I was honored to record The DC Center for the LGBT Community's Capturing Fire spoken word festival for the third year in a row. I was there for the semi-finals and finals, hence some of the artists appear twice in the gallery. 

This shoot had its quirks. To accommodate all the performers, the performance space was across the room from the stage and its bright lighting. To capture audio, I clipped a lav mic to a music stand just in front of the performers. It was too difficult to mic each user. I also did what I could to remind waiters to bend down in front of the camera, but they still appear. Nonetheless, here are my two favorite performances from the night. Many performers did not respond with poem titles in time to post the videos. Adele Hampton was a competitor. Sarah D. Lawson did not compete but I still enjoyed her poem. 

Sarah D. Lawson - "Untitled [Dinner Party]"
Sarah D. Lawson - "Untitled [Dinner Party]"

Adele Hampton - "Untitled [Groupon]"
Adele Hampton - "Untitled [Groupon]"

Gallery [Note: some poems contain mature language and themes]