Mackenzie Richter // Houston, TX

The ballet world is very small; Texas is not small. Everybody knows everybody. I’ve said this many times before: I have worked with ballerinas in Santiago, Chile, who have danced with people I’ve photographed in Phoenix, who also danced with someone I photographed in Madrid, Spain. Such was the case with Mackenzie. It seemed almost everybody I’ve photographed knew of Mackenzie, a soloist with Houston Ballet, and multiple people recommended I reach out to her specifically. 

Timing is key, too. I reached out to Mackenzie when I first started this project, thinking that Houston was close by and I could make a day trip out of it. Frankly, I understand why she was a bit hesitant to scheduling a shoot. Her style has always been eclectic and quirky - long before I even thought to consider making my project so. So for a few years, we never were able to get together for whatever reason. 

A while after my project made a turn for the quirky - and better (or worse, depending on your aesthetics taste), I came across the work of Houston photographer, Carl Fehres, who just happens to be a self-proclaimed Porsche maniac. I immediately reached out, which was a bit cheeky I must admit, and asked if he would be up to letting me photograph a ballerina with his car. Coincidentally, or not, in this big state of Texas, he and Mackenzie were already friends, and had photographed many times already - but thankfully not yet with his Porsche. Without hesitancy he said yes, and now I only had to see if Mackenzie would be up for the idea. 

And, as previously mentioned, timing is everything. Mackenzie was in Hawaii working with another photographer, and wouldn’t be available for a shoot for a while. But with a tentative yes from Mackenzie, I set out to schedule the shoot. 

Once I arrived at the parking garage on the day of the shoot, I was so excited and nervous to be able to work with Mackenzie and Carl, that it wasn’t until I was halfway done before realizing that I never advanced the film, and exposed the first five frames on the backing paper. *insert face palm emoji* Carl and his calming words calmed my nerves, and Mackenzie was gracious enough to start the shoot over - only after I agreed to shoot more than one roll with her. Carl couldn’t believe that I drove all the way to Houston only to shoot 12 frames. It didn’t take much arm-twisting to convince me to shoot another roll with the beautiful Mackenzie and the gorgeous Porsche 964, aka Daffy. 

January 23, 2021