3.13.08 -Nikon Corporation Demo shoot with D300 at the famed Gleasons Gym-Brooklyn NY!!

What an awesome day! Being a spokesperson for the Nikon Corporation really has it's perks sometimes. I had the pleasure of demonstrating the capabilities of the D300 with editors of some of the premier trade publications in the industry. My good friend Geoff Coalter from the MWW public relation group organized a terrific outing to the famous Gleason's Boxing Gym in Brooklyn NY, where we spent the afternoon playing with our D300's and shooting various subjects in the gym. I want to thank the athletes at Gleasons for being so tolerant of our presence. In attendance were Jack Howard from Popular Photography, Dan Havlik from Photo District News, Sarah Kramer from NBC/DVICE/Sci Fi Blog, Dana Wollman from Laptop and Laptop Magazine, Mike McNamara from Popular Photography, and Mike McEnaney from Picture Business. In addition, I could never forget my buddy Lindsay Silverman, the technical guru from Nikon USA. We had a blast. My job was to familiarize these folks with the gear, demonstrate how I see light, and execute some portraiture using various light sources.  Here's a few images of these awesome athletes. It was intense, to say the least.

I had handled the D300 a few times, but TBH, I didn't realize how responsive it really is until today. It's absolutely going to be a part of my toolbox from now on. It's late, I'm packing for WPPI, but I'll have more of a review of the camera after WPPI. For now, lets call the D300 "D3-light" Its a remarkable camera, and what's more remarkable is that it's only $1800.00. It handled so much better than I thought it would. While the ISO performance isn't quite what the D3's is(nothing is), it's still pretty damn amazing.  It's also got the SAME focusing mechanism as the D3! That's also remarkable. Again, I'll get specific ASAP. I hope you all enjoy some of these images from Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn.

 

Comments

[Jim]

Cliff- these are fantastic images whatever camera they were created on.
I think your post processing is second to none. I would love it if you would do an entry on your workflow and post processing procedure.

[Theodore Paradise]

Cliff - I second Jim's comments, just beautiful. These images have a great "pull" to them. The portrait against the red wall is a story - of the person, the place. A great expression. One thing I also really like about these, and a lot of your shots, is that the color is there but subdued. Not to push you to a mini-clinic on-line, but I'd love to hear more about these, what you were thinking in lens selection, whether to shoot wide open or capture more of the environment for context, any off camera flash to fill. I also have to second Jim re: workflow. It's like cooking - there are so many ways to approach things and it's always so interesting and thought provoking to hear how someone has come up with a given approach.

Best -
Theodore

[MsB]

That last shot is AWESOME!!! Great work!

[Keith Rowell]

Wow Cliff, totally awesome shots. Masterful each one of them.

I had my hands on a D300 last week (albeit very briefly) but nothing like that came out of it :)

I'd love to see that last shot with the hat/cap cropped out of it.

[Judy Cormier]

Amazing work Cliff ... I'd love to see more. The D300 is on my "to get" list in the new few weeks and I'm loving what I'm seeing from it. ciao :) Judy

[Jerry Olivetti]

Cliff, Great shots! Any chance you might mention what lenses you used for those photos? Thanks. Jerry

[Wedding Photographer in Philadelphia]

I just love my D300 for weddings. Maybe 2009 the wedding photography will pay for my Nikon D3. We'll see. Always love to see your images.