Alabama Theater Photos

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite places in the city, The Alabama Theater, for a free screening of Sparrows, starring Mary Pickford. While a free screening is nice, I'm willing to admit that my main reason for going was to take another opportunity to stroll around the beautiful venue, camera in hand. Considering its history, it's a surprise the theater is still standing. The Alabama was built in 1927 by Paramount Studios and was promptly nicknamed "The Showplace of the South." It had a good run, but somewhere around the late '80s, the owners declared bankruptcy, and the theater sat empty and abandoned for years. Many feared it would face a cruel date with a wrecking ball. Thankfully, restoration began in '98, and now, it hosts concerts, films, opera, ballet, and other special events. There is still work to be done, but the place is alive again, and most of it looks gorgeous—it just begs to be photographed.

My old point-and-shoot camera bit the dust a few months back, and my father had a spare Pentax SLR that he gave me. I've not taken any photography classes since high school, and it was a bit overwhelming to try to reacquaint myself with f-stops, shutter speeds, and the like. But it was also fun to try, so I headed down to The Alabama hoping for the best, even though I knew that I would not be shooting under ideal circumstances. The theater is very dark inside, and I would need a large depth of field—two opposing factors that might be tricky to reconcile, especially without a tripod. (And take all of that with a grain of salt, as I might just be spouting nonsense. Photography buffs, feel free to correct me.) My father advised that I use my wide-angle lens, which would allow a lot of light in through the shutter without sacrificing too much clarity. I'm pretty happy with most of my photos, which I've started uploading to my flickr page. The shots of the stage are the worst of the lot—very washed-out and lacking in sharpness. Oh well—I think it was simply too dark in there. The others are quick snapshots that give a good idea of the place's beauty. I'll be adding more in the future, once I get some computer problems fixed. I'll post again when they're up.