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Rowan was very bubbly with a very curious nature; my Nikon D3 seemed to fascinate her whenever I pointed it at her adorable face. Unlike some children, she did not shy away and quite liked the attention.

I was at the Church for a reason other than to document the day photographically; so I had fleeting moments when I could relax when taking shots; taking photographs of Rowan was a wonderful surprise of the day and made my Christmas Day a little more special.

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• 5 October, 2008 -- Roger Daltrey photos from Party in the Paddock 2008 (2)
• 29 September, 2008 -- Red Bullets and The Swamis rock up the Esquires club. (1)
• 27 December, 2008 -- What Christmas meant to me. Helping the local Church (0)

Technically, the room was very dark. I wasn’t sure if even the D3 could take photos in poor lighting conditions, but with a low shutter speed and steady hand I managed to get some shoots I knew I could adjust in Lightroom if I had to.

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A recent addition to my camera set, this is affectionately called the “Wrist Breaker” by me. Since it arrived over a month ago I have used it on many projects and it has out performed my expectations.

Pushed at High ISO.
First project was a gig with 4 bands. I had the D3 with the 70-200mm attached. I went straight in with an ISO of 6400, 1/200 and the results were amazing! Click to see a sample shot, unedited. As the evening got on I started to feel the combined weight of D3 and big lens. The shots just got better as i was becoming more famliar with the layout of the buttons which have noticeable differences to the D300′s buttons; the most obvious are the ISO, Quality and White Balance are at the bottom of the back panel below the 3 Inch viewer. Click to see what I mean.

Use with SB-800 Flash
The following day was taking photos of a birthday party. The lightin levels were low so I took out my flash unit and attached it to the D3. I can lower the ISO levels because the light will come from the flash. Again the D3′s fast focusing and 51 point focal targeting meant I rarely miss a shot. It adapted well to the changing light conditions and even managed to get great shots of the fireworks!

This will is main camera body because of it’s speed, quality, performance and ease of use. It allows me to shoot without thinking and let me be creative without having to fumble around technology. It truly is the best DSLR ever made.

NIKON D300

This Nikon D300 is my workhorse. It offers unbelievable performance with the rapid 51 point focusing in any lighting conditions; it’s focusing speed was made very apparent when using a D80 and a D40x in recent shoots; those body’s just cannot adjust quick enough to the action. The ISO delivery has only been surpassed by Nikon’s flagship D3 and the recently released D700. ISO is crucial when shooting in low light conditions. A flash is great when you need to control light, but it is ALWAYS preferable to capture the natural light wherever you are. The D300 allows me to shoot up to a useable 1600. Some of my peers believe ISO 3200 is usable but I would not use it even in desperate conditions. i would prefer to lower decrease my shutter speed.

In terms of Nikon’s DX class, this is the best you can get. The FX class, which is a full framed 35mm sensor, is only available on the D3 and the D700. The most noticeable side effect is some cropping when using none DX lenses, but this really will not effect you unless you are looking for the crop.

If you notch down the quality to High quality JPG then you can shoot the machine gun rate of 7fps. I often go to this mode when I’m shooting bands that are very animated. I sacrifice NEF quality (Nikon’s RAW mode) by doing this but it is more than worth it to get the right pose from the bands.One final comment has to go to the D300′s weight and usability. The menu system is faultless if you consider just how many options there are.

NIKON D40X

Now as a professional you may be wondering why I am using this baby camera; I bought it as a travel camera while I was backpacking around South East Asia & Australia. Since then I have kept it because having two cameras is far better than having one.

I use it to attach one of my fast lenses on it. This is a perfect example of why it is the lens that you should be investing in more than the camera bodies. When I put my fast F2.8 lenses on this very simple SLR I can get some stunning shots. The D40x makes you work harder for sure; the focusing is slower, the ISO noise is unusable over 800 and it you have to use the slower SD Card format which means you have a smaller shooting buffer as well as a slower frame per second. BUT after all this gives me the flexibility to have two lenses at a shoot without having to swap halfway through.

NIKON 24-70mm F2.8

This is my lens of choice for gig photography. It has the focal range which is perfect for group shots and dramatic stage angles during gigs, but then it rapidly becomes a tight facial or instrument shot. For weddings, the speed and range becomes apparently when trying to fit in large groups and crowds, and then it is an lens for the intimate close ups for smiles, eyes, joy and the details that only a wedding can bring.

NIKON 70-200mm F2.8

It may sound strange, but the reason why the 24-70mm is so good is because I have this 70-200mm in my arsenal as well. This lens by itself would not be flexible enough to capture a wedding or gig because of the limited wide angle range, but by leaving the wide business to the 24-70 it means I can use it as a powerful zoom lens and not worry about positioning for wide shots. The detail this lens can capture is simply stunning. it is a formidable piece of equipment in both weight and size. it will make your hands ache after a few hours of use! Also because of its VR capabilities, I can shoot a few stops lower or a lower shutter step which gives me a whole new set of options when shooting in low light conditions.

Lowepro Slingshot 300 bag

I cannot come up with a better description to beat the manufacturers own description.

“Perfect for photojournalists, the SlingShot 300 AW uses a unique sling design to go from “carry mode” to “ready mode” in just seconds. Carried comfortably on the back, it easily rotates to the front to get to your camera quickly”

NIKON 50mm F1.8

I had not noticed this lens before until it was brought to my attention by a photography friend. I did some research and bought it a few hours later. it is incredibly fast, very light (so it can fit in most pockets) and it is DAMN cheap! I love this lens because it makes you work much harder; it’s fixed focused so it means YOU have to move into the right position and distances from the subject, the F1.8 gives an incredible shallow focusing field so you need to work hard to make sure the subject you are capturing is sharp and finally because it has no internal focusing motor it won’t work with the D40 range of SLRs so you have to manually focus. HOWEVER, this is the lens that is the most fun to use. The F1.8 is so fast that you will almost never need a flash with this attached, the Depth of Field gives you some creative shots which are harder to achieve on the bigger lenses and did I mention it is very cheap. A quick check with Amazon.co.uk brings up a price of £80 ($140US)

NIKON 10.5mm Fisheye F2.8

The fisheye was a hard purchase to justify for me. Because it is such a niche lens I did not know how often i would use it. My purchase is more than justified. it allows me shots that I would NEVER achieve with any other type of lens, and used properly in crowd, group, landscapes and even detailed shots it really opens up a world of creativity that is completely unique to this lens.

NIKON 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 DX

I had not heard of this lens until I was looking through a store in Sydney. The focal range in incredible; to go from super wide to a tight zoom in one lens was new to me. As a travel lens I do not believe there is anything better. While backpacking day to day you could be in any situation that is almost impossible to plan for photographically, so by having this utility lens you have maximum freedom to shot what I want. For darker situations in a professional job I would be reluctant to use it because of the slow glass inside. A F3.5 simply is not fast enough for indoor shooting or gigs without using a flash. i would rather use my F2.8 lens in those circumstances.

Nikon SB-800 Flash Units (x2)

Very useful to have. Do not believe for a second that you do not need to invest in Flash units. I only use them 30-40% of the time but when i do use them I am always thankful they can bale me out of a badly lit situation. They also give you creative options as well. This shot of Rob from Slashed Seat Affair was achieved by placing a SB-800 to one side of him an triggering the flash remotely using a Pocket Wizard.

Memory Cards

I have 2 CF (compact flash) cards for my D300; a 16gb and 4gb Sandisk Extreme 3. These are more expensive than standard cards because they allow the camera to write files much quicker. Without these i would be waiting constantly for the camera to record the shots onto card. I shoot fast, so I need my equipment to keep up.

Related post:

• 5 October, 2008 -- Roger Daltrey photos from Party in the Paddock 2008 (2)
• 1 April, 2009 -- Wedding at Bradenham Manor, High Wycombe (1)
• 11 November, 2008 -- Toni and Oscar’s wedding photos. (0)

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• 30 December, 2008 -- A gorgeous little girl on Christmas Day (0)
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So, plan B was to get to the Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s A&E and see a doctor immediately. I imagined the A&E to be quite empty at 5.45am. I was pleased to see two girls from Finland and another girl who I never got to chat to because she had her Ipod on. I presumed the wait would only be 30 minutes…30 minutes later the assessment nurse (the lovely Angela) took down my information, took my blood pressure and (excitingly) my heart-rate which is a very pleasing 67BPM WHOO HOO!!!!

I was asked to wait further in the waiting area, Angela soon came out to tell me the wait would be about 90 minutes! I sighed but didn’t complain as I know how strained the British NHS system is regardless of what Michael Moore reports

I was prepared for the wait, I bought along a book I’ve been trying to finish for almost a year but I get easily distracted by Photography magazines, however I had to focus on my book called Songman by Will Hodgkinson bought for my birthday last year by a friend known as “her who cannot be named”. I highly recommend it; Hodgkinson asks musicians how they get ideas, compose and go about writing hit songs. He totally demystifies the process and makes it clear that it is about luck as it is about persistence and talent.

8am came and a doctor shouts out Mr Lee Terry in a strong accent. I make myself noticed and follow him into one of the examination rooms. After alot of questions and twisting he gave me a blood test and arranged an x-ray.

It seems I have inflamed joints due to excessive stress so he gave me a very cool splint to restrict movement of my right hand and told me to take Ibuprofen as that acts as an anti-inflammatory for a few weeks.

SO, in conclusion, BEFORE you buy a Nikon D3 beware of the consequences. It is a beast of a camera which does take gorgeous pictures but do not underestimate it’s weight. Treat it with respect and it’ll look after you by taking awesome photos.

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The bands really worked the crowd who were up for it. It was a small venue but that made it more special. The sound, the lights and the atmosphere was all in place for a great evening. I believe the lads also felt a vibe as they really played up to the lively audience.

There were other bands there; they had a good sound but lacked the presence of Bullets or Swamis. Purely from a photographer’s perspective if the band doesn’t give me any kind of attitude or emotion, then it is hard to capture.

A great night, but I must mention one thing about the Esquire venue. Everything was great except the lights, whoever controlled the lights obviously never had a photographer give them any direction. They consistently flooded the guitarists and lead vocalist with a single wash of colour; this gives no contrast or depth to an image and make everything look monotone and uninteresting. However, it wasn’t my gig or my place; in other places I have asked the lighting controller to give me a more varied contrasting range of colours. Red from one side and blue from the other gives the classic and best canvas on the bands.

Related post:

• 30 December, 2008 -- A gorgeous little girl on Christmas Day (0)
• 5 October, 2008 -- Roger Daltrey photos from Party in the Paddock 2008 (2)
• 27 September, 2008 -- The Red Bullets & The Swamis at Esquires club, Bedford. (1)

Fast forward a few weeks to now and now I’m looking at yet another lens; the Nikon 14-24 F2.8. I don’t actually NEED this lens, but it would be a great weapon to use in tight areas, crowd shots and amazing distorts at close focal ranges. Just have a look at Todd’s use of this lens below:

However, the real conundrum is justifying the price of this lens compared to my ultimate purchase… the Nikon D3. For now, I’ll continue to shoot with my the awesome lenses I currently have. I cannot stress enough how very very cool my 50mm, 70-200mm and 24-70mm are for gig shoots. With wedding season coming up very soon, I’ll be pushing these lenses to the limits. Low light, fast and tight focusing and creative options.

I think the last word should be left to you…do you think I should get this lens or the Nikon D3 bad boy

The 24-24mm strapped onto a D3. Just look at how big it is!

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8

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Related post:

• 1 April, 2009 -- Wedding at Bradenham Manor, High Wycombe (1)
• 30 December, 2008 -- A gorgeous little girl on Christmas Day (0)
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Nikon D3 reaches new imaging heights – CNN.com

Better late than never, CNN.com review the awesome (and the thing I drool over daily) Nikon D3.

Related post:

• 1 April, 2009 -- Wedding at Bradenham Manor, High Wycombe (1)
• 30 December, 2008 -- A gorgeous little girl on Christmas Day (0)
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Todd continues to be an amazing inspiration to me. His photography has an amazing dynamic that I can only wish for! If I become only half as talented as that man, then I’ll be ecstatic! You can see more of these amazing shots at Slipknot @ Mayhem Fest | ishootshows.com: Concert Photography

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