Denver Theater & Performing Arts Photography

Dr. Joshua Caraballo reached out to me ahead of his one-man performance of Harvey Milk at the Althea Center in Denver, Colorado.

He was looking for photographs that went beyond simply documenting the production and instead captured some of the emotion, personality and energy he was bringing to the stage.

I joined Joshua during his final rehearsal the day before the performance, which gave me the freedom to move throughout the performing arts center and photograph the show from all sorts of perspectives. I moved from the front of the stage to the back of the theater, working close during quieter, more intimate moments and pulling farther away when I wanted to show Joshua within the larger space, stage and lighting. I also spent time photographing some of the behind-the-scenes moments that are part of bringing a one-man production to life.

Photographing theater was a fun creative challenge. The light and mood were constantly changing, so I worked with a combination of the existing stage lighting and flash, looking for ways to preserve the atmosphere of the performance while creating strong portraits along the way. By moving constantly and experimenting with different angles, light and distances, I was able to build a collection that feels less like a record of a rehearsal and more like a visual story of Joshua and the performance itself.

Joshua was kind enough to share this afterward:

“Ryan did an amazing job for our production. He was very kind, professional, and went above and beyond — highly recommend his services!!”