Take an electric guitar. Acoustic guitar. A bass guitar. A small sax… and a large one. Throw in someone who knows how to play the drums. Add in a voice that is pure magic and the namesake of the band. And what do you get?
A really good time listening to Southern Soul!
What is SOUTHERN SOUL? A sweet blend of blues/gospel/americana/r&b with a splash a cayenne pepper.
Saturday night Miller and the Other Sinners performed at Sound Bites Grill and I had the fun job of photographing them for the ‘SBG Wall of Fame’. This group really rocked the house with a bluesy sound that had everyone bouncing in their seats.
Sound Bites Grill Wall of Fame image for Miller and the Other Sinners
I used two cameras for the event.
I used the Lumix GH4 with a 35-100mm Vario f2.8 lens for the individual band member captures. I generally shoot at ISO 3200 in aperture priority with a minus 2/3rds of a stop exposure compensation in RAW. This will generally get me an exposure between 1/60th & 1/100 of a second. Taking the images into Adobe Camera Raw with just a little push up of the shadows slider and a reduction of the highlights I am able to get the entire dynamic range of the scene.
The second camera is the Lumix GX8 with a wide f2.8 12-35mm Vario zoom. These images are of the whole band and used for press releases and marketing. Same basic settings on the camera. A great feature of shooting with these cameras is the Live View function as you are seeing the image as it is being captured so it’s easy to make tweaks to the settings before firing the shutter.
Marketing images are created in color but I specifically do the BW conversion myself so the best quality will be printed rather than someone at the publication just pushing the greyscale button. NIK Silver FX Pro 2 is the go-to software plug-in.
Knowing how the images are going to be used dictates how images are processed. I always try to create the best image file for the job at hand. Remember to ask questions in order to be able to provide the best product.
An interesting thought for today’s Photo/Art Quote from Freeman Patterson. It’s not really something I’ve thought about much over the years. I guess as I’ve been exploring photography as more of an artistic endeavor verses a realistic process I would be attracted to this thought.
“The camera always points both ways. In expressing your subject. You also express yourself.” Freeman Patterson
I’m going to guess that this is the reason if you give ten photographers the same subject to photograph you will end up with ten different images. I also believe that the story given when the subject is presented to a photographer can have a huge impact on the final outcome.
Witness Canon giving six photographers the same person to photograph who told each photographer a different story about his life and got six VERY different photographs in return.
Canon video of six stories and six results. One subject.
Spend some time thinking about this and please share your thoughts. This is one of those things that fascinate me.
A new member for the Sound Bites Grill ‘Wall of Fame’ in Sedona, Arizona. Sound Bites is the largest live entertainment restaurant in Sedona and over the years have brought in some great entertainment. I have been fortunate to record many of the fine musicians and entertainers and create photographic art to celebrate their performances. Here’s one of the latest, guitarist Darius Lux.
Darius Lux ‘Wall of Fame’ Art
For the curious, here’s how I create the images for the ‘Wall’.
Capture live performance while trying to get good poses that tell the story of the artist. For example, Darius bill himself as ‘Acoustic Spirit & Soul’. That’s why I choose a shot of his eyes down in a thoughtful position. To capture the stage show I use the Lumix GH4 usually mounted with the 35-100mm f2.8 Lumix Vario lens. This makes it possible to capture the action with no flash and from low profile so I don’t disturb guests who enjoying the show.
The artist signs his or her autograph on a blank white sheet of paper with marker that is then scanned into the computer. Using Adobe Photoshop I invert the color so the words and signature are white and the paper black. Then the signature is moved to the file and changed to Screen Mode. This has the effect of making the paper ‘disappear’ and the text remain. This is resized to represent a regular autograph. This would not be possible after the fact as many of the musicians are from out of town. At the very least even of they are from Sedona getting up with them for the signature would take quite a bit of time.
The artwork is accomplished in Photoshop by selecting other images that contain textures and using more Blend Modes, color layers and masks to get the final look. While there is a unifying feel to all the images no two are created in the same way.
I had an assignment from a game of Survivor we are playing in the Arcanum (a place of growing your photography skills at your own pace with a group of like minded folks. Click the link for a peek under the Arcanum’s hood)
The assignment was to shoot a self portrait to help share a bit of who you are. So I decided to make it a learning experience. Here’s the thought process I went though.
First I wanted to give people an idea of how busy it can be in my head. So the title became ‘Under the Hood’.
Let’s see what’s under the hood in Bob’s Brain…
Set up the photo
Start with a solid head and shoulders studio self portrait. Main light forward and bounced off the wall to get a large source with medium contrast. Two strip light soft boxes with egg-crate grids attached were set to camera left and right slightly behind pointing to skim and add separation and spice to the look. Lumix GH4 camera with the 42.5mm 1.2 Nocticron lens mounted on a tripod with the Wifi activated allowing camera control from my IPhone. I use Paul C Buff lights and modifiers because of the good value, selection and great service when needed.
On to the Photo Art
Original concept was to have a zipper peeling back from my forehead to allow the reveal. After some experimentation that didn’t feel like it was going in the direction I wanted. Next thought was to cut off the top of the head and tilt it back but that made it difficult to show what was coming out of the head. Finally, on the third try I took the top of the head and tilted it to the left and got the base image for which I was looking.
Adding Photo Elements to Tell the Story
Then the search was on to search for and create elements that were to tell the story. Inverse square law. Brain. Smoke brushes. Neon signage. “Wait I’ve got an idea, a light bulb went on in my head.” Textures for blending element together. All images were layered in Adobe Photoshop using various blend modes. You can see the Layers and their Masks used to put this together. Got a question? Give me a shout…
Photoshop Layer stack showing Layers and masks…
Hope this inspires you to take a project and push yourself to a new limit.
Valerie Romanoff is a musician that shares her time between New York & Sedona and we have started working together to create images for her social media campaigns and possibly CD covers. Learn more about Valerie and her NY gig… Starlight Orchestras
I also photographed Valerie over in Cottonwood at the Main StageTheatre where she sat in with the Bottom Line Band who host the Bottom Line Jam on Thursday nights.
Here’s a few images from there…
Main Stage dance floor in Cottonwood, Arizona
Band and dancers at Main Stage
Valerie with Bottom Line
Sax man!
Guitar with Valerie
Valerie belting one out
Live performance photos were made with the new Lumix GX8 12-35mm f2.8 and 7-14mm f4 lenses. Kicked in a little fill light with an on camera speed light with diffuser bounced in as the stage lighting was really spotty
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Fotopro tripods are well worth checking out. You can learn about the ones I use and recommend by clicking on the Fotopro Tripods link at the top of this page. If you want to see what other tripods might fit your needs check out the Fotopro.com website. Check back with me before you buy as a Fotopro Ambassador I’m able to get you discounted pricing including complementary continental USA shipping for my followers that you won’t find through retail outlets.
Learn Photoshop in a fun environment. Aaron Nace applies the right amount of fun with easy to understand and follow tutorials. Actions and brushes are included with lessons!
Lightning, waterdroplets, sound, time-lapse, HDR sequences, smiles and much more control for your camera!
Cameras Get Smarter -
A High Speed Smart Camera Remote
Best embroidery ever. Give Queensboro a try, get a $20 instant credit to get started by clicking on the logo! They specialize in great quality custom logo apparel and promotional products with the best customer service.
Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
Sound Bites Grill Wall of Fame image for Miller and the Other Sinners
