Band Photography – Funky G at the OE

July 16, 2012

Funky G at the Oregon Express – Band Photography

Funky G, aka Greg, also does Karaoke at W.O. Wright’s, and will soon be starting a Tuesday show down at the Vue. They asked him to get a shot for their promo flyer, so he asked if I could take it for him. So we talked, and he let me know that his band, Funky G and the Groove Machine, would be down at the Oregon Express Friday Night. So I thought I would make a night of it, and go down to the OE and shoot some band photography.

About the Venue

The Oregon Express – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

Funky G at the Oregon Express – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

Funky G Arrives – Dayton Photographer
Alex Sablan

The Bar at the Oregon Express – Dayton Photographer Alex Sablan

The Oregon Express is located in the Dayton’s historic Oregon Village district. The OE has great food and great music. It is a cozy corner bar that is much bigger than it looks when you walk in. When you open the door, down the left side is a long bar with a copious amount of liquor to get you in the mood. The round stand up tables that line up the other wall give you ample area to hang out with your friends and meet new people. But if you go through the doorway to your right, it opens up to another room with short sit down tables leading up to the stage. People coming to the OE may completely miss the stairway along the wall to the left that leads to an outer deck that overlooks 5th street and gives patrons a nice view of the city.They are located on the corner of 5th and Brown Streets. Their website says that their building is over a century old and has been home to many different trades, including a corner gorcery, an optical shop, bootleg joint, neighborhood pub, and the Oregon Express since 1976.

Gear for the Shoot

I had to bring my speedlights to do the Vue shot for Greg, so I set one up and moved it around the stage during the show, but most of the evening I shot without the flash. I have really been into Herman Leonard’s work lately, so I wanted to get that sleek black and white feel with a slap in the face of Alex into the shots. I can only dream of the day I can really capture something close to his work. He is a God.

Anyways, back to the gear. I shot my 18-55 since my 50mm is manual focus, and the one thing I didn’t want to happen was to miss a shot while I was trying to focus in lowlight. Its a cheap kit lens, but I think it did its job. As always, my body was a Nikon D5000 until I can make enough money to buy a D800 or D4 without having to worry about paying for school. Since the room is pretty small, I thought the ability to go to 18 was a good thing.

Well that’s about it, below is the rest of the shots from the night. You can click on the thumbnails to see a bigger version. Let me know what you think in the comments below and share away if you’d like. Make sure to check out my main site at AlexSablan.com.