by successfulbob | black & white, fine art photography, landscape photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, marketing, people photography, photography, photography education, photography gear
SUCK it UP!!
If you aren’t participating in image competition I feel you are missing a huge piece of the education puzzle in becoming a better more successful photographer. Almost every photographer I’ve seen who gets in the game, submits images, attends the judging and listens to the critiques has shown amazing progress in the depth of their work.
It also doesn’t hurt that you can win awards, work toward your PPA degrees and talk photography with a bunch of like minded people. If you wait until you think you are ready for imaging competition you are missing the boat because this is how you get better, not by waiting until you think you are ‘good enough’. If you need some help in getting started, get in touch and I’ll point you in the right direction.
And, as Paul Harvey used to say, “Here’s the ‘Rest of the Story”.
In addition to the education I received by being immersed in imaging competition last weekend I managed to score a few awards.
‘Street Portrait – ‘Doc” First Place Masters Portrait
Camera info – Lumix GX7 35-100 2.8 @47mm exp 1/160, f2.8, ISO 200 square in-camera crop
Captured on the 2nd day I had the Lumix GX7 in my hands in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I saw Doc and asked if he’d mind if I made his image after chatting with him for a bit. It was nice to be introduced to him by my friend & fellow photographer Dennis Chamberlain. He told me Doc was quite the character and he was right. I asked Doc to move to put him in some good light.
‘Art of the Saxophone’ earned First Place Masters Illustrative Image – AZPPA Loan Collection and the American Society of Photographers Award (ASP) captured with the Lumix GX7.
Photographing some live music in nearby Cottonwood, Arizona and I spied this Sax on stage. Photographed it with the thought of creating an art piece. Even though I floated the sax in the scene it was the other instruments that help tell the story and add depth to the piece. The look was accomplished using multiple texture images, blend modes, masks, layers and color enhancements. It’s one of the programs I give. See if one is happening near you here. If you have a photo group and would like me to speak get in touch. Depending on the size of your group Panasonic will pick up most or all of the tab.
‘Committed’ – Awarded 2nd Place Masters IllustrativeCamera and gear info – Lumix GX7 7-14 f4 @12mm exp 1/6 sec, f4, ISO 3200 Seven shot bracket.
camera mounted on Culmann Germany carbon fiber tri-pod Magnasit 532C
Check out the tattoo of the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi from Santa Fe, New Mexico on this young man’s back. I was photographing the Cathedral around 10 PM and he walked by working on setting up for the Indian Market the next day and he said, “I have a tattoo of that on my back.” I asked if he had a minute to spare and could I make his photograph. I bracketed the image with 7 stops automatically with the Lumix GX7. Got off only two bursts because I had him for about 30 seconds before he was called back to his duties.
Guardsman’s Pass, Utah scored an 80 for a merit
Camera – Lumix GX7 35-100 f2.8 @42mm exp 1/640 sec, f7.1, ISO 640 (set by camera panorama mode)
This rounded out my image case. This was the first use of the in-camera panorama from the Lumix GX7. I love this feature! That doesn’t mean I don’t also make my panos the old fashioned way with multiple exposures and stitching them together when I want a larger file to work with but this is a great feature.
Managed to make it into the AZPPA Top Ten for the 14th time in 15 years. This information is being compiled into a press release. Check here for more information on how get the most from your marketing.
Til next time. Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography, photography
As you probably know I enjoy the challenge of capturing live stage music. In order to keep my skills in top form even when I’m not hired I keep photographing performances even when I’m out to dinner. Sometimes after sharing the images with the artist it leads to the musician becoming a paying client for creating marketing images or CD cover art.
I’ve found the Lumix GX7 micro 4/3rds format has lots of things going for it when working (playing!) this way. It’s got a very low profile, weighs less than 2 pounds with the 35-100mm 2.8 lens vs the over 5 pounds for my dslr with equivalent lens combo. I’m also finding that the camera is a picking up a pretty wide dynamic range which is really helpful as many small clubs are now using LED stage lighting which doesn’t have the full spectrum of color not to mention the range of light to dark.
Here are a couple images from Sound Bites Grill in Sedona….
Susannah Martin Jazz Trio on stage in Sedona, Arizona. This image was double processed from the same
RAW file with the stage lighting the concern on one process and the outdoor image in another
and stripped in using a mask in Photoshop.
Vocal stylist Susannah Martin live at Sound Bites’ Show Lounge.
Ralf Illenberger Live at the Sound Bites Grill Show Lounge in Sedona, Arizona.
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, video
For a little test of the video capabilities this is one cool study of city life…
I had the Panasonic Lumix GX7 for a little while and was experimenting. Previous I hadn’t shot much video and definitely not on the street. I had been shooting testing some of the pre-sets in the camera and thought, “Let’s see what a video would look like shot that way. I set the camera on Illustrative Art then braced it on the railing and pushed the red button.
A New York Minute shot on the Lumix GX7It is quite an interesting study on life in the city. In this single minute there is so much interaction. Maybe it’s because I’m a small town guy at heart but each time I watch this I see more and more things going on. There’s a couple joggers crossing against the light. A bicyclist rolls through and rings his bell. People chatting, walking, holding hands. The ambulance sounds in the background and enters the scene and all the different things that go with that.
Sound is very important in video and even in this ‘New York Minute’ it makes a huge difference and was captured by the built in stereo microphones. Enjoy… And let me know what you think. (yeah the art setting blocked up some of the shadows but I think it adds to the grittiness of the ‘film’)
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | black & white, commercial photography, fine art musician portrait, graphic design, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography, photography, photography education
If you follow my blog and life you’ll see that I’m a music fan. Photographing live music is something that I have been devoting myself to and adding in creating art for the musicians. When something like the Old Town Center for the Arts annual Blues Fest comes along I am in hog heaven. It gives me a chance to photograph and practice new techniques.
Tommy Dukes, Arizona Blues Hall of Fame member. Artistic Photoshop work from blues fest performance. Original capture with Lumix GX7 35-100.. 2.8 lens. Impressive Art filter. Layers and textures add to final art mix.
Did I say it gives me a chance to practice? I believe practicing is as important to photographers as it is to musicians, athletes or anyone else who needs to have the skill of working under pressure. Changing settings, working in new lighting (and often challenging) conditions is something you need to be able to work with almost without thinking so you can capture the essence of a performer. In this case I was playing with some of the presets in the camera and finding some cool looks. In order for you to access the camera pre-sets after downloading you need to capture the images as jpegs. For safety sake and to have all the info presented to the camera you can save as RAW plus jpeg.
Tommy was quite animated and his shirt added to the life of the performance. Capture with Impressive Art filter then layers of texture added to foreground and background.
Then I self assign creation of CD covers, music and musician art and share the ideas with the artists and their marketing people. This has led to being hired to do the work I enjoy. Hmm. Practice. Self assignments. Sharing. Marketing. People often ask me how I get the images I do and the work I want to do. Re-read the last paragraph again and you’ve got he answer. When are you starting your next personal project?
Pretty much straight out of the GX7 camera using the monochrome art setting. Pretty clean black and white!
Straight out of camera with the Impressive Art setting on the Lumix GX7
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | fine art musician portrait, fine art photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography
These are two of the house players for Sound Bites Grill in Sedona who have been added to the Wall of Fame
New Wall of Fame member Steve Sandner playing keyboards and singing as part of the Jazz Fest Jam night at Sound Bites on March 23rd.
Chris Finet is a strong Bass Player. He made the Wall of Fame at Sound Bites Grill. Originally from Phoenix, Chris is the Professor of String Bass and Jazz Studies at Northern Arizona University. In addition to his work as an educator at NAU, Chris keeps busy performing throughout Arizona and the rest of the country.
Images were captured with the Panasonic Lumix GX7 and 35-100mm 2.8 lens (70-200mm 35 mm equivalent)
by successfulbob | commercial photography, fine art musician portrait, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography, photography
One of the jobs I really enjoy involves taking the art techniques I’ve been developing and using them for my commercial clients. These have been created for the Sound Bites Grill Wall of Fame. Musicians are photographed live during their performances and then I create 8×10’s for display at the restaurant. It’s an increasing challenge (which I love!) to have a slightly different look for each artist. Here are a drummer, guitarist and keyboard player as part of the latest installment…
Jazz Guitarist, composer and Recording Engineer Peter Sprague of Road Work Ahead
at Sound Bites Grill Show Lounge
Road Work Ahead Keyboard Player, composer and arranger Bill Mays jams
at the Sound Bites Grill Jazz Fest Jam in Sedona
Jim Plank, drummer and percussionist for Road Work Ahead plays on the
Sound Bites Show Lounge stage at the Jazz Jam in March.
Images were captured with the Panasonic Lumix GX7 using the 35-100 (70-200 35mm equivalent) 2.8 lens ISO 2500. This is a great combo for getting intimate images without getting too close to the stage. For some of the captures in the future I might bump the ISO up another notch to get just a bit more shutter speed when the performers are moving.
One of the most important parts of my job is to not be obtrusive when capturing performers. I am very conscious of the guests and not disturbing their enjoyment at performances. The GX7 and lens combo is small and helps me remain low key but strangely enough looks pro enough to get inquiries all the time about what type of camera I’m working with.
After the show images are downloaded. Musicians are separated from the background using Adobe Photoshop’s various selection techniques and placed on their own layer. At that point I can start the art part… Adding shadows, textures, blending modes and lighting effects that were not on the stage.
Yours in Photography, Bob
