A benefit of walking around with a big camera is that I get into a lot of great conversations with random strangers. Talking with strangers is always something I love. If you’re open to people, you never know who you’re going to meet, or what treasures you might learn. One such instance led to my first theater performance gig.
I was walking around Chelsea (NY) with two cameras at the time. This was before I switched to digital, so I was lugging a Nikon N80 and Nikkormat EL2. I love the EL2. It’s the camera I grew up with. The Nikon was loaded with Kodak Ektachrome 1600 (my favorite slide film which is now no longer made). The Nikkormat was loaded with Kodak T-Max 3200 (a high speed black and white film). I normally carried around 2 camera bodies with two different films.
It was on 23rd Street between 9th and 10th Ave that a woman stopped to talk to me. She was on her cell when she saw me and my cameras. She ended her conversation and asked me if I would be interested in photographing the last day of a small theater production. That’s how I ended up taking pictures of We are The Sperm Cells, a weird story of the journey of a bunch of sperm cells that find themselves on a woman’s belly…the toils and dangers as they try to make their way to the egg. Weird, I know.
And that’s how I discovered that I find photographing theater productions a true privilege. There’s this intensity and stress during the gig when you realize that if you miss a shot, it’s gone forever. There’s also interesting lighting and almost always a message, theme, or feeling that needs to be captured in the photos. It really gets my creative juices flowing.
I covered the show with Tim Kang. He was working with his first dSLR. Tim is one of the most talented photographers I have the privilege of knowing. So, if you get a chance to chat with him or better yet shoot with him, take the time to really soak in as much as you can. The only major flaw he has is that he uses Canon gear. Oh well, no one’s perfect. =)
If I recall correctly, I went through 6 rolls of film during the show. 3 camera bodies with 3 lenses. 2 tripods. I had my Nikon N80 with AF 50/1.4. Nikkormat EL2 with AIS 24/2.8. And a Nikkormat EL with Vivitar 18/3.5. Films were Kodak Ektachrome 1600, Fuji Superia 800, Kodax T-Max 3200, and Ilford Delta Pro 3200.
It was awesome to be able to cover that show…though looking back, I find it somewhat amazing that I survived using all film. But really, the gig itself wasn’t the most important thing. It was the opportunity to forge new friendships and deepen existing ones…that’s really one of the things I love most about photography. And in the end, it’s more important to me than expanding my portfolio. Because people matter more than pictures.
Note: This post was originally posted on February 17, 2010, shortly before my blog server crashed.
All photos in this post from We are The Sperm Cells
Co-produced by IPS Productions.
www.ipsnewyork.com
Play created by Daisuke Kosikawa.
Presented by DK Hollywood.
www.dkhollywood.com
Performed at Theater for The New City, NYC
www.theaterforthenewcity.net
