Reflections: Back to the Cock 'n Bull ...

A chance to see Allegro at the Newmarket Cock 'n Bull last night wasn't to me missed. I've not seen these guys perform together for what seems like ages, and they were good. Semi Leo and Malcolm Lakatani (bass and lead guitar) you've seen a few times on these pages, and Grace Ikenasio (vocals), but you've not seen so much of Saylene Ulberg (keyboards) or Patrick Tanielu (drums). Great sounds from the band last night and they "gel" very well together to produce and nice tight sound. Great fun.

Patrick Tanielu playing drums for Allegro at the Cock 'n Bull, Newmarket.

It was a few weeks ago that I tried the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 with Semi and Malcolm at the same location. Quite a nice lens, but focussing was a problem in low light. Last night I was privileged to try the 85mm f1.4. Huge difference! This lens was fast to focus and really didn't give me any concerns at all. I was always anxious with the f1.8 that it was going to hunt for focus, no such concern with the f1.4. This lens was wonderful to use. As when I used this lens before I decided to shoot wide open at f1.4. The lens isn't the sharpest at this aperture ... peaks at about f4. Even so, resolution is still very good indeed in the centre when wide open. The edges suffer a bit and go quite soft, but that's fine for the type of shots you'll see in this post and often adds something special to the shot anyway. Background blur is deliciously smooth so this lens is definitely worth considering ... even if it is three times the price of the the f1.8!

Saylene Ulberg playing keyboards for Allegro at Newmarket's Cock 'n Bull.

The second shot in this post illustrates to some extent the blur you can achieve with this lens. The lamp to Saylene's left is the same lamp you can see in the shot of Patrick but it has been smoothed beautifully and the highlights appearing and lovely circles. Both lenses have curved aperture blades and both lenses provide gorgeous bokeh.

Malcolm Lakatani ... wonderfully playful (as usual) on lead guitar.

Shot three in this post has Malcolm Lakatani on lead guitar. Malcolm oozes talent and really engages with the audience. His naturally playful character shines through in his performance ... we even saw him on the dance floor last night giving a few pointers to some of the patrons.

Again this shot is wide open and you can see the effect this has on the potentially distracting background. The wall behind Malcolm is a collection of framed pictures, but all you see in the shot is a smooth blur. Very pleasing behaviour from this lens.

Semi Leo on bass guitar with Allegro at Newmarket's Cock 'n Bull.

Shot four has Semi Leo on bass with the street lights shining through the window behind him. Lovely treatment of the highlights, but you do notice a bit of colour fringing on the highlights at the wide aperture. Something to worry about? In this shot I don't think so. You'll also notice in this shot the very shallow depth of field. Semi's left eye is focussed, but look along his shoulders and you'll notice how quickly things go out of focus. In my eyes, very nice.

I'll finish this post with a couple more shots. You'll get to see Saylene in colour, and then a shot each of Malcolm and Semi in monochrome thanks to Silver Efex Pro. If you are converting colour shots to monochrome it may be worth you checking out Silver Efex Pro by Nik Software. It lets you do many of the things you used to do in the darkroom on your computer.

I hope you enjoyed the images ... perhaps let me know what you think?