U2 in Pittsburgh- a photography review

(my set of photos on Flickr)

     First off, it was relatively easy to get my 70-200 f/2.8 in to the venue. A huge lens like that, and you would think I would need some cloak and dagger to get it in, you would be sort of right. But that is not the subject of this post. (I guess it could be really) If I feel generous, I will add it to the end of the write up.

I had planned to be in the unwashed masses with General Admission for U2. Get there early, line up, grab my spot and wait. Turns out my ticket didn’t appear until 5:30pm. In the mean time I happened to get a very pricey ticket given to me for the Pittsburgh show- a Red Zone ticket. Someone couldn’t make it.

I would up third person in from one rail and on my own rail. (more on the Red Zone) I had my Canon 7D with 18GB of memory, and the following lenses with me- 15mm f/2.8 fisheye, 50mm f/1.8, 17-40 f/4, and 70-200 f/2.8. The 50mm was my decoy lens on the camera to get in the venue.  As it was used in Chicago almost two years ago!

      I talked up the security in front of me, a nice lady who pretty much could care less if I had pulled a professional video camera out. As long as I was not interfering with others and it wasn’t harming others (or the band), they could care less. This was also confirmed by the area supervisor who turned out to be a really nice guy. I quickly made friends with the folks around me, informed them of what I was doing, and they were all cool with it.

      The show started after nine, and I was very hesitant about getting the 70-200 out of my bag, and using it. After the first two songs, I pulled it out and realized I saw no one even looking at me. I continued to use it without hesitation for the entire show.  I kept looking for U2’s security to come around because I was so exposed in the spot I was in, that the big white lens would be easily spotted. I was my only check to keep using it.

     The only things that slowed me down were the weight of the gear and my own internal check for interesting photos. I had not expected to be able to use the 70-200 for 2.5 hours. That’s a lot of weight to keep up in front of my eye for stretches of time.   (3.2 pounds for the lens plus 1.8 pounds for the camera body)

     I realized the day after that I had violated a (generally speaking) cardinal rule for photography with a long lens- keep your shutter speed one stop above focal length. This caused me to lose quite a few shots. *sigh* I still got a great deal of really outstanding photos.

     Afterwards U2 friends asked me after hearing how many photos I took, “so, did you enjoy the show at all?” My response was something like this, “If I wasn’t photographing during the show, all I would have done was think about photographing it.” I think I was admitting having an addiction.

Quick hits:

•  Was trying to get some different feeling shots that just didn’t turn out in post the way I had thought they would.
• Going through 1,700+ photos is never fun, but Lightroom made it much easier.
•  During the bonus song of Bad, there was VERY basic lighting which made for very bland photos. An AMAZING song, but not so much for the photographer in me.
• For Ultravoilet, there were two techs right around Bono doing the smoke machines to help with the suit of lights Bono had. Very very distracting.  Very hard to shoot around.
• $3.50 for a bottle of water wasn’t TOO bad. Thankfully I could go refill it at a water fountain and disperse the cost.
•  Amazed at the number of empty seats.

Simple gear dilemma

So my birthday just passed and I got some cash to buy photo gear. I know what I would LIKE to get, however the budget is not that expansive! I would love to get the Canon 5D Mark II, or the 24-70mm f/2.8, but that is not realistic at all. Not when the lens is about $1300 and the Canon body is $2500.

What can I get that is cheaper and usable? Now that is a pickle.

So far I have decided on:
Op/Tec raincover
Digital Timer Remote
Two new replacement Batteries
Some Conkin P series adapters for my 70-200 lens

I am debating on several other items, such as an additional Compact Flash card, maybe trying out a cheapie beauty dish/ring light. But the debate rages in my head on what would make photographing the kids easier. At this point, unless I get a separate high ceiling room in my house with a full-time setup for portraits, not much rings a bell for me right now.

I've built some DIY gear like gridspots, light tent, gels for strobes, and some other fun stuff. But how much homemade stuff can I do?

So basically I have hit a practical wall- there are not much else I can do with small items unless I spend more time and energy to put in to the hobby to learn and grow more. I am very comfortable with my results, but I know I can do better. So whats next? I don't know if I can get there from here with the time and energy I have available.

Maybe I should just get a nice new hiking camera bag.

New soup container Strobist style hack

A friend bought some PF Changs for us, and one of the items was in a large soup container. My mind was working once I saw it. I have done a "similar" mod to a smaller soup container. But this one was more of a portrait style light mod.

Disclaimer- yes, it does look silly. Show up with this to a paid gig and prepared to be laughed at. However, the same can be said of the Fong stuff. People say it looks like a taco tip container!

So here is the setup:

What you can see is the soup container with a dual paint job. Inside is half painted white with plastic friendly spray paint. The outside is half painted with plastic friendly spray paint. The top is the same but it is completely covered to help bounce the light out the front.
I measured my strobe on the bottom, and cut out with a box cutter. (very carefully!)

First, here is a bounce light shot:

While very easy and helpful, there are always shadows on people's face. This is caused by the light coming from above and not in front. A straight up strobe to the face is usually over whelming.
Setting up an umbrella is not always easy nor quick. So I thought, why not try to do a quick and dirty mod?

Here is the result:

Not saying it is perfect, but it is a drastic improvement in the quality of the light source.
The downfall is that the strobe has to stay in one direction- I cannot go to horizontal grip for shots with this mod. If I did, I would be lighting to the side and not the front!


[update with self photos, thank goodness for timers]

1/8 power bounce off ceiling:

Notice the shadows and barely lit. Normally in these conditions I go up to 1/4 power and adjust from there.

Strobe test- 1/8 power with mod:

Strobe test- 1/8 power direct with built in diffuser:

Strobe test- 1/8 power direct:

And yes, I couldn't see for a little bit. Yozzers.

Winning!

"I hate to lose" or something like that. Conversely, "I love to win" or "I'm very competitive." That's all the basically the same idea. I've read that in several places on several different sites about photographers and their take on photography. The ones who go down this path more often than not are in photojournalism or sports photography. They have deadlines, they have high pressure clients, and they have a lot of competition to get the shot. Just get it done.

I suppose there are some wedding photographers who have that view- win the client over. Get a great result for a winning response. But that is so loosely viewed through the lens of the person with the job. What is validation for some is not for others- money, clients reaction, being as professional as possible.

It comes down to the person taking the photos- are they happy with the results? Are they happy their photo is on the front page or the back page? Are they happy they have a job? If they enter a contest, if they don't get first, are they happy?

The results in photography are not as clear cut as the score in a baseball game.

Where do emotions mix in with photography?

The statements above in quotes all have a similar theme- emotions. Getting the shot at your own pace is one thing, but getting mad that someone else got it, or did it better is something completely different. I can see reasons for "winning" a photograph:

·         Pride to be the best

·         Motivation to be prepared

·         Knowing your best shot is going to get the job done

·         Motivation to go the extra step

·         Learning from your own failure

·         Expanding to different information and techniques

I've never been competitive in photography. I do it because I like it. Now and then I randomly get a complement I wasn't expecting. It is a nice validation of my results, but I don't go out of my way to do so. Such as submitting a photo to a contest, or selling my photos actively. (ok ok, I have submitted some to micro-stock sites) I do it because I find it fun, interesting, and a way to share. I don't know if I would have that competitive hustle needed to be a professional. I would need motivation, like this is how I am feeding my family now.

Being able to control and harshness that emotion is also very important.

How long can someone keep going like that, to be emotionally invested in the outcome for years before it really gets to them? To know that you will never ALWAYS win, that there is only so much preparation you can achieve would just eat at me. Lastly, to know there are always new people coming in to the field. They might be just as hungry, but the crowd of amateur photographers don't have to be as good as consistently as the professional- they just need to be lucky. That would drive me nuts as a professional- lucky rather than good.

With photography, I have learned that what I thought was a 'whatever' shot can be prized by someone else. It is interpretation. Things I thought that rocked the house, were received with coolness by others. The important thing is to find a client, whether it is a newspaper or school year book, or whomever likes your results.

            I think to be a professional and successful one, you need to be a bit competitive. That provides motivation, that provides focus, and ultimately a method of validation- pay, success, more jobs, whatever makes you tick.

Just don't get eaten by the monster of emotions which could easily be done. There is little difference between love and hate.