Aladdin in Napa Valley

Shooting a show that has continuous action is a challenge. In a little over an hour, Aladdin at the Napa Valley College’s Performing Arts Center moves right along, as any show directed for kids should do. It had me changing lenses and making camera adjustments the whole time. At once, I wanted to catch the scenic design and lighting effects, and the dance numbers...

24mm,  1/250 sec, f/5.6,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2,  ISO: 1600.

34mm,  1/200 sec, f/4,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2 1/3,  ISO: 2500.

62mm,  1/1250 sec, f/2.8,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -1 2/3,  ISO: 2500.

 

as well as the close-ups and medium shots of the performers. 

200mm,  1/500 sec, f/4,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2/3,  ISO: 3200.

 

For the shot above, I caught the action with sufficient depth of field, but below, in low light, I didn’t increase the ISO and f-stop, so the lamp is out of focus.

200mm,  1/125 sec, f/2.8,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -1 2/3,  ISO: 1600.

The light looked bright enough for an ISO of 1600, but the action was so fast and continuous that I had to increase it to 2500 and above, as in these two medium shots.

120mm,  1/500 sec, f/5,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2,  ISO: 2500.

150mm,  1/320 sec, f/4,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2/3,  ISO: 3200.

I was so busy making adjustments, I failed to see the flying carpet until the last few seconds before disappearing behind the turrets.

70mm,  1/25 sec, f/2.8,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2/3,  ISO: 2000.

A wide-angle setting and a quick run back in the house let me capture every member of the cast in the curtain call.
It's a great show. Bring your kids, or the kid in you. It runs through Oct 17th.

Shooting Anon(ymous)-ly

The Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) production of Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka used an array of image projections to add to the visual experience. Here’s the opening scene with rear projection display setting the mood.

25mm,  1/13 sec, f/5.6,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2 1/3,  ISO: 1600.

The light level for most of this productions were fairly low, so I used higher ISOs than usual. In this scene, the rear projection is in focus with a wide depth of field, risking action blur with the slow shutter (1/13 sec.). I cropped this image to the screen edges to maximized its impact.

63mm,  1/30 sec, f/5.6,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -1 1/3,  ISO: 3200.

Caught the evil sweatshop owner with an appropriate projection.

65mm,  1/160 sec, f/4,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -2 1/3,  ISO: 2000.

And here, Celeste included both the background and foreground to re-enforce the sweatshop atmosphere.

75mm,  1/160 sec, f/4,  Mode: Program,  Metering: Multi-segment,  Exp comp: -1 1/3,  ISO: 1250.

Front projection was effectively used to bring objects to the stage, such as this dumpster.

The front projector was wrangled from the orchestra pit by one of the lighting crew.

Here the projector gives a meaty texture to two members of the chorus in the butcher’s shop.

Costume, lighting, and staging images were taken for the show’s designers.

In this full-sized image, I cropped out a square to show two of the actors.

24-70mm @ 35mm,  1/80 sec, f/8,  Mode: Av,  Metering: Evaluative,  Exp comp: -1,  ISO: 3200.

The crop has sufficient clarity to qualify for a production image, ...

but cropping it further shows the effect of noise on the image edges due to the 3200 ISO and slight pixelation.

But you can’t beat the telephoto lens for good, crisp close-ups, like this one Celeste took.

We had almost 200 images in the final collection, most of which were of the dress rehearsals, but 29 of were for the designers, and 19 outtakes for fun. After turning in our work, some were posted in the theater lobby to illustrate some of the production’s creative processes.

The Luther Burbank Theater lobby.

A display of costume design and production results.

The 2010 Handcar Regatta

Here are some shots from this year's handcar regatta in Santa Rosa, California.

 My Nomination for Best ...

Street Machine

Mother Daughter Fashion

Official Official

Doctor of Mystery

Dancer

Embodiment of the Regatta Spirits

Sprite

Artistic Talent

Embodiment of Body Art

Renewed Friendship

Wild and Crazy Music Fest

Lookout

Witchy Guard

Buck Rogers Tribute

Reclined Cycle

Official Photographer

Fat Pig pix

Here is a selection of photos from The Rep’s final dress rehearsal of Fat Pig by Neil Labute.

150mm, 1/200 sec, f/3.2, Exp comp: -1, ISO: 1600.

I did a lot of shooting from the back of the theater using the telephoto lens. Being back only about 25 feet, I could get great close shots with the telephoto lens without being in the actors’ faces.

75mm, 1/250 sec, f/3.5, Exp comp: -1, ISO: 1600.

70mm, 1/100 sec, f/6.3, Mode: Av, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 1600.

I moved around the theater with the 24-70mm zoom lens to get different relationships between the players. When they were at different distances, as in this scene, I set the aperture to f/5.6 or higher so they would all be in focus.

32mm, 1/80 sec, f/8, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 1600.

200mm, 1/800 sec, f/2.8, Exp comp: -1, ISO: 1600.

130mm, 1/125 sec, f/2.8, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 1600.

200mm, 1/200 sec, f/2.8, Exp comp: -1 2/3, ISO: 1600.

Some of my telephoto close-up shots failed because I didn’t have sufficient depth of field. I forget how shallow the depth is when making a telephoto shots in low light. This picture worked because the actors were in the same plain.

165mm, 1/800 sec, f/4.5, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 1600.

The image above, which I considered one of my best shots, was spoiled because the camera focused on raised hand. Of course, I blame the actor! In this case, f/4.5 wasn’t sufficient to focus both Dan’s hand and his face. I should have used f/8 or greater, and changed the ISO to keep the speed up.

170mm, 1/200 sec, f/4, Exp comp: -1, ISO: 1600.

200mm, 1/125 sec, f/5.6, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 1600.