I fulfilled a medium-term ambition and a short-term ambition last night. Since the Grand Canal Theatre opened earlier this year, I’ve been itching to get inside. I’d heard it was impressive and was looking forward to seeing it for myself. A photographic expedition to the area around the theatre a couple of months ago only served to heighten my anticipation of what lay inside what is, to my mind, one of Dublin’s finest buildings. Last night, for the first time, I stepped inside the doors of the theatre. That was the medium-term ambition fulfilled.
The short-term ambition, one that only really developed a couple of weeks ago around the time of my sister’s visit to Dublin to take my niece to that same theatre, was to go see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang before it finished its run in Dublin. The reason I found myself stepping inside the door of the theatre last night was to fulfill that particular ambition, having decided only on Monday afternoon to book tickets for last night’s performance.
It meant missing a photowalk with the camera club gang on what turned out to be a lovely evening weather-wise, but I can’t say I’m sorry. The show was spectacular, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It deserved the standing ovation that it received at the end.
So two ambitions fulfilled, and satisfactorily so.
A longer term ambition that remains unfulfilled is to photograph the inside of the theatre. I’ve photographed the outside of it (the image at the top of this post was captured on that occasion) and have made a couple of attempts to get access to photograph the inside of it, when empty, but so far to no avail. It would be a fascinating structure to photograph and maybe some day I’ll get to talk to the right person and persuade them of the merits of the simple photographic project I have in mind.
In the meantime, with the numerous signs and annoucements prohibiting photography during the show last night and no proper camera with me (anticipating the prohibition) I had to make do with this iPhone grab-shot shortly before the show began. Our seats in the upper circle were high, and priced accordingly, but didn’t really diminish from the impact of the show.
f/2.8 @ 1/10s, ISO 1000, 3.9mm, iPhone 3Gs
Incidentally, if you do attend the theatre some night, I can also recommend paying a visit to Ely HQ beforehand for some of their “gastropub” fare. On a summer’s evening its hard to beat sitting outside in the sun eating pretty delicious fish and chips. I photographed it (again with the iPhone) before I tucked in, but after I added ketchup on the side.
f/2.8 @ 1/1150s, ISO 64, 3.9mm, iPhone 3Gs
I particularly like the basket in which the chips came. This photo, by the way, is straight from the phone with no processing at all. It’s clearly much closer to the iPhone’s optimal exposure than the previous one – ISO 64 as opposed to 1000, 1/1150s instead of 1/10s. Lots more light outside than inside. Light that is, in this case, all from the sun at camera left, which was shining brightly. Just the way to top off a lovely evening out.
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