Lighting is always an issue when shooting stage performances. The lighting design Is part of the presentation for the audience and as such the photography isn't really considered. I try to freeze motion as much as possible for my dance shots but even shooting at ISO 6400 the light is often not enough to get 1/200th at wide apertures. Sigh. I hit upon blurs as a way of just giving in to the lack of light... dialing down the ISO and stopping down usually does the trick.
A serendipitous camera movement combines with the catch light to make this shot for me. Thanks for looking.
Being able to clearly discern the eye makes this image stand out! Again, I love the motion of her arms and hands. Just amazing that the blur shows those graceful moves of her body in such a dramatic way that the eye simply cannot see. I really like this series of dance image blurs and am glad you pursued it. Necessity is the mother of invention!
Just gorgeous! What would you think about cropping or darkening the lighter band at the top? I have to assume it's intentional but it's not quite working for me.
Michael. the balance between blur and clarity is spot on. As noted, the eye sets this one off. I agree witih Diane re: the band at the top, it makes the composition feel forced. Cropping alone would take too much off the top-what about a small frame extension post crop? A very artistic capture under difficult situations!
Edit-Cropped Top/Bottom/Right and added .22 CW rotation to level and center the eye on the upper 1/3 division line.
Last edited by Randall Farhy; 07-01-2014 at 05:44 AM.
I love this one too, Michael. In fact, I can't think of a dance image that you've posted yet that I didn't love. I wouldn't want to lose any of the bottom of the image but I could see cropping just a little bit from the top or darkening it a bit.
Good job on the repost. You captured the lovely, fluid movements of the dancer. I think I would prefer it without the eye. The monochrome works well also. Good for you for finding a way to photograph dancers despite the challenges.
Theme: Focus
I wouldn't want to lose any of the bottom of the image but I could see cropping just a little bit from the top or darkening it a bit.
