So here’s the deal. In the 3 years I’ve been shooting live music, I had never shot a band with my 50mm prime lens. Despite reading in several different places how it’s the obvious choice when shooting in dark or dimly lit venue due to the larger aperture, for me it is simply a matter of having the flexibility of a zoom lens and not having to pack more than necessary when going out.
After all, I do enjoy putting my camera down and getting my jam on here and there. Why carry the extra weight? Granted, my shorty is a little bitty thing and does not weigh much at all. He still takes up space in my bag and we all know how much crap a woman stuffs in there to begin with. I am certainly not an exception in that regard. Let’s just say I lift weights on a daily when it comes to what’s in there and that I don’t need any extras.
Back to subject of the post and of shooting with a prime lens. Since I’m presently shooting with a Canon Rebel, I already have a crop sensor to contend with. Basically, my 50mm lens is effectively a 75mm lens. That means my subjects can be close and in a small venue, that’s really close. Add to that the fact that my feet basically become the zoom feature, it can be quite limiting in the type of shots I can capture.
The upside, the depth of field on my shorty is absolutely beautiful. I love how creative I can get on a normal shooting day with my fifty. Still, I had always been hesitant on taking him out and putting him through his paces. That is until last weekend at Sunset Tavern. That venue’s lighting is certainly not a camera’s friend.
The last time I shot at Sunset Tavern, Artemis (my camera) hated me. While I got the shots I wanted, they were more often than not rather noisy and really not worth posting anywhere though I still made them work. That being said, when I heard Vladez was playing there this last weekend, the lightbulb went off and I decided, why not give my shorty a try. Let me just say that I was quite impressed with his captures.
There’s still a bit of a noise issue on some of the shots, but that depth of field though. I loved it. I will definitely be taking him out again with me and then I’ll get to experiment a bit more with range. In the meanwhile, I picked a few of my favorites to share with you all here and added a few more to my Facebook album just because. Let me know what you think.
