Black and White Photography at Concerts with Canon EF 24 to 105 mm f4 L IS lens

Black and White Photography at Concerts with Canon EF 24 to 105 mm f4 L IS lens

From kryptos at Impending doom

Black and White photography is by far my favorite when compared to color photography. u really cant go wrong with B&W pics and when the exposure is bang on , the photos look the best and very dramatic.

I attended a gig in Bangalore called Impending Doom and wanted to experiment with my newly acquired Canon EF 24 to 105 mm f 4 L IS USM glass. i had previously used the lens , extensively to cover a 3 day wedding ceremony and it perfectly complimented the Canon 580 exII speedlite. but this event was way way tougher to capture

some of the constraints of shooting i faced were

The Down Troddence and Cypher 16 gig review

The Down Troddence and Cypher 16 gig review

I have been friends with rocker Munz from his Kannur based contemporary metal band The Down Troddence for sometime now, but never had the opportunity to see them live. So when they came down to Bangalore to perform , i jumped at the chance to meet them and also check them out live.

after the usual meet and greet, i was told that the concert would be starting a bit late. and no bands were allowed to do a sound check. and when i got there at around 5pm, i could see only about 10 guys present, which included the bouncer, the organizer and TDT the band. hmmm

From people at the gig at kyra, 23 sept 2011

soooo about 45 minutes later, the first band takes stage.

Mehandi designs captured using Canon 24 to 105 mm f 4 L IS lens

From mehandi

My first Mehandi shoot. For those of u who dunno what it means, here is what wiki says " Weddings in the India can often be long ritualistic and elaborate affairs with many pre-wedding, wedding and post wedding ceremonies. The occasion of Mehndi ceremony is often one of the most important pre-wedding rituals especially for the bride. It is a fun filled ritual, which is celebrated mainly by the bride's family. Different regions of the country celebrate the ritual in a different way according to their own marriage customs, rituals, and culture. Mehndi ceremonies take place outside the India amongst the Indian community and places like Birmingham in the UK are such known hotspots for lavish Mehndi celebrations.

The ceremony is mainly held at the bride's house or at a banquet hall on the eve of the marriage ceremony or few days before the marriage. Generally the bride and groom attend the event together and on the occasion a professional henna artist or a relative applies mehndi to the bride's hands and feet the designs are very intricate. Often hidden within the mehndi pattern the name or initials of the groom are applied. The event generally has a celebratory festival feel to it with the women dancing and singing traditional songs and the girls wearing vivid colours such as hot pink and yellow, often if the bride to be wishes to tease her future groom she will make him wear purple."

Now that we know what it means now, here are some moments i captured at my friends Mehandi ceremony

gear used Canon 60D + EF 24 to 105 mm f 4 L IS USM glass + Canon Speedlite 580EX II

and to get better results i bounced the flash of the ceiling.

Alien Bug gets eaten by a WASP captured using Canon EF 100 mm macro lens

From alien bug we come in peace

At first, it looked like it came from the movies. i was clicking pics of the amazing , green colored soft bodied insect which looked like a lady bug that had entered a drag queen competition, when suddenly, outta nowhere, a hungry wasp comes and stings the little fella and devours it right in front of my eyes!!!

i was pretty stunned myself, but i somehow managed to get the shots that i needed.... sad ending to what would have been a cool photo shoot

aperture was set to f 5.6 most of the times to get good depth of field throughout

Insect that looks like a dog captured using Canon Ef 100 mm macro lens

From dog insect

I call the above "Dog Insect" coz it resembles a friendly dog with its tongue out. well, incests dont really have tongues, but this one looks like its got its tongue out.

got a very clear shot of the insect using EF 100 mm f 2.8 macro lens, manual mode and i increased the f stop number to 5.6 to get better depth of field.

The above photo was also featured on the site www.picturesocial.com

Colorful Insect Captured using canon 100 mm Macro lens

From rudolph

One of the most colorful insects i have ever witnessed....the plant hopper was very camera friendly, allowed me to take a few good pics before it hopped away into the sheets of grass.

look closer at the body of the insect. u can see the number "713" on it

60D with EF 100 mm f 2.8 macro used to capture this remarkable insect

capturing Water droplets with flash and 100mm macro lens

From am really wet right now

Not too happy with my previous effort of getting water droplets using a fast shutter and a macro lens, i decided to change my location and also the camera settings to get some good macro shots of water droplets .

Few pointers of what i did that day

Grand Fathers of Indian extreme metal Dying Embrace at Trend Slaughter Fest 2011

From dying embrace @ TSF, march 19, 2011

The oldest extreme metal band in India, Dying Embrace was formed in 1991 in Bangalore. heavily influenced by bands like Black Sabbath, Autopsy, St. Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass, DE recently played their 20 anniversary gig to a packed house at Kyra, Bangalore.

I have deliberately clicked several pics here at higher ISO levels to give a noisy grainy feel to the photos as a tribute to how old the band are.

Bangalore Thrashers Culminant captured live at Trend Slaughter Fest 2011

From culminant @ TSF , March 19, 2011

Culminant are a Bangalore based thrash metal band and i got to see them for the first time at The Undergrind fest a few months before i clicked these pics.

Armed with my 60D and the under rated kit lens Ef 18 to 200 mm f 3.5 to 5.6 IS USM lens, i got some really good pics at low light. the IS or Image Stabilization helped me to get very good shots without the crappy camera shake.

WASP captured using fast shutter and canon 100 mm macro lens

From transformers bumble bee

a yellow and black striped wasp was building a mud nest at the entrance of our garage and i thanked my lucky stars for being there at the right time with my 100 mm f 2.8 macro. i also thanked my lucky stars again for not being stung by the scary but amazing insect known for not being too friendly to people.

Fast shutter to capture Butterflies and Moths with canon 100 mm macro lens

From iron butterfly (Canon EOS 60D)

A challenging feature in macro photography is using really fast shutter speeds to freeze the action of tiny insects.

Capturing Bees using Fast Shutter and Canon 100 mm Macro lens

From flight of the humble bee (Canon EOS 60D)

One of my fav photos, macro photography has taught me a lot about patience.

i clicked the photos here in broad daylight , in the morning, when pollination and bee activity is pretty good.

Ant on a Cashew shot using Macro mode

From ant on cashew (Canon EOS 60D)

Shooting macro can be really fun if the subject is pretty still. A brilliantly colored ant caught me eye and i had encountered this ant before when i was at the receiving end of its terribly painful bite. So i was very careful this time and used my trusty Canon EF 100 mm f 2.8 macro to capture some good images.

Cashew Flowering captured using 100 mm macro lens

From cashew flowers (Canon EOS 60D)

One of my favorite photos, which was also featured at www.picturesocial.com

for the over all effect, i used the warm tone in the creative mode in my Canon 60D and shot in RAW format to further enhance the image .

Fast Shutter to Capture Water Droplets

From water droplets (Canon EOS 60D)

I was always fascinated with several water droplet photos and so wanted to see if i could achieve something similar with just my basic canon 60D and 100 mm f 2.8 macro lens.

Brahmin Wedding Rituals Explained with Photos

A series of 19 photos explaining the rituals involved in Brahmin weddings.

1. Vratham
2. Janavasam
3. Upanayanam
4. Gowri Pooja
5. Kasi Yatra (Pilgrimage to Kasi)
6. Oonchal
7. Kanya Danam
8. Sumuhurtam (The Auspicious Moment)
9. Malai Mathal
10. Kankana Dhaarana
11. Mangalya Dharanam
12. Binding in Thread
13. Talambralu (Rice and Petal Shower)
14. Paani Graharam
15. Saptha Padhi
16. Pradhana Homam
17. Treading on Grindstone
18. Laaja Homam
19. Finale

I definitely would have missed a few rituals in the middle or even at the end, but i have tried my best to explain why the whole wedding ceremony takes a few hours to finish.

From Typical South Indian Brahmin Wedding

The marriage ceremonies begin with vratham performed separately by the bride and the groom. For the bride, it means the tying of the kappu, the holy thread on her wrists, which is meant to ward off all evil sprits. It symbolizes a kind of protective armor for the bride

Macro Photos of Colorful shiny Beetle

From beetle bailey

another beautiful day for macro shooting and i was pretty lucky to have stumbled upon not one but 2 very tiny but shiny beetles.

Portrait and Wedding close ups

My first attempt at taking wedding candid portraits... sounds pretty weird to have the words portraits and candid in the same sentence. but thats exactly what i did.

equipped with my newly acquired EF 24 to 105 mm 4L IS lens and Canon speedlite 580EX II, the results were much better than i expected.

Old man Ploughing fields

It was a crisp morning and i decided to take my new bazooka Ef 70 to 200 mm f 2.8 L IS II lens for some test shots and i was fortunate enough to find the 81 year old neighbor farmer Ramanna, ploughing his paddy fields with his 2 deaf ox