Even More Fun Pictures with Nikon

[Jorgen Udvang]

Jorgen, this whole series is wonderful, simply put it's like we've been there.
On the technical side, the 85 seems to render a bit more saturated colors than the Tamron, at least under these conditions.
Btw i was wondering what kind of metering you were using here to avoid specular highlights and even get rich colors instead. I rarely do this kind of shots so it's just a feeling, but it seems particularly good on your series.

Thanks, Corlan. You bring up two interesting questions. I agree that the 85mm renders the colours more saturated, particularly when both lenses are used wide open or near wide open. Two or three camera bodies, each with one prime lens, would probably be the best solution for a concert like this.

I've found that center-weighted metering gives the best results for concerts, unless the subject fills the frame, in which case I use spot-metering. This is particularly true for rock concerts, where light is changing rapidly. That doesn't seem to affect center-weighted as much as other metering methods, simply because it's less exact. I mostly dial in EV -1, but that may vary by as much a +/- 1EV.

Another challenge with rock concerts is the vibrations. At this one, I took many shots hanging by one arm and one leg from one of the loudspeaker towers. Apart from the fact that it's uncomfortable, I tried to click the shutter between the beats, since the deep bass blurs the photos.

The high ISO limitations of the D80 is a challenge too. If I was doing this for money, I would probably have to buy a D700 or D3s, but they are rather big and heavy, and FX means larger lenses as well. A Pentax K-x, with its excellent low-light capabilities, would be a cheap alternative, and the Pentax primes would be exactly what I need, but concerts are just the situations where one needs to see what focusing point is active, and that's not a feature on the K-x.

 

[shtarka1]

My daughter's Bearded Dragon, Freddy T!

Freddy's Lunch!
D3, zeiss 100 makro planar, nikon 50 1.2 ais
Some with D700, zf 100

 

[Corlan F.]

Thanks, Corlan. You bring up two interesting questions. I agree that the 85mm renders the colours more saturated, particularly when both lenses are used wide open or near wide open. Two or three camera bodies, each with one prime lens, would probably be the best solution for a concert like this.

I've found that center-weighted metering gives the best results for concerts, unless the subject fills the frame, in which case I use spot-metering. This is particularly true for rock concerts, where light is changing rapidly. That doesn't seem to affect center-weighted as much as other metering methods, simply because it's less exact. I mostly dial in EV -1, but that may vary by as much a +/- 1EV.

Another challenge with rock concerts is the vibrations. At this one, I took many shots hanging by one arm and one leg from one of the loudspeaker towers. Apart from the fact that it's uncomfortable, I tried to click the shutter between the beats, since the deep bass blurs the photos.

The high ISO limitations of the D80 is a challenge too. If I was doing this for money, I would probably have to buy a D700 or D3s, but they are rather big and heavy, and FX means larger lenses as well. A Pentax K-x, with its excellent low-light capabilities, would be a cheap alternative, and the Pentax primes would be exactly what I need, but concerts are just the situations where one needs to see what focusing point is active, and that's not a feature on the K-x.

Thanks Jogen for the insight.
Funny enough, beside the Pentax section i came pretty much to the same conclusions, though without the same level of result quality.

Guess it has something to do with luck then. Or is it with skills?

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Thanks Jogen for the insight.
Funny enough, beside the Pentax section i came pretty much to the same conclusions, though without the same level of result quality.

Guess it has something to do with luck then. Or is it skills?

Must be luck. Luck is mostly a result of hard work

Although I mostly use matrix or spot metering with Nikon, I've never grown fond of the former. Under difficult lighting circumstances, it sometimes becomes unpredictable. With center-weighted, I have to do the thinking myself, which is often preferable. But then I used Olympus OM for over 30 years. Olympus did very well with the traditional methods.

 

[Corlan F.]

Must be luck. Luck is mostly a result of hard work

Like 90%? (or is iot 95%?)

Honestly i was hoping that i got it all wrong and that you would answer around the matrix metering process -which i don't favor. "Too bad", still some work to figure out the best options and methods.

:deadhorse:

Having said that, valuable point about the vibrations issues. Photography wise, i did more classical music venues, where bass is a totally different matter. Unlike what most people think, bass is -much- stronger in the lower octaves, but on most instances less on a beat, so less surprising. I still wait to see a picture of you hangin' from the bass tower, though

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Steve, the dragons are nice, but the lunch is just perfect :thumbs:

 

[shtarka1]

Steve, the dragons are nice, but the lunch is just perfect :thumbs:

Thanks Jorgen!

 

[Lloyd]

And another...

D80 with 85mm f/1.8 @ f/2.0

My fav of the series. Beautiful color here. Is the WB hard to figure out?

 

[Lloyd]

My daughter's Bearded Dragon, Freddy T!

Freddy's Lunch!
D3, zeiss 100 makro planar, nikon 50 1.2 ais
Some with D700, zf 100

Gorgeous shots, Steve. I covet your glass collection, bro.:thumbup:

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

My fav of the series. Beautiful color here. Is the WB hard to figure out?

Thanks Lloyd.

With mixed or stage lighting I usually start with 4200K. In this case, that was more or less correct for the shots with mixed stage lighting. I only shoot RAW, so I sometimes adjust up to 4500 or 4600 if the image is too cold, but often, it's easier to keep the character of the stage lighting by using Colour Balance in PS. Green to magenta if the skin is too green and yellow to blue if it's too yellow. I rarely use the cyan to red slider, but make the reds lighter (or reduce saturation of the reds) if needed. I find this easier with Caucasian skin, particularly if it's well lit, since I mostly need to adjust the highlights only. Asian skin is more difficult, and tends to look too yellow, even if the surroundings look correct, and since it's luminance is mostly similar to the surroundings, I have to treat Asian faces separately from the rest of the image.

Edit: Lek, the musician in the last photo, is tricky. His glasses have a silvery shine, and are extremely reflective (They look cool when he's on his Harley though :toocool: ). Just pure luck that I got him without reflections in this shot.

 

[shtarka1]

Gorgeous shots, Steve. I covet your glass collection, bro.:thumbup:

Lloyd, if your ever out this way, my bag is your bag! Thanks!

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Here's a tighter crop with colour adjustment; green to magenta, mid-tones and shadows. With the adjustments, the photo looks more "natural", but doesn't reflect the ambient green lighting, which is still visible in his hair.

 

[Lloyd]

Here's a tighter crop with colour adjustment; green to magenta, mid-tones and shadows. With the adjustments, the photo looks more "natural", but doesn't reflect the ambient green lighting, which is still visible in his hair.

Thanks for the explanation, Jorgen. I've really struggled at times, and I appreciated the tips. This shot looks really natural. Nice work.

 

[Lloyd]

Lloyd, if your ever out this way, my bag is your bag! Thanks!

Thanks for the offer. I just may take you up on that. I'd love to spend a day shooting with you sometime. Especially if it involved dinner say at Mossimo's!

 

[shtarka1]

Thanks for the offer. I just may take you up on that. I'd love to spend a day shooting with you sometime. Especially if it involved dinner say at Mossimo's!

207 Endicott St. North End. Then Mikes for Cannolis!

 

[Corlan F.]

Jorgen, that's interesting again. Incidentally for this part i happen to have about the same problem and to use a similar bag of tricks with... paintings.
I'll have to post some (practically never do like most of the pro work because of rights etc.), someday. Gallery lighting, or even regular mixed lighting with from windows turns out a nightmare pretty fast. More than often you end up opting for a compromise based on "artistic reality" much more than an attempt for "reproduction".

Btw the last crop from the concert is super nice.

(and seeing some spec HL, some CA etc. makes us feel less alone i guess) :angel:

 

[Corlan F.]

Steve, nice word with the Zeis 100M!
Lunch looks quite tempting indeed, great colors

 

[Lloyd]

207 Endicott St. North End. Then Mikes for Cannolis!

You know it bro!!!

 

[shtarka1]

Steve, nice word with the Zeis 100M!
Lunch looks quite tempting indeed, great colors

Thanks Corlan. I actually just sold my nikon 105vr because i preferred the slightly punchier color & bokeh on the ZF 100. Lunch or dinner in the North End is always a treat!

You know it bro!!!

:thumbup:

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Jorgen, that's interesting again. Incidentally for this part i happen to have about the same problem and to use a similar bag of tricks with... paintings.
I'll have to post some (practically never do like most of the pro work because of rights etc.), someday. Gallery lighting, or even regular mixed lighting with from windows turns out a nightmare pretty fast. More than often you end up opting for a compromise based on "artistic reality" much more than an attempt for "reproduction".

Btw the last crop from the concert is super nice.

(and seeing some spec HL, some CA etc. makes us feel less alone i guess) :angel:

Ha ha... I started removing CA from one of the photos, only to realise that it was reflections from the stage lighting But obviously, perfect concert shots at big events are very hard to get. A perfect lens, like the 200/2.0 on an FX body from a dedicated shooting position perfectly located in front of the stage would be nice, but now we are talking dreams on so many levels that I can hardly count them

"Artistic Reality" is a good expression. I'll remember that. Twice per year, I do product shots at an improvised studio at a factory, with a mix of daylight, an abundance of light sources from the factory itself and my own strobes. Luckily, most of the photos are being used isolated on white, so I only have to concentrate on getting the product colours right. That was when I concluded that 4200K was a good compromise, but I also found that different materials and different colours reflect light differently. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch :lecture:

As for the super nice crop; I actually think that it's a bit too nice, but that's the way Thai artists, and most other Asians as well, look on stage. A female pop artist here in Thailand has a clothing brand called "Strawberry Punk". That pretty much describes it. Even when they try to look like outcasts, their politeness shines through, except for those who really are outcasts, but none of these guys are.