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!

Night time cats.

Some of you may be aware that there's a stray cat that frequents our compost heap. Tonight, the mother cat and a kitten came to the back door. It was dark, but I thought I'd try a few shots anyway. Lens wide open at f1.4 and ISO 5000 I thought I's get some reasonable shutter speeds and avoid blur.  Just a few quick snaps, but I quite like a couple of them.  Perhaps let me know what you think :-)

Mum approaching me obviously thinking the camera is a food dispenser!

Kitten waiting to see what happens to mum.

Very shallow DoF at f1.4, but look at those eyes!!

Ever hopeful there'll be some food!

Interesting light on the kitten keen not to miss out on any food!

Always wary of any move I make and ready to run for cover.

The end ... or is it the beginning?

Wednesday this week was my last day working for my employer of the past 20 years!  A number of people have said it marked the end of an era.  Sure, some things will not be the same, but in many ways that's a good thing.  I think it's time for me to do something different with my time now, and hopefully this will mark the beginning of a new and exciting chapter of my life.  It may also mark the start of a new and exciting chapter for my previous employer ... I certainly hope so.

For many years, photography has been an interest, a passion and to some degree an obsession!  From early years I was always fascinated with the camera.  I can recall being bedazzled by the light sensors around the front lens element on my Dad's half frame Konica.  Here's an image of a similar camera to the one that started my enthusiasm so many years ago!  After this camera there was the Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F, a brief spell with a Cosina CSR (the camera died an unpleasant death in Jordan in 1979) and then a very long and happy time with my Pentax MX.  I still have this camera and love it.  Gorgeous piece of equipment and beautifully made.

Now I'm using Nikon gear.  I tried the Pentax dSLR offerings, but they didn't feel right.  I tried Canon and that just didn't feel as comfortable in my hands as the Nikon.  All the buttons, knobs and dials just seemed to be where I wanted them with the Nikon.  In fact I have the same fondness for my Nikon as I had for my MX when that was my main camera.  Is it better or worse than Canon or Pentax?  I don't know and, to be honest, don't care.  I like it and am happy with it, just like other folks prefer other brands.

So here I am.  No job and time on my hands to do something I'd really like to do.  I get the chance to take photographs instead of snapshots.  I get the chance to wait and observe instead of being frustrated I have to be somewhere else and end up missing the shot.  I'll get the chance to spend time with people and listen to what they have to say ... have a laugh and deepen our friendships, but most of all, I'm really looking forward to having some fun with my family and friends.

Some of my friends lent me the new Nikon 85mm f1.8G lens to play with ... but only briefly.  I took the opportunity to shoot some of my musician friends at a bar in Auckland last night.  Often the light levels are quite low in the bars and I wanted to see how this new lens would perform wide open (to let in as much light as possible).  Take a squiz at the shots below and perhaps let me know what you think.

Mr Semi Leo on bass guitar.  85mm f1.8 and wide open.  1/100sec and ISO 2500

Semi again, lovely bokeh (blur) in the background.  I really like how the lights appear as circles.

One of my favourite shots from the evening.  Quite nice warm, "cosy" light.

Even wide open the lens isn't too bad; the bokeh lovely and smooth.

Wide open ... but with a bit of flash camera right.

Guinness is good for you ... hadn't you heard?

Happy Christmas!!

Happy Christmas!!


Often at this time of year we think of "Peace".  I came across this Ancient Chinese proverb that you might like to ponder ...


If there is to be peace in the world, 
There must be peace in the nations. 
If there is to be peace in the nations, 
There must be peace in the cities. 
If there is to be peace in the cities, 
There must be peace between neighbors. 
If there is to be peace between neighbors, 
There must be peace in the home. 
If there is to be peace in the home, 
There must be peace in the heart.
Lao Tzu


Question now is, from where does that peace in your heart come?  Perhaps by thinking of the true meaning of Christmas the answer may become a little clearer?


Happy Christmas ... stay safe, and all the best for 2012!!

A bit of a change ...

Autumn and night time, especially when the temperature cools offers some interesting possibilites with the camera.  I've often been quite taken with the way the street lights make shadows on the silver birch trees in my front yard so thought I'd try a few shots this evening.

It was really quite dark and so exposures were up at about 30 second with the ISO set at 800 and 1600.

Colours?  Ah, well, we've played with these a little.  The shots as imported off the camera were way to red.  The street light is a yellow colour and I think the auto white balance got a bit confused.  Anyway, let me know what you think.

The last shot in this post is of the grass under the tree.  I mentioned that the temperatures were falling and you can pick out the dew on the grass.  I quite liked the sparkles  in the water droplets and the somewhat abstract effect in a closeup shot of the grass stalks.