Alexandra Farber // Fort Worth, TX

When I pick a location with a ballerina, most of the time it’s meant to be just a meeting place, and then we walk around and see what inspires us. Sometimes we shoot in the meeting spot, and other times we walk. This time, I’m glad we walked. This particular space didn’t look like much at first glance, and one might easily have passed by without giving it a second glance.

Behind Alexandra is a parking lot, elevated about 20 feet above ground level. Alexandra is perched on a concrete barrier that divides the two parking spaces, and I’m below in the adjacent parking lot. What caught my eye was the light pole and wires. Carefully, Alexandra climbed up onto the barrier, which was only approximately 4 high on her side, being careful not to fall the 20 feet to the ground on my side. These contrasting lines make me happy. Resting Alexandra, winged foot, and the the light post, wired and almost ready to go.

Note: this shoot was the first that I realized I had an ongoing issue with with Ilford’s HP5 film. I received a batch of 20 rolls of film that were peppered with abnormal white spots (officially called mottle). Thankfully, Ilford was quick to replace all 20 rolls, and then some. Despite the mottle, I’m quite pleased with this image. Perhaps I will make a trip up to Fort Worth to reshoot this image in the near future with fresh HP5… Needless to say, I hold my breath every time I pull a roll of film out of the wash, scarred for life and afraid of white mottle.

October 4, 2020