By and By Bluegrass at Gypsy Sally's - Including Some "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" Shots

I've already posted some shots of the Larry Keel Power Trio (aka Larry Keel Experience) that I shot at Gypsy Sally's in Washington DC a while back.

 

(Click Here) to see my earlier post and link to my images on the live music blog Cosmic Vibes Live. Since that post, which was all digital shots, I've received my film back from The Darkroom. I have more Keel pictures to post, when I get to it.

 

In the meantime, here are some images of one of the opening bands, By and By. The bass player, Matt Iadanza, is a friend and co-worker in my regular job. The first set is digital, all shot with the still-amazing Nikon D700. I processed these in Lightroom using my settings to emulate Ilford Delta 3200 film.

 

(Click Here) to find my Lightroom settings that lead to this look.

 

I'll follow that with a couple of film shots from the Leica M4-2 that I'm using for the Dreaming in Monochrom(e) series.

 

 

 

 

By and By, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF-D 20mm f2.8, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-D Lenses

 

And here are a couple shot with my Leica M4-2 and real honest-to-goodness Ilford Delta 3200 film.

 

By and By, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

This was Matt's last show as bassist for By and By. He's now in the UK, working at the University of Leeds. Best wishes, Matt! But, the band continues on. (Click Here) to learn more about By and By Bluegrass.

 

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Live Music, Film Emulation, This Time With the Leica M9

 

Will and Larry (of the Larry Keel Power Trio), by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Zeiss Sonnar C 50mm f1.5 Lens

iso 1600, f1.5, 1/125 sec.

 

I'm really having fun with this film emulation approach to my live music photography. Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing the Larry Keel Power Trio (aka Larry Keel Experience) twice. The image above is from the first show, at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville, Va.

 

I shot this image with my Leica M9, and used my Lightroom preset to emulate the contrast and grain of Ilford Delta 3200 film.

 

(Click Here) to read about my emulation settings in Lightroom.

 

I also saw the band a second time, in Washington, DC, over the weekend. For that show, I shot my Nikon D700, and used the same Lightroom settings to process the images. The preset works just as well with the D700 images.

 

For both shows, I also carried my Leica M4-2 (which I use for my "Dreaming in Monochrom(e)" series. I have two expose rolls of real Ilford Delta 3200 sitting next to me at my desk right now. So, I'll share those images in a week or so when I have results from the processing at The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com).

 

By the way, have a listen to the Keels. A quick search for "Larry Keel" on iTunes will get you plenty of results. I'd suggest the album "Classic" as a start.

 

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The Plank Stompers - Leica M9, Summilux 35mm, Emulating Ilford Delta 3200

 

The Plank Stompers, by Reed A. George

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

iso 1600, f2, 1/125 sec.

 

I think this shot of my friends' band, The Plank Stompers, really shows the character of the older 35mm Summilux lens. It's simultaneously sharp (look at the eyeglasses) and dreamy.

 

I shot this with my digital Leica M9, and emulated the look of Ilford Delta 3200 film as described (here).

 

I am really enjoying this look to my live music images.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Sunday Afternoon Jam Session - Leica M9 and Summilux 35mm Lens

As you may have seen, I've been exploring the use of high iso film in my Leica M4-2, specifically for shooting live music. I've also worked on emulating the look of that film in Lightroom, during post-processing of files shot on my digital Leica M9. Today's post shares more of those digital emulations.

 

(Click Here) to learn more about Jammin' Java.

 

Jammin' Java, a local music venue in Falls Church, Virginia, periodically has afternoon jam sessions. For this one, I only had an hour to spare, so had to leave early. Lighting was about as challenging as it gets, with bright open sunlight outside, black curtains in the windows and very low light inside. However, I think that made the light quite interesting. Shooting my Leica M9 and Summilux 35mm f1.4 v.3 lens wide open at iso 1600, here are some of the images I captured in the short time I was there.

 

Jammin' Java, by Reed A. George

 

That fourth image shows a strange internal reflection I was getting in the Summilux, even though I was using a lens hood. It was repeatable, but I've never had it happen before with this lens. The light coming in around the black curtains was very bright and very directional. I doubt I'll ever see that artifact again.

 

All shot wide open at f1.4, these images show the characteristics of the older Summilux lenses - quite a lot of flare and coma wide open, while remaining mostly sharp. This is one example of what people call the "Leica glow."

 

I don't mind these imperfections, and in fact added to them with my settings in Lightroom designed to emulate Ilford Delta 3200 film. Big increases in contrast and grain are what gets them there.

 

I'm having lots of fun with this new approach to music photography. I feel that I can get the same style now out of either real Delta 3200 film or my M9, shooting at iso 1600. Very nice.

 

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VSCO Film - Emulate Film or Just Use It?

Discussing the "Elephant in the Room," Smithsonian Natural History Museum

by Reed A. George

Super Ricohflex TLR, Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

I am interested in this concept of emulating the look of film in the digital world. Purists will dismiss it immediately. Others will wonder why you'd want to emulate an old (inferior?) technology. I won't take either stance.

 

I have the full set of NIK software tools (now owned by Google), which allows me to emulate different film looks. I have only really used it to get a Kodak Tri-X look, which I must admit is pretty darned good. But, I find that I rarely use it, even for that.

 

Now there's VSCO Film, another package that seems to go further in emulating specific film emulsions of the past and present.

 

(Click Here) to read a very nice review of the software with lots of examples on the Aperture Priority blog.

 

So, what exactly are my thoughts on this? First, it needs more investigation. I suppose it's possible that sometime during my lifetime film will no longer be available, or will be prohibitively expensive. I hope that doesn't happen, but if it does, this type of software may be more interesting to me.

 

One thing that the blog post above mentions is that while the look is in some cases very representative of the target films, it isn't really film. You don't get that same anticipation of waiting to see what you get back from the processor. For me, that is a factor. I love opening up my envelope and seeing the negatives, then magically turning them into real pictures on my scanner.

 

But, there's another thing. It's the cameras. My film cameras are simply more enjoyable to use than their digital counterparts. That gap is starting to close, though. My Leica M9 could suffice if film were to go away altogether. The new Nikon Df seems like it has similar potential for me. I have yet to see a Micro 4/3 camera that even approaches the feel of a great film camera. My latest, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 isn't even close in this category.

 

But, I'm not dismissing the concept of shooting digital and emulating film. I'm quite happy to continue to shoot film, but can certainly understand how not everyone feels this way. First off, it's becoming expensive. Next, film and processing are getting harder to find. I'm very pleased with using The Darkroom (thedarkroom.com) for my processing, so it's not an issue for now. But, I'm not prescribing shooting film for anyone else.

 

For now, I'm happy to use film, rather than emulating it.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com