I'm not too much on ballet so today's assignment at the Grand Theatre was interesting. I covered a special performance of Handel's "Messiah" by a local ballet company for students.
Covering a performance in the theatre is always challenging with contrasty stage lighting but today's event threw in a new wrinkle.
Usually I can spend a few minutes nailing down a exposure with a few test frames but during the ballets different acts, from one song to the next the color and intensity changed. Dark tones cold blue tones and sunny bright yellow light played across the stage as i scrambled to keep up with the changes.
In a case like this I usually forget the color balance, it is what it with the different colored gel lights and just try and keep the shadows from clipping.
All in all I got some interesting angles and a good feel to the ballet. Oh and I learned some trivia too. The audience stands whenever "Hallelujah" chorus is sung. I learn something new everyday on the job!
