We LOVE the video that editor Kevin Max made!
I had the chance to bring some of Rose’s homemade soaps to Ethiopia with me. Here is a photo of Rose and also of a priestess holding a bar of Rose’s lovely soap:
I remember this day so well…
I asked the camel milk producers if they could sing a bit so I could record it, and I received a full blown concert and performance. Such joy, such camaraderie. I learn so much from them!
Each student had a different skill set level, but each and every one of them had an incredible eagerness to learn and their love for the craft was so very apparent. Passion abounds in Ethiopia for learning photography!
However, some students did not have access to a camera and had to borrow ours for the day. I would love to find cameras, lenses, photography books, and other supplies to donate to the new photography school that is being developed by the amazing Aida Muluneh through her DESTA For Africa organization.
Any donations can be sent or dropped off to me and I will ensure that they go directly to the school.
Many thanks for your consideration!
Prints For Prints participant Bill Purcell gives a quick lesson to a student in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia:
A student gives a print to a shoe shine woman and her baby:
Aida Muluneh and I, on the first day we met each other:
Making my way down the long dark hallway, I hear voices coming from everywhere. Booming voices, little chattering voices, a squeal of delight here and there, and just a tad of controlled angst from one isolated voice as curtain time nears.
I am backstage, at a rehearsal just before opening night of “Dream”, Oregon Ballet Theatre’s first performance of the new season. And I am in awe.
The elaborate costumes! The whirls of practice leaps! The whispers! The feet pawing at a box of stability ensuring rosin! The wide-eyed excitement from tiny dancer Cupid and lightning bugs and butterflies!
I don’t know much about dance except that I love to see it, and do it. Music flowing through a body, silence too: we don’t realize dance’s impact until we find ourselves shaking a leg at someone’s wedding or letting ourselves surrender to a drum in a village in Africa, or watching a professional dancer onstage move in ways we only wish we could.
Oh, how it can alter our mood, outlook on life and frame of reference to what is happiness. If only we would do it more often ourselves. But for now, our eyes can drink in the wonders of how our bodies are capable of expressing rhythm through the mastery of accomplished dancers.
Being backstage gives us a glimpse into the immense amount of work that goes into a performance. What strikes me the most is seeing the people who are sweeping the floors: they are true dancers themselves, back and forth and back and forth, they sway as the live orchestra warms up.
And the woman who is on duty calling the lights and curtains and stage entries…can she be more alert? Her gaze is steady and strong, coordinating so many moving parts and people and props and pulleys, yet she possesses a calm fortitude under immense pressure that is inspiring.
I wonder if being around the dancers influences a support staff’s dance. Perhaps we all should carry such grace into our daily lives.
I see a dancer, she must be new to the company, and she has the look of terror in her eyes. But I watch her search the eyes of a principal dancer as she observes their every move. Her eyes soften and fear is replaced by confidence as she sees this seasoned dancer wink at her. And with that, she enters the stage, dances with her heart, and exits with elation.
Inspiring, energetic, passionate, and feverish.
This is Oregon Ballet Theatre.
Say hi to Cody Campbell!
Here are the members of the team with links to their websites:
L-R: Heather Binns, Bill Purcell, Constance Spurling, Joni Kabana, Steve Bloch
(Photo by Ben Opsahl)
I loved working on this. The principal dancers (Alison Roper, Brett Bauer) were amazing to work with, and it was an absolute delight to photograph the cupid and butterfly.
Gard Communications did the design work and I am truly stunned at the job they did. And, oh how those dancers can leap. Over and over and over again.
It was an honor to be able to work on this great assignment and watch with amazement how the dancers moved and personified facial expressions on command.
Seasonal Brochure
Here is the spread in print for 1859 Magazine, including behind the scenes video interviews with each designer. It was an honor to meet the designers and see their new designs!
When Kevin Max, editor of 1859 Magazine asked me if I would photograph cyclists and their bicycles inside of an art museum, I told him it would never be permitted.
Lucky for us! The current Portland Art Museum “Cyclopedia” exhibit was about to launch, and the timing was right. The museum swapped out people on every hour whose responsibility was to monitor our moves: no one nor any equipment could get within four feet of any art piece.
Lucky for us again: nothing was broken, and fun was had by all.
