Archive for the ‘beauty of a dancer’ Category

I did not want to be a tree, a flower or a wave. In a dancer’s body, we as audience must see ourselves, not the imitated behavior of everyday actions, not the phenomenon of nature, not exotic creatures from another planet, but something of the miracle that is a human being. – Martha Graham

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Photographing movement & dance is one of my upmost favorite things to do. Watching people speak through their bodies, to tell a story, to express an emotion. There are few things in life that are more beautiful than the gift to express through movement.

Styling by Susan Yee

This session was the first of a new dance series that I am doing, titled Beauty of a Dancer. I already posted my second session in this series with Tara, and I will be shooting a few more this coming month. Again, it’s a bit different in vein of Movement from Within, as this is much more focused on ballet dancers, with some contemporary movement as well. It is more technically focused of the two dance series, but at the same time, I want the beauty and spirit of a dancer to come through — more than the technique. Whereas Movement from Within does not focus on technique whatsoever — instead, it is the encouragement of free, organic movement that comes from deep within a person.

I always love collaborating with Tiffany & I am so excited to finally be sharing these with you. I absolutely love photographing dancers & I can’t wait to see where this project goes!

Styling: Susan Yee

 

I sat here for some time, trying to figure out what to write about this session. Not because I had nothing to say, but because I wasn’t sure how to formulate my thoughts into a cohesive manner. I could tell you about what a beautiful dancer Tara is (because she is), or I could tell you about my obsession with ballerinas and pointe shoes (give me a camera and put me in front of a ballerina and I’ll be irrationally happy).

Or I could talk about how these images were a lot of things for me.

Growth, because this was the first time I shot a dance session 90% on film. I learned so much doing this session, about the technique of photographing a dancer like this as well as how I want to approach sessions like this in the future.

And this isn’t like my Movement sessions — this was something else entirely.

This was a small seed, planted in the dirt of an idea, about capturing the beauty of a dancer. I started first with Tiffany’s session (a full blog of which is forthcoming) & Tara’s is my second. When I start projects like this, or have ideas, they usually don’t solidify until I’ve gone through and put myself in the thick of it. Had trials and errors. Experienced and seen what I truly wanted.

To be honest, this idea is still a bit like vapors to me. Capturing the beauty of a dancer? Isn’t that supposedly what photographers are supposed to do anyway? Am I offering anything truly new to the dance photography world? I want to believe I am. Deep down, I know I am.

My voice will solidify as I go, my images will hold meaning and beauty in the way that I want them to. It’ll all come in time. Right now, all I can do is create.

Styling: Susan Yee