The fellow and I went down to the Beaches today to get out of the house and enjoy the gorgeous day. We ended up in a little bar called the Castro, which , as it turns out, had a great selection of beer for the fellow, a nice selection of tequila for me and a vegetarian menu! As I was munching on a burrito and sipping a very smooth tequila, the band began setting up. While country music isn’t my thing, just look at those instruments! So cool. And they knew how to play them. I had my camera, so, of course…
It was dark inside the bar, very bright outside, and, as you can see, that wall behind them was completely open, so pretty much a photographer’s lighting nightmare. However, undaunted was I! You can’t write something off unless you actually try — or at least you shouldn’t. You may be missing an opportunity. The light behind them really did bloom too much and only the bass player could be exposed for, but it still resulted in a few interesting shots. I converted to black and white (and sepia) to unify and simplify everything and basically turned the lighting into its own element — so that blooming around the heads, particularly the fellows to the right, is now a character in the shot rather than a distraction. Did that make sense? Anyway, I rather like the result.
The band is Leon Knight and the Neon Lights.
This version has some grain added to it that I think works well with the crappy lighting, to make it more interesting.
This is the same as the above, but without the added distressing. It’s all a matter of preference.