A99-2

[sury]

Excellent captures Valery. Love the spring flowers.
You move in high circles, Valery. I noticed that
Ms. Conti and the gentleman next to her are not wearing
ballet shoes (I don't know what they are called). Same is
true with Ms. Conti in the third shot. I wonder why that is
the case.

With best regards,
Sury

[ValeryD]

The level is actually the same, only I can not publish some work here and some I can.
It's call Cases for ballet shoes, (I hope) The grills take the cases of for photo, but prima and her husband not.

(a99-2 + Minolta 80-200)

Before...



And after..

[smulnik]

Hi Valery & all,

Loving the shots!

I hope you don't mind if I add some information about the dance gear.
Any items that are worn over the feet and shoes in order to keep the shoes clean (it is a cardinal sin to track dust and dirt onto stage), as well as keeping the feet warm, are generally referred to as shoe covers/cases. What the dancers are wearing in the photos are more specifically called "warm-up boots". The Repetto brand that they're wearing is a bit pricey. They're the latest fad in dance fashion. I don't blame the principal dancers for not taking them off while they're outside. If they get any small rocks or dirt embedded into the soles of their shoes, it can adversely affect their performance on stage. Other popular things that dancers might wear over their shoes and feet are soft-soled Mukluks, leg warmers, or heavy socks.

The "trash-bag" pants that the dancer is wearing in the photo above were popular around the 1990s, but it's not uncommon to see them being worn today. Another recent fad that's still around is wearing lightweight puffer vests to keep the upper body warm, especially during rehearsals in cold theaters.
Too much info??? Sorry.

Sig

[ValeryD]

Hi Valery & all,

Loving the shots!

I hope you don't mind if I add some information about the dance gear.
Any items that are worn over the feet and shoes in order to keep the shoes clean (it is a cardinal sin to track dust and dirt onto stage), as well as keeping the feet warm, are generally referred to as shoe covers/cases. What the dancers are wearing in the photos are more specifically called "warm-up boots". The Repetto brand that they're wearing is a bit pricey. They're the latest fad in dance fashion. I don't blame the principal dancers for not taking them off while they're outside. If they get any small rocks or dirt embedded into the soles of their shoes, it can adversely affect their performance on stage. Other popular things that dancers might wear over their shoes and feet are soft-soled Mukluks, leg warmers, or heavy socks.

The "trash-bag" pants that the dancer is wearing in the photo above were popular around the 1990s, but it's not uncommon to see them being worn today. Another recent fad that's still around is wearing lightweight puffer vests to keep the upper body warm, especially during rehearsals in cold theaters.
Too much info??? Sorry.

Sig

Thank you so much! You did again perfect professional explanation!!!

[sury]

Valery, thank you for the clarification and those before and after shots are excellent.
Sig, thank you for the explanation and taking time to write it. It certainly is edifying.

With best regards,
Sury

[bfitzgerald]

Seems to be a nice combo the A99II and the Minolta shots came out very well
Looks like the new body is a nice step up for low light shooting

[smulnik]

Barry, I agree. That's a good combination.

Thanks Sury. I'm just a bit of a dance geek. I forget that a lot of the routine stuff that dancers have to do is not always apparent to other people. That's why I try to explain some of this stuff. Sometimes people find it interesting, and it can help put images and actions into perspective.

Thanks Valery. I like the angle of view that you're using for your dance shots. It definitely shows off the body lines as well as the stage sets, and gives the scenes depth. Sometimes photographers position themselves too high, resulting in the dancers getting flattened out against a featureless floor. When I shoot from backstage, I often try to sit on the floor in the wings in order to get the same angle of view that you're shooting from the seats.

In the top photo of your last set, did the prima say what she was doing? Those pointe shoes look new, so I'm guessing that she's "customizing" them. Every female dancer has to do something different to their pointe shoes to make them work properly for their feet. Some bend the shank, others break the shank off at a certain length, and some just completely rip it out. Then they have to glue the inside of the shoe back together. The shoes are stood upright on the toe box so that the glue will run down the length of the shank as it dries. This dancer looks like she's also trying to soften the toe box a little by tapping it on the concrete floor. A softer box makes the shoe quieter during a performance, but it can also make the shoe breakdown quicker. Once it breaks down it's considered "dead" and useless. The dancers go through a lot of pointe shoes really fast, and they're not cheap. The expensive ones can be well over $100 US. Most large ballet companies will buy them for the dancers. Smaller ballet companies often have fund-drives to raise money specifically to buy pointe shoes.

Sig

[ValeryD]

Thank you all so much for the comments!

Yes Barry! A99-2 + Minolta 80-200 f2.8 in this situation is simply irreplaceable. Everything works correctly and speeds AF and accuracy of AF, well, the sharpness and noise of the camera with such a large resolution. There is certainly a desire to purchase Sony SAL70400, but first of all I need 16-35 CZ, I see no reason to buy Minolta 17-35 for $100 cheaper.

Sig!
I did not talk to the dancers before the performance, I just took a couple of shots. I believe that flattering artists with questions before going on stage is the top of indecency. (From personal experience, I worked as a musician for 5 years ). I communicated with them time before the performance and the repetition, in 20 minutes we shot several frames for advertising and posters.
Everyone was surprised and especially the leading couple, so pleasant and simple people in communication.
 Thanks again for the wonderful explanation of the technical details.

Well, a few photos from the new "media call" on the stage of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet the "Wizard of OZ".

A99-2 + Minolta 80-200



and a77-2 + 16-80Z

[sury]

Sig, all that from one photo. Wow and thank you.
Valery, love the "media call" set, especially the first one.

Sury

[aster]

Wonderful ballet photos from ValeryD and profound information from Sig!

One can never tire of such beauty and knowledge of what goes into creating the lovely flow of movement on stage: such hard work, endurance, perseverance, love of hard work and belief that it's possible to accomplish...and a good photographer to visually tell the story.

Thanks for sharing your works, guys. Much appreciated.
Yildiz

[ValeryD]

We made a small report in Zoo, and overhead flew the helicopters and the airplanes coming in to landing. Well, I could not miss it, the camera itself was filmed.
a99-2 + Minolta 80-200

[ValeryD]

[ValeryD]

Flickr has more and more fun playing with photos...

Winnipeg Zoo:
( a99-2 and Minolta 80-200 thru the net. )

[sury]

Nice capture of the birds and beast, Valery.

[ValeryD]

Nice capture of the birds and beast, Valery.

Thank you!