Posts Tagged ‘dancing’

John King & Maria Papakonstantinou

©TimeLine Media - John King & Maria Papakonstantinou

It’s finally Friday! The photos from the DC Dance Challenge are still on sale until Monday, October 28, 2013. That is a 20% off sale on ALL products that are available on the website. This includes prints on paper, prints mounted on canvas or matboard, and digital downloads for sharing online, or storing for future prints. To view all the photos from the events, here is a direct link at the proofing wesbsite:

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

Another treat in covering the 2013 DC Dance Challenge was the opportunity to make some photos  from the two shows performed by John King & Maria Papakonstantinou. After judging the competitors all day, John and Maria treated the evening audience to an amazing display. They are the current Unites States and World Pro-Am Rhythm Champions! With the Ohio Star Ball coming up, I think they would be a good bet to repeat this year.

©TimeLine Media - John King & Maria Papakonstantinou
©TimeLine Media – John King & Maria Papakonstantinou


This first show had a great music track – with changes in dynamics and tempo. This goes along with their quick changes in their dance styles in one routine. It covered the entire floor, and had everyone focused on them throughout the performance. Because this is the first time I have photographed them, I really wish I had the chance to watch this one again without having to follow them from behind the camera. If anyone has a link to a video of this performance, please let me know!

©TimeLine Media - John King & Maria Papakonstantinou
©TimeLine Media – John King & Maria Papakonstantinou

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

Great Gatsby Gala – Tech Thursday

©TimeLine Media - poster base image

Time really flies! Today is the Great Gatsby Gala at the Arthur Murray – Tysons Corner, VA studio. A few months ago, I asked the staff if they would like to create a poster to advertise the theme of the party. This was back in the summer when the new Great Gatsby movie was still in theaters. In a few posts, I showed some of the steps that went into making the poster. One aspect that I used in the poster but did not blog about was the use of layers to place the portraits into one image.

Movie Poster

©TimeLine Media - Arthur Murray - Tysons Corner poster
©TimeLine Media – Arthur Murray – Tysons Corner poster

In the poster, the portraits were cut out very close to the edges of each person’s form. This will not work, though, for most action photos taken of dancers on the dance floor. If you have seen us at events, you probably have seen some posters that I have created with these shots, and I do them a little differently. In this example, I start with a large base image that I changed to black and white since it will be the background for the whole poster.

©TimeLine Media - poster base image
©TimeLine Media – poster base image

Next, I take another image, and overlay it right on top of this one. Automatically, Photoshop will put this on a new layer:

©TimeLine Media - poster in-process - 1
©TimeLine Media – poster in-process – 1

I then add a layer mask to this new layer. The default for the mask is to be completely white meaning the entire layer is in view. Then, I select the layer mask, and choose a black brush with hardness turned down to 0%, and brush black onto the layer mask which removes the edges from the color image:

©TimeLine Media - poster in-process - 2
©TimeLine Media – poster in-process – 2

Here is a look at the final layer toolbar when all the images, layer masks, and edits are added:

Photoshop Layers Toolbar
Photoshop Layers Toolbar

And finally, here is the example poster created with these edits. It contains 3 images from this show, 2 layer masks that blend the color images over the monochrome background image, and some text with the song name. It is a different way to combine multiple images into one setting. The result is a little more organic or free-flowing compared to hard edges. Both will work!

©TimeLine Media - Heart Of Rock and Roll
©TimeLine Media – Heart Of Rock and Roll

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

2013 New Jersey State Open

©TimeLine Media - 2012 New Jersey State Open

According to the Facebook page for the competition, this year’s New Jersey State Open will be the biggest yet! It has been a lot of fun to cover this event for many reasons. The first being the many teachers and students that come to dance over the weekend. They support our photography, and talk with us about how they are using our photos as memories of the event, and to help them with their dancing. Second, the organizers are very accommodating to us – we always have a nice space to setup a booth, and we get lots of flexibility to setup our equipment around the room.

They have some unique qualities at this event that keeps the audience involved in the show, and I know they will run another smooth competition this year. Third, the venue is very well suited for ballroom dance competition. The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, NJ has a very large ballroom that is completely open with plenty of room for a full floor and tables for the audience. Just out of the ballroom is a large space for the vendors for dresses, shoes, and accessories. We really look forward to attending this competition – October 24 – 27, 2013.

The large ballroom does allow for many options for lighting for photos. I have tried many different setups for the flashes, and all of them have worked well. It is nice to go back to familiar venues so that fine tuning of lighting is possible even before the dancing begins. Here are some of my favorites from last year’s event. See you in AC!

©TimeLine Media - 2012 New Jersey State Open
©TimeLine Media – 2012 New Jersey State Open
©TimeLine Media - 2012 New Jersey State Open
2012 New Jersey State Open ©TimeLine Media
©TimeLine Media - 2012 New Jersey State Open
©TimeLine Media – 2012 New Jersey State Open
©TimeLine Media - 2012 New Jersey State Open
2012 New Jersey State Open ©TimeLine Media

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

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