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.

“Photographers ruining shows”

I’m going to write about a topic that I have been mulling over for a while now and has recently come to a peak. Within the last couple years, I have noticed I’ve occasionally started seeing things on social media where people have complained about photographers at shows for various reasons. I’ve read things like photographers being in the way and their flashes being distracting. Nothing directed towards me; mainly screenshots shared by others. It always gets me thinking when I read these things, wondering if anything I do disturbs anyone.

And, yes, I do use my flash in dark venues. If I don’t, I’m probably getting images that look like this:

I don’t have the kind of gear that can handle the minimal lighting in the venues I tend to go to. Sometimes I get lucky if someone is standing under a light, but that pretty much excludes drummers, and I like to photograph drummers, too. I get so happy when there’s good lighting, or better yet, an early show outdoors!

Anyways, just recently, I saw another photographer share some thoughts about live music photography getting out of hand and expressing a couple ways photographers might ruin shows. I think those thoughts were either coming from feedback they may have heard, or it might be their opinions on the growing number of photographers in the music scene, I don’t know.

It made me start thinking about this issue again, and honestly, it makes me feel discouraged. I decided to express myself via a story on IG, basically saying I feel like focusing my passions elsewhere due to the amount of whining about photographers at shows. And then I got a response that didn’t make me feel any better.

I am not familiar with the person who messaged me, but they (kindly) said the following about flashes at shows, coming from a perspective as a person who goes in the pit:

“Really frustrating…legitimately dangerous…seriously disorienting…can make you lose balance/fall…really annoying.“

Wow. And they stated they weren’t speaking just for themselves, but others, who express they “enjoyed the show, but the camera flash was obnoxious“.

While I am not going to dismiss their feelings and opinions…how different are we, really?

Moshing, hardcore dancing, stagediving, crowd killing…those are ALL dangerous to yourself and everyone in and out of the pit. But that’s what we all sign up for when we go to those kinds of shows, don’t we? I would still be in the pit, too, if I wasn’t old and already dealing with aches and pains, and this is why I try stay out of harm’s way. But I do love the pit. It’s a part of whole experience, which is why I sometimes photograph what goes on there.

Being in the pit, or being a casualty of the pit, can be all of those things you claim a camera flash is, if not more. But you won’t catch me complaining. So can we not coexist? Does that make photographers unfair? Can we just write this off as “elements of an extreme music show in a dark venue” without feeling experiences were ruined?

Being aware of this issue also has had me wondering what the musicians think of flashes. The majority seem to love the pictures, but I am an overthinker and will continue to be concerned.

I’ve had a few really awesome people reach out to me; a musician, a couple friends who do go in the pit, and an amazing photographer. All have inspired me to keep doing what I’m doing; what I love doing. I appreciate you all for that, for real.

At this moment, I am going to chill and ruminate over everything. I’m not feeling motivation or passion at the moment. I’ve taken a break before; maybe I need another. Maybe I will look into getting a flash diffuser. Maybe I’ll stop taking pictures of the pit, although there will be others who will still do it. I don’t know.

I still have my photoshoots I can focus on, as well as many other things I enjoy doing with my free time.

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!