Hi AllI've been lucky enough to get a few more requests for shooting theatre and concerts.This one is of a Sweet Adelines chorus in Australia, Circular Keys. I was asked to shoot their warm-up concert before the next Australian Natiional competition. I was to have an hour befoe the concert to do some small group shots. The make-up is quite strong and in some shots give the appearance of over-sharpening.I ended up with half an hour, a lot more large group shots and so could not use my pre-planning very well. So all these shots are a bit about shooting and PP'ing in the context of a shoot where things did not quite go to plan.This is one of the small big groups, the baritone section of the 73 girl chorus. This was the only area available where I could shoot a large group - I struggled with the full chorus. Shot with the Gary Fong Lightpshere.When I got down to smaller groups, I managed to shift them to one of my pre-planned spots. Again shot wtih the Gary Fong.I had a huge amount of problems with the concert itself. A huge amount of light was streaming in above the chorus. I was jammed into a choice of 3 shooting spots that were too close to the chorus. Flash was essential because of the fast choreography of the chorus and because of the difficult light. I had to give up on the Gary Fong as it could not handle the strong light. I used the Sten Omni flash diffuser instead.I also had a problem with my camera settings which reverted to something I never use - jpeg shooting and a lot of other strange settings. (In hindsight, it might have something to do with me trying to follow the Gary Fong settings but getting it wrong.)In the midst of it all, I didnt really know what was going on, as each concert number was short, I just had to keep on shooting while I was getting some kind of result. So I didnt get the usual control I get of exposure, DOF, shutter speed etc.At the end of the concert, I had a few minutes to shoot a small group that was entering in a small group competition. They were getting the chapel prepared for a mass. I chose a site I had identified earlier but did not quite set the shot up properly.I managed to salvage the shoot despite some difficulties on the day. The lesson I have learnt is to stick to shooting settings that you know really well and make sure you check them often. I tend to get carried away in concerts and theatre and only look at the next shot not overall settings.CheersRay

Always interesting to read how someone else goes about preparing for and executing such a task. Your narrative was lively and the illustrations were quite good.Did you make any individual portraits (posed or candid or even while singing, with a tele) ? -- Roel Hendrickxlots ofimages:http://www.roelh.zenfolio.commy E-3 user fieldreportfrom Tunisian Sahara:http://www.biofos.com/ukpsg/roel.html

RoelHendrickxwrote:Always interesting to read how someone else goes about preparing for and executing such a task. Your narrative was lively and the illustrations were quite good.With the group shots, I was more worried about the time than the shots. There was this imperative with "10 minutes to go to the concert!" . With the concert, I was worried about getting just any kind of result. I just kept on doing what I had to do.Did you make any individual portraits (posed or candid or even while singing, with a tele) ?I'm afraid not. I was originally told there were just going to be a few small group shots but I ended up doing half a dozen group shots including the whole chorus of 73.The time schedule was pretty tight with having to restore the chapel for a mass being held half an hour after the end of the concert.Perhaps, that's the next horizon for me - tho I did do 15 or so individual portraits for a programme for a musical a couple of months ago. When there is a compulsion to do so many in between breaks in rehearsal, your creative urges are more a long the lines of a conveyor belt and just getting them done. I just shot the musical, itself, a week or so ago.Thanks for your comments.CheersRay