Ninjaspy and Liberatia: The Waverley gets loud.

  Another show at the Waverley Hotel in Cumberland BC. I can't stress how lucky we are to have at least one venue like this around here. This time we showed up to headbang to some metal. Originally there to support Liberatia, the singer/bassist of whom my partner knows personally, I researched the headliner beforehand: Ninjaspy. I was excited to see these guys as well.  They are a technical metal band with definite influences of reggae and ska. 

  This time around I was brave enough to bring my dslr and opted to only mount a 40mm pancake lens. Being as I had shot here before I knew I could get away with a f/2.8 prime and nothing else, and the small design of the lens made the large-ish body of my canon 6d less unwieldy. I had another motivation however, I brought along my Sony a6000 mirrorless camera to shoot video. I have used this camera for video for other live shows, and while the internal microphone actually is quite impressive, I recently purchased a Zoom H1 audio field recorder and was dying to try it out in such an atmosphere. (Video to come at a future date hopefully).

  The first band up, was a last minute replacement. Calling themselves Jean Mustard, they were somewhere in between psychedelic rock and grind core. Weird and cacophonous, definitely with a sense of humour, I admired what they were doing, it reminded me of early Butthole Surfers stuff, but I can't really say I rocked out to it.  Second up was local band Liberatia. They rocked. Heavy in an old style thrashy way, breakneck fast with great growls and vocals. In a flurry of hair and metal beats, they frenzied the small bar. Quite impressive, I was really enjoying myself by this point.  The headliners: Ninjaspy, are three brothers from Vancouver, and while I had listened to some of their tunes in the week or so leading up to the show, I was unprepared for what I was about to see. Highly technical, very tight, their songs ran the gamut from funky reggae to blast beat heavy. Numerous times throughout their set I found myself with mouth agape and no other comments but "wow". Don't miss the opportunity if you ever get the chance to see this band live. 

  Thanks again to The Waverley Hotel in Cumberland for putting on such shows, it's a outlet that is sorely needed around here, and it's always a good time there no matter what the occasion.

-Cheers, Rev. D

D.O.A and Awkward A/C rock the Waverly

  Although, I was primarily at the Waverly just to partake in some punk music and beers with friends, I couldn't resist bringing my diminutive Sony a6000 camera. It's subtle enough and doesn't scream "photographer".  I had somehow never seen D.O.A in person live before, so I was excited to experience that.

  The surprise of the night however was a band I had never heard of before. Awkward A/C. Hailing from Nanaimo BC, they were a powerhouse of entertainment, showmanship and sounded really great. Of course, D.O.A lived up to expectations with their brand of hardcore, and really rocked the Cumberland venue.  

  I always jump at the chance to see punk bands in one of my favourite small venues on Vancouver Island, and was thrilled to not miss this one.

  All shot with Sony a6000 camera with kit 16-50mm lens.

~Cheers, Rev D. 

My First Crack at Levitation Photography

  After a long dry spell from taking any sort of creative photos (I recently made a big job change in my "regular" career, and was working two jobs for a month) I finally had the time and opportunity to spend a day behind the camera.  Friend, model and fellow photographer Angela jumped at the chance to join me in some morning fun in the forest and we headed out to an old graffiti laden abandon church out in the woods. 

  For those that don't know how this levitation look is achieved, basically you get the model to stand on something off the ground, take a picture then remove the model and standing-on apparatus and take another picture with just the background. With these two shots you layer them in photoshop then erase the parts of the top layer photo (the one with the model and ladder or whatever) that contain equipment the model was standing on to reveal the background beneath that does not contain the apparatus. 

  On this day I brought a small step ladder along specifically to take a couple levitation shots, and while not the primary motivation for out photo shoot, Angela humoured me. 

  Above is the result of my first ever attempt at levitation, and while there is absolutely room for improvement, I'm pleased enough with the results to encourage me to give this another go.

~Cheers, Rev D

Vogue Villains Delight Crowd at Spirit Square, Campbell River.

  Last night I had the pleasure of checking out newly formed band and friends of Twisted Little Playground, Vogue Villains downtown Campbell River as part of the River Concert series at Spirit Square.  A crowd larger than I had anticipated had gathered to listen to, gawk at, and dance to this hard rocking, yet harmonious three piece band from Campbell River BC. 

Vogue Villains pumped out a solid tight set; a mix of originals songs and covers while the crowd swayed and cooed to the music. I helped myself to all the photos I wanted while rocking out to the beats. It was nice to see such a diverse mix of people downtown on a smokey Thursday summer night in town. Young and old, locals and tourists came out on what normally would be a quiet evening in the Riv.

Shot with Canon 6d. 24-105mm F/4L and as the light faded switched to 50mm F/1.8.

~Cheers, Rev. D

A Hint of Darkness

  For first photoshoots with models I have never worked with, I tend to try to make it easy on them. Few props, no crazy makeup, no being covered in sticky blood or paint, no spraying their faces with milk, no climbing cliffs or standing in glacier streams.  This was a first shoot (of what I hope there will be more) but I like the minimal black on black theme here. I think it is rather suiting. 

  I was my absolute pleasure to hang out with the gorgeous and charming LIsabeth and shoot photos. She was a delight as a model, being a first shoot, I try to let the model dictate the shoot at the beginning, and add difficulty as we go. With Lisa, I should have started on at least medium difficulty. She handled everything thrown at her with grace, beauty and professionalism. I am so looking forward to a second session! 

Shot with Canon 6d and mostly 50mm f/1.8.  I did pull out the Sony a6000 for a few shots to utilize the 11 frames per second for some hair whipping photos (not displayed here).

~Cheers, D

Sony ILCE6000L/H A6000 Mirrorless Camera with 16-50mm Lens SLR, Black, Compact

Canon EOS 6D Digital Camera (Body Only) - 8035B002