Vinoy Hotel

Kool & the Gang perform at Vinoy Resort St Petersburg Florida PARC Sapphire Ball 2014

Kool & the Gang horn playing at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 1250 1/200th

Concluding the festivities at the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball at the Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida was a performance by Kool & the Gang.  This gave me an opportunity for live concert photography after several hours of general candid event photography.   

Kool & the Gang rocked the small stage at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/30th

They played over an hour set of their hits making it seem like it was the 1970s, even asking the crowd, what were you doing in the 70s?  Many in attendance were similar in age to the band so they could very well have been dancing to Kool & the Gang back then at one of their first concerts

Kool & the Gang still have dance moves on stage at Vinoy Resort PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 1600 1/100th

Kool & the Gang still had all their trademark dance moves and seemed to hold nothing back jumping in the air, cavorting around the stage and giving a max energy performance for those attending the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball.

Kool & the Gang still feeling it during Vinoy Resort performance St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 1600 1/320th

I used a variety of lenses to get different shots of the members of Kool & the Gang.  It was not really possible to get right in front of the stage due to the crowd and lack of barrier between them and the stage, so I mostly shot from the sides.

Kool & the Gang reflective moment on stage PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/500th

There was pretty good lighting during the concert which I tried to use as best as possible to enhance the concert photographs I made.  

Kool & the Gang bathed in sapphire light during PARC 45th Sapphire Ball concert at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/320th

This low sapphire lighting seemed to glow like a fog on stage, a very cool effect.

Kool & the Gang taking it to heart performing at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/200th

I kept wondering where one can get a Kool & the Gang style sequin animal print shirt?  Is there like a 70s rock star store one can go to?  Are they custom made?  Do they travel with hundreds in a case?

The crowd was very into it as Kool & the Gang performed at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ 5.6 ISO 800 1/25th SB-800 speedlight hotshoe mounted

Though many in the crowd matched or surpassed the ages of Kool & the Gang, the dance floor was packed and they were getting down on it, celebrating and keeping it too hot.

PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball at Vinoy Resort St Petersburg Florida Event Photography

Welcoming guests at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedPhotography often puts me into places I would otherwise never be.  Such was the case Saturday when I went to the Vinoy Resort in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida to photograph an event -- PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball.  Somehow the "black tie" part eluded my mind so I was surprised to see everyone that dressed up when I arrived at the Vinoy!

Inside the Vinoy Resort showing why this was the Sapphire Ball for PARC 45th annual black tie event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 4 sec tripod mounted with cable releasePeople were not the only ones all dressed up, the ballroom in the Vinoy Resort was as well reflecting the Sapphire Ball theme.  The chairs especially stoodout to me with their shape and striking sapphire blue covering including a sparkling diamond circle on the back.  I made this shot when I first arrived before the guests were allowed in.  Since I used a tripod and wanted to focus on the decorations, it was necessary to start with this type of shot first when photographing the event.  For sure the ballroom did not look like this by the time 11pm came around and Kool & the Gang had the place jumping!

Candid event photography before the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedAfter photographing the ballroom and some other outside establishing shots, I put away my tripod and went more mobile photographing the guests mingling out in the lobby.  I walked right into this scene and had my camera ready to catch this amusing reaction shot.

Encouraging high bidders during a charity auction for PARC at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Event Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedWhile dinner was being served, several items were auctioned off from charity ranging from a week vacation at a house on a private island to a custom diamond ring.  Many items went for over $5,000!  

Gayle Guyardo was an electric presence at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball event at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th SB-600 speedlight hotshoe mountedFor many years I have kind of had a crush on Gayle Guyardo.  It was a very pleasant surprise to find out she would be presenting the winners of the Magnetic Man award at the event.  Seeing her in person only further strengthened the crush!  

Mike Alstott accepts the Magnetic Man award at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedAnother surprise was seeing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers great Mike Alstott.  He still looked like he could step onto the football field and play this Sunday!  He received the first of thirteen Magnetic Man awards.  

Kool & the Gang perform at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida event photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/30th SB-800 hotshoe mountedOnce the awards were handed out and the auctions ended, Kool & the Gang took the stage and played a very enthusiastic set.  I am always impressed when artists can do this and make it seem like it's the biggest show they have ever done.  More shots from their performance to come in another blog post.

Photographing this event for PARC was exciting and a chance to have an evening I definitely would never have experienced otherwise.  Thank you Susan and Kelli!

St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce 114th Annual Meeting event photography

Handing out awards at the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce 114th Annual Meeting at the Vinoy Hotel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mounted @ 1/2 powerI continued my long standing relationship with the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce when I photographed their 114th Annual Meeting last night at the Vinoy Hotel in of course downtown St. Pete.  I have photographed several events at the Vinoy Hotel each time getting to see a new ballroom and that continued last night as well shooting for the first time in the Palm Ballroom.  It was not unexpected that it was as about as dark as it gets for indoor photography inside the ballroom.

It was packed inside & outside the Palm Ballroom of the Vinoy Hotel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 1600 1/40th SB-800 hotshoe mounted @ 1/2 powerWhen I arrived I could hardly make my way through the crowd.  It was absolutely jam packed.  I found a small corner to unpack and get both my Nikons out.  That of course made it even more of a squeeze to get through the crowd with two DSLRs hanging off my shoulders.  In such situations I look for a bit of breathing room somewhere and stay put and photograph those that pass by instead of constantly moving through the crowd myself.  After a few minutes in a spot, I then move to another one.

Dan Heath co-author of SWITCH was the keynote speaker - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th SB-600 hotshoe mounted @ 1/2 powerDan Heath gave a very entertaining keynote speech.  What I will remember from it is that teenagers make about 29% good decisions, roughly the same percent as businesses do!  There were several other speakers before him.  It actually takes many shots to get one of a person speaking where the person does not have some kind of unflattering facial expression.  Many.

Mingling during the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce 114th Annual Meeting inside the Vinoy Hotel - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th (no flash)It was a fun event to photograph as I got to see many of my networking and Chamber friends in the crowd and as often happens when I photograph events, I got to run in circles I would normally not be found in.  Makes me feel like an insider!

Vinoy Renaissance Hotel Mahaffey Theater The Pier St Petersburg Landmarks at twilight

Vinoy Renaissance Hotel east view - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 3-exposure HDR handheld

Through my DSLR Photography teaching I am often out with students around various St. Petersburg landmarks.  Each of the three photographs in this post were made on different days while out on a lesson in the evening time.  

The HDR image above is of the Vinoy Renaissance Hotel & Resort looking at it from the east along 5th Ave North.  At this time the setting sun was sidelighting the hotel and the tall palm trees in front of it.  The lighting is what made me stop and suggest to the student I was with that she photograph it from this angle.  I made my own shot of the hotel.  I knew HDR would produce the best results so even though I did not have my tripod with me I steadied my shooting position and fired off a 3-bracket exposure.  

Mahaffey Theater east view - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR tripod mountedThe Mahaffey Theater was not the primary subject matter during this particular photography lesson, the new Dali Museum was, but I had always liked the architecture of the Mahaffey even when it had this area all to itself.  The sky was a fantastic purple that evening.  

The Pier at twilight south view - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D @ f/8 ISO 200 1/80th handheldThe Pier is by far the most well known landmark of St. Petersburg, and perhaps the one with the least amount of life left as three new designs to replace the inverted pyramid have just been finalized by the city.  This landmark is most often photographed from the north and west, so I was glad to have a unique chance to photograph it from the south from a restricted access point at a marina I was able to get access to thanks to the photography student's mom having a boat docked there.  

DSLR Photography Lesson with Natasha & her Canon XT

Natasha & her Canon XT DSLR on our first lesson with the Vinoy Hotel in the backgroundNew DSLR Photography Lesson student, Natasha, will be helping photograph her friend's upcoming wedding in April.  Thus, she has booked my new 4-lesson discount package in order to get up to speed as fast as she can by then, as she already previously has some photography knowledge.  In addition to learning the basic settings (aperture, ISO, WB, focus mode) that are in need of regular changing, one must also know their gear well.  Natasha's friend will be arriving at her wedding location in a horse-drawn carriage in the middle of the afternoon (tricky lighting).  So to photograph this well a fast enough shutter speed must be used to freeze the action and certain moving subject shooting skills need to be refined.

We simulated this scenario by having me walk in an arc around her while she was in AI-servo (AF-C for Nikon) and burst mode.  Through several practice rounds we found out what were the best settings to use in broad daylight, and most importantly how fast her DSLR/lens combination (Canon XT) could get a focus lock on a moving subject.  It is critical to know how many usable shots (six or two or four, etc.) one can get in a given space.  This exercise helped give Natasha some idea what she can expect when photographing the bride arriving via horse-drawn carriage for real and what can be expected of her photography gear.

We will cover more topics and scenarios like this in our next three lessons so hopefully come her friend's wedding day, she will feel as prepared as possible! 

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  • DSLR Photography Lesson - Andy with his new Canon 7D

    Andy takes aim at the Vinoy Hotel - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm - f/11 ISO 200 1/200th SB-600 Speedlight held off camera to the left

    I met new DSLR Photography student Andy in downtown St. Petersburg where we quickly got into an in-depth discussion about the settings on his newly bought Canon 7D.  Though there were a few settings we had some pause in finding, in the end we were able to master all the settings changes needed to shoot a wide variety of shots from landscapes, to portraits, to moving objects (including dive bombing pelicans!).

    Andy was a quick and eager learner and our lesson passed by very quickly.  We really only began to cover all the things his 7D can do, along with his very nice Canon 10-24mm ultra wide angle lens, as well as the 24-135mm kit lens that came with his 7D.  We have already booked our next lesson which will have a Mac lesson bookended onto it as well!  Yes, I also teach Mac & OS X 1-on-1 lessons.  

    Our first lesson was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to seeing the view from Andy's Indian Rocks Beach townhouse next week!