Been really busy the last 3 or 4 weeks, so haven't been on here much. But thought I'd like to share a few pics from some recent studio shoots with dancers. Comments always welcome.
dmacmillan wrote:
These are great Ron! My favs are #1 with the spot on while on white high key and #3 with the mirror surface low key.
Thanks, Doug. That girl in No. 1 is just like 11 or 12 years old. The company's artistic director had just retired from her role as a principal dancer with the Milwaukee Ballet, and after each jump, she told the girl to tweak one little thing until we got it perfect on just her fourth or fifth leap. Unbelievable. I couldn't believe how she was able to make those adjustments on such a difficult jump, and get the lines of her legs just perfect. I was thinking that if I screwed the shot up by getting the timing wrong... ugh. But she nailed it, and I thankfully nailed it as well. Fun to see everyone's reaction to seeing the shot when it popped up on the monitor (I shoot tethered to a large-screen TV monitor).
Great stuff! My fave is #1 as the lighting is crisp and balanced and she pops out of the same color background. Pic #2 is a strong 2nd for the same reasons with being able to pull out the black on black black. Pic #3 is solid just with the lighting and pose, but the mirror reflection gives it that much more of a wow factor. And I still like #4 just for the different dimension of lighting and athleticism and reminds me of Joel Grimes or Ben Shirk (both of whom I admire).
I hardly ever comment on FM at all, but just shot my first recital and my first musical and just wanted to give my 2 cents, as I follow your posts a lot and love your work.
DerrickPAC wrote:
Great stuff! My fave is #1 as the lighting is crisp and balanced and she pops out of the same color background. Pic #2 is a strong 2nd for the same reasons with being able to pull out the black on black black. Pic #3 is solid just with the lighting and pose, but the mirror reflection gives it that much more of a wow factor. And I still like #4 just for the different dimension of lighting and athleticism and reminds me of Joel Grimes or Ben Shirk (both of whom I admire).
I hardly ever comment on FM at all, but just shot my first recital and my first musical and just wanted to give my 2 cents, as I follow your posts a lot and love your work....Show more →
I'll be honest. I've been discouraged as the level of participation here on FM has dropped significantly the last few years. But comments like this is what keeps me coming back.
I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise that I'm a huge fan of Grimes and Shirk myself.
Really, really appreciate your comment, esp since you stepped out of the woodworks for it.
Thanks, Chuck! No. 5 was the result of having a concept in mind and having about 30 seconds to get the lighting right. We always do a creative shot at the end of our session, and this was the shot we wanted to do this year. But just as we started, the dancer's mom showed up to pick her up and seemed to want her out of there. I was like, are you kidding? I'm trying to make art here, and it doesn't happen in 30 seconds.
I actually wonder what it would have looked like if I had some time to experiement with the lights. Maybe not that much different, as I had a pretty clear idea on how I wanted to light it before I shot it... but you never know. Art, interrupted. :-)
nolaguy wrote:
Voted. These are exquisite, Ron. I love them all but have to say the softness and grace of No. 5 really caused me pause.
These are just fabulous Ron! I definitely voted for this set, too bad i could only vote once.
As far as favorites, that is difficult as they all are outstanding. But for me #3 really shines for the execution of the entire shot including the reflection and the strength it portrays and there is something about the composition and elegance of #5 that really draws me in.
