Ozzy Osbourne – concert pics and thoughts on the new camera

My 13 year-old nephew J really wanted to go see Ozzy Osbourne.  He likes to listen to the rock station on the radio and has been talking about the Ozzy concert for months.  I felt like it would be a great experience for him to go, so I bought S, J and I tickets. 

I’m not into big crowds, but a couple times a year I see a band is coming town that I just have to see.  Big concerts are so different from my normal routine that they always just make me feel like I have a new perspective on life afterward.  Mostly, I love my normal routine.  I also think it’s important to shake it up once in a while. 

There is nothing like a good concert just to make one feel alive.  It’s exciting.  Live music just comes with an energy that is like nothing else out there.  

To be honest, Ozzy wasn’t a performer I would have chosen to go see on my own, but after having been, I would put him on my ‘would go see again list’.  I could not have named any of his songs, but of course, when I heard them, I knew almost all of them.  War Pigs I know by heart since it’s on Guitar Hero II, but I always connected it with Black Sabbath, not Ozzy.   I did not even know that Ozzy was the singer for Black Sabbath. 

It amazes me how many people have their cell phones out to record videos and take pictures at concerts.  It seems like they pay more attention to their phones than to the actual concert.  Plus, while cell phone cameras have come a long way, they don’t have zoom lenses and it’s impossible to get good-quality pictures of something like a concert from too far away.  The people with the good tickets might have a chance, but the people back on the lawn with the cheap tickets like me might as well just put their cameras away. 

I watched the girl in front of me taking a cell phone video while dancing with her boyfriend.  I am sure it is the crappiest, blurriest, most unsteady video ever.   Seriously, just YouTube Ozzy later if you want to see what it was like.  There must be 5,000 videos of that concert all taken from slightly different vantage points. 

That said, I took the opportunity to take a few pictures.  I was really more interested in testing out my new camera than anything else.  I was so impressed with how it did.  (My camera is a Sony DSC-RX100M6.)  The zoom lens did an amazing job. 

One thing to note is that this is a 20 megapixel camera.  The above image is resized to go on my blog, but it still looks crisp and clear at a much, much larger size.  Here is the same picture cropped a bit before being resized.

The guitarist did a long solo out in the audience.  It was impossible to see what was going on from where we were standing.  I was pleased to discover that some of my pictures of it were super clear. 

Here’s a couple more Ozzy pics:

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All in all, I am just ridiculously happy with my camera.  On the small camera screen, it is basically impossible to tell how good of a shot I’ve gotten.  Every time I load the pictures onto my computer and look at them on my big monitor, I am just so impressed. 

Some day, I may have to post a comprehensive review of it, but I am still learning what it does and testing it out.  I still have a long way to go understanding all of the settings, but I am making good progress.  I am so glad that I made the leap and bought a real camera instead of just relying on my phone.  These concert pics would not have been possible with my phone.  Although I do now wish that I’d taken a few pictures with my phone for comparison. 

So a few thoughts to close with.  First, if you have a bit of an interest in photography, consider making the leap and getting a real camera.  Digital cameras these days are amazing.   Second, make time for the occasional cool experience.  Whatever your favorite bands are, go see them when they come to town.  Third, take the time to think about the experiences that you are creating for others.  I had a great time seeing Ozzy and I’m glad I went, but I am even more glad that I was able to take my nephew.  I am sure he will remember it for a very long time.