Clara Ruf Maldonado // Seattle, WA

Photography is 10% inspiration and 90% moving furniture. - Helmut Newton

Seattle is synonyms with coffee. Though by no means did Starbucks put Seattle on the map, in my mind, Starbucks and Seattle go hand in hand. If you’re ever visiting the Emerald City - and you like coffee - I highly recommend taking a trip over to the Reserve. Think Starbucks, add multiple levels of urban luxury, and you have the Reserve. But I digress. 

I asked Clara how she feels about coffee, and she told me exactly what I was hoping to hear: “I love coffee!”* I had the willing ballerina, and now I needed the location. The location turned out to be the house of a dear friend - Noemi - from Texas, who moved to Seattle after marrying the love of her life. I had just photographed her wedding, and she jumped at the opportunity to be a part of my vision. 

As a photographer by trade, and one that specializes in people, I’m always trying to incorporate portraits into this project, all the while keeping it true to ballet. I always say “I’m not here to photograph a beautiful girl: I want to photograph a ballerina”, so the need to add an element of ballet into each image is present. Sometimes that’s done with ballet fingers; I still have no idea what that means, but I know it looks pretty, so I ask that often. Other times, as was this case, it’s the inclusion of a ballet prop in the frame. With Clara’s beautiful Versace tea-cup set full of Starbucks’ blonde roast, we set about creating an image combining my love for coffee and ballet.  

Special thanks to Noemi, for offering to be the hand model, and allowing us the use of  her beautiful home: even allowing me to spend an hour re-arranging furniture and moving props back and forth. 

*Turns out Clara can make a mean espresso with her fancy Breville espresso machine, too! 

June 8, 2021