Last Sunday, we took our three-years-old daughter to see her first ballet performance – the Nutcracker. She is really into ballet (to my continuing surprise), and she was looking forward to the show for the last week. I thought that the expectation might be too high, but she really enjoyed the whole theatre-going experience and the show itself, even though she was a bit disappointed that Cinderella was not it it.
I wanted to take a few shots of my daughter at the theatre for our family albums (in a virtual sense – perhaps, actual paper albums would not even exist when she grows up). I knew that an iPhone would not do it, as it is quite dark in the theatre. Fortunately, since we have a young child, we always carry a shoulder bag with some snacks, change of clothes, etc., so I put my Canon EOS-1D X
Having seats next to an aisle was very convenient, as I could back away into the aisle to take a wider shot without disturbing others. Naturally, we only took photos before the performance and during the intermission, as we walked through the hallways, but that was all we really wanted.
The colour of the lighting in the theatre was not flattering for portraits, to say the least. In some shots, the shadows ended up with a purple cast, while the highlights were green – nearly impossible to get a realistic skin tone. In this case, I converted the photos to black and white, which also helped with the noise.
that day, so I used it to shoot the portraits of my daughter and wife in our kitchen using natural light from a skylight located directly above them. I shot wide open, at f/1.2, which gives such a shallow depth of field, that the typical kitchen clutter in the background is not very distracting. The wide aperture also lets in a lot of light, which allows the ISO (and therefore, noise) remain relatively low.
is not a substitute for a 
for long exposure shots. It enables only slightly slower shutter speeds than what can be managed by hand-holding the camera. However, there are certain situations where using a monopod is very convenient.
and of course, there is Nikon counterpart: 
). It is important to support a long lens not only to avoid fatigue (these lenses are heavy!), but also to reduce camera shake. At many venues, tripods are not allowed, as they take too much space, but monopods can be used. Sometimes, a monopod can be used as a makeshift stationary camera support in very tight spaces, when it is clamped to some heavy object. I have used it in this way in a research laboratory and also at a sporting arena where tripods were not allowed (by clamping the monopod to advertisement panels that surrounded the pitch).
or using a 
. I tried both methods and found that using a collar is more convenient. In the photo above, Armando has his 
lens attached to a gimbal head. When using a head, it should not be tightened too much, so that the camera can be be turned quickly. An alternative is to attach the lens hood directly to the monopod and tilt the entire system slightly to adjust framing. Since long telephoto lenses have a narrow field of view, small inclinations of the camera result in large changes in the framing. The collar should be kept relatively loose, to be able to quickly change from horizontal to vertical camera orientation. Most telephoto lenses have collars, so monopods are usually sold without a head.
, but this time, I attached the lens to a 
, which was extended to a height that allowed me to shoot from a standing position. Normally, a lower shooting position, such as standing on one knee, is preferable for sports, but I was willing to sacrifice it for extra mobility (no need to fiddle with the monopod – just set it on the ground, point and shoot). I attached the lens collar directly to the monopod, without a 
. To frame the shots, I simply tilted the entire monopod. I kept the collar loosely closed around the lens, which allows me to quickly rotate the camera to a vertical shot position.
body. With the crop sensor, this combination gave him a very long effective focal lens, allowing to shoot closeups of the action from the opposite side of the pitch. Also, low camera position was excellent for capturing the flying pieces of mud being kicked up by the players.
, on the other hand, is lightning fast, especially when paired with a built-for-sports DSLR, like a 