It is three in the morning and I am at work listening to Owel, the first band to hit the main stage at the Pinelands Music Festival. Perfect for this hour, smooth and melodic. I went into the event with very little preview of the acts, almost all were brand new to me, and I wanted to have no preconceived notions about anyone on the bill. I love the feeling you get when a band reaches you. The NJ Based group gave me great hope for the rest of the day, creating sounds that soothed my soul and brought out the warmth in an otherwise chilly day. This quintet has a tremendous depth to them filling out their sound with keys, violin, and intricate, powerful guitars. Most people may know I am a big fan of the backbones of a band and always try and do them justice. Dudes were in the pocket tight, and took really nice photos. Going to be checking the group out in Asbury Park at The House of Independents on December third. Looking forward to that one.

The second band that piqued my interest I have been jamming on more than any other for the past week. Coming out of Buffalo, Head North had me confused when they played their first tune. Setting a very quiet and somber mood, I did not know what to expect for the remainder of their 30 minute set. This is one of the hazards of not knowing what to expect, but it is also a thing of beauty.  Polished, with a raw sound, the group reaches into your soul to take you on a very mesmerizing journey through life and its challenges. Lead Singer Brent Martone looks so low key and laid back, but he is full of passion and emotion. I am never one to listen to the lyrics, nor interpret their meaning. I react to the inflection and how it makes me feel. They hooked me in good. 

The sun was side stage as the afternoon passed, creating what we figured was at least a four stop difference between stage right and stage left. That will create  some unusable images for sure. When the stage lights became the dominant source of light things got really interesting. We all know about the dreaded red wash. Pretty easy to overcome, make it black and white. 

The LED lights being used today have a wild color spectrum. While there is only one was to fix red, you can actually get a fairly nice balance with Blue or Purple LED's. I think the blue has the more drastic change and is more pliable. Purples still go black and white for the most part. With the blue, I have come to learn is you can get close to accurate with a bump in the slider. A big bump.

The before image came out of camera with a manually set temp of 4600 and a tint of +7, normally where I set it at in camera for these lights. With the processed image I settled on a temp of 34,728 with a +140 tint.  Super drastic. But very effective. Pretty wild stuff right there. 

Such are the trials and tribulations of photographing music. Would not want it any other way. 

If you would to see more from the show head on over to the Flickr gallery, and for some more thoughts check out the post over at SIMGE. 

Thanks for stopping by!  

Phil