Summersend

Audience leaving theater after final performance of "The Tempest" at Hip Pocket Theatre. The dim lighting, soft focus, slight motion blur and in-camera noise reduction at high ISO gave an effect reminiscent of a John Singer Sargent painting.

Audience leaving theater after final performance of "The Tempest" at

Hip Pocket Theatre. The dim lighting, soft focus, and slight motion

blur gave an effect reminiscent of a John Singer Sargent painting.

(Part of a decade-long theater documentary project that's still trying

to gel.)

I like the dark, sombre atmosphere here - after all, they've all been through the Tempest...

True, it was the legendary dark and stormy night... quite literally.  During the play there was a thunderstorm brewing in the distance, but only lightning occasionally flashed in the sky.  The rain didn't start until nearly midnight, a couple of hours after the play closed.

 

The attention of the tallest young lady here, third from the left, was absolutely rapt throughout the play.  It's rare to see a young person (she appeared to be around 16 or 17) so fascinated by live theater.  I would have liked to have photographed her just watching the play - and the director had given me permission to photograph the play from my seat in the audience, since I was using a silent camera with a viewfinder rather than a glowing screen.  But since I was seated up front I didn't wish to distract anyone.

 

Also, I was so captivated myself by the play that I didn't even want to take any photos during the performance.  It was the most incredible production of The Tempest I'd ever seen, and I've watched many.  The entire first 15 minutes were mimed with dance and movement to represent the storm, how Prospero and Miranda were cast ashore on a deserted island, how he recovered his books, and discovered Ariel and Caliban.  It's difficult to describe how beautiful it was.

 

I wished I hadn't waited until the final performance - there were so many opportunities for marvelous motion blur photos.

 

But I'm happy to have just watched the performance without a camera filtering the experience.

Oh but indeed you did photograph the young lady, Lex, along with the others, and it has a wonderful painterly look. Reminds me so much of a Goya work.

Incredibly atmospheric image and yes, quite painterly. While I know they were leaving, they seem so stark as if staring at something, condemning it like the chorus in a Greek Tragedy. Imagination aside, it's a beautiful image.

Thanks, Ray and Mark.  This is one of those serendipitous effects that I'd probably never have set out to create deliberately, but I'm happy to have bumbled into the result.

This pops up at the bottom of the threads often: and I have meant to open it prviously - tonight I did and I am very pleased that I did. It is really REALLY nice low key work. Really good stuff, Lex.

Bravo.