Shooting NDP

[jOhO]

Hi all,

just wanna know from any of u that have experience with shooting photos at NDP wat to expect and how to go about it. i *may* have a chance to shoot from a good vantage point, dunno wat VIP place or restricted area (gotta ask my kangtao) or at the very least i'll be able to get (normal) tickets for either preview or the actual event.

one thing tho, is that i'm not using SLR or dSLR.. just a cp5700. so at full zoom a aperture of 4.0 is hardly fast enuff (right?) to capture still shots of the pple and activities down on the parade ground. and i wanna try not to shoot at 800iso becos it's noisy as.

anyway just some general comments and pointers would be good! thanx heaps~~

 

[sfhuang]

If you are in the VIP seats you get to view the parade from the gallery - that's what you would see on TV as well. If you are in the 'normal' seats, you will get limited angles of view. Most importantly, you will only get a good vantage of the fireworks from the gallery. For other seats, you will really have to either turn to the right (left, or back) and look up to see the fireworks.

Anyway, trying to shoot the parade without a DSLR is not recommended. You will prob end up with a whole series of wide shots with the same framing but just different colors (of different parade segments). You will have better luck taking pictures of the audience (the children waving flags, for instance) but for these shots, you have to get a normal seat outside the VIP gallery. My advice is to go early and join in the pre-parade fun. That's prob the best time to put your camera to use, as it is daylight and you have more interesting pictures to shoot.

You can forget about setting up a tripod, unless you go early and 'chop' a space (perhaps at the top corner of the stands). Otherwise, you will have to think of ingenious ways to use a monopod. Do bear in mind also that space around you will be very very cramped, even in the VIP gallery.

In any case, you can forget about taking fireworks in bulb mode from inside the stadium. IMO, if you want good pictures of the parade itself, you need a press pass. If you want good pictures of the fireworks, take from outside the stadium. Period.

* Above is just my personal experience to share with you. Doesn't mean everyone else will agree hor.

Enjoy the parade and happy shooting!
sfhuang