I started this project three years ago....I just didn't know it at the time.
I recently decided to make shooting ballerinas my main focus. Shooting ballerinas out in the wild pushes all my creative buttons, beauty, action, drama and collaboration all rolled into one amazing subject.
Up to now I have photographed a few of the local professional and apprentice level ballerinas here in Boise. There are still a few local ballerinas I would love to shoot and that is a work in progress.
Over the next few months I will be adding a lot of content to this blog so if you like dance and ballerinas in particular please make this a regular stop in your internet travels.
The premise for the project is that I choose an environment outside of the dance studio and place the dancer into the setting/frame and set her free to creatively use the space. Sometimes I help them out but for the most part they do not need much help.
It is interesting to watch how they kind of settle into the space and start trying things, they usually start with big moves and finish with smaller shapes/poses as they become more comfortable in the space.
Most of the time it is the last couple shots in a space that are the gems.
Along the way we entertain a lot of passersby and have a lot of laughs. We take a lot of pictures and keep the energy flowing by moving around a lot.
Almost all of the work will be done outside in natural light and with the Nikon D3 and the 70-200 F2.8 lens.
Here is a link to the main photo gallery for those that want to jump the gun and see the entire project as it is right now....a work in progress.
I will be adding a lot of content and culling, probably most of the shots that are in the main gallery now but to get a feel for where I am going, here is the existing gallery:
Here is the facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/FreestyleBallerina
Here is the work in progress main gallery:
http://alloutdoor.smugmug.com/UrbanBallerinaProject/Freestyle-urban-ballarinas/28490996_L3k6vF#!i=1868944867&k=njbSRSq
And a couple example shots:
