Breathtaking Restored Ohio Theater (Ultra Wide, Telephoto and in between)

[fensterbme]

I started a group of local photographers who use Flickr in the Central Ohio area almost two years ago called Flickr Meet - Columbus (http://www.flickr.com/groups/columbus-meetup/). At first there were just a handful of people, but it's grown over time and now we have 280 members of the Flickr group, with about 60 or so active members.

Anyways, this last Saturday we were offered a tour of the restored Ohio Theater for two hours allowing us to photograph to our hearts content. Here are a handful of some of the images I captured from the event, the rest are available on my Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fensterbme/).

Floor to Ceiling, Ultra Wide Angle:
Original, Larger Vesion on Flickr Here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fensterbme/1428148471/) , built by Lowe's in the 1920's as a movie house it was fully restored and is now home to many performances including the Columbus Symphony.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1095/1428148471_5fd3bc505c.jpg

Ceiling and chandelier, Telephoto:
Original, Larger Vesion on Flickr Here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fensterbme/1430199871/) , the chandelier weighs 2.5 tons and is hand cranked up and down for maintenance.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1150/1430199871_5b2cb480e8.jpg

Red Repeated:
Original, Larger Vesion on Flickr here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fensterbme/1431075622/), a long exposure at small aperture.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1119/1431075622_a9a7d28bc5.jpg

Introspective Beauty:
Original, Larger Vesion on Flickr here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/fensterbme/1431076416/), a flash with a shutter dragged.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1317/1431076416_f30289a5a3.jpg

[rogernoel]

Very nicely done. I like the landscape shot of the overview of the theater which is on your Flckr account. This is really gorgeous. The portrait shot on this website is lacking as it just doesn't give the magnitude of the horizontal landscape view. Sounds like you have a nice group. Good luck.

[canadianbacon52]

Nice pictures, I like the look in #3, don't know how to describe it. I need to try doing some long exposures like that. #1 also looks fantastic, the lighting and exposure is perfect.

[jdizzle]

That first one is amazing.

[fensterbme]

Very nicely done. I like the landscape shot of the overview of the theater which is on your Flckr account. This is really gorgeous. The portrait shot on this website is lacking as it just doesn't give the magnitude of the horizontal landscape view. Sounds like you have a nice group. Good luck.

Thanks, I liked the landscapes as well of the front and back of the theater. The problem is really that I want the height of it in portrait perspective and the width in landscape... I there just isn't really a lens to capture the entire space of this beautiful place in a single frame.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1171/1431079090_ff17eeed4f.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1145/1428140665_f2feb89b46.jpg

Yeah the group is really great, it's fun to actually interact with lots of other photographers that you see post their work on Flickr online. A number of them have gotten noticably better because of it, which has been cool to watch and assist.

Thanks again for taking the time to look and comment.

Nice pictures, I like the look in #3, don't know how to describe it. I need to try doing some long exposures like that. #1 also looks fantastic, the lighting and exposure is perfect.

Thanks... The thing I liked about the red seats was the way the house lights in the top of the ceiling were hitting the back edges of the seats, it really helped give a more defined form to the repeating pattern. I wanted a nice wide depth of field and rich color tons so I had to go for the long exposure. I believe this was exposed for 13 seconds at f/9 with ISO 200.

[folville]

These are really great. The rich colors and soft, warm lighting really make them sing. I hope the theater can use these (with your permission and maybe a bit of change in your pocket) to promote their events!

[Curtis N]

What a beautiful place. They don't build them like that anymore, and it's great some people care enough to generate the resources to restore them.

The Coronodo Theatre in Rockford, Illinois was in such bad shape that some big names refused to perform there. After a massive restoration project from millions of dollars in donated money, it's been brought back to its original glory and is the pride of the city. My pictures are in this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=142625), if you're interested.

[jdizzle]

The wider perspectives are much nicer! =)

[Tee Why]

Impressive looking place and nice shots.

[david888lee]

i really love the first one, the colors really pop! how did you do that?

[fensterbme]

These are really great. The rich colors and soft, warm lighting really make them sing. I hope the theater can use these (with your permission and maybe a bit of change in your pocket) to promote their events!

Actually the theaters marketing department is interested in some of them, I do hope they use them as I think they look pretty decent. I also hope I get a few bucks in my pocket to help offset the cost my gear, etc.

What a beautiful place. They don't build them like that anymore, and it's great some people care enough to generate the resources to restore them.

The Coronodo Theatre in Rockford, Illinois was in such bad shape that some big names refused to perform there. After a massive restoration project from millions of dollars in donated money, it's been brought back to its original glory and is the pride of the city. My pictures are in this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=142625), if you're interested.
Your right they don't make them like they used to... They spent $800,000 in 1920 dollars to decorate the place. No modern theater company would do something crazy like that... Luckily I think across America people are learning that there is a business model that supports restoring these theaters.

Your photos of the Rockford theater are great, I used to live in the NW burbs of Chicago and would have come out there if I knew that theater looked so good. Great photos...

i really love the first one, the colors really pop! how did you do that?

The exposure was manual and on Flickr you can see the EXIF data to see the exposure detail. As for the colors it looked pretty close to that out of the camera after I set the White Balance (I shoot everything in RAW). I did add a bit of contrast and levels adjustment in Adobe Lightroom with some basic sharpening but... the originally didn't look a ton different.

[folville]

Actually the theaters marketing department is interested in some of them, I do hope they use them as I think they look pretty decent. I also hope I get a few bucks in my pocket to help offset the cost my gear, etc.

Aha, the photographer's dream, glad to hear it! :cool:

[fensterbme]

Aha, the photographer's dream, glad to hear it! :cool:

Yeah I've actually become fortunate enough to make enough money with my photography to pay for my gear and still keep some cash in my pocket.

I try to turn my hobbies into things I can make some money on and help justify the equipment (I've also done this with playing music, toured with a band for a short while). Creative hobbies create a nice diversion from my corperate day job.

...now if I can just find a way to make money with my sporty little car, I don't see that happening at all, ha!