Performing Arts Music/Band photography

Thanks Bill.

To be honest, the two photos of the actress was taken with the Canon 7D. The ONLY reason I used the 7D is because the Sony A7 is way, way too loud and distracting to be used in a small intimate setting like the play reading. I mentioned this previously but it is ironic that the 7D comes with a silent feature that allows for discreet photography, albeit it only works in Live View mode.
 
I have been photographing the Melbourne International Jazz Festival as one of the official photographers. So far, I've been placed in very different photographic circumstances, photographing musicians and bands who vary greatly in style and presentation.

The past couple of years taking photos of my black cat Atom, outside in the middle of the night has helped a lot. I knew what to do when dealing with very low lighting conditions. No flash is allowed so as not to interfere with the performances. I wouldn't have used flash if I was given the option anyway.

All photos with the Sony A7 and the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.1 lens unless otherwise noted.

In a nightclub-bar setting with a couple of incredibly talented groove-funk bands:

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Also took photos of a few big bands on a huge stage in a huge public space out in the open air but I haven't uploaded those photos yet. This setting was surprisingly the hardest to take good photos. Big bands are usually all seated, there's no visible 'action' to capture on stage.
 
really great shots, James. A number of stone cold classics, actually.

Since it's a tribute to Blue Note records, I'll add this for people to listen to while they browse the images here. For me, it is one of the quintessential Blue Note sounds.....
 
ooooo yeah, Moanin'. Thanks Luke, I really owe it to Keesha, Jadey and Atom in helping me jump head first into the difficult photography conditions at the Jazz Festival... and surviving it relatively comfortably.

I don't know how the piano players of the day could sit on those chairs and play the piano like the one in the Moanin' youtube clip. Didn't they have proper piano stools on those days? I've seen shots of Thelonius Monk and Oscar Peterson on them dinner table chairs at the piano too.
 
Here are the big band photos, they were all music students from two of the major universities here (both happen to be my alma mater). As I was saying, I found it surprisingly hard to photograph the big bands on the big stage out in the large open public space. Also, it was raining almost the whole day so the crowd was sparse, only building up towards the end of the day when the rain ceased a little.

Most of these photos were with my Canon 7D DSLR and a very long telephoto lens. I also had my Sony A7 with me but both cameras were getting drenched in the rain.

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The Jazz Festival is officially over, I had an amazing time photographing for them. Got to see Joshua Redman Quartet, and Chick Corea and Gery Burton play. Got a great seat at the Chick Corea workshop right in front of the keys a few feet in front of me.
 
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