Zesta Grande on Lady Grey B&W film

I’m very late on posting this, but I developed the second roll of film I took at Zesta Grande. My post about the first roll I took can be read HERE. I guess I took so long to write about this because I am a little disappointed with how they turned out. I mentioned an issue I discovered with that camera in my original post about Zesta:

“Another issue was some of the subjects closer to me turned out blurry but everything in the background came out sharp! That was a bummer because I missed the chance to take some really neat pictures. But now I am aware this camera does that and can be mindful in the future. Maybe there is a way to prevent this from happening and I need to explore the features of this camera a little more, but the camera is pretty simple, and I don’t know what adjustments could be made.“

The same issue happed with this roll. There were a few that turned out decent, like these of ACxDC and HKFY:

The other pictures from this roll that turned out okay are in my gallery now; I added them to my Zesta Grande folder. You can see them HERE.

The Lady Grey film was expired, by the way. I let the rolls sit there for a little too long!

There is one photo, in particular, that sums up the camera issue:

It would have been great if this had turned out well! Tongue out and rubbing the strings on the mic stand, but it’s blurry and the background it sharp! Boo!

There is a third roll of film that I took to Zesta Grande, but I didn’t finish the roll there. I recently finished it off at another show. I am concerned many of the photos may be blurry.

I had a little conversation with another person who enjoys film cameras, and he happened to bring up having a similar film camera that sometimes produces blurry subjects and sharp backgrounds! It really sucks because film and developing isn’t cheap and missing good shots isn’t fun; it would be nice to find a way to use the film cameras and avoid this issue. Maybe I can find more info online. If not, I may avoid using this film camera.

Oh, by the way, the camera is a OLYMPUS Stylus Epic DLX.

I really like the freedom of a small, lightweight camera that I can fit in my Fanny pack.

Anyways, this is all for now. Thanks for reading! If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to my website and get updates via email when I post.

Zesta Grande on Fujifilm 400

I went to Zesta Grande at 924 Gilman on Sunday. I brought an Olympus Stylus Epic DLX camera I had never used before and a few rolls of film. The first one I started with was a roll of FujiFilm 400. I was a bit nervous because I had never used the camera and unsure if it would function normally. I read good reviews, so I had high hopes. First off, I want to mention I had a great time at the show! Killer bands and everything ran smoothly. I had also not been to that venue in ages! And it was wonderful to bring such a light camera that fit right into my fanny pack! I usually bring my big Canon with external flash, and it always makes my hand ache. The convenience of the little film camera was a game changer, for sure!

I dropped the roll Fujifilm 400 off at Mike’s Camera yesterday. I also dropped of a B&W roll of Lady Grey, but I was told they are backed up on B&W developing and it could take up to two weeks. I do want to rant at how pricey it is to develop film and get them scanned! $19.99 per roll! I really need to be developing myself again, but I will save that discussion for another day.

I was thrilled when I got the email today that my photos from the Fujifilm 400 scans were ready to download. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome! Here are four of my top picks:

(Bands: Endless Swarm, Crohns, Human Obliteration)

I like the composition, nothing is blurry, everything looks fine. There are a few others that turned out nice, as well.

Unfortunately, there are some that could have been better. I was a little late hitting the shutter on some of them! This resulted in faces covered by the microphone, or heads turned, and I didn’t get the greatest shots. I noticed there is a very tiny delay when pressing the shutter. I’m not sure if that is the way the camera is meant to be or if it’s a defect because it’s old. Either way, I missed a few good shots due to changes in position made in just a fraction of time.

Another issue was some of the subjects closer to me turned out blurry but everything in the background came out sharp! That was a bummer because I missed the chance to take some really neat pictures. But now I am aware this camera does that and can be mindful in the future. Maybe there is a way to prevent this from happening and I need to explore the features of this camera a little more, but the camera is pretty simple, and I don’t know what adjustments could be made.

I added all the photos to my gallery:

[CLICK HERE]

If you click on each picture it will show the band name and you can also save the pictures.

I’ve included all of them so everyone can see the little flaws I pointed out. I do love the look and excitement of film, but it’s also challenging because you don’t know what you’re going to get. I can walk away from a show with my digital camera and say, “I know I got some good ones”, but it’s a surprise with film. Gotta hope for the best!

I’ll share my next roll of film when it’s ready!

A little different technique

I went to Cafe Colonial last night to see Goatcorpse, Slege, Abhorrency, and Demoncy! I decided to use my camera a bit differently since I have been feeling a little more mindful about my flash. The venue is much too dark for me to go without my flash, but I can take advantage of certain situations and I have also been experimenting with having the flash on at a low setting.

The lighting was low, like usual, but Goatcorpse and Slege had candles, and there was also a smoke machine being used for all the bands, so that helped with lighting a little bit. I got a little lucky if a musician was standing under one of the lights. I had my ISO up to 6400, which is the highest it goes. The images are grainy at that setting, but I can get away with that when photographing black metal aesthetic. A lot of the pictures with no flash turned out too dark, but some of them where salvaged with some editing.

I have been using the flash on a lower setting lately and editing if need be. I have also been revisiting an older technique that I used to experiment with years ago and had ditched for a while, which is slowing my shutter speed. I used to take pictures like that a lot years ago. Once in a while, I’d get a few really neat pictures by doing that. The pictures started looking like they were taken through drunk goggles the rest of the time, and I decided to stop doing that. I’ve been doing it again at the last few shows, but I don’t do it the whole time.

Anyways, here are some examples of photos I took doing one of the aforementioned techniques. Two photos of each band. In general, I think the photos turned out okay! I was feeling concerned when I was taking the pictures, hoping I would get some good ones. All of the pictures I took are here. I hope you all enjoy them.

Kodak Gold 200

I got a roll of film developed!

I used an old Keystone Royal 35 camera for this. This camera is kind of hit or miss! Sometimes it has neat light leaks. Sometimes the pictures don’t turn out that well. Here are some from this roll that look quite nice!

22nd and J
(This picture isn’t amazing, but I like how part of the previous image appears here and I like the colors.)

There were some more that turned out decently, but not all of them. I think this camera has issues advancing the film sometimes.

I bought a Fuji 400 when I dropped this roll off and I think I want to use my Canon for that roll.

Finally broke down and bought an external flash!

I started taking live music photos digitally with a point and shoot in 2008 until I got a Canon Rebel in 2010. I have been using the built in flash since then. I won’t use the flash at all if the venue lighting is good enough, but it is almost always not! But 13 years is a long time to use my built in flash.

The thought of buying an external flash crossed my mind many times, but I kept saying to myself, “Ahhh my camera is already a pain in the ass to lug around and I don’t want to add another piece to it! Then it won’t fit in my camera bag anymore. Then I will have to learn how to use them damn thing!” Of course, these excuses have kept me from taking better quality photos. Some pictures would look nicer if the flash wasn’t so harsh.

My images have pretty much looked the same for many years. I haven’t spent much money on new gear. I feel like the quality of my images should have improved over time. My subjects deserve better. So I did it today! I went to Mike’s Camera and bought an external flash! I’ll need to do a lot of experimenting with it to get good results, but I am excited I am doing something to improve my photography. It’s been way too long.

Denunciation

IMG_5487A

Denunciation is based in Sacramento and described as Disgusting Misanthropic Ignorant Death Metal. After experiencing them live, I can say that description is pretty accurate.

Members are:

N. Barnhart – guitar
J. DeOdio – vocals
N. Liuzzi – drums
B. Tardiff – bass

These musicians have all come from other bands I’ve loved, so I am in total support of this project. They are in the process of recording at Earth Tone Studios in Sacramento and also have some shows coming up. I advise you to follow them on Facebook for info and updates.