The Basement - Anyone shot there before?

[Pehpsi]

http://www.thebasement.com.au/

A band would like me to take some live + back stage pics tomorrow night. I said i'd give it a shot. Never been there before, so just wondering what I just got myself into!

Probably pay about $75 for the hour.

James.

[gstark]

Do not charge your clients/friends, as you might not be able to complete the assignment. You will look rather silly asking them to pay for something you might not be able to deliver.

The management there do not permit photography: I was asked to stop shooting last week during the Ruthie Foster gig.

Of course, like most such venues, the management there doesn't have a clue: others were shooting - including Ruthie herself, from the stage. Why was I stopped? I had a D300 with a battery grip attached. Leigh was shooting elsewhere in the room without the grip fitted to his D300, so I guess my gear looked more pro.

And yes, I got the shots I wanted too, before they asked me to stop.

What's the point of restricting the photography? I think it's a power trip, and nothing more. Given that I do two radio shows each week and can perhaps tell people how good the venue is and how good the gig is, it's in their interests to permit me to photograph the shows I attend.

They do not. I reciprocate.

[Pehpsi]

Thanks mate.

I told them what I tell everyone else; If you like the pics, then pay what you/we think is fair, and if I think the pics suck, then I won't charge anything. It's kind of my honor-system approach..

Good to hear you got the pics you wanted, but sucks big-time they told you to stop

My plan was to use my D70 + 70-200 2.8, which is all I have that's kinda fast. I'm sure they won't like the look of that big ol' thing now would they!!

If I manage to sneak my kit in, what kind of lighting should one expect?

James.

[gstark]

There should be no worries about getting your kit in.

Consider getting an 85 f/1.8 or better. Maybe a 105? Compact, fast, not too conspicuous on the D70.

Lighting for Ruthie was better than I expected, but still the usual crap stage shit you get at gigs.

Use spot metering. If they use a predominately red mix, pull your exposure back 1.5 or more stops from metered. The D70, as you know, doesn't get on well with red lighting.

One thing we (Leigh) found to be very interesting ... using the D300 at high ISO makes the 70-300G a usable lens.

So at The Basement... D300, ISO3200, 70-300G, shooting from the bar = usable images!

[Pehpsi]

LOVE to get an 85 1.8. Not far away, any day now..

I looked back at my first ever band pics from the Hopetoun:

1600, 2.8, 1/100, 170mm, Auto WB, RAW, Centre Weight


I think I over-cooked them..? I'm guessing ISO 1000 might have been a better choice, or 1/250.

Taking the Boost down in the RAW Fine Tuning helps with the strong red, but not perfect..

Any WB suggestions?

I've never used Spot before, but a good time to give it a crack I guess. I was thinking:

Manual, 2.8, 1000, 1/100, VR on or off depending how I feel.

[gstark]

LOVE to get an 85 1.8. Not far away, any day now..

I looked back at my first ever band pics from the Hopetoun:

1600, 2.8, 1/100, 170mm, Auto WB, RAW, Centre Weight

I think I over-cooked them..?

Yep. Take 'em out of the oven a little earlier.

1/250 sounds about right, here, for this image.

The reds are difficult in the D70; it tends towards overcooking, which is exactly what you're seeing.

wb - incandescent and -2, but shoot raw.

Spot meter rather than cw, -1.7 EV comp as a starting point.

Chimp using the histogram - never, ever, rely on just the image playback display to establish exposure. Never. Expect the histogram to tend towards the left: you're shooting high contrast images with very dark backgrounds, so this is an expected outcome.

When you're happy with your exposure, note the settings, and then switch the camera to M; apply the noted settings.

Not for the Basement, but as a general guide, do not be afraid to use the built-in flash, or your SB-800, to provide an element of fill. Dial it back by at least 0.7, maybe even 1.7. It will help kill some of the red, and give you a better balanced image. And don't touch the wb.

[Pehpsi]

Always appreciate the advice. Now I'm keen to chug a few coldies and fire-away into the night!

Cheers.

James.

[Raskill]

James, the $75 an hour your getting will just about pay for a 'few coldies' in that rip off dive of a hole.


Good luck with the gig, look forward to seeing your shots, nice to see you expanding your horizons.

[Pehpsi]

Cheers, sounds like you love the joint? Yeah I'll probably spend that much on the night, so I'll come up neutral, again.

I've met the band before and they're pretty cool, so it should be fun. Also doin' some free stuff in town in a few weeks just to add to the portfolio and get some more time under my belt..

[jdear]

so I guess my gear looked more pro.

+1... Ive shot in there with a nikon F100 + 50mm/1.8 and no-one said anything. (there were others shooting also with 'bigger' rigs)

I shot without flash and I got some rich moody B+W's out of it (mind you shooting 3200 ISO film)

I wouldn't use flash personally, because it is really not subtle when you pop it off in the dark room!
Borrow, steal, beg to borrow primes and go for it!

J

[Pehpsi]

Yeah I always avoid flash when I can, I'm a big fan of natural lighting. The worst joint I've been is the Hopetoun. Lighting just plain sucks there! Flash would be good but it's a small and intimate place, so it would be annoying for most.

None of my mates are into photography, so borrowing gear is never an option, but I very much enjoy the challenge of using what I have.

Some good b&w shots is what I hope to get out of it, but only time (and skill) will tell..

[Cre8tivepixels]

Agree with the Hopetoun.interesting with the Basement too.as i have been asked by Mark Lizotte (aka Johnny Diesel and the Injectors/Diesel) to shoot there for him soon ....

[Pehpsi]

Well, the night is over... Thank science for that!

They were set to play at 8pm. I left home at 6:30 which I thought was plenty of time. It wasn't. Traffic was screwed, I made a few wrong turns, and had a few minutes worth of petrol left. I got extremely close to the place but couldn't park anywhere, so I needed a petrol station. Only one I knew/found was all the way back near Oxford Street! I was filling-up at 8 and decided to give up. I then went around the corner to my sisters work and got a Carlton. I messaged them and said I probably wouldn't make it; but was told that they were delayed by about 10mins! I sculled my beer, jumped in a cab and got there about 2 songs in.

In the cab I set my cam to 1/125, ISO 1000. Name was on the door, so as soon as I walked in I started shooting. I checked the histogram the first chance I got, about 30 shots in. Something was wrong! Oh shit, I didn't have a lens on in the cab and couldn't set the Aperture: I was shooting at f5..

I quickly found where I needed to be, which was 1/80, f2.8, 1600.

Only 2 of the 5 members were decently lit. The rest I HAD to shoot at stupid speed like 1/30. Pics are typically noisy for a D70 at 1600, but still usable at half size I'd say.

Anyway, that was my night... Needless to say, I won't be charging them as I was late and unprepared. I ended up spending $70 instead, but it was fun and I learned a whole heap in the process.

James.

[phoenix]

Man that sounds like a pretty ordinary night. At least you learnt some things from it. I hate turning up late, it's one of the things that annoys me the most. Can you post some shots of the night? Would be interested to see some shots.

[Raskill]

Agree James, PP and post something for us to see.

Thats good of you not to charge, and I guess what you learned was likley worth $70 anyway.

Perhaps see what they think of the images and see if they will pay you for them, what might not be good to your eye, might be fantastic to them. More often than not an Editor picks the image that seems like garbage to the photographer.

[Pehpsi]

Yeah will do. You weren't wrong either, most of my money went on the beer that cost $6+. I HATE being late anywhere, but it only happens very rarely for me..

Shooting was tough, the lens was hunting for a while, and the only shots with any detail were of Tanya the lead singer, who had the best (if you call it that) light on her. Couldn't get the drummer or guitar player which does *&^% me a little.. Don't think I've shot handheld at 1/25 before, so that was a new experience! Man, it feels like FOREVER for that shutter to drop... Love my D70 to bits, and it handles motor-sport great, but the band stuff is pushing it to the limits..

C&C is always welcomed

1/80, 2.8, 1250, 155mm

1/80, 2.8, 1600, 120mm

1/25, 2.8, 1250, 140mm

1/30, 2.8, 1250, 130mm

[MCWB]

They look awesome James, no complaints here!

[Geoff]

Well done James - they look good to me too buddy!

[Pehpsi]

Thanks heaps lads

I managed to get about 200 shots in, but my keeper rate will be quite low at probably 20 pics or so.. I can't imagine how good you need to be if you wanna charge decent money for this kind of work! I'll probably stick to the motor-sport path I'd say A little easier for me..

[Raskill]

Don't sell yourself short mate, these are good. If yor other keepers are this good, they will be happy with them. Given the lighting your had, you've done really well. Like I said elsewhere, see if you can pick up second hand 50mm and 85mm 1.8's (1.4's are better, but cost shit loads more), the extra couple of stops would have helped you a lot.

Get some more band gigs, I want to see more!

[Pehpsi]

Yeah I'll give it a few more goes I reckon, It's pretty fun giving the camera and own skills a good workout. The guy in the last pic is doing a solo gig at The Hopetoun next week, so I said I'll tag along and document the night for him. He also had a chat to the lighting guy, who is going to do away with the red and go for blue or yellow which will be a welcomed change

I'm going through all the pics in-depth at the moment, so I'll post more once I'm done with them. There's a few I'm happy with which is good..

James.

[Pehpsi]

Doin' some free stuff at The Hopetoun tonight... ISO 1600, here I come!!