EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY AND FIRST SHOTS WITH THE NIKON D2H

I've always been a big advocate of shooting public events. They are a good venue from which you can build up your chops. The atmosphere is usually lively, hectic, and even a little crazy. The crowds gather around, the photographers jockey for position.

The photo above was taken this past Saturday at J&R Music World's live, free concert, one of many given throughout the summer at City Hall Park in downtown Manhattan. J&R is the large, and popular electronics, computer, and music store, a famous establishment here in New York City.

The musician in the photo is Mike Stern, a world renowned jazz guitarist whose impressive resume includes an A-list of some of the world's finest (mostly jazz) musicians. Just a few of the notables Mr. Stern has played with include Blood, Sweat, & Tears, Jaco Pastorius, Stan Getz, Michael Brecker, and of course, the legendary Miles Davis. Mike played with electric fury, and a masterful command of his instrument. I must say I greatly enjoyed the show!

What I enjoyed more, however, was getting to shoot the show up close with a newly acquired Nikon D2H. The D2H is the 4.1 megapixel digital slr that has been the workhorse for working Nikon pros over the past couple of years. I had just picked up the D2H (used) from a private party before heading down to the show, never even used one before. But thanks to the superb ergonomics on Nikon's cameras, I was able to flow smoothly with the D2H based on my past experience with the D200, D1X, and D1H. Why would I want a 4 megapixel camera in this day and age? Well, when I was shooting Canon, the 4 megapixel EOS 1D was always one of my favorite cameras. Indeed, it is among my top five favorite cameras of all time. I loved the image quality, and file size from the 1D. From all accounts, the D2H is Nikon's equivalent.

The camera was a joy to handle, smooth as silk in its operation, and fast as a shark! Indeed, out of a few dozen shots, only two or three were really out of focus.
Image quality wise, well, I'm still making an assessment on that. Keep in mind, what looks great on a small web photo does not always translate that way on a full-sized image. Also keep in mind that every camera needs time for the user to realize its full potential. I'll have more to say about the D2H's image quality at a later date.

Back to event photography, if you get the chance to shoot an event...do it! No one expects event photos to be the most artsy or technically perfect masterpieces. It's all about capturing the moment, and cameras like the D2H are perfect for the job.