My First Wedding

I took film out of the refrigerator. Most of the unboxed rolls remained bagged in 5-count pouches, just as they'd arrived from B&H. Pawing through the oversized ziplock bag, I pulled a few dozen rolls of Fuji NPH and Kodak T-max CN.

As the film slowly warmed to room-temperture, I turned my attention to the cameras. I dusted of my Nikon FA and tested the motordrive, shifting into continuous mode. There's something about the satisfying actuation of those three and a half frames per second I have yet to encounter with any digital camera. The possibility of burning through a roll of film in ten seconds still excites.

Handling the Nikon FM3a with the 45mm f/2.8 tessar was like coming home.

The viewfinders of those manual cameras were vast and spacious landscapes, lovely things of luxurious clarity. I tested the focus rings of my old lenses and checked the aperture ring detents, noting how well the dense weight of each optic felt in hand. And yet, for all my fondness for those beautiful tools, I hoped I would never have to use them for the wedding.

There is a reason those cameras have remained unused for the last year. That reason is the Nikon D70.

This write up is divided into the following sections:

01 / Gear: Lenses
02 / Gear: Flash Bracket
03 / Gear: Flash
04 / Gear: Memory Cards & Storage

05 / D70: File Format
06 / D70: Battery Performance
07 / D70: Curves
08 / D70: Focus Mode
09 / D70: Camera Settings

10 / Images: Formals
11 / Images: Arriving
12 / Images: Ceremony
13 / Images: Reception

I'm by no means an expert at weddings -- in fact, this was my very first wedding -- but I thought I'd share my images, setup, and experiences.

Todd

hands
http://www.emptyfortunecookie.com/tao/photo/weddings/joy_nickolai/bw/DSC_1978.jpg

Brookings I
http://www.emptyfortunecookie.com/tao/photo/weddings/joy_nickolai/bw/DSC_2030.jpg

PS: As this was my very first wedding, I'd love any suggestions or comments on this set of images that you may have. Thanks very much.