August 2014 - Page 3 of 5 - TimeLine Media Blog

August 20, 2014

Better Than Ezra at Tysons Corner Center

Summer Concert Series

Personally, this was an exciting assignment for me – covering the 94.7 Fresh Artist Concert Series at Tysons Corner Center. Better than Ezra has been putting out hit singles since I was in college. Their songs had a sound that I identify with that time in my life. I looked forward to hearing them perform live! Before they took the stage, they had a meet and greet with some fans that won the chance to see them and have their photos taken. What I did not know was that all the members of the band have a great sense of humor! The fans that met them up close had a good time with their antics, and they made for some great photos. Visit the Tysons Corner Center Facebook page to see all of them!

Better-Than-Ezra-meet-and-greet-©TimeLine-Media

When they took the stage, they did not disappoint! They sounded terrific in the Plaza. With the sound setup, the reverb off the buildings, and the singing from the crowd it was a nice evening of music. I always wonder what songwriters think when they take the stage in front of a crowd of people that have not seen them before, or in an area that they do not visit often, and the audience knows all the words and melodies of a song. This is a composition that started as a unique thought in your head, and through the modern distribution of communication and media, it is now a collective memory over so many!

Better that Ezra played all of their recognizable hits along with their new singles. “A Lifetime”, “Extraordinary”, “Good” – it was awesome to hear live, and I really had to remember to keep taking photos! Two more Fridays will have concerts in the series, so be sure to get your wristbands at Tysons before they are gone!

94.7-Fresh-Artist-Concert-Series-©TimeLine-Media

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August 19, 2014

Event, Music, Photography, Technology | 2 Comments

Concert Lighting White Balance | Tech Tuesday

Theatrical lighting for stage performances adds to the spectacle of musical performances. In the times I have covered musical groups as they performed, I have enjoyed using the additional lights around the stage as cool props that can add to the images. The lights at SingStrong were especially timed with the performance which enhanced the mood of the performances. They can be challenge to get good focus as the darkened arena against the strong point light sources is not ideal for auto focus systems in cameras. There are a lot of missed shots in the collection!

The other challenge comes in post processing the images after the concert. The lighting can be very strong in color casts. Whether that comes from gels over lights, or LEDs that can be any color, they will cast strong color. Of course, this color will be over their faces and skin tones which is always a challenge to balance afterwards. For this shoot, I had the white balance set to auto. Because I was shooting raw files, I planned to adjust the settings later in post.

Original-balance-out-of-camera-©TimeLine-Media

The lighting in the photo was a strong blue backlight that you can see on the left of the frame. From the front house lights, there was a red light on the front of the performers which is a common combination in stage lighting. To balance the color in Lightroom, I went into the Develop module, selected the White Balance tool, and then placed a point on the gray head of the microphone. I always look for gray colors for balancing as a starting point, and it worked well in this case toning down the pink skin tones.

I have much better luck going for gray tones in the frame. Sometimes there is not enough data in white or black areas to get an accurate white balance setting. The software may tell you, however, it will not change anything in your photo depending on the image. Of course, it is always important to have a calibrated monitor to ensure consistency in printing images. If the color cast is too strong, removing all color from the photo is also an option, and one I go to frequently!

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August 15, 2014

Event, Music, Photography | 0 comment

Lindsey Stirling at Tysons Corner Center | Virginia Music Photographer

Like most of her fans, I was introduced to musician / performer Lindsey Stirling from her amazing videos on her YouTube channel. In fact, please go there to play one while viewing this post. To play a violin well is an amazing skill on its own. To do it as effortlessly and technically well as she can while moving her body as much as she does is amazing! She did not miss a note while throwing her whole body into her performance.

The Plaza

All of this as a visual performance was not just for show. She used movement as a way to convey the feeling of the song to the audience. The intensity with which she played the instruments was infections. Additionally, she used her facial expressions to connect with the crowd. Amazingly, she kept the energy up for the entire performance! Even a more mellow song like John Legend’s “All of Me” carried the attention of the Plaza. Concurrently, People were watching and singing with all the focus that they had for her upbeat and louder songs.

94.7-Fresh-Artists-Concert-Seriesr-©TimeLine-Media

It was a great challenge to get good photos of her while performing. She is so fast in her movements, I pushed up my ISO to higher levels so that I could keep the shutter speed from blurring her movements. The organizers of the concert made a nice pit area that I could use to get closer to the performers without disrupting anyone’s view from the audience. The sound setup really blasted out the volume in the bass which really brought the intensity to a new level especially if you only listened to her songs on a computer or smartphone. This made an impact, and makes me want to see her perform again soon!

Lindsey-Stirling-at-Tysons-Corner-Center-©TimeLine-Media

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August 2014 archive

Summer Concert Series

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