My favorites from Summer Rep 2010 (Continued)

The 25th Annual Putnam Counting Spelling Bee by William Finn was presented on a shallow, wide stage. An audience on stage provided lots of opportunities to get shots of some performers in front of others.


Settings: 32mm, 1/80 sec, f/5.6, Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, Exp comp: -2/3, ISO: 1600.

I didn’t want the folks in the back out of focus, so I set the f-stop to f/5.6. Since I was in the Av mode, that is, the aperture priority mode, the f-stop wouldn’t change no matter how I changed the exposure compensation. Since no one was moving fast, the shutter speed was fast enough to freeze the action. I used a center point to focus on the gal in the front by pressing the shutter part way down, then reframed before I pressed the shutter all the way down. (With the Mark III and the Canon 24-70mm L-series lens, I’ve had a lot of trouble getting consistent focus in scenes like this using the multipoint automatic focus. I’ve learned to use a single center point for accurate and consistent focus points even though it often means re-framing before pulling the trigger.)

With an intimate stage, only about 9 feet deep, I could get up close and personal with the actors.

Settings: 27mm, 1/160 sec, f/2.8, Mode: Av. Metering: Multi-segment, Exp comp: -2 1/3, ISO: 1600.

Even though this image is cropped from a wide-angle shot, the camera’s pixel resolution is high enough to provide sufficient resolution. (Oh oh, here’s another plug for buying the Mark IV, higher resolution.) The original image was 3888 pixels wide. This crop is about 1700 pixels wide.

In almost every performance I shoot, I’m drawn to one or two actors because they have an irresistable look, or as it’s said, the camera loves them. The actor playing Olive had such a winning joyful expression, I took a lot of shots with her in the frame.

Many plays put the actors in the audience. I saw an on-stage rehearsal before shooting, so I knew when and where the cast was going out into the house.


Settings: 190mm, 1/160 sec, f/4.5, Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, Exp comp: -1/3, ISO: 1600.

Even though I thought I was ready, there are a few things wrong with this picture. 1) My shadow lies on the actor in the foreground. OK, I could crop that part off. 2) The second person in the shot is in dark shadow. I could have waited for her to reach the light. 3) There is a coiled power cable off on the left, not your typical audience member. I could use Photoshop to eliminate the distraction. Here is an edited image that fixes these complaints, although alone, it takes the actor out of the environment.




(To Be Coninued)