Assignment Two: People and Activity.

Assignment Two: People and Activity.

Deal during the Summer months is a hive of activity with band concerts, two carnivals, visiting fairs and even a big top.  The Winter months are, as one might expect, a lot quieter.  The local community hall did however hold a discount fashion show for the local ladies.  I asked if I could attend and take pictures.  They readily agreed.  

So far, so simple.  One of the my fellow volunteers at the centre, however, has a medical problem whereby she is liable to have convulsions in the presence of strobe or flash lighting, which of course I was going to need for this assignment.  The room is quite large and I wanted to dominate the various light source colours by the use of flash.  To maintain harmony at the centre I was now restricted to taking pictures in places not occupied by this individual.  Not the best circumstances but here are the results.

Equipment: Olympus E3 with a 14-54 lens and Metz 58 AF-1.  Olympus E330 with a 11-22 lens and Olympus FL 50 R.

The day was run almost exclusively by the ladies of the community centre with one large exception, David, who was in charge of setting out the chairs and other furniture.  Looking a bit like a rabbit caught in headlights and doing his best not to pose.  I shot from a slightly low position to emphasise his size and height.

Olympus E330. 11-22 @ 16mm. f4. Diffused flash.

Behind the scenes.  Here the girls from the sales team unload their van.  How they got all their stock into that space I will never know.  If the weather looks cold in the shot, then think colder.  I wanted to show the work that goes on behind the scenes of these events.  

Olympus E330. 11-22 @ 11mm. f4. Diffused flash.

As with all charity events a lot depends on the enthusiasm and work put in by the volunteers.  Here is a shot of them preparing the buffet.  I Like the lines made by both their heads and their arms.  In this picture the colour temperature difference has become very obvious.  The flash has provided white light to the foreground and the low energy lights in the corridor have provided a yellowish light.

Olympus E330. 11-22 @ 12mm. f4.5.  Diffused flash.

Here Ella checks her hair and makeup in a mirror before going out into the hall.  I stood to her left and directed the flask at the wall and mirror.  This has given a pleasing highlight in her eyes and a nice gloss to her hair.

E3. 14-54 @37mm. f4. Indirect flash.

The following are of the show itself.  As I said earlier I was limited to where and when I could take pictures because of the presence of the woman threatening to have convulsions.  In all these shot I used a low angle to exaggerate the models' height.

The first of these is of one of the models showing off the lining of a jacket.  I wanted the full flared effect and achieved it.  By keeping in a number of the audience I am trying to show their participation.  

Olympus E3. 14-54 @ 20mm. f3.2. Indirect flash.

Here is the same model in a blue dress.  The use of flash has given this material gloss and texture.  This certainly was not so evident in the hall. As in the last picture I have let the model get away from the distraction of the clothes racks at the back of the room.  The room was very cluttered but I have tried to lessen the effect of the clutter.

Olympus E3 14-54 @ 33mm. f4.

I have included the next one to show what happened when I didn't lift the model out from the background.   Here she has become lost in the aforementioned clutter with a resulting loss of interest.  Far better to allow the models to come forward out of the clutter.

Olympus E3. 14-54 @ 49mm. f4. Indirect flash.

Here I have again allowed the model to come away from the background where she can command her own space.  She was painfully shy and would not look at the camera.  Shame.

Olympus E3. 14-54 @ 42mm. f3.3. Indirect flash.

The last one is of a section of the audience.  I was forced to miss the end of the show because of the my problem lady.   I did, however, take a shot of a section of the audience to represent this applause.  

Olympus E3. 14-54 @ 27mm. f4. Indirect flash.

When I planned to photograph this event I wanted to show the whole event right through from the setting up to the selling of the clothes.  This process was interrupted for the reason stated earlier.  I considered shooting without flash to alleviate the lady's problem but dismissed this when I took a reading of the available light.  The mixed colours from the available light sources would also have been a nightmare.

I had hoped for a larger selection of catwalk shots but was forced to make my selection from only nine available pictures.  

Despite the difficulties I think I have captured the spirit of this community fashion show.