Category Archives: Fuji x100s

Catching Up, II. Ladies of the Blues at Jonathan’s Landing

I’ve been enjoying going to the Jams and Concerts at Jonathan’s Landing Golf course for a while, especially when I’m acting in my self selected role of “the camera guy”.  About a month ago, three really great performers showed up together for a great Sunday afternoon of the blues! April Mae and the June Bugs were the first act. April plays washboard and sings. Dave Fecca is an outstanding performer and works on guitars too. He builds and plays Cigar Box guitars.

April Mae and the June Bugs
April Mae and the June Bugs

Deb Callahan and her band made the trip down from the Philly area and did a great set. I like hearing her songs, great stuff.

Deb Callahan and her Band

Last, but not least was Skyla Burrell. That lady can play the guitar! She and her band have been together for a while, and it shows.

Skyla Burrell rocking it out, using feedback from her speaker to make some cool music
Skyla Burrell rocking it out, using feedback from her speaker to make some cool music
Skyla and the guys
Skyla and the guys

The finale for the day was when all three ladies got up and jammed together. I’m fascinated to watch pros working together and playing off each other.

The three ladies jamming and having a good time.
The three ladies jamming and having a good time.

 

For the photo geeks, I did all these photos with my Fuji x100s, in raw format. Usually, when I’m shooting at Jonathans, there is a combination of stage lights and low ambient light. I usually set the camera to underexpose about 1 stop from “correct” exposure so the skin doesn’t get blown out by the bright lights. I’m usually at ISO 3200, F 2.0 and about 1/60 to 1/125. I use Light Room to “develop” the photos in B&W. I do B&W for 2 reasons. The mixed light is often unflattering so changing it to B&W gets rid of that issue, and secondly, I just like the B&W. It’s kind of timeless.
In Light Room, I usually use the built in preset #3 and then maybe back off the highlights and grain in the preset.

On a related note, I like seeing the bands using my photos on their websites and Facebook pages. See if you can spot my photos on those sites!

Andrew Wyeth “Autobiography” and a puff of white fur

I’m reading Andrew Wyeth’s book “Autobiography” that accompanied an art show of Wyeth’s works back in the 90s. I love his work! What makes the book so interesting is that Wyeth talks a little about how or why he made the paintings in the book. Many of the paintings are based on some small, seemingly insignificant detail that we might not notice without Andrew telling us what he was thinking or seeing that day that inspired the painting.

In this photo that I did with my Fuji x100s the other day I was at first commenting on the casual disposal of what remained of what was once a beautiful animal. What drew me in when I processed the photo in Lightroom and MacPhun Tonality Pro was the puff of white fur on the far left back side of the deer in the photo. The details by the mouth are of interest too.  I first learned of Tonality from a write up by a very talented photographer from San Diego, Peter Tellone.

Deer Remains found in a parking area near a wildlife area
Deer Remains found in a parking area near a wildlife area