Not long ago I was invited by some friends to a party of which the highlight  was a live performance by “Infected Mushroom,” a trance music artist known worldwide.

To tell you the truth this was the first party I had ever attended.

I can understand why you would find this hard to believe but growing up, my highly religious education pretty much prevented me from participating in this common urban activity.

Anyway, there i was, not sure what to expect, holding tight to my loyal companion (the Canon 5D MKII), fumbling with basic parameters like ISO, shutter speed, etc. One second everything was dark (dark like, “Did I take off my lens cover?”) and the next second the whole area was flooded with colorful light beams. A few test shots with and without flash came out awful and no combination that I tried resulted in a decent photo.

Then it hit me. A lesson I learned from a book by one of the best… the legendary photographer Joe McNally. Reading Joe’s book “Hot Shoe Diaries” feels like getting a one-on-one private lesson with the master. Big words are put aside and practical advice (like spot metering is not always the best way to go or use the AV/TV modes when necessary) is what the book is all about.

So AV it was, shooting like crazy, letting the light do its magic, concentrating on getting the right angle / moment/ prespective, and leaving the rest to my beloved beast, the Mark II.

I’ve posted the entire gallery for your pleasure here and I highly recommend getting Joe’s book here.

Live long and prosper.  (Big ups to “Crazy the Big” for letting me in).

This entry was posted Sunday, June 13th, 2010 at 11:05 pm and is filed under photography. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.