Dancing in the Air

[julsoph]

We went to the circus last week, and I took some pics there...I really loved this act, but I'm not sure what the right name for it is...the best I could think of was "cloth trapeze"...heh. The lighting was fairly difficult to work with, I have 4 or 5 that I like out of the bunch:

Emily

[Christian Simpson]

i would reccomend shooting at a higher ISO if you have digital, it will take away alot of the camera shake.

[Copy_Kot]

I think they are great pictures Emily. I prefer the color pictures much more than the B&W, when I think of the circus, I imagine lots of different colors

[KyRain]

These are very pleasing to me; I love the element of movement and dance they render
as well as the soft colors and lighting. I like the b/w equally as well as the color. If I could associate it to a literary genre it looks "poetic" to me, if that makes sense?

[julsoph]

Christian, Copy Kot & Kyrain...thanks so much for the feedback & thoughts on these. I've been back and forth on the color v. b&w issue with these ones. On the one hand, I totally agree that people associate a lot of color with a circus...and I actually wish there was a little more in that respect. But the ones I converted to b&w, I liked for the shape that the woman was making...somehow, the color didn't work as well with those.

Thanks again!
Emily

[CLKunst]

Interesting pics Emily! Was this the Big Apple circus? The family and I are headed out there tomorrow afternoon for a show. Looks like fun! I would definitely recommend the higher ISO for these so that you can freeze the motion easier. Lighting with spotlights can always be tricky but I am sure that is amplified when you have 3 small children to sit with as well eh?

[Alison]

Not easy shooting conditions and, although a little soft, they are all pretty cool shots. Shame you couldn't have upped you shutter.

[Ronnoco]

The absolute toughest in shooting conditions. I don't know anything about your approach or technique, but I would have considered under-exposing to get the shutterspeed and then bringing back the detail and reducing noise in PhotoShop. If allowed at the circus, I would also use a powerful flash with good distance capability.

I notice too that your camera metering seemed to have been partially fooled by the black background and over-exposed a little. That difference might have allowed you to use a faster shutterspeed.

Despite the monumental exposure difficulties, you did a great job with both framing and the difficult lighting.

Ronnoco

[Chrislowshow]

I really like that last one, though color would have brought it out more. yes ISO being higher would have helped alot. keep it up and nice shooting

[julsoph]

Thanks all for the feedback on these!

Cindy, this was actually the Cole Barnes Circus, out in Ashburn. It's a bit smaller than the Big Apple or Ringling Bros...but my girls really liked it, all the same. And yes, it's definitely tough to shoot with 3 kiddos in tow...particularly with one in the sling on my chest...lol!
Have fun tomorrow! We might go next week to that one...we'll see though.

Thanks Alison...the shots in the air were actually much harder than on the "ground level"...

Ronnoco, thanks so much...I don't believe there were (or are) any restrictions on flash photography at this particular circus...I'm not sure about others. I imagine if it's an act with animals, that could be spooked, it might not be allowed. I need to look into that.
Good point about the background!

Chrislowshow...thanks for your comments...I'll have to post the color version of the bottom two. It seems that's the preference of many!

Emily

[yogestee]

Hi Emily,,,,,I reckon you did ok with these images...Very difficult to get good results in these conditions....Substandard lighting and moving subject all beyond your control..Looking at them they appear to be over exposed by about 1 stop...Your camera meter has been fooled by the dark background...
What I would have done is taken an exposure reading of the background and under exposed that reading by 1 to 1 1/2 stops...Try increasing the ISO setting on your camera to allow for a higher shutter speed to arrest any subject movement...Don't be too concerned about any noise which can be reduced via post processing or just leave at it is to add to the mood...Flash photography is a no-no in these situations for 2 reasons....It is dangerous for the performers and it kills the ambience..

Jurgen

[julsoph]

Hi Emily,,,,,I reckon you did ok with these images...Very difficult to get good results in these conditions....Substandard lighting and moving subject all beyond your control..Looking at them they appear to be over exposed by about 1 stop...Your camera meter has been fooled by the dark background...
What I would have done is taken an exposure reading of the background and under exposed that reading by 1 to 1 1/2 stops...Try increasing the ISO setting on your camera to allow for a higher shutter speed to arrest any subject movement...Don't be too concerned about any noise which can be reduced via post processing or just leave at it is to add to the mood...Flash photography is a no-no in these situations for 2 reasons....It is dangerous for the performers and it kills the ambience..

Jurgen

Thanks Jurgen! And thanks for all the advice here. I'm sure I'll have another chance to do this...we go to the circus whenever we can! I'll come back to this thread for info before hand though...

Emily

[schrackman]

Emily,

Shooting at a circus is indeed very, very difficult. I shot Circus Vargas when they came to Banning, and this was the best I could do in those lighting conditions. I no longer have the exif data but I know I used my 550EX flash for this particular picture. I probably had the ISO up to 800 as it was really dark in the arena. Also, while I think you did fine with your images I think they might have come out a bit sharper had you not tried to focus in so much.

By the way, I called these performers rope dancers. Like you I didn't know what else to call them!!

[julsoph]

Emily,

Shooting at a circus is indeed very, very difficult. I shot Circus Vargas when they came to Banning, and this was the best I could do in those lighting conditions. I no longer have the exif data but I know I used my 550EX flash for this particular picture. I probably had the ISO up to 800 as it was really dark in the arena. Also, while I think you did fine with your images I think they might have come out a bit sharper had you not tried to focus in so much.

By the way, I called these performers rope dancers. Like you I didn't know what else to call them!!

Thanks Shrackman! I appreciate the suggestions and info. I like your shot...I hadn't seen a circus with more than one "rope dancer"...

Emily

[SmartWombat]

If you get the chance, go and see Cirque do Soleil - awesome.

[julsoph]

If you get the chance, go and see Cirque do Soleil - awesome.

I've heard! My hubby wants very much to go see it.