Tag: Photography

Ordered a new camera!

I’m excited I finally did this so I would like to write about it.

I have been doing photography for about 17 years and finally invested in something that might help me level up a little bit! Nothing major, but a huge step compared to what I’ve been working with all these years. I spent a lot of years saying, “Maybe one day, but until then, this is what I have.” I often pushed this “want” to the side, but finally decided I want to be happy with what I love to do.

I’ve always had average older model Canons. They are nice cameras, but I’ve been limited. My biggest limitation has always been issues involving low light. If there isn’t much light, I have to hike up the ISO and deal with graininess. The ISO wasn’t very high on my last camera and my current camera only goes to 6400. So low lighting has been an issue for me no matter what I have tried to photograph.

I kept hearing the mirrorless cameras are really good. I have never been someone who went into camera stores and played with all the cameras to see what they do and what I like best. I guess I don’t want them to think I am buying. I’ll usually look at cameras on the internet and see what specifications I prefer. And maybe I’ll ask around. By doing this, I’ve been trying to narrow my decisions down to a couple important features.

The first thing is, of course, a camera that does good in low lighting. I would like to lean towards photographing live music without a flash, unless I really need to. Flash is great for capturing really fast shit, but if it’s not fast, I prefer to not use a flash. Plus, I have been feeling like such an introvert these days. Having a camera that keeps flashing isn’t exactly drawing attention away from myself. Not using a flash would help me feel more like a ninja.

The second thing I have been wanting in a camera is something smaller that still takes amazing photos. Something compact. I get tired of lugging around a larger camera, and I am not a fan of my clunky camera bag. Something smaller would be great. A compact camera. And I’m unsure if anyone has noticed me shaking my hand at shows, but the larger camera sometimes makes my hand ache. Arthritis. 😐

A little voice in my head has been telling me, “Get a professional camera.” But what is a professional camera? Something I don’t wanna spend money on? Am I even professional? 😂No…I am professional at work. I don’t make money doing photography. I’m just going to get something that works for me.

So, after talking to a few friends, including Carlo (thephantomnaut), I started thinking a Sony. I looked around online and decided to go with a Sony Alpha 7C. I’ve never even held one before, so I don’t have any experience with one, but it is a step up from what I have now. I am eager to get familiar with it. I haven’t been happy with my photography for a little while, even to the point that I feel discouraged. I am hoping this will change that. It’s a little more than I wanted to spend, and by spend, I mean put on credit card. But like I mentioned, I want to be happy with what I love to do.

I’ll have to write an update when I get familiar with the new camera. My next goal is to upgrade the program I use to edit my photos. What do I use now? Oh, just Adobe Photoshop 7.0 from 2002. 😂 Oh, I need glasses, too.

Slacking off.

My live music photography has taken quite a dive. I haven’t been going to many shows these days, and although I know I’ve been missing out, I’ve been prioritizing other life things. My job has also been leaving me mentally drained these days. I haven’t been feeling motivated to take pictures at all. This has happened to me before. I just wasn’t feeling happy with my photography and went on hiatus. I mean why do something if you’re not feeling it? I have other fulfilling hobbies I can focus on.

One of my main reasons I haven’t been happy with my photography is I feel I need to get an upgrade camera. I don’t even know what kind I want. I’d like a smaller, lighter camera, but I don’t know what kind to get that will still produce quality pictures. I definitely want the option to not use flash. That’s going to be an important next move. I have a vision for the kind of photos I want to take, and I am just not seeing what I have in mind when I look at my pictures. I need to figure out what gear I want and get familiar with it so I can take the kinds of pictures I can feel proud of. I am not trying to spend a million dollars, either. I have other things I want to spend money on.

There is some photography I could be motivated to do. For example, I recently did a shoot with a couple of musician homies at a nice location with natural light. I enjoyed doing the shoot and the style of pics we took. I’ll be eager to share some of the photos when the musicians are ready to share them.

I could be motivated to photograph if it gives me an artistic outlet. I’ve had a few ideas in my back pocket for a while so maybe I should do those things. Or try out some of my other hobbies. Time will tell. I’m not gonna stress.

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!

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.

Defecrator

Shortly after I did my shoot with Gloriam Draconis, I was also honored to do a shot with Defecrator. They are a black/death metal band from Sacramento. They are currently working on their full length and seeking to play more shows outside the Sacramento area.

Anti-Human Black/Death of Satan
Angel Raping Invoker of Bestial Chaos: guitar/vocals
Anti-Human Unholy Sexslayer of Hate: drums/vocals
Abhorrent Orgy Ejaculator of the Dead: bass/vocals
Check them out: