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March 2015 archive

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

2015 Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles photos released

Columbia, MD Arthur Murray at Spring Freestyles in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media
Columbia, MD Arthur Murray at Spring Freestyles in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media
Gaithersburg, MD Arthur Murray at Spring Freestyles in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media
Gaithersburg, MD Arthur Murray at Spring Freestyles in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media

Tysons, Virginia

We covered another gathering of dancers for the Arthur Murray 2015 Spring Freestyles last week at the McLean Hilton in Tysons. With all of the students in one ballroom throughout the entire weekend, the crowd was LOUD! They were enthusiastically supportive of their dance friends as they danced through heats Friday afternoon to Saturday evening.

Judges at the Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles ©TimeLine Media
Judges at the Arthur Murray 2015 Spring Freestyles ©TimeLine Media

The craziest part of the event made for the best photos. That was the hotly contested Potomac Cup Team Match. In these heats, students from different schools will dance with students from other schools at their same level. Most will have never danced with each other before. But because of the core syllabus that is taught at all Arthur Murray studios, they can dance their figures together. The competition is between the schools from Virginia – Alexandria, Ashburn, Tysons Corner, and Virginia Beach – against the Maryland studios of Chevy Chase, Columbia, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring.

Potomac Cup

Presenting the Potomac Cup at the Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles ©TimeLine Media
Presenting the Potomac Cup at the Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles ©TimeLine Media
Virginia wins the Potomac Cup at the Spring Freestyles event in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media
Virginia wins the Potomac Cup at the Spring Freestyles event in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media

There was a theme to the teams as well. Virginia came in their best cowboy Western gear, while Maryland dressed as fairy tale characters. This is a big departure from the ballroom gowns and suits all of the other heats! In the end, Virginia was judged to take the Potomac Cup this time!

Arthur Murray Virginia Beach, VA studio at Spring Freestyles ©TimeLine Media
Arthur Murray Virginia Beach, VA studio at Spring Freestyles ©TimeLine Media

During dinner on Saturday, I was asked by some of the studios to get some group photos. It is always nice to see their happy faces after having all of their hard work pay off. Everyone is much more relaxed, and ready to enjoy some social dancing and professional shows!

Virginia Beach, Virginia Arthur Murray at Spring Freestyles in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media
Virginia Beach, Virginia Arthur Murray at Spring Freestyles in Tysons, VA ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

2014 New Jersey State Open photos expiring

Atlantic City, NJ

Two big updates are on the TimeLine Media proofing website today. The most urgent is today is the last day to view and purchase photos from the 2014 New Jersey State Open! This was a great event at a new venue last year held October 23-26, 2014. The Bally’s in Atlantic City is the site of the first time I ever seriously photographed ballroom dancers, and this was a nice way to recharge my photography with a new scene, and a new lighting setup. Because of the way the room was setup, I had a very two-sided lighting setup that really worked well over this weekend.

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

2014 New Jersey State Open
2014 New Jersey State Open

The photos as usual, were organized by the number worn by male dancers during competitive heats. We saw a lot of familiar faces out there, and they seemed to really enjoy the setup this year. If you did dance at this competition, but you had some trouble finding your photos, please let me know. I would be happy to find your photos, or take your orders over the phone. I know there can be some snafus placing an order online, and I would be happy to talk with you about your images too.

Ballroom dance competition
Ballroom dance competition
Ballroom dance competition
Ballroom dance competition
Standard Ballroom Dancing
Standard Ballroom Dancing

Dancesport Competition

These were some of my favorite images from the pro-am part of the competition. The majority of the action at these competitions have students and their instructors on the dance floor, and I thought I should feature them on here as I usually post photos of the professional competitions. This is an example of what your photos will look like if we are sent to cover your upcoming competition. We love having good images of our dancing to have and share with friends on social media. The videos just do not have the same impact as a good still in my mind.

Ballroom dance competition
Ballroom dance competition
Smooth ballroom dancing
Smooth ballroom dancing
Rhythm Competition Dancing
Rhythm Competition Dancing

Also, please note that the early-bird sale form the UPenn Classic also ends at the proofing site today. This is the 15% off sale on all orders from this event. The photos will still be available to view from this event, only the sale is ending. The New Jersey State Open, however, will not be available to view after tonight. The files are moving to the archive to make room for new events on the website.

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

We have two events on the schedule coming up this weekend – the DC Area Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles, and the Baltimore Dancesport Challenge. Stay tuned here and at the proofing site for updates on them. See you on the dance floor soon!

2014 New Jersey State Open
2014 New Jersey State Open

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Personal, Photography, Technology, Travel | 0 comment

Black and White Challenge – Part 2

Nokesville, VA

To follow up from a post a few Fridays ago, I’m posting here more black and white photos I made specifically for the Facebook Black and White Challenge. Being that these were made over the holidays, we spent a lot of time with our family. The familiar surroundings sometimes makes it difficult to make new photos. The scenes are too familiar, and nuances that make for compelling images seem difficult to pick out. Sometimes, you just need to change your angle. Get higher, or get lower. That is usually my first go-to move! Here Dani, a little dachshund becomes much larger in the photo. I put my head and camera right on the ground. I took a series of photos as she sniffed around the grass. In a stroke of luck, she licked making her look like a lioness!

Dani-in-the-yard
Dani-in-the-yard

Moody Environments

In these other photos, the mood was really helped by a thick fog rolling in from the river. It was an unusually warm air day, but the water was still cold creating the foggy scene. You could almost feel the low ceiling when you were standing by the edge of the water. Not too much noise was cutting through their either – only lapping water and shore birds. This image of the tree branches cutting through the negative space of the cloudy background made me think of canvas paintings of a coastline. This is almost exactly how the photo was captured in camera:

Trees-through-the-fog
Trees-through-the-fog

The last took a little more work in Photoshop. I placed a neutral density (ND) filter in front of my wide angle lens. This filter does not change the color tone of the scene, it only makes it darker – like sunglasses for your camera! Putting the camera on a tripod, the ND filter allows you to lower the shutter speed which makes the moving water smooth into a blurry sheet at the bottom of the photo. To simplify the photo even more, I removed some string running across the pylons, and other piers that jutted into the left and right sides of the frame. It makes for a more minimalistic presentation that my eye likes much more than the original. Have a great weekend, readers!

Foggy-pier
Foggy-pier

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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