Of course, the speed of light is fantastic, about 186,000 miles per second. So, it only takes nanoseconds or less to go the 150 feet from the spot lights, to reflect off the violinist, then through my super-telephoto lens and onto my image sensor. Each photon is reflecting off of a different molecule of the performer, especially as he or she speeds through a Paganini Caprice or Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's "Fantasy for Solo Violin". As the photographer, I have to decide how much time may elapse. I can capture a 1/500 second burst that virtually freezes the violinist's motion but this often seems wrong to me. The feeling of astonishing speed is one of the wonders of the performance. In these photographs, I experimented with a range of blur. The first one of Kristi Gjezi was .3 seconds. I'm not sure how many times the bow went up and down in that time. I like this photograph. It feels like "writing with light" which is the meaning of "photo-graphy". Most of the time, I seek a balance with more sharpness and only a hint of motion blur. What do you prefer?
IVCI Semi-Finals 9-13-2014
Jinjoo Cho w/ Rohan De Silva on Piano
Stephen Waarts w/ Chih-Yi Chen on Piano
Stephen Kim w/ Nelson Padgett on Piano
Ji Youn Lee w/ Thomas Hoppe on Piano
All photographs © Denis Ryan Kelly Jr.
The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis: Links to the Photographs
Welcome performers and fans! Congratulations! The following links will take you to my web partner Pictage. They will host the edited sets of photographs from every round I witness. A sampling of preliminary and semi-final performances will be photographed. You may view and purchase prints or digital files from Pictage.
Opening Ceremonies at the Indiana Roof Ballroom
http://www.pictage.com/1618218
Preliminaries
IVCI Preliminaries 9-9-2014
at Frank and Katrina Basile Theater, Indiana History Center
Tianyun Jia w/ Nelson Padgett on piano
Photography is © Denis Ryan Kelly Jr.
Ui-Youn Hong w/ Chih-Yi Chen on piano
Petteri Iivonen w/ Nelson Padgett on piano
Kristi Gjezi w/ Thomas Hoppe on piano
Semi-Finals
http://www.pictage.com/1618227
Classical Finals with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra
http://www.pictage.com/1618229
BSA LifeStructures Finals with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
http://www.pictage.com/1618231
BMO Private Bank Gala Awards Ceremony and Reception
Here are a sampling of the IVCI Opening Gala at Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. Many more can be viewed and purchased at the link above. May the competition be passionate and wonderful!