Jim Zeller, harmonicist
Famous Montreal harmonica player
Famous Montreal harmonica player
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Nov, 2019Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken during a live performance from Jim Zeller, one of Canada's best harmonicist. It was taken at a small venue in Montreal, Quebec. Music has always been a passion of mine, so taking pictures of musicians fascinates me.Time
Picture was taken at night during a performance in a small blues bar in Montreal.Lighting
Shooting musicians during live performances puts you at the mercy of whatever light is available during the event, be prepared to contend with high ISO, low shutter speeds and wide apertures in a lot of cases. Luckily today's cameras permit higher ISO shooting with acceptable results, but still, you will need a lot of patience and timing to get the best shot possible.Equipment
For this shot I used my Nikon D800 with a Sigma 24-105mm lens, handheld at 3200 ISO.Inspiration
I love music as mentioned before, and Jim is an excellent subject. He's in constant motion. In this particular case what interested me was his Salvador Dali T-Shirt, and the faces Jim makes while singing. I knew I could just get the right expression at the right moment if I kept my eye glued to my viewfinder and my finger ready. I use single advance as I find that relying on motor shooting could lead to missing the shot. I trust my timing more than the camera's. What I wanted in this shot was both eyes aligned, his and Dali's.Editing
My pictures are usually heavily processed as I work towards a painterly look. I use whatever is needed to bring my picture alive. It usually involves Photoshop, Luminar 4, Topaz, NIK filters and textures. They end up pretty heavy, 1.5 to 2.5G because of the number of layers used. It's a very involved process as each picture demands its own approach, not every picture responding well to the treatment. So a lot of back and forth questioning happens throughout the process. You must be willing to put in the time and trust your judgment.In my camera bag
I try and keep things to a minimum, shooting shows I'll probably be carrying a 20mm 2:8, 24-105mm and my 70-200mm and 1 body. If I'm shooting outside doing street, gear goes very basic with a Sony Ilce-6300 with kit lens 16-50.Feedback
Doing live capture is exciting and requires patience and timing. Two things that demand you to shoot, shoot, shoot. Feel the music, be responsive to changes in light and mood. Keep your eye glued to the viewfinder, otherwise you'll miss that shot you were hoping for. I started out 50 years ago shooting film, and shooting film is another beast altogether. Cameras weren't as sophisticated, plus the 36 frame limit of the roll demanded that you pay total attention to what was happening as you didn't have the luxury of hundreds of frames at your disposal. You just had to develop the qualities mentioned before, patience, timing plus a sense of anticipation. Qualities that serve me well today. You love music, get out there and shoot, shoot, shoot.
