle in a camera during them.

The Sign Must've Gotten Mixed Up

Sometimes you just end up stumbling upon two situations that seems to fit together really well.  Such is the case with the photographs in this little update.  These photographs were taken last August, while I was on vacation with My Lovely Assistant.  We were walking along a road in La Minerve, QC, headed to the local grocery store to pick up the daily newspaper.  When we hit main street we passed by this house that had a little cut-out under the main deck.  They had a Beware of Dog sign next to the hole and two stuffed dogs were on the ground next to it.  I didn't think very much about it at the time, just a little snapshot that I thought was kind of cute.  However, after picking up our newspapers and making the walk back to the cottage, we came upon a dog that probably could have used that sign better than the two who had it. This dog was not happy to see us at all.  We had seen him the year before as well, but it was pretty obvious that in our case, absence did not make the heart grow fonder.  Standing in the road and taking his picture didn't seem to endear myself to him any at all either.  I asked My Lovely Assistant to try and get his attention, but soon discovered that she had continued on well farther down the street.  I told you that she was much smarter than me.  After getting home, I kind of filed these two photos together in the back of my head as an interesting little story that some of you out there my like to read, and a couple of cool pictures to go along with it.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/2000sec, ISO 100 at 67mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/800sec, ISO 250 at 66mm.  I also tried a second crop of the second photograph, just to give it a try.  Both photographs tell different stories to me.  In the first photograph, the dog doesn't seem as aggressive to me as in the second one.  I think it's because of the picnic table and flowers.  The dog looks more aggressive to me in the second, mostly because of how tight the chain he's attached to appears to be.  You can see he's being held back and really wants to get a closer look at my camera...and possibly getting a good taste of my leg as well.  Perhaps I'm out to lunch, but I just found in interesting how to different cuts of the same photograph could stir two different emotions out of me.  Maybe it did the same for you as well.

Thanks For The Great Time

Last night I attended the closing party for the show Facade by the Choeur Vives Voix.  It was great to see so many familiar faces once again, and I was able to deliver CD's of my photographs to everyone who acquired one.   I write lots of posts and show many photographs from this group because photographing their yearly production really is one of the highlights of my year.  I can't explain the rush I feel when I'm taking the photographs, the pride I feel when I get to look through them afterwards and the pleasure I get from hearing a room of about 50 people tell you that you had done some really good work and that they enjoyed my photographs very much.  I'm just like everyone else.  I get a thrill out of being told that people like my photographs.  Like last year, it was also a thrill to see my photographs projected on the wall during the party and to see all of the reactions of everyone while they were looking at them.  So, once again, I say a big 'Thank-you' to the Choeur Vives Voix.  Take the time to explore their website and get to know them.  They're already getting ready for their new production next year, and I hope that I'll be invited back for a fourth year to photograph it for them.  In addition to the photographs you see here, you can see my photographs of Facade by clicking on the following links (Part One and Part Two).  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 27mm and the final group photograph was taken at f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.   Once again, I say 'Thanks' and 'Merci beaucoup' to the entire group.  I can't wait to see you all again soon.

Why Can't We Be Friends

The play-off series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins continues with each team having one win a piece.  Game 5 goes this evening so I decided to reach into the archives to pull out this little photograph that I took back in the Spring of 2009.  I was taking a Photojournalism course at Concordia University and one of our assignments was to go out and photograph an event.  This was the first year that the Canadiens began to have their FanJam events before home play-off games so I headed down to the Bell Center to see what was going on.  I'll freely admit that taking pictures of people is not one of my strong suits, but taking photos of strangers is even tougher.  I'm a wee bit on the shy side, despite what you may think based on my writings here on the site, so going up to strangers and asking to take their photograph wasn't really an option.  Instead, I choose to go with my strength, which is laying back and not being noticed, which isn't really that easy to do when you're someone my size.  A few minutes after arriving, I came upon these Bruins fans and I knew that if I stuck close to them, I'd be sure to get a little action.  Sure enough, a press photographer came by and asked for a photo, at which point some young Habs fans joined the fray, and voila, I snuck in and snapped my instant play-off moment.  After the game began I went to my friend Julie's place, who was a classmate at the time and who I ran into at the event, and we watched the rest of the game before deciding to go back for the end when people would be exiting the building.  The Bruins won that night and eliminated the Canadiens, and I was seconds away from capturing an irate Habs fan throwing a punch at the Bruins fan, but I hadn't brought my flash with me and ended up missing the shot.  Just for fun, I've added it to this post.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/60sec, ISO400 at 24mm.  The second photograph, in its blurred glory, was taken at f/2.8, 1/8sec, ISO 1600 at 43mm.  It certainly was an eventful evening. 

Facade - Part Two

They say that time flies when you're having fun.  I find that generally time flies no matter what is happening.  Last year while taking photographs for the Choeur Vives Voix (feel free to look at those photographs right here and right here), I ended up putting a pretty large period of time between my first and second parts.  I swore that I wouldn't do that again.  In a way, I was right.  Last year I had the second part up my May 3rd....it's presently May 7th.  What can I say, sometimes life gets in the way.  If you don't remember those photographs from Part One, you can see them right here.  When last we spoke, the curtain had just fallen on Act I and I was in the process of switching memory cards so that I wouldn't go through the same agonizing headaches of last year.  As the curtain rose, I was once again ready to go. What you see here are a selection of shots from the second part of the show.  A couple of my favourite shots from the entire play are here in Part 2.  Beginning with the second photograph.  I had been trying to find an angle where the stage lights would be coming down perfectly on the actress you see in the background.  After getting a couple of photographs, I pulled my camera away and noticed that her image was in the small screen of the video recorder that was being used as a prop.  I immediately focused on her image and took the picture, which resulted in the actress being out of focus in the background, but in focus on the screen.  I think I've seen shots similar to that on television before and I was really happy to have been able to grab this one.  Another personal favourite is the fourth photograph on this page.  The actress was 'talking' to voices in the door.  I really wanted to get the shot of her looking at the door, but us seeing her reflection in the window.  As an added bonus, the actresses behind the door can be seen as well.  To get this shot, I focused on the door and tried to take the shot while the stage lights were at their brightest.  Those are my two favourites, though that's not to say that I don't like the others as well.  The first photograph of this set happened near the end of the show and I liked how most of the main characters were in the shot.  The facial expressions were really fun as well.  The third photograph was also difficult to grab.  This was a little dance number and people were moving all over the place.  As I already mentioned, the stage lights were not very bright so I was dealing with shot shutter speeds, making it not always very easy to capture people while they move.  I had seen the play a few times before shooting, so I knew there would be little pauses in the dance routine, so I tried to make sure I'd be ready to shoot at the times when the dancers were not moving as much.  The fifth photograph took place while the actress on the left was singing a solo.  I focused on her and let my large aperture take care of blurring out everyone in the background.  You can see that her right hand is a little bit blurred.  A victim of that low lighting I was talking about.  Luckily, I managed to freeze the rest of her to create what I feel is a great shot, and a great shot to end this update on.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/40sec, ISO 1600 at 40mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/30sec, ISO 1600 at 68mm.  Photograph number three was taken at f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 1600 at 27mm.  The fourth photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/25sec, ISO 3200 at 67mm and the fifth photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 43mm.  A huge thank-you to everyone at the Choeur Vives Voix.  I had a blast and I hope that we can do it again next year.

May The Fourth Be With You

I'm kind of cutting things close to the wire this year, but I only discovered this May the Fourth thing last year.  For those of you who are unaware, May 4th is Star Wars Day.  Created due to some creative minds who noticed there was a very similar sound between May, The 4th, and the famous Star Wars quote, "May The Force be with you."  May the Force, May The Fourth.  Quite clever.  Those of you who were around last September will remember the photos I took at the Star Wars Identities show, so you already know that I'm a Star Wars fan.  To celebrate, I decided to have a little fun with some of my little plastic friends.  I chose Darth Vader and The Emperor because if you're going to celebrate the Force, you need to celebrate the Dark Side.  I placed them on a table, closed all of the lights and then used a flashlight to light my subjects.  In order to get the red look to the photograph, I placed some red crate paper over the flashlight which acted like a red filter.  While the photograph was being taken, I moved the light over the scene in several different directions.  For the background, I used a simple tin container.  The red light reflecting off of it created a kind of other worldly background that I really like.  I also ran a piece of the crate paper along the bottom of the lens.  This created the subtle red wave that you can notice near the knees of the characters.  My only complaint is that the Lightsabers get lost in the scene.  I used my Macro lens and put the main focus on Darth Vader.  I like having the rest of the shot out of focus because it kind of adds to the 'red storm' that is happening in the shot.  I took this photograph at f/4, 15sec, ISO 100 at 60mm.  Yes, I really did do all of the things mentioned above, as well as taking out my tripod, just to photograph a pair of action figures.  Some people may say that I need to find a more constructive use of my time.  They're probably right, but I find their lack of faith to be disturbing.

Getting Ready For Round Two

Those of you who are from the Montreal area are already well aware that Round Two of the NHL Play-Offs begin tonight as local favourites, the Montreal Canadiens go head to head with their hated rivals, the Boston Bruins.  No two teams have faced off more in the play-offs than these two teams.  While you all look forward to what will hopefully be an exciting series, why not get ready by taking a look at some hockey photographs.  These are a few more photographs from the same series you saw here last month (What A Save).  Once again, the goaltender is my friend, Florence.  There isn't much more to add that wasn't said in the last update, other than the technical aspects.  This shot was taken at f/4.5, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 95mm.  Here's a couple more shots before the game begins.

f/4, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 68mm

Sorry Florence, there's no shame in letting one go by.

f/4.5, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 105mm

Another great pad save.

Enjoy the game everyone, but don't forget to keep coming back here.  Feel free to visit my at my Eric Mahannah Photograph on Facebook as well.