As much as I love practicing landscape photography, I haven't managed to generate much income in that area. Instead, the core of my private business is photographing stage productions for archival storage. These images are then used by students and faculty for their resumes and portfolios. Most of my business is done with Brigham Young University, the same school where I am also employed. In my regular job at BYU I am a stage lighting designer and I work on plays, operas, ballets, dances, special events, and any number of other programs that take place on the stages at the Provo campus.

My most recent assignment at BYU was to provide the lighting design for two one-act operas by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. The first opera, Suor Angelica, is the tragic tale of a woman who has been sent to live in a convent to atone for sins she committed earlier in life. She is the daughter of a wealthy and noble family, but because of the indiscretion and subsequent birth of a son, the family drove her into exile out of shame. Her aunt, also her guardian pays her a visit at the convent in order to secure her legal forfeiture of inheritance prior to the marriage of Angelica's sister. After being in the convent for seven years, Angelica asks her aunt about the well-being of her son. Angelica learns that her son has died two years previous to this visit. Heartbroken, Angelica signs the document and waives all right to the family fortune and the aunt leaves. Praying to the Virgin Mary, Angelica pleads for guidance. Inspired by her craft of caring for medicinal herbs, Angelica desires to reunite with her son and so decides to end her life by mixing a poisonous drink. Not until after drinking the mix does she realize she has committed a grave and mortal sin. She pleads further to the Virgin Mary to intercede in her behalf and save her. As the opera ends, Angelica lies prostrate on the floor and the audience is left to imagine the fate of a woman who's only thought was being once again with her son.

The second of the two operas is the comedy, Gianni Schicchi. It is a story of a family come together at the passing of their patriarch, Buoso. The family discovers that Buoso left his vast fortune to the brothers of a local monastery. Enter Gianni Schicchi, a wise and daring friend of the family, also a bit of a scoundrel. Schicchi devises a plan wherein he will impersonate Buoso, call in a local notary, and rewrite the will before word spreads that Buoso has died. Schicchi warns the family that the penalty if they are caught is amputation of the hand and banishment from Florence. In the revised will, Schicchi leaves a piece of property to each of the relatives. The most valuable possessions (the villa in Florence, the mills at Signa, and the prize mule) however, he (as Buoso) leaves to his dear friend Gianni Schicchi. The family is furious, but they are held in check by the threat of an amputated arm and banishment.

These two short operas have beautiful passages of music and arias to melt your heart. There is a power to music that surpasses the spoken language. In the hands of one of the world's greatest composers, Puccini has created works that transcends generations and national languages. Both operas at BYU are sung in the original language, Italian.

I have been shooting stage productions for over ten years. It is a very niche market and I find few other photographers who work exclusively in this area. It is work like this that provides my livelihood as a photographer. The assignments are irregular, but I find my workload is about double this year. Over the life of this blog I will likely share other productions wherein I both generate the lighting design and photograph.