Snow White (Ballet Philippines - CCP Dance School)

[Manny Illana]

just wanted to share my other photography interest...
it was one of my main reasons why i purchased an SLR in the first place...
to be able to take good photos of my daughter's performances

finally, after several years of waiting, am now able to take photos in CCP main theatre through the auspices of the dance school's school director









photographing these scenes to me is a real challenge. it is only now that i am able to capture the colors as vividly and as natural as the real thing.

[Manny Illana]

i always used b&w as my medium of choice for dance
however, i wanted to do justice to the costume designers' color vibrance.

here are some takes in b&w






my daughter's the one sitting on the far right...

[Manny Illana]

color is the way to go....

[Manny Illana]

hoped you like the show...
all photos taken using d200 + 80-200/f2.8
except top photo using 28-70/f2.8
all handheld, f/2.8, manual exposure +2 ev

[Bobby Kintanar]

My goodness, Manny, these are all superb captures! Hmmm, I think You deserve at least a Karma Point for these! :-)

[Manny Illana]

maraming salamat bobby!

[tina mallari]

These are [glow=yellow,2,300]FANTASTIC[/glow] photos Manny.

I've always wanted to learn how to take photos like that at night too. Your photos are awe inspiring !!!!

I think for performances like these, color is definitely the way to go - that's just me of course

[Lydia Robledo]

WOW, Manny. You will help promote the performing arts a lot with these photos. Pang magazine. Very few people take time to document the performances. You're a rare species.

I always bring my camera to CCP-Philam- Santiago Hall. (Taong concert ako being married to a promoter of Filipino Classical Artists-free cd's and concert tickets) I 'm so frustrated with my Panasonic Lumix, the blurring is too much and with a moving subject, haay so difficult. so I just use it for video. I have an 80-200mm lens but the problem is the 20D is too noisy to use inside the theater. telyds

[Martin Alvendia]

HUWOW!!!!! Excellent graceful shots! I especially like the one with Snow White leaping.

Maybe you can submit that in our Flying Shot Contest! LOL

Good Job Manny!

[Romy Ocon]

Excellent work, Manny! Masterful timing and use of available light!

Romy

[Manny Illana]

thanks guys! coming from all of you, it's a very big compliment and a moral booster.
(telyds, the D200 is much much noisier than your 20D by my standards. you may just need to fix the iso probably @ 640 like me. just find out where the noise starts and use that as the base. i'd be more than willing to help you get started on this one.)

i love the performing arts... in fact, i spent my entire 4 years of high school inside the theatre.
from fixing up the lights/sounds and the tech room, creating backdrops and props, later on being on stage myself.
it's a real big bonus that my daughter took up ballet ever since she was 4 and now turning 14. whoa, didn't realize. that's a decade of dance already!

and i guess it all stemmed from love of the arts....
thanks again guys.... appreciate it mucho! ;D

[Manny Illana]

was reading an essay on the nikon d3 @ luminous landscape and i really like the parting words of the author.... it somehow summed up what i had wanted to say above...

and i quote
"After all a passion for the things we photograph is far more important than the thing we use to photograph. "

[Nilo Arribas Jr.]

meillana said:

hoped you like the show...
all photos taken using d200 + 80-200/f2.8
except top photo using 28-70/f2.8
all handheld, f/2.8, manual exposure +2 ev

Those are excellent shots!

You din't use flash in all photos? Is it by choice or its not allowed in the theater?

Thanks