Natalie Dahl // San Antonio, TX

I visited Hawaii earlier this year, and had a wonderful shoot with my friend Audrey, on the island of Maui. Returning to the island of O‘ahu, where I would be spending the rest of my time, I thought to try to add a last minute shoot with a ballerina. Putting a request out on Instagram, I was connected with Natalie. Unfortunately, she was unavailable on such short notice, and we weren’t able to shoot together.

A few months later, I saw via her Instagram Stories that Natalie was visiting a coffee shop directly across the street from my studio, and I reached out to see if she might be interested in doing a shoot. Again, unfortunately the timing was off, as she was leaving to Europe for a long trip; but she expressed interest, and asked me to stay in touch later in the summer.

Later in the summer came, and I offhandedly pulled a random image from my inspiration folder, asking if she might be interested in a pool shoot of sorts. Little did I know that Natalie had 10 years of synchronized swimming experience, and she was the perfect candidate for this shoot, and we quickly scheduled a shoot. I had no idea how difficult this shoot might be on a ballerina, and how it was only successful because of Natalie’s previous synchronized-swimming experience. The medley of ballet and synchronized swimming - though completely foreign and seemingly at odds with each other -combined to align perfectly on all fronts.

Ironically enough, after I posted the images, Audrey messages me asking how I know Natalie - that she did synchronized swimming with Natalie for 10 years… the world truly is a small place.

August 23, 2021