English National Ballet dancer Anaïs Chalendard prepares to make her entrance and meet her prince on stage during The Nutcracker at The Coliseum Theatre in London.
Anaïs Chalendard prepares to make an entrance during The Nutcracker. © Patrick Baldwin 2011
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Just finished four days shooting the unit stills for a short film “Finding A Sky”. I love doing film stills. Long days but I get to spend all day doing what I do best, “nicking” shots of great actors performing without getting in anybody’s way. The aim on set is to be invisible.
John Alderton in "Finding A Sky" Written by Alex Bulmer. Directed by Ewan Marshall.
The secret is out. After hiding for days undetected in a flight case backstage at English National Ballet in order to obtain this world exclusive photograph I can now reveal how English National Ballet store their dancers at night! I always wondered why nobody ever saw them leave by the stage door after the show. Now we know. They hang them up in the wings along with their costumes! They are all there like bats hanging. The only difference is they are not upside down.
I was horrified and appalled until I realised that the dancer pictured Desiree was smiling. It actually makes them happy. Amazing.
More secrets as and when I can bring them. Its a dangerous job but somebody has to do it.
Dancer Desiree Ballantyne in "storage" for the night. © Patrick Baldwin 2010. All rights reserved.
My friend Paul Grundy the architectural photographer likes photographing things that preferably don’t move or talk back. Most buildings fit that category so when his wife Sarah who is a renowned film and televison makeup artist wanted some portraits of her work shooting to go toward a branding campaign he asked me if I would help and of course I jumped at the chance. The brief was sort of the right people in the wrong makeup. We came up with various ideas and settled on a few for the day. Casting was straightforward until we got to the skinhead. We couldn’t find one in time it seemed so I said “could you do it on me?” Have you ever wished you hadn’t opened your gob? This was one of those moments.
Now that it has been done….I am amazed and confused at how cool it looks even if I do say so myself! Plus it perfectly fitted the brief. My friend Marian Alonso actually took the picture.
Me taking one for the team!
So. I turn up at a gig yesterday evening quite early as I usually do. I am standing around getting my bearings deciding where might be the best place to position myself in this small venue that is set up like a dingy WWll era cabaret bar when “man under pressure” (MUP) approaches me:
MUP: “Are you Gary?”
ME: “No I am Patrick the photographer”
MUP: “Oh I thought you were an artist” (MUP walks off)
Well at least I know now. All that angst I have about whether I am an artist lifted off my shoulders just like that.
The Baron. © 2010 Patrick Baldwin. All rights reserved.
I have a lot of different equipment for different types of jobs. One day could be three DSLRs mounted on a camera bar on a tripod pointed at a stage to photograph ballet using available light. The next day could be PR photography with two or three cameras round my neck with flashes being fed from an external Quantum battery on my belt. Then it might be in a studio set up with my medium format digital back and camera and all the mains flash and softboxes I can find in my house! Not forgetting that one job may require me taking an iMac or a laptop along for tethered shooting while the other two don’t need a computer at all. The problem with all these varied requirements is remembering to pack everything I need for each job. I have had some very near misses and had to improvise quite creatively on occasion. Not good for my stress levels.
I decided I needed to create a form of checklist for each job that I could tick off and avoid having to stop on the way to a job to yet again buy an extension lead or roll of gaffer tape. While I was deciding quite how to do this I stumbled across an application for my iPhone that allows you to create packing lists. Its a free app called Frommer’s Travel Tools, they of the famous travel guides of course. Its actually aimed at tourists and has city guides and a currency converter among other things but the packing list tool is perfect for my needs. Its available here: iTunes. Now I just have to remember not lose my iPhone!
Frommer's Travel Tools for iPhone screenshot
Here is something you don’t see very often: a clear sky at night over Heathrow way. Not to mention how quiet it is around here. Thanks Iceland.
Night sky over Heathrow courtesy of my iPhone
Audrey Brisson-Jutras. © 2010 Patrick Baldwin. All rights reserved.
Audrey Brisson-Jutras reacts in character to a stupid comment during a performance of Oliver’s Army at Central School of Speech and Drama.
