Ian Murray Photography

Music on the Edge: Eliza Gilkyson and Nina Gerber benefit concert for WOMR

The tip of Cape Cod can be a beautiful yet desolate place in the depths of winter and a welcome yet crowded conclusion to a long, slow crawl of traffic in the height of summer.  With a small resident population, of  just a few thousand which like a desert after a rain-storm bursts to life with several hundred thousand visitors a week in the height of summer,  this place is a fascinating land of contradictions and enigmas;  a land of sun-seekers and recluses; of crowded beaches and quiet dunes which  draws people in and keeps them coming back.  A substantial part of the resident population came here first as tourists and now provide this outermost part of the Cape with a vibrant and diverse population as rich in culture and talent as any you will find. Here world class artists and performers rub palettes and vocal chords with a community of craftsmen, hoteliers, fishermen and students taking summer jobs;  a community which is justifiably proud of its rich and culture filled life.

 

 Drive down Route six to Truro, hang a right and drive off the beaten path, follow the small signs which briefly and sparsely say just "Payomet",  and you will enter a  surreal world of abandoned buildings, high wire fences, and military radar installations,  but you will quickly notice that all is not what it seems, for on the wall of the first building you will see three large colorfully painted murals and to your left you can't fail to notice the large marquee with the diminutive hut out front with the words "ticket office" hung neatly above its small sliding window.  You have arrived at the old Payomet Air Base that is undergoing a remarkable transformation.  The National Park service and the vibrant local community have combined on an ambitious plan to create a science center and  arts center on this former military base.  Austere tenement blocks are slowly being converted into studios and science labs, complete with living accommodation.  It's early days but you can clearly see the progress.  These are determined Cape-Codders and they will succeed.

A shining example of their efforts is The Performing Arts Theater, expertly managed by Kevin Rice  which throughout the summer puts on a very full program of music and theater, pulling in world class  performers and an audience from as far away as Boston.  Kevin describes the theater as "flourishing". He goes on to say proudly,  " we had music every night last week, a new play opens tomorrow and we are almost sold out!" .

WOMR , (Outermost Radio) is another Cape Code institution that adds to the thriving local culture with  its rare mix of music, news and talk beamed to this outermost part of the Cape.  Residents here can wake up to Chuck doing his "Spiritual Awakening" show at 5.30am  with its blend of words and world music,  or stick around to hear a line up described as:

"singer songwriters whose lyrics should be heard,  Lori.. Dougie.. Marc.. Lucy.. Loreena... Richard... Greg... Patty...", Leaving you to work out the last names.  (My guess is at the foot of this Blog).

 

For the die-hard eclectic folk fan you can catch Bob Weiser's remarkable show late morning every Monday.  Listen to it streaming on the Web at WOMR.Org. Add to this mix, local news, Celtic music, classical music, comedy, jazz and a forum for local people including teens  and you will quickly see that Outermost Radio is a key component of Cape life.

If you arrived at Payomet on Wednesday August 19 you would have been privileged to see all these strands gracefully coming together in a benefit concert at the Payomet Theater for WOMR.  Renowned singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson and guitar wizard Nina Gerber were performing to a full house.

A concert is first and foremost about the performer and the audience. Photographers generally come way down the food chain and it would be arrogant and presumptuous to expect the stage to be set up to facilitate easy photography.  As a photographer you learn to accept and deal with just about any type of set-up a venue can throw at you,  from shooting in cramped corners in almost total darkness,  to being so far back from the performer that the 200mm max extension on the zoom lens barely gets them to appear in the frame. Imagine my surprise when, without the slightest prompting from me,  Anna the assistant artistic director and Chris the stage manager both offered to make minor changes to the lighting and staging to ensure the possibility of good photographs during the concert. I will be forever indebted to them for making it less of a challenge.

If you are familiar with the folk scene you will no-doubt have attended coffee houses and house concerts where food is a major part of the experience. I have fond memories of pot-luck meals at house concerts where everyone seemed to bring a potato salad, of coffee houses with decadent cream laden deserts from which left you at the end of the night, disoriented from the massive sugar high, and wondering why the waistband on your pants was suddenly an inch or two smaller than when you arrived.   When you attend a performance at a theater however, you don't expect food, but this is a community arts center putting  on a benefit concert for the local radio station and not surprisingly leading up the concert there appeared  an abundance of fresh local food in the form of colorful and healthy  salads which were freely shared al-fresco on wooden tables set in front of the tent.  You can't get better than that!

 

Soon the lights dimmed and Bob Weiser, looking resplendent in his red WOMR  Tee shirt appeared on stage to get things underway introducing Eliza in her elegant black dress and Nina, casual but no less elegant in her blouse and blue jeans, who graced the stage to warm applause. Quickly launching into  Beauty Way from her classic 2000  CD Hard Times in Babylon we were treated to our first taste of Eliza's silky voice, which in seemingly effortless tones,  she uses to paint subtle but deep emotions into the rich tapestry of her lyrics.

When you listen to Eliza you are presented with a woman who is unafraid to lay her emotions before you.  Her lyrics are stories of love and loss, of political angst and a genuine concern for the planet, but there is no plaintive sound here. For the most part Eliza wraps her feelings in exquisite melodies and  gentle rhythms which provide a delicate veil over the harshness and loss in her lyrics. Only those who take the trouble to listen will experience that veil lifting and begin to get a glimpse into the heart and soul of this mature and complex woman.

 

Twisted, another track from Eliza's Hard Times in Babylon CD is an example of a song which deals with a disastrous relationship about her love for a man of whom she says   "The dark hangs off you like a cloud around the sun .. you're everything I've wanted in a man.. I'm fucked up, I'm twisted".  But tonight the crowd is enticed to sing-along with Eliza in a light-hearted version which belies the emotional dysfunction present in the song's lyrics. This is classic Eliza,  never far below the surface is the dance of deep emotion experienced by someone who despite the "exquisite agony of withdrawal" keeps coming back for more.  There is love and loss in the songs but also the optimism of someone who can sing,   "I don't trust the world of man but I still believe in love".  That  she creates such beautiful melodies out of such deep emotion is testament to her remarkable talent as a songwriter and performer.

 

 

Nina Gerber, one of the finest guitarist I have seen, is a unique and gifted talent.  She takes Eliza's melodies and gently cradling her guitar she sways and caresses the strings as if she is coaxing a baby to sleep.      From such gentle and subtle touches she creates a delicate but powerful sound that intertwines with Eliza's voice, never overpowering it, but always present.  Nina may know the guitar like a Master, but she plays it like a true artist.   When Eliza gives the floor to Nina we are treated to searing and melodic riffs, gentle ephemeral notes that float into the night, chords which are so delicately played that they seem hinted at rather than specific. Watching  the swaying body and expressively beautiful face we experience  someone who is completely at one with her playing.

 

 

Together Nina and Eliza seem to meld into one. It's difficult to imagine one without the other.  The intricate weaving of Eliza's voice and Nina's playing create an opulent sound which draws the audience into the music.

 

Towards the end of the evening,  Eliza moves to the keyboard and the sparse lyric and repetitive phrase Beautiful World  fills our ears.  The rendition of this title track from Eliza's latest CD is anything but sparse,  and the emotion infused into the song by both performers leaves us truly believing that the world is beautiful.

This was a night of community, shared food with warm and friendly people, and the sheer joy of being in the presence of such immense talent.  Thanks to Bob, Chuck and the people at WOMR; to Kevin, Anna and  Chris at the Payomet Performing Arts Center;  to Val Denn for Publicizing the event, and finally a hearty thanks to Eliza and Nina for a great night!

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If you enjoyed this Blog please support its continuation by clicking on the TIP JAR icon in the column to the right,  and leave a tip.  Your donation will be greatly appreciated and will help to pay the monthly hosting fees. 

 

Check out Eliza's Website here:   ELiza's Website

Check out NIna's Website here:   Nina's Website

Check out WOMR Radio here:   WOMR Outermost Radio Website

Check out the Payomet Performing Arts Center here: Payomet Arts

Check out Ian Murray Photography Here:  Ian Murray Photography

 

My Guess :   McKenna, Maclean, Gunn, Kaplansky, McKennitt, Thompson or Shindell, Brown, Griffin

Sliding into Belchertown

A real gem slides into Western Mass : 'Slide Sessions North' at the Black Moon.

Writing and Photographs by Ian Murray

Every so often you stumble upon a gem in the most unlikely place.  Tucked away in the small Western Massachusetts town of Belchertown, up a set of winding stairs above a Dunkin Donuts is a small bar where Joe organizes music seven nights a week.  On a good day it takes a two hours of uninterrupted  driving to get there, so what was it that dragged me away from my evening armchair to brave  the rush hour traffic and endure the three hour trip to Joe's place,  The Black Moon Music Lounge?

Well, I'll tell you, it had something to do with a Gene Autry Melody Ranch Guitar circa 1940's, more than one National Steel Guitar, a couple of Dobros, and a mandolin all liberally laced with some fine finger picking and rich vocals.

I was enticed to Belchertown by the prospect of seeing four masters of the slide guitar performing together in a very intimate setting as part of the Slide Sessions North concert series.

 

Jim Henry opened the set with a rousing version of Doc Watson's Deep River Blues which quickly  had the crowd whooping and hollering as each performer took their turn improvising a solo.  The sheer power and tightness of the playing indicated that we were in for a very special night indeed!

Jim Henry

Next up Cliff Eberhardt made his Gene Autry Melody Ranch guitar sing as he dragged the steel slide up and down the neck. The way he managed to get such a bluesy and full sound from this old Sears and Roebuck guitar was magical.

Cliff Eberhardt and his 1940s Gene Autry 'Melody Ranch' Guitar

Abbie Gardner from Red Molly was equally adept on the Dobro and her  cover version of Lucinda William's "Can't Let Go"  showcased her fine singing voice and vibrant presence.

Abbie Gardner

What can you say about Brooks WIlliams' guitar playing that hasn't already been said?  Placing his tall body on the small chair he was almost forced to double up his lengthy legs as he swayed back and forth and was very animated whilst providing some scintillating accompaniment. 

Brooks Williams almost bends double and sways as he plays.

 When his turn came he gave us a real treat in his playing of "61 Highway" from his "The Time I spend with You" Album and later joined Jim Henry in a wonderfully delicate and moving rendition of "I think that it's going to work out" harking back to their duet album "Ring Some Changes".  A rocking version of "How Long Till I'm in My Baby's Arms was a real crowd pleaser.

 

Abbie Gardner watches intently as Brooks takes up the music

The whole band provided a fullsome,  mellow soundcape  for Jim's rich and tuneful voice on "Ruby (the girl with the flaxen hair) which has acquired a variety of names over the years but is probably best known as an outstanding track on his 1999 Album "The Way Back".  And his voice was even more mellow on a stirringly bluesy version of "St James' Infirmary".

Jim gets his guitar ready for St James' Infirmary

Laurie MacAllister of Red Molly joined the band in a surprise guest appearance for a couple of numbers including some beautiful harmonizing with Cliff on his soulful version of "Love Slips Away",  from  his "School for Love" Album.

Laurie Macllister from Red Molly puts in a surprise appearance.

All four performers showed their amazing talents and really got the crowd bouncing during Cliff's hard driving version of Dylan's "Down in the Flood (Crash on the Levee)" .

By the time I left the Black Moon,  the fog had settled thickly and wrapped itself around the trees, giving the landscape an other-worldly look that  seemed  totally in keeping with the out of this world playing of these four excellent musicians.   The journey home seemed to fly by as the tunes of that night's performance lingered in my head.

If you missed this show you have an opportunity to catch Abbie and Brooks William's again in New York City on Oct 1st.  Details Below.

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Thursday, October 1st, 2009 9:30 PM

The Slide Sessions w/ BROOKS WILLIAMS!
Googie's Lounge above The Living Room
154 Ludlow St
New York, NY
http://www.livingroomny.com/googies.html
Price: $5
"WOW! I can't believe we get to have the one and only BROOKS WILLIAMS jamming with us on this one! Please come down and check it out. He's amazing" - Abbie Gardner.

You can also catch Abbie and Laurie playing with Carolann Solebello as the magnificent "Red Molly" at several places around the country - check out their calendar here.

Cliff's schedule of concerts can be found here:

Brooks schedule of concerts can be found here:

Jim, of course can be found playing with his partner Tracy Grammer and with other musicians, his schedule can be found here

The Black Moon Music Lounge has music seven nights a week and more details can be found here.

Ian Murray is a professional photographer who can be hired for head shots, protraits, publicity photographs and event photography.  More details can be fouind on his web-site

 

Wachusett Valley Folk Festival: Fine music in a classy setting!

 

 

"Mom" a classy lady at a classy event!

If  having  the deep mud suck your shoes off as you struggle through the mire that was your camp site;  if  struggling to find a comfortable spot on that sodden blanket you threw  on the ground before the torrential rains came down;  if standing desperately in line for the overused and overflowing porta-potties are your experiences of attending a festival then you haven't been to the classy Wachusett Valley Folk Festival.

Brilliantly organized by Jean Syria and Denise Hurley and hosted by the Wachusett Village Inn this was festival living at its finest.  Located  in 100 acres of woodland the Inn is a full service resort hotel and conference center with 74 guest rooms and suites , several bars,  a restaurant and not a single porta-potty in sight!   This was definitely not your typical folk festival venue.

 Located under the hotel's large function marquee with chairs and tables for the guests,  the sizeable stage gave plenty of opportunity for bands to spread out and move around,  while the semi-contained tent  and up-close seating gave a feeling of genuine intimacy to the performances.   Outside there was ample room on the lawn for several hundred  people who in true folk festival tradition threw their blankets on the ground and positioned themselves in low profile camp chairs.

Fortunately the threatened thunder storms and showers found other locations to torment  and the festival was rain free apart from a brief and light shower lasting just a few minutes, which caused an influx of people into the covered marquee making for an even cozier intimate atmosphere.

 

Left to right: Maura Kennedy, Chris Thompson and Pete Kennedy

The day was kicked off by MC Chris Thompson performing a short set in which she was joined on stage for several numbers by Pete and Maura Kennedy for a partial resurrection of  The Strangelings.

Chris Thompson

Chris reminded us just how powerful and accomplished  a singer she is by ending with a rousing and passionate  a capella rendition of Amazing Grace.

Dave Fitzgibbons of the Rafters Band

Local husband and wife duo The Rafters (Miki Bryan and Dave Fitzgibbons), with their full band,  followed with  a toe tapping set, interspersed with some gentle melodies sung admirably by Miki.

Miki Bryan f the Rafters Band

 They were joined on stage by audience members for a fun version of  "California Dreaming" in which festival organizer, Denise Hurley,  appeared to be in heaven as she played her Djembe

The Rafters Band with audience members sing California Dreaming

Meanwhile the Kennedy's were entertaining the kids and quite few adults at the family stage where there were copious amounts of balloons, crayons, coloring books, pens and painted faces.  

 

Trina Hamlin

Next up was Trina Hamlin who mesmerized the audience with her heady brew of phenomenal blues harmonica,  keyboard, acoustic guitar and of course a voice to die for.   Her performance of 'Down to the Hollow"  was a  particularly powerful and heartfelt example of her impressive talent, while songs like "Stranger in my bed" showed her pensive and melodic side.

 

The Kennedy's returned to the stage for their solo set and again showed us why they have such a large and active following.  Pete's guitar wizardry and Maura's vocals combined to entrance the swelling crowd.  As always they provided great action shots for the photographers.

The Kennedy's rock it up

Hot on the heels of the Kennedy's,  MacTalla Mor (The Great Echo) who's web-site describes them as an "earth shaking, dance making,  ground breaking Celtic roots band" certainly lived up to their name and had the crowd on their feet in no time. 

 Patty Devlin Ofgang of MacTalla Mor heads into the audience

Their heavy driving beat and the sheer exuberance of Patty Devlin Ofgang waving her Bodhran in the air, soon enticed the crowd into a Celtic conga line that wove itself  out of the marquee and across the lawn.

An occasional digression from the earth shaking beat was provided by the lilting Celtic vocals of Ilana Ofgang and her delicate keyboard work, but the band frequently  returned to their compelling rock-style beat and excited the audience.

 MacTalla Mor at full throttle

And no, despite many requests from the women in the audience,  Levon and Jesse didn't reveal what was beneath their colorful kilts!

John Gorka

The elegant song-smith and performer John Gorka brought the audience back from their Celtic reverie with some very dry and self-effacing humor while  he wooed them with some soulful and intimate ballads, sung in that deep resonant voice of his. A voice that just gets better and better.  For a few  final numbers John was joined on stage by Trina Hamlin and the audience certainly got on board with their finale of the old Curtis Mayfield hit,  "People Get Ready There's a Train a Comin".

 

Gandalf Murphy

The night was admirably brought to a close by a magnificent performance by Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams.  How this band manages to combine song styles as varied as Dylan, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Tom Petty into their own unique sound is  magical.

Sharkey McEwen of Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams

Listening to Gandalf sing I was immediately transported back to the honest and genuine sixties rock scene and could have sworn the band  were performing cover songs from that era that were strangely infused with familiar American roots music.  It was only when I really listened to the lyrics and heard words like "cell-phone" that I realized these were modern songs expertly penned by Gandalf (Joziah Longo).

 

Gandalf Murphy

Currently getting lots of radio play for their excellent new album The Great Unravel, this band is about to really break out. They are scheduled to play at the UK's huge Glastonbury Festival in 2010 alongside bands like Coldplay, Greenday and Radiohead.

Tink Lloyd of Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams

They played favorites like Talking to the Buddha from their Flapjacks from the Sky album and Desire and Tink from the Great Unravel. 

 To placate the folk crowd whom Gandalf hinted were really rock fans with their folk clothes on they even played an excellent version of Donovan's "Catch the Wind".

I can't sign off without giving a mention to  Lee Swenson from the Non-profit "Andrew's Helpful Hands" a great organization that helps families through bone marrow transplants. Lee worked tirelessly throughout the festival to sign people up as bone marrow donors and to raise money to pay the mortgages of families struggling financially through the challenges of cancer.

Jim Webster and his fine hand-made instruments

Also finally a mention for Jim Webster (Nashua River Instruments) who hand-makes some great string instruments, and his partner Gloria,  a fellow Brit, who entertained with her remarkable hat and fluid dancing  (she really knows how to enjoy the music)!

The irrepressable Gloria demonstrates one of Jim's hand-made instruments

To the sound guys who made it all sound so good, a huge thank you - you did a great job!

Finally an  enormous  thank you once again to Jean and Denise and the tireless  team of volunteers without whom this would never happen.  The choice of venue and the artist line-up made this the summer's classiest festival.  

PS. Wachusett Village Inn provided a great venue and exquisite chili ! Thanks Laura Hume and team!

For the Photographers: Technical Info

The challenges were once again presented by the light. There was no stage lighting apart from the tungsten ceiling lights  and the semi-diffused light coming through the marquee walls. There was an additional challenge provided by the bright light coming through the windows directly behind the stage, which had the habit of totally confusing the camera's metering, causing it to expose for the window light thereby leaving the performer as a silhouette against the white background.

In the end I resorted to spot metering on the performer's face using a hand held light meter (Sekonic) and operated the camera on manual setting.   As the day lengthened into evening I increased the ISO settings on the camera in steps to cope with the failing light.

I had pushed the ISO to the limits by the final act appeared, but fortunately they produced their own (minimal) tungsten lighting which enabled me to keep shooting.

Towards the end of the evening I settled for shooting RAW at ISO 6400 at f2.8 to f4.0 at speeds as low as 1/10sec.  There was some noise and blur but it was within acceptable limits.

White balance was handled by the camera and tweaked in Adobe Lightroom for some of the shots. The slightly warm yellow case was left as is for some of the shots as I felt it added something to the shot.

I used two camera during the day and three lenses.  Canon 5D and Canon 5D MKII. Canon  L 70-200mm IS f2.8 lens and Canon L 24-105 IS Len, Sigma f2.8 15mm.  The light meter is a Sekonic  L558R.

Among other  photographer's on the day were Jake Jacobson and DanTappen both of whom are fine gentlement and have some great photographs from the festival on their FaceBook pages.

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More photos from the festival can be found in the photo album to the right of this column.

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Ian Murray is available for portraits, head-shots, weddings and events.

Click here to Visit the Ian Murray Photography Web-site or call him on 781-340-0564

Click here to visit Ian Murray Photography on FaceBook

Click here to visit Ian's own FaceBook page

All Photos are copyright Ian Murray 2009 for usage terms contact Ian

Signature Sounds 15th Anniversary: Great music and very wet photographers.

 

 

Richard Shindell

In addition to being an avid and passionate photographer I have a deep love of music, especially when it's live!   Some of my favorite artists inhabit the folk world and at this time of year they pop up at many of the festivals that thankfully still occur around the country.

This year I was  blessed to have the opportunity to be a photographer at the Green River Festival in Greenfield MA where Signature Sounds Records were celebrating 15 successful years in the recording industry by bringing together the cream of their recording artists for a stellar 6 hour concert.  This was one I couldn't miss!

As usual I arrived very early  and was content to wander around the grounds which were still empty of fans but surrounded by a vast circle of local artisans, food vendors and non-profit organizations who were busily raising their stalls and setting up for business.  Talk among the stall-holders  was definitely focused on the weather. The sky was ominously dark and distant rumbles of thunder were clearly giving cause for concern.

Darryl Ballou a very fine cabinet-maker from Turner's Falls  was justifiably worried in case the rain came and he couldn't protect his beautifully designed carpentry.

 

Tristan Clarridge of Crooked Still

 

(http://www.artisandesignsdtb.com/)  Jay from Pierce Bros Coffee was however totally unconcerned by the threat of heavy weather and was just happy to be there and was clearly looking forward to the coffee being ready! (http://www.piercebroscoffee.com) I had to admire his spirit.  I wasn't sure that the weather was going to hold for much longer and the activities hadn't even begun.

Still,  I had the rainproof covers for my camera and my bag so the only thing that was going to get wet was me and I'm English and supposedly impervious to rain!  The thought of six hours or more standing in the rain didn't exactly deter me but I will admit to being less than happy at the prospect.  I could however, be cheerful about the grey cloud cover which was providing wonderfully diffused and even light conditions.

Soon the rain came in a brief but violent shower and I was grateful for the shelter of the Green River Clean-up crew's tent. Thanks Guys!  If you would like to join them on October 4th they are having their annual river clean-up day.   Contact David Boles at 413-773-7560 or through their site at http://www.deerfieldriver.org

 

Erin McKeown

After the brief but intense shower the rain held off for a while and the concert got underway with a superb house band which  included David "Goody" Goodrich on Guitar. Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry ably led the band in a couple of numbers and then there was a surprise appearance by the wonderful Erin McKeown who certainly livened up the audience who had begun flooding in.

 

Mark Erreli

Mark Errelli continued to keep the beat going with a lively and intense set and then the rains came again and this time it wasn't a shower. 

 

A stoic crowd braves the rain

Incessant rain means just one thing "Cover the Camera" ; soon all the photographers were reaching for plastic bags and camera covers.

 

Photographer Jake Jacobson uses the traditional method to protect his camera.

The show continued with the crowd actually swelling despite the rain.  Great performances by Kris Delmhorst, Jeffrey Foucault, Peter Mulvey and Caroline Herring were follwed by Richard Shindell and Chirs Smither doing extended sets.

I was massively impressed by the sound technicians and stage management who flipped the settings between acts in a totally seamless and swift fashion. I swear it was probably longer but the changeovers seemed to take less than a minute - Great Job Rocky and the Sound Team!

Flora Reed accompanied Kris Delmhorst on Stage.

 

As the evening wore on,  the lighting became an issue.  The stage lighting was a horrendous tungsten yellow that was fairly weak. As darkness began to set in I had to gradually pump up the ISO setting on the camera.  At the end of the night it became a real challenge to capture the performers. The lighting for artists like Chris Smither was a narrow beam at the front of the stage which only lit his face when he leaned forward. At the same time there was strong lighting hitting his guitar thus making a well balanced shot practically impossible. Timing of each shot became critical and with the darkness I was forced to use settings as high as ISO 25000 (yes that's twenty five thousand) on the Canon 5d MkII.  As usual the trusty 70-200mm Canon did its job remarkably well.  There were times when I wanted to resort to a wider lens but with my bag securely covered I didn't want to risk exposing everything to the rain which continued incessently.

Chris Smither after some tweaking in photoshop

 

By the end of the night I had to settle for high ISO and live with the potential for noisy images.  Biggest challenge of all was Crooked Still who performed in their wonderfully energetic manner, moving in and out of the lighting and dancing behind the multitude of mikes,  stands and cables.  Again timing was crtical.

 

Greg Liszt of Crooked Still

There are more photos from this wondeful night in the Album entitled:

Signature Sounds 15th Anniversary which you will find in the column on the right.

A big thank you to Jim Olsen and the team at Signature Sounds for keeping the music alive!  http://www.signaturesounds.com.   Check them out they have some awesome artists! 

Thanks also to the terrific bunch of performers who made it a very speacial night. A Huge thank you goes to Jeff Martell for being so gracious with the phoitographer's pass and to Rocky the stage manager for all his patience and craftsmanship. Finally my hat goes off to all the event photographers who braved several hours in the rain to get the shots that matter!  

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Ian can be hired for Artist Publicity work, Portraits and Events. You can contact him at 781-340-0564 or through his web-site at : http://www.ianmurrayphoto.com.

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New Bedford Summerfest: Photographing at a music festival

Every year around the first weekend in July, New MA puts on a unique music festival. It's unique for several reasons but most of all because ittakes place in Downtown New Bedford, and not in some remote rural location.Not only is the excellent Theatere at the Whaling Museum pressed into non-stop service but there are multiple stages set on parking lots and the middle of side streets. Lliterally hundreds of musicians from all parts of the world perform from Friday evening through to the Celtic Extravaganza bash on Sunday evening. All this for the miserly sum of just $15.

Every year it presents an opportunity to get up close and photograph up and coming and well established musicians in a relaxed and intimate environment.

 

Pete Kennedy of the Kennedy's shot in the indoor Whaling Museum Theater at ISO 2500 for 1/60 sec at f2.8. Canon 5d MkII and Canon 70-200mm IS Lens

But first there are a few unwritten rules to follow if you want to get some good shots.

1. Keep out of the way!

 The festival has an official photographer,  Denn Santoro, who rushes around making sure that he captures an image of every artist at every stage, which, considering there are six venues with multiple musicians on stage who change every hour, is an herculean task which  Denn manages to pull off  year after year.  You can check out his images from the Summerfest at:

http://www.dennsantorophoto.com 

When you are at  a performance there are certain vantage points which will give you great shots of the musicians. Most good photographers recognize these straight away and head straight for them. Just watch photographers like Denn and the Newspaper guys, they do an intricate dance in which they each get their turn at the key spots. If you get in the way by hogging one of these spots you will quickly become unpopular and more than likely be asked to produce a "press pass" or some other credential giving you permission to be there. It's best to be gracious and keep a low profile so that no-one will question your presence.  You have no deadlines or specific orders to fulfill, you are there for your own pleasure so give the working guys some space and respect and take a relaxed approach, you'll be surprised at the dividends which result.

2. NO FLASH!

Artists and  audiences hate someone up close firing off a flash gun; it intrudes on the performance.  Most artists accept that people in the audience will be firing off the occasional flash from a pocket camera and these are generally so weak that the light from them travels less than a few rows. They have no beneficial effect on the photograph and littleimpact on the performers, but if you fire your powerful speed-light from the front of the stage someone is going get pissed. It only took two flashes from someones's speed-light this weekend for the ever gracious and patient performer,  Bob Franke to plead for the audience to "Be Gentle with your flash".

So although the lighting is often poor the rule is to leave your flash gun in the bag and crank up the ISO setting.  At this year's festival I shot at just about every setting my camera could cope with, even resorting to IS0 12800 as the night drew in on the Custom House Stage.

  

Rebecca Lovell of the Lovell Sisters Band taken from 15 rows back in the audience with Canon 5d MK II and 70-200mm IS Lens at ISO 800 for 1/160 sec F2.8

The challenge is to get an ISO setting that will provide a fast shutter speed that will freeze enough of the movement.  

3. Timing is everything

A couple of years ago I took an old Canon G-III QL rangefinder camera to the festival loaded with ISO 800 film. Even though I was shooting mainly digital at the time the pocket rangefinder had the advantage that it has an almost imperceptible shutter sound.  I was able to photograph up close and intimate portraits during the playing without disturbing anyone. Each of  my current crop of Canon digital SLRs however,  has a very load clunk when the shutter is pressed. This makes the timing of the shots a critical issue.  The very last thing an artist wants during a gentle and melodic piece is for you to become an ad hoc percussionist by inserting annoying camera clicks.  If you are sitting in the audience shooting from your seat you will certainly annoy the people around you by firing off multiple shots during the performance.  If you want to shoot during the performance my advice is to wait for the very loud bits and shoot sparingly.

  

Roy Bookbinder tells a story while waiting for the sound tech to do his stuff.

4. Wait for the intervals between songs

Let's face it, most people don't look good when they're singing. Their faces and mouths are usually distorted and they very often have a pained expression. Add to that the fact that they will usually have their visage partially hidden by a microphone and you will quickly begin to understand that while performance shots of instrumentalists look good, a good performance shot of someone singing is a different beast entirely.

If you want a great shot of a singer you are better advised to wait until there is a gap in the song and they come out from behind the mike.  Or better still take the shot when they are between songs.

Blues-man Harry Manx enjoying a break between songs and responding to Bob Franke's parrot joke.

5. Get Up Close

All the shots above where taken from a seat in the audience using a 70-200mm Canon IS len on my trusty 5D  MkII.  If you follow the proper etiquette and don't get in the way you can usually get right up to the stage and get a few interesting shots from a different angle.

From Front to back,  Stephen Fearing, Cliff Eberhardt, John Gorka, and Peter Mulvey.Taken from the side of the stage during the  set "Man Smart: Songs from a man's point of view" ISO 400 f13 for 1/80 sec.

6. Use Depth of field for effect

If you do manage to get really up close you can use your mastery of depth of field to isolate particular elements or individuals in the shot

 

Cliff Eberhardt isolated in the shot by shooting at f2.8 for 1/800 sec at ISO 400.(Stephen Fearing in the foreground and John Gorka in the background)

7. Look for interesting Cameos and Candids.

During a festival like this there are always candid shots to be had and photographs of interactions between performers. Keep your eyes peeled!

 

Waltzing to the Lovell Sisters

Sharing a moment during the Celtic Extravaganza

8. Catch the Energy.

As the evening wears on and the light gets poorer you will have to resort to high ISO settings and accept the there will be noise and movement in the photographs you take. Never fear, late evening is usually when things start getting wild and energetic, you can get some shots of the performers letting it all out and having a great time.

 

The ladies of Gadelle and the Guys of The English Men get things going at the Celtic Extravaganza

 

Jessica Lovell of the Lovell Sisters Band hots it up!

All Photographs ©2009 Ian Murray. All rights reserved.

You can view more of Ian's Images from the festival in the New Bedford Summerfest Album which can be found to the right of this Blog.

Ian is a portrait and event photographer who has worked with musicians on publicity photographs and CD design. He also specializes in child and teen portraiture. He can be contacted at 781-340-0564 or by email at [email protected]

 

Photography in a Recording Studio

Spotlights, Mike Stands, Wires and Silence.

It's a wet and drizzly Tuesday evening as I lug my three cameras, several lenses and two tripods through a small side door of a building on the outskirts of Boston and immediately find myself in the middle of a recording studio crammed with musicians, mikes, mike stands and wires stretching across every square foot of floor.    First job is to get myself introduced which is no mean feat as these guys are focused.  They have but a couple of hours to learn, and then lay down, a very important track for singer songwriter Les Sampou and they are not about to break concentration.

 

Still obtained from HD Video at ISO 1600

The track is a winning song in the 'Life in Years" project which asked over 350,000 talented songwriters from around the world to write a song for a compilation CD being created to raise funds for a really great cause: funding a foster care program for the elderly. (As I grow older it becomes a cause ever dearer to my heart).  You can find more details at:

http://www.m4ac.org/LifeInTheYears

Selected from entries from Australia to Iceland, India to Trinidad, United States to the United Arab Emirates, all over Europe and everywhere in between Les' song, 'Age is just a State of Mind', will be added to the compilation CD alongside songs by the likes of Carly Simon, Natalie Merchant and  John Prine.

Find Les Sampou at:  http://www.LesSampou.com

So there I was,  standing in the doorway, arms full of equipment wondering how the hell do I walk across the studio in the midst of all this activity without doing some serious damage. Visions of knocking over mike stands, getting tangled in wires and worse still,  hitting someone with a tripod, loomed very large.  My job this night was to shoot the event for posterity and despite my arriving five minutes early it seemed everyone was in full swing.

 

 

First job was to assess the lighting. Here was a complex mish-mash of tungsten and florescent lighting with several spotlights bouncing off glass booth windows, shiny sound baffles. and the  reflective chrome of the mike-stands.   I was really after some atmospheric shots so I really didn't want to resort to using flash if at all possible. The lighting was dim,  so choosing a high ISO setting seemed a good possibility. I decided to try a few shots at ISO 1600 to see how the Canon 5D Mark II would cope.

 

Next came the choice of lens - a tough one this, in such a small space I needed something with a wide angle but I also needed to move in close so I didn't want to choose a lens that would be prone to distorting the musician's features.  In the end the lack of space won out and I was forced to choose the 17-40mm IS Lens.

 

 

Available Light at ISO 1600 gave unnaceptable results.

Using just available light and the camera at ISO 1600 the image quality was reasonable but not good enough.  I had a quick re-think and went for the on-camera speed-light with a Gary Fong Whale-tail Diffuser  ( http://www.garyfong.com ). 

 Canon Speed-light and Gary Fong Diffuser was better.

This provided a much more even light and enabled me to reduce the ISO setting to 400.

Now all I had to do was get around the studio during the rehearsal time and get the shots I needed before the recording session started in earnest.  During the actual recording there needs to be silence from the camera (any click will be picked up on the recording) so time was of the essence.  The Canon 5D Mark II did have one trick up its sleeve though:

During the recording itself I cranked the ISO up to 1600 and managed to find a tight space in a corner where I set the camera on a small tripod and left it recording in HD 1080 video. It was practically silent and I was able to pull a few stills from the resulting video, including the opening shot above.

 

The rest of evening flew by with the guys from the Wolverine Jazz Band doing a great Job backing Les's wonderful vocals.  I had time to hang out for a minute or two with Steven Friedman, master technician and owner of the Melville Park Studios:

Steven Friedman, owner of Melivlle Park Studios  http://www.melvillepark.com

Sooner than anyone expected,  the whole thing gracefully came together, and the lyrics and melody that had been echoing around the studio was expertly captured and  melded into a cohesive first take. 

 

 

Listening eagerly to the first take

 

A few minor tweaks and a couple of alternate endings later the final cut was made. Having shown their remarkable talent in picking up a new song and laying down a track in record time the Wolverine Jazz men started to quietly pack up and say their good nights;  but not before they presented me with their CD entitled Journey, which provided me with more of their wonderful music for the drive home.  Two weeks later I'm still driving to it!

You can find more details on the band at: http://www.wolverinejazzband.com

The band is:

John Clark: Clarinet/Baritone and bass sax

 

Ross Petot:  Piano

 

  

Tom Boates: Trombone

Rick MacWilliams:  Tuba

 

Jeff Hughes:   Cornet / Flugelhorn

 

  

Jimmy Mazzy:  Banjo and Vocals

And finally the wonderful Les Sampou:

http://www.lesSampou.com

You can see more photographs of the evening in the album on the right of the page.

Ian is available for portraits and events.  Contact Ian at 781-340-0564 or by email at  [email protected].

 

Let's Face It: 5 Tips for Photographing the "real" child.

Photographing children is a fast moving and energetic experience.  In the space of just a few seconds a child's face can completely change;  it's as if you are looking at a completely new person.

Take a look at young Brooks below. All these shots were taken in a space of under two minutes.  As you can see, within that very short space of time his face exhibited a vast range of emotion and character.

Of course many of these expressions will be all too familiar to his parents, but only one or possibly two will be the look that makes the mother's eyes glaze over as she say's "you've really captured the essence of my son".

The mass market high street studios and chain stores will produce a stock photograph of a child, obligingly smiling and probably as cute as hell, but have they really captured the true nature of the child?  Many parents have moved away from the stunningly beautiful but often trite and stereotypical  formal studio shot and are looking for something that is more "real".  They want to see the child that they know and love come leaping out of the image.

Identifying and capturing that look is a challenge for the photographer.  I will guarantee that no matter how hard you look at the faces of Brooks  in the image below you will not be able to identify the look that excited his mother.   So how do you ensure that the parent is completely blown away by the final image(s) you present?

   

I can't guarantee that every parent will be ecstatic and easy to deal with, nor can I guarantee that every young Brooks you photograph will oblige with the right look but I can give you my five tips for successfully  shooting the "real" child. 

1. If at all possible avoid the studio.

Children are notoriously fickle and fidgety and will not entertain a lengthy session. in a studio. Hence, if you are bound to the indoor studio you have to compensate by moving  like the proverbial grease lightning and shoot  in rapid fire mode.  You also have a very tough task of  coaxing the real person out of the slightly trepidatious and stiff child who is probably wondering what the hell is going on. 

2. Shoot the child in a familiar environment

To get to the "real" child it's much better to have them be comfortable in a familiar location where candid shots are the order of the day. It's here that the child will relax and be his natural self.   By doing it this way you have bought yourself some additional time and taken away the burden of having to entertain and coax  him. 

3. Keep parents and relatives at a distance

Don't forget that your objective is to capture that elusive and fleeting essence of the child. The child needs to be totally relaxed and almost oblivious to the fact that this is a photo shoot.  Having mother shouting at the kid to smile is no help at all. It just makes the kid nervous.   Insist on silence and non-interference  except where you request it.

4. Build a relationship with the child

Before a child will truly relax in your presence he will need to be comfortable with you. Spend a few minutes conversing and joining in with whatever the child is doing (ten or even fifteen minutes is not unusual) .  Introduce the camera slowly into the situation, and slowly withdraw to a shooting distance as the child become relaxed.   You may need to stop shooting occasionally and re-connect with what the child is doing. Always make it light-hearted and fun.  As a last resort I will often break out  a small bottle of bubble mixture or  a few balloons.  Children respond well to gifts. 

5. Seize the moment and move fast

Be constantly aware of the energy and look for the moment when the child is relaxed and engrossed in something and start shooting like hell.  Of course you will have pre-set the camera ahead of time. This is no time to be formatting flash cards and twiddling the dials. The camera should be ready to go preferably with a fast lens, a fairly fast ISO and if the light requires it, a flash gun mounted.  These moments come and go  very quickly and with time you will learn to recognize when they are about to begin and when they have ended.  These optimum moments are where you will find gold.

 

 

6. Don't over process the proofs

  OK I lied - I just couldn't bring myself to stop at five and deprive you of this final piece of wisdom.

If, as I suggested, you shot rapidly and often,  you will have amassed  a large collection of images. Of course you will want to process these and select the best shots for presentation to the parents; but hold on a second, you must remember that you are a photographer and you will see the images with a photographer's eye.  You will not be seeing the images with a parent's eye, which,  remarkable as it may seem,  is totally at odds with that of a photographer's.  Don't spend hours post-processing the images you assume they will like or you will fall into the trap of the high street/chain store studio and likely present them with stereotypical images. My advice is to present a wide range of images that are presentable but not finished so as to establish the look that the excites the parent and only then go away to post -process like crazy those images that are winners in the eyes of the parents.  Of course you will be heart-broken that the parents have totally ignored the one classic image, with perfect lighting and just the right toning and depth of field,  the one that you are justifiably proud of, but remember that when parents look they are seeing only their little darling and not your magnificent rendering of the perfect print.  Think of as them Philistines if you must, but if they are satisfied they will come back time and time again and you can train them to appreciate your talent, even if it takes years!  And as for that magnificent work of photgraphic art which in their  eyes looked nothing like their  little angel, you can always add it to your portfolio!

 

 

 

 

Which one would you choose?

Have fun!

 

Special Offer: Book a portrait session for June or July and get $100 voucher for your future use or to give to a friend.  Call 781-340-0564

Jacob's Farm Strawberry Festival

Yesterday was a fun day at Jacob's Farm, Norwell MA.  A crowd of around 100, mostly children,  spent a couple of hours playing games and eating strawberry shortcake.  It was an opportunity to shoot some photographs of friend's children having fun, so out came the trusty Canon 5D MkII and the workhorse 70-200mm IS Lens. 

The children provided a whirlwind of activity especially with the hula-hoops, and swings. Everything was fast moving and hectic and called for swift response from the camera.  Fortunately it  was cloudy and bright, with great diffused light, so there were no harsh shadows to deal with.

 

Setting the camera to Aperture mode  so that I could control the depth of field allowed me to slightly soften the background while maintaining a fast shutter setting with the camera at ISO 400. This image of Bella was shot at f4 for 1/1250 sec to get the crisp sharpness as she twirled.

The next challenge was the swing. Lot's of movement and the requirement to maintain the camera's focus point on the face of the girls as they swung back and forth.

Setting the camera to AI Servo and multiple shots enabled the camera to automatically maintain the focus point as the girls moved towards me.  The knack was to focus sharply on their eyes when they were almost stationary and then let the camera do the work (Thankyou Canon!).

 

 

 

 This image of Bella and her friend was shot at f2.8 for 1/2000 sec. Both images were cropped in

Photoshop CS4 and then post processed using On-One Photo-Tools Pro 2.0 to slightly boost contrast and color tone

Although the day event lasted less than a couple of hours there was ample opportunity for photography. The tally of usable images for the event was 57.

Additional images in Mono can be viewed in the Jacob's Farm Galleryto the right.

Ian is always available to create stunning portraits, headshots, publicity materials or to photograph your wedding or event.  You can contact Ian at:

[email protected]

Special Offer: Book a portrait session for June or July and get $100 voucher for your future use or to give to a friend.  Call 781-340-0564