Dublin band The Hot Sprockets were on the bill at this week’s Phantom’s First Friday. I met up with the guys before the show for a few shots. While the above show is more in keeping with the band’s image and musical style, they weren’t afraid to try somethings a little more fun. These guys are a great talent and a great laugh. There’ll be more from these here in the future, hopefully.
And a go at a Libertines style shot:
I was recently asked to take the first picture of DCU’s new president, Prof. Brian McCraith for the College View, DCU’s award winning newspaper. Having been reading Strobists blog for the last while religiously, I felt more prepared for this shoot than any other. This is the picture I had in my head when I walked into his office.
I got to sit in on the interview with Vicky Kavanagh and was very impressed with his plans for DCU for the future (and his musical taste!). All that will be revealed in the College View Article when it is published.
Click Image to see larger
After an interview with the guys from ‘Girls‘ for our radio show (Two States), my co-host Danny organised a little photoshoot with the band for me. I was given three minutes, which meant an elaborate light-set up was not possible, so natural light was key. I shot RAW and managed to produce this baby with some tinkering.
The interview will be broadcast Monday 6th September at 10am and repeated on the 9th at 8pm.
The lads from Hoax were the latest crowd to get the Deadl.ie treatment. We met up at the docks and after a few minutes they were totally relaxed and some of the best models I’ve worked with yet. You can check the guys out here and if you like what you hear they’re playing Sunday 15th August in the Mezz
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Photographer’s Notes:
The lads chose to meet at 9pm, which was perfect lighting-wise. The sun was setting and the lights at the docklands were coming alive. Worked out perfectly. Two strobes were used, two SB-600s fired using Nikon’s on-baord CLS, both at full power. The lights were situated at 45′ to each side of the band, the left using a shoot through umbrella and the right through my new Ezybox.
The left light was aimed at the member furthest on the right and vice-versa with the left strobe, ensuring a nice even spread of light across the band. There was no back-lighting this time.
The green-shot (no.3) was performed with a shutter speed of 1/80 whilst moving the camera freely in my hand as I shot. It was enough to lightly blur the scene, with the flashes (firing at the end of the shutter) was strong enough to ensure detail and clarity.
The set, so far is available here:
Machine Gun Baby (Above)
Having been invited along to this night at the Button Factory, by the lovely Katie Hogan from Isotope Dublin, I thought I’d share the results with you guys now.
The lighting there was as fantastic as always, and despite a lively crowd and lack of a photopit, the night was a success. The first shot in the set is one of my favourites I’ve taken in quite a while. Similarly with number 4, which only really ‘popped’ when it was converted into Black and White. Hopefully you agree!
Sorry about the lack of updates lately, I’ve been busy with other projects, such as my radio show on 2xm, which I hot with ‘Mr.Fantastic’ Danny Carroll.
Today Dublin five-piece (drummer absent from pictures) dropped into the Two States studios for a session and interview. The lads were more than happy for a photoshoot and despite some technical issues with my flashes I think I managed to get at least one decent shot of them. The interview will be airing mid-August on 2XM – more details will follow as they come.
Right, so the strobist obsession continues. After splashing out for Joe McNally‘s two books earlier this week, I was bitten by this photo-flash malarkey once more and had to give it a go. Lacking a beautiful model however, meant that it was up to myself to not only dial in all the numbers and figures, but to also look nonchalant and well, poncey. I succeeded in at least one of these aims.
It was a fairly simple set up, as you can see below:
So two flashes, two diffusers (one coloured), a small GorillaPod and one lighting stand. Hardly an overly elaborate set-up. But to be honest, without Mr.McNally’s tips, this would’ve been a lot more daunting that I thought it would be.
But to be honest the storbes aren’t really the hard part here – the background is. I needed to use the available light to my advantage (you can see it to the back of the scene in the windows). So I had to work that in. So firstly expose using Aperture Mode, with matrix-metering. That gave me this:
Which is fair enough to an extent. In the camera’s brain, this is a well exposed picture apparently. But lets be honest, it’s a bit shite. I mean it’s equally dark and bright at the same time. Look out the windows – pure white. Never a good thing in a photograph, really. So then you stick it in manual and take it down a stop or two until it starts looking a bit better – in the window area only. So you should get this (well, if you live in my house and have the camera pointing in the same direction, at least):
Right, technically awful, but nicer lighting in the window area – especially on the table. I mean that’sa nice table. Poifect.
Then you just bring in the lights. One behind the model (well, hello) and the other above them seems to be a fairly standard affair, according to good ol’ Joe. The one behind lights up the background and gives a nice outline, the other obviously just lights up the face. The background light had a CTO diffuser on it, just to warm things up a bit. The lights practically do everything themselves in iTTL (intelligent Through The Lens), but I felt I needed to adjust them slightly (+3 in the back and -1 on the face).
I’m not saying these are perfect portraits (far from it – lookit the highlights on the white appliances for a start), but given that I was manual focusing, aiming, pressing a timer release, legging it around the table like a rabbit jogging through marshmallow, I think I did okay.
G’wan then. One more prat-shot:
….Oh and get The Hot Shoe Diaries. If you like any of this stuff it’ll change your view on the whole malarkey. It’s inspiring and informative and great fun too. It’ll be helping me along my way here for a long time!
Or as it shall be known as, The Hayley appreciation post. Enjoy:
While most people will remember today as the one year anniversary of Michael Jacksons death, but to me June 25th 2009 was the day I shot my very first gig.
It was a baptism of fire. I was armed only with my D80 and a 50mm f1.8. I had no previous experience really. I’d been to some gigs as a punter with a camera before, but this was a whole different kettle of fish. There were rules now – three songs only, no flash. And a rake of other photographers. Four overall, including myself. I thought this was the norm at the time, but have since learned it’s about three more than usual. The misfits were – and still are – big news to their fans. The queue had started an hour before the doors even opened – two and a half hours before the band were due onstage. And they were freaks. All waxed up hair, odd piercings and gloomy looks. I was a bit out of place with my ‘Travis ’01′ tee shirt…
I was no way prepared for this gig. There was one light. A neon blue lazer that shots around the crowd. The band were in practical darkness. Intentionally obviously – they were so old the thick layers of make-up had worked its way into their wrinkles. There were fans on each band member, presumably to keep them alive. I was shitting meself – My first assignment and I was looking at an instant fail. Thankfully, I panicked and adjusted my settings down and shot continuously for the first two songs. A quick check at my screen between shots showed nada. Pure black. At f/1.8, 1/40 and ISO at about 1250 (the D80 doesn’t really handle it well at anything higher than that) it was black shot after black shot.
Then, there was a flash from the front row. Someone had a camera and their flash went off at exactly the same time as I took my picture. It was all I needed. One picture that was usable. Nice and sharp and good focus about the eye area. The relief was immense. I kept on shooting, but got very little else.
The image was used on State, which was a nice relief too, but I always felt there should have been at least one more.
Thankfully it’s gotten better since. Some gigs have three usable pictures these days!
Absolutely amazing fun, this one. Can’t say enough how much I enjoyed it. I shot Paramore and Joan Jett too – and you’ll be able to set the lot of them (and the rest of the Green Day ones) over on State when they appear. Frosty will also have his up soon – and they’re pretty damn good.
Oh, go on then, here’s one more:
