Focus

Backstage there is a whirling tornado of exhaustion, outrageous energy, and frayed nerves.  Some of them look as though they are about to come apart at the seams, some of them look as though they are about to throw up.  For many of them it is the first time and they will step out on to the boards and the light will hit them and three-hundred pairs of eyes will watch.  There are always the questions, do I know it well enough? will I hit that high G? can I time my jump just right? But in the middle of it all these two find the calm, gentle centre of themselves and they know.  They know that they are ready, they know can sing like angels and dance like demons, they know because they see it there in the other’s eyes.

I direct theatre at the school where I teach and last year as we were about to go on stage for the opening night of our big musical I caught sight of these two backstage.  They are sisters and they were quietly speaking to each other, foreheads touching, a look of intense focus and concentration on each of their eyes.  I knew I wanted the image to include both of them so I snapped off a shot over the should of one and into the eyes of the other.  I knew one image wouldn’t tell the whole story though so I slid around to the other side and took a similar image of the other sister.  Both of the girls have very striking blonde hair so I knew that I wanted a high key image so I gave it that kind of treatment in Nik Silver Efex Pro and then toned down the effect in hair of the girl on the right so that I could get back the detail.  The images work well together, producing a mirror image study of concentration and focus.

-Russell Berg

For more portraits of young actors check here, here, and here.​

Peering In

I have to admit I was playing with shallow depth of field because I had just bought a fast 50mm lens.  I was looking for only the thinnest slices of focus and playing with that technique often at the expense of the image.  I believe, however, that when you get a new piece of equipment or learn a new technique that it is important to play with it in a kind of obsessive way as long as you can eventually pull back and find the best ways to use that technique or equipment.  I suspect that this image would have been stronger if I had allowed the beam and the bold in the foreground to remain in focus.  I do, however, really like the way your eye gets drawn into the frame.  There is a strong sense of depth and I find my mind wandering down that steel shaft into the frame to see what is hidden down there.  I like the indistinct, unknown nature of the photograph, we want to know, we want to see what’s there but we can’t.  It’s that tension that keeps us looking.

For a different look at this kind of farm equipment check here and here.​

-Russell Berg

Bloom

Hosta's in bloom. Canon EOS XSi EF 50mm f/1.4 at f/1.4 1/750 ISO 800

The sunlight hits the green and filters down to that secret place at the base of the plant.  In that place where the smell of the good earth is rich and dark the light has a character and quality that whispers of life and growth.  It is a special place.

Getting a 50mm lens with a short depth of field can instantly transform your photography.  It will set you apart from the point and shoot crowd right away.  This is the first photo that I took with my 50mm f/1.4.  The short depth of field turns the background into a beautiful blur that focuses the eye where the photographer chooses.  The colours here are more subtle but the light splashes of purple make a wonderful counterpoint to deep rich green.

-Russell Berg