On 31/7/05, Amita Guha, discombobulated, unleashed: >A friend of mine is playing drums in a band on Tuesday night, and he gave me >permission to shoot them. I have never tried to do this with "serious" gear. >I believe the space will be pretty small and dark. I'm planning on taking >the FA 50mm f/1.4 and the FA 31mm f/1.8. My fastest lenses beyond the 50mm >are the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.9 and the Tamron 90mm f/2.8. Will this be fast >enough? I tried to buy the 77mm Ltd. today, but it's out of stock in black. >:) Is it worth it to try to bring a tripod? I imagine not because of motion >blur...anyway, I'd appreciate any thoughts on this kind of shooting.
Forget the tripod unless you're after a particular effect. I assume you'll be using digital? Depends on what 'small and dark' means. Most stage facilities - even the worst - have some form of lighting on the band, even if it's a few hundred watt bulbs over their heads. It's surprising how bright it can be on faces and instruments. Definitely take the Tamron - you will find the 50mm will not reach as much as you would like. Blurred movement in shots of this subject matter can add feeling, look at Frank's excellent work. Try a few with this in mind. Depth of field will be the enemy - you won't win, so don't try (assuming you're not using flash - I wouldn't). Watch for repetitive movement that can be frozen at a certain point - a hand on a downward stroke on a guitar, a head nodding to the rhythm - anticipate and trip the shutter accordingly. Keep close and low, try and have free movement across the front of the stage. If this is not possible, pick a point where you can see faces, off to one or other side. Watch for the lead vocal - facial expressions tend to repeat with refrains. Anticipate. There are as many ways to approach this subject as there are songs in the world ;-) Good luck! HTH Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
