Theater work

Until last night, I've never photographed anything for a theater or a theater group. I've done a few headshots here and there, but I've never taken photos of actors on stage. There are a lot of technical hangups to consider, the most important of which is lighting. Stage lights can be difficult to deal with, and even worse if they're dim.

My friend, Herschel Zahnd III (my second friend who is a "the third"), asked if I'd be interested in taking some stage shots for his production of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Since opening night is later this week, it's too late for promo cards and that sort of thing, but he can still use the images on the Web and wants to give the actors a good shot of them each. I was happy to oblige.

When I arrived at The Alley Theater in Louisville, I was flattered to see a headshot of another friend, Todd Zeigler, was hanging in what you might call the lobby. I hadn't thought about it since I'd taken it, but after looking at it again, I was really pleased with the photo. Here it is.

 

Yes, it's goofy, but intentionally so. Todd does a lot of comedy work, but that's not to say he's a one-trick horse. He's a fantastic actor, and you should give him money now.

By the way, your wedding photos are almost finished, Todd. Honest.

Either way, I digress.

Having lenses suited and optimized for low-light situations isn't just handy, it's a necessity. Luckily, I was outfitted for the job. Now, I just had to make the pictures.

Normally, I don't like posed situations, but this was completely different. I wasn't asking anyone to pose for me in the camera. I wasn't asking anyone to do anything for me or go out of their way to help me make a picture. They acted, I photographed. That was it. Here's what I got.

That's Herschel as Sweeney Todd. He did a fantastic job acting and singing, and I agree his makeup was spot-on. The rest of the cast thought it was too heavy, but I thought it did exactly what it needed to.

If you're interested in seeing the show, check out the link above for dates. It looks like they're playing every weekend in October, starting this weekend. They didn't ask for the plug, but they got it anyway. 

Anyway, perfect show for the Halloween season. It's dark with just enough comedy to keep you laughing nervously. Here's one last shot, without giving away the plot.

Dancing with the (local) Stars

Fundraisers aren't always photo friendly: You can only get so many pictures out of people eating and writing bids on gift baskets for silent auctions. Lucky for me, this Hospice fundraiser had something a little more interesting than a buffet.

Along with ticket sales, general donations, silent and live auction proceeds, each couple on stage had a box for the attendees to cast their votes. Each vote cost a dollar, and there was no limit on voting. The winner wasn't dependent on talent or even popularity, but how deep the pockets of the voters were. That's not to demean the event, that's just how it worked. Besides, the real winner was Hospice, not anyone on stage.

So, for the story and photos, go here. For a few outtakes, just look below.

But first, a note about one that made the cut: One of the photos obviously shows a flash, but it wasn't from my gear. There's something fun about utilizing borrowed flash when it happens and actually looks good.

This one's a favorite because of the way her hair is frozen in the frame. It wasn't sprayed up that way, she just came up from a dip. I'm not much of a dancer, but neither was this guy. Ironically enough, his song was "Bad" by Michael Jackson.

This time, I caught the dip instead of the moment after. I'm so used to getting as close in as I can, I thought I'd take a chance by experimenting with a little negative space. As it turns out, I liked it.

I considered adding a third photo to this post, but the only other ones I liked as much as these caused me to ask an ethical question involving underwear. I took the advice of my mentors and colleagues, Ron Allman and Bryan Moss, and nixed the photo. As much as I wanted to, I think erring on the side of caution is the smart thing to do.

More to come soon, honest. I've had several assignments in the last couple of weeks because the photographer of The Tribune has been on vacation. I just hope this week has bolstered my reputation, even if this influx of work is only temporary.

Arpaio visits Corydon

It's been too long since I last posted. Work is still remaining reasonably steady, but the last assignment I got really excited about was my first gig for the Louisville Eccentric Observer.

Don't pretend you're confused, it's LEO. You know, first reference and all that stuff.

Anyway, Sheriff Joe Arpaio was in Corydon, Indiana a couple of weeks ago. If the name doesn't ring a bell, he's the sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona who makes his inmates wear pink jumpsuits, pink underwear, stay in arid conditions in old military style tents, and has plenty to say about immigration reform. He's 78 years old and mean as ever, but not like your grandpa. He was speaking at a fundraiser for the Harrison County Republicans. Cary Stemle, the writer of the story and the former editor of LEO asked me to tag along for the photos. I'd never worked for LEO before, and was excited about the opportunity to be published in the magazine.

After listening to a Bob Dylan CD I haven't yet returned to a friend, leaving the lights on in my car waiting for Cary, and getting a jump from a friendly local, Cary took me to the house Arpaio's reception was to be held. Cary made his way to friend's house in town for an interview and to catch up with her, and I tried to find my way into the reception hall. He told me about how he'd had difficulty getting access to Arpaio's speech at all, and how he had to purchase a ticket instead of being issued press credentials. Apparently, the Courier-Journal had issues getting their people in as well. It looked like I might have a tough time getting in as well.

I asked the woman at the front door of the reception hall to talk to whoever was handling press credentials, since I didn't have any yet. She dug out the man who appeared to be the press handler, and he initially said I wasn't allowed to come in. I explained to him if I don't go in to take the photos for the story, I've driven about 50 miles out of my way to do some work, requested the night off from my regular job and lose money in the process. Cary got on the phone with him and explained he'd been trying to inform the gentleman for days about me tagging along, but he hadn't answered or returned his phone calls. We finally worked out an agreement to allow me to photograph without having to resort to tactics reserved for paparazzi.

The press actually got something of a private session with Arpaio after his reception, which caught all of us off guard. Arpaio asked each of us who we were with. The Corydon Democrat's reporter got the same treatment I did:

He asked with his signature scowl, "What paper?"

In my case, "I'm Jerod Clapp with LEO, it's a weekly out of Louisville."

"Oh, that's not a real paper. Who's here with the real paper?"

He was either joking or just didn't care if he left a bad taste in someone's mouth. Either case is entirely possible.

The reporters didn't really have any questions prepared for such an event and winged it as best as possible, while the photogs kind of floated around snapping as much as we could. Here's some of what I came up with.

Part of me wanted to send in a photo of him that isn't something everyone else has already seen: He always looks grim and ready for a fight. His frown accompanies almost every headline he makes, but you can't help but think there has to be another side to him.

On the other side, though, I decided to send in photos reflecting what has earned his celebrity as America's Toughest Sheriff.

His tie tack stood out, though. Rather than a jewel or American Flag or something relatively neutral in nature, he wears a gold Glock pistol when he's not in uniform.

All of it kind of ties in with the persona he exudes when he's in front of a crowd. His hard-nosed facade may not be a facade at all, but there's always the risk of turning one's self into a caricature with his kind of approach.

Then, there's always the photos we take for ourselves. I'd like to share mine.

I still need to send in my W-9 for LEO. I hope this ends up being a long-lasting relationship with them, and I look forward to more work in Louisville's favorite alt-weekly publication.

St. Mary's Picnic

Shooting for Bryan Moss's Web site, LifeinCorydon.com is one of the most rewarding of the freelance jobs I have. He's an old-school photojournalist who is rather bare-bones about his work, and instructs his freelancers to adopt the same principles while shooting for him. He doesn't use a flash, so neither do I. It sounds restrictive, but it just forces me to open my eyes, pay attention to available light and exercise more patience. It's improved my photography and turned me into a bit of a snob. Sometimes, I cringe a little when I notice the flash fired in a photo.

I don't really have a limit of photos to constrain me, so I don't have to worry about what I'm shooting or what's likely to run. It's wide open, and there's not a singular image required to encapsulate every event. It doesn't hurt to look for one, but I get at least 24 frames posted with every gallery. It's a form of visual storytelling and there aren't a whole lot of mediums willing to dedicate that kind of space anymore.

Last Sunday, I shot a church picnic at St. Mary's in Lanesville.

So what? People eat and play bingo. What's so great about that?

It's too easy to overlook all the little moments in between, that's what I'm after. How does the food get to the table? Who does the cooking? What are people doing to stay cool? The chicken was cooked on-site, where are the fryers?

There's a lot more to every moment than people generally pay attention to, so that's where I come in. I document the glances in between, or the little boy eying his mother's chocolate cake.

Even though I get plenty of pictures posted every time I shoot for Bryan, there are still a few frames I like that don't make the cut. Part of it's because of space and I think the rest is a taste issue, but I plan on putting a few frames up with each assignment that don't make it online or in print. I'll also give a little critique with each photo.

So, here goes, round one. Click for larger previews.

This man was the emcee for a game of bingo, but players used kernels of corn to mark their boards instead of traditional bingo ink markers. This photo probably doesn't make what he's up to very obvious, even in a multi-photo gallery, but I still like the portrait.

These men were breading the chicken before taking it over to the fryers. The excruciating heat coupled with several fryers running made the work difficult, but they kept going until everyone who was interested had eaten. I can see how this one missed the cut because of the thin, white columns on either side are a little distracting. It's still a nice moment, though.

I love the scale of this one, showing how small the boy is in comparison to the people on either side of him, and his legs off the ground. I'm not offended this one didn't make the cut, but I really like it.

It seemed those who won the cake giveaways had to get through a council to receive their prize. Absolutely no exchanges, either. I never knew free cake was such a serious undertaking.

There were a few more I liked, but I don't want these posts to get too long. Maybe limiting each entry to four that didn't make the cut is a good guideline. Let's stick with that, shall we?

Either way, that's all for now. I have a short feature to finish for one newspaper right now, and another story to report on and write by 10 p.m. tonight. I better get cracking.

Inagurals

This isn't the first time I've ever posted something on the Internet. I used to vent about personal problems or reflect other happenings on another site. Years of writing about angst-ridden and not-so-angst-ridden situations were probably good for me, but I'd like to think much of my angst is resolved.

Now, I want to write with a different sort of purpose. Typically, I save my fingers and limit my typing to messages on Facebook, e-mails, and from time to time, a news story. The captions for my photos are quite minimalist, and I need to keep my skills sharp. Not only do I want to keep from getting rusty, but I'd like to chronicle my work and how I feel about it.

Tonight, I thought about some of my time as an editor for The Horizon, my student newspaper at IU Southeast. I went back through some of my old columns, especially the last few I wrote about my frustrations with Student Government. They were really my proudest, and it made me think a little about how much I loved writing them. Columns were a challenge, and it felt good to take them on.

Well, in retrospect, anyway.

Coming up with column ideas was rough sometimes. I often worried I'd write about nothing, or at least nothing of any importance. I always charged myself to write something dealing with some sort of effect on students. I pined over word choice. I dug through stylebooks, dictionaries and thesauri to make sure I was correct, concise and insightful.

Of course, most of this happened on Friday nights when the other editors and I would work on page design, and my columns really should have been completed the night before. That was compounded by the fact I had to design the front and the jump, so I usually had twice the workload of everyone else. Then there was the proofing of each page on less-than-tabloid-sized paper. Headaches were pretty common between that and staring at computer screens for hours.

Even if the process was laborious and often thankless, the product was more than worth it. One of my last columns addressed Student Government going into executive session when they should have left the doors open to students and everyone else. The two members I mentioned, who had always worked to keep SGA from going into unnecessary closed meetings, approached me afterward and said they agreed with me. They said they regretted contributing to the unanimous vote to boot non-members from the room. The minutes from that closed meeting were promptly posted outside their office. Most likely, there weren't a lot of students who stopped to read them, but something I wrote still caused someone with some kind of authority to make a positive change. That always felt good.

Writing doesn't feel primary anymore. It barely feels secondary, for that matter. Most of my work happens while I'm looking through a viewfinder and composing an image, waiting for the right moment to push the button. Making good, candid photography happen requires empathy and patience. Maybe I can reveal a bit about that experience here. I can not only release some about my work, but also keep my writing skills honed.

But what's the point of talking about visual storytelling without doing a bit of it here? Keep checking back for favorite images, pictures that didn't make the cut, and other images I produce. Here's to starting something new.