Will I Go Round In Circles, a photo from Tennessee, South

Photographer's Note

Another shot today of the same piano player in my previous shot this week, Jeremy Powell. It's pretty near impossible to really capture his stage presence in a still shot, as it was so much about movement (see the workshop for a poorly executed shot, but one that demonstrates it - the focus was on the back wall rather than on him, so he's out of focus, but it gives you a sense of his movement). But that didn't keep me from trying; I probably annoyed him quite a bit by wandering around him shooting at all possible angles.

Here's an action shot of him in the middle of a song; you can see the rapid movement of his hand. Unfortunately there's just enough movement in his head to blur him a bit, though that's more obvious on the higher resolution version.

In honor of both his and my movement in the making of this shot, I give you 'Will it Go Round in Circles' by Billy Preston, probably best known for being a session pianist with the Beatles. His solo career was short, but he did have some hits, and was a fantastic showman and performer himself. As always, the link will take you to the song itself, on Grooveshark.

"Will it Go Round in Circles", Billy Preston

I've got a song, I ain't got no melody
I'ma gonna sing it to my friends
I've got a song, I ain't got no melody
I' ma gonna sing it to my friends
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
I've got a story, ain't got no moral
Let the bad guy win every once in a while
I've got a story, ain't got no moral
Let the bad guy win every once in a while
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
I've got a dance, I ain't got no steps, no
I'm gonna let the music move me around
I've got a dance, I ain't got no steps
I'm gonna let the music move me around
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
[Instrumental Interlude]
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
I've got a song, I ain't got no melody
I'ma gonna sing it to my friends
I've got a song, I ain't got no melody
I' ma gonna sing it to my friends
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky
Will it go round in circles
Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky

Larger version on Flickr, here.

lousat, snunney, holmertz, Schnappilic, krzychu30, bona, Royaldevon, delpeoples has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rogerl (1632) 2013-03-28 15:08

Andrew, interesting shot, but not nearly as striking as the last one of this dude. He's still looking out of frame, probably at the same person, but the subject is just much better suited to B&W in my mind. I do like the blues in the background, though. Slightly out of focus, but I don't think that detracts much.

serp2000 (47063) 2013-03-28 23:47

Hi, Andrew,
Good example of phot&music mix. Thanks for this trip to the Preston's heritage. Good capture of a special mood or atmosphere of the party, excellent background! Good exposure, attractive colours.
Best wishes from Russia!
Serghei

lousat (129831) 2013-03-29 2:50

Hi Andrew,the atmosphere of this pic is really beautiful,i can hear the music..eheh...i like the moment,the high saturation and the soft details,really really nice! Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

snunney (130967) 2013-03-29 3:50

Hello Andrew,
Another fine portrait of this musician. I like his stance and the look of concentration on his face. The purple and blue tones contribute much to the atmosphere of the composition.

No_One (4) 2013-03-29 9:13

hi Andrew,
Whatever way you captured this, its brilliant how you have captured so much movement in his hands, yet the remainder is clear. It gives a great sense of his skill, something that you say, is hard to do in a still shot with a musician. Once again, composed perfectly with a very interesting backdrop.
All the best
Noel

holmertz (92724) 2013-03-29 11:35

Hello Andrew,
Another well taken shot which makes us imagine fairly well the atmosphere of the moment. Although the colors are fine, I am tempted to agree with Roger that B&W suits this kind of picture better.
Best regards,
Gert

Schnappilic (9692) 2013-03-30 4:55

Hello Andrew,

Congratulations for your series with live performance. Lovely atmosphere. Like hearing music. TFS!

Happy Easter!

Ovidiu

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-03-30 8:27

Hi Andrew,
itґs a great complement to your previous shot of this piano player.You captured perfectly the moment-we see excellently his concentration and attitude.But the most I enjoy the color scheme of the image.Combination of blue and some red tones in the background create here really unique atmosphere.Well done!
But Iґm a little bit sad only 7 other members share my opinion about your great work here.Deserves definitely much more appreciation!

Wish you Happy Easter
Krzysztof

bona (14873) 2013-03-31 16:30

Hi Andrew,

great shot! The photo have nice moviment in the player hands. I like this clothes and the background color.
Well done,
Andre

Royaldevon (75240) 2013-04-02 2:00

Hello Andrew,

A great shot, full of emotion and mood, created by the facial expression and the colour tones. The slight movement blur is, in this case, an asset; it infers the speed of the musician.

When we have the R&B Festival in Colne, Lancs, we have an International Stage which attracts many American musicians. My husband and I were quite blown away by a group which was called Omar and the Howlers.

Have a good day,
Bev :-)

delpeoples (60326) 2013-04-02 3:03

Hi Andrew

A good POV and vertical frame. Yes the definition is lacking, but as you say, it gives us a sense of life and movement. The colours are great too. I hope you don't mind me telling you how to such eggs, but there's no way you'd get a sharpish photo in this light at ISO400 and your good camera should be able to withstand ISO 800 or even ISO 1000 without corrupting it. There's a free software available on the net called Neat Image which works wonders on noise, but I find noise in these situations not a bad thing at all, it adds to the grittiness and reality of the scene. Had you used ISO 800, you'd have had a shutter speed of around 1/60 seconds: perfect for this type of photography.

Thanks for sharing, have a great day
Lisa

sevy (58) 2013-04-12 4:01

Hello Andrew,

You have some great music portrait with a real and strong presence of the colors to share a mood.
Here, the only thing more we could ask is a bit more sharpness on the face of the guy. But I know this kind of shot in available light and wide opened are very difficult to handle regarding where the focus is done.

Yves.