Happy Birthday for me in advance. :)

Yes, I'm just about to get elder. Usually i don't really like birthdays, You know, the party, the presents, etc.
Ok, i'm kidding. So i don't really like birthdays, because of the counter increases. Now it's gonna be 31. Strange.
Well, this year I decided to invest a little to my hobby. (It's sounds better if i say it was a present than telling that I bought new stuff for something i don't get any money back from it, but i spend quite a lot time with it, with questionable results :) )
So as I've read the photography is about light. How You use light, and what do you do with it.
As mainly I'm a concert photographer (still hobbist :) ) I don't have any control on lights. It's already there. So instead set up the light as I would like them, I have to adapt it to my pictures. Good light, no light, red light. Any light. I have to say i don't really know anything about light setup. (Yes, I've read a lot about basic light setups, but i never had a chance to try them.)
Now it will change.
Let me Introduce my new toys. (from Mikrosat)
The first one is a simple set. Nothing fancy, a tripod an umbrella holder, and a flash-bulb.

The Second one is the real traveler pack. Few months ago i've decided to create a beauty dish, because it seen to be easy. Everything was ok, except the mounting to anything. Than i saw this:

Basically it's an Octobox - Umbrella designed for flashguns. Since i have a quite "flashy" Nissin, i decided to get this one too, with an additional tripod. (As i count, currently i have now 2 tripods for flash, 2 for camera, and one monopod at home. Seems a bit too much? :) )
Oh, yes. And the real thing. How this works? Well, the 1st test pictures seems to be nice.:)

set to BW+Vignetting effect in Lightroom. 

I will try to learn now... So Lights, Camera, Action..... Shooot!
(Images of products are taken from Mikrosat's webpage. See details above)

One night in......

... Bangkok Poznan.
Well, it's strange. I always knew that the Polish people are nice and welcoming people. Somehow (for business) I could visit again this nice Country. The Destination was Poznan, and i had a free night on the first day. (Just for an example the taxi driver who took me from the airport to my hotel bought me a bottle of beer when I told him that i want  to try out the best polish beers. So he just stopped, and bought me one of their finest.For free. :) )
So I grab my gear, asked for a map, and hit the city. Guess what. I was walking in the cold (approx 6 C or 42F) with only a leather jacket+T-shirt. After a hour I ended up in a pub (Johnnie Rocker). And a local band just started to play. Yes, it was a live performance night. I was sitting there with my Nikon in my bag. So I ordered a beer and start shooting the band. Nobody asked me who am I, or where I came from. They were good. I mean, they could make the mood for the approx 75 people. Not bad for young band.
And when i sent them my pictures i got a very good feedback. I mean, a really good one.They were not the fist - and i hope not the last one- who told me they really liked my pictures, but for now, it was something different. I really know nothing about them. What music they play, what is their "style" but it seems I was able to deliver for them what they haven't expected. That was the special in this case.
If you like rock music and you're in Poland, that band is a must see (Stormy Monday).
I'll add only 1 picture this time, my personal fav. Do you remember the previous post's blue contour like photo? Well, here is an another one. I kinda like the mood. :)

To Be....... Means....

To be an artist means you have a way to express yourself. You stick to the essence of something, and you have a tool to show it.
To be a photographer means you have a view of looking to things. Those things can be anything. A flower, a landscape, a vase, a building or a nice bowl with food. You have a vision, and you want to show it.
You can be anything. a mom, boyfriend, a best man, a landlord, a plumber, a doctor. And you can be a photographer too. I'm (If i can reference myself as this) an IT engineer. And sometimes i grab my gear, and try to be the man with the Nikon.
Today I started to create a page for my "Photography". As I started to select my pictures i've found out something. Even if I try to show my vision in different ways, if i'm experimenting, my pictures usually the same. Good, someone say, but the same.
For me it's always difficult to get the "best of" selection on photo-shoots. It's like you have to show your very best to someone, who does not know you, but will judge you at your first try. No matter how hard that night was, no matter how difficult the conditions were while you held that camera, you'll be judged at the first picture you show.
And to get back. I made approx 15000+ pictures in the last 2 years. Mostly on concert events. And I'm still make my best pictures with the eye of a fan of the band. I can't change that. Trying to get the mood, the sweet moments of the event. (even if it's a killing feeling metal band plays with a lead singer who looks like a devil).
And now, i can tell, that I have a vision. I have a way to show how would i feel on that concert. It's really hard to keep the passion, and the good mood. But if i loose it, I will finish the night with, let's say 25 maybe good pictures. I remember, I had an event where i ended up with 200+ "Wow" like images. And it was because I felt good. Not because the music. Not because the band was super famous. Just because they were able to create a mood, and i could freeze it in 12M pixels...

I have to say. I'm not a photographer. Nor an artist. I'm just guy who records feelings with a camera. Yes. My pictures are the same. Only the subject and the angle, and the focal point, the exposure, the colors, the DOF differs. The passion (the bands, and mine) is always the same....