Not wanting to seem a stranger floating singly amongst this “ghost town”, I soon made contact with the Director of Voices of the South, Jerre Dye, to see if he had any specific direction for the shots that he wanted. He warmly welcomed me and then quickly led me around the vicinity of the festival, labeling each section or stage area. Offering no real direction, except for wanting pictures of actors post-performance if possible and some of the families in attendance, he soon left me to my devices, simply stating, “Now you just go do…what you do.”
I love how this photograph seems off balance, like I should have gone a little to the left. However, if you look at the fountain, you will notice that it is balanced; the McCoy entrance actually goes downhill into the theatre space. Intentional or not, I love architecture that assumes a different plane or level-when you enter it, you have entered a completely new space, a new reality, so to speak, which is perfect for a theatre; it is a different reality that one should ascend, or in this case, descend into. (How to interpret that it goes down hill, well, I will leave that up to the visitor.)
I strategically drifted around the entrance to McCoy, which also happened to be the locale of the “Super Bubble” machine as well as the fountain (it’s essentially like leaving breadcrumbs). As I wandered around the perimeter, other actors and volunteers began showing up and the festival slowly began taking shape. Two actors and a guy in stilts offered their expertise at the front entrance and became the Festival’s Welcome Wagon of sorts, dressing up in an array of costumes and acting out various roles or personas.
They also attempted to costume the guests; and they were sometimes successful.
The Festival officially began at 6:00 p.m., with performances starting at about 7:00 p.m. inside the theatre. Later, I was instructed that indoor performances would not be shot that night. Though I did not use a flash all weekend, I think their primary concern was that I would and interrupt the performance in the process. Alas, I was never able to track Jerre down to inquire further about this, so I primarily concerned myself with family portraits, children at play, and the interaction of the actors and families- essentially, the atmosphere of the event.
I completely understand how she feels.
Late afternoon lighting is superb to shoot in, particularly given that it is (supposedly) spring here in Memphis, the sunlight is much warmer, less hostile than summer or early afternoon light; it allowed me to close the aperture a bit (about 5.6 to 7.1, gaining a wider focus), and maintain a somewhat fast shutter speed (from 125 in shade/partial light to 200 in direct sun) in order to capture the action but not lose the movement and liveliness of the event,
as well as obtain great moments that would have otherwise been lost,
Scavenging the Theatre's flower beds for mom. Awww.
and it allowed me to capture what is possibly my favorite picture of the entire event.
The chase itself follows the curvature of the path; and while the image is mostly in focus, their motion slightly suspended (you can see that her foot is slightly blurred, as well as her hair), you do not lose the movement and momentum of the action. Lucky to be there at the right time.
The two main performances of the evening were Pandora’s Box, plays from the Voices of the South actors, and Watoto de Afrika (Swahili for children of Africa), a group of dancers/ performers/ singers/ musicians comprised of children and young adults.
Though I did not photograph Pandora’s Box, as previously explained, I did manage to get some shots of Watoto de Afrika for the festival after party celebration. (It was also indoors, but on the back stage of the theatre.) The staging was less formal, dressed in black drapery, with black concrete floors, black walls and ceiling, with simple track lighting directly overhead; it was the perfect backdrop to emphasizing the vibrant hues and intricate patterns of the African dress.
Families and friends of the performers were taking pictures and videotaping, so I was able to participate as well. I still did not use a flash, as I wanted to gain mastery in light compensation and bolstering other tricks of the camera. (It was also essential to me that I did not interfere with the performance or the audience’s connection to it.) The dancing was incredibly physical and the emotional intensity with which they performed was unbelievably moving.
The sound of the drumbeats created by an enormously talented host of young men further engrossed the audience in the performance, echoing and fostering the dancers’ fervor.
The director of the Watoto de Afrika, Donald O’Connor, followed up the performances with a brief history and other information about the program.
(For more information, you should check out their website at http://www.watotomemphis.com/)
The evening was then concluded with great thanks for those in attendance and much anticipation for the following day’s festivities. The introduction to the festival was over, but the biggest part was yet to come.
As for me, I was in a feverish rush to get home and look over my work, so I knew what I needed to photograph for the next day or what I needed to improve upon. But not before visiting Ms. Joe at our version of St. Elmo’s Fire and having a pint of yellow beer to settle into the night and reflect on the first time I had ever professionally volunteered to shoot an event---it was exhilarating.
“To be continued…”
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