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Archive 2015 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)

  
 
friscoron
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


I was doing a Day in the Life series for Ballet Chicago, so basically hanging out with them one afternoon. The main corps had left to do a performance in Indiana, so their main studio was empty. Had a dancer there eager to just do a shot so we went in there and came up with this. Comments are welcome.

The second image below has been added to the post. It was the first shot I took, this time from a different corner that shows more space. We're on the 20th floor of a 20-floor building in downtown Chicago, and it has those nasty skylights. I want to create a shot from this direction but I just didn't think this shot made the cut. The skylight creates these hot spots on the wall, and maybe I didn't like the sweater/sweatshirt on the dancer. I had her take it off for the next shot (No. 1 below).

1.
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5464/17498779608_1b1b4138f2_b.jpg

2. (added)
http://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7766/17718562030_d829fe6e81_b.jpg

Edited on May 20, 2015 at 02:07 PM · View previous versions



May 15, 2015 at 11:24 AM
tonyfield
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


I absolutely love this ... perfectly done. The composition really woks. The charm of this is the type of simplicity that I like.


May 15, 2015 at 11:29 AM
Steve Wylie
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


I like it too. One thing I particularly appreciate is the cleanliness of the studio. Usually, there's a bunch of stuff lying around - props, random pieces of clothing, etc. I've never seen a studio this clean!


May 15, 2015 at 11:36 AM
Evan Baines
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Really nicely composed Ron!

I think its tilted about 0.5deg CCW. I only notice because its such a symmetrical composition.



May 15, 2015 at 11:45 AM
friscoron
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)



That was a part of it, Tony! The simplicity of a dancer in open space positioned between those bright windows.

Thanks, Steve! But there is a reason I shot this direction. Of course, I wanted to use the windows as my backdrop, but also because the "stuff" is all behind me. By the way, this studio uses pianists for all their classes, so there's also a piano just behind me.



May 15, 2015 at 11:46 AM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Very well executed! I really like the photo. Here's a great example of breaking compositional rules and having a stronger image as a result.


May 15, 2015 at 12:07 PM
GoodEgg
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Ron, great composition and b/w conversion. I think the room has a few problems that bother those of us with OCD


May 15, 2015 at 01:10 PM
Steve Wylie
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


So did you use the piano in another shot? I would have… I see "ballerina as lounge singer", but that's just my twisted perspective….


May 15, 2015 at 06:05 PM
sibirdie
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


To me this pictures is all about the outstanding composition; the lines, the shadows, the placement of the dancer, everything.


May 15, 2015 at 08:20 PM
friscoron
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)



Thanks, everyone! I appreciate all the comments!

Steve, their pianos are not exactly grand. And that's where all the clutter is.



May 15, 2015 at 08:48 PM
nolaguy
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Beyond a beautifully composed, lit and captured shot, to me this really illustrates the majesty of these dance meccas - and more generally turning something seemingly unremarkable into a story with understatement and grace.

The room is imperfect but made ideal - purposeful. Probably nicer than most in the urban landscape but still largely about utility and no doubt with many tales to tell.

The dancer putting herself through her paces - camera-aware I'm sure, but you don't get the impression she much cares about that.

The image resonates with intent, potential, concentration and accomplishment.

Finally, your angle and distance - there wasn't a lot of room for error. 1 degree this way or 2 degrees that way - a few feet forward or back would have really compromised the shot.


Then again, it might could use a bit of crop on the left edge - "slivers" bug me...

Really nice job, Ron. Thanks for sharing.


Regards,

Chuck



May 17, 2015 at 08:26 AM
haleym77
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Very nice! My one tiny gripe is the speaker in the corner. It un-balances the image too much and pulls my eye away from the dancer. Have you considered removing it? But aside from that and the teeny tiny tilt, it's perfect!


May 17, 2015 at 09:00 AM
friscoron
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Evan Baines wrote:
Really nicely composed Ron!

I think its tilted about 0.5deg CCW. I only notice because its such a symmetrical composition.


Huh. I think you posted this when I was responding to the others and so I didn't see it before. I think you are correct on the tilt. The thing is, it's not a straight-on shot. It's slightly at an angle as I was straight on to her and wanted her to be there to anchor the shot between the windows, but I also wanted to incorporate as much space as possible, so my camera is turned slightly to the right in relationship to those windows.



May 17, 2015 at 11:57 AM
friscoron
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)



Chuck, thanks for your comments! I really appreciate it. Honestly, I saw the sliver of light on the left, it bothered me, and yet for some reason I didn't crop it. Thanks for pointing that out as it does need to be cropped.

nolaguy wrote:
Beyond a beautifully composed, lit and captured shot, to me this really illustrates the majesty of these dance meccas - and more generally turning something seemingly unremarkable into a story with understatement and grace.

The room is imperfect but made ideal - purposeful. Probably nicer than most in the urban landscape but still largely about utility and no doubt with many tales to tell.

The dancer putting herself through her paces - camera-aware I'm sure, but you don't get the impression she much cares about that.

The image resonates with intent, potential, concentration and accomplishment.

Finally, your angle and distance - there wasn't a
...Show more




May 17, 2015 at 11:59 AM
friscoron
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


haleym77 wrote:
Very nice! My one tiny gripe is the speaker in the corner. It un-balances the image too much and pulls my eye away from the dancer. Have you considered removing it? But aside from that and the teeny tiny tilt, it's perfect!


Thanks, Haley! Yeah, I thought about the speaker and if it was moveable, I would have done it to make the room even cleaner. I could clone it out, but in the end, it's really as much a part of the room as the mirror, the flooring, the windows, and the dancer.



May 17, 2015 at 12:01 PM
nolaguy
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


friscoron wrote:
Thanks, Haley! Yeah, I thought about the speaker and if it was moveable, I would have done it to make the room even cleaner. I could clone it out, but in the end, it's really as much a part of the room as the mirror, the flooring, the windows, and the dancer.


Agreed. I think it adds, not detracts.




May 17, 2015 at 12:04 PM
yoshidude
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Hi Ron,

Lovely photo!

With such large and bright windows behind, how did you escape a more silhouetted look to your subject? Maybe with light reflected off the floor?

Again, very nice.
Regards,
Scott



May 17, 2015 at 09:51 PM
friscoron
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)



Hey Scott, thanks for the kind words. I exposed the shot on the dancer. The windows were blown out, but I was able to pull them back in with Lightroom. I honestly didn't care that much. I wanted the windows to be blown out.


yoshidude wrote:
Hi Ron,

Lovely photo!

With such large and bright windows behind, how did you escape a more silhouetted look to your subject? Maybe with light reflected off the floor?

Again, very nice.
Regards,
Scott





May 17, 2015 at 11:54 PM
nolaguy
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


A wee case study

As my world turns, I saw Evan’s post after I had replied, then went back to some editing. But his comment was bugging me a little because while I usually don’t miss such things – and while the only time Evan is generally wrong is when he disagrees with me, the dude is right A L O T. So, I went back to Ron’s image, reread Evan’s comment, scratched my chin and I maybe got a little sidetracked.


Architecturally the dance studio seems rather even but it’s really sort of a symmetry mess. The fact that Ron made it feel so balanced is pretty cool and an interesting case study. With his PMed permission, I scribbled all over his work (and without permission, sunk his logo – sorry Ron, it was distracting me from my piddling).

-- The red lines are at 0 or 90 degrees – square.

-- The light blue lines follow the most important horizontal lines of the room as they actually exist in Ron’s capture.

-- The gold and black lines are obviously the defining perspective lines – the intersection of the gold in particular being interesting.

-- The darker green lines are ancillary but useful nods to the slightly chaotic influence of the bars, stands and speaker.

-- The gray lines are conduit detail on the ceiling.

-- The lime green lines define the current crop and its dimensional center.

-- The brown sliver on the left is the crop matter Ron and I were mentioning… the dotted blue lines are possible crop options – the one on the right potentially creating another sliver next to the window reflection.

-- The yellow dotted line struck me as a good overall recrop once slivers were dealt with and to better center the image on the far wall center “column” (trivial).


Sorry for the length, but this is why I felt some of us would really appreciate studying this shot...

I alluded to this in my original reply but this is a deceptively simple image and it took a lot of skill to pull it off. Ron’s very deft positioning brings as much into symmetry as possible, I think – but the varied angles of the blue lines were complications. The horizontal window lines and intersection of the far wall and the floor are pretty plumb but ceiling line and the horizontal duct work are nicely handled challenges. Converging from left to right, they threaten the composition but Ron pulls it off, anchors us with the windows and the mixed lines become rather benign.


Ron’s choice of camera position – left/right and forward/backward – nail his commitment to what is a very complex composition. I wondered if he should have pulled back a couple of feet to give the dancer more breathing room against her backdrop but she would have become considerably less significant and my sliver-left complaint suggests at this aspect ratio he was already crowding the space he had to work with.


Re: Evan's angle observation: at first I thought that (the ductwork) might be what he was picking up on – which lead me to mapping all this out of curiosity – and because I didn’t agree with him. I assume Ron did some keystone adjustments in post and it all looks great. The only slight matters I found were the left edges of the two left windows.

In image 4 the purple block to the left is the silhouette of the inconsistency on the left most window and the offset purple dotted line is the angle of that inconsistency. In the entire image, the only thing I could find meaningfully out of sorts with Ron’s choice of “plumb” and/or corrections in post was this.

The measure of the discrepancy = 0.48 degrees. Side note that it is CCW.

Now, evidence notwithstanding, I’m not saying Evan is that good, but just in case… Evan... pfffttt. I saw that. After four hours of plotting the darn thing.


Back to Ron and what I thought was particularly well done: his centering of her on the column and between the windows. Obviously, she’s not dimensionally centered, but looking at tonal values in image 5, very much so and if you combine the major tones with the slight lines of detail, IMHO he couldn’t have done much better – and as I said above, just a tad off and it would have been a total miss.

These guys are good.





























May 18, 2015 at 12:08 AM
nolaguy
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Dancer in the studio (added a 2nd image)


Btw, word on the street is da Vinci was trying to get a similar highly symmetric image but he was shooting canon and it just wasn’t happening so he called no joy and said he’d just paint the darn thing.









May 18, 2015 at 12:11 AM
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