For too long Emily and I have planned to meet and do a shoot together, but one thing led to another and when one of us was free the other had something going on…whether it was travel or weddings or, whatever. Finally, last week we were able to do a promotional shoot for her professional makeup service. Emily has been doing make-up for a decade…most under the tutelage of world famous make-up people in Portland, OR and is a certified MAC Pro make-up artist. The incredible Ema D was our model!
Ema and I started our photographic relationship on October 24th, 2009. Nearly a year ago. In that time we’ve photographed corsets, little black dresses, little pink purses AND hot pink wedding dresses, chain mail armor, swords and helmets, wolf skins and elk hides and new-aged Santa-helper. We’ve made her look hot and sweaty, cool and tattooed, like a fifties Hollywood icon, and a model for Michelangelo. Her creativity and class have come through time and time again and she has helped craft some of the most beautiful imagery I’ve ever created. Though there are more than forty years of difference between our ages, I count her as colleague, a collaborator, a fellow artist, and friend…her sense of style keeps me up to date with today’s seniors and the fashion and glamour styles of cutting edge photography.
For weeks, if not months, we’d wanted to do a Retro-Pin-up style shoot but out schedules went sideways right after school got out (for my wife AND Ema) and it wasn’t until near the end of summer that we were able to schedule time for it.
Now I have to explain that Ema doesn’t like shooting inside. She would rather be outdoors braving sub-zero temperatures in nothing more than a dress than to shoot inside….but she is graceful enough to let me subject her to a plain white seamless backdrop inside when we do shoots of this nature. Good thing.
One of the downsides of digital photography is that it’s so easy to shoot way more pictures than is necessary and I have been getting better at shooting less. It’s a PITA to go through three hundred images and select the best of the lot and then edit them. It takes a LOT of time. With that said, this session was one of our quicker shoots because I had company waiting at my home and we’d planned to make a trip up to Glacier National Park in the afternoon. Three hours we shot. We didn’t make it through half of the clothing that she had brought for the shoot. In the end I had more images in less time than we usually have. However, the quality…well, see for yourself.
Pin-up style photography: fun, fantasy, and photoshop! What’s YOUR fantasy? 
Blessings,
D.
The middle fork of the Flathead River is one of Montana’s premier whitewater rivers and the landscape is world class with the deep emerald greens and sapphire blues of the water. Because of scheduling conflicts the only time we (Keiko and I) could arrange for this shoot was in the evening. My major concern with this location is that it is a very popular ‘swimmin hole’ for locals and park employees…not to mention fisherman, rafters and kayakers. We got all of that and then some. As I had expected Keiko was the consummate professional that I saw in all the dancers from Northwest Ballet Company. The rocky shoreline was trickier than I had expected for footing, but Keiko persevered. Keiko is a two year veteran of the Digitalmontana Ballerina Project.
When we started, the sun was still higher in the sky than I wanted.
But as the shoot progresss the lighting became more even and softer:
The gracefully arched bridge gave us an added architechtural element that reflected the grace and movement of Keiko as she danced along this beautiful stream.
During our shoot, not only did we have many obstacles to work around, like people jumping off the bridge in the background, we also had a special visitor inspect the set:
As the sun dropped below the horizon the light became magical and we shot until it was nearly black:
Thanks, Keiko, for your amazing performance and thanks, also to Megan (from the Avalanche Gorgeous shoot) for providing her help on the set and technical advice to Keiko.
A slideshow with more images can be found here: River Dance. If you do not have the Photodex plug-in you will be asked to install it on your computer. It’s small, easy and safe. It’s a great way of sharing your important slideshows with friends and family. Go see Keiko’s River Dance images!
Blessings! D.
Megan had emailed me last year and wanted to be a part of the first Ballerina Project shoot. Unfortunately, I had already selected four girls to be part of it and, eventually, between Marisa (owner of Northwest Ballet Company) and myself we’d decided we would make this a ‘plum’ for soloists and principals or seniors.
The area for this shoot had been scouted by my wife and myself a few days prior and I contacted Marisa for the schedule and logistics…costuming etc. I wanted to arrive at Avalanche Gorge before the sun came streaming down into the forest bottom and messed with the gorgeous cathedral-like lighting I wanted. Poor Marisa is a night person and my early morning hours have caused her much consternation…with her own shoot in the canola field and now with Megan’s shoot. I’m sure she considered not going, but I’m certainly glad she DID come. Her assistance and technical support was invaluable and besides…she’s a good friend!
I was more than a bit concerned shooting in this area as it is one of the most popular hikes in Glacier National Park and at times seems more like a mall than a mountain trail. What I didn’t want was a crowd of gawkers or someone who would interfere with our shoot. I’m sure they were astounded to find that Glacier Park has the most unusual ‘wildlife’. Marisa, Megan and I felt like an exhibition, but only a few tourists stopped to ask questions; all comments were favorable however, most kept hiking.
I can hardly imagine a more picturesque place in the world, let alone a stage for one of the most beautiful art-forms known to mankind around the world. That day it provided us another visual example of combining two forms of beauty and creating a third…a synergy was created.
Megan added style, grace, athleticism and beauty that I have come to expect from the Northwest Ballet Company members, but this shoot was hers alone. Welcome to the Ballerina Project, Megan.
To view a simple, slideshow of more images from this shoot, click this link: Avalanche Gorgeous If this is the first time you have seen a Photodex slide show, you will be asked to download a plug-in in order to view the show. The plug-in doesn’t take long and doesn’t take up a lot of space and is very safe. It’s a great way to share slideshows.
Before leaving StanleyI slipped out of the room in the wee hours of the morning, shortly after O’dark-thirty, and drove back to the same spot I’d shot the stormy skies over the Sawtooth. Early morning smells, to me, are normally heightened by the fresh air and higher relative humidity, however the skies had cleared and the rain from the previous evening had made the sagebrush smells more intense than the reed diffusers I use in my home. And the views? Incredible!
After checking out of the motel we went back to the same restaurant we’d dined at the previous evening, called ‘The Stanley Baking Company’ located at 14 Wall Street. I highly recommend it for it’s rustic / outdoorsy atmospher AND the amazing food! The waitstaff are friendly and the patrons are equally so and easy to speak with. The natural surroundings seem to allay any stress or anger a person may be carrying around. It is as if the splendor had spoken to the soul as much as the their sight. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture a ‘family’ portrait at our newly appointed favorite spot in the world, so we returned to the same vantage point and posed:
The road we traveled took us south and at the edge of town is the road to Redfish Lake, a beautiful high mountain body of water. As we crossed the stream outlet I pulled over and hiked down to the rushing whitewater and found a pair of American Water Dippers (also known as a Water Ouzel) doing their mating thing.
These birds actually walk on the bottom of fast moving streams to feed!
Once out of the Sawtooth National Forest the scenery changed tremendously and the skies around us gave signs of impending storms. The clouds, however were an awesome sight to behold:
Session four took place the day after shooting the “Water Ballet” session and took place at my favorite barn studio near Somers. Keiko had suggested doing a barn theme and I had been thinking the same thing for several days before she mentioned it. We met in the morning to catch the easterly sun sprinkling its light through the holes in the barn roof.
(click for larger image)
Session three and four was with Keiko S. another exquisite ballerina who dances for Marisa at Northwest School of Ballet. In “A Night of Classics”, their spring recital I saw Keiko dance a selection from “Don Quixote” in a red tutu that was absolutely stunning! Here is one of those images to show you what I mean:
Several of Marisa’s dancers answered my call for models and Keiko was one of them. She shared with me her vision of the Ballerina project and I checked it out. One idea was a barn on her property but I told her I had a better barn, but her water park selection was amazing! We spent an evening together capturing images all around the park and even in the water! Here are some of her images:
Thanks, Keiko!
My second Ballet shoot took place at a state park near where I live. My model Meredith and her mother met me there on a warm spring evening just before sunset. The place I remembered from a previous session I couldn’t find and plus we had other people to contend with that I didn’t want to be in the background. We chose a spot above Flathead Lake and made it a part of the composition. For those not familiar with Flathead Lake, it has the distinction of being the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. The spot we chose was awesome and Meredith was too!
