The New Minstrels Concert

In the past, I have been to the Esplanade many times and I have taken many pictures of the "Durian" from the outside. Yesterday I finally have the privilege to take pictures inside the Esplanade Concert Hall. I was commissioned to take pictures of "The New Minstrels" concert.

The sound system and lightings are really fantastic and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to take pictures in such a grand concert hall! I get to move around freely within the concert hall during the rehearsal and I get to shoot from any angle I like. I also get to try all the seats in the concert hall and that includes the balcony seats too!

Technically it is quite a challenge to take pictures of a concert in such a grand concert hall. Flash is not allowed and I have to turn off my camera's autofocus-assist light because the bright light from my camera would distract the audience. I have to set my camera ISO to around 800 and 1600 because the shutter speed is very slow (around 1/15 to 1/50) most of the time. The lighting is very beautiful to the eyes but it is very tricky for the camera metering. When I took the exposure reading based on the ambient light the singers would be over-exposed and vice versa. I constantly have to decide whether I want to capture the ambient lightings or the singers and set my camera exposure accordingly!

Here are some photographs to share with you.