"It's okay to look back to see how far you've come but keep moving forward"
ROY BENNETT
Today Facebook reminded me of a post I wrote two years ago. I was at Northern Ballet in Leeds photographing two professional dancers for my Denim en Pointe series.
Two years ago. 731 days. That caught me off guard a bit.
I loved that shoot. Not just because of the location or the dancers, but because of how it felt. Simple. Creative. Just me and two artists figuring things out as we went.
It made me realise something.
In those 731 days I have photographed a lot of dancers. Festivals. Competitions. Studio shoots. Theatre shows. I have been busy, and I am grateful for that. This industry has been good to me.
But I have not done another shoot like that.
No one to blame but me. I have filled my calendar with good things. Dance events. Ambassador work. Editing. Emails. Life. When you are self employed, you tend to say yes to what is in front of you and push the “one day” ideas to the side.
Working one to one with dancers, especially at a professional level, is different. It slows everything down. It gives space to try ideas. To collaborate properly. To create something that is not just about documenting a performance, but about making an image.
I have missed that.
So this is me saying it out loud.
I want to do more of that work again.
Not instead of the festivals and comps. I still love those. But alongside them. On purpose. Not just if it happens to fall into my lap.
If you are a professional dancer, or training at that level and want to create something strong and a bit different, let’s talk.
Sometimes a Facebook memory is just a reminder.
Sometimes it is a kick up the backside.
