Posts Tagged ‘dancing’

Busy Monday

This last weekend was very busy for TimeLine Media! There have been so many hits to the website which I was expecting with the expiring events. We know it was a busy weekend in the northern Virginia area for ballroom dancers as they competed at the Virginia State Dancesport Championships in Reston, VA. I have enjoyed seeing everyone’s images of the great dancing! We were busy with our own photography projects out of town, but you will have to wait to see our results from that on the blog – there are some great images, and I am excited to share those soon.

Baltimore-Dancesport-Challenge-©TimeLine-Media
Baltimore-Dancesport-Challenge-©TimeLine-Media

As a reminder, the Baltimore Dancesport Challenge photos expire today. They will no longer be viewable on the website, and it will take some time to get them out of the archive after they are removed. Thanks to all the participants that visited the website, and purchased photos from this event!

Bug-on-a-lily-©TimeLine-Media
Bug-on-a-lily-©TimeLine-Media

I need to get back to putting in orders and editing photos, so this will not be a big post. If you were following me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have noticed a new camera in the feed. Last week was the official launch date for the new Nikon D810 camera. I was lucky enough to get a copy from my local camera store, and I was eager to make some test images. So, I went out to a small lily patch in the side yard.

Bug-on-a-lily-©TimeLine-Media
Bug-on-a-lily-©TimeLine-Media

Luckily, there was someone else on the shoot that I really did not see until after I zoomed in! The very high megapixel count of this camera allowed me to see this lawn big so clearly! I immediately grabbed a macro lens to see how close I could get to this guy. He made it a fun shoot, and a perfect setting to test some new gear.

Bug-on-a-lily-©TimeLine-Media
Bug-on-a-lily-©TimeLine-Media

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

Photography Zone – Tech Thursday

Long Work Days

Not every photo shoot produces the same results as the next, but not in the way that I expected. Of course, I try to get better photos each time that I go out there. Like a musical or athletic performance, you can get into a zone where everything goes right, sometimes you can get into a slump, and if it is a particularly long assignment, it can be a combination of both. For some multi-day ballroom dance events, I can get fatigued with the length of time in between some awards breaks. I can feel that my concentration is not as good, and I try different kinds of things to snap me back to task.

Ballroom-dancers-©TimeLine-Media
Ballroom-dancers-©TimeLine-Media

The first thing I try to remember is that every photo I make will have to be looked at again later in post. That means, I first try to make sure I have a clear view of one face, or two faces before I release the shutter. If I only have pictures of backs, that just takes time to look at, and delete. It may seem like it will not take that much time, but if you have thousands to look through, every second counts!

American-Star-Ball-©TimeLine-Media
American-Star-Ball-©TimeLine-Media

Photography Patience

Next, I try to wait for some really good action from dancers. If they are just standing there waiting for the music to start, or holding a starting position before they start to go, you can get a really nice photo of them. It will likely be in focus, with perfect composition, but no “life”, no action, and no real reason to spend time with the photo. This is something that I did a lot more when I first started photographing dancers. I really like the images from a technical standpoint, but it was not much different than what you could get with a cell phone at the event, and did not have the spontaneity that comes from the best dance photos.

So now, I try to avoid “dead dresses” where the fabric is just hanging down to the floor. Even if it is just their first few steps out of the gate, having the dress in the middle of a move – up and away from the body is much better. You will come away with more keepers from a collection of static images of dancers that more resemble statues than dynamic figures.

Ballroom-dancers-©TimeLine-Media
Ballroom-dancers-©TimeLine-Media
American-Star-Ball-©TimeLine-Media
American-Star-Ball-©TimeLine-Media

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

That’s Dancing Summer Showcase Sale Ending

I hope all of you had a great July 4 holiday weekend! We had some great weather in the northern Virginia, Washington DC area. Some mild weather which is rare for this time of year really helped to get everyone outside for cookouts and fireworks.

That's Dancing Jive Showcase  - ©TimeLine Media
That’s Dancing Jive Showcase – ©TimeLine Media

I am still working on photos from a few shoots, but I have to go back to the dance photos from the That’s Dancing Summer Showcase. The early-bird sale on these photos ends tonight! The photos will still be available to view and share online, it is only the special pricing that will change to their regular rates tomorrow. To see the images and share with anyone that attended, please go to this link:

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

That's Dancing Professional Showcase  - ©TimeLine Media
That’s Dancing Professional Showcase – ©TimeLine Media

I know that owners Carlos and Marielle have been very busy getting this event together along with their North Coast Ballroom Championships, so I hope they have recovered from all their hard work! They also organized the Baltimore Dancesport Challenge earlier this year. Just a heads-up for those that attended that competition – the expiration date for those photos is coming soon! The images will be removed in a couple of weeks on July 21, so be sure to get them before they are gone.

That's Dancing - ©TimeLine Media
That’s Dancing – ©TimeLine Media

The featured dancers for this post are instructors at That’s Dancing. They performed a Jive at their Summer Showcase as part of the staff show at the end of the night. It is always a fast dance that ends the International Latin competitive heats. Moreover, it is a great treat to watch when the dancers really know what to do! It is nice to see their display of skill, and to keep up with them with my camera is a fun challenge. They had some great moments in their dance that the audience enjoyed!

That's Dancing Summer Showcase  - ©TimeLine Media
That’s Dancing Summer Showcase – ©TimeLine Media

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

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