Prong At The Metropolis

I would have to say that the best cure for some end of exhibition blues is a blast of loud music.  If that's not enough, a blast of loud music from three of the fastest and loudest bands to ever take the stage should be enough to do the trick.  That's how I found myself at the Montreal Metropolis the other night with two of The Usual Suspects to blast some of the blues out of my system.  The first band to take the stage on this night was Prong.  Though they formed in New York in the late 1980's, the sole original member of the group is guitarist/signer Tommy Victor.  I knew a few of their songs, including their most famous 'Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck', but they never really showed up in my record collection.  That might have to change based on their performance.  To my mind, the VIP of the show was drummer Art Cruz who would keep a pounding beat on the drums while playing catch with a mysterious roadie offstage as they tossed drum sticks at each other.  I tried really hard to catch the act in action, but from my location mid-floor and with only a 50mm lens, it wasn't easy.  I still managed to get a shot of the game of catch, and though it is real grainy it's still a great memento of a terrific performance.  Photographically speaking, it was the same struggle as usual.  Shooting from near the soundboard while only using a 50mm lens is not a piece of cake.  I tried to make the most of things by trying to time the lighting to get as much light on the musicians as possible, while also trying to photograph some of the patterns that the lights would make against the backdrop and around the band.  I think I managed to grab a couple fun photographs.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.5, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm and the third photograph was taken at f/3.5, 1/30sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  Here are a few more photographs I managed to take during the performance.

f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.5, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/2.5, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

As I mentioned, there is lots of grain in the photographs due to the high ISO, but I'm happy to have gotten the photographs that I did.  So ends the first part of our show.  I'll let you take out your earplugs for a while, but there will be more shots here soon as two other performances are yet to come.

The End - Fin

As the great Willie Nelson once sang, and The Doctor of Style 'Slick' would loudly proclaim, "turn out the lights, the party's over".  Yesterday marked the end of my month long photography exhibition over at the Greenfield Park Library.  If you've been visiting the blog over the past month, you have certainly heard about it.  My Lovely Assistant and I took the photographs down and yes, it was a little sad.  I very much enjoyed having my photographs on display. The night of the vernissage was a blast and the repeat visits I made to show the photographs to people who wanted a VIP tour were fun as well.  One of the things that I like most about my photographs is that they each had a story attached to them and I really enjoyed telling those stories to all who were interested.  So, a big thank-you to everyone who went to see my photographs and all of the great staff at the Greenfield Park Library who put up with my sometimes louder than a whisper visits.  A bigger thank-you to everyone who bought a photograph and the biggest thanks of all to My Lovely Assistant who helped put everything up, take everything down, made some tasty snacks for the vernissage and does a good job of kicking me out of the house from time to time get some some of the photographs you all saw.  So brings an end to exhibition number three, now off to begin planning for number four.

The Last Day - Le Dernier Jour

All good things must come to an end, and so will my photography exhibition, Point Of View. Today is the final day. The library will be open from 1:00PM until 4:30PM but the photographs will be coming down around 3:30PM. Don't miss out.

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Toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin, tout comme mon exposition de photographie, Point de vue. Aujourd'hui est le dernier jour. La bibliothèque sera ouverte de 13h00 jusqu'à 16h30, mais je récupère les photographies vers 15h30 puis ce sera la fin.

The Final Weekend - La dernière fin de semaine

It's already the final weekend! If you're looking for a fun little outing, a visit to the Greenfield Park Library, located at 225 Empire in Greenfield Park, to visit my photographs seems like a great idea to me!

C'est déjà la dernière fin de semaine! Si vous êtes à la recherche d'une petite sortie amusante, une visite à la bibliothèque de Greenfield Park (225 Empire, à Greenfield Park) pour aller voir mes photographies semble être une bonne idée!

Steel Panther At The Metropolis

It's pretty rare when my concert photographs almost get lost in the abyss of my hard drive, but a lot of my focus over the last month has been on my photography exhibition, which wraps up this weekend so you had better get moving if you want to see it.  Steel Panther was making their fourth appearance in Montreal over the last several years, and this was the third time that they sold out the Metropolis.  They were touring to support their latest album, Lower The Bar, which was released about a week before this show.  Despite getting to the venue rather early, it still wasn't early enough to get a decent spot on the floor, so my friend and I grabbed a spot on the elevated floor close to the soundboard.  High enough to get a clear look at the band over all of the outstretched arms.  However, from that distance my little 50mm lens is pretty much useless in getting any decent close-up shots, especially with this being a low light, high ISO situation.  Trying to crop in closely would create a very grainy image.  So, as I did with the opening act, Citizen Zero (photographs can be found here), I tried to capture the colours and fun moments of the show.  Something that isn't all that difficult since Steel Panther has the market locked when it comes to fun.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.5, 1/125sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm and the second photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/100sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took during the show.

f/4.5, 1/60sec, ISO 1000 at 50mm

f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/2.5, 1/125sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm

f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

The stage was pretty there, and I'm hoping to fill up the Greenfield Park Library a few more times before my exhibition ends on April 23rd.  If you haven't been yet, time is running out.  Check out the poster below for all of the important information.  I enjoyed the Steel Panther show, I hope that you'll enjoy mine.

Final Week - La dernière semaine

We're down to the final week! Don't miss your chance to see my photography exhibition, Point Of View, at the Greenfield Park Library (225 Empire, Greenfield Park).

C'est la dernière semaine! Ne manquez pas votre chance de voir mon exposition de photographies, Point de vue, à la bibliothèque de Greenfield Park (225 Empire, Greenfield Park).

Easter Treats

I know that Easter is supposed to be a holiday to commemorate the death and then resurrection of Jesus Christ.  However, if you grew up in a non-religious family, it also meant watching The Ten Commandments on TV and chocolate versions of various animals, rodents or cartoon characters.  So, after watching Charlton Heston part the Red Sea and free his people for the hundredth time (and it's still as great to see as it was the first), it was now chocolate time.  As longtime readers know, My Lovely Assistant is a pro in the kitchen, so this year she decided to whip up some treats for her little niece and nephew, whom we were going to visit for Sunday dinner. She created some little Rice Krispies nests and then filled them with a couple of homemade pieces of fudge shaped like little eggs.  She made a small batch of them and the look on her niece's face when she saw them must've made all of the work worth it.  Once all of her hard work was done, I grabbed my camera and snapped off a few pictures of her handy work.  I used a white piece of cardboard for a backdrop on the first photograph and bounced some flash off of the ceiling onto both photographs you see here.  I added some Cadbury Mini Eggs for a little colour in the first shot, while My Lovely Assistants taste for decorating her work took care of any needed colour in the second.  The first photograph was taken at f/9, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 35mm and the second photograph was taken at f/11, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 35mm.  As is always the case, the treats were even tastier than they appear.

Another little reminder.  It's the last week to see my Exhibition, Point of Vue, at the Greenfield Park Library.  Check out the poster for the important details.

And Then There Were Nine - Plus que neuf jours

Time is rapidly running out on my photography exhibition over at the Greenfield Park Library (225 Empire, Greenfield Park). If you still haven't had the chance to see my exhibition, Point Of View, you still have some time left.  Check the poster for the important details.

Le temps est compté pour mon exposition de photographies à la bibliothèque de Greenfield Park (225 rue Empire, Greenfield Park). Si vous n'avez pas encore eu la chance de voir mon exposition, Point de Vue, vous avez encore un peu de temps. Regardez l'affiche pour les détails importants.

Citizen Zero At The Metropolis

It's been a while since we've had any musical interludes here at the old blog.  This past Tuesday night I was at the Montreal Metropolis for a concert.  The good safe spots on the floor that I usually try and shoot from were quickly taken, so my friend and I ended up close to the soundboard further back in the building.  Sadly, it meant that I would be rather limited in taking photographs during the show.  With a nice telephoto lens, there would not have been any problem, but since I'm not technically allowed to bring a camera into the building in the first place, I think pressing my luck by bringing a large lens with me wouldn't be the best of ideas.  As such, I was only able to use my trust, and most importantly small, 50mm lens.  It meant that close-ups were out of the question, so I tried to capture more of the lights, movement from the crowd and keep the performers as in focus as possible.  The performers in this instance were a young group from Detroit known as Citizen Zero.  It was my first time hearing them play, and I enjoyed their set of original songs, as well as a killer version of the classic Ted Nugent song, Stranglehold.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm and the second photograph was taken at f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took during the show.

f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

Yes, it's kind of a small selection compared to other concerts I've attended, but the reality is that the lighting didn't change much during the set and since I couldn't do any close-ups, I figured it wouldn't be very interesting to look at 15 photographs of the band against their backdrop.  Speaking of selections, you can still see a selection of my photographs at the Greenfield Park Library.  Go now before time runs out.

Halfway There - À mi-chemin

My photographs have been at the Greenfield Park Library for two weeks, which means there are only two more weeks before my exhibition comes to an end. If you haven't been, don't wait until it is too late, plan your visit now. All of the information is on the poster.

Mes photographies sont à la bibliothèque  de Greenfield Park depuis deux semaines, ce qui signifie qu'il ne reste plus que deux semaines avant que mon exposition prenne fin. N'attendez pas qu'il soit trop tard, planifiez votre visite dès maintenant. Tous les renseignements sont sur l'affiche.

Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear Up

It has been raining for two days, and they're saying that it will continue to rain for a few more.  I could use a little dose of 'colour' and I was thinking that maybe some of you out there could as well.  This is a photograph that I took back in the Fall and has a nice variety of colours in it.  The nice mix of red, green and blue sky was something that caught my eye back then, and is something I appreciate a little bit more in the current meteorological conditions.  This photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 32m.  In the meantime, if a larger dose of colour is something you need, don't forget that there is a large variety of my colour photographs waiting to be seen at the library in Greenfield Park.  All of the important information can be found in the poster below.

Stylin' & Profilin'

Might we have the beginning of a new tradition?  This past weekend was WrestleMania weekend, something we celebrated here on the blog last year with some photographs of an Andre The Giant action figure.  I figured if I were to try this at home, there was only one obvious choice.  The  limousine riding, jet flying, kiss stealing, wheeling dealing son of a gun himself, Ric Flair.  Much like many other 40-somethings out there, I still like to play with my toys, so I grabbed this action figure of The Nature Boy from off the shelf and grabbed my camera.  I've been playing around with a white cardboard background lately while continuing my never-ending quest to get better using my flash gun, so this seemed like a fun little project.  I made sure that the robe was open enough to see the all-important World Championship around his waist, but also closed enough to not lose the details.  I also played around with the intensity of the flash, trying to find just the right amount of light.  I shot the photograph at f/11, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  It was a fun little side-project to play around with before the big show began.

Winter Still Sticking Around

All of you experienced pranksters out there are well aware that today was April Fool's Day.  Some of you are probably wondering about the pranking talents of Mother Nature as we woke up this morning with yet another coating of snow on the ground.  This photograph was actually taken during the big snow storm from last week, but I figured this was probably one of my last chances to use it since the weather is bound to change eventually and the rest of this set ends up in the archives, waiting to be used next Winter, or during a particularly warm Summer day when some cool thoughts will be needed.  I took the photograph at f/4, 1/800sec, ISO 100 at 43mm.  I used a large aperture to blur out the background.  I also added a bit more contrast to the image, getting the branches to stand out a bit more from their snowy covering.  The forecast calls for warmer days ahead, so we'll see if Mother Nature has any other pranks in store for us in the coming days.