2009 December | Photo Reiter

Monthly Archives: December 2009

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Clara’s Dream – NH dance photography

December 22, 2009 – 10:19 am

For those of you who thought tap dance was old-fashioned, stodgy, or simply people clicking away on a stage…WRONG!

A couple of night’s ago I had the opportunity to photograph a performance of Clara’s Dream, a jazz and tap rendition of The Nutcracker produced by Maine dancer and artistic director Drika Overton. The costumes were stunning, the stage lighting and set design phenomenal, the band tremendous…but all paled in comparison to the dancers. They could have put this show on on your local street corner and it still would have been mind-blowing.
From a photographer’s perspective, it was like being a kid in a candy store – almost impossible to choose what to shoot – there were visual delights stage left, stage right, and center stage. If you took the time to look away fro the spotlit dance, all sorts of subtle dances were happening in the background. I’ve never seen anything like it.

My suggestion – send Drika an email (http://www.jazzandtap.com/ ) and beg her to bring the show back in 2010. The show was first performed in 2000, and its been on vacation since 2006. Don’t let it go back into mothballs again – the 6 musicians and 20 dancersw are a must see-must hear. After insuring its return, Mark it on your calendar, and make sure not to miss this show – it could – and should – be the start of a new holiday tradition!

And support it. Without money, the arts are just a footnote in a textbook. Don’t let that happen to this one-of-a-kind show. It’s too great to slip away.

Here’s a slideshow of some of the highlights of Clara’s Dream.

By Jay | Posted in Personal Project, commercial photography, dance, inspiration, music, photojournalism | Tagged artist, dance, jazz, photojournalism | Comments (3)

New student – NH portrait photography

December 16, 2009 – 1:07 pm

It’s been almost a year since I taught my last class at McIntosh College – the school was closed for corporate reasons I won’t go into but still leave a sour taste in my mouth – and I’ve missed the teaching role.

A few weeks ago I was doing a bit of volunteer work at the New Outlook Teen Center in Exeter, helping out with the beginning of a photo class since the person teaching it had a conflict and couldn’t be there for the beginning. When the teacher got there we had the opportunity to talk and she said she’d liike to do some classes with me…how cool is that, since the person – her name is Jaye Carr – is a pretty darn good photographer already.

Our first session was mainly focused on goals, expectations…and having a love affair with light. I am always struck by how few photographers really take the time to study and either appreciate or figure out how to modify or supplement the light that’s there. While we were talking I grabbed a few frames of Jaye…I was liking the light and the interest that was so evident in her eyes.

I imagine there will be more photos from the classs as we go along – as well as a guest post from Jaye!

Realizing how much I miss this part of my life has me cooking up some ideas for a few pretty awesome workshops I’m planning on putting together for late summer and early fall. Stay tuned for details – and until then, here’s a few photos of Jaye. jaye1002 jaye 1012 jaye 1026

By Jay | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Angela Ordained! – Mass. event photography

December 13, 2009 – 10:30 pm

Saturday afternoon I was on a road trip to Concord, Mass for the ordination of our good friend Angela Herrera. A short time after we landed in New Hampshire, Angela and Carlos and their two children came to Boston so Angela could attend Harvard Divinity School. They were good friends from our tenure in Salem, Oregon and it was a real treat to reconnect with them.

After almost three years, Angela was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister. It was so cool to hear speaker after speaker note the qualities that we had known about Angela since becoming friends almost 13 years ago. I sat in the balcony and felt like I had known a celebrity back when she was just a new Mom, part of a Mom’s group that I used to call the crunchy granola Moms. And now here she was – the focus of the beginning of her dreams. People came from Harvard, from Concord and Salem, ( both Mass and Oregon )to witness and share the moment.Carlos was almost floating with pride that his wife had accomplished this milestone.

The most powerful part for me came when the entire community – friends, family, congregation, professors and mentors all put their hands on Angela in a show of community support that put chills down my spine.

And now Angela is Reverend Angela…and to think, I knew her when!

12-12-09 ANGELA HERRERA ORDINATION0010_2_4_tonemapped

By Jay | Posted in Personal Project, photojournalism | Tagged Herrera, Massachusetts, photojournalism | Comments (1)

Karen – NH theatrical headshots

December 1, 2009 – 10:35 am

Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph Karen. She needed new headshots for a theater resume and approached me about shooting them. We ended up working in a really tight space, the back of the Lonely Little Thrift shop in Newmarket since the store was closed Monday. The setup was simple – a black background to accentuate her hair, two small lights, one shooting through a white umbrella and the other just bounced with a dome to diffuse the light.

Karen has one of the most arresting looks I’ve worked with – she’s comfortable in front of the camera and doesn’t try to be anybody but who she is. What a treat!

We got some pretty intense photos – here’s a few stills and another showit slideshow. I’m thinking I truly owe David Jay a Christmas present for helping me add this dimension to the presentation of my work! Thanks David.

11-30-09 KAREN