Axes!!
Still doing promotion shots for the studio… can actually think of worse ways to spend my time…
But this I think will prove to be the one that came closest to driving me nutz!
We`ve got about 60 electric guitars in our backline (in addition to about 20 basses and 40 acoustics), so we decided to line `em all up in studio D and make a pano shot for our website, much like the amp picture we did a while back. And as with the amp pano, in order to keep the right perspective and detail, I needed to make over 20 shots centered on each of the guitars in the front row, then stitch them all together in Photoshop.
With the experience of the amp shot behind me, I thought this would be a piece of cake… but in the end it turned out to be a massive pain in the butt!
Even using a super hefty tripod and being careful to maintain the same distance and angle for each of the individual shots, nothing came out of the camera perfectly straight… and unlike the amp shot, all the flight cases needed to be perfectly straight along the top and at the exact same level to give it cred (these were actually the cases that the late John Entwistle, original Who bass player, kept his massive wall of speaker cabinets in!), so each shot had to be stretched to order. Which was actually easier than lining up the fckin brickwork!!
Another hassle was the reflections from my flash system. I used 2 Elinchrom heads with 60 cm softboxes… no matter how they were positioned, there was always at least ONE bad reflection on each guitar due to the irregular surfaces. All of which meant I needed to take two shots per segment and use the best parts of each. So in reality, there were about 40 individual shots to deal with.
Whew!
But one thing we learned from taking the time to do these pano shots and get them right is that it`s all worth the effort. We can tell our potential recording customers about our amp and guitar collections till we`re blue in the face… but they don`t really understand till they see the picture.
Basses and acoustics to come…
Axes!! belongs to the following groups:
Music of the Spirit and We Rock: Musical Instrument Art Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters
navybrat
rock on dude!
billyboy replied
I so definitely will!
C J Lewis
Wonderful collection of Axes … good promo shot :)
billyboy replied
Thanx CJ!
Jeeze, feel like I`m talkin to a producer or somethin!!
DevineDayDreams
Phew!!!!!! Such dedication in this!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!
billyboy replied
Correction: Awesome is An Englishman in New York…
This is just a guitarist`s wet dream.
Cheers for feeling the dedicatoin!!
janniev
Wow, this is incredible, Bill. I’d love to be let loose in there – heave on a string! Your meticulous attention to detail is once again so very obvious in this magnificent shot. Love the result of the hard yards.
billyboy replied
What can I say Jan?
Just heave on a string… and LET LOOSE!!
xo
janniev
Oops, that’s meant to be”. . . heaven on a string!
billyboy replied
no it`s not…
silverstrummer...
Jeese look at all those beautiful women standing there waiting to be carressed! Oh its bloody heaven!! Lol …............. I shall be keeping a close eye now on your beautiful machines of such pleasure but I know they obviously come second to a woman but they are still loveable! – David :>))
billyboy replied
Yup, loveable… and totally caressable…
Is your Burns an original? Check out the gold Brian May in the crop below… they only made two in gold. Don`t even think Brian`s got one!!!
Cheers for the fav btw!!
RavenSoul
AWESOME!!!
billyboy replied
Caaawwwk… Caaawwwwkk!
billyboy
The large view gives a better idea of the size…
but here`s a crop that shows a bit of the detail which would have been lost if the whole shot were taken in a single frame…
linaji
This story in itself marks the incredible ability you have to solve problems.. wow I am in awe of you!! What a talent and storyteller you are. If you ever decide to go into writing manuels.. perhaps me,, who never reads them, would savor your every instruction and follow each segment to a tee!!
Ohhh and then… Here, your glorious shot in the end!! Bravo BB!!
billyboy replied
That`s a nice compliment from all-time queen of instruction manuals… put me in an elevator and I`m at a total loss!!
In fact, yer makin me blush and you can see how red I am from the top through the spikes.
But dat`s OK baby cause Ii like it when you make me blush…
Got any problems ya need solving?
aglaia b
double wow ;-)
billyboy replied
Triple thanx!
calves
Wow, this is fantastic Billy!!!
( ps:I’m back ....Good to see again!peace:)
billyboy replied
Thanks Claudia… and also for the link.
I didn`t know, so I`m glad you gave me the heads up.
So cool to have you back and buzzin around!
CLiPiCs
Jannie I kind of liked “Heave on a string” !
Bill you are astonishing mate, makes me wish I was still on the road and gigging in Brussels TODAY !
if I ever get across the channel again I am so coming to visit
wonderful stuff, can’t wait for the triangle collection :-)
Love ‘N’ Laughter Kriss
billyboy replied
So… whatcha waitin fer????
Just heave on a string and get yer butt over here!
JenLand
Another musician’s wet dream Billy!!! And the dedication you put into getting these captures, amazing! Hope you’re paid well cuz you totally rock these images!! :o)
billyboy replied
Jen, wet dreams are priceless commodity… if I didn`t have to make a living, pay wouldn`t even enter the equation.
But in answer to your Q, I`m paid to keep all this stuff in working order… the pics are just the fun bit on the side!
And thanks for sharing your understanding of wet dreams!!
TeriLee
Fantastic image once again! :)
billyboy replied
Cheers Teri !!!
Squealia
LOL that is alot of guitars, So you’re a centipede?
billyboy replied
Yes. How did you know?
cdwork
Superb work
billyboy replied
Thanks Chrissy!
mikepaulhamus
awesome set up, well done – a while back you had mentioned vinyl – I happen to have an album of John Entwistle when he first went solo… almost forgot…
really nice layout bb.
billyboy replied
Jeeze, they probably didn`t even do that one on CD!
Entwistle was amazing with the Who… but judging by Boris the Spider, don`t know how many hits he thought he`d get soing it alone.
Ever hear Noel Reading`s solos??
Cheers for the compliment Mike… Yanks back up north from training yet?
Paul Louis Vil...
Oh!! Be still my beating heart!! :D
You know billyboy, I’m developing a deep manlove for your studio! ;p hehe!!
billyboy replied
Paul, it`s simple:
Get the contract…
Book the session…
Get yer butt on the plane…
Enjoy the cooking…
Send us the gold record!
Whatcha waitin fer?
Sarah Moore
That is an impressive array of guitars! What an amazing image…so much work…but so worth it in the end!
billyboy replied
Thanks Sarah… always makes my day to get such a compliment from you!
Mel Brackstone
I’m on dialup speed at the mo and can’t see the image, and probably won’t for the next hour or so. Will come back tomorrow when we’re back on broadband….have you been shooting at 50mm, or using the wide angle? 50mm is going to give you much less distortion….
will check back in an hour and see if the image has loaded….lol
billyboy replied
Yup, you are so right. And in fact I took it to the extreme as THIS time I had the space to back up… used my 100 mm macro!!!
Should have mentioned it, but thanks for your interest Mel, UR such a doll!!
Rita H. Ireland
wow you show off! hehe just love this awesome image…
billyboy replied
Yup, a totally hopeless showoff… thinkin of taking this to Vegas…
Wanna cover the event?
Thanks for lovin this… yer such a doll!
OZZREBELXTI
Glad you persisted with this BB nice result in the end well done.
billyboy replied
Cheers mate!
blamo
That is some kit BB
billyboy replied
Thanks for that dude!
Been so diggin your clips!!
Mel Brackstone
good grief, 100mm and still distorted? Crikey….I guess you need a theodolite and plumb bobs to make sure you have the film plane perfectly vertical, in that case….I still couldn’t see the image after leaving it run for a couple of hours, so will check this again tomorrow…..
Thank goodness you are so well versed in photoshop, huh? I suspect I would have given up trying to put them all together…good on ya mate :)
billyboy replied
Not so much distorted, but I was surprised that even making a big effort to line the shots up perfectly horizontal, I still needed to at least correct with a bit of rotation. Don`t even know if maybe there`s a problem with accuracy of the viewfinder to the actual image. Wish I had live view like you…
PLEASE get back to me when you manage to get a look in?!
xo
drec
That is a collection, shame that panoramas don’t give a real good view on rb.
billyboy replied
Thanks mate!
And yeah, not only do the panoramas suffer on RB (too bad you can`t scroll them or something in the large view), but they don`t let you post the large view in the comments section anymore.
Anyway, NOTHING compares to seeing it printed out in actual format… we`re making books to give to some of the record companies, in which we`ll do a Z-fold of the panos so they`ll fold out to the right of the book. Looks SO cool !
And cheers for the fav!!!
Louise Cooke
Well it that aint dedication, I don’t know what is. Unbelievable BB, sounds like a total nightmare, and I’m so glad you got the results you worked so hard for. Lining up brickwork….arrrgghhhh!!!!
billyboy replied
To tell the truth, I think it`s the bricks that saved me on this!
Anything I had to modify in perspective was made easier by the fact that `patching up’ repair work could be easily disguised within the randomness of the rustic bricks. It was easy to clone segments and touch them up with bits of jointing… and as they were so rustic, if they weren`t exactly straight or summetrical nobody`s gonna notice the cloning.
Thanks for understanding the dedication Louise!
xo2u!!
Susan Trigg
Great shot – I can imagine the trouble you had getting this, with the reflections etc. Just photographed my son’s new Gobin and had the same trouble (but it was just one guitar…) A very cool lineup :)
billyboy replied
Godin`s are cool. Guitarist of my group plays one… compliments the other guy`s Les Paul nicely. Excellent workmanship too.
Gonna post the picture??
Thanks for the interest!
Susan Trigg
Sorry – Godin, not Gobin (I’m a bit dislexic…) Yeah, even I can hear the difference from his ‘learner’s one’ :) The photo? Sure, I’ll dig it out…
Susan Trigg
Here you go ;) http://www.redbubble.com/people/seeker19/art/2862397-2-godin-guitar
billyboy replied
Wow, totally wicked.
The one my friend`s got is flamed maple, which I think is kind of… you know, common. I actually dig the grey. Nice and clean.
And nice detail for a snap… uncluttered color-compatible background… now you need one of your kid thrashing away on it!
Gimme another heads-up when you`ve posted that puppy!!
Heather Rivet...
wow your rock…amazing dang you got a cool job well done
billyboy replied
Cheers Heather!
And thanks SO much for the fave!!!
Jason Moses
“We can tell our potential recording customers about our amp and guitar collections till we`re blue in the face”
Talk is cheap. That Gretsch is priceless.
I thought roasting coffee for a living was good. I am so jealous, you bastard. Great job with the photo as well.
billyboy replied
Hey Jase!
You`re so right about the White Falcon… that one, along with the Gold Top special with the mini humbuckers are the 2 most used electrics at the studio.
But you can`t underestimate roasting coffee for a living… could be that coffee roaster will inherit the earth…
Cheers for the compliment on the photo side btw…
And when are you booking yer album sessions??
Mel Brackstone
hmmmm…..that’s interesting that you think you might not be getting a perfect view through the viewfinder. Can’t say I’ve ever had to do this kind of exacting work, so wouldn’t be able to compare with anything I’ve ever done….I’m more your “hit the shutter and hope for the best” type of gal…heh…ask anyone!
So, are you going to print large pano brochures to hand out/send out to the clients? Imagine getting a metre long glossy image of this in the mail…..how your musicians will drool! Likewise for the amps and drum kits! Blown up even bigger and set up like an illustrated menu in the waiting room….yeah!!!
billyboy replied
Wow, yer like really givin me some ideas!
The brochures are a bit of a problem… we want to make about 15 to 20 books to give to record companies, but don`t really know how to deal with the panos without folding them. Maybe spread them over 2 facing pages, but finding an album with pages over 40 cm wide is proving not easy. This pano is 80×18 cm. If you know of any place that sells this kind of album on line, gimme a heads-up?
xo
Squealia
LOL I guess you’d need a few arms to play that lot!!!!!
Mel Brackstone
That is problematic, matey. Might have to put the pano across two pages with an index showing which page to go to, to find each blown up shot? You’ve made a rod for your own back by making the pano so long, I guess….
Yer gonna kill me….but have you considered shooting it again in a shorter/higher format?
Runs for cover…..................................
billyboy replied
HA!
billyboy replied
OK, I’ve recovered now.
We did this format so that on our website
(move up the 3rd fader from the left once the page loads), you can scroll across. Works fine here, and the prints look amazing… we’ll just have to keep thinkin on it.
Thanks for your suggestion though… Haven’t BELLYLAUGHED like that in years!!!
:-x
Mel Brackstone
xx
KcranmerArt
I’m having trouble focusing on reading…so once my eye sight gets better I’ll come back and read all of this…but all I can tell you is I absolutely LOVE your recent music series Billy…it’s like being in a candy store for rockers!!!!!!!!!
billyboy replied
Kellie, it`s OK… I can barely read it myself and in my case it`s not gonna get better!
So cool you stopped by, and thanks for lickin’ the candy!!
xo
Jeff Burns
u rock billy this is fantastic WOW
billyboy replied
Thanks Jeff, good to see ya!
Just uploading a journal about my trip to the Frankfurt Music Fair…
Tracey Mac
You amaze me again and again….......although by now I should be just expecting it….
For some reason Im transported back to the days of driving around with the first boyfriend listening to rock blaring from the 8 track in his car without a care in the world…....your guitars rock just like you…fantastic set up BB…...and thanks for taking me back! xx
billyboy replied
Wow… you know 8-track??
They were the biggest scam in history… made you think you had 4 x as many tracks as a cassette, when really it was just 4×2-track programs!
BUT… it’s like you say, it’s our history. And when someone says “8-track” it reminds me of those rock & roll dates in my VW Beetle… didn’t even need the back seat, we just orgasmed on the music!!
Tracey, you’re a total diamond and every time your avatar comes up on one of my pics it just gives me a massive buzz…
Thanks for making my day and bringing me back!
xoxx
Svetlana Sewell
Fabulous promotion shot!
JayneLogan
Exceedingly Hip.
hallucingenic
wow that sure is ALOT lol how do u find time to play all of them? lol jk great capture! i love it :) (just wish i knew how to use one lol)
JohnScottArtist
maaaaaaaaate, and they’ve all played “smoke on the water” ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa classic
Rich Gale
geat image Billy forgive the pun but it Rocks!!!, panos I normally use standard lens in portrat format with a 50% overlap, I use the latest versoin of huggin to stich it works a treat and would save a lot of work its free as well. Mind it sounds like you enjoyed the challenge!!!!.
Rich.
billyboy replied
Thanks for diggin this Rich!
I`ve never used a standard stitching program, so don`t know how it deals with perspective and stuff like joining the brickwork behind the guitars. Do you think Huggin could handle that stuff? Bear in mind, I was not able to keep the camera in a fixed position to get this linear effect… I had to move it down the line stopping at each flightcase. Would have been cool to have a track like they use to make movies!
Cheers for your interest and for the tip, and I`ll Google huggin and check it out!
And cheers for the fav too!!!
awdigitaldreams
Gods it looks like my lounge room! LOL! Well, havent quite got that many! My son is in awe and wants a whole room like this and with the amps LOL:) great shot…
billyboy replied
OK Ann… we NEED a pic of your lounge room!
Does your son play?
Here`s a link to ICP Studios where I work and play… he should check it out. When you get to the pages in the BACKLINE menu, move the faders up once the pages load to get the pics and all the gear listings. If he`s got rock in his blood, which I assume he does, he`ll be amazed!
And a massive hug 2U for the fav on this!!!
Irish
PERFECTION as Usual …this would be an awesome poster for the sanctuary no?
billyboy replied
For your info JG, it`s been framed and hung!
So wazzaaapp? Who`s been makin yer tummy fart these days??
xo
BTW, if you drop by my Sanctuary, you could be my 900th comment… wanna go down in BB history then??
Trish O'Brien
Brilliant job, I love this image, and I had a giggle when I read your description. You did a fantastic job, I do hope you have it stretched right across the walls of your shop, its just great – and for a muso, would absolutely make them drool!
billyboy replied
Hey Trish!
Nope, don`t have it stretched across the shop… but we made a book to promote the studio and it`s stretched across two A3 pages in that. Wish you could see it cause it looks massive. AND I`ve got it hanging at home, framed on my sanctuary wall. My soul def needs to be surrounded by stuff like that.
Thanks for stopping by, and you got the muso thing sussed… we deicided on the glossy finish for the book cause it`s easier to wipe off the drool!