Dance Redux

We had a second photographer at the Dance Ensemble show last week: Lauren Grose, a sophomore journalism major with a minor in English/professional writing. She was using an Canon XSi with a Canon 85 mm f/1.8. I like her photos at least as well as mine, maybe better.  Click on any image to make it larger.

The Dance Ensemble: A view from stage right

One of my favorite things to photograph each year is the Dance Ensemble show. It's big. A lot of people come to watch. It's a great example of our students doing something for themselves ... the ensemble is student organized, student run, in a lot of cases, student taught. The range of styles includes R&B, tap, ballet, gymnastics, latin-ballroom. You never know what you're going to get.

Technically, there are a LOT of challenges. The students like to play around with light, colored gels, dramatic effects, and frankly, there's not always a lot of it to work with. You find yourself juggling the three variables, ISO, aperture, shutter speed ... and it's always a compromise.

Like all modern DSLRs, the Canon 7 has amazing low light performance compared to the film of years past. But this is the sort of assignment that really tests the out limits of performance and there are better cameras.

I'm not sure I choose the best compromise this year. ISO was 1600, shutter speeds range from about 1/125 to 1/80. Two lenses were used. The Canon 50 f/1.4 and the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. For the 50, aperture was generally at about f/2. For the Tokina, f/2.8. 

But there are some fun and interesting photos here. Post processing was done quickly for the web. They've been downsized, a sharpened fairly hard for web viewing. A good bit more might be pulled from these files.

A lot of shooting was done from the wings stage right. The other location I used a lot was in front of stage left.

I had a student worker do a lot of shooting at the event ... backstage of preparations, and from the wings stage right and in the front stage right. She was using a Canon 85 f/1.8. So there should be a different perspective when she gets her photos in. (I'll update this entry with a link then.)

Click on any image to see them larger.
Some youtube videos of this year's event.

A place of business

Bloomsburg's renovated Sutliff Hall is in the process of reopening and it's gorgeous. Formerly, it was a low-slung building without a clear entrance that looked like an afterthought.

Now, besides being one floor taller, the building has a very clear visual structure that I think will help it function better as well. The interior is just as striking as the exterior.

One thing that sticks with you after a walk-though ... the geometry of the spaces is visually interesting, and also, I think inviting. Hallways have destinations, openning into public areas that can be used.

Most, if not all, of these photographs, were taken with the Tokina 11-16 with a variety of camera settings. The lens is unique in the speed of it's aperture and the manageable levels of distortion compared to lenses with a similar focal length. You will however, see elongation of foreground objects at the edge of the frame.


The campus has had a number of major additions and renovations over the past several years: including Hartline Science Center, Centennial Hall and McCormick Center. Each one is different, but they all work and the all complement each other. IMHO the university's planning and construction staff who work with the architects and contractors have really nailed them all.

From top to bottom: The exterior on a February afternoon at about 5:30 p.m.; blue data wires snake through the hall in front of the trading floor lab before being installed; the public space on the second floor; arched desktops in a tiered classroom smile at you.

— EGF

Click on any image to see it larger.

Stage craft

From flats of plywood and lumber to assembled back porch takes about half an hour.

The Bloomsburg University Players were invited to perform “Proof” at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region II Festival this January — the fourth Bloomsburg University production to be invited to the festival since 2006 and the second year in a row Bloomsburg was invited to present a main-stage show.

In addition to judging the performance, the festival also looks at the entire production. Load-in, set-up, load-out, are all timed. The lesson ... a theatre production is a team effort and everything counts. This year, the team won the Golden Hand Truck for a great setup.

While the top photo shows the rehearsal before the show was packed up for the festival in Indiana, Pa., the photos to the side show the stage and set being constructed. Director Kaitlyn Ide, a senior Kaitlyn from Nescopeck, as well as the actors, role up their sleeves to help the construction. Ide is shown in the set in the bottom photo.


This production was designed by theatre faculty members Ethan Krupp and Karen Anselm. BU Players’ participation in the festival is sponsored by the BU Foundation, the College of Liberal Arts, Community Government Association and BU’s Division of Theatre and Dance.


Students involved in the production and their hometowns are: Courtney Costello and Adam Wilson, both of Pittston; Megan Combs, Nescopeck; Philip Czekner, Harleysville; Destiny Deater, Berwick; Rachel DelVecchio, Bethlehem; Rebecca Kestel, Abington; Donovan Krebs, Coal Township; Deanna Kremer, Northumberland; Emily Miller, Mercer; Grace Nugent, Blue Bell; Robert Pellechio, East Norriton; Anthony Roslevich, Hazleton; and Lauren Shover; Camp Hill.

Technical notes: All photos with the Canon 7D and Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. Apertures and shutter speeds vary. ISO is at 1250. I typically shoot up the ISO 800 without giving it any thought unless it's a very particular photo that requires the absolute best rendering of fine detail. I'll go above 800 knowing that some detail and texture will be lost ... but that's not important for every photo in any event.


Click on any photo to see it larger.

Sharing research

Catching up a little from the end of last semester. This shot was taken at the College of Science and Technology's student research symposium.  Kathleen Paiva, majoring in both education and geography, is discussing a project she did with faculty mentor Cynthia Venn to make a tactile map to teach visually impaired students about geology. Yarn, glue, pipe cleaners were all pressed into service. Biology major Taylor Ball took a real interest in the project and stuck around, paying no attention to me while I took photos.

In all, there were more than a dozen student research posters at the event and another 19 research talks.

Technical notes: Nothing remarkable. Canon 7, ISO 800 1/64th. Tokina 11mm at f/4.5. Though you'll see distortion at the edges, the lens is really useful. Click on any photo to make it larger.

Sky effects

I'm not a winter person. I don't like the cold and I don't like that it's dark so much. However, evening skies in the winter and the lighting at sunset can be really interesting and beautiful. Here's a few seasonal examples. These are uploaded at 1920 by 1200 pixels, but substantially compressed. Feel free to download for your personal (non-business) use.

Notes:

Shot 1 (top) and 2( top right):  This is Carver Hall, the university's signature building. Bloomsburg's first president (before it was a university), Henry Carver, laid bricks for the building in 1866-67. These shots were taken several years ago with a Canon XTI (shot 1) ISO 400, 1/15th; Sigma 24-70 at f/2.8; (shot 2) ISO 800, 1/50th, f/4.

Shot 3 and 4 are of the extension to McCormick Center for Human Services. I think this is one of the most interesting pieces of architecture on campus. Every time I walk past the building, I stop and look. To my eye, it looks great from every angle, but that's a personal preference. Canon 7D (shot 3) ISO 800, 1/80th; Canon 50mm at f/4; (shot 4) ISO 500, 1/4000th; Tokina 16-50@41 mm, f/4.5 (didn't have time to switch ISO lower here).

Shot 5 (below): I know, this is a winter snow shot and not a sky shot. But it seems appropriate to the season. I took a similar one several years ago. Walking past the ornamental grasses (last year I think), I took it again. The shape of the reminds me of the famous Hokusai print. 7D, ISO 100, 1/800th; Tokina 16-50@35 mm, f/4.

Final instructions

I photograph commencement each spring and fall and this part of the ceremony I find particularly interesting.

The students line up in the wings of the stage, waiting to walk on and receive their diplomas. Just before they walk on, a faculty marshal, in this case Professor Gary Robson from accounting, gives some final instructions. His words of advice?  Leaning over he says (to many of the students), "Look at those people, dragging their feet," he jokes. Naturally, no one is really dragging their feet. "I want a quick walk and big smile."

Quick walk and big smile. Sage advice for more than a few situations.

Technical Data: Canon 7D, ISO 1600 at 1/40th. Tokina 11-16mm at 11 mm and f/2.8. Despite the wide aperture, the shortness of the focal length keeps the depth of field fairly deep. 

I think this shot really shows the usefulness of this particular lens. One thing I've noticed is that in the most extreme lighting situations, and it is very dark off stage, off-brand lens will not focus as reliably as a Canon lens. The Tokina 11-16 did just fine here; from experience I can say that the 16-50 would have difficulty locking focus. Note: The relaxing musicians in the right of the frame aren't noticiable to the audience in the hall.

The second photo is also with the 11-16 Tokina. The third shot was taken with the Canon 50mm f/1.4 at f/2.8. The 50mm is very sharp, but has a naturalness to the sharpness that I really like. Exposure on all the shots was manual.

Click on any photo to see it larger.