Let's Have A Show Of Hands

Once upon a time I was a photographer for a cutting-edge children's performing ensemble which combined singing, dancing, and precision sign language.  My story appears after a few announcements.  

Also in this Issue:

• Another possible travel opportunity
• The Return of the Seminars
• Streaming Seminar is on sale!
• Announcements

Announcements

• The book for the Sony A7CR/A7C II in all formats is now out!  Get your copy here.
• The Spanish translation of the above work is being completed as I write this.
• My Streaming Seminar makes a great gift!  It's on sale until Christmas - just use discount code kodachrome when checking out.  

The Return of the Seminars

As mentioned a few times previously, I'm re-working the Friedman Archives High-Impact Photography Seminars to bring things up to date and be more inclusive regarding smartphone owners.  Day 1 will concentrate on the universal truths of photography (how to get 'Wow!' images no matter what kind of camera you have); and also make you re-examine long-held beliefs that you might have picked up on your favorite internet discussion forum (but are nevertheless wrong).

Day 2 will focus (no pun intended) on things that smartphones can't do, and will talk about the traditional basics with a healthy dose of portrait lighting thrown in.  It will be more interactive than before and you'll leave with a renewed sense of enthusiasm, creativity, and you'll see an improvement in your photography.  (I know this because that's what prior seminar attendees have told me!)

The first one will take place in April, 2024 right here in my home town of Plymouth, Massachusetts.  "Why Plymouth?", I hear you ask.  "Why not in Boston?"  

Good questions.  And there are several answers: 1) Plymouth is more affordable and more scenic.  2) I hate driving in Boston.  3) Plymouth is only an hour away.  (Compare that to Los Angeles where I grew up, where everything is an hour away from everything else.)  :-)  4) People who live in Boston will likely enjoy an opportunity to get out of town for a weekend. 

Once a venue is secured I'll create a signup page, but until then you can get 10% off if you notify me of your interest in attending at Gary at Friedman Archives dot com.

*** UPDATE *** We might be returning to Copenhagen in February to do a seminar as well.  Let me know if you're interested!

Let's Have A Show of Hands

Back in the States in the 1980's, there was a very talented children's performing ensemble called "A Show of Hands".   This ensemble spread the concept of sign language to hearing audiences across the States by incorporating precision signing with superb singing and dancing.  I was their photographer.   And the lessons I picked up by documenting their exploits using what would today would be "rudimentary equipment" were pretty significant.  (As always, click on any image to view larger and sharper.)

The troop performed for audiences all around Southern California, impressing viewers wherever they went.  They performed at Dodger stadium, the Hollywood Bowl, and were in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade twice.  They even did a 2-week tour of Switzerland which blew the country away.  But I'll tell you all about that in a minute.  My role was to provide publicity photos and to document their numerous achievements for posterity, but I also ended up creating brochures and directing my very first promotional video for them.  

A packed room in Beverly Hills

Performing at the 1984 Olympics with a Ukrainian Choral group

The group's director, Howard B. Herman

Some random rehearsal shots

How did I get this awesome job?  Easy -- the group's director and musician was also the guy who taught me how to play jazz piano during my more formative years.  (It's always who you know.)  And it was really more of a hobby than a job, as I was in college at the time pursuing an engineering degree, and volunteered my services just because I enjoyed it.  

Performing at Dodger Stadium

Audiences were enthralled.

Me back in the day, and my
trusty XE-7.

My equipment was pretty basic -- I shot with manual focus cameras like the Minolta XE-7 and X-G7, both aperture-priority cameras.  For indoor shoots I'd use a fast prime like a 50mm f/1.4.  If I used a zoom lens it was important that it be the parafocal type that doesn't change its focus point as it zooms, so that I could zoom in, focus critically, zoom out (recompose), and then be ready for the decisive moment.  This was essential because I was shooting kids who are unpredictable and I didn't believe in posing anyone (except for formal shots, of course).   It was also important that it be a twist-to-zoom rather than the push-pull zoom that was very popular with 70-210 lenses at the time, as I knew using push-pull zoom lenses all day can quickly fatigue the right hand supporting the camera and lens. 

If a flash was required, I used a giant Sunpack potato-masher flash that had no TTL (only an on-board sensor) and once configured you could only shoot within a narrow, pre-established range of distances.  Here's how I worked the equipment each time I encountered a new shooting situation:

1. Put high-speed film in the camera; usually Tri-X ISO 400 or Kodacolor 400 negative film.

2. Set the f/stop to something wide to capture as much ambient light as possible.

3. Tell the flash what ISO I was using and what f/stop.  Its circular-slide-rule dial would then tell me the distance range within which I could work.  (It had its own on-flash sensor which could regulate the flash output to small degrees.)

4. Focus manually, anticipate the action, and shoot!  

The remote focus and
shutter release button

Shooting this way inspired one of many photography-related inventions that kept my hands from getting fatigued.  I don't have the Sunpak anymore to show you what I did, but I did make a similar modification on my Minolta 9000 and 4000 AF flash: I modified a cable release, and placed the 2-step shutter release button at the center of gravity between the flash and camera body, allowing one hand to both hold the entire assembly AND initiate autofocus and take the picture, while the other hand was free to zoom, allowing much faster and less fatiguing operation than what the camera's designers had envisioned.

Stage shows were a particular challenge, as flash wasn't allowed and I lacked a spot meter, the usual tool to handle the typically difficult theater lighting.  I had learned to shoot with negatives which could be tweaked later if the exposure wasn't exactly perfect, and 1/60th of a second wide open.  1/30th of a second was sometimes chosen so that I could show movement in their hands.

Another trick I used to help the images "pop" was to use a red filter in front of the lens when shooting with B&W film.  Not only did this render their too-grey-to-be-interesting light blue shirts as black, but it also lightened the faces of the Caucasian members (of which most of them were).  No photoshop required.  

In its 5-year span from 1981 to 1985, A Show of Hands became media role models and made hundreds of performances, promoting sign language in a non-threatening way to hearing audiences everywhere.  Two of the highlights of my time with them included participating in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, where the kids worked alongside seasoned Broadway dancers while preparing to sing and sign for the Rainbow Brite float.  The parade was televised nationally, and the group was spotlighted when they taught the world how to sing "Jingle Bells" in sign language.

Rainbow Brite's Special Friends

Rainbow Brite

Success!  Video of that performance appears at the bottom of this blog post.

Then there was Switzerland.

In the Spring of '84 the group was invited by an agency of the Swiss government to come and perform for two weeks.  All they had to do was raise money for airfare.  Six months later, they were off.  On the plane going there we were given the morning paper, and to my surprise one of my pictures was on the front page!  Consider this foreshadowing for the group's popularity in Switzerland. :-)

The headline read, "The Hands That Sing".  (And this was before we even got there!)

Switzerland was a unique experience.  Among the hearing population, sign language was virtually unheard of at the time – to them, singing for the deaf was such a curious idea that people literally packed the performance houses to experience "The Hands That Sing".  The children's voices, harmony, dancing, and precision sign language amazed and captivated the audiences, resulting in standing ovations and multiple encore demands at every performance – something that never happened back in the States.  The Mayor of Geneva, after experiencing the show, called the group's mission "Pioneering work" and soon after our departure signed into law a provision for sign language interpreters in all university classrooms that require them.  

Had this incredible reception been all that happened during the trip, that would have been great.  But early on the tour, we met with another performing ensemble also comprised of kids of about the same age.  This theatre troop, whose French acronym is pronounced "AFAT" (Ateliers Formation Actions Theatre) put on a show that blew us away!  They utilized dance, physical theatre, mime, and original music to tell a story that kid's plays don't usually deal with: loneliness, prejudice, acceptance, and peer pressure.  We were so impressed with their show, and they were so impressed with ours that the two groups instantly became the best of friends and started teaching each other their crafts.  Within two days the Swiss kids picked up finger spelling, and later the Americans had the pleasure of participating in their theatre exercises.  

The two groups together toured all of Switzerland as a double bill, and packed the house at nearly all performances.  Their popularity posed an unexpected problem: a new device was needed to satisfy the inevitable standing ovations and encore demands at the show's end.  The solution came spontaneously one evening when, after the finale, the American kids pulled their Swiss counterparts onstage and had them try to sign along with the last number, "It's a Small World".  They couldn't keep up, but that didn't matter!

During the time they had together, despite the language barrier, you never saw so many kids get along so well. 

 

 

 

A Show of Hands and Ateliers Formation Actions Theatre

When it finally came time to say goodbye, the kids made plaques for their host families, and the Americans gave the Swiss kids their rainbow suspenders as a memento.  The experience was so intense that the Americans were compelled to arrange a reciprocal tour the next year, inviting AFAT to the states and performing as a double bill throughout California.  

Lessons Learned

Shooting kids for five years with manual equipment teaches you to think on your feet and to work with what you have.  Some of the articulatable things I learned were:

1. A genuine smile only happens once with kids.  You can't stage a pickup shot and have it genuine.

2. Always be alert for what's going to happen next, and be ready for it.  (This applies equally to shooting weddings, too.)   That means pre-focusing and making sure your flash is configured properly. 

3. If your light is bad, you can always print in B&W and adjust contrast using various filters.

The group disbanded in 1985, but I still keep in touch with many of the kids to this day.  (My piano teacher too, who has since relocated to Massachusetts, just an hour away from where I live!)  

Looking back, I regret having squandered the opportunity to learn some sign language (I was more concerned about the light and being able to convey the group's essence in a single establishing shot).  I also continue to be impressed at how much better digital photography has become compared to 35mm film, which could only hold up to scrutiny in only the best of conditions.  The other thing I regret is that the vast majority of the photos shown here are scanned prints rather than scanned negatives or slides.  I have all of the originals; it would have taken me weeks to dig them out and there are only so many hours in a day. 

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You can see the promotional video I directed, plus two examples of the ensemble's performances in the video below:

Also, for those interested, here's the performance they did for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as Rainbow Brite's Special Friends: 

Until next time,

Yours Truly, Gary Friedman