Today marked the take-down of the 2014 North Island College Professional Photography Gallery Show, presented at the Courtenay Museum.

For this show, I presented images of dancers and gymnasts performing in a forest and in an industrial parking lot in Campbell River, BC. As an athlete (formerly a high-calibre Ultimate Frisbee player, mountain bike racer, expedition adventure racer, and currently a rock climber), I have a strong connection with motion in general and human movement in particular.  I was inspired by images that I had seen online of dancers in unusual places; I now know that they trace back to Jordan Matter's "Dancers Among Us".  I was fortunate enough to be introduced to two dancers and a gymnast through a mutual friend. I set them loose in a nearby forest and industrial parking lot, and took pictures while I let them do what they do best.  This is probably the best expression of what motivates me as a photographer right now: awesome people doing awesome things in awesome places.

I had six images presented at the show, of which the four below were printed very, very large: 30" x 22" images printed on Moab Entrada Rag Bright paper, matted and framed at 36" x 28".  

From a technical perspective, I also consider this a showcase for what I can do with lighting. Three of the four images below required supplementary light, either because of the very strong backlighting, or because in the case of the forest, the ambient light wasn't sufficiently bright to freeze the motion. Light was provided by up to four Olympus FL-600R speedlights, all controlled via the built-in Remote Commander function of my Olympus OM-D E-M1 camera.  I can't imagine having to physically set these lights manually since in some cases over the course of the shoot they were placed across a small pond or high up on platforms. Being able to control the lighting ratios from one spot was a timesaver and helped maintain my sanity, not to mention that of my models.

It was amazing seeing my work and the work of the other students printed large and displayed in a space that did them justice; it was also amazing working with the talented dancers and gymnast that made my gallery contribution possible. I look forward to being able to present in a gallery setting again, and to working with these talented people in the future!

Dancing Outside 4One of a series of images of dancers and a gymnast that I presented for the year-end NIC Professional Photography Program gallery show. Dancing Outside 3One of a series of images of dancers and a gymnast that I presented for the year-end NIC Professional Photography Program gallery show. Dancing Outside 2One of a series of images of dancers and a gymnast that I presented for the year-end NIC Professional Photography Program gallery show.

Dancing Outside 1One of a series of images of a dancers and a gymnast that I presented for the year-end the NIC Professional Photography Program gallery show.