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[leighgion]

Ángel, pianist and organist, is an old friend of my wife's. He is an excellent musician, but needs a little help with the details of self-promotion, which includes having up-to-date decent photos. Enter me, at a serious photo shoot. Who'd have thunk it?

 

Alvina is a soprano working with Ángel on performing the Bruto Komitas, which as a non-musician I can only say is the work of a giant in Armenian music. 

 

My wife found us a venue to shoot in, a nice auditorium with a grand piano. There was no opportunity for me to pre-scout the location, so it was going to be what it was. I packed my camera bag trying to cover all the bases I could imagine, figuring I was erring on the side of overkill: D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR (original), 50mm f/1.4G, 55mm f/2.8 AIS Micro, 24mm f/2.8 AIS, SB-600 flash, Nikon SG-IR3 flash shield, tripod, small reflector and spare batteries. 

 

Well, upon arrival, we discovered the stage lights could not be turned on for love or money. With nothing but the house lights and a stage that was properly cloaked in black curtains and a black ceiling, suddenly that SB-600 was front and center. I threw it on top of the tripod, pointed the hapless little flash straight up at the high ceiling, setup wireless CLS and did my best. I'm not a lighting man in general, so I mixed using the flash and just relying on the D700's high ISO muscle. While I could immediately see things I could do differently, all and all I'm really happy with what I managed.

 

Angel 1 by Leigh, on Flickr

This is my usual stronghold of candid, available light shots, albeit with the 70-200mm instead of a small prime. 

 

Angel 2 by Leigh, on Flickr

Still available light, same lens but did more color correction.

 

Recas-Ayvazyan Duo 1 by Leigh, on Flickr

Wide shot of the duo, lit by the SB-600 on the tripod bounced off what must've been a 6-meter ceiling. Poor little strobe was pushing its limits, as were the arms of the photographer still holding the 70-200mm while standing on armrests of the fourth row. 

 

Angel 3 by Leigh, on Flickr

Despite the missed focus, this was my wife's favorite portrait of Ángel. 70-200mm + off-camera bounced SB600

 

Recas-Ayvazyan Duo 2 by Leigh, on Flickr

Fresh off doing some hands-on-keys shots, I grabbed this one with the 55mm Micro. No flash.

 

Alvina 1 by Leigh, on Flickr

Candid outtake of Alvina looking at my baby daughter off-camera. 50mm f/1.4G

 

Alvina 2 by Leigh, on Flickr

All action! 70-200mm and bounced SB600. One of the best results from my flash.

 

Alvina 3 by Leigh, on Flickr

A bit of raccoon eye, but I think it works for her. 70-200mm and bounced SB600.

 

Recas-Ayvazyan Duo 3 by Leigh, on Flickr

Deceptively challenging. Just having them stand there was one of the hardest things for me to photograph. 70-200mm + bounced SB600