We are all setup for today’s Baltimore Dancesport Challenge! It should be a great day of ballroom dancing. I will try my best to make the best images of all the competitors today. If you have any questions about the dance photos, please let me know. Overall, the photos will be available to view at the TimeLine Media proofing site by next weekend. Here is my view for the day:
Competition dance floor for the Baltimore Dancesport Challenge at the BWI Westin
UPDATE! The photos are now ready to view at the TimeLine Media proofing site. Similarly to other events we have covered, all the photos have been sorted by numbers worn by gentlemen during competitive heats. Of course, we may have made some mistakes, so let me know if there are any misfield. Additionally, let me know if you have any trouble finding your photos! We know how hard you worked to prepare for this event. Not to mention, we recognize that it is not every week that you dance on a competition floor for the judges. For that reason, I want to make sure you have a chance to see the results of your efforts!
Just a quick post today. I have loaded all the camera, lighting, and computers for the Baltimore Dancesport Challenge that will be held tomorrow. It usually takes us a week to edit and sort all the photos into categories. After all of that work, the photos will be uploaded to the proofing website here:
Good luck on the dance floor this weekend and stay tuned to the blog or Facebook page for updates to when the photos are review for viewing. After the event, we will sort and edit all the photos. In the same way we do for other events, this will make it easier for you to find your photos.
Thanks to Marielle and Carlos Pabon, the organizers for this competition, for having us cover their event for another year! We enjoy catching up with them and their studio mates at their competition. They support our photography with co-marketing our efforts. I obviously enjoy taking ballroom dance photos and welcome every opportunity to do so. See you this weekend!
It is nice to capture the SingStrong a cappella community as it gathers to show off their new compositions and arrangements for each other, and perform them for others that are so enthusiastic about their art! Overall it is the same excitement I felt when I heard my first “real” a cappella recording in college. It was life changing! My ear had always gravitated to vocals in music weather they were strictly a cappella, or weather they were small vocal-only sections in music.
Some that I remember are Eric Carmen’s “Make Me Lose Control”, or the African choruses that were recorded for the soundtracks of “The Lion King”. Also the soundtrack to the movie, “The Power of One”. Moreover one season of “Growing Pains” was sung by an all-male a cappella group! It wasn’t until a friend in college loaned me his copy of the Virginia Gentlemen’s CD, “Untied” that it finally clicked. At this time I identified what drew me to this music. From there, I have been collecting CDs, and downloads, and sharing them with everyone that was remotely interested. It has been a blessing to reconnect with others by attending SingStrong. I hope to amplify enjoyment of this music by capturing the wide range of vocal music artists in photos.
Keeping that setting in mind, my life has changed a little since college. In fact, it was my girlfriend, now wife, that was taking the photos back then! Here is her photo that became the album cover for the first recording by Juxtaposition. They are an a cappella group from Virginia Tech where I served as their first music director. I, of course, was the most tame in the photo:
Album cover of “Assume the Position” by Juxtaposition
Blue Jupiter
At the last SingStrong, I got a chance to take some posed photos of Blue Jupiter – a high-energy, professional a cappella group from New York City. They put on an AMAZING show, and the members really know how to command the stage. This makes photos of them easy on the photographer. They are so comfortable in front of an audience, and they always come camera-ready especially if it is a few minutes before their show!
Marty, their vocal percussionist is also the audio engineer that sets up the on-stage sound for all the performances. His setup lets the performers sound better than they would at any other venue that weekend. Jonathan, and Diana teach and produce much of the festival. They let me roam around and be creative with my photos which helps to give an overall view of the workshops, coachings and performances. Here are a few of the photos I took of them backstage, and how I think album photos could look today. Much different from 1996!
