Kogan Murphy // Omaha, NE

I think I’m ok if I start being known as the faceless ballerina photographer - the photographer who photographs ballerinas faceless. I find that I’m constantly apologizing to ballerinas for making images of them that purposefully hide their faces, making them in a sense, anonymous ballerinas.

The interesting thing about ballerinas, is that their feet are instantly recognizable through their pointe shoes, and pointed, arched feet. So although you can’t see Kogan’s face, you can look at this image and instantly know that she’s a ballerina that is standing up there along the wall.

I like to joke that making a great image is my number one concern, followed closely by the ballerina’s safety. That’s an easy joke to make when I’m not the one perched not-so-securely on top of an old, rusty lattice. That Kogan was willing to climb up and risk (a very calculated risk, I must make known to my insurance agent) injury for a great (in my opinion) shot speaks to the trust I’ve been able to cultivate with ballerinas throughout this project. In all honesty, I shudder a bit now to think of all the things that could’ve gone wrong here…

September 23, 2020