Orange Faced Puppet
I managed to catch up with Ginger Blush at her one woman show, Nell Gwynn's History Laid Bare in Croyden. I had not been to Croyden before so as normal I made travel plans that meant I was there a full 30 minutes early. Better to be early than late though.
The very helpful Google Maps showed me where the Spread Eagle pub was in relation to the nearest fast food outlet. There are times I have found I will be concentrating on the event, camera settings and meeting performers that I forget to eat until after. Sometimes this means eating very late when I get home. So this time I eviscerated two cheese burgers before walking to the pub.
Arriving at the location I introduced myself to the promoter and was taken upstairs to meet Miss Blush, who was in a semi state of undress! A quick zip later and we were in the theatre area discussing where I could stand. As a rule I always scout an area out by using Google Images before attending. In this case I had Googled 'Spread Eagle pub interior theatre images' and saw that there would be rows of seats with a central isle.
Whenever possible I do like to talk to the performers about the show and ask if there is anything in particular that they want me to capture. I also like to take back stage shots of them getting ready. The shot to the right was taken close to start of the show.
During the performance I choose to stand next to the Audio/Visual area which would mean I would be behind the audience. I am Lensintheface by name not in nature! I try to be face on if I can as the performer is generally centre stage most of the time projecting forwards so I would get some great facial and action shots. OK I would get the odd audience head or two in the way but that's live theatre for you and I feel does add to the photos.
The lighting was dark to medium brightness but Miss Blush did tend to stick to the centre of the stage where the light was more favourable. I was using my Canon 70d with the Canon 24-105 f4 L lens a combination that is working perfectly.
This particular performance, was funny and informative. I found myself at times watching, and listening to the narrative quite a lot. This did not detract from the amount of good photos I managed to capture though. It is good to watch and listen to the performance as you can anticipate the performers next move and capture shots you would otherwise miss.
One such shot was of the orange faced puppet mentioned above. At this stage, the history lesson had moved on to where Nell Gwynn became a mistress of Charles II. I think this is one of the most surreal photos I have taken on a stage. This could be the stuff of nightmares for some but for me the sight of a Charles II puppet with an orange tennis ball for a face singing along to the sound of Donna Summers 'I feel love' had me in stitches.
