Scandalous

AlexShark

Lois Greenfield is scandalized by my previous frame, tethered and uploaded in real time. No, I won't show it!



BTW, tech detail: this photo has exposure increased by 3 2/3 stops in Lr. The power of RAW!

pathfinder

Tells us more of the story, please!!

AlexShark

pathfinder wrote: »

Tells us more of the story, please!!

Is it exiting or prosaic? That depends on whose passion is involved.

In 2006 I started shooting dance. it was at that time that I ventured to switch my camera from P to Av. Both are unsuitable, but what did I know! I thought I knew everything -- the best time to start studying. Which I did.

I collected every major book with dance photos, including some big names. And hated them all. They were perfectly executed portraits of ballerinas, they were not photos of dance. This is when I came across two books by Lois Greenfield:

http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bounds-Dance-Photography-Greenfield/dp/0811802329/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417314424&sr=1-1&keywords=lois+greenfield

http://www.amazon.com/Airborne-Dance-Photography-Lois-Greenfield/dp/0811821552/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417314424&sr=1-3&keywords=lois+greenfield

That was it! If I could only take a single shot like that, I'd consider myself a photographer. It took me two years to pluck up the courage to call her up in NY. Two months later I was in her studio, feeling like I was shaking the hand of royalty. And two hours later I was taking the shots I thought I never could.

A year later she invited me to shoot the National Ballet of Norway. Nine best aspiring dance photogs from around the world were there to do with the core dancers as we pleased, to stage, to choreograph, and shoot -- and I was one of them. Still can't believe my luck! But Lois seems to like what I do -- I learned the technique and found my own path. The main differences between our styles: she is a body geometry esthete, while I go for the emotional impact of the theme and performance. Hers is the only worthwhile work I know that can be safely "untitled" throughout. I could never swing that. Therein the differences.

So we keep in touch and appreciate each other's work. Nov. 1-2 I went back to her studio to shoot some more, I was stuck and needed her instruction all over again to break out of the rut. Which I did. "Birds of Prey" and "Dinah and Shechem" are likely the best work I've done so far.

The last four galleries in this section: http://alexbraverman.smugmug.com/Photography/Dance are marked "Lois Greenfield studio, 2014" -- that's more or less the result. Probably needs to be culled and some of it reprocessed or integrated into unrelated comps.

Enjoy!

pathfinder

What a fantastic story, wow!!

I looked at your galleries, especially "Birds of Prey" and "Dinah and Shechem" what a great body of work!

Thank you for the explanation. Alex!