Ballerinas – a photographic journey (10)

The weather had been quite bad lately with some bitter temperatures and then some of the white stuff, so co-producer Qassandra Bachand (McIntyre) and I decided to do some serious scouting for a funky, no pun intended locale.  We really had no concept in mind, which is strange for both of us, but we thought the location would then dictate the pose and the clothing.

If you don’t live in Kamloops, our university, Thompson Rivers U has some fantastic architecture and quite a bit of diversity with the ever expanding campus.  We also have to consider access, legalities and the ever present threat of getting our asses kicked out of some places which made TRU even more desirable, as the security there are very nice.

We were running out of places to visit though when Qassandra went around a corner and stood there smiling, waiting for me.  We both loved the strength and simplicity, and even the industrial feel of the staircase.  So, as they say the rest is history and another image for the series is in the books!  I have to give extra kudos to Q and Morgan our dancer tonight as well as I had some not so great news before the shoot and wasn’t my usual self…ah life!

Co-producer; choreographer Qassandra Bachand (McIntyre)

Dancer:  Morgan

Introducing Qassandra Bachand (McIntyre) co-producer; choreographer for ‘Ballerinas-a photographic journey’

Every time an image is posted in the ‘Ballerinas-a photographic journey’, I’ve mentioned the co-producer and choreographer, Qassandra Bachand (McIntyre) so I felt it was time for a formal introduction for all those inquiring.  It’s been a pleasure working with such an accomplished professional and without her the series wouldn’t  be the same!

Dancing from the tender age of three, Qassandra has an extensive background in Contemporary, Modern, Jazz & Hip-Hop techniques with 15 years teaching experience, from beginners to professionals. She started her training on Vancouver Island with the late Constantine Darling where she had the opportunity to learn from master teachers from all over North America and Europe; later training in Montreal with the focus being Contemporary dance. Apart from being the Artistic director for the Fraser Canyon dance studio, she has taught and choreographed for Kaleidoscope Theatre, Lynda Raino dance school, Suddenly dance theatre, BC festivals, live Musicals and at various studios and public schools in BC.  Qassandra coached competitive gymnastics at a provincial/national level while in Montreal and enjoys working with actors, models, singers and athletes to enhance their artistic abilities. She can be reached on facebook or at her email addy qblythe@hotmail.co

More new imagery to come shortly!!

Cheers, Kelly

New! Kelowna photography workshops for 2012

My good friend and business partner, Darren Robinson of www.darrenrobinsonphotography.com and I have completed our 2012 Kelowna workshop schedule and we think you’re going to like it!  The theme of the workshops is: ‘People & Places’.  We’re offering 3 dates for each theme, for your convenience.

The workshops are a full day and all the details can be seen on the PDF HERE

We’re very excited about these and we hope you will be too.  We welcome all levels of photographers to explore their creative visions while perfecting any technical issues.

We hope to hear from you!

Cheers, Kelly

 

 

Ballerinas – a photographic journey (9)

I was holding a workshop last year:  ‘Dusk and evening urban landscapes’ and after finishing a beautiful overview dusk shot of the city at a view site, I moved everyone to the downtown core.  We finished at 0100 that night.  I remembered with clarity how this Landsdowne location had looked so after talking to co-producer; choreorgrapher Qassandra Bachand (McIntyre) about my vision, we agreed it would be a very dynamic arena for an image in the series.

We needed to anchor the dancer with the slow shutter speed it required to make the traffic flow.  Parking meters for once proved invaluable!

Once again we lucked out with the weather, I mean c’mon, it’s the middle of January!  I can’t ever recall a better winter, so it was fantastic to take advantage of it again

Dancer:  Morgan

 

Ballerinas – a photographic journey (8)

Our first shoot of the new year !  To coin an Aussie phrase, I’m absolutely gob-smacked to be working in a snow-free, relatively warm environment in January.  I can’t remember a winter with so  little snow and such warm temps…love it!

For this image in the series, we wanted a simplistic and straight lined pose to accompany the magnificent building in the background, and something that would lead to a good imaginative story.  I just couldn’t portray this one  in B&W, it was too striking in color, especially considering the red dress

Dancer:  Tracy

Co-production; choreography – Qassandra Bachand (McIntyre)

Image title:  Resplendent

Ballerinas – a photographic journey (7)

For this image I wanted to show the strength of foundation that a dancer must have in order for him/her to develop their craft. 

In scouting it was important to find a locale that would allow us to replicate that strength by mimicking a strong architectural base.  We were able to carry that out on the walkway at 3rd and Landsdowne over the tracks.

Dancer:  Anna         Choreorgraphy / co-production:  Qassandra McIntyre

Image title:  Architectural wonder

Ballerinas – a photographic journey (6)

Old world architecture in Kamloops runs pretty thin..sad but true.  Of course there are nuggets to be found as in the case of the following image.

This is the new ‘Venture Kamloops’ building, previously a cigar factory many many many years ago…

Simlicity is great, it helps tell a story, providing your imagination has enough stimulus to do the task at hand.  We coached our dancer into something that resembled an inquistive gesture to promote a story, highlighting her poise and grace.

Dancer:  Anna      Choreography / co-production:  Qassandra McIntyre

Image title:  Expectations

See the series @ www.naturalwonders.ca

Ballerinas – a photographic journey (5)

In what was, unbeknownst to me at the time the start of my Ballerina series, our dancer performs over Kamloops lake, on what was an incredibly hot, late afternoon in July.

In workshops and public forums I’m constantly speaking of the need to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way for the simple reason that we never know when that opp might come full circle for us.  What we take from a session, whether it be technical, social networking, lighting etc. is something that no classroom can replicate.  And, in a case like mine this one shoot has led me down another path that has been incredibly rewarding.

Dancer:  Geralyn

Image title:  Inception

See the series @ www.naturalwonders.ca

Ballerinas – a photographic journey (4)

We decided to give our dancer Tracy (and ourselves!) a break for this shoot by working indoors, considering the light was harsh and the temps a wee bit on the chilly side.

I had done some scouting the day before and we all loved the simplicity of this particular site; even the lighting was cool, and you can see the angelic shape of the lighted areas, it just seemed to work.  That is the joy of scouting.

Our dancer was a tireless worker that we enjoyed having on the project so look for her in the future.

Dancer:  Tracy   Image title:  Celebration

Choreography / co-production:  Qassandra McIntyre

See the series @ www.naturalwonders.ca

Ballerinas – a photographic journey (3)

With the third installment of the series we wanted to get a bit theatrical with our dancer.  Anna was very excited about this prospect and so it came with ease when the concept came to producing.

After I scouted the locale a day before we started the shoot day in the studio, perfecting clothing and poses that would work for the concept.  We were stoked with the mask Anna brought!

It was chilly day but we toughed it out and had a blast doing it..

Choreography / co-production:  Qassandra McIntyre

Dancer:  Anna   Image title:  Smooth criminal

See the series @ www.naturalwonders.ca