Hi Gang,
I'd like to share my experiences to my first "professional" job. It was
documenting a full dress rehearsal and opening night of our church's
Christmas Show. Although it was not for $$$, all my film and developing
expenses will be reimbursed.
As most of you know my first SLR was an OM-1n that I bought for
astrophotography about 6 months ago. This was also my first camera that was
not a P&S and I had no previous photography experience. I have since
contracted that contagious disease and I'm in the full throes of
Zuikoholism. I have found that I love shooting available light and the fast
Zuiko primes in this system keep me fully addicted and my wallet constantly
depleted (but that's another story...).
The morning of the shoot was spent checking out my gear, cleaning the glass
(one more time), and packing and re-packing my gear bag several times. Since
it will be a relatively dark envrionment I decided to use fast film and with
advice from my local pro camera shop, I packed 5 rolls of Fuji CZ 800. The
Oly gear I brought along consisted of an OM-1n, OM-2n, Winder 2, 16mm f/3.5,
28mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4 90mm f/2 and a 75-150 f/4 zoom. Knowing that reading
the OM's light meters in the dark would be a challenge, I brought along my
wife's Seconic L-508 Zoom Master light meter.
Before the dress rehearsal began, they announced that this year they would
have a professional photographer taking pictures (boy, what pressure!). They
also ran through some lighting cues so I could get some light readings. I
was happy that my wife gave me a crash course on that light meter. It had a
zoom spot and ambient light functions. Boy, it is some piece of gear and was
a life saver. I was able to zoom in on the face of an actor and get an
instant reading. Very helpful in the dark!
I set up the OM-2Nn in manual with the Winder 2 and the 90mm f/2. Then I
used the OM-1n as the body I would swap out the 28mm & 50mm as needed. It
turned out that those 3 lenses were the ones I used the most. After several
test readings, I decided to push the film to 1600 to give me more range. In
retrospect, I probably could have gotten away with 800, but I did not know
the play and did not want to miss any shots that were too dark and flash was
not an option.
The play began and I got to work. I set up my gear in the second row seats.
The play began I was suddenly very busy, Mount a lens, frame a shot, take a
light reading, adjust camera, focus and shoot. then repeat - lens, frame,
light reading, adjust, focus and shoot. There were so many light changes,
that I found that I had to take a new reading every few shots. I ran around
a lot and swapped lenses many times and had to change film quickly in the
dark (all that gear fondling really paid off...). Boy what fun! After about
15 minutes, I became very comfortable and was in the 'Zone'. I was snapping
like a madman, but still carefully composing and metering each shot. I was
having so much fun, the play was over before I knew it. I packed up my gear
and went home with a smile on my face and the satisfaction of a job well
done with the help of some exquisite photo gear. The only trouble I had was
sometimes the Winder 2 would not complete the sequence properly by keeping
the mirror locked up and not advance the film. This was quickly solved by
partially unmounting the 90mm lens which would release the jam. Anyone ever
have this problem?
I have yet to bring the film to the lab, but I'll post the results when they
come in. The only problem is I now need an OM-4Ti (for the spot metering)
and the 35-80 f/2.8 Zoom (to help save me those lens changes). Someone
please talk me down!
Have a Happy New Year!
Mike V.
P.S. For Christmas, I bought my wife a N*k*n F100, 35-70mm f/2.8D AF Zoom
and 105mm D AF lenses. We went back to the church last Friday night as my
wife was the shooting the show with the church's new DV Pro camera. I took
the opportunity to try out the new camera and while it is very nice pro
gear, manual and auto-everything, I did not have nearly the same
satisfaction of having to "work" my Oly's for the shots. Unless the results
are significantly better than the ones I shot the first night, I'll stick
with my OM's thank you. After using the Nikon, I love my gear even more.
Now, who has a black 4Ti and that zoom for sale?
MV
Michael Virsinger.vcf
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