It’s been a couple weeks since my last post. There have been plenty of happenings around here, and I’ve been able to do some shooting, too. Did a nice head-shot portrait session with Lisa. I’m still working on editing the shots, but I’m happy with the results so far. I think Lisa will be, also. She looks great and has a wonderful smile.
I shot a few photos using more of a glamour lighting setup. It’s interesting how much that changes the look.
On Tuesday, I shot Riverland Community College’s latest production, Be Aggressive. It’s a show about adolescence and loss and cheer-leading. Shooting during a performance, there are some fine points to the story that I’m sure I miss since my focus is more on the visual part of the show. Still, I enjoyed the show and its poignancy.
Looking through my shots, I noticed that the vast majority of the scenes involve exactly two people. There are a few with one or three, and the group cheer-leading scenes. But most of the play concerns interactions of two people – friends, sisters, father/daughter, a mother and an unrelated daughter.
It was interesting – not something I’ve noticed in any other show. I didn’t realize that as I was shooting, and I’m not sure I’d have noticed had I been just watching from the audience. The show did feel intimate, and I suppose this is one reason. We can easily consume art without digging into it, understanding it, studying it. But I think it’s fascinating to delve into the artist’s brain and try to understand and to participate more fully. Study the lighting in a photograph, the blocking of father, mother, and son at the staircase in Rebel Without a Cause, the dynamics and intricacies of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the nuances of Rembrandt.
I was back at RCT on Friday night to grab some promo shots for the upcoming reprise of White Christmas. There are many familiar faces from the production last year, but other new players. It’s a great cast with many great voices. I’m sure it will be a terrific show. The theatre had to turn folks away last year. I hear ticket sales are going briskly already. Christmas seems to be a time in Rochester when folks are looking to relax and be entertained. Live musical theatre is a great venue for that.
And now the holidays are nearly upon us. I hope everyone can enjoy some family time at Thanksgiving with great food, perhaps some wine, and plenty of love.
