The above is actually one of a short series of "behind the stage" photos of the 3 Cohens set at the Newport Jazz Festival. I spotted Avishai Cohen and sister Anat Cohen who had stepped back while brother Yuval Cohen and their band jammed. My original intention when I saw them standing back there was to see if I could capture an image of them facing or at least partially facing my direction. I wanted some actual face. But, when I saw Anat stretch her arm out and start snapping her fingers and swaying her head to the music, I knew that was the shot I was meant to get.
This photo was taken at the 2011 Coney Island Mermaid Parade. When I originally edited the photo, I converted it to b&w which I like as well ... just not as much as this version (click here to see it in b&w). I had this image in my head of a "retro" looking b&w series of photos. Since I'm a big fan of b&w, I originally didn't do much to the color images. With the exception of a handful, they were straight out of the camera, re-sized and watermarked. So, I decided to fiddle around with color editing. This is the result of that fiddling. I knew I wanted that faded look but I still wanted the colors to be rich. I think I achieved that. I know I'm certainly happy with the end result.
This model was a lot of fun to work with. Being new to working with models, this was only my second time, I'm horrid at directing. Thankfully, she was easy going and good at what she does thus making the whole me being a bad director thing a stress free and painless process. I did however feel awkward standing over her to get the shot. It just feels weird to me standing over someone while they're lying on the floor.
The minute I saw her and the pieces she was wearing, I knew the majority of her photos would end up black and white. She has the classic look of an old school pin-up model. In making some of the images black and white, I started playing around with selective coloring and toning. The pose, the pop of red and the porcelain like smoothness of the skin toning just works for me.
The minute I saw her and the pieces she was wearing, I knew the majority of her photos would end up black and white. She has the classic look of an old school pin-up model. In making some of the images black and white, I started playing around with selective coloring and toning. The pose, the pop of red and the porcelain like smoothness of the skin toning just works for me.
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| Joey Hamm of Prospector |
Sometimes you like a photo "just because." This is one of those shots. The focus is soft, it's noisy and there's lens glare. But, it appeals to me. Prospector are one of those bands who don't like light and what light that does make an appearance is for the most part red, very, very red.
Normally, I spend most of my time at their shows on the other side of the room. You get a better angle of the drummer who happens to be the vocalist and the guitar player ... two to one photo-ops. So, my images of Joey Hamm, pictured above, tend to be wide angle. This time I decided not only to venture to his side, but I hunkered down off to the side of the stage on the stairs.
I mentioned in another post that I try to go un-noticed when taking photos. Well, he noticed!
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| Lisa Rieffel of Killola |
Rieffel is an insanely fun, bundle of energy. You never quite know what she's going to do onstage. To be honest, the only thing you can be 100% sure of is, you will be entertained. This shot was taken just before she dived into the audience. I knew I wanted to capture the stage dive. She had given a brief tease just before this shot so I was able to be ready to catch it. While I did catch a shot of her in the hands of her adoring audience, it's this one that became my the favorite of the series.
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| Allison Robertson of The Donnas |
Robertson was hard to capture. It was her hair that gave me a hard time when trying to capture her. It was either in her face or a whirling blur, total rock 'n' roll. Upon first glance at this photo, I thought it was going to land in the "don't use" folder. But, much to my delight, it turned out well. Even better, it works perfectly in b&w which is generally my concert photo preference.
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| Amy Gore of Gorevette |
Gore is one of those cool rock chicks. She just has that look. While I don't dislike color concert photos, I don't generally get all giddy over them in the same way I do b&w images. This shot however, is one of the exceptions. The lights, the way the shadows fall across her upper body, her stance ... it all just works for me.
