Photos: Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House

Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
Sage Francis prominently poised with microphone in hand and cape tied tight...

Indie Hip-Hop legend Sage Francis is not only philanthropic with his wealth of verbal knowledge, but also quite so when it comes to offering performance for a cause.  Which cause you ask?  World AIDS Day.  The recent benefit show held at Knitting Factory Concert House saw this slam poet dj turned emcee give the city of Reno an extra-large helping of politically quotable and thought-inspiring verses, choruses and freestyles to chew on throughout this chilly post-Thanksgiving winters eve.  Brimming with creativity, live painting could be seen taking place all around the edges of the venue, along with sexual-awareness themed games and offerings throughout.  One thing which did throw us for a loop was that even though ‘safe-sex’ was being promoted, the free condom gift packs which were being distributed ended up all containing ‘magnum’ sized prophylactics … now don’t get me wrong, free condoms are better than no condoms, but MAGNUM sized condoms, really?  Most of which, from what I could spy, ended up either being stuffed in the upstairs booth cushions or got inflated and tied off at the end in the creation of makeshift patriot-looking balloon missiles.  Bomb’s away!!!

As far as my Nikon D7000 and  Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens were concerned, Sage did move around a little fast during his caped crusade around the stage, but it wasn’t anything this fast and lightweight setup couldn’t handle.  Being the first concert I’ve shot in .NEF (RAW) format (I know, most photo geeks probably just dropped their jaws), the Lightrrom 3 session which followed was a big self-taught (and internet assisted) lesson in post-production and photo editing.  The amounts of color, clarity and contrast were just a few of the sliders which made up the process, and although there were plenty of bright lights to choose from, Sage’s onstage demeanor seemed to demand a handful of black and white depictions instead.  For these, the ‘develop’ process in Lightroom 3 went something like this: Enable Profile Corrections (Lens Corrections) >> Black & White >> Clarity >> Sharpening >> Fill Light >> Blacks >> Tone Curve.  I’m sure that there’s a lot more in store for me to learn in this software, and anyone reading this has a favorite to share, please do so below … or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter if that’s easier.

If you like what you see here, I’m pretty confident that you’ll enjoy the full gallery … so go ahead, click away and see why I Shoot Reno!

VIEW THE FULL SAGE FRANCIS GALLERY HERE

 

Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
Sage Francis unleashing a poetic fury upon the crowd...
Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
Sage Francis taking a quick breather after fully exhausting both himself and the crowd...
Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
A packed house for Sage Francis' World AIDS Day benefit show at The Knit...
Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
Sage showing the crowd a taste of why the ladies call him 'Sage Frenchkiss'...
Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
An offering from the crowd which ended up going head-to-head with gravity...

Camera(s) Used:

Nikon D7000

Lens(es) Used:

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D


Go On, Treat Yourself to Something Nice!

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Every time our readers buy new gear through our affiliate links, it helps us bring to the table more of that which brought you here in the first place — the ‘money’ shots!

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Please let us know what you thought of this post on ishootreno.com!

Super-Happy Funtastic Bonus Pics!!!

Sage Francis Crowd @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
And the crowd goes wild for Sage Francis...
Sage Francis @ Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV 2011-12-01
A still shot displaying on one of the many monitors adorning the walls at The Knit...

Photos: Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort

Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Black, white and red composite of Pretty Lights performing at Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV...

It has only been about a year since I had the happy accident of coming across the music of Denver, Colorado based Pretty LightsDerek Vincent Smith, the man behind the moniker, has seamlessly crafted one of the most unique electronic music hyperniches that I’ve had the pleasure of coming across in my musical exploration known as life.  Take the crate-digging elements of past hip-hop sampling gods a la mid-to-late 90’s DJ Shadow and mix with the likes of A.D.D.-friendly electro mashup groups like The Glitch Mob and sprinkle in a dash of old school Philadelphia soul and you (essentially) have the music of Pretty Lights.  The music however, cannot even begin to describe what takes place at a Pretty Lights show here in late 2011.

The lighting is mindblowing, pure and simple.  For reasons beyond my journalistic prowess, I can only assume that the creators of this interactive organic lighting entertainment system have indulged in multifaceted psychedelia and aim to entrance concertgoers in ways never before achieved.  Photographing this madness was no easy task, but I was able to walk away with several shots that make me proud to hold my Nikon D7000 DSLR.  The attached Nikon 50mm f/1.8D lens was fast enough to slow down the mile-a-minute lighting programming, while still communicating the excitement and elemental balance of the man at the helm.

The settings which I did keep static were the aperture and shutter speed at 1.8 and 1/250th of a second, respectively.  The ISO was something that I manually adapted to each stage as the lighting programs were unleashed, successfully utilizing a range of 100-3200 to achieve many favorable captures.  I invite you to view the full Pretty Lights gallery and share your favorites here and with your social networks; and for those of you who haven’t been to a Pretty Lights show in the past month or so — this is all brand-new — so get out there and rage on!

VIEW THE FULL PRETTY LIGHTS GALLERY HERE

Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Pretty Lights taking the stage at GSR...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Slightly reminiscent of Daft Punk's Alive 2007 tour...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
There are few words for how beautiful the interactive lighting was that evening...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
BOOM! Pretty Lights delivers a punch...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Pretty Lights? Check. Lens Flare? Check...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
The man in the mist...
Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
A wider angle take on the sensational Pretty Lights live performance...
Pretty Lights Crowd @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
Silhouette of the raging Burning Man decompression crowd...
Pretty Lights Crowd @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
A spotlight washing over the sold out audience at Grand Sierra Resort...

 

Camera(s) Used:

Nikon D7000

Lens(es) Used:

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D


Go On, Treat Yourself to Something Nice!

Do you buy stuff online? Do you buy camera stuff online? If this post or anything else on ishootreno.com was helpful to you, please consider supporting this site and making your next photo gear, music or general purchase through one of our affiliate links:

Every time our readers buy new gear through our affiliate links, it helps us bring to the table more of that which brought you here in the first place — the ‘money’ shots!

The best part?!  It doesn’t cost our readers anything extra to show their support!

If our readers do pick up some new gear, please drop us a line … we always love to hear about your new additions!

Comments, Praise, Feedback?  We’re all ears!

Please let us know what you thought of this post on ishootreno.com!

Super-Happy Fun Bonus Pics!!!

Pretty Lights @ Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV 2011-09-06
The happiest man ever...