Cold Night, Warm Hearts - my first 'weddings'

1pocket

Technically these were Civil Unions for same sex couples, which became legal here in NH at midnight, New Year's Eve. So there was a midnight rally at the NH State House plaza, immediately followed by outdoor services for about twenty couples right there in the very poorly lit plaza, in the freezing cold night air. But at least it wasn't snowing!

I shot these with my new D300 and 50/1.4 prime lens. For the rally leading up to the midnight hour, I tested the low-light capabilities of the new camera and went with ISO 3200, with the lens wide open. I put my sb800 on for the individual ceremonies, but left the ISO either at 3200 or 1600 for the duration.

This was not an assignment -- I just did it in the spirit of 'street photography' -- so I don't actually know any of these couples.

There were a ton of news photographers and video crews from local TV and newspapers, and a few of the couples seemed to have someone shooting for them, but many did not. However, most of the news guys split pretty quickly once they got what they needed 'cuz it was genuinely cold!!!

This was my first 'wedding' experience, and of course, comments and feed back are invited. You can view the whole gallery here:
Midnight Civil Unions


1- The state house plaza


2-The cold, and darkness was tough on the photographers...


3- ...and the guests


4- Several ministers and/or Justice of the Peace performed the flashlight-lit services


5- So they were genuine, and legal, ceremonies -- all the couples had to have their paperwork in order well ahead of time.


6- You may now kiss the bride!

Thanks for looking...

~Jan~

Interesting shots! The first is my favorite.

photocat

Did you find a noticably difference in noise? I will probably get one next week...
I am hoping that the noise problem will be solved.
I like the feel of the shots. Good job...

1pocket

photocat wrote:

Did you find a noticably difference in noise? I will probably get one next week...
I am hoping that the noise problem will be solved.
I like the feel of the shots. Good job...

I moved up from the D70, so yes, there is definitely a big difference in the noise! I shot these all in jpeg fine, whereas to get decent results with the D70 I used RAW. To be honest, I have not tried RAW yet with the 300; I'm afraid of either my computer or Photoshop crashing -- they're ancient (well at least a few years old...).

1pocket

~Jan~ wrote:

Interesting shots! The first is my favorite.

The crowd scene, or the kiss? I wasn't sure what you meant by "first".