Dance Classes

Comments

1. Tamar Griggs says

   May 28, 2013 at 6:12 am

   Hi John,

   How do you EVER capture such action, light and beauty?!
   Tamar

   • John Cameron says

     May 28, 2013 at 9:28 am

     Tamar, as you know, when we press the shutter and freeze a moment in time, there’s a lot going on before and during the shot.

     Each of us brings our experiences both personal and photographic to the moment. In a high school dance class (not GISPA) there’s a huge range of abilities; there’s an extraordinary number of students on stage at the same time, and somehow we hope to engage the viewer.

     Capturing fast motion in extremely low light (some of this practice was shot at ISO 128000) without knowing exactly where the dancers are going or what’s going to happen next complicates things. I find working with the music gives me some hints and helps me capture the image. And there are a lot of intangible experiences that, for me, go back to the 1970’s. All these help me anticipate when to shoot. When to capture the ‘decisive moment’. (also the moment where and arm doesn’t get in front of a face!)

     Technically, I move my auto focus position where I want it as the dancer moves; in this case on the mid to upper left side of the frame to the face or upper body. I use exposure compensation as I go along; often on stage I underexpose up to 1 stop. I don’t worry about high ISO any more, particularly if the image will mainly be used on screen. I do worry about having the best optics I can afford. Non-zoom lenses that are very sharp wide open, generally between f/1.4 to f2 make this all work. My camera focuses extremely well in low light, and can do all the necessary exposure and focus calculations 14 times per second.

     It’s a combination of lots of practice, knowledge of the event, the right equipment, and some luck.

2. catherine says

   May 28, 2013 at 9:04 am

   leaves me breathless, movement, light just captured!

   • John Cameron says

     May 28, 2013 at 9:08 am

     Thanks Catherine.

     You got it, I was trying to capture the feeling of the movement and at the time of capture, hoping to shoot into the light to give a better feel of the on-stage presence.