Project 365 – Day 49
September 23, 2009
“Nicolas Sarkozy At The Hammerstein”
While in New York for the United Nations General Assembly meeting, President Sarkozy invited the French community to an evening reception at the Manhattan Center Studios. It took place in the Hammerstein ballroom, a century-old opera house which is now host to a wide range of events, including concerts. We had very nice seats on the second balcony, which appeared to be a better option than to stand down below.
Sarkozy delivered a well-received, forthright speech, at times punctuated with humor. It ended with the traditional Marseillaise, which was sung by pupils from the Lycée Français de New York. I took this shot at that very moment. As you can see, I didn’t bring any zoom, but the lack of a tripod would have rendered it useless anyway. In situations like this, where light is scarce, it’s all a matter of compromise to get a decent shot. Zoom in at a low shutter speed and you will get blur… bump up the ISO, noise comes into play. There’s only so much you can do at a distance, unless you can afford something like the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS. I sure can’t, but I wasn’t going there with a headshot in mind, so my 50mm prime was all I needed to capture the event.
A very pleasant surprise were the delicious hors d’œuvres and petits fours accompanied by Champagne that followed. Not that the French taxpayer should worry though, most if not all of the reception seemed to be sponsored one way or another. For such a large gathering, it was a real success.