Although the need for a ‘Roadie’ for my daughter is hardly necessary now she is no longer playing Baritone Sax, I still enjoy the excuse of her Concerts to meet up and keep my hand in (read shutter finger!) covering her concerts — I enjoy the music, the company, and it gives me the chance to keep in touch with her and the children, on a reasonably frequent basis.
I travelled over to her house with my camera and lenses, and on this occasion we went to the venue in her car, as my longer wheelbase might have proven a tad tighter when taking the spiral in the Car Park she intended using, so on this occasion it was I who was the passenger. We made our way through the shoppers and arrived moderately early and though we arrived at the familiar church, both of us found that with the layout being reversed relative to the last time we visited it was unsettling. However, the shock over, it seemed a far better orientation. Another bonus was our visit was in daylight, and the sun was shining brightly, and the church was surprisingly warm too!
On the last occasion, not only was it dark, but I found it necessary to use a monopod for stability, on this occasion, I was able to use even my long lens handheld, and without resorting to high ISOs and the attendant noise. Nevertheless, I spent the freedom of movement that the rehearsal offered to capture as much of the informality to record the life of the Band’s natural interaction, and record some of the Band’s members who are normally less featured through being hidden behind the front rows, such as the percussion section, and the lone guitarist.
This church offers no high viewpoint, which could offer the chance of capturing some of the less visible musicians, but rehearsal gives me the freedom to make amends, and since my shoes were clean and dry, I took the opportunity to gain some height by standing on a chair every so often. The Mayor arrived early and immediately busied himself shifting chairs into an ordered layout that put the front rows a tad further back, which meant the Band had space and the audience’s ears stood a chance of a reduced volume of sound to improve their appreciation of the music. The opportunity of projecting a hardworking Mayor offering a helping hand was too good a chance to miss!
The beauty of taking photos at the rehearsal is in the capture of some of the lighter moments, as well as the chance of differing viewpoints, and although I am sometimes close to the action I am careful to keep a respectful distance and tread carefully, and silently. However it does mean that outer garments and various bags do make their presence apparent, and often the less formal dress does mean the images tend to be less useful from a Publicity standpoint, but they do provide a record of the fun and enjoyment of the participants. On a previous occasion, I separated the Rehearsal and Concert images, but on this occasion, I have provided one complete entity, and I hope this gives the true flavour of the event. One last point; Carl Quaif and Marie Biswell, who compèred and signed from the distant platform are seen in the gallery far better than could be seen by the audience, by my using a long lens to drag them closer. I hope this means that the blog audience can put a face to each of these two distant figures and a disembodied voice.
