Christmas Recital

I was in Annaduff Church last night for a special Christmas performance from Suaimhneas Choral Singers and the Riverside childrens choir. The brief was to take some informal shots of the rehearsal for promotional material, but I stayed for the recital. The groups and soloists were excellent, and a credit to conducter Derek Mahady who founded them only four years ago. The members are all from Leitrim, Roscommon and Longford, and it was good to see a full house.

Yet again, I was in a very low-light situation with little scope for using a tripod, made even trickier by the red stage spotlights and the flare spots catching the lens. It's becoming a trend - iso1600, handheld at 1/30th or less and lens wide open at 2.8. The 'proper' shots have gone to the local papers, but here are a few more I liked.



What goes on behind the scenes is often as interesting as on-stage...

I know what I was trying to get here, but it didn't quite come off. Sometimes one shot can be perfect; more often, like this, even three or four attempts don't cut the mustard.

This is Patrice and Marie-Louises' response to being asked to look moody, serious and arty -I think they got it spot on.

This was a grab shot turning round from the performers - despite all the flare, I really like the contrast between the concentration on the women's faces and the expression on the girl's. Can't decide whether I prefer the colour or black & white version. All opinions welcome.