Ballet Photography (Romeo and Juliet)

I was able to put my Nikon D3 to the test Wednesday night and was once again blown away by the results as I photographed North Carolina Dance Theatre's Romeo and Juliet. The ballet is a feast for the eyes with incredible dance performances combined with beautiful costumes. I've been photographing dance for more than a decade and this camera offers features that allow me to take photos that weren't possible before.
This performance of Romeo and Juliet is a world premiere and NCDT president and artistic director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux has put together a talented team for the production. Included are set designer Howard Jones, lighting designer and director of operations Nate McGaha and costume designer A. Christina (Stia) Giannini, whose work was a joy to photograph.

A 360-degree kiss (high degree of difficulty)

Beautiful costumes by Stia Giannini

Randolph Ward soars

Waiting to go on

Anna Gerberich, front, and Seia Rassenti

David Ingram and Traci Gilchrest in the lead roles

Traci Gilchrest

Jhe Russell, left, and Randolph Ward

David Ingram

Nikon D3 Test (NCDT Ballet Photos)

Photographing the North Carolina Dance Theatre's (NCDT) dress rehearsal for "Rhoden, Bolero and Balanchine" was the perfect opportunity to test out my new Nikon D3 camera.
I've been photographing ballet for more than decade and I've transitioned from film to a variety of digital cameras. Ballet presents many technical challenges as you endeavor to photograph movement in typically low, ever-changing light.
I was excited to test the capabilities of the D3 after hearing great things about the camera's performance at high ISOs.
(For the non-photographers, a camera's ISO function sets the light sensitivity of the camera's image sensor - similar to the speed rating of film. Typically, the higher the ISO the greater the amount of noise or grain in the image).
I have to say that among the many great things about this camera, the ability to increase the ISO up to 6400 while maintaining image quality is nothing short of remarkable.
I've heard others make this comment as well, but this camera allows me to make photographs that weren't possible before.
Keep in mind that I'm not being paid by Nikon (although I would be open to such an arrangement), but I am a long-time Nikon user.
The D3 also has a blazing 9-frames-per second motor drive (when shooting with non-DX lenes) and the full-frame sensor which adds a new dimension to lens selection. (Previous digital Nikons all had a conversion factor which changed the actual focal length of the lens.)
The ability to shoot at the higher ISOs allows the use of higher shutter speeds, which enables the photographer to better freeze the moving, leaping dancers. In the past, I would have to use very slow (1/30th of a second) shutter speeds as I would have to time the shot at the moment of least movement.
Well that's enough technical talk. It's been my great pleasure to photograph these wonderful dancers over the years and I'm always amazed by their talent. Charlotte is so lucky to have such an incredible dance troupe led by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and his wife Patricia McBride.
Performances run tonight through Saturday (Feb. 1-March 1) and then Thursday through Saturday (March 6-8) next week.
You won't be disappointed in this entertaining, versatile show.
(A reminder, click on the photo for a better look and then hit the back button to return to the blog. I'm including some technical information for the photographers in the crowd. Enjoy!)

Traci Gilchrest lets her hair down
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/640 at f2.8)

Joseph Watson and Seia Rassenti
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/200th at f2.8)

Sasha Janes and Alessandra Ball
(Nikon D3 ISO 3200 1/250th at f2.8)

Alessandra Ball gives a curtain call
(Nikon D3 ISO 3200 1/4ooth f2.8)

Kara Wilkes and David Ingram
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/200th f2.8)

Anna Gerberich in the wings
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/100th f2.8)

Seia Rassenti
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/200th f2.8)

(Nikon D3 ISO 3200 1/400th at f2.8)

(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/400th f2.8)

Kara Wilkes and David Ingram
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/320th f2.8)

Sasha Janes
(Nikon D3 ISO 4000 1/400th f2.8)

Seia Rassenti and Joseph Watson
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/160th f2.8)

Sasha Janes and Anna Gerberich
(Nikon D3 ISO 2500 1/320th f2.8)

(Nikon D3 ISO 2500 1/500th f2.8)

Kara Wilkes
(Nikon D3 ISO 5000 1/500th f2.8)

(Nikon D3 ISO 2500 1/500th f2.8)

Ali in England and Nikon news

Alison is having a grand time living and working in London. (For those new to the blog, our daughter Ali loves to travel and has been back-and-forth to Europe several times.)
She and her friend Amanda took a train to Wales this past weekend to see Amanda's aunt and uncle.
Alison's next planned adventure is to spend St. Patrick's Day in Dublin...

Amanda, Amanda's aunt and Ali (L-R)

On the photography front, I'm excited about our latest purchase - the Nikon D3.
This amazing new camera offers technical advancements that will allow us to give our clients fantastic results in a wide variety of lighting situations.
For the photographers out there, the D3 yields beautiful results at ISOs up to 6400 and beyond. This feature will allow available light photography in many more situations than were previously possible.
I'm going to be testing the camera out at the North Carolina Dance Theatre's upcoming dress rehearsal so check back to see the images.