Red walls: We find them. We love them. We stare at them. And then we figure out a way to photograph them.

I wrapped up my Christmas Carol project downtown with a few backstage photos and some before-the-show action during a matinee performance, put on for students who were bussed in from all over the state. Within a half-hour before the curtain was raised, hundreds of students jumped off their school buses and mechanically rushed up the stairs to fill nearly every seat of Pabst Theater.

The first photo was shot at 1/25th of a second and the second photo was shot at 1/20th of a second. For those who are wondering, shutter speeds control how long the lens lets the light in. For example, when the shutter speed is set to 125 (or 1/125th), light comes in for 1/125th of a second. The darker the room, the lower the shutter speed should be.

There's not much light at the Pabst, but the light that is there is absolutely gorgeous. Since I shot at fairly slow shutter speeds, both photos were taken with my camera resting on some type of pillar, to avoid camera shake. I rarely bring a tripod with me because it's bulky. When I have too much equipment, I tend to cause more damage than good. I also hate to stick out as a photographer, so I like to work light.