0Posted by Nate Ludens on November 23, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Last Saturday was a rainy and cold day in Las Vegas. Bummer for trying to get around a desert town when in a hurry – bigger bummer if you’re hosting an outdoor event called a Photo Walk, my first solo project for the Las Vegas Adobe User Group.
Guess what, though? Perfect day. Really – the light was flat and everything was wet. If you had the proper clothing and you’re warm enough, days like Saturday make for some really nice photos.
I want to thank the other shutterbugs who joined me at Springs Preserve for our first AUG Photo Walk. Also really want to thank PJ Perez and Springs Preserve. Great place!
0Posted by Nate Ludens on November 7, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I haven’t ever won a royal flush, a lotto or a big jackpot – but if I did, it might compare to the day I had on Saturday, November 6, 2010 with my family.
We went to Tony Hawk’s Stand Up For Skateparks fundraiser at Wynn Las Vegas. I knew it would be a great time, but I had no idea I’d A) meet and take a photo with Tony himself, B) see an insanely great skate demo with the best skateboarders on the planet, and C) share the whole thing with my wife and 7-month old boy.
I have been a fan of Tony since the early 80′s, but my favorite skater was Christian Hosoi, who literally flew out of ramps – higher than anyone until some dude named Shawn White about 20 years later. I traded concrete for snow in the mid 90′s while living in Colorado, and I still ride every chance I get – 15 years later. (in 2004, I named my business after the best ski runs – Black Diamond Digital Imaging, closed in 2009). Since then, I’m more a fan of Tony Hawk than just about anyone. Now I know the dedication and passion it takes to be an entrepreneur, and to do things your way. Very few are successful, and even fewer build an empire – their way – and have a good time doing it, while giving back in the classiest manner.
Today (Sunday, Nov. 7) there’s a construction crew breaking ground on a new skatepark at Rotary Park here in Las Vegas, near Hyde Park School, where many of my family and friends went to school. It’s one of nearly 500 the Tony Hawk Foundation has built in the US.
I sent out a tweet yesterday with a challenge to my 800-ish followers on twitter. It said “I just met @TonyHawk. Go ahead and try to find a cooler person on the planet. I dare ya.” I’m not holding my breath.
Here’s some photos from the event, shot with my Canon 5D Mark II and a 50mm f/1.8 (the “nifty fifty”). I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them, but again – I’m not betting on that, either.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on November 3, 2010 at 9:35 am
I had the fortune of shooting photos of another great production by Project Dinner Table on Saturday, October 30th. The event was held at a farm on the northern edge of Las Vegas called the Gilcrease Orchard. (Yes – there’s a farm in Las Vegas). Rick Moonen from RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay and his team provided the eats, Nevada Beverage provided the parrrr-tay, if you know what I mean.
Now the tech lingo: I shot the entire event with a Canon 5D Mark II, using 3 lenses: a 24-70mm f/2.8, a 70-200mm IS USM f/2.8, and I cheated, using a Tamron 11-18mm EF-S lens (not compatible with full frame sensors… or so they say). Dude, there wasn’t much light, so I utilized the awesome noise reduction in Adobe Lightroom 3 on a handful of these shots, though – the 5DMkII continues to amaze me with high ISO functions. Boy, Canon has come a LONG ways since I used to shoot snowstorms at ISO 800 with the 10D about 7-8 yrs ago. As usual, my favorite shots are the goofy ones from shoestring-level or odd angles, getting a little close to the BBQ grill, or some of the slow-shutter speed shots from the tripod. Lesson to take away from this event (for me) – bring a truckload of AA Batteries or rent a new Canon Speedlight that recycles flash faster.
Special thanks goes out to Gina, (Happy Birthday!) Kim, Christine and the rest of the event coordinators. This was their 2nd event in a week, and as always, they put on one unforgettable evening. I hope you enjoy the photos (below) as much as I enjoy shooting them.
Here’s a few shots of rock legends, Great White. I shot these from the edge of the stage at the outdoor amphitheater at Sunset Station in July 2010. True story: In image 212, I had just turned to shoot the crowd, when I spun around to catch up with the onstage action, I had the neck of a guitar about 6 inches from my lens. It seemed like guitarist Mark Kendall was mocking me a touch, perhaps for not paying attention to one of his kick ass solos. I wish someone would have shot a photo of the grin I had from ear to ear the whole time I was shooting this show.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on October 14, 2010 at 9:57 am
These are a few of my favorite shots from my first Project Dinner Table, back in June. This was their third event, held at Cashman Baseball Field. I have since shot each monthly event and at each dinner, I receive many compliments on these shots, all very appreciated. Truthfully, though – the real artists here were the talented culinary team and Gina – the event organizer extraordinaire, who scoped this location.
If you haven’t been to a Project Dinner Table event – don’t miss out. Go to projectdinnertable.com and reserve a spot. It’s a great event every time for a great cause.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on October 10, 2010 at 6:57 am
I’m kinda on a Black & White kick lately. In some instances, color can distract from the emotion I try to tap into when shooting concert photography…I like to get shots that the viewer can feel. The shot below of Sin City Sinners’ guest guitarist, Jimmy Crespo I feel captures a moment where the note is penetrating our ears and souls. You’ll see more shots like this one in some of my other posts. I can see a series of these shots down the road, if I get back into gallery work. I think I’d call it Sweet Emotion Series. Partially for the great Aerosmith tune (Crespo’s old band, coincidentally), and partially because this type of concert photography really does steal some sweet emotional moments.
These shots were taken June 19th at Club Madrid inside Sunset Station – for the Sin City Sinners, a Vegas band that plays originals and cover tunes of classic hard rock tunes like GNR, Cheap Trick, and everything in between. Go see them. I promise you won’t regret it.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on October 3, 2010 at 12:17 am
Going into June, I had a unique opportunity to interview Steel Panther’s lead singer, Michael Starr. (You can check that out on the Station Casinos Blog if you want). The following week, they returned to Green Valley Ranch with a packed house. I was lucky enough to be the house photographer for the show. All I can say is: hhhahahahahahahahahahahhh ahhahahahah ahahah aahhhhhhhahahahahahahahahahahahah.
These shots are pure fun. The stageshow at Ovation is great, and Steel Panther takes advantage of it. Their show uses every bulb, color gel, smoke machine, and outlet available to rock your ass off like it was 1987.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on September 26, 2010 at 12:10 am
I had a wonderful summer behind the camera, friends. I thought I’d use this blog to show you my favorite photos from Summer, 2010, starting with this post.
Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas kicked off their Party On The Rocks Concert Series on May 22, and kicked a dent in the Las Vegas Concert Scene at the same time. These shows are fun as hell. They’re so diverse, sometimes you have to google who they are – but rest assured, none are a disappointment.
I was blown away by Robert Cray and his intensity – but moreso by his legendary techniques. Furthermore, I instantly became a fan when I saw how much he purely enjoyed his time on stage with his guitar and his bandmates. I think these two shots capture Mr. Cray’s intensity and his passion for wonderfully piercing bluesy guitar riffs.
0Posted by Nate Ludens on September 21, 2010 at 6:23 am
Another fun night of rock with Vegas’ own Cherry Hill, Big Friendly Corporation and The Ryan Whyte Maloney Band. Check out the slideshow and let me know what you think.
This concert was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II with Canon EF 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses. No flash, just super high ISO’s. Noise was nuked in Lightroom 3, and I experimented with various saturation settings and white balances.
I had the pleasure of shooting photos of the 3rd Las Vegas Event for Project Dinner Table. It’s a great event put together by really cool people – benefiting great causes, too. You can learn all about it – and buy tickets to the next one on their website here: http://www.projectdinnertable.com/
The PDT site does a really nice job of getting you the important information, so I’ll keep this post geared to my photographer friends & family. This assignment was a challenge! I shot it with two Digital SLRs, a Canon 5D Mk II with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, and my backup camera, a Canon 20D with an 11-18mm lens for the wide stuff. Hey, it was a LONG table! I swapped out and used a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens toward the end of the evening, too. The calculation with the smaller sensor makes it an even longer zoom than 200mm.
The most challenging part of this assignment was to get shots quickly – especially the chefs preparing the food – then, jump out to the dinner to see guests enjoying the meal – and be careful not to miss any of the fun activites like the 7th inning stretch poety reading, the presentations, or the singing of the national anthem. There were even some action shots of guests tossing the ball around the diamond!
It’s been a while since I shot events – I used to hate it because I was changing batteries all night with shoe mount flash units, that I didn’t ever really jive with. Now, with the advent of higher ISO settings, I can capture much more color in much lower light. Not to mention have a LOT more fun!
Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did taking them. Cheers!
