Page 20 - Cape-Camera-Nov-Dec-2021

November/December 2021 Cape Camera

December Outing

(top left to right) Mariana Visser, Dieter Butow, Kim Stevens (bottom) Kim Stevens, Anna Engelhardt, Andre Mouton

A fabulous but challenging afternoon at the theatre

Through contacts of Kim Stevens, members of CTPS were given permission to pho-
tograph a rehearsal of the ‘Christmas Carol’ ballet at the Artscape Theatre which
was very much appreciated as it was a fitting conclusion to a year of interesting

outings. This ballet in two acts, is based on a novella by Charles Dickens with mu-
sic written by Peter Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Veronica Paeper. It was

designed to be a pre-Christmas treat for all ages of a timeless classic story of the
triumph of good over evil and the victory of the human spirit over greed.

All of us being newcomers to this specialised genre of photog- Fortunately it was a rehearsal and that allowed us to sit in a
raphy, we found out quite quickly that the biggest challenges place that suited us and our gear.
are shooting inside a theatre, simply because the only aspect Cameras and fast lenses with an f-stop of 2.8 or lower (with
that can be controlled is the camera. One is faced with difficult good zooming abilities) that have excellent abilities in low light
light conditions where it is either dim or bright and every shade conditions are essential as they allow to shoot images at high
in between. ISO settings. The lenses also need to be capable of autofocus-
The dancers are moving around at great speed and in addition ing, since manually focusing can be nearly impossible in most
there are frequent scene changes that require different lighting situations of photographing moving dancers. Finally, a high
settings during the show. The use of a flash is not permitted and shutter speed is vital to be able to capture dance and all its
moving around in the theatre during the show is also limited. movement - 1/250 is a good starting point.

(from left) Mariana Visser, Anna Engelhardt, Kim Stevens

19 Cape Town Photographic Society