On Sara Krulwich

Photocredit to Sara Krulwich of NYTimes

Broadway performances are a sport. There is a sheer athleticism to the hustle and bustle on the stage, remarked Sara Krulwich, the first female photographer at The New York Times. Ms. Krulwich who discussed her monumental venture into photography also depicted the fusion between sports and theater photography.
Here portfolio matched her expertise, and she explained the process behind capturing the climax of a performance, whether a baseball game or a ballet.  You have to shoot ahead, she emphasized. The photographer shoots before the swing of the bat, at the very instance the player’s muscles begin to tense up. Theater photography requires the same sort of precision. When switching between slides of opera and ballet, Krulwich spoke of the difficulties in probing theaters for photography, having to challenge the mysticism and credulity of theater. Performers and directors had initially feared the damage uncensored exposure might bring to their performance.  The wrinkles that Krulwich may capture in a shot could strip a show of its believability, an incredible power that Krulwich uses sparingly. On the contrary, she isn’t set out to discredit a performance but to capture its best, leaving the criticism to the critics.
There isn’t much mystique to photography. “Sometimes I take fifteen hundred shots, hoping that I’ll get something good,” said Krulwich, who reminding us that while photography isn’t a precise art; it certainly requires vision, skill, and thought.
This is true of herself; she is a pioneer of photography in the historical sense. She usurped on the football field at the University of Michigan when women were banned from the field, yet dogs could perform tricks. She made a spectacle of photography and reporting as she propelled women’s rights in institutions of higher learning and established a diverse and reputable career along the way.

When viewing her photography of theater you can see how she manages to perfectly capture a climactic moment. This not only attests to her technique but to the versatility of photography in various settings. After all, Sara Krulwich is as versatile as her philosophy on life, convincing a room full on aspiring professionals to step out of their comfort zone. As she near several students face-to-face at an unorthodox range, her proximity made a clear point: photography prompts bold and unreserved observations, whether on the street, in the theater, or on the field. “You should be observant in everything you do.”