Posts tagged ‘broadway’
NBC’s Smash – On Location in Times Square
I got a call form the New York Times photo desk late in the afternoon a few months back asking if I could run down to Times Square late that same evening and photograph a new tv show called Smash being filmed on location. I was told the show was NBC’s answer to FOX’s Glee, but was more of an adult-themed drama/musical about the making of a hit Broadway play.
So I jumped on my scooter and headed south from my pad on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Times Square around 11PM for the shoot. When I arrived, I was immediately confused because the crew was apparently on a break and all I could see were tons of tourists hanging out in Times Square…the usual. Moments later as I saw the camera crews start to move around, it dawned on me that I was actually standing in the midst of hundreds of extras who were only acting like tourists for the production! Clearly they were doing a great job as they even fooled a New Yorker like myself!
I met with the show’s publicist, who pointed out all the important folks like the director, producers, and eventually led me over to the actors appearing in the scene, Megan Hilty and Katherine McPhee. I was happy to see Katherine because previously I’d taken her portrait in the dressing room of “Live! with Regis and Kelly” for the Los Angeles Times years back. This was after she had been a top contestant on American Idol. I was pleased to find out she remembered the shoot before I could even mention it. It’s always good to know that my brief encounters with portrait subjects are remembered positively.
Pretty quickly the filming began and I was roaming the “set” taking pictures of a scene where Katherine and Megan’s character are walking through Times Square and suddenly break out singing with the accompaniment or a random trio of street musicians who coincidently are playing nearby.
The mood of the set was unlike most sets I’ve been on due to the uncontrolled atmosphere of Times Square. It was hard to even tell there was a major production filming because of all the extras. I was walking with and taking pictures of Katherine and Megan as they crossed 7th Ave to begin a scene. Behind me a real tourist says to her daughter, “hey, I think something is being filmed, do you see any celebrities?”
Only in NYC can you walk down a street and never realize you’re right in the middle of a huge production!
Darren Criss Portrait Shoot for The New York Times
Last week I got a call from the New York Times asking me to photograph Darren Criss, the breakout star of the Fox high school musical series “Glee”, to accompany a story about his upcoming Broadway debut in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”
One of the things I love about my job is the unexpected assignments I receive usually on a moment’s notice. This time my editor called around 5PM to schedule a shoot later in the evening on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at an old-school diner near Darren’s apartment. It happened to be very cold that night, so I opted to take a few pictures inside the diner so we could first warm up a bit.
I met the reporter, Patrick Healey, and soon after Darren arrived joyful with a big grin. It’s always nice to work with someone who is very upbeat and talkative. Darren, Patrick, and I had a hot tea to warm up and chatted a bit before I started shooting.
When I have celebrity shoots, I always try to arrive a bit in advance to scout the area for nice portrait locations because often I have little time with those subjects. I’m always looking for quality light sources, as I prefer to take naturally lit portraits as often as possible. I love documentary photography and I suppose shooting natural light is my way of merging the two genres of photography.
After capturing a few portraits of him enjoying a ice cream sundae at the bar in the diner, we walked outside and up the block to a bank of pay phones I’d scouted earlier. I liked the nostalgia of a pay phone, but what really drew me was the light from the adjacent Apple Store spilling directly into the booths.
I hope I cross paths Darren again in the future…until then, break a leg on Broadway!
James Spader on Broadway
James Spader – Blog – Images by Robert Caplin
Last week I received a New York Times assignment to shoot a portrait of James Spader for an article about his role on Broadway in a new David Mamet play called “Race”. The brief shoot took place at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in mid-town and was another one of those “set-up in advance and bang out a handful of frames with the talent” quickies.
I knew James Spader primarily from his Boston Legal television show in which he starred opposite William Shatner, but I’ve also seen a few movies where he plays eccentric characters, so I had no idea what he’d be like in real life. I found him to be one of the kindest and most willing celebrities to shoot with. I did have trouble trying to get much expression from him, but never the less I feel we had a very successful shoot.
For this particular shoot I met up with the play’s publicist who showed me around the theater, back rooms, basement, dressing rooms and I decided to choose the basement and a stairwell as the locations. With the help of my good pal and assistant, Noah Gilbert, I took some lighting tests and waited for Mr. Spader to arrive.
Once James arrived for the shoot it was very obvious he was going to be very easy to work with. When I shoot these celebrity assignments, I often bring a handful of lighting set-ups to get a variety of portrait options for my editor. I decided to bang out a few ring-light portraits while I had him near a brick wall…the first flash surprised him because of the brightness of the ring-light. At first I thought he was upset, but he quickly laughed it off and said, “It’s ok, I can handle the first act tonight seeing rings of light….anything for a good picture.”
Also, during the shoot another actor in the play came and pulled James away for a few minutes. Afterward James apologized explaining that he insists the entire cast gets weekly B-12 vitamin shots administered by his doctor to keep the cast healthy, and that was what the interruption was about. Smart idea considering the winter season and all the germs the playgoers must bring in each night. You have to be healthy to perform on Broadway.
Interesting fact I learned from James. As we were walking down to the basement to take a few more portraits, we passed an old poster for a play from nearly a half-century ago. On it was the profile of a woman and he mentioned how uncanny the resemblance was to Drew Barrymore. It took me a moment to put together that the woman in the poster was actually Ethel Barrymore, Drew Barrymore’s great-aunt, for whom the theater was named. Fancy that!
Here’s a quick snap I took with James in my basements set-up:
See the entire shoot by clicking here.
