A Distinguished Couple

 

From an Asian festival in Washington, DC. Photos made with my Rolleiflex SL2000F and Sonnar 135mm f2.8 lens. That Sonnar is one of the very best telephoto lenses I've ever used.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Asia Festival, DC - Rolleiflex SL2000F

Here are a couple of images I made at a festival over the memorial day weekend. I was shooting my Rolleiflex SL2000F, with the wonderful Sonnar 135mm f2.8 lens. I think it's the best lens I have for this outfit.

 

 

Don't know what a Rolleiflex SL2000F is? (Click Here).

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Some Favorites from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2015 - Featuring Peru

Here is a selection of my favorite images from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2015. Peru was the featured country.

 

I shot all of these with my newly re-sealed Nikon FM2 and Nikkor AIS 35mm f1.4 lens on Agfa APX400 film.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

River and Roots Festival - Great for Kids of All Ages!

I love music festivals. But, size matters. The huge ones can be a bit much. My two favorite festivals, ever, are held every year at the same place - Watermelon Park in Berryville, VA.

 

River and Roots Fun, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 28mm f1.8 AF-S G Lens

iso 1000, f2, 1/125 sec.

 

The Watermelon Park Fest, held every September, is the larger of the two. (Click Here) to read more about it.

 

I made the photo above at the River and Roots Festival in June, also held at Watermelon Park. This one's smaller, but so much fun. Large enough to attract major acts (the headliner this year was David "Dawg" Grisman), R&R is small enough that there's no stress or hurry to be anywhere. Wonderful. This year, I only made it out for the first day of the festival, going home in time to miss the deluge of rain, yet also missing Dawg and many other great musical performances.

I shot with my Nikon Df, and enjoyed trying out my new 28mm f1.8 AF-S lens. In the shot above, it allowed me to capture enough of the scene to share how it felt, but still shows the emotion and wonder on the little girl's face. I had to get pretty close to pull this off, but not uncomfortably so.

 

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Ice Cream, Anyone?

 

Ice Cream, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 28mm f1.8 AF-S G Lens

iso 500, f2, 1/125 sec.

 

I shot this at a recent live music festival. My new, latest-technology Nikkor 28mm lens is pretty nice. At f2, focused on the ice cream cone, and this close to my subject, the nice lady serving me is slightly out of focus. Honestly, my attention was fully on the ice cream, and that's where the emphasis is in the picture.

 

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Nikkor 35mm f1.4 AIS for Environmental Portraiture - Folklife Festival

In the middle of my film scanning efforts, this image just jumped out at me.

 

Traditional Peru in Washington, DC, by Reed A. George

Nikon FM2, Nikkor 35mm f1.4 AIS Lens, Agfa APX400 Film

 

I feel that this image includes just enough of the surroundings to give the subject context, yet still emphasizes her beautiful face and expression. So this is why many photographers prefer the 35mm focal length for environmental portraiture! I also think that the Agfa film, with its relatively low native contrast and considerable grain, gives the image a slightly vintage feel.

 

I've got more scanning to do, but am sure that I will assemble a few of these images from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival into a small collection.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Featuring Peru - Shot with Nikon FM2 and Nikkor 35mm f1.4 AIS Lens

I just replaced the seals on my Nikon FM2. My latest roll of film showed evidence of a minor light leak. That's all fixed up now. It took about an hour to get all the old seal residue off and install the new ones, but it was well worth the effort.

 

To test it, I mounted my new Nikkor 35mm f1.4 AIS lens, loaded a roll of Agfa APX400 film (thanks again, Dennis!), met my friend Charlie, and headed into DC. We attended the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which featured Peru this year. Here are a few of the first pics I've scanned.

 

 

I just got the lens from another friend, Alain, a short time back. I haven't used it a lot. I think I like it.

 

I will be posting more from this event as I get them scanned.

 

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Some Camping Area Shots from Watermelon Park Festival 2014

I've shared my Watermelon Park Festival writeup on Cosmic Vibes Live, along with my digital photographs, largely taken on or around the stage.

 

Now, I'll share a few more casual shots, taken in the Camping area with my Nikon FM2, 200 speed drugstore color negative film, and 50mm f1.4 Nikkor AF-D lens. Of course on the FM2, I had to manually focus.

 

Deep Morning Thoughts with Erik Burnham, by Reed A. George

 

Chester and Milo, by Reed A. George

 

These two guys are my music photography heroes - Chester Simpson and G. Milo Farineau. Both are mad-skilled, friendly, and generally great to hang out with.

 

Rudy B., by Reed A. George

 

Speaking of fun to hang out with, here's Rudy B. of the Plank Stompers.

 

I really love carrying around the compact FM2 and normal lens while I'm tooling around the festival, especially during the day. Yes, I'll carry the D700 for the lowlight stuff. But, the FM2 just fits my hands so well.

 

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Another Watermelon Park Festival Highlight - The Knicely Family Band

I'm working through my Watermelon Park images, in between traveling for work (I'm in Albany, NY at the moment), and several other projects. Here's a shot of the Knicely Family Band.

 

Knicely Family Band, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 20mm f2.8 AF-D Lens

iso 3200, f5.6, 1/125 sec.

 

As you probably already know from my posts, the Knicely family is kind of a core of musical talent here in Virginia. Danny Knicely (second from right) is a musical powerhouse, playing in multiple bands as well as producing his own music, including his latest CD, "Waltz for Aimee." Those are his brothers on the ends, and Mom and Dad next to him.

 

(Click Here) to go to Danny's website and purchase the new CD.

 

I knew that I wanted to get all of their faces in this shot, to the extent possible. The wide angle 20mm f2.8 lens allowed me to do that from right at the front of the stage.

 

Along those lines, Nikon has a new 20mm f1.8 lens out. I'd love to have that extra speed in my 20mm lens. I've been using the 20 more lately for live music, in dark spaces. The extra 1.4 or so f-stops would really help. See the link below to see the new lens on Amazon.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keller Williams and More Than A Little

I'm just starting to work through all of the pictures I took at my favorite local music festival at Watermelon Park this year. Here's one that I know I like.

 

More Than A Little, by Reed A. George

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

iso 6400, f2.8, 1/125 sec.

 

This is one of the singers from Keller Williams' "More Than A Little" project, just about the funkiest music around.

 

I treated the digital image to my homemade preset to emulate the look of Ilford Delta 3200 film. For details on the preset, (Click Here).

 

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More From Chalk Fest, Leica IIIC with Summaron 3.5cm f3.5

Here are a few more pics from Chalk Fest, all shot with my Leica IIIC and Summaron, on Fuji 100 color negative film.

 

The Summaron 35 is a spectacular little lens, and I do mean little. I love the subtle color rendition that this lens produces.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Watermelon Park Fest 2014 - Mandolin Players Extraordinaire!

It's Sunday, and I just returned home at 2:30 AM from my favorite music festival of this and every year, Watermelon Park. I've been attending for several years now, and it's a big party with so many of my friends, I look forward to it all year long.

 

I'm pretty wiped out today, but thought I'd share a few images of a workshop of three of the world's best mandolin players - (left to right) Sam Bush (Sam Bush Band), Danny Knicely (Furnace Mountain Band), and Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon). Check them out.

 

 

These guys were great, sharing several tunes and lots of funny stories, like how Sam was accosted by several "locals" back in the early seventies while attending the festival. The nicest thing they had to say to him was that they were going to cut off his hair. Luckily, Sam escaped unharmed and came back some 40 years later.

 

I was right at the edge of the stage, shooting with my Nikon D700 and 50mm f1.4 AF-D lens. Being held in a big white tent, the background light was much brighter than that on Sam, Danny, and Drew's faces. I simply used the spot meter setting in the D700 to get the exposure right, and then it was a matter of catching a few moments and interactions. What a blast!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Off-Stage at the Music Festival

I shot these images at a recent music festival (River and Roots, in Berryville, VA). I find myself interested in photographing more candid settings with the friends I've made in the local music scene. Of course, I still photograph them on-stage, but I really like hanging out, sharing thoughts, and capturing moments off-stage as well.

 

It's interesting to me that through the festivals that I regularly attend, as well as the bands that I've now known for several years, I'm watching people develop, families come into existence and grow. That continuity makes it even more fun.

 

I shot all of these with my wartime Leica IIIC and 5cm f3.5 Elmar, on Tmax 100 film.

 

 

Hope you enjoy the shots.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

More Rolleiflex Images from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival - Celebrating Kenya

Yesterday, I shared a couple of images from the China side of this year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Today, Kenya.

 

All of these were shot with my Rolleiflex T twin lens reflex (TLR) camera and Kodak Portra 160 film.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2014 - Kenya

 

It was a very bright, contrasty sunny day, as you can see in the second image. So, getting under the tent coverings helped to diffuse the light quite a bit, leading to better overall images. That said, it made getting a natural looking background more challenging.

 

In any case, people did seem to like being photographed with an old TLR camera. I've had this camera for several years. I used it quite a lot when I first bought it, less so recently. I've still got it in my bag, and plan to shoot more with it in the near future.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2014 - With Rolleiflex T

Two of my photography buddies have taken a (re)new(ed) interest in shooting Rolleiflexes. Both of them now sport Rolleiflex f2.8 cameras, while I shoot a Rolleiflex T f3.5 model.

 

Together, we all went to check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, whose focus in 2014 was on the countries of Kenya and China.

 

(Click Here) to read about the festival.

 

One of the events in the China program was flower, drum, lantern dancing. I captured these images of one of the group's leaders, who I believe is named Yue Ying (I can't seem to confirm that).

 

 

Flower Drum Lantern Dancer, by Reed A. George

Rolleiflex T f3.5 Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Camera, Kodak Portra 160 Color Print Film

 

I used my Rolleinar 1 closeup lenses on the T for these shots. Actually, I could have done them without the need for the Rolleinar, as I was at the long limit of focus with them installed. That said, I like how they reduce the depth of field for portraits like this. So, no harm done.

 

It was fun getting the old TLR out again. You'll be seeing more TLR images in the near future, including some from the Kenya portion of the festival.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Whirling Disks and Rear Curtain Sync

Rear curtain flash sync is a function on many cameras. The way it works is that instead of triggering your flash when your shutter opens (generally for a much longer time than the length of the flash light pulse itself), it opens the shutter, then triggers the flash right before the shutter closes.

 

Why would you want this? Well, if you're using a slow shutter speed, you'll get motion blur or light trails from anything that's moving fast. With normal (front curtain) sync, the flash goes off, the shutter stays open, and you get trails that are made after the flash. With rear curtain synch, the trails are made first, then you get flash and light the rest of the scene at the end of the exposure. The classic example is a moving car, where you get an image of a car that's already gone by you, with fantastic blur behind it. Using front curtain sync, you'd get the car before it passes by, and light streak in front of the car, not nearly as cool.

 

Well, I find it's pretty difficult to find applications other than moving cars for this cool technique. At the River and Roots music festival, I found one. These guys were playing what I would normally call "Frisbee," but with a disk that has its own light in it. They were playing in the dark. I thought, hmm. I bet that disk would make a great light streak. So, I tried it. Amazing! It made this really cool nested helix shape as it flew by. Next step, try rear curtain sync to see if I could capture the streaks and the player. Here's how that looks:

 

I like this shot a lot, but I wanted the streaks to be longer, and I didn't like the distracting lights in the background (at left).

First, the background lights. One of the other players was near the river, which was completely dark. Goodbye background distractions:

Getting the timing just right was tough, but I was getting the hang of it.

So, how to lengthen the light trails? Longer exposure, of course. So, I went to a full second exposure, with the flash at the end. Since the ambient scene was so dark, I didn't even have to change my f-stop or flash settings. This is exactly the effect I was looking for:

Whirling Disk, by Reed A. George

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

iso 1600, f4, 1 second exposure, rear curtain sync flash

 

Great fun. I don't think any other photographer at the festival captured a shot just like this.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

 

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.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Music Festival Photography

I really like shooting at music festivals. I love live music, creative people, and nature. The festivals give me all of that.

 

 

 

 

I especially like the smaller local festivals here in Northern Virginia. In fact, I'm headed out to one this weekend at Watermelon Park, in Berryville. This one's called "River and Roots," and I'll get to see many of my friends there.

 

By shooting at festivals, I've met a few of the best live music photographers there are. One of those is Milo Farineau. Another, his mentor, is Chester Simpson. Both are fabulous photographers and people.

 

Chester recently posted a link to his friend's thoughts on modern festivals, including Glastonbury in the UK.

 

(Click Here) to read Barry Wolman's thoughts, which include comparing Glastonbury to a "prison yard."

 

While the festivals I attend do focus as much on camping and spending time with friends, they also clearly celebrate the music, something that seems to be lost at some of the larger festivals. The music is what really brings us all together around here. If I felt as Wolman does, it would be time for me to stop attending festivals. As it is, I can't wait for this weekend!

 

Oh, and Happy Fourth of July!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

My Picture Chosen to Announce Larry Keel and Sam Bush at Lock'n Festival!

Larry Keel and Sam Bush, Keel Photo by Reed A. George

 

I guess my new black and white concert style must be working at some level. I was contacted by Larry Keel's agent, inquiring about the picture on the left above. They wanted to see color versions, but eventually chose to use the monochrome one.

 

I'm really happy that Larry liked the image enough that it's of some use to him! I'm more than happy to contribute a little to someone who gives so much to us fans.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Watermelon Park Festival, 2013 - Shot With Nikon D700

I've been shooting a lot of live music and local musicians over the past few years. It's a wonderful project, and has helped me to meet a lot of great people, musicians and fans alike.

Every September, I look forward to the Watermelon Park Festival, held in Berryville, Virginia, about an hour from my home. It's a great time of year to be outdoors, camping, listening to great music. This year was no exception.

There will soon be a review of the festival written by Jim McWalters on the live music blog Cosmic Vibes Live. It will include photos from both Jim and myself.

(Click Here) to check out Cosmic Vibes Live.

Here are my pics from the festival.

Impromptu Music with David Van Deventer, Danny Knicely, and Jared Pool, by Reed A. George

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

iso 1600, f2, 1/125 sec.

The Plank Stompers, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 400, f4.8, 1/250 sec.

The Bumper Jacksons, by Reed A. George

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

iso 3200, f1.4, 1/250 sec.

The Green Boys, by Reed A. George

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

iso 800, f4.8, 1/125 sec. With Fill Flash

The Green Boys, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 800, f4.8, 1/125 sec. With Fill Flash

Watermelon Boat Float!, by Reed A. George

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

iso 400, f8, 1/250 sec.

 

Dwayne Brooke of The Woodshedders, by Reed A. George

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

iso 3200, f1.7, 1/125 sec.

Dwayne Brooke and Jared Pool of The Woodshedders, by Reed A. George

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

iso 3200, f1.7, 1/125 sec.

David Van Deventer of The Woodshedders, by Reed A. George

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

iso 3200, f1.7, 1/125 sec.

Dwayne Brooke and Jared Pool of The Woodshedders, by Reed A. George

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

iso 3200, f1.4, 1/125 sec.

Larry Keel, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 1600, f2, 1/180 sec.

Larry Keel, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 1600, f2, 1/180 sec.

Aimee Curl and Danny Knicely of Furnace Mountain Band, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lens

iso 800, f2.8, 1/125 sec.

 

Hoopin' It Up!, by Reed A. George

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

iso 800, f2.8, 1/2 sec.

 

 

This festival presents a lot of opportunities to test my photographic skills. This year, I took the D700, 20mm f2.8, 50mm f1.4, and 85mm f1.8 autofocus lenses. I shot in daylight, dark, with and without flash. The flash came in real handy in the dance tent during the day, as in the Green Boys shots above.

 

I will admit that I was a pretty lazy photographer on this particular weekend. This festival has become a great relaxation for me. I guess that's a pretty good thing in itself.

 

I do have some film shots, taken with my Leica CL and Rokkor 40mm f2.8, but the film is off at The Darkroom for processing. I'll share those later.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

This book (below) includes some great festival photography, including some by my buddy J. Milo Farineau.

 

(Click Here) to go to Milo's site. He's a master.