ENEMIES OF CONFUSION

Enemies of Confusion, at Smokestack, downtown Dubuque, Iowa

Last Friday the Enemies of Confusion, a local band from Dubuque, Iowa, had a record release party in the ”Smokestack”, an event bar downtown Dubuque. Their new album PUBLIC ADDRESS is now officially out and their well-crafted, garage rock and blues infused Rock ’n’ Roll, with a great guitar sound, rocked the house that night. I know two members of the band and wanted to see them since a long time.

Brandon Duccini, vocals, guitar

I shot part of the band already in 2007, when they were the All-Night-Riders and backing band of acclaimed blues player James Kind. It was only my second concert photography shooting ever and I had fun looking at some of the old pictures. My style today is much different and people that know only my wildlife and landscape work may ask, what the heck is he doing here…?

Ray Otis, drums, backing vocals

I don’t make images of people very often, but I enjoy shooting photos of artists, and in particular musicians. I asked myself, why is that, and I guess it is because they come back with an expression in their face, or a certain gesture during their performance without being asked for it. The picture comes to you, if you just wait for the right moments…

Bryan Freisinger, vocals, guitar

My technical approach for that night was simple. The camera was set to monochrome so I see already in the viewfinder the outcome of a desired picture. If I would later change my mind and want still a color version of a particular image, no problem, the RAW data of the picture still hold all color information. My monochrome pre-setting in camera includes also a high contrast setting, a look I like in concert photography. I came with only one lens, the Nikon Nikkor AFS 70-200, f/4, and I shot the whole night wide open with f/4. Almost all pictures that night were shot between ISO 4000 and 10000, a few images even at ISO 32000. Sure, with the limited light in a concert venue there is digital noise introduced to each image with such high ISO settings. Thanks to camera technology and Topaz De-Noise reduction this is all manageable, something I would have never written a few years ago. Alright, let’s forget all the technical blah-blah and I hope you get a kick out of this selection of some of my favorite photos from the ENEMIES OF CONFUSION record release party.

Tony Moline, bass, backing vocals

This young man, the nephew of one of the band members, had his chance during the first break the band took after about an hour. His solo on the drums got him some big applause   by the audience.

Brandon and Bryan

Is that the manager behind the band, thinking, I can do that better…? 😉

AT SINSINAWA MOUND CENTER

Last night I attended the opening reception for “Driftless Depictions”, an exhibition of beautiful photographic works of local artist and photographer Henry Matthiessen III, in the Sinsinawa Mound Center over in Wisconsin. This place is the home of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. It was the first time I have been there and took the opportunity to visit also the Queen of the Rosary Chapel under the same roof. Here is what their website has to say about it:

No visit to Sinsinawa Mound Center is complete without a stop in Queen of the Rosary Chapel. The setting is tranquil, inspiring, and surrounded in simplicity by the mahogany pews, marble floors, and limestone altars. Visitors are awestruck with this architectural treasure and its unique circular shape, fluted ceiling, and the 37 diamond and half-diamond shaped stained glass windows. The true beauty is in the story of Christ’s redemption that is told through the brilliant mosaic of biblical scenes through rhythm in glass.

Being in the chapel not much before sunset was quite impressive. When I saw the reflection of one of the stained glass windows on the floor and on the backs of the pews, I knew I had a photo. Sure, with HDR techniques applied every detail would be visible, but I often prefer the approach with exposing for the highlights only.

Henry Matthiessen III, The exhibition “Driftless Depictions” can be visited until October, 23. Highly recommended!

Detail shot of diamond and half-diamond shaped stained glass windows in the chapel.

A MERRY MILLWORK MARKET

I had a little break here in the blog and come back with some street photography. Dubuque had its ‘Merry Millwork Market’ during the last couple evenings. Joan and I went yesterday night to this mini- Christmas market in the Historic Millwork District. Let me go straight to the highlight 😉. It was the first time since I live in the US that I saw someone selling Glühwein. The mullen-spiced red wine is served on every Christmas market in Germany, something I have missed during the last fourteen years.

I thought the market was well done, taking place outdoors and indoors. There were a lot of local artists selling their artwork and it seems the character of the market fits the ambience of the repurposed warehouse buildings in the Historic Millwork District of Dubuque, Iowa very well.

I don’t know when I shot the last time with ISO 1250 and still hand held the camera at a shutter speed between 1/15s and 1/40s. Detail was not so important as it is in wildlife photography and I wanted to keep the mood intact by using only the ambient light.

THE FINAL MIX SHOW BAND

It has been already a week ago when these photos were created. “Dubuque- All That Jazz” is a free Friday night concert series, taking place once a month during the summer on Main Street, right at the clock tower in downtown Dubuque, Iowa. The sad part of the story is that I haven’t been there for almost two years, the good part is that I enjoyed it as much as any time before during the last decade.

The FINAL MIX Show Band rocked the place last Friday and their mix of R&B, Jazz Fusion, Blues, Hip-Hop, and Rock’n Roll was a solid performance, enjoyed by the kids as much as by the older folks.

Del "Saxman" Jones, Band Leader

The avid readers of my blog know me mainly as a wildlife and landscape photographer, with the occasional excursion into architecture or technical stuff with historical relevance, like airplanes or cars. To be honest, the only time I enjoy photographing people (beyond family memory photos) is when they are at creative work or during candid moments. That leads mainly to artists, musicians, sportsmen, etc.. Well, concert photography is right down this aisle.

The FINAL MIX Show Band started to play during daylight and making a “documentary click” would have been a breeze. I’m more interested to reveal the essence of the musician’s engagement during the concert and that’s why I started shooting only 45 minutes before the final chord. The quality of stage lighting was mediocre, to say it mildly (it was actually lousy), but shooting from backstage or any spot you like without security interference is absolutely priceless, and I will stop complaining right here!

On a side note, I was hoping to name every musician under each picture but the band’s website is obviously not in sync with their current cast. It doesn’t matter, it was a good concert and the band members were very cooperative during my humble attempt to create some art.