This was my second play performed by the students at Albuquerque Academy photographed in the past 3 months. Their rousing performance this time was of Pirates of Penzance. Not being a theatre buff, I had never heard of it so the story as it unfolded in front of my camera lenses was a surprise to me! Professional theatre photography is becoming a new niche for me as a professional photographer here in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I am really liking the challenge of it.
American Political Science Association, or APSA as they go by, had their 2020 Teaching & Learning Conference here in Albuquerque, and I was their official photographer for 13 hours of conference photography over 3 days! From a keynote presentation, to dozens of workshops, to a meet and greet, to a luncheon, there was a great variety of things happening at this conference that kept me busy as I went from ballroom to ballroom at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque.
Theatre Photography in Albuquerque at the Cell Theatre
My photography of a play at Albuquerque Academy got me noticed and lead me to getting hired to photograph a full on professional play at the Cell Theatre, and not just any play, a Tony nominated play called Gary a Sequel to Titus Andronicus (get tickets). This was a much different photography experience as there were only three characters, and only two on stage at a time, rather than a dozen or more at the first play I photographed. The lighting was also better, as in brighter, though it still required high ISO settings. I was also much closer to the action on stage so I could get full closeups of the actors. Check out the play now as it goes through February 15, 2020 at the Cell Theatre!
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in candids and speaking
I have lost track of how many times I have had the opportunity to photograph Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, which goes back to when she was a congresswoman in 2018, but every time is always fun as she is a very animated and energetic speaker. This also makes it a challenge to photograph her while speaking becausse many of the photos freeze her in a not so flattering pose. Knowing this, for the event I photographed at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, I knew I had to take more shots than I usually would of someone speaking and time my shots just right waiting for her to pause after a sentence to have the best chance at getting a good photo. The governor helped me out this time by not standing behind a podium while she was speaking allowing for some head to toe photos as well.
At Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque I photographed another event for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, this time focused on education where large checks were handed out, awards were given, and Secretary Designate of Education Ryan Stewart spoke. Photography often takes me inside events I would never normally be able to attend, and this was another example where I got to have an inside look at the state of education in New Mexico. Here is an insider tip, charter schools got mentioned, a lot.
Original student play photographed in an intimate setting
I had a very unique opportunity to photograph the rehearsal of an original student theatre performance at the Albuquerque Academy thanks to a former client who got the parents on board to have a professional photographer (me) come in to make proper, professional theatre photographs of the performances. In the audience that evening were just the director, two parents, and myself, so it was quite an intimate setting. I got caught up in the play, while being totally focused on working with the very low available light to make the best theatre photos I could. There is nothing more challenging than shooting a moving subject in low light. I had to use a very high ISO on both my Sony mirrorless cameras, but despite that I am very happy with the final image quality results. The students were as well it would seem as the photo gallery containing the 136 images I delivered had over 14,700 views in just 4 days!
Creative Event Photography in Small Spaces Albuquerque New Mexico
Day two of photographing the Coffee + Creatives 2019 Unconference here in Albuquerque, New Mexico featured Peri Pakroo speaking about contracts for creatives. If I only had heard her presentation when I was starting my photography business ten years ago it would have saved me a lot of time! As far as photographing this event, it presented unique challenges as it was a small space, just one speaker, and the background the speaker was in front of was both mostly just a screen and not far from her. I really had to look for creative angles to make a set of photos that stood out and were not repetitive. One way was to feature cabling and a brick wall in the foreground of the shot above. For other shots I used the bright sunlight coming from a hallway to create a backlight on Peri as she gave her presentation. In this way I was able to produce a creatively diverse set of event photos despite being in the same small space and there being only one speaker.
