Ponsonby and Grand Central again.

Alan Brown on keys last night.

Every other Thursday night at the Grand Central in Ponsonby there's a chance to hear some very talented musicians.  It's the Alan Brown Project with vocals by Cherie Mathieson.  Last night was really rather good fun and I think each member of the band was having a great time.

Light levels were quite low ... as is usually the case at the Grand Central ... so I set the camera to ISO5000 and the lens wide open at f1.4.  Focus wasn't the easiest, and at such a high ISO the shots are a little noisy, but perhaps that adds to the atmosphere?

The light was red ... oh I hate red lights at these venues!!  It really doesn't help me with colour shots at all, so quite a few of the shots I've converted to black and white.  I'll just post a few images of the band members in this post.  Maybe let me know what you think.  Perhaps let me know if you prefer colour or monochrome?

A monochrome treatment of Andy Smith 

Here's Andy having fun in colour

Junior Turua lurking in the shadows under the stairs!  VERY low light!!

I told you the light was red!!  Here's the gorgeous Cherie Mathieson.

Jono Sawyer at the back in the rhythm section!

Clevedon Jazz and Wine Festival

The Alan Brown Project on a somewhat "rural" stage.

After being somewhat challenged shooting Alan and the band at the Grand Central with very low light levels, a chance to take photographs during the day seemed like an opportunity not to be missed.  New challenges now though!  As you can see from the first image in this post, the stage setup was a little different to say the least.  Tractors, Ambulances as well as a very large rescue boat were background objects not normally found at a jazz performance.

Nathan Haines

A special treat for the listeners was the appearance of Mr. Nathan Haines performing along with the Alan Brown Project.  On vocals we were treated to the very lovely Cherie Mathieson.  So there you have it, a wonderful line-up, but something you can enjoy every other Thursday at the Grand Central in Ponsonby.  Maybe I'll see you there one day ;-)

Thankfully, unlike today, the weather was warm and sunny, with stalls providing plenty of food and drink to help make it a lovely afternoon.

I'll just leave you with a few more images of the band on stage and encourage you to take a look on my Facebook page where you can see some more photographs.  Perhaps you might "Like" what you see ;-)

Karika Turua

Andy Smith

Alan Brown

Cherie Mathieson

Cherie Mathieson

Jono Sawyer

Jono Sawyer

Busy, busy, busy, ...

Opening dance sequence at the True South Fashion Show in Mangere

One of the gorgeous dancers at the True South Fashion Show.

Busy?  Well, yes!  Friday night I was down at Mangere to see the True South Fashion Show.  Tasha Lee had her RastaLee Collection on the catwalk and it was superb.  I think everyone was impressed.  Polyfabulous!!

Besides seeing fashion for the larger Polynesian lady, there were musical numbers by Rosita Vai and Bella Kalolo.  These two girls were superb!  I'll post a few shots below for your amusement.

Saturday I was at a video shoot all day.  I'd never been to one of these before and I had a great time.  So many very skillful people making movie magic.  Wonderful.  I met Cherie Mathieson on the set, and then popped out to see her again playing with Contagious at Botany's Cock 'n Bull.  She's lovely.

Today I've been in the garden and trying to sort through the many photos taken over the past few days.  Busy?  You bet!  Having fun? Of course.  Great fun meeting the people, taking the shots and processing them.

There's a few things on this next week too, so please check back regularly to check on progress.

Bella Kalolo 

Rosita Vai.

Cherie Mathieson.