My favorites from Summer Rep 2010 (Continued)

Forever Plaid by Stuart Ross was performed in the same theater space as Dangerous Liaisons. I wanted to get a good group shot of the quartet, but all four of them weren’t bunched up like this too often.


Settings: 57mm, 1/100 sec, f/5.6, Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 2000.

The only thing wrong with the picture is clutter of the microphones in the background. If the image were to be used for promotion, Photoshop could eliminate the background. In shooting, I could have reduced the clutter by shooting with a much narrower depth of field so that the background would be out of focus.


Settings: 17mm, 1/250 sec, f/5, Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 2500.

The vaudeville antics are caught by cranking up the ISO so the shutter speed can freeze the flying objects and dance steps. With bright light, the high ISO also permits a wide depth of field so all the cast are in focus.

Here are the shots from the end of the show. I was so busy setting up the camera and moving my position in the house for the curtain call, that I failed to capture one the best lighting effects of the show.



In the final scene the cast sings their farewell as the background becomes all starry. Then the moon fades in and their silhouettes appear and it all fades to black. I missed the whole moon and silhouette business, the whole point of all the great projections. But I did get the curtain call.
I had images of the moon and silhouette from the previous rehearsal, so I used good ol’ Photoshop to strip them into my final shot. The boys’ positions didn’t change as they would have in a real shot, but at least the effect was shown. The lighting designer appreciated the effort.