Dance photos

[Osmium]

Don't think I've posted these here before...

http://members.optushome.com.au/royv/711U2164-web.jpg


http://members.optushome.com.au/royv/NTBS2283.jpg


Both with 70-200 IS. Exposed for highlights. Second one at f2.8, first probably at f4.

[Volatile]

I like the first one best. The stage lighting plus bokeh really commands your attention the dancer in front, who is in perfect position with a perfect smile. Crisp focus too. Brilliant!!!™

[PhotosGuy]

Yup, what he said!

[vfilby]

The first one is fantastic! The second one I didn't like as much at first but it grew on me alittle. It almost likes like one person doing one fluid movement across the floor shown in stages. The movements between the dancers really seem to flow into one another.

Vince

[Osmium]

Thanks for the comments.

Vince, yes, with the second one I was trying to capture the feeling of the dance. It was a new work by a young choreographer and had a lot of action across the whole stage. So I tried to capture that with a fairly wide shot (and then cropped top and bottom). This was the best of quite a few. I think it succeeds in capturing the feeling of the dance but doesn't really make it as a photograph. (if that makes sense...) I guess the ideal would be to succeed at doing both! Haven't got there yet...

[msol]

To me this showed again that photography is a different kind of art than dancing. If I would have to choose which dance to go to in the theatre, my choice would definitely be #2. If I would have to choose which photograph to hang on the wall, my choice definitely is #1. The square format perfectly frames the two dancers. Also I love the color and the brightness. Being nitpicky... the background dancers could have been a little more blurred.

[iwatkins]

Love that first shot. Deffo a wall hanger. :)

Cheers

Ian

[minatophase3]

Love that first picture! I am very impressed!

[roanjohn]

I actually like the 2nd one better.........Its more dynamic.

The 1st one is pretty..........

Ro1

[LightHunter]

Although the first picture is nice (colors and so ...) it is boring compared to the second. The second much more expresses dance. If I would have to hang one of these on a wall, I would definitely go for the second.

[stopbath]

The second image is the strongest. While the first is nice and close, it is rather static. The second image is busy and dynamic. Maybe there is a little too much going on, but it's alive.

Love the two dancers on the right side of the images, their poses are fantasic and in a magic moment. They alone could make an image, but the full image is still a bit better.

[Osmium]

Well I'm pleasantly surprised that some of you came out in favour of the second photo. I didn't expect that. It's great to have such diversity of opinion.

I had a chat with Felicity Stewart, the choreographer of the dance in the second photo. She spoke about the "Wow factor" in dance. That special something which separates the superb from the good. In her terms it could be a dancer's technical skill, a brilliant interpretation, remarkable choreography - something that makes an audience go "Wow!".

I think the same applies to a photograph. In a set of photographs on a wall, just one might catch your eye and you just have to stop and take a really good look. The "Wow factor". A good example is the wedding photography of Yervant Zanazanian ( http://www.yervant.com/main.htm ).

I like that second photo. It has captured the dance well. But it doesn't have the Wow factor. And I've stared at it a number of times thinking about what I could have done to create it. I don't believe it's the subject matter even though I could come up with a whole list of reasons why I couldn't have done better on the day. Anyhow, at least I'm struggling with the questions which is what this game is all about - but it sure is frustrating not having the answers! :roll:

As to the first photo, I take your point about the background dancers, msol. Two things that annoy me about that photo are the feet of the background girl on the left of the photo and the detached hand on the right. So maybe some Photoshop blur would help there.

Thanks again, folks.

[rick barclay]

They're both beautiful, each in its own way. They are magazine-worthy, IMO.

[Ideaspark]

The top one is excellent, the unified colour and the perfectly captured pose.

The bottom doesn't really have much going for it, while some of the individual motion freezes are nice, it lacks any sort of composition and just comes out messy.