Month: January 2011

Back to City Streets With TheGoodLife

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I found myself trekking through the snow back to East Windsor last night to listen to TheGoodLife and relax with my friends. With the blessing of Bryan Douglas, keyboardist extraordinaire, I brought my new-but-used Canon 1D Mark III for its first legitimate shoot. (While I did resolve to have two shoots a month, the weather in January has been foiling my plans.) The night was not without challenges.

As I mentioned last time I wrote about TheGoodLife at City Streets, this cafe-slash-bar is not the best location for producing flattering photographs, particularly when colored spotlights flash unpredictably. I have found, however, that my own flash will overpower the spotlights, even when the flash is bounced off the ceiling. It’s this bounce that helped product some of the better photographs from the night.

I stayed only for the first set this time, and managed to produce about twenty images that I consider publishable. I’m including a selection here, and the rest are available in this Flickr set.

In previous shoots, with the Canon Digital Rebel XTi, I got the best images by setting the aperture to f/1.4 to allow the fastest shutter speeds at a high ISO, leaving off a flash entirely. I didn’t feel I was getting the same results with the 1D Mark III last night, so I opted to mount a flash on the camera, the Canon 430EX Speedlite Flash. In a more perfect setting, I would have positioned the flash differently, but to increase maneuverability in a crowded bar with drunk dancers dangerously close, I kept it simple by mounting the flash directly on the hot shoe. The most flattering images came from bouncing the flash off the ceiling.

Of course, I’d prefer not to use a flash at all if there were any chance it would distract the performers.

A few non-flash shots were acceptable, as well, but the 1D Mark III did not want to grab focus as easily as the XTi, making non-flash shooting slow.

Some post-processing work was required. For the non-flash shots, I adjusted the white balance and improved the color levels. For the flash shots, not much color correction was necessary, but I did a little work to remove the “shiny skin” effect. One of the most difficult aspects of photographing a singer is trying to avoid making someone appear as if they are preparing to eat the microphone. I’ll have to try to convince Reid Sound to provide the singers with wireless headset microphones.

All shots were taken with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens. Continue reading this article to see a selection of the photographs.

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Dar Williams in Princeton

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Amy and I visited Nassau Presbyterian Church to see Dar Williams to perform in support of the thirtieth anniversary of Isles, Inc. Isles is a non-profit community development organization with a mission to foster sustainability. I’ve been enjoying Dar’s singing and songwriting since 1995 or so. Her songs were frequently played on WXPN 88.5 and I quickly became a fan.

I first saw Dar live at the Columbia Folk Festival in Columbia, Pennsylvania, on June 15, 1996. (Thank you to Internet Archive Wayback Machine for helping me figure that out!) For those unfamiliar with Dar Williams, she is easily the best contemporary singer-songwriter, with poetry rivaling Bob Dylan and intricate music, complex for “folk” but with simple chord progressions that are only obvious after the fact. Most importantly, Dar understands how to connect with an audience, and as a result, has a strong community of devoted fans. I returned to visit Dar’s performances several times each year through 2002.

In those last few years, Dar Williams came to Princeton, New Jersey several times to perform at the Nassau Presbyterian Church in support of the Coalition for Peace Action and Isles, Inc. During one of these concerts, I met Dar again back stage. We’ve met a few times, and almost every time Dar has mentioned that she recognized me — even, strangely enough, the time we met after that first concert in 1996. Here’s a photograph I snapped with my first digital camera in 2000.

Now, more about last night’s interesting performance.

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EMI and Pink Floyd Together for Five More Years

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Pink Floyd will never die, even if Roger “Syd” Barrett and Rick Wright have already left this planet. The Pink Floyd musical business entity, which I imagine still has David Gilmour making the decisions, has agreed to partner with with music company, EMI, for another five years. Yes, EMI describes itself as a “music company,” which seems to encompass production, but in Pink Floyd’s case, all that’s left may well be distribution. The four continuing members of Pink Floyd since Syd left assembled and performed together for the last time for Live 8, which amazingly is now five years in the past.

If EMI believes there is still money to be made on the Pink Floyd brand, let’s hope it will be with something fresh. There will be no new Pink Floyd music, even if David Gilmour does manage to spit out a new album. EMI will probably take the safe route and simply remaster the released albums yet again and package a new “best of” compilation. Another Dark Side of the Moon release, or perhaps Blu-ray remasters of already-released concert videos, would be welcome and commercially successful. What I — and possibly many fans — would like to see is the release of high quality recordings of some of Pink Floyd’s more interesting works.

The Man and the Journey

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Holding Myself Accountable For My Physical Activity

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One of my resolutions for this year is to get in shape, like I mentioned earlier. It may be one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, and perhaps the resolution most likely to be abandoned with a month, but with more time on my hands, I have some freedom to make it happen.

I’m a fan of technology, so I was excited to see that there’s an Android app that seems to be perfect for what I need to keep me organized and motivated while giving me the ability to evaluate my progress over time. This is what worked for me in other areas of my life, so I think I have a good chance of being successful.

With RunKeeper, I downloaded a routine that should, if I can handle it, have be completing a 5K within seven weeks. After applying the routine to the app on my phone, I run with my phone with guidance about when to slow down or speed up in accordance with the routine.

Like most modern applications, the information can be linked to Facebook; my friends have already seen my progress. One thing missing is the ability to add widgets to websites. I’d like to be able to track my progress here as well.

On my RunKeeper profile, you can see the statistics for each outing, including distance, calories burned, and pace. I’m still slow now, particularly when running in this cold weather, but if I keep it up I’m sure my stats will improve. The current routine I’m following, 5K training for beginners created by Olympian Jeff Galloway, calls for outings consisting of alternating running and walking periods three days each week. I finished my second outing yesterday and I survived. On Saturday I’ll venture outside, perhaps in the snow, for the final outing of the week.

The key for me will be holding myself accountable and not letting myself get lazy. When I post something publicly, it becomes real. If I don’t keep it up, I will feel like a liar. This is the process that has worked for me in other areas of my life, so I’m hoping that this type of self-motivation will work for me.

Resolutions for 2011: Health and Photography

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I realize there’s a certain level of futility to making New Year’s resolutions. It has probably been between five and ten years that I’ve continually resolved on December 31 to lose weight and get in shape the following year. Lest this year be an exception, I’ve resolved the same yet again.

There may be an advantage this year, however. I have the time to make it work. I’m working for myself, so although I’m still very busy, I make my own hours and decide how to spend my time. Even though the weather is unwelcoming to outdoor exercise, I will be starting a routine that will get me outside an active, running and walking. At the end of seven weeks, the plan dictates I will be ready to complete a 5K. That is my goal.

I’ll be tracking my progress using the RunKeeper Pro application on my phone. You may see my updates on social media linked to the application. I’ve already begun eating healthier, with more fruits and vegetables and less red meat (despite being treated to a dinner at The Melting Pot to celebrate my independence recently).

Another plan for the new year is to keep my apartment in better shape for entertaining company. I’m in the process of looking for a cleaning service, so if you have any recommendations, let me know.

In a few weeks, I’ll be starting a new photography class at the Arts Council of Princeton. Through this class and my goal to have two photography shoots a month, I will be working on building a portfolio of work. The shoots will most likely be like some of the others I’ve done, walking around Princeton or local parks. I won’t be advertising myself as a photographer, but I do plan on book a few paying gigs through friends for portraiture or event photography. If you’re interested, let me know!

I happened to find a great deal on a used Canon EOS 1D Mark III so my equipment is now more professional than I am — but I’m getting there.

New Year’s resolutions often receive a lot of criticism: Why wait until January 1? Why bother setting goals that almost no one ever meets and most people forget within 30 days? I think it’s always good to set aside time to self-evaluate, determine how you want to be a better person, and take some steps in that direction — even if you don’t make it all the way to your goal. Life is a process.