The Plan
I was
prepared to be flexible, prepared, too, for disappointment: maybe the light
would be insufficient to get anything; maybe we’d be kept too far away to get
anything useful, even with a long lens; maybe the background would be
cluttered. I decided I’d try to get some
long exposures, showing movement. I
expected to shoot 100 or so images, but finished with 250.
In the
event, my fears were unjustified, though I was rather discomfited by the huge,
clear action pictures in the side of the company’s truck.
Technical
We were
asked not to use flash; I’d no intention of doing: the guide number required
would have been enormous, and direct flash is so flattening. The stage was fairly well lit: ISO 800, F5,
1/25, didn’t stop movement, but I found the dancers were capable of stillness
as well as rapid action. They use more
of the body’s movement envelope than most people. However, many of the 250 exposures I took
were blurry. I used two lenses: 18-55
and 55-250, and changed a couple of times during the shoot. White balance: tungsten.
The stage
was draped in black, which helped de-clutter backgrounds. With strong stage lighting there was a big
difference between darks and lights. I tried to prevent highlights being blown
out and let the darks go to black.
The Shoot
Perhaps because
I’d been shifting position, we were asked not to disturb people if we moved
about the auditorium. I took this as
permission to move about, but quietly.
To tell the whole story, I needed pictures of the ‘audience’ as well as
the dancers. In the front row was quite
a display of L-series lenses and tripods, very static in their seats,
presumably getting long exposures without camera shake. I chose to brace myself in a seat to take
longer exposures, achieving up to 2.5 seconds with plenty of camera shake but,
because of the black background, I don’t think this was enough to spoil the
images.
The class
lasted a little over an hour and went through phases as described in the
picture notes above. Perhaps I could
have researched this, and been better prepared, but an hour’s a long time; though
seeing the class proceed as expected might perhaps have reduced my anxiety.
Despite
the black drapes, the dancers themselves sometimes cluttered the
background. I was unable to isolate some
of them, obliging me to concentrate on those I could isolate.
Because I
was shooting at an angle to the stage but keeping the camera more or less
horizontal, the stage line is sometimes diagonal. I think this improves some shots, in
particular those titled “Balance and control are of great importance.” The stage line and the line joining the tops
of dancers’ heads balance each other, and the slope emphasises what I’m saying
in these images.
Choice of
images
I could
have focussed entirely on Natalie Corne &
Christopher Scott. I have several
images of them, and as I say, they did interesting things. Or Neus
Gil Cortes, I’ve a lot of
pictures of her, and she has a wide range of movement—and stillness. I took a lot, too, of Matteo Marfoglia and Matthieu
Geffre. In the end I decided to use
a range of photographs showing most of the dancers, because in this way I could
tell a kind of story, leading with the rehearsal director. Stories are important to me, and can perhaps add
a punctum to the studium of the photographs.
(Barthes)
The Photographs
Print
1. The bar. The class began at the bar. This hamstring stretch can be performed with
or without the bar. The dancer left is
stretching without the bar. Depth of
field and movement issues here.
Print
2. Following. The dance director leads and the two
dancers—under her wing—prepare to follow.
Not as crisp as it should be, but I like the composition, where the
dancers are almost her shadows.
Print
3. Balance. The stage wasn’t really sloping; my viewpoint
makes it seem so. I chose not to
straighten it because the slope adds to the feeling of being off balance. I like the way the dancers all concentrate on
following the rehearsal director. Motion
blur.
Print
4. Focus. Dancing is about thinking as well as
moving. The shadows are too dark, but a
significant increase in exposure burned out highlights on the shoulder. I’ve dodged the face a little.
Print
5. Portrait. I was glad to be able to capture a portrait
while this dancer was still, showing the intense focus they have. Her fingers are moving, though.
Print
6. Jumping. I chose this image because the dancer clearly
enjoying herself; even her ponytail is jumping.
I hope the feeling of joy makes up for the motion blur here. 1/60th.
Print
7. Moving forward. 0.8 second exposure. I like the dancer’s motion lines and don’t
think the camera shake detracts too much from the image. A tripod would have reduced the effect of
camera shake, but would have made it much more difficult to capture the image.
Print
8. Standing up. 1.3 second exposure. What a lovely, odd shape. Camera shake visible in the tracks in the
background. I decided not to remove them
because they provide the viewer with clues to locate the dancer in space and
understand what’s happening here.
Print
9. Leaping. I took a number of pictures of dancers
leaping, and this is the best. The pose
is obviously a standard one; I saw it repeated several times. The dancer’s gaze and right arm and leg point
left, yet the other limbs are cocked; they seem to pin him, motionless, in the
air. There’s a lot of motion blur here,
and I’m not sure it’s a bad thing. The
active limbs are blurred, the leg clearly shows motion, while blur is less on
the other limbs, suggesting stillness.
Perhaps if blur overall were less, the difference would be even more
apparent.
Print
10. Stretching. This concludes my story. Stretching is an important part of every
athlete’s workout. The composition is
all triangles, conveying a feeling of stability and stillness. The triangle of the nearer dancer’s trousers
copies that formed by the second dancer, and they’re both included in the big
triangle. The hand and foot on the right
and the foot on the left, stop the gaze and direct it back up the triangle to
the front dancer’s face. There are nice
reflections off the polished stage.
Post-production
I
adjusted exposure and tidied a few of my images, removing distractions. In some cases I’ve straightened the horizon, but
I haven’t increased the slope in others.
What I
learned, what I’ll do differently next time:
If I get
the opportunity I will repeat this shoot, taking a monopod (a tripod’s rather
like an anchor) to get more swirly images.
It’s an exciting, beautiful experience I want to repeat, even if there’s
no other reason for going.
Photographs
don’t have to be perfectly crisp; if
they look right, then they are.
Be bold:
folk are helpful and accommodating; ask for what you want. I emailed the National Dance Company Wales
for permission to use these photographs and received permission. The marketing director said, “I’d be
interested in seeing your photos if you could pass any on to me; the dancers
are also keen to see any photos taken of them.”
I sent her a CD of 50 images, together with a link to my learning
blog. Quid pro quo.
Adapt; be
aware of and look out for opportunities to diversify, to follow an individual
while being aware of the group.
Summary
In my
photographs I’ve tried to tell a story, and I think what I’ve produced at least
shows a progression.
Mike
White
13th
December 2012
