To show you some example of the tourists, here’s an outtake of Jenna.  I wanted to try to capture a private, contemplative moment of her.  So I’m asking Jenna to close her eyes and share an intimate moment with me and the camera.  I’m oblivious to everything behind me except Dr. Vin yelling “show more profile”    Next thing I know this couple pops into the background to soak in the falls for a bit.  Jenna was great and very patient, we eventually got the shot.  But I think maybe in this moment, Jenna is trying to say to me “really, a private moment…um, there’s about 7 people behind you watching.”  Oh, then after we finished the series, I was changing my position when I noticed that there were two guys to the left of me who had been standing there in the water for a while watching and waiting for us to finish so they could continue walking upstream to the falls.

I love this series of Dr. Vin and Karly.  Technically the shoot had wrapped but, you know, it’s hard for me to stop shooting.  Really, these are the moments I like to capture…unscripted, genuine. It simply started with Dr. Vin helping Karly with her flip flops.  I was so focused on the two of them, it wasn’t until I’d fired off a few frames that I noticed we had an audience.

Even in a time out Kennedy is just too adorable.  I am so weak, couldn’t resist those eyes.

Of course, I had this vision that while we were there, I would shoot all sorts of stock photos, maybe hire some models, scour every inch of the islands (Tahiti and Moorea) for the best shots, possibly to shoot a story..I wanted to make the most of my time there.  And I did make the most of my time, but not in the way I had initially thought.  Ultimately all I did was hang with my mom.  Partly because I was too worried to leave her alone, partly because, well, we were on vacation, but mostly because I genuinely enjoyed spending all that one on one time with her.  I will cherish that time with her more than I ever would the “perfect” shot.  Sitting on the beach watching the sunset with her, while she gets a little tipsy from one piña colada, listening to her tell me stories about her life..that’s the stuff that matters.

I’ve mentioned it before, my mom is not a fan of me pointing a camera in her general direction BUT, I can’t help it, I love photographing her.  I imagine there is some psychological component as to why, but I’m not ready to explore that just yet.  For now, I’ll chalk it up to the fact that I love her dearly.

So here is a little montage of some of the shots I took of her with my handy 1st gen iPhone.  Most of these were shot using the Hipstamatic App and a few were shot with the ShakeItPhoto App.

Stay tuned for another iPhone Tahiti post.

You can see the full set of images at Reverb.

OR, I’m trying something new on my website, a “Stories” section.  It’s a work in progress but, you can also see them here, www.denisechambers.com/stories/passionpit

A Few Technical Notes

Shooting a show like this definitely tests the skills and technical “know how.”  It was first three songs only, not out of the ordinary but always adds just a bit of pressure.  Before the set started I had decided to use my 24-105/4.0 which is my staple.  I only had one camera with me so I wanted a lens that would give me options, nice range of wide to telephoto. For the opening band I had used my 16-35mm, shooting at ISO 1250, F2.8, 1/125ish so I figured I would probably be ok shooting my 24-105mm at ISO 1600, F4.0, 1/100ish.  Not ideal but I can usually manage that.

As soon as the first song started I immediately switched back to my 16-35mm. Why?

First, holy insane lighting.  Definitely had a rave feel to it, heavy strobe back lighting, minimal front light.  Great if you’re a fan in the audience not so great if you’re trying to shoot the show.

Second, way too much motion.  The lead singer, Michael Angelakos, was all over the stage.  He barely stayed still.  Again, great if you’re a fan in the audience not so great if you’re a photographer in a narrow pit with 4 other photographers.  Scratch that two other photographers and two teenage girls who somehow managed to sweet talk their way into the pit.

The wider lens helped me in a few ways…first the 2.8 aperture helped me get more light without more sacrifice to shutter speeds. Also, by shooting wide, I could minimize the movement of my camera, a few small movements on my part kept Michael in my viewfinder the entire time, which again allowed me to shoot at less than optimal shutter speeds. Had I been shooting normal to telephoto I would have had to worry not only about his movement but also mine. Finally, because of the crazy lighting..heavy on and off back lighting, flashing lights, etc..auto focus is a pain. I don’t know if this is an issue just with Canon gear but auto focus in low light is tough enough already, then when you add in the extreme fluctuations with the light, it’s near impossible to rely on auto focus.  Manually focusing on a continuously moving target is not that fun either, but shooting wide gives you a bigger “acceptable focus” range.

All in all a fun show to shoot.  But I am definitely thinking I need to shell out some cash to upgrade my camera.  I’m shooting the 5D, which limits my ISO to pretty much 1600.  I’d love to get a somewhat clean file at 3200 or higher.  Technology changes so quickly, seems like I’m always a few paces behind… my iPhone is 1st Gen.

Here are a few pics of my family in Germany last summer.  They are part of a long term personal project I’ve been working on over the last several years.