Monochrome

Collegium Nardinum

Collegium Nardinum
Fuji xpro2

Until my little Roman escapade, I had never really shot urban facades wide angle. Sure, my go to lens (when not shooting a 35mm fixed lens) opens at 27mm which is pretty wide, but often insufficient for narrow streets or high facades. In Rome I had my 10-24mm lens (equivalent 15-36mm) and really discovered how cool that was to shoot high doors in narrow streets. This photo is an example of that.

Shelob’s Roman Abode

Shelob’s Roman Abode
Fuji xpro2

I always had this image of Rome being a historical center surrounded by a modern city, but last time I was there I realised that there’s a whole lot of old stone even outside the historical center. It may not be roman time stone, but it still looks fantastically cool. What first attracted me to this facade was the face, and then I saw the spider…

Cherubini

Cherubini
Fuji xpro2

Rome is a marvel of old stone, and walking around on a sunny day you will find tons of interesting things for photographic material. My obsession with doors was fed, and then some. This one is one of my favourites.

Zachary Christique

Zachary Christique
Fuji x100s, 35mm, f/2, 1/60s, ISO 5000

Zachary Richard is an Acadian singer/songwriter with roots in blues, folk and zydeco. When he sings in English, he’s just another folk-rock singer to me. When he sings in Acadian French, there’s a poetry and pulse to it that is absolutely unique and wonderful. I particularly recommend his album Lumière dans le Noir if you’re interested in exploring. I saw him live in Paris a few years ago, and I only had my Fuji x100s with me, but this shot stood out.

Jesus Live

Jesus Live
Fuji xpro2, 52mm, f/2.8, 1/125s, ISO 3200

Lettuce is a hard hitting modern funk band whose bass player, Jesus Coomes is nothing short of a stage imp. Not only does he play wicked bass grooves, but he jumps up and down like a madman and wears the silliest socks. Go check Lettuce if you can, it’s a guaranteed evening of fine music and booty shake.

Pattern and ‘Bone

Pattern and ‘Bone
Fuji xpro2, 52mm, f/2, 1/60s, ISO 6400

I love shooting trombone players at the best of times. Because of the length of the instrument it has a potential for strong diagonals, and from the right angles there’s a lot of different potential shots to be had. But when I saw the pattern on Reut Regev’s dress (playing ‘bone with Hazmat Modine) I knew the potential had just gone up tenfold! This is one of my favourite shots of her that night.

Thomas’ Intensity

Thomas’ Intensity
Fuji xpro2, 110mm, f/3.2, 1/125s, ISO 3200

Cory Seznec is a wonderful guitarist whose band is full of wonderful talents. But there is something about double bass players that makes for great compositions, I find. I really like the intensity in Thomas Garoche’s expression here. Incidentally, this was my first gig shot with the 50-140 f/2.8 OIS lens, and my first gig ever shot with stabilization. It’s wonderful! I haven’t pushed it to extremes yet (I was still shooting at a speed faster than the focal length) but I will try pushing it in the future.

Ounsa and Crowd

Ounsa and Crowd
Fuji xpro2, 85mm, f/2.8, 1/100s, ISO 1600

Ounsa Mébarkia is a fantastic and spectacular singer who occasionally plays with the wonder French brass band Ceux Qui Marchent Debout (CQMD). I saw them live at New Morning a couple of years ago, and revisiting those photos I found this one which I liked a lot. The pattern on the dress, the expression on her face and the crowd in the shadows below…

Navel on Display

Navel on Display
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/5.6, 1/250s, ISO 800

I’ve posted quite a few bare chested guys in this series of moments this week, but I also wanted to capture this particular fashion approach to heat that is the t-shirt rolled under the armpits. Here’s an example of that.