12.10.2015

On Tuesday I found a good reason to use the Nikon D750 and the Sigma 50mm Art lens. NEA.

Dave Steakley, artistic director of Zach Theatre (left) shows
NEA Chairman, Jane Chu, around the Topfer Theatre.
The full frame. 





Late Monday I got a text from the P.R. person at Zach Theatre asking me, urgently, if I would be able to come by and take some photographs the next afternoon. I love working with everyone there so I checked my scheduled and confirmed. 

The event was a newsy one. Zach Theatre was being visited by Jane Chu, who is the chairman of the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts). NEA grants have made it possible for the Theatre to produce work with amazing playwrights like Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Lori-Parks, as well as enabling spectacular renditions of Ragtime and Angels in America. 

I didn't have a specific brief but I was there early to greet Ms. Chu and to follow the group of Zach board members and executives through the tour and while conversing over tea. 

I used a Nikon D810 with the 24-120mm and a flash for many of the photographs but in the lobby I could see the benefit of working with the available light and a fast, sharp lens. I like the image above so much more than the posed group shot that was hastily organized below. 

The Nikon D750 seems to nail exposures nicely and the lens is nicely sharp at f2.5. The image below is from the D810+24-120mm combo. 

Working with existing light is fun as long as you keep yourself at the right angles to both the subjects and the light....


5 comments:

Unknown said...

The title and text do not match... D810 or D750?

Unknown said...

D750 or D810? Title of blog says one thing. The text of the blog says something else...

Kirk, Photographer/Writer said...

Chuck, go back and re-read. The story is about the top two photographs. They were taken with the D750. I mention that during the time there I took many with flash on the D810 but liked these ( from the D750) better.

John Camp said...

This is not in any way meant to be critical, but it seems to me that there is a slight difference in focus between the man gesturing on the left (and his face) and the woman who is the focus of the shot. It also seems to me that in the group shot, there is a differential focus between various members of the group. This may be due to the size of the photo on my screen (27" iMac with Retina.) Do you see that? Were you using a really shallow DOF? Or are my glasses smudged?

Kirk, Photographer/Writer said...

Hi John, Nothing wrong with your glasses. Depth of field was very narrow. Dave (guy on the left) is starting to go out of focus. My intention was to put all the focus on Jane Chu and let the other focus points fall where they may....