Overall the shoot went well, but it was not without difficulties. A summary of my lessons learned:
1. Get a remote shutter release for every body you'll use on a tripod. Man, it was great to be able to quickly jam down the release during the pyrotechnic special effect without worrying about camera shake. I still was too late three out of four times. 2. It pays to take notes during the rehearsal; I always knew when to shoot, with which lens. 3. Make do with whichever lens is on the body. Several times, I twisted off the 200 to replace it with the 100, and vice versa. Each time that I began using the original lens again, I got a l-o-n-g exposure. The reason: In twisting off the lens, I had turned the aperture ring to about f/22. Even if I could remember to glance at the aperture window of my Pentax KX or Sears KS Auto, the view was too dark to see my mistake. 4. For the behind the scenes shots of fast-moving kids, don't even try to use a rangefinder camera. Focusing (for me) is just too slow. It's embarrassing to have to tell the kids, "Hold on a second, I'm still focusing." 5. Use a ballhead or 3-way --not a 2-way panhead--if you want to switch between horizontals and verticals. I had a ballhead on my Cullmann tripod but a 2-way video head on my Bogen 3001, where I had mounted the 200mm. I feel that the 200 was wasted because I couldn't turn it vertical to crop better and take in the actors' full body height. 6. Shooting from the audience wings does yield more-dramatic angles. But depth of field becomes an issue, because the actors are at vastly different distances. 7. Great shots can be taken before the show: The pep talk, applying makeup, touching up the costumes, actors studying lines or lounging. Ditto for backstage during intermission. 8. Great shots can be taken after the show: Actors hugging each other and being hugged by family members. 9. If you use a manual-exposure body, choose your aperture and stay there, or you'll probably forget to adjust the shutter speed. 10. Use a tall tripod and stand on a ladder to keep the audience's heads out of the picture. 11. The monopod with a fast-action pistol grip is great for moving around to get close stage shots and audience shots. My Cullmann Titan monopod has just two sections, and is extended by gravity when you release a pull-up lever. This made for quick height adjustments. 12. Wearing black does not always attract babes. At least I looked like a ninja. Paul Franklin Stregevsky Paul Franklin Stregevsky 13 Selby Court Poolesville, Maryland 20837-2410 [EMAIL PROTECTED] H (301) 349-5243 - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
