A Shot in the Dark

Mike said there were few people taking professional theatre photographs and it was nice to have the chance to talk about it!

“A Shot in the Dark” came in two Acts.

In Act One, “The Accidental Photographer”, Mike covered his entry into theatre photography and subsequent developments.

From way back in the 1970s, Mike was very keenly involved in amateur dramatics.  And photography was his “hobby number two”.  In 1982, while working in a photography shop, he was contacted by the Wolsey Theatre and asked to photograph the understudies being used in a massive production of “Jesus Christ Superstar”.  A year later he got a job in the Marketing Department of the Wolsey Theatre (he later became Head of the Marketing Department) and he was then asked to take photos too.

His first show was a Sherlock Holmes thriller called “The Crucifer of Blood”.  It seemed to be set “entirely” at 2.00 am and all the lighting was “really dark”.  It was therefore impossible to photograph and he had to do a photocall afterwards to get his shots.

Theatre shoots were usually done at the dress rehearsal with photocalls afterwards only if necessary.  The theatre provided no facilities for photography and of course photography then was done on film.  Mike had to work in his darkroom in the small hours to get everything processed and printed for display the next morning to “sell the show”.

Mike talked us though repertory theatre (when a company of actors was retained to all the productions – usually twelve shows a year).  He also told us how London theatres would use the Wolsey for “try outs” before going on national or international tours.

Unfortunately, following a change of artistic leadership, the fortunes of the Wolsey Theatre declined and it closed through bankruptcy in 1998.

When the Wolsey Theatre reopened in 2000, digital photography was also arriving.  As a dedicated Canon man, Mike got himself a Canon D30 (with 3 megapixels!) and was pleased to have autofocus, higher ISOs, a screen on the back of the camera to see his shots, and colour now a realistic option.  Originally, he shot jpegs but adopted RAW as soon as he realised the advantages.

Mike explained his “Strategy” for taking the best possible pictures in the photographically challenging environment of a theatre.

• Know your camera, and always be ready to use it.
• Learn to anticipate punctuation and moves.
• Avoid surprises.
• Emotion is everything – catch it.
• Know your space and move around where possible
• Vary focal lengths.
• Be patient.

Mike also talked a bit about his kit.  He uses two Canon EOS 5D Mark III cameras with two zoom lenses (24-70mm F2.8 and 70-200mm F2.8) and two prime lenses (24mm F1.4 and 50mm F1.4) which are mostly used when the light is too dim for the zooms.  He does not use a tripod as they are a bit of a liability in the dark.

In Act Two of his talk, “The Accidental Fellow”, Mike related his experiences earning his ARPS and FRPS distinctions.

During Covid he had been watching RPS Saturday lectures online.  He was so impressed with one – Alex Nail’s Mountain and Nature Photography – that he wrote to the RPS to say so.  The RPS responded by asking him to do a Saturday lecture.

So he did one.  And afterwards, RPS folk started asking “why have you not applied for a Fellowship?”

Mike had not enjoyed his ARPS Assessment when one of the judges, with no idea what was involved in theatre photography, seemed to think that Mike should have moved and posed the actors to improve his images.  Consequently, he was initially failed and only later in the day was he eventually passed and given his distinction!

Anyway, he did his Fellowship – successfully – in November 2021.

Mike also told us about his photographic technique.

Lights in the theatre have been tungsten for many years and you can set up the camera White Balance for this, although it is also easy to correct the colours in post-processing using the Temperature slider.  He always shoots RAW to capture the maximum data but keeps post-processing work to the minimum necessary, mainly just removing distractions.

He mostly shoots at ISO 3200, occasionally ISO 6400, and when necessary denoises and sharpens with Topaz.  The lenses are usually “wide open” and he aims for a shutter speed of 1/125s.

For the future, theatre photography is becoming much more difficult.  Tungsten lights are no longer manufactured and theatres are now using LED lights.  Many of these lamps operate outside the sRGB colour space.  Consequently, cameras cannot record the light properly leading to some bizarre results.

As Mike had promised us, this was a celebration of forty years of theatre in Ipswich with a bit of theatre history, an illustration of the challenges of this type of photography, some anecdotes, and a horror story or two.  As Mike’s fascinating and hugely enjoyable presentation also included plenty of his marvellous images, this was a delightful evening’s entertainment.

More of Mike’s images can be found at https://blog.mikekwasniak.co.uk/