This past summer I did another series of my old roommate Wesley, this time dancing in Prospect Park. He’s an extraordinary athlete and such a graceful, creative dancer to capture. I am so proud of all he’s done and accomplished.
dance
Nora
PortraitsNora is a dancer I met when I shot a Fringe performance rehearsal at Westbeth one evening. It turned out we had a few mutual friends and we hit it off. I did a series of her doing some dance movements around Greenwich Village, as well as testing out my fisheye lens. I found the fisheye to be a lot of fun with dance and movement. Nora was a joy to work with and incredibly expressive, so I took a chance on a different approach and ended up using her as a model for a fashion shoot with IQ Test later that month.
Leah
PortraitsIt’s always such a treat working with Leah. We did these portraits in my bedroom in my apartment in Harlem. I had the good fortune to live for 9 months in a place that served well as an indoor photo studio, and could do some more conventional portraits. Leah, who’s trained as a dancer, brought some great fabrics and outfits for the session. One of my favourite models to work with!
Wesley
PortraitsTruly one of the most interesting roommates I’ve ever had was my friend Wesley, who is a choreographer, has a Nick Cave-ish presence, and possesses an intellect of Niles Crane brilliance. Wesley came over to my Harlem sublet just before he headed across the Atlantic to Avignon to study, and after sampling some ancient whiskey stored in the previous tenant’s eclectic liquour cabinet, a really bizarre series of him doing some gothic movement work. If you ever want a thoughtful and honest suggestion for quality NYC theatre, Wesley’s your guide.
Amy and Dora
PortraitsModels: Amy Schwartzman and Dora Schwartzman
I had the distinct pleasure of photographing choreographer Amy Schwartzman with her daughter Dora at their Brooklyn home in 2015. This shoot was very playful and incorporated Amy’s mother’s scarves in some impromptu dancing.
Monica
PortraitsModel: Monica DeTonnancourt, 2015
Prospect Park, Brooklyn
My friend Monica and I did this enigmatic series one bright spring day in Prospect Park. Monica’s bright energy clearly shines through the bizarre distortion of the lace and sheer material. We had a lot of fun doing this and laughed our asses off the whole time. I think this was the first formal shoot I did after coming to NYC. I did some adventures at Coney Island shortly after moving to the city, but this was definitely one of the first ones I organised.
