Photographing a HS Marching Band Competition

Los Gatos HS Marching Band, a photo by dlnwelch on Flickr.

My son is in the drum line for his HS marching band. I volunteered this year to help photograph the band's Saturday night competitions. It was a lot of fun but also quite a learning experience. I did some research to get started, and learned very quickly at the first competition, it is like shooting any night sporting event, but with a few twists.  The band is in the middle of a football field. The "pit", e.g. the fixed percussion section is usually on the sideline at the 50 yd line, between the field and the viewing stands. There are several possible positions for shooting. One is in the stands, so you can look down. However, this puts you quite a distance away. This is good for a video position as you can see the whole formation of the band, but not so interesting IMO for still shots.  My preferred position is to the right or left of the pit, shooting at a 30-45 deg angle to the band. I want to be at field level, either standing or shooting from a kneeling position. You have to stay out of the way as there are judges walking around and they really don't want you in the way. Most of the time I was on the track that typically surrounds a HS football field. As a result, long lenses are a must. I used a 70-200 2.8 with my Nikon 300s body. It worked great. Flash is out as it is a distraction to the band. So, open your lens all the way up to 2.8. Since there is a fair amount of movement, and you are zoomed out to 200 most of the time, you need to be able to use a shutter speed of at least 300.  Just a warning, lights in some of these stadiums are bad. The best stadium allowed me to get that combo at 1600 ISO. The worst stadium I was shooting at 3200 ISO, and often dipped down to 200 shutter speed. I recommend bringing a monopod as it will often help in the more poorly lit stadiums.  OK, that's the set up. Now what to shoot. The typical performance is only 15 minutes, so you need to have a plan, and work fast. I studied videos of the bands performance so I know the sequence of the movements pretty well. I also asked the band director and some of the band members for their favorite parts of the performance.  I put together a "shot list" based on  that info. Once the performance starts, move through your shot list,  taking several exposures of each shot. I used both low continuous and single shot, and still don't know which I prefer. As long as I had 2-4 exposures for each item on my shot list, it all worked well.  In between your planned shots, there is plenty of opportunity to add other shots based on what strikes you.  During a 15 minute performance, I managed to typically get  ~200 to 300 shots to work with. After that, its on to post processing. I prefer shooting in raw, so it gave me plenty of latitude to adjust basic color and exposure, correct for noise, and crop for the best composition. Working in Lightroom, I created a collection of the best shots, usually ending up with about ~50. I created a web site for each performance straight from Lightroom  and sent the link to the parents. I created a second collection and published to Facebook for the kids to tag and comment on. All in all, I really did enjoy doing this, learned a lot, and look forward to doing it again next season. For an example, check out the last performance on my web site.

A Normal Day

Susan River, a photo by dlnwelch on Flickr.

I spent last weekend up at our cabin on Lake Almanor. Saturday was a beautiful fall day and I decided to spend the morning hiking and taking photos and the afternoon fishing. There was a fishing theme to the morning also as I set out to hike from Devil's Corral along a section of the Susan River that is Catch and Release only. It was ostensibly to scout that section of the river and to get some fall foliage shots. The strategy was to shoot using my "normal" lens only. That lens is a 35mm DX f1.8 Nikon lens which is very small and lightweight. I was also carrying my new Benro carbon Fiber travel tripod which I bought on a recent trip to B&H in NYC. Its a very cool tripod, that is light, packs to a small size, yet extends to nearly 6 ft. Holds the weight of my 300s with a big lens. I have lusted after a Gitzo Mountaineer but this tripod does the job and is about $200 less. The hike was wonderful and there were lots of opportunities to take foliage and water shots along the Susan like the one shown here. What I noticed about using the normal lens is that I would move around a lot more to get the right framing for a particular shot. Feels much more creative to use your feet to get the shot as opposed to zooming in and out. Also, I was more willing I guess, to move around and try different perspectives with the fixed normal lens. Definitely a fun outing and a section of the river I will go back to fish. You can see the complete set here.

A Popular Lady

Mona Lisa, a photo by dlnwelch on Flickr.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. The crowd to see the Mona Lisa was non stop, pushing and crowding their way to snap a shot with their digital cameras. Da Vinci's portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, is undoubtedly the most popular painting in the history of art. I had hoped to spend some time studying her eyes and facial expression, and creating my own theories for the famed mystique. Instead I observed from a distance the frenzied crowd who could now say they had seen her. I have read that on average a person only looks at the painting for 15-20 seconds.  You can hardly get any sense of the paining with that short of time. Anyway, I saw the Mona Lisa, so I guess that's something.

Top of Mont Ventoux

top of Mont Ventoux, a photo by dlnwelch on Flickr.

One of the must dos on the trip to Provence was to check out Mont Ventoux. If you are not a follower of the Tour, this is one of the regular mountain stages they do. It was not on the year's tour route, so we took the opportunity to drive, not ride, to the top. It is a tough mountain to climb. You do not get the true nature of the difficulty by watching it on TV. We drove up the typical, and most difficult route, starting in Bedoin. I copied a description from Wikipedia, just to give you some details.

"South from Bédoin: 1617 m over 21,8 km. This is the most famous and difficult ascent. The road to the summit has an average gradient of 7.43%. Until Saint-Estève, the climb is easy: 3.9% over 5,8 km, but the 16 remaining kilometres have an average gradient of 8.9%. The last kilometres may have strong, violent winds. The ride takes 1h30m-2h30m for trained amateur riders."

I'm not sure I would try this, but must admit many were out there giving it a go. I have climbed The Geysers in Sonoma County, but this is far worse. I think Mt. Hamilton might be comparable, but I don't think it is as high. At any rate, it would be a challenge. There are easier routes with the same distance but less average grade. Hmmmm...

Yellow Jersey at the Tour de France

What a blast. Part of my sabbatical trip to France was to see the last stage of the Tour de France and the sprint on the Champs-Élysées. I wanted to get a good picture of the riders and researched possible places and strategies. Its tough. The riders come into town at 4PM, but you have to be there around 10AM to get a prime spot. Otherwise you end up shooting past a bunch of heads.Nathaniel and I got there around 2PM and it wasn't the mob scene I expected. We were able to get a comfortable 4 or 5 people back from the barriers. Some people had step ladders, which allowed them to get above the crowd. I had been advised that was one way to go, but couldn't easily find one in Paris to borrow or buy. Anyway, I got a few shots.This is the best. Cadel Evans is in the Yellow Jersey and this is the second to last lap. He was the overall race leader and deserved it. He rode a masterful race and was the first Aussie to ever win it, I believe. It was great fun to see, and would definitely do it again.

Good-bye to the Barnes

The Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pa closed at the end of June. The collection will be relocated to a new museum near the Phildaelphia Art Museum in downtown. The move was heavily debated as described in the movie The Art of the Steal. It is a shame IMO to see the original location and collection of Albert Barnes move to a more "accessible" location. It is counter to what he had intended. Barnes was a scientist, innovator, art lover and collector. He lived at the same time as the birth of the Impressionists and sought to educate the world about the value of the new movement in art. He was scorned as an outsider and retreated to a world where he could espouse his own thoughts and beliefs about the art. His world was the Barnes. The use of wall ensembles to tie together different works of art with African sculpture, furniture, and architectural elements is brilliant. In his book, The Art of Painting, Barnes lays down his scientific approach to understanding art. Its a struggle to read, but gives you some insight into the ensemble approach. On a recent vacation to Paris, we visited the Orangerie to see an exhibit of the collection of Paul Guillaume. He was the dealer in Paris Barnes worked with to secure many of his pieces. Guillaume was influenced by the Barnes approach to art collection and himself had a "wall ensemble" in his home. Barnes was not appreciated in his time. As the collection and approach to art appreciation become more public in the new museum, we can only hope that his true genius will be seen.

Bastille Day Fireworks in Paris

Bastille Day Fireworks in Paris, a photo by dlnwelch on Flickr.

We spent a couple of weeks in France, starting with Bastille Day, July 14th, in Paris. French national pride is incredibly evident in the day's activities. The start is a parade down the Champs Elysee displaying France's military, police and firefighter prowess. Very impressive and well done. Even some art with an ending ballet involving firefighters and ladders. The evening was a not to be missed display of fireworks with the Eiffel tower as background. I was all set to take some photographs of the event, but was tough to get an unimpeded view with over a million people at the event. Got a few good shots but with a building and a tree in my way. To see more, check out the set on my Flickr. Anyway, if you get a chance to be in Paris on Bastille day, don't miss the celebration. Its fantastic.