How to Changing your Point of View at any event!

Earlier this month i was in Reno enjoying the weather and doing some shopping with the wife when we went down to the river front to have some dinner when we noticed that there was some sort of concert that was about to start at Wingfield Park. Needless to say it was the Pops on the River concert with Laura Jackson and Reno Philharmonic. It was a Huge event with over 500+ people. So the wife and i had our dinner and went over to watch the concert after and when we got to the front gate we where told that it was $20 to enter and it was half way over. so we decided to just sit back and enjoy the music. i still had my camera with me and a mono pod. it was the first time i have ever taken a mono pod with me so i wanted to just see what i could do with it besides the normal uses for using a mono pod.  so I went to the gate where i was able to see the concert but it was at eye level and all i was seeing was the top of heads and a very little part of the stage.

Taken on with a Mono pod and 18mm.

 So it put on the 18-55 lens. Lowest F stop and ISO of 1600. I had the camera on the mono pod and had it at full length. I set the focus on the conductor then set the timer for 10 secs. Then i took the mono pod and head it above my head and tried to keep it very steady. It changes the "Point of View" from what every one else was getting and it was kinda fun also.

Same spot at the Photo above. zoomed in at 55mm.

As you can see that this is a look that only people that are on video towers or some crazy guy climbing in a tree can get.  After a few songs of doing this we went to a different spot. you always have to remember to never just stick in one spot. move around, change things up, try something new. it will seem weird but you might find something that you really do enjoy!

this was taken with same set up as before.

This is a shot i can say for sure that no one at this concert has. But this was a shot that was a lot of trial and error.  The concrete column was really hard to try and put in the right spot due to a 10ft tall wall that i was shooting over. the shot below is only 20 ft to the right of the shot above.

always move and try a different spots

The one thing that you will have to learn is how to pre-focus and image the shot out come. then try and try and try again. This is something that if you had a Nikon D5200 or some sort of D5XX camera it would be a lot easier cause you have the flip down screen and then you can use a remote(ML-L3 Remote) or some sort of trigger like  the Yongnuo RF-603 Wireless triggers. You can pick them up Here. So you ask your self, "What does this look like" well here is a photo of my self doing this.

Well i really hope this will help you out and change the way you look at your tool and use them for other things that will not only make you re-think how you take photos.

Why clouds makes the best Sunset in Nevada!

Thunderstorm off in the distance. The clouds bring in the Blues, Yellows, Pinks, and everything between!

Lack of clouds make a sunset very "blah". nothing to look at and makes it not an eye catching image.

So I have been living here in the middle a high desert for about 2 years and it has been a huge learning curve for trying to find things to photograph.  It's not like the mountains or the beach or any thing that you have ever seen before. It's flat, hot, cloudless skies, and has not a tree in sight for miles. So with that all being said the sunsets are hit and miss at best. With the lack of clouds in the sky and nothing really interesting in the fore ground, it's just a blue sky with a sun in it...... YA for nothing interesting! (insert sarcasm here)  So when ever a storm comes into the area I am the first one that grabs my bag of gear, run out the door, jump in the car and head to some place that would make a great sunset shot. 

More Clouds bring in more things to look at. Wispy clouds are rare here.

    
What I look for in a sunset is some sort of clouds. if the shot has some sort of object that is in the blue sky, it makes the image more eye catching. Also, it makes the colors pop out more. With cloudless sky, normally you will get a nice blue sky with a yellowish color where the sky and the ground meet(photo above for example). When you have clouds in that same sky, it brings out more color and makes the sky just more interesting compared to a blank sky(Image below). The sunset with some sort of Clouds are more pleasing to the eye than a cloudless sunset. Yes, the cloudless sunset is very different, but its boring if you have nothing in the foreground to bring life to the image. Interesting clouds like "wispy clouds" are a rare find here in Nevada. So if you ever get a chance to photograph them.... DO IT! However, when you get a chance to photograph a storm, well that is when everything comes out and just makes the sky come to life. Brings a fiery red and orange to the blue sky and just makes things look amazing! (First Image on the page for Example) It has so many colors and so much character in the image. It's like a 90 year old man. A man that has seen, done, explored, and experienced so much. 

A sunset shot that over looks a Grass field.

        What I look for in a Nevada sunset is clouds. Without clouds you will get a  boring sunset that lacks that "X" factor. Clouds will either make or break an image.  What makes the Best sunsets for me is a storm! Any type of storm in Nevada is just something to watch. It can be either a Thunder storm, wind storm, Dust storm, lighting or anything really because the weather here never comes in gently. It comes in hard and fast and provides a show that is always worth watching. Well, I hope you can go out and take this info and adapt it to your neck of the woods. A boring sky with nothing going on is rare but when it happens all the time it's just another cookie in the cookie jar. So be different and look for that "X" factor. be different, and get out there and shoot away!

A thunder storm rolling in and as you can see am shooting away from the sun but it brings out all the color of the sky