music Madredeus (Portugal)

Nice shot Alen! I am sure you had to work for it. As mentioned before, I think the crop is a little tight, and the singer is a little out of focus (not really detracting from the photo), but all in all... I LIKE IT! The backlit smoke has an almost "solid" feel, like the musicians are frozen in it. The scene definitely has mood and emotion!! Congrats on POW!

 

As for this thread...

 

I am brand new to photo.net, and some of you guys are scary!!

 

I am fairly new to photography (only been taking pictures for about a year), and I have found some great advice from many of the members here on how to create better photos. I am so grateful!

 

But... Are the rest of you so insecure about who you are that you have to "convert" people to your way of thinking? Can't you just comment on/critique a photo and let the photographer take from your critique what he may and just move on?

 

I can't believe that you guys have wasted the time to belittle one another so thoroughly.

 

If you want to know why Photo.net will cease to exist, just see the above thread. People are to busy arguing and vying for position to actually learn from one another.

 

I hope this kind of thread doesn't happen often here...

I'm new here, so perhaps I'm not aware of everything. I think the photograph is lovely and evocative (it accurately evokes the mood, the prescence of being there). But why are there all those extraneous comments above? Did the database get mixed up and put them in the wrong place?

Glad to see new people. Infusion of fresh thought and perspective. Yes, there are wierdisims on here.. Ignore them.. We are. As for "off topic" comments... Seems to always happen. I personally vow to try to stick to photo critique next POW.. Please - everyone feel free to comment... It will help make an environment of learning and positive/constructive (notice I didn't say negative [because there is a difference between bashing and constructive critiques]) feedback.. For those of you that want to simply say "nice photo -inspiring work - thanks" -- Well you should just feel perfectly welcome to do that too!

I try to read the POW comments every week and they ALL end up this way. I'm beginning to think Jerry Springer is picking the POW's just to start some shit between the "children" of the photo.net world.

 

BTW: Nice Photo!

I like very much the framing,the play of the lighting, the feeling of the group.

 

I recall seeing the Grateful Dead staring intently at their instruments about 11 years ago in Paris and in London - without question, they were "jamming", too, so I have trouble seeing this moment as "static".

 

I very much appreciate the technical comments from many who generally got lost in all the tumult of what may be one of POW's most pointlessly angry threads. Messr.s Borovicanin, Dilworth, Spirer, Menegatos, Spohn, Battey,and others I failed to mention, I admire and learn from you all.

 

I do agree with Mr. Gouros's concern. There are quite a few fine photographers who don't post in these forums - a pity, I'd like to learn from them.

 

Mr. Gouros, since you asked who *I* am, maybe the sort of picture like the one I'm attaching lets you know why I'm unable to put my *existing* portfolio on line. Pretty good focus, yes? From 800 km? (Once I have enough of my "private" portfolio scanned, I'll mount it.)

 

As for Mr. Schuler, I just sigh. I won't belabor the attempts to explain how you affect others.

 

It's beyond me to fathom what makes you so angry. Or why you post at such length and then complain about the general lack of participation. I find I cannot join Mr. Stuartson and others whom I respect in excusing it as simple free speech. But then, you've already told *me* I'm little more than retarded...

tris schuler as poster child for free speech??? gimme a break. believe me, i am all for free speech, and down on censorship as much as anyone.

 

 

tris has written some great feed back and expressed more than valid opinion. but they are nearly always lost, and at times seemingly beg to be lost in his other comments that are at best argumentative, and at worst, patronizing and belittling to other members. whether in valid self-defense or not, they contribute nothing to the discussion, and if anything, force us away from the topic at hand.

 

i am told that photo.net reserves the right to pull any image that they deem inappropriate or offensive i.e pornography etc... with some of the garbage of this last week, i support any decision by the moderators to keep this site civil and free from any "abusive" posts by tris OR ANYONE ELSE. new photo.netters need to know that this forum is about photography and it's discussion. if this spirit of civil discourse is not in some way protected, then, as many have rightly prophesied, there will be no "new photo.netters". you don't need to work with fifty pre-school children as i do to know the "if you can't play kindly, then please leave..." rule. for if we behave as children, we should be treated as such. if being pulled from the site is too harsh, being put on forum probation is surely justifiable to get the forum back on track. it can only serve the forum to remove people who have repeatedly shown that they have no real interest in participating in the real discussion. talk photography or leave.

 

so digressing back to the POW...

 

i too, don't mind that there is no detail in the woman's dress. it makes her look "monolithic", a surrealistic look that seems to go with the smokey atmosphere. there was a post a while back from someone "in the biz" that said a good concert pic needs the singer to have eye contact. is this true? and that the musicians need to be interacting with each other, is this a hard and fast rule??

alen

 

although i mostly shoot with triX, i am also a big fan of neopan. great looking grain. i was wondering if you or anyone has had much success with the faster rated films (ilfords 1600 i think, and tmax 3200)

what is the difference in results of using these faster films versus pushing neopan or triX to 1600 or 3200??

 

andre

there was a post a while back from someone "in the biz" that said a good concert pic needs the singer to have eye contact. is this true? and that the musicians need to be interacting with each other, is this a hard and fast rule??

There are no hard and fast rules, but after shooting several thousand rolls of concert photos over 15 years, I have found that interaction among the performers makes for more interesting photos than the one here. It is also quite easy to get photos of singers with their eyes closed and their lips pressed against a microphone. Open eyes and an interesting facial expression work better than closed eyes and lips pressed against the microphone.

Others, including Alen, are free to disagree. But when it comes down to it, whose photos are going on posters? I haven't had one promoter or musician choose a shut-eyed microphone-kissing photo of mine, and I've taken my share.

The atomspheric feeling of this picture is spot on, and I believe the focal point is effectively brought to the singer by the fog shrouding the other musicians. However, I agree with a few other posters here that the singer is not a compelling subject on her own because of her expression. [And yes, it'd probably be nicer with a little open area over her head.]

 

I also wish there were some detail in the dress, because I'm not sure it's an interesting enough shape to be that large negative space in the image. In fact, I tend to find the atmosphere itself, and the guitarist, who is fogged but still full of interesting detail, to be the most compelling parts of the image.

 

Overall, a pretty successful capture of a moody show feeling, but lacking in a compelling central subject. To see it nailed, check out Alen's excellent picture of a trombone player in his music folder.

 

How was the music? And when was the last time you saw a windscreen that shape? Enjoy.

Ok, so I'm a new member, though I've been reading for a while (finally got a little time on my hands). I must say I've been thoroughly entertained by the posts, sometimes because of the thoughts on photography, sometimes for the soap opera of personal give and take. Some personalities shine through, and some people go too far with obnoxious and unnecessary personal insults.

 

I won't even pick on Tris, who's clearly the current favorite whipping boy, because I've seen some of the negatives of an online community from other folks here whom I generally agree with.

 

Point being, while I support anyone's right to post unless it's just abuse, a little restraint would be nice. I will continue to enjoy the work of photographers I admire without caring if they are top 10 or number 150 - the ratings have to be taken with a grain of salt - and I'll continue to enjoy, and hopefully participate in, the commentary and interplay that makes a community what it is.

 

Sorry to lead my presence here with an off-topic ramble. Enjoy.

it would be very hard to improve on this. good work.

Actually, this is a composit of three distinct portraits; there is alot of movement and verve in this moment of time.

Brilliant picture. Gives me an emotional charge, has captured the fire of the music.. although it breaks almost every compositional rule, they are made to be broken! (and the picture succeeds beautifully).

 

Most important is the way the muscles are tensed in the singer's cheek, the left hand clenched with emotion. I don't think we need to see any more detail in her dress - this would simply detract from the strength of the picture, which is partly in these areas of solid tone.

 

The swing of her earrings and the lack of movement in the guitarist's hand seem to indicate a fairly high shutter speed - lighting conditions for this sort of picture are often very poor, making shooting difficult, but this is not what we should be considering here.

 

The way the lighting works on the background, and the way the other two musicians are leaning into the composition add strength and solidity - all great..

 

Top marks Alen - carry on, make us some more like this!

 

Doug Harris (New Zealand)

It's an ok photo but, if you take the smoke away, very little is left to make it interesting.

 

More specifically: the tight cropping of the singer head so close to the upper edge of the photo bothers me. So does the fact that the camera focus IS on the guitarist and not on her. Her left hand is "missing" and the keyboard player is overshadowed by a 'glob of blackness'.

 

 

a good live concert picture. i never heard of madredeus but this photo compelled me to track down some songs. "Vozes no Mar" is a lovely song and in hearing it, i get a very different feel for the quality of the moment in which the picture was taken.

Teresa Salgueiro.

One of the best female singers in the world. Just deserving good photos... 'cause she is so good....

Only a group as MADREDEUS would give souch a great photo!! Congratulations! To those who are in doubt , they are from Portugal and the photograph was taken in Sloveia. The singer's name is Teresa Salgueiro. Find a CD and listen to it .. it's even better than the photo :)

... is actually the title of a poem by Thomas Hardy - and which is a great example of describing strong feelings in soft images. This picture does something similar for me pictorially. No colour, just soft light and smoke, and a starkly highlighted central figure, silhouetted except for her face. The lighting, atmosphere and balance for me, are all excellent. Although the singer is almost central on the stage, the difference in lighting from left to right makes her seem more to the right, and is an effect I like. Unlike other posters I find the singer's face to be clear and well focused, and the blurred wrist is probably just from movement. While I can see more detail in the musicians' faces due to stronger sidelighting, I don't find it distracting as they are both also softened by the smoke. Instead, I find the extra light on them gives the image a pleasing 3-D effect.

 

On the demerit side, I would like to see more picture above the singer's head - hopefully filled with rays of light and smoke, which might also make the dark triangle in the top-left corner more easily recognised for what it is.

 

Overall excellent, and I look forward to viewing the entire portfolio.

The strong contrast of the singer and the band members' diffused lighting provide a nice balance of light for this image.

 

Someone mentioned earlier that they don't seem to be doing anything "exciting". Judging from their expressions, they certainly seem to be in their "element", having a good set. This is a band I would like to see and hear.

I came across a Madredeus CD (Movimento) in one of the duty-free shops in Heathrow. Definitely quality music; I recommend anyone to give it a try. It heightens my appreciation of this shot... And vice-versa: I like this photo better after having listened to their music.

 

Interestingly for me, the music and this photograph are remarkably similar in temperament.

great photo! Can you teach me ;) ?