Seriously? Seriously.
I want to go and re-edit every single big show I've shot with Lightroom. Being able to do such simple edits in RAW that come out fan-effing-tastic and to be taking about one-tenth the time it took me tosuck ass at use Photoshop has completely changed my life. I mean, really. I think the shots I did of the bands at KEXP this past Saturday might be some of the best in-studios I've ever done. Next up: 35mm prime lens and permanent software. And Laura's still awesome.
I have to stop saying seriously so much. But I can't help it.
We, as they say, are in business. Check this out:
The guys in The Soft Hills were super-sweet and super thankful for the photos. Easy peasy and a great set of music. Here's the flickr-ness.
Pearly Gate Music, on the other hand, made me pretty nervous. I had spent the better part of their soundcheck thinking I had almost deleted the first band's shots, and as a result I had to kind of burst into the in-studio room with about ten minutes left in the soundcheck. Standard lines ensue, hi, do you mind if I take some shots for the station, no one minds, get the shots, make nice, get out. When it's a really loud-ass friendly band (like Lady Dottie & the Diamonds), I've even stayed in for the actual set -- and while nothing inherently awkward happened with these dudes, and there was no un-friendly, I was all sweaty armpits and tripping over my feet. Long story short, I took about 240 shots in under ten minutes and got the hell out of there.
I hopped into the soundbooth room to watch & hear the set, and literally could not believe my ears. It was as if someone flipped a switch and this flawless incredible kind of awesome started pouring out of these guys. Then I'm talking to the sound guy about how I was totally losing at Hipster Olympics as I tried not to break any equipment / throw up, and I learn that it's J. Tillman on drums, and Zach Tillman on lead. (Seriously!) You can imagine the magic that was going on as a result. The music was eighty-layered vocal amazingness: think everything that's good and echoey about Fleet Foxes (circa MMJ doing it first, but that's just my opinion), minus the leftover hippie campfire-Americana, plus some bad-ass early Neil Young-esque abstract-Americana stop-you-in-mid-everything lyrics. Something like, your [stupid good adjective] hair / and my clumsy hands... Right. Unbelievable. Pass for next Friday's J. Tillman / PGM show in process.
As I mentioned earlier, these just might be some of the best live shots I've ever taken. I was editing them and kind of freaked out about it, and then I realized that with all this band-dude-in-the-dark shooting, I'm getting an insane photography workout. So capturing epic moments in a well-lit room gets to be almost second nature, because I can concentrate more on what's going on and less on whether or not my camera is doing what I want it to. Like when I take my point and shoot out to get something in broad daylight, I don't have to think about the in-the-dark part. I don't mean to imply that it's easy per se, but more that it's getting easier. I'm noting this in particular because it's been quite some time since anything has gotten measurably easier, and now so much is getting easier. Like I'm catching up, with something.
PS, high contrast black & white is my new rad. I've used b&w a lot to hide noise, shit lighting, screwups, whatever -- but in this case I used it on two shots for that, and on the rest because it made the shots look like what it felt like when they played.
And not to be brushed aside, even though it's the wrap-up set on this week's post, Mark Siano & the Freedom Dancers (with a lineup of my other theater group favorites) brought the schtick to the Little Theater this past Friday. Fun, fun, burlesque, Blood Squad -- who you should go and spend money to see as soon as humanly possible -- Becky Poole, and the rest of the regulars. Mark's been getting some good PR lately, and I'm happy that good things are happening for these guys.
In related news: I got a job. A real, honest-to-goodness job. With benefits, and paid vacations, and sick time, and a 401k. And yoga. And awesome. And it's a nonprofit. I'm so excited for it that I can't stop talking about all the rad, and as it turns out, a significant percentage of the people I know around my age also have Real Jobs. Who knew. This is so new for me, I'm like a little kid almost -- I've done sales and worked for friends and friends of friends for so long that I forgot what this stuff even looked like. Barring any hidden insanity, I think I've got a good gig with good people at a good company. And I am completely beyond grateful that all of this is going down. More to follow.
So, it's my last BioMed-paying-for-me-to-post, first day of the rest of my Everything kind of day. Oh, and it's my eight month anniversary in Seattle today. I'm fully vested in my imaginaryness, I'm having a blast, I'm making a lot of friends -- real, honest-to-goodness friends -- and I'm consistently trying on different styles of maybe-things-are-kinda-good-these-days pants. (They all fit, by the way.)
I'm going to go now, and try not to actively be waiting for something bad to happen in the middle of all this fantastic. At least, you know, until sometime next week.
I want to go and re-edit every single big show I've shot with Lightroom. Being able to do such simple edits in RAW that come out fan-effing-tastic and to be taking about one-tenth the time it took me to
I have to stop saying seriously so much. But I can't help it.
We, as they say, are in business. Check this out:
The guys in The Soft Hills were super-sweet and super thankful for the photos. Easy peasy and a great set of music. Here's the flickr-ness.
Pearly Gate Music, on the other hand, made me pretty nervous. I had spent the better part of their soundcheck thinking I had almost deleted the first band's shots, and as a result I had to kind of burst into the in-studio room with about ten minutes left in the soundcheck. Standard lines ensue, hi, do you mind if I take some shots for the station, no one minds, get the shots, make nice, get out. When it's a really loud-ass friendly band (like Lady Dottie & the Diamonds), I've even stayed in for the actual set -- and while nothing inherently awkward happened with these dudes, and there was no un-friendly, I was all sweaty armpits and tripping over my feet. Long story short, I took about 240 shots in under ten minutes and got the hell out of there. I hopped into the soundbooth room to watch & hear the set, and literally could not believe my ears. It was as if someone flipped a switch and this flawless incredible kind of awesome started pouring out of these guys. Then I'm talking to the sound guy about how I was totally losing at Hipster Olympics as I tried not to break any equipment / throw up, and I learn that it's J. Tillman on drums, and Zach Tillman on lead. (Seriously!) You can imagine the magic that was going on as a result. The music was eighty-layered vocal amazingness: think everything that's good and echoey about Fleet Foxes (circa MMJ doing it first, but that's just my opinion), minus the leftover hippie campfire-Americana, plus some bad-ass early Neil Young-esque abstract-Americana stop-you-in-mid-everything lyrics. Something like, your [stupid good adjective] hair / and my clumsy hands... Right. Unbelievable. Pass for next Friday's J. Tillman / PGM show in process.
As I mentioned earlier, these just might be some of the best live shots I've ever taken. I was editing them and kind of freaked out about it, and then I realized that with all this band-dude-in-the-dark shooting, I'm getting an insane photography workout. So capturing epic moments in a well-lit room gets to be almost second nature, because I can concentrate more on what's going on and less on whether or not my camera is doing what I want it to. Like when I take my point and shoot out to get something in broad daylight, I don't have to think about the in-the-dark part. I don't mean to imply that it's easy per se, but more that it's getting easier. I'm noting this in particular because it's been quite some time since anything has gotten measurably easier, and now so much is getting easier. Like I'm catching up, with something.
PS, high contrast black & white is my new rad. I've used b&w a lot to hide noise, shit lighting, screwups, whatever -- but in this case I used it on two shots for that, and on the rest because it made the shots look like what it felt like when they played.
[I'm singing lovesongs to your ladyparts... Or something. Insert inappropriate text here.]
And not to be brushed aside, even though it's the wrap-up set on this week's post, Mark Siano & the Freedom Dancers (with a lineup of my other theater group favorites) brought the schtick to the Little Theater this past Friday. Fun, fun, burlesque, Blood Squad -- who you should go and spend money to see as soon as humanly possible -- Becky Poole, and the rest of the regulars. Mark's been getting some good PR lately, and I'm happy that good things are happening for these guys.In related news: I got a job. A real, honest-to-goodness job. With benefits, and paid vacations, and sick time, and a 401k. And yoga. And awesome. And it's a nonprofit. I'm so excited for it that I can't stop talking about all the rad, and as it turns out, a significant percentage of the people I know around my age also have Real Jobs. Who knew. This is so new for me, I'm like a little kid almost -- I've done sales and worked for friends and friends of friends for so long that I forgot what this stuff even looked like. Barring any hidden insanity, I think I've got a good gig with good people at a good company. And I am completely beyond grateful that all of this is going down. More to follow.
So, it's my last BioMed-paying-for-me-to-post, first day of the rest of my Everything kind of day. Oh, and it's my eight month anniversary in Seattle today. I'm fully vested in my imaginaryness, I'm having a blast, I'm making a lot of friends -- real, honest-to-goodness friends -- and I'm consistently trying on different styles of maybe-things-are-kinda-good-these-days pants. (They all fit, by the way.)
I'm going to go now, and try not to actively be waiting for something bad to happen in the middle of all this fantastic. At least, you know, until sometime next week.
