Monday, May 19, 2014

Dwayne Brooke of The Woodshedders

I had the pleasure of attending just a couple of hours of the Loudoun Bluegrass Festival last Saturday. The main event that I made it to was Dwayne Brooke's "Gypsy Jazz Jam." Dwayne is a friend of mine, a creative force, and guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for The Woodshedders.
 
(Click Here) to get to know The Woodshedders.
 
Well, it was a slightly rainy, overcast day, perfect for portraiture. Looking around outside the barns of the Loudoun Fairgrounds where the festival was held, I saw this incredible tree with a carpet of fallen blossoms at its base. As soon as Dwayne was done with the jam, I asked if he'd let me shoot a few photos of him there. Here's an example:
 
Dwayne Brooke, by Reed A. George
Leica M9, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 v. 3 Lens
iso 400, f2.4, 1/250 sec.
 
Normally, I would shoot a longer lens for a portrait. In this case, I wanted a lot of environment in the shot, specifically the tree and fallen blossoms. So, I chose the Summilux 35mm. I attempted to reflect some light into Dwayne's area with some reflective panels designed for keeping your car cool (windshield shades). There just wasn't much to reflect, and I didn't have an assistant to hold them. I would have used a little bit of flash for that purpose, but don't you know my Nikon SB-30 flash battery died during the jam session?
 
(Click Here) to see the full set of several shots I made.
 
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with these. As usual, there are things I'd do to improve them next time. That's why photography continues to be fun and challenging for me.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 

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