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.