This past weekend, from August 7 to 9, we sent our Jazz, Experimental and Improv Editor, Alan Ranta, into the rolling mountains of Squamish, BC to attend his first Squamish Valley Music Festival. In addition to providing off-the-cuff set reviews during the festival, he was given a Samsung Galaxy S6 with which to visually capture the moments as they happened.
This was Ranta's first time using a Galaxy, but it was easy to pick up the smartly designed device and run with it, particularly since upgrading and updating using Samsung's Smart Switch program was such a breeze. Being new to the phone, he didn't go too far with the fully manual function included in the built-in camera. But even with everything on auto, he still managed to capture some impressive pics of Soak in the pouring rain, Elle King and Dear Rouge from a mile away, Hannah Wants on a blindingly massive stage made of light, and the ever-mobile soul firecracker that is Sharon Jones without blurring.
The phone's quick charging time and long battery life also gave him plenty of opportunities to shoot the likes of SZA after dark, where the improved HDR helped capture the performance, despite unusual and/or low light situations. Its quick launch camera made it easy to catch those spur-of-the-moment shots, like people walking around with miles-long strings of balloons that lit up in the dark, the odd marimba or carnival band hanging out by the Stawamus stage, and the many stilt walkers sprinkled throughout the crowd. Plus, the Galaxy comes with a sweet pair of headphones, which helped him edit videos on the fly.