A Trip to Harrisonville
This past Saturday, I went with the show choirs to the Harrisonville Invitational. I also used this event for my one-day picture story. It pretty much was one 23 hour day for me. I woke up at 4:30 am on Saturday and went to bed around 3 am on Sunday… and I wasn’t performing in a competition. This was my first time using the D700 exclusively for an extended assignment. I noticed that there’s something different about my photos this time, but I’ll get to that later.
There first five photos are the ones I submitted for picture story, in this order. More photos after the break.
Rachel Craig, left, and Kelsie Henry, center, apply make-up on the bus to the Harrisonville Invitational. Both are members of Rock Bridge’s all-girls show choir, Satin ‘n Lace. Since the group was performing early in the morning, the girls were expected to already have their hair done before boarding the bus and apply make-up on the way there.
Kahley Amiot waits as her mother applies hairspray before Satin ‘n Lace’s first performance at the Harrisonville Invitational. The choir eventually placed third overall, up from fifth place last year. They also won awards for best costumes and best closing number.
Members of City Lights, the coed show choir at Rock Bridge, performs Styx’s “Renegade” at the Harrisonville Invitational. The choir placed second overall, and won awards for best opening, best ballad, best vocals, best choreography, and best show design.
Jordan Rippeto, Caroline Sovich, Shelby Ringdahl, Molly Totten, and Brian Dresner (l-r) react after City Lights won an award for best direction under Mike Pierson.
Joel Johnstone rests before City Lights’ performance at the Harrisonville Invitational. The choirs left Columbia at 6:30 am and returned at 2 am the next day.
As I mentioned previously, I feel that my photos were different this time. I feel that my photos were much brighter, in terms of the light and the colors. I think I may have shot at a lower shutter speed than I should have. I need to stop being afraid of higher shutter speeds. I was also shooting ay higher ISOs than I’ve used on a D300, so I might have been scared that I would get too grainy a photo. But the D700 has excellent high ISO handling. Perhaps I need a little more faith in the equipment, even when it isn’t mine. In the different department, I thought the depth of field was very shallow this time. I think it made some photos almost dream-like.
Many thanks to Ivy Ashe and Rita Reed for helping me edit the series. I mentioned to Rita that I seemed to be a very horizontal shooter. Maybe I don’t see the world vertically. She replied that in the olden days, verticals were very useful for newspaper layouts. Yet with the internet, she said it wasn’t such a big deal. I’ve grown up in a horizontal world. Seeing horizontal computer screens, a horizontal view in the camera’s viewfinder. My car’s windshield is horizontal. I really can’t think of anything in my life besides my bedroom window that is vertical. I wonder if other photographers have noticed this change. I also took a much more “behind the scenes” approach to this assignment, hence fewer performance photos. Anyways, some more sights from the day.
Annie Barksdale checks on her curlers.
Kelsie Henry applies make-up on the bus to Harrisonville, MO.
Satin 'n Lace warms up for their performance at the Harrisonville Invitational.
A Satin n' Lace member lays out her costumes for a quick change.
Bobby pins to the rescue!
Judge Phillip Hoover-Holthus talks with City Lights after their performance. They were the last group to perform. Hoover-Holthus praised their "good audeince connection" and noted that it was the "first time today I've heard some men singing, instead of boys."
