Monkeying around..Part 2 (Updated)

Date: 9th July '11 (Sat.)
Time: 7pm
Venue: Penang Botanic Gardens

It was definitely '12 Monkeys & More' - what with the staging of the 3-in-1 play being hosted at the Penang Botanic Gardens, a place where primates are a usual sight.

p/s: I'm also happy to meet up with a Facebook friend of mine (Macus Ong).
*Hey Macus, nice meeting you!

*UPDATED - Shooting notes:

This show had got to be one of the more difficult stage performances I've experienced shooting so far. I mentioned below that the ground was muddy and wet but the biggest challenge was the lighting. There were the occasional colorful side lights but in certain plays like the 2nd performance (Ramakien, a Thai play), sometimes all the play had was just a single spotlight.

In a particular scene, there was just a 'portable' side light (which I used to frame a couple of close up shots of a masked dancer) being handled by one lighting 'technician'- it turned out that the 'technician' was the choreographer of the play himself, Jitti Chompee!

I definitely had a good chuckle to myself seeing him on stage at the end of the play as he took his bow :P

Lenses used: Initially I started off with a 70-200mm on a body, and then opted to use both cameras (2nd camera with the 17-50mm attached). As the crowd were seated on the ground, I decided to limit my movement to give them a chance to enjoy the show. The 50mm was used occasionally, especially with the pressing the need to 'open up' the stage for certain scenes.

All photos were shot handheld without external flash units.

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The ground was soft and muddy from an earlier downpour - mobility was limited for photographers near the perimeters of the stage. At times when I stood too long at a certain spot, I remember having some difficulty lifting my feet, but like they say, the shooting (and show) must go on..

Well. It's pretty late now, so stay tuned for some technical sharing (if you're into this thing).
In the meantime, here are a few more shots from the evening..

Buenos noches..