Recently I did a photo project that focused on the learning process through the prism of the body & movement. The shoot was simple two dancers in studio on a white cove. The inspiration for the project came directly out of my last major project "Conversations." That project was born out of a fundamental interest in thought processes. This segued into the process of learning manifested through movement.
The work in a sense needed to manifest, physically through the body, a process which is entirely mental.
IN THE STUDIO & EDITING
Once we were in the studio we established a manner of working which focused on repetition of movement so that the dancers were pulled into a mindset allowing them to take the necessary risks. What I learned was that dancers could not simply perform. That they needed to be placed in situations that allowed them to take risk. Risk is inherently something we minimize. This is even more so the moment a camera pops up and documents an activity. Additionally the aesthetics needed to be rough, raw, and wrong. I did my usual two format shooting. One digital test setup, that was put away once I had the lighting adjusted and set, & a film setup. The film rig was to do the heavy lifting. I shot b&w as well as color slide film (Fuji Provia 100f) on a Mamiya RZ67 using the standard 110 2.8 & 50mm ULD. The lighting was a simple two light layout with one light doing 90% of the heavy lifting with a 2nd light picking up where the other left off.
