The Chelsea Room

Rock and Roll in NYC

Last night was a long night. I shot ZO2 (top picture) and Diablo Royale when I saw this woman on her cell. I recomposed and quickly adjusted my exposure for the almost non existent light source coming from her cell, and shot. It was no surprise that I would get a good picture since I am working with top of the line equipment and my new 70 to 200 MK2 is proving to be worth it's weight in gold. In the words of my colleague, the lens is too sharp. Also, the chromatic elements of this lens are superior to those of the previous version. The colors seem to be more defined as is the exposure : tonality is improved as well.

The entire concert proved to be somewhat of a challenge. The lighting was often muddy and not well defined, something that the lighting person needs to work on. There was also a considerable exposure variation on all parts of the stage. Consequently, I had to constantly change my exposure, often by one to one and a half stops. Sometimes more.

Just having fun.

Merchant of Venice Shoot

Marsha Stephane Blake and Jesse L. Martin

Kodachrome; the end of a fantastic journey

I was able to finally locate the last images that Steve McCurry shot with Kodachrome which he had processed at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons Kansas, the last Kodachrome processing lab in the world. After 75 years of production Kodak ceased production of the popular and highly regarded by pros and archivists KR series film. National Geographic required all photogs to shoot with it. This was a great film for its color, tones, push characteristics and chemical composition which made difficult assignments possible. However, as all tansparency film you really had to know what you were doing. What you shot is what you got, no photoshop was possible. Consequently, there were fewer pro photogs and no "picture takers" that now bang out snapshots saying , oh I'll fix it in photoshop.

Photo credits courtesy of: Steve McCurry; Magnum Photos; New York Times

Images listed out of order. A frame 34; B frame 36; C frame 35

New York; old world elegance, today

A day of translucent sunshine

David Strathairn and Allison Moorer

The outcome of this shoot was equally rewarding as was the shoot in the previous post, except that I used my older version 70-200 2.8 IS lens. It was a very good day. It was very sharp. In human terms it had a very good hair day.

Kevin Spacey

I am thrilled that I finally was able to photograph Kevin Spacey. Not only because he is a great actor, but, I don't why I was surprised, but because of the range of his emotive expressions. This was a really a great shoot and he made my job very easy. This shoot was also easier because I used my new 70-200 2.8 IS MKII lens for the first time. What an awesome lens this is. Unlike my first generation 70-200 IS 2.8, every image was tack sharp; even the chromatic element of the image seems a bit improved. Further tests will show just by how much.

New York, New York

Lovely New York. I was able to get two virtually identical shots. What's wrong with redundancy and a soft feel?

Snowy New York; high winds and bitter cold

iPhone images

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake

This was completely unexpected. The level of art and design of the costumes was spectacular. I only wish that I could have had the time alone with the dancers to photograph them in a controlled environment that would better complement their costumes.

Dan Lauria and Judith Light

Isin't this romantic. Judith light and Dan Lauria pose for me on the Empire State Building's Observation Deck. They are currently starring on Broadway in Lombardi.

Model

Brian D'Arcy James

Rebecca Romijn at the Cynthia Rowley Show

Retro moving forward

I have heard about it, but never actually seen one. The Nkon F3 Auto Focus film camera. At the end of its production run , as other cameras manufacturers were slowly introducing auto focus, Nikon decided to turn its industry standard workhorse into something that probably would not be able to keep up with the demands of a pro. My assumption is based on historical evidence which is in respect to the claims Nikon made about its F4. The F4 was supposed to track-focus fast moving , oncoming subjects. It did not stand up , however, to those claims. Not even close.

Presumably the F3AF came into being just as the Nikon F4 was still being developed. This is only my speculation.

You can pick up this little gem at Adorama for a mere $900. I think that it would make a really nice paper weight on any photogs desk; certainly a great conversation piece since I don't think any one on the planet still accepts film for commercial jobs.

For your information, the camera seen here comes with a motor-drive and an 80mm lens. The camera also accepts two other lenses specifically made for the AF. One wide angle , I think a 28mm and a longer lens which at the moment escapes me. Of course the F3AF also works with all of the other lenses in the Nikon line, but you will have to focus manually.

Let me know if you get it.

Pictures; courtesy of the iPhone 4G. The pictures are actually amazing but the blog just seems to reproduce these images very poorly.

Nicole Miller Collection and backstage

Verrier Collection backstage

Susan Lucci

Shot of Susan Lucci I took for Wire Image

Kimora lee Simmons at the Custo Barcelona Show