Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck perform at the Newport Yachting Center. Below, Bela Fleck playing one of his classic Gibson banjos. At right he is playing his Deering Crossfire (electric banjo). To see additional images visit my Facebook Page.


Saturday night (7/9) we attended a Bela Fleck and The Flecktones concert with opening act Abigail Washburn at the Newport Yachting Center. This gave me an opportunity to try my Lumix DMC-ZS point and shoot camera at a concert. Shooting at 1600 ISO, using manual exposure and follow focus features I was able to capture these images from my seat in the third row. These photos are not what I would consider to be of professional quality. However given the limitations of a small sensor point and shoot camera they are not too bad. The 12X optical zoom allowed me to get tight close-ups. The images contain more noise than I would normally consider acceptable and are not as sharp as I would have liked. However the trade off is the convenience of a small camera that you can carry in your pocket. This camera also shoots 720p HD video.
Newer versions of this camera are now available and I would certainly buy one of these Lumix cameras again when shopping for an inexpensive point and shoot.
The Lumix-ZS was pushed pretty much to it’s photographic limits and is capable of capturing very nice images under normal lighting conditions at lower ISO speeds.

This camera enabled me to capture images that provide memories of a great night of music, improvisation and musicianship.

Below is racing action from the J Class Regatta being sailed off Newport, RI. last week. Ranger (white hull) won all but one of the five races. For more information about this event go to Sail Newport’s website and The J Class Association.

Tom Shaker and I recently finished editing our fundraising movie trailer for our documentary film about the Celebrity Club. We plan to begin editing this film about Rhode Island’s first interracial night club this summer.

Recently I attended a Canon Live Learning EOS Seminar. This workshop dealt with using HDSLR cameras for HD video capture. I came away from this day with hands on experience capturing video with my new Canon 7D and additional technical information that I didn’t know existed. Bruce Dorn lead us through the day which not only enlightened me about what my 7D is capable of, but also left me feeling inspired about video production in general. Bruce’s workshop has changed the way I am approaching video shoots and editing. If you are a HDSLR owner who plans to shoot video with your camera check Bruce’s iDC website. At iDC PHOTO/VIDEO you will find innovative HDSLR equipment and accessories that Bruce designs and builds that are available for purchase. These products can only improve your shooting if you are producing video with your HDSLR. Check out Bruce’s Arizona Cowgirl video at his blog. He shot this piece with a Canon HDSLR.

Bruce Dorn at left leads Canon camera users in an EOS Immersion Workshop at The Bushnell Center in Hartford, CT.