Take Note ... take 3

Neil Stewart on drums, Take Note, Lynfield Cock 'n Bull

Friday night at the Lynfield Cock 'n Bull with Take Note was a blast.  I wasn't really sure what to expect as I'd never been to the Lynfield Cock 'n Bull, but it was great.  I'll be back :-)

Jason (Smith) fired up the smoke machine, enthusiastic dancers hit the dance floor and the band as a whole seemed much more relaxed than last week, and ready to party.  They played the same songs as last time, but I thought there was something different with the delivery.  Perhaps it was the girls on the dance floor, perhaps they were less concerned with yours truely snapping away with a camera.  I'm not sure, but they were really good.

Lighting, as last time, was wonderful for me.  I was able to use a wide angle lens with a minimum aperture of f4, get ISOs down to 1600 and use shutter speeds over 1/100sec.

Jason Smith, lead guitar and vocals, Take Note, Lynfield Cock 'n Bull

This wasn't the case for all shots though.  The first shot in this post has Neil Stewart in the midst of the smoke machine output.  The drummer is invariably at the back of the set, and this is no exception with Take Note.  As such my wide angle lens wasn't really long enough to capture Neil.  The shot of Neil was taken with a 50mm lens, f2.2, 1/80sec and ISO 2500.

I don't find it easy taking shots of drummers and have been trying a slower shutter speed in an attempt to get some motion in the sticks.  In a number of the songs Neil's head stays reasonably still, but his hands and sticks fair fly.  Using shutter speed down to about 1/50sec lets me get some blur in the sticks.  Problem is, if there's too much blur the the stick becomes so faint that you don't really see it.  As I said.  I find it hard.  Anyway, let me know what you think of the first shot.

The second shot has Jason Smith in some of the smoke.  The smoke gives a lovely atmosphere and I need to play with its effects more to fully appreciate what you can do.  I must admit to being amused that at one time no smoke machines were necessary as the pub's patrons acted as smoke machines ... probably generating significantly more smoke that Jason's machine could ever hope to manufacture.

Jason Wilson on Bass Guitar, Take Note, Lynfield Cock 'n Bull

Shot three has Jason Wilson on bass guitar.  Last week Jason seemed to be holed up in a corner and out of the way, but this evening we got to see rather more of him.  This third shot has been desaturated as the coloured lights didn't really flatter the scene at all.  Sadly you don't see the lovely grain in the body of his guitar.  This shot from last week may give you a better idea.

The last shot shows Sue Dyson at the microphone fulfilling her role as vocalist for the group.  There's a few more shots of Sue here that have been converted to black and white.  Perhaps let me know what you think of the monochrome images as compared to the colour image in this post.

So there you have it.  A shot of each of the band members taken at Lynfield's Cock 'n Bull.  They're a great band and well worth going to see, and dance to!

Sue Dyson, vocalist for Take Note at Lynfield Cock 'n Bull

Take Note ... take 2

Take Note ... in monochrome.

Black and white images have interesting properties and can often convey a better impression of an event than a full colour shot can.  Is it because you look more at the shapes?  Perhaps you're imagination fills in the gaps?  Then again, perhaps the photograph can focus your mind on the more salient aspects of the image?  I'm not sure, but a good black and white image is VERY hard to beat!  Sadly,  can't claim to have the ability to craft these stunning monochrome images ... but that doesn't stop me trying.  Sorry :-(

So, this post has a few monochrome images from Take Note's performance last Friday night at Ellerslie's Cock 'n Bull.  Take a look at let me know what you think.  Part of me things the "noise", lack of precise focus or movement in the image is acceptable and almost expected in certain shots.  Hints and suggestions are more than welcome by the way.

Take Note ... take 1

Friday night at Ellerslie's Cock 'n Bull.  I had a great time.  I'm often taking photographs of Contagious, but this evening I had a change and went along to see Take Note.  I'd heard of the band, but never been to see them.  I must admit that I'm rather pleased that I made the effort and went along to watch them perform.  I was a little concerned that the lights may not be good enough to get reasonable shots of the musicians, but there was nothing to worry about in that department.  The lights were great and I was even shooting down at ISO 1250 for some shots ... I've never been able to do this before, except at outdoor events!  Jason (Smith) seemed to be the one sorting the lights and he did a great job.  Made my life easier that's for sure!

The band is a four piece ensemble with Sue Dyson (who you can see to the left) as lead vocalist.  Well, certainly for the female parts.  Jason Smith did a great job with vocals and certainly surprised me with his vocals in some of the Bee Gee's songs. Very well done Jason.

Great range of songs from the band and very well executed.  I had a good time taking the photos, but would have had just as much fun if I'd left the camera at home and just gone along to enjoy the atmosphere and dance around on the dance floor.

I'll close this post with a couple more images from last night.  In these shots you'll see Jason Wilson on bass guitar and Neil Stewart on the drums.

Please let me know what you think, perhaps subscribe to the blog then you'll get regular updates :-)  Also, if you think I could have as much fun taking shots of your band, and you think shots like those you see here may be of use to you, drop me an email and I'll try to come along.