Photographing Sacred Harp singings with a Leica/Nikon hybrid system
First, yes, you read that right. I shoot my Sacred Harp singings with a Nikon lens adapted to the Leica SL2. This is for 4 reasons, well maybe 5 but the fifth is trivial in my book.
I really like the images from my Leica SL2 camera plus the interaction with the camera is just plain fun.
I did some experimenting and found that I shoot most of the photos at these events at about 105mm give or take a little.
In my opinion, the Nikon 105mm f2 DC Nikkor lens is one of the finest portrait lenses available in this focal length.
The f2 maximum aperture on the 105mm lens also gives me another stop of light in dimly lit buildings too.
Trivial, but I like to use manual focus, it is part of that interaction with the camera that I just plain enjoy.
Let’s expand on these a little and see if there is someting in here that will help you when you shoot certain events or subjects.
The image quality of the Leica SL2 is hard to beat. The features in that camera that I REALLY like are things like the EVF, the IBIS works better than any other I have ever used, the colors are amazing right out of camera, I can confidently handhold this camera, with a vintage 105mm lens mind you, and shoot at 1 second confidently and get sharp photos. That in itself is s a feat of engineering. The Electronic View Finder is the next reason I love this camera. The EVF has such high resolution that it doesn’t seem like a display but more like a window, it just has to be seen to understand. The 47 megapixel sensor also gives me plenty of image to do some creative cropping to adjust compositions at times to correct for things like having to hurry to get the moment captured and knowing that I can cut a significant amount of the image away and it will still look great is always a bonus. I have really come to understand why people like certain devices when they engage in an activity, if it is the right tool for the job AND you enjoy using it, the product of this will be stellar!
In days gone by I have used an array of cameras and lenses to photograph these singings. Some were large rigs like the Nikon D810 with battery grip and the 70-200mm f2.8 telephoto zoom, and some were small, like the Fuji XT3 with a vintage 55mm f1.8 Asahi Optical prime lens. I looked back over several of these singings and started noticing that I was ending up on the 105mm focal length more and more when I would be using zoom lenses. Now of course this is not possible when using a prime lens, but I was still favoring longer focal lengths instead of wide angle lenses. So I decided to do some experimenting and used my 24-90mm Leica zoom and found that I shot most of the images with the lens racked fully out and wanted to have even more zoom… I even ran this giant lens on the Leica CL once and still found I had most photos at the longer end of the range. So I started using the 105mm and it is the right focal length for capturing the actual song leaders as well as the candid photos in the breaks between sessions as well.
Another reason I really like the 105mm f2 is that it is a stellar lens to pair with the SL2. The performance of this lens is really good with minimal artifacts and it has three features not available on many other lenses (well not on many NEWER lenses). The Defocus Control, an aperture ring AND the large aperture (more on this in a minute). The Defocus Control really is a trivial item to be honest. It only changes the out of focus areas of the photo ever so slightly, but it does add for a smoother background when shooting wide open (which I tend to do for two reasons). I normally set the defocus control to “2B” and just leave it there, this adds a little to the image that is hard for people to describe and it keeps me from having to remember to check it if I go outside on a break or at lunch or the sun starts spilling though the window and I end up stopping down for some reason. You see, if the defocus control is set higher than the aperture on the lens, it does strange things to the photo and it is not appealing, so less is more here.
Aperture is a big deal, just ask anyone who shoots photos indoors, the bigger the better. This is not for those blurry backgrounds either, although this is a byproduct, it is more because the rooms are normally very dimly lit and this helps keep the ISO down below 1Trillion…I normally shoot wide open for this reason alone, but if the building has windows and there is a good bit of light in the room , I will stop down to f4, but that is about it. Actually, I don’t think I have ever deliberately stopped down past f4 indoors ever. There just isn’t enough light…
This is going to be controversial but I like manual focus. I don’t know why exactly. but I like it. It is something to do with the interaction with the equipment, I just enjoy tinkering and this is something to tinker with. The fact that the focus isn’t looking for what I want to grab and then grabbing someone else, is a comforting feeling. The 105mm f2 is also manual aperture, so I get to control that manually too, although I rarely change this for reasons mentioned above. This rig is a fairly heavy system too, with the camera being a pro camera and the lens also being of the pro variety these are built very well and will last a lifetime with minimal maintenance.
All photos in this blog were taken at the 2022 United Sacred Harp Convention at Antioch Baptist Church in Ider, Alabama. These events are usually held at churches and the acoustics are usually really good because of this, but the light is dim…
Another thing I try to do is capture the “atmosphere” of the event as well. This means that I am taking photos of everything, not just the song leaders. I will get photos of the kids playing, people talking, the food tables (this is a rule or something that the photog HAS to get the food tables LOL) so it tells a more complete story than just song leading. A particularly special thing to record is the children and the elderly as these statistically are the ones that will change the most in just a few years. So I really try to get these people photographed so people will be able to remember them more easily. Also something I have learned to photograph at ALL events is ANY candid opportunity that involved emotion. The photo of Cass and Isaac above is a great example of this. These types of photos are honestly very hard to capture unless you spend a lot of time just watching and then you can get them fairly easily. They are fleeting moments and sometimes they are also “built” on a scene that you can predict as you watch it develop. You will learn to get these kinds of photos if you just watch the scene around you for a while.
If you have not found a niche genre of photography for you, I implore you to do some exploration and find something that you like a lot and then get your camera out and do some photos to see if it is your niche.
If you want to learn more about Sacred Harp or you want to try to find a singing to go hear it, follow this link to the FaSoLa.org website.
Why I have been slacking on my blog till now...
Why have I been slacking on my blog until now?
In a word…Youtube… Let me explain.
You see I have a channel on YouTube and over the past few years I have been trying to get it off the ground and one thing I have found is that you cant do YouTube and practically anything else at all…
The algorithm is such that you have to basically spend all your free time “feeding the monster” to get it to show your videos, this creates a cycle of content creation for views that leaves little time for anything else, and not being creative to bring joy to my life or anyone else for that matter took a while to realize... SO back in June I decided to take a break from making YouTube videos and to focus on just enjoying shooting photos and it has been wonderful! I have taken so many photos of things I love and have honestly learned what it is that I really like to shoot when I pick up my camera.
I don’t really enjoy photographing people up close all that much and with the new environment post 2020, people are real apprehensive about getting real close on the street anyway. I have found I really like the 50mm focal length, I have other lenses, but this lens has been on my camera for months now with almost no change. I also learned that I like to photograph Sacred Harp singings with a 105mm focal length, I just love the effect this lens gives me...
Isaac Green leading his song at a local singing.
Wanna know what a singing is? go here: FaSoLa Website or click on the photo above.
So going forward, my main outlet for my creative and hobby stuff will be this blog and my YouTube channel will probably get a monthly update video talking about what has been going on. I thought that “video” was the way forward for ALL creatives, but it doesn’t seem like that is the path for me, so I am going to shift my focus to my blog and get this photography blog moving like I should have from the beginning. I kinda enjoy doing this more anyway, so lets have some fun! Now get your camera out and go take a picture with it!