I had the honor and pleasure of photographing the Live at Santa Cruz Comedy Show in Austin Texas last night. The two hour long showcase featured some of Austin's top and rising comedians while also giving newcomers a change to rock the mic.
Hosted by Tai Nguyen and presented by JaceyTV, the Live at Santa Cruz Comedy Show featured acts such as Andre Ricks, Jay Whitecotton, Chad Fisher, Hunter Duncan, and Dausharae Freeman. Drop-ins included Kiko, Tania Morales, and more.
The night was kicked off with a musical opening by a band, whose name escapes me at the moment, followed by Tai Nguyen getting on the microphone to warm up the crowd for a night filled with laughter.
After my venture into #blackandwhitephotography thanks to the #monomad challenge, I decided to shoot this #event in #monochrome format while still having the raw files saved on the camera as a backup.
I've found that with shooting #blackandwhite I'm able to hone in much, if not all, of the contrast, highlights, and shadows to a tee, without much post production editing in Adobe Lightroom. I was nervous shooting this style in a venue I've never photographed before, but after a couple of test shots on the opening band all of my worries went away.
For the first time in years I found myself using my 135mm F4 lens on a shoot. I had given up on making the lens useful enough to include in my kit but after watching a few youtube videos I had decided to give the lens another chance. Fortunately I had plenty of time and subjects to #photograph before the comedy show. Now I love the 135mm, after at least two years of it just collecting dust. I'm glad I didn't sell it!
For the #event I alternated between the 50mm Konica Hexanon, with a black pro-mist filter, an 85mm Jupiter Lens F2, and the 135mm F4. Starting out wide and going into tighter focal lengths as the sets progressed. I tried my best to move around the room as much as possible, getting different angles on the performers throughout the sets without being distracting. I believe I accomplished the non-distracting part. I eventually settled on one side of the room and just floated around that area depending on the performers placement on stage.
All-in-all it was a great night! I'm so glad I was able to utilize the new things I've been learning about my Panasonic Lumix GH4 in a real-life, one take setting and getting some good results.
Safe to say I'll be using the same settings on the next shoot! I can't wait to shoot some #portrait shots like this. Especially with the 135mm lens.
Props to all the comics giving great performances and congrats to JaceyTV and The Santa Cruz Theatre for putting on a great show!
Some these comedians have national and international television and movie credits to their names, while others have popular podcasts and tour regularly around the United States.
I'm slowly getting my name out here in the Austin Comedy Scene. I've already got a hand of shows under my belt and I'm in talks for a few more.
Who knows I might be photographing your favorite comedian in the next few days!
PS I'd really like to thank @monochromes, @ewkaw, @brumest & @curangel, @curie, @steemed-proxy and everyone else that I'm missing(please forgive me) for both curating and sharing my work with the Hive community! Like most artists I really do love my creative work getting attention. I put a lot of work into these #photos and #videos and really appreciate all the support. Also thank you to the #hivecommunity for creating such amazing inspiring content. You all make me want to be better at my craft everyday. Stay creating!
Tech Specs:
Panasonic Lumix GH4
Konica Hexanon 50mm
Jupiter 85mm
Jupiter 135mm
Adobe Lightroom