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The Wall Live
I really love photographing concerts. Each show is a new set of challenges and I still get a rush when the house lights go down and the stage lights go up. Then there are shows like last night. Let’s call them bucket list shows. Performers that I have always wanted to photograph. Roger Waters was high on that bucket list and I finally got to photograph him last night. It was a stunning show and while there seemed to be a great deal of miscommunication as to shooting times, and positions, the whole thing went off well and I came away with...
read moreNikon D4 – Review part 3
My main reason for buying the Nikon D4 was for low light concert and event photography. Now I have been really happy with my Nikon D700. I believe that the Nikon D700 is probably the best camera that Nikon ever made and that includes the D4, the D3 and the D800. This is because the Nikon D700 gave me more bang for my buck than any camera before or since. It took a fantastic sensor (the same one in the D3) and gave it to me in a body that cost $2000 less. So why did I decide to buy the D4. Two reasons: None of the cameras that I have shoot...
read moreSan Diego Humane Society – Walk for the Animals
On Saturday, May 5, was the San Diego Humane Society Walk for the Animals. My wife and our younger boxer helped to raise money and took part in the walk. I was there as moral support and to put the new Nikon D3200 through some real life shooting. I am working on a book about the D3200 so this was a great test to see what it would do. ...
read moreNikon D4 – Review part 2
One of the new things with the D4 is that it uses a brand new battery. That’s right, a brand spanking new battery which means that the older batteries used in the D3 and the battery grip of the D700 won’t work in the D4. The new battery is also less powerful than the older battery and there are many websites out there that will give you all the numbers info if you want. For me it all comes down if the battery will last through the shoot or not. BATTERY INFO & LIFE Now, I always start with a fresh battery when I leave for a...
read moreNikon D4 – Review part 1
I have been shooting the Nikon flagship D4 camera for nearly a month now. I picked the camera up the day before Photoshop World and have been using it ever since. Just to be really clear on some of the basics. I was not given nor was I loaned this camera. It was purchased new to be my main working camera body. I never used, owned or shot the Nikon D3s so I have no idea how this camera differs from the D3s. Up until I got the D4, my two body setup was a D3 and a D700. Both of those cameras had the same sensor and neither shot video. So there...
read moreSteel Pulse – Concert Shoot at the Belly Up Tavern
Friday the 13th is usually a day people think of as bad luck but that wasn’t the case for me last week. April 13th, 2012 fell on a Friday and Steel Pulse was playing at the Belly Up Tavern and I would be there with camera in hand. That makes Friday the 13th a really good day, at least for me. The Belly Up is a great club located in Solana beach but photographing there is not the easiest of tasks. There is no photo pit. The lights are usually rather subdued tending toward solid color washes which look good but are tough to shoot...
read moreA Day To Remember – Concert shoot
Last night was the second time shooting a Day To Remember and unlike the first time where we had to leave the pit after the second song due to the crowd surfing into the pit this time I had three full songs to capture the band. I used a Nikon D4 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 and a Nikon D700 with a 24-70mm f/2.8. This camera/lens combination worked really well and I can tell you that this will most likely be my regular setup from now on. The full gallery… ...
read moreRise Against – Concert shoot
Last night I photographed Rise Against at the Viejas Arena. the band rocked, the lights were awesome. The combination of the D700 and the D4 was mostly great (more on that in a minute). The pit was not overly crowded. All in all a really good concert shoot from start to finish. Ok… well not everything went as planned. When I arrived at the venue, there was no photo pass. Now I had been approved, I had the email to prove it, but there was no photo pass and it was Sunday and 9:30pm on the East coast where the publicist was based. I had...
read moreNikon D4 – ISO 3200
Last night I shot Steel Pulse in concert at the Belly Up Tavern. The Belly Up is not really a great place for photographers since it has no photo pit and the lights are usually quite low. I figured I would be shooting at ISO 6400 or higher and was looking forward to the challenge. What I did not take into account was that the band really likes to light up the stage and I could have easily shot at ISO 1600 last night. But I wanted to use higher shutter speeds to freeze the action and ISO 3200 for the Nikon D4 shouldn’t be a problem at...
read moreNikon D4 – ISO 6400
A lot has been made of the high ISO / low noise capabilities of the Nikon D4. I can’t wait to shoot this beast during a concert and I will be getting that opportunity later this week. But in the meantime I wanted to see what the files shot at ISO 6400 actually look like. So I photographed my dogs in the house. I used ISO 6400 and the natural light that was coming in through the windows and doors. Again, I was amazed at the files produced by the camera. Shot at ISO 6400, 1/250 second and f/4.5 Shot at ISO 6400, 1/32 second, f/4.5 Here...
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