Some plays really bring a heart warming feel, but first you have to go through the bitterness and sadness. Surely Goodness & Mercy is a play following a young teen raised by his abusive aunt. He develops a relationship with a lunch lady at school. The show each other kindness and warmth that later help save both people.
Aunt and nephew talk
I photographed this play twice in one night. The cast has teen actors and so they don’t drop out of school and such, they alternate nights of their performance. So we photographed each play with each cast. The adults ran the play twice. I took soooo many photos! Photographing an entire play usually will be about 1,000 photos and so that night I had about 1,900 photos. I did whittle down the number quite a bit. No client ever needs 1,900 photos delivered. One reason you hire a photographer is the weed out the photos and find the better photos to use.
Talking about things at school
It is fun to photograph plays. I still have to come back and watch the play later, because I miss so much of the dialog while focusing on composition, angle, camera settings, and more. So much goes on in front and behind the camera that I like to watch the play later to see what I missed.
Talking with the lunch lady
Apparently, I am also a good gauge for humor in a play because I occasionally laugh out loud as if I was an audience member. Since these are rehearsals, and it isn’t video, there are no worries. And the play’s director knows that the jokes will find their target.
Attending Church
Discussing chores and the house
Discussing lunch
You have to have the right gear for theater photography. Your camera and lenses must work in low light and be able to focus in low light. I don’t know how they did it in the ye olde days of photography. My cameras and lenses can in essence take photos of a scene lit with a candle. And the software today does a pretty good job reducing the noise from high ISO photos.
Reading at night
Living with pain
Helping kids in need
Visiting the lunch lady at the hospital
Sleeping at the school
Searching the internet
Pleading for help
Here is a wide shot of the whole stage. Each portion would be lit at different times so we had multiple locations in one open design. Pretty clever.
The whole stage is amazing
The other youth cast
The actors switch nights
Reading under cover of darkness
Visiting in the hospital
Abuse in the home
