Letting the Water Run By

At last weekend's festival on the Shenandoah River (River and Roots, that is), I shot a few pictures of this young man relaxing in the rapids:

 

 

Letting it All Roll By, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 AF Lens

iso 1600 f2.8, 1/750 sec.

 

 

 

Moving On, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 AF Lens

iso 1600 f2.8, 1/750 sec.

 

I like the layers of light rapids, dark still water and tree shadows, and low green of the leaves. In the first shot, the boy provides just enough of a focal point, and some mystery or question to the image. A nice diversion from shooting the music event.

 

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Every Once in a While, You Catch One Just Right

I spent most of last weekend shooting pictures at the River and Roots Festival in Berryville, Virginia. Using my Nikon D700, I shot a lot of photos, more than I care to edit to be honest. But, there was one that I knew as soon as the shutter clicked would be a keeper for me. Here it is:

 

 

 

Danny Catches Air, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikon 180mm f2.8 AF Lens

iso 1600, f5.6, 1/250 sec.

 

My friend Danny Knicely snuck out to the front of the stage for a little mid-song dance, as he's wont to do. I was so pleased to capture him with both feet off the ground, and literally filling my frame. Just this one shot makes all the weekend shooting worthwhile to me.

 

Danny's one of the nicest guys around, and a master of the mandolin. He constantly gives back to the community, and shares his songs and his skills freely.

 

(Click Here) to check out Danny's music.

 

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Live Music Coverage - Donna The Buffalo and Floodwood at the State Theater

On May 11, 2013, I got the opportunity to shoot photos of the band Donna The Buffalo for a local live music blog, Cosmic Vibes Live.

 

Donna The Buffalo, by Reed A. George

Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-D 50mm f1.4 Lens

iso 3200, f2.4, 1/90 sec

 

The show was at the State Theater in Falls Church, Virginia. This was the first coverage I've done for Cosmic Vibes Live where I didn't have to do the writing. While I enjoy writing, I found it really nice to be able to focus on the photography. The writing was done by Jim McWalters. Jim and I met at the State before the show so that Jim could interview bandmembers Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear on their tour bus.

 

Interview With Tara Nevins, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF-D 50mm f1.4 Lens

iso 2200, f2.4, 1/45 sec

 

(Click Here) to read Jim's show review on Cosmic Vibes Live. The interview will be covered in an upcoming piece.

 

The show opened with a brand new band, Floodwood. Including two members of the band Moe. (Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico), Floodwood has a distinctly different sound from Moe. This band has a lot of energy on stage, and the new sound is great.

 

Floodwood, by Reed A. George

Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 3200, f2, 1/180 sec.

Floodwood, by Reed A. George

Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 3200, f2, 1/125 sec.

Floodwood, by Reed A. George

Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 3200, f2, 1/125 sec.

 

Here are a few more shots of Donna The Buffalo:

 

 

Donna The Buffalo, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 Lens

iso 6400, f2.8, 1/125 sec

 

Tara Nevins, by Reed A. George

Nikon D300, Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 Lens

iso 3200, f2.8, 1/125 sec

Tara Nevins, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF 180mm f2.8 Lens

iso 6400, f2.8, 1/125 sec

 

Donna The Buffalo has been around almost 25 years, starting up in 1989. They have a very rich, positive sound. In fact, they have a new album out, "Tonight, Tomorrow, and Yesterday." It's their tenth studio album, the first in five years. I got a copy before the release on the night of the show - it's really worth listening to! Give it a try.

A little on my photographic approach - I used Nikon DSLRs for this show. It was my first time at the State, and I was happy to have the high iso capability of the Nikons with me. The lighting there was a little low for such a large venue, and a little muddy. As you can see, I did need up to iso 6400 to make the shots. I've just started using a Nikon D300 as a second body; the D700 is my primary. While the D300 does a nice job, the high iso performance is noticeably more noisy than the full-frame D700. No surprise there. Also, while most concert photographers use the 70-200 f2.8 zoom, I have recently gotten a used 180mm f2.8 Nikkor AF lens. I LOVE IT! The 180 is half the weight of the 70-200, and yields excellent images in my opinion. I won't be going back to a zoom for the long end of my concert shooting anytime soon.

 

Overall, it was a great experience shooting this show. Thanks to Jeff and Jim at Cosmic Vibes Live for the opportunity!

 

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David "Dawg" Grisman and John Sebastian - My Concert Report is Published!

 

Dawg, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 180mm f2.8

 

I have been collaborating with the great live music blog Cosmic Vibes Live for a while now. Recently, Jeff at CVL got me passes to see David Grisman and John Sebastian at the stunningly renovated Howard Theatre in Washington, DC.

 

(Click Here) to read my show report on CVL, and see lots of my images from the show.

 

It was great for me to see Grisman, who I've listened to for many years.

 

In the shot above, I used my Nikkor 180mm f2.8, which is now my favorite long lens for live music shows. Most concert photographers use zooms, like the 70-200mm f2.8. I find that I'm usually at the long end anyway, and the 180mm prime is literally half the weight of the zoom. I bought mine used from KEH. I post-processed this image with Nik's SilverEfexPro2, using the Tri-X emulation settings, which I like very much.

 

I'm very lucky to have access to such great music, and a nice outlet for my writing. Thanks, CVL!

 

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