With the careful help of my location-scout sister Yoli, Natalie shimmied up the tree as far as comfortably possible and held on for dear life as I ran back to my pre-focused Hasselblad-on-tripod to make the frame. 

Turns out our fate was in the hands of this owner, and was decided upon by my charming smile and devilishly hood looks - according to the owner. “Ok, I’ll let it happen… because you’re good looking. But I want a picture with the ballerina, not you.” As surely as the sun shone that day, fate smiled down upon us. As the owner was unlocking the gate, he told us that on his to-do list for later that month was to demolish the pool, as it was never being used.

Audrey’s love for hats jibes perfectly with my love of the anonymous ballerina, focusing solely on their beautiful craft. This is an image I might have admired in January of 2018, but would never have thought to have exposed, and I’m very proud of that. 

Kayla is a third generation ballerina, following in the pointe steps of her mother and grandmother. I wasn’t quite sure how she would react to my then newfound appreciation for Smith’s work. Ballet photography typically is quite proper and appropriate, nothing odd or unnatural outside of a ballerina’s superhuman athleticism.

In this fictional experiment, Houston ballerina Mackenzie Richter plays the role of ballerina hanging her outfits to dry on her clothesline after an arduous display of grace and athleticism.

Though this establishment claims to have the protecting power of ADT, I think they might be better suited to call Rachel when in time of need… 

Perhaps my next project will be focused solely on anonymous ballerinas, no faces, just their legs - les outils de leur métier.

… no blame on Lily, as it’s difficult enough to manage the rigors of a busy dance schedule, let alone the constant bombardment from social media that demand our attention. 

Looking backwards on this image, I am reminded of a feeling I didn’t quite experience, but a peace that radiates from Juliet’s simplistic pose. Despite the rollercoaster of a trip, peace prevailed.