A Blast From the Past

Dwayne of The Woodshedders, by Reed A. George

 

It's been a while since Dwayne had his hair short like this - 2009 as far as I know.

 

Just going through some old pictures, getting in the mood for my favorite music festival - Watermelon Park Fest.

 

I am pretty sure I shot this with a Pentax Spotmatic and Vivitar 200mm f3.5 lens. I like the look.

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e): Plank Stompers and Woodshedders at the Opera House

I haven't posted anything to this series in a while. I think that further affirms that I made the right decision in holding off on purchasing a Leica M Monochrom. While I know it's an amazing camera, spectacular even, I don't want to be limited to black and white only in a camera that's such an investment.

 

I am still enjoying shooting black and white film in my M4-2, however. Here are some shots from a recent concert of my friends the Plank Stompers and The Woodshedders. All were shot on Ilford Delta 3200 with the Leica M4-2 and Carl Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm f1.5 lens.

 

 

Here's one that I especially like of the audience enjoying the sounds:

 

 

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Dwayne Brooke of The Woodshedders

I had the pleasure of attending just a couple of hours of the Loudoun Bluegrass Festival last Saturday. The main event that I made it to was Dwayne Brooke's "Gypsy Jazz Jam." Dwayne is a friend of mine, a creative force, and guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for The Woodshedders.

 

(Click Here) to get to know The Woodshedders.

 

Well, it was a slightly rainy, overcast day, perfect for portraiture. Looking around outside the barns of the Loudoun Fairgrounds where the festival was held, I saw this incredible tree with a carpet of fallen blossoms at its base. As soon as Dwayne was done with the jam, I asked if he'd let me shoot a few photos of him there. Here's an example:

 

Dwayne Brooke, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 v. 3 Lens

iso 400, f2.4, 1/250 sec.

 

Normally, I would shoot a longer lens for a portrait. In this case, I wanted a lot of environment in the shot, specifically the tree and fallen blossoms. So, I chose the Summilux 35mm. I attempted to reflect some light into Dwayne's area with some reflective panels designed for keeping your car cool (windshield shades). There just wasn't much to reflect, and I didn't have an assistant to hold them. I would have used a little bit of flash for that purpose, but don't you know my Nikon SB-30 flash battery died during the jam session?

 

(Click Here) to see the full set of several shots I made.

 

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with these. As usual, there are things I'd do to improve them next time. That's why photography continues to be fun and challenging for me.

 

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My Interview With The Woodshedders and Review of Their New Album, Wildfire

 

The Woodshedders, by Reed A. George

 

I recently did an interview with The Woodshedders, to discuss their new album, Wildfire. The music is now available for download from Amazon. You can also buy the real CD there.

 

(Click Here) to read my review of the album and interview with the band on the great live music blog, Cosmic Vibes Live.

 

See the link below to buy the album. This is great music, trust me.

 

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Live Music Coverage - The Woodshedders' New CD Release - Shot With Nikon DSLRs

This weekend was live music-filled. I went to two release shows for The Woodshedders' new CD, "Wildfire."

 

(Click Here) to go to The Woodshedders home page. If you haven't listened to them, you should give them a try. An uncommon mix of bluegrass, jazz, and overall Americana, their music has a lot of soul.

 

Anyway, Friday night's show was at the Opera House in Shepherdstown, WV.

 

Shepherdstown Opera House, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24mm f2.8 AF lens

iso 200, f8, 1 sec.

 

This is a great venue, an old cinema converted into live performance space.

 

(Click Here) to see what other shows are coming up at Opera House Live.

 

Kicking the night off right, The Green Boys warmed the crowd up. Maybe that's a poor choice of description; it was so hot that night that we could all have used a cooling down. In any case, this Richmond, VA-based group plays bluegrass in lively fashion. I've known these guys for a couple of years, and really enjoy every chance to hear them.

 

(Click Here) to check out The Green Boys.

 

Ryan Green (The Green Boys), by Reed A. George

Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF lens

iso 3200, f1.8, 1/60 sec.

 

My go-to Nikon DSLR is the D700. Full-frame, reasonable resolution (not so high that noise becomes an issue), the D700 is the single most capable camera I have ever owned. Not as fun as a Leica rangefinder perhaps, but definitely more flexible and capable, especially at high iso. I recently picked up a nice D300 from KEH for a second body. With the APS-C size sensor, the D300 is not quite as good as the D700 in extremely low light. That said, the D300 performed quite nicely here. The shot above shows what fast class can do for you.

 

Dwayne Brooke of the Woodshedders gave me the opportunity to shoot some pictures of the band. We made good use of the loft area in the Opera House, and here are a couple of my favorites.

 

Marilyn Dropped by the Session, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF lens

iso 400, f5.6, 1/125 sec.

Flash (Nikon SB800) Bounced Off Ceiling

Another example of the flexibility of the Nikon system. Outfitting myself for an evening of low available light shooting, I decided to throw my SB800 flash in the bag. Not knowing that I'd get the chance to pose the band, I wasn't sure I'd use it. When the opportunity came, I simply set the camera to TTL flash, pointed it toward the ceiling, and away we went. This would not have been as easy with any of my other cameras.

 

 

The Woodshedders, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF lens

iso 400, f5.6, 1/125 sec.

Flash (Nikon SB800) Bounced Off Ceiling

 

Here are some shots from the show itself. I don't know how these guys survived the heat.

 

Onstage, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF lens

iso 3200, f2, 1/125 sec.

 

Jesse Shultzaberger, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF lens

iso 2200, f1.8, 1/125 sec.

 

 

Ryan Mayo, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF lens

iso 2200, f1.8, 1/125 sec.

 

 

"Fiddlin' Dave" VanDeventer, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF lens

iso 2200, f1.8, 1/125 sec.

 

 

Jared Pool, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF lens

iso 2200, f1.8, 1/90 sec.

 

 

Dwayne Brooke, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF lens

iso 4500, f1.8, 1/125 sec.

At the intermission, both bands retired to the loft to chat with members of the audience, many of whom are person friends; these guys have quite a following around here. The shot below was made then, and is one of my very favorite images from the evening. I saw the red light outlining this young lady's hair, and that drew me in. The blue further back adds to the scheme.

Intermission, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 28mm f2.8 AF lens

iso 6400, f2.8, 1/45 sec.

The crowd stayed lively throughout. In fact, some were so happy they were swept off their feet (or levitated?).

 

Uplifted, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF lens

iso 2200, f2.8, 1/60 sec.

Flash (Nikon SB800)

 

What a great show! If you're interested in seeing more from this show, (Click Here) to go to my web page, creativeobjective.com.

 

I'm still sorting images from Saturday night, and will post them separately. More to come!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Skeletons From The Closet - Final Results From the Super Ricohflex, February's Camera

 

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

Super Ricohflex TLR, Kodak Tmax 400

 

I shot a few images of The Woodshedders playing in the Lovettsville, Virginia library a couple of weeks back. It was tough focusing the Ricohflex with so little light, and I didn't get it spot on. But, I love the images anyway.

 

Jesse, Dwayne, Jared, and Dave, by Reed A. George

Super Ricohflex TLR, Kodak Tmax 400

 

I did a few test shots, and see that the Ricohflex's focus is not perfectly adjusted close up. It does fine at a little distance, and with an aperture smaller than about f5.6 or so. These were shot wide open (f3.5).

 

I enjoyed using the Super Ricohflex in February, and it's safely stored back in the closet until next time.

 

Hope you enjoyed the results!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Whole Lotta Leica - February Results - W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 With The Woodshedders at Lovettsville Library

 

The Woodshedders at Lovettsville Library, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 640, f3.5, 1/60 sec

 

One of the benefits of living in Northern Virginia for me is the vibrant local music scene. The Woodshedders are one of my very favorite bands in the area. Ryan Mayo (bass), Jesse Shultaberger (drums), Dwayne Brooke (guitar), Jared Pool (mandolin) and Dave VanDeventer (fiddle) usually play to larger crowds in nightclubs and music festivals.

 

(Click Here) to go to the Woodshedders web page. Don't pass up a chance to see them.

 

On this particular Saturday in February, they played an acoustic show for the local library in Lovettsville, Virginia. The Hello Kitty and Spongebob balloons on the wall are not part of their normal stageshow.

 

My daughter and I attended this show, and it was wonderful, as expected. My February Whole Lotta Leica lens, the W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM, worked quite well for this close up and intimate setting.

 

The Woodshedders at Lovettsville Library, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 640, f2.8, 1/125 sec

 

Dwayne and Jared, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 640, f2.8, 1/125 sec

 

The audience was a mix of regular Woodshedders' fans, and regular library patrons. The picture below shows that some kids really know how to mix their sources of entertainment.

Reading (and Music) Are Fundamental, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 640, f4, 1/30 sec

 

I like how the Nikkor allowed me to focus on the detail of the book page, rendering it sharply, yet include enough in the background to let you know what's happening back there. The 35mm focal length gives a wide enough field of view to include some context, even in a small room.

 

I now know the Woodshedders well enough to coerce them into a posed shot once in a while. I thought it would be fun to get a shot of them studiously reading in the library. I started off by handing them children's books, but a helpful library employee quickly gathered biographies of musicians - much more appropriate.

 

Saturday Afternoon With The Woodshedders at the Library #1, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 640, f4.8, 1/30 sec

 

Jared took a book on Monk, Dwayne - Django, of course, Ryan - Mick Jagger, Dave - Jimi Hendrix, and Jesse - Sting.

 

Standing on a chair, I closed down the lens to f 4.8 to get a little more depth of field, and shot.

 

Saturday Afternoon With The Woodshedders at the Library #2, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 640, f4.8, 1/30 sec

 

I always feel a little rushed when I have five people waiting for me to get the shot so they can go on their way. I think these shots turned out well, but I must admit that I held my breath until I got home and checked that I was able to get all of the band members' faces in focus. I should have taken a shot or two at iso 1250, with the aperture closed down another full stop. That would have ensure that no one's face came out blurry. But, I got lucky with f4.8.

 

For me, it's important to learn from each and every photo opportunity. Learning to slow down, make sure I've got the shot, and not be shy about directing my subjects to do what I want to capture are all lessons that I need to continue to focus on.

 

After shooting live music for a couple of years now, I am really enjoying the chance to shoot some more personal shots of the bands that I really like. It adds nicely to the stage shots that I've focused on so far.

 

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