Jazz pianist Lorenzo Naccarato

[Chataignier]

Jazz pianist Lorenzo Naccarato, one of the concerts of the Limoges Jazz festival in november.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[selig1656]

Good captures, love the last in the series.

[Manfred M]

Great images; nicely shot and processed, especially given the harsh lighting conditions you were working under.

[lovelife65]

Fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
Love them all, but number 2, if I had to choose, is my favorite

[pschlute]

The first image gets my vote. A cracking capture.

[DanK]

I agree with Peter. I think the first is an excellent image.

The third would be, but it seems to me (it's hard to tell at this low resolution) that the pianist's head and face may not be quite in focus. Is that the case, or is it just the low resolution? If you post a bit larger, folks can look at the larger version (up to about 2000 pixels) by double-clicking on the image.

[Chataignier]

I agree with Peter. I think the first is an excellent image.

The third would be, but it seems to me (it's hard to tell at this low resolution) that the pianist's head and face may not be quite in focus. Is that the case, or is it just the low resolution? If you post a bit larger, folks can look at the larger version (up to about 2000 pixels) by double-clicking on the image.

I've taken a close look at the original RAW and in my opinion the shot is in focus both in front and behind the pianist's head - however because of the low light and an attempt to keep the ISO down, this was shot at 1/60s, so I think the effect is due to movement. It's a testament to the stabilisation of the Fuji 50-200mm f3.5 that I got a useable shot at all, 1/60s hand held at 160mm ! (or perhaps my steady hand...?)

[rpcrowe]

Very nice captures especially under the constraints of the lighting situation...

It is difficult to shoot in low light situations with a long focal length...

I just wonder what ISO was used and if you might have cranked up the ISO one or two stops to get a 1/120 or even 1/240 second exposure which might have gone a long way to freeze the movement of the subject?

I have never shot with Fuji equipment but, many of today's cameras are capable of some awesome ISO levels which, combined with a decent noise reduction program, provides results that photographers of ten or twenty years ago could only dream about...

[Chataignier]

I was at iso1600, but I did take some that evening up to iso4000 which turned out pretty well, so you are probably right, a bit higher iso would probably have made life easier.

[Manfred M]

I've taken a close look at the original RAW and in my opinion the shot is in focus both in front and behind the pianist's head - however because of the low light and an attempt to keep the ISO down, this was shot at 1/60s, so I think the effect is due to movement. It's a testament to the stabilisation of the Fuji 50-200mm f3.5 that I got a useable shot at all, 1/60s hand held at 160mm ! (or perhaps my steady hand...?)

Your camera might not have moved, but musicians can be quite energetic, so unless you pressed the shutter release while he was stationary. the movement you captured is likely him moving.

I remember shooting some musicians at a recording studio, during a recording session with studio flash. Given the power level I was using, the t.1 time was around 1/1500 second and there was a slight blur of the ends of drumsticks on the shots with the drummer, even though everything else was frozen. The guitar player and keyboard player were perfectly frozen.

[Chataignier]

I guess I should have said I meant movement of the pianist, the piano is in perfect focus both in front and behind his head, so the movement in question is the pianist, not me and the camera (surprisingly in the circumstances !)

[davidedric]

I've only just come to this thread, and it's very interesting to read what others have said.

I think these are images for the emotions, and so we can expect different views, even if they are all excellent captures.

For me, number 3 really doesn't spark me. Number 2 captures the intensity of the pianist. But it's number 1 that just drew me into the frame.

Well done (or should that be bien fait )

[bristolmono]

Anyone that has tried to take these shots will know how extremely difficult it is. For me the monochromes work best especially the second.
Great series.

[Chataignier]

Anyone that has tried to take these shots will know how extremely difficult it is. For me the monochromes work best especially the second.
Great series.

Thanks everyone for the various comments.

Yes, it is VERY difficult. You have very low light and you are a long way from a moving subject. You cant increase the exposure time because of the movement and the ISO is limited by noise. With a fast lens wide open, f2.8 or thereabouts, a shutter time around 1/200s to freeze the movement and you still need ISO 2500 or even 4000 for an adequate exposure.
I chose to increase the exposure time risking blur due to subject movement rather than go too high on ISO, but this also exposes you to problems of camera shake - 150mm or even 200mm lens at 1/60s hand held is pushing it !!!.

[Manfred M]

Thanks everyone for the various comments.

Yes, it is VERY difficult. You have very low light and you are a long way from a moving subject. You cant increase the exposure time because of the movement and the ISO is limited by noise. With a fast lens wide open, f2.8 or thereabouts, a shutter time around 1/200s to freeze the movement and you still need ISO 2500 or even 4000 for an adequate exposure.
I chose to increase the exposure time risking blur due to subject movement rather than go too high on ISO, but this also exposes you to problems of camera shake - 150mm or even 200mm lens at 1/60s hand held is pushing it !!!.

I tend to look at this a little bit differently, David.

A blurry image is never acceptable, so the risk of camera movement or inadequate depth of field are two areas I try to concentrate on avoiding. As you point out, the downside of that approach is to increase the camera ISO which means a lower dynamic range, lower colour bit depth and higher digital noise, especially in the darker areas of the image.

At one point, I would hesitate to push my camera past ISO 800 or 1600, but no more as modern cameras have largely made noise tolerable at high ISO values. Noise reduction software and good PP skills fix the noise issue.

As an example:



ISO 8000, f/2.8 1/320th second at 125mm focal length on a full-frame camera

[Chataignier]

@manfred : I cant agree that a blurry image is never acceptable. Of course, if we are speaking about something that should be static being blurry then that is a defect, but a touch of motion blur in something that the viewer expects to be moving - the hands of a pianist or the ball in a sports image for example - can add a bit of dynamism to the image.

PS - in the case above where I failed to "freeze" the pianist's head, I must defer to Manfred, that is a defect, I should have used a faster ISO and cut the exposure time, but I'm sticking to my statement that I believe motion blur has it's place from time to time.

[LenR]

With regard to "blur" water in landscape images is more often than not deliberately blurred.
That being said we do expect the surrounding features rocks, trees etc to be sharp.

[William W]

Did you / do you purposely release the shutter when the Pianist does not have any of the Piano Keys depressed, or is that simply by chance, in the two images you've posted?

WW

[Manfred M]

@manfred : I cant agree that a blurry image is never acceptable. Of course, if we are speaking about something that should be static being blurry then that is a defect, but a touch of motion blur in something that the viewer expects to be moving - the hands of a pianist or the ball in a sports image for example - can add a bit of dynamism to the image.

PS - in the case above where I failed to "freeze" the pianist's head, I must defer to Manfred, that is a defect, I should have used a faster ISO and cut the exposure time, but I'm sticking to my statement that I believe motion blur has it's place from time to time.

Carefully said, I should have been more clear in my choice of words. There are definitely times where motion blur is not only acceptable but also desirable. Focus blur is also acceptable when dealing with shallow depth of field situations. Both are creative choices used by many photographers. I use both techniques in my own work.

I was referring to unintended blur or blur that does not work creatively in the image. Motion blur in the hands would likely have been effective, the blurred head might not be desirable.