Photoshoot

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Stacey Hazen at HappyGoLucky in New York

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Stacey Hazen and I got to shoot at the HappyGoLucky immersive art installation in New York City.

Immersive art experiences like this one pop up from time to time, and I always love creating at them. They’re designed to be utilized for photoshoots. The concept is that your friend stands in the art piece and you snap a photo of them. (Thus, the “immersive” part of the experience.) So you become part of the art itself.

The quality varies from installation to installation, but this one was particularly fun because A. Stacey Hazen is extremely talented and fun to shoot with and B. The colors of this HappyGoLucky really popped off.

(Love that “High Line” text on the phone booth)

You can follow Stacey Hazen on IG here and keep an eye on the Ballet Zaida Zine for more shoots with her.

till next time,

-Oliver

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Brooke-Madison Thames at the Walt Disney Concert Hall

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Brooke-Madison Thames

At the Walt Disney Concert Hall

Brooke and I have created together many times over the years. For this shoot, we decided to spend the afternoon making stills at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall was designed by architect Frank Gehry and is a very unique location. This area of the hall is the “outdoor garden” which is free and open to the public. (And they allow photoshoots to occur there at no charge, which is pretty rare.) So you can just walk in and start creating.

Shooting with Brooke is always a blast. She has excellent technique and a natural eye for lines and fashion.

We shot in the late afternoon so we had great golden sunlight that danced against the silvers of the concert hall and created lovely shadows.

This image is my favorite of the day. It features Brooke standing in a similar pose as Edgar Degas “Little Dancer of Fourteen Years” statue (with the added addition of a cell phone)

You can follow Brooke on Instagram at: @Brooke_Madison_Thames and keep an eye on the Zine to see more of our shoots here in the future.

-Oliver Endahl

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Briana Baldovinos Colorful LA Studio Photoshoot

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Briana Baldovinos

Colorful studio photoshoot in Los Angeles

This was the first photoshoot Briana and I did together. I had seen this colorful photostudio available for rent in LA and thought it would be a great location for us to utilize.

I loved the vibrant colors of this space. I think bright colors are underutilized in art and pop culture. Probably because colors are the “standard” of photos, so people equate less color (black and white) to be more “meaningful” in their expression. (But both black and white and color, are equally valid in their artistic expression.)

Briana brought a great charisma and achieved excellent ballet lines that played well with the lines of the furnishings.

For the lighting, there was one large window located on one end of the studio that we used as our main source. It was an overcast day, so the light came in soft and diffused.

I’ve been photographing for around 14 years so I can shoot quickly when I need to. Briana had done many photoshoots before and is a pro, so we were able to create all these images + more in just a 2 hour time period.

You can follow Briana on IG at @Briana.Ballerina and you can keep up with my work right here on the Zine.

-Oliver Endahl

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Ayne Kim - The Pointe Shop Model of 2023

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Ayne Kim was the winner of The Pointe Shop’s 2023 Model search.

For this photoshoot, we created at Papago Park and then at a photo studio in Phoenix Arizona.

We began the shoot at dawn so we could capture the stunning colors from the sunrise. Sometimes shooting at dawn can be a chilly endeavor, but since we were shooting at the right time of the year, we had a perfect 85 degrees the whole time we were outside.

As you can see, Ayne is insanely talented. She achieved these phenomenal ballet positions while standing in pointe shoes outside on dirt. (And she makes it look easy)

As usual, for this shoot I used my Sony A7 R IV and my Sony A 7 IV to create the photos, and then tweaked their colors using Adobe Lightroom.

(Not an ad for Adobe or Sony. I just get a lot of people asking what I shoot and edit with)

After we finished at the park, we headed to a local photo studio that we had rented.

It was great to shoot outside and then in. The vibes from the first half to the second half of the shoot are very different.

The first half captured dance with nature, and the second half focused more on a mesh of dance with a flair of fashion editorial.

Ayne is extremely talented, and I had a blast working and collaborating with The Pointe Shop.

You can keep up with both Ayne and The Pointe Shop on their Instagram accounts listed below;

@AyneKim

@ThePointeShop

-Oliver Endahl

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Kate Huntington in studio shoot + Interview

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Kate Huntington

Studio shoot + interview

Kate Huntington and I have been collaborating for years. We’ve shot in New York, Washington, California, Arizona, and more.

The photos featured today are from the latest shoot that we did towards the end of 2023.

After our photoshoot I sent Kate a few questions to be featured here.

Here are her answers.

- Introduction -

Hi! I’m Kate Huntington. I am currently a senior at the University of Arizona’s School of Dance. I will be graduating this spring with a dual degree in Dance and Economics. My early training began at ARC School of Ballet in Seattle, Washington, and continued at New York’s American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, and Houston Ballet. As of today, I hold an apprenticeship with ARC Dance’s professional ballet company.

- What are 3 things you want to see change in the ballet industry? -

There are several things I would love to see change in the ballet industry. From a young age, I was fed the idea that to be a professional dancer, there is a specific path you have to take. When I decided to go the collegiate route, I accepted that my chances of a ballet career were gone. As I near graduation, I realize it is not as black and white as I had imagined. I hope to prove that achieving a fulfilling career post-graduation is achievable. I hope ballet companies shift to accepting dancers of diverse backgrounds and upbringings. In my opinion, being homeschooled and moving away from your family at 15 years old to train should not be the norm. I would love for the industry to celebrate dancers who chose to get their degrees and who prioritize their well-being. These desires may be dismissed as naïve, though they are plausible when there is a communal effort to evolve. Overarchingly, companies need to better support their dancers’ mental and physical health. The two should not have to be sacrificed to be successful in this profession. 

- Do you think it’s important for dancers to have passions & hobbies outside of dance? -

Absolutely. I think it is important to be a human first and a dancer second. I feel I would have burned out and lost my passion for dancing had I given up everything else. I would go as far as to say that personal development and fulfillment are beneficial to one’s dancing. It affects the energy that you bring into the studio and onto the stage. Finding balance is a daily challenge, however, I know that making the effort is worth it. 

-Top 5 favorite movies (just a general 5 in no particular order)

You can never go wrong with The Intern, Gifted, We’re the Millers, Surfs Up and The Blind Side. 

- Any upcoming performances you’re excited about? -

I am currently preparing to perform a student choreographed work, “Tuyo” by Michelle Fricker in a School of Dance scholarship benefit. We will perform alongside Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Ballet Tucson, and guest speaker, Misty Copeland. I am looking forward to our Dance Springs Eternal performance as well. It’s filled with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Somberismo”, Alvin Ailey’s “Streams”, and other exciting works!

-3 of your favorite dance pieces? (In no particular order) 

William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude. Crystal Pite’s Emergence and The Seasons’ Canon. I grew up watching both choreographers’ works at Pacific Northwest Ballet and developed a great respect for their artistry and creative style. In the classical realm, I would say my dream role lies in Romeo & Juliet. 

You can keep up with Kate through her Instagram and keep an eye on this Zine for more of our photoshoots.

-Oliver Endahl

@K8Huntington

Instagram

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Alyssa Fenolio in Denver and Los Angeles 2023

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Alyssa Fenolio

Denver and Los Angeles

If you’ve spent any time on the dance side of the internet, you’ve probably come across photos of Alyssa Fenolio. As a professional dancer and model, she regularly travels the US and shoots with many talented dance and fashion photographers.

Alyssa and I usually shoot 2-3 times a year. Most recently we shot in Denver Colorado and then Los Angeles California.

For our Denver shoot, we created images with massive angel wings.

I really enjoyed shooting with this wing prop. Ballet lines and wings easily mesh because they both create S curve shapes. (The wing curve creates the same line as a winged ballet foot line)

Another style we explored on our Denver shoot was a Noir vibe.

Noir refers to a genre of film.

“The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography.“ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir

There’s so much mystery built into the style of Noir. (low light, hats covering the face, etc..) On top of the lack of color + specific lighting, body language is especially important in creating the mood of a Noir-style image. (Body language in all of photography is fun because it’s a non-verbal form of communication. There isn’t any dialogue in photos, but you are still being communicated to by the pose of the person in the photo, and these photos of Alyssa are no exception.)

Now let’s dive into the most recent shoot we did in Los Angeles, California.

This was a new space we shot at in downtown Los Angeles. It had lots of open space, natural light, as well as some fun props like that wavy chair and the oddly shaped circle.

You can follow Alyssa and see more of her work from her two Instagram accounts;

@Alyssa_Fenolio & @a_shea_fineart

-Oliver Endahl

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Peyton Szuberla Summer 2023

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Peyton Szuberla

At the Noguchi Gardens and in studio

Peyton Szuberla and I shot at a public sculpture display called “Noguchi Gardens” located in California.

The garden sits between some business buildings and a parking garage. It’s less of a traditional garden and more like walking through an outdoor museum filled with huge pieces of art. It’s kept insanely clean and is often used for various photoshoots. (I had never shot there, but the location had been on my radar for years) While we were there, there was two wedding parties and some locals snapping photos and enjoying the sights.

There’s several very large pieces of art that each individually stand on their own, and together they all combine to form one grand piece which is the garden itself.

It wasn’t until after our shoot that I researched to find out more about the location. It turns out it was designed by renowned artist Isamu Noguchi.

Here is the Wikipedia headline info about Isamu Noguchi;

“Noguchi Isamu (November 17, 1904 – December 30, 1988) was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold.”

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isamu_Noguchi )

How wild that he designed sets for Martha Graham? You can see in his work that it absolutely lends itself to dance with all the curves and aesthetically pleasing shapes.

Here is more information on the garden’s from the official website;

“Commissioned by the Segerstrom family in 1979 and completed in 1982, Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario is recognized as one of the country’s preeminent sculpture gardens and the most vital publicly accessible outdoor sculpture oasis in Southern California. One of the artist’s most important public sculpture gardens, its design symbolizes various geographical characteristics of California, incorporating indigenous plants and materials.”

( https://www.southcoastplaza.com/stories/2016/12/noguchi-garden/ )

Everything looks so beautiful and intentional at this place that at one point I thought an outdoor garbage can was an art piece. (Which I thought was especially funny since in the movie “Wonder Woman 1984” they make this exact joke as they stroll thru an outdoor sculpture garden.)


After we finished at Noguchi, we headed to a photo studio that we had reserved for 2 hours. The studio had skylights above a cyc-wall, so we used all natural light for the set up.

Peyton’s Mother, Jessica, was the stylist for the shoot. I told Jessica for colors and outfit inspiration that we wanted anything neutral for the gardens, and for the studio we wanted anything “Barbie” centric. (That movie has amazing fashion and both Jessica and myself were inspired by it)

Jessica knocked it out of the park on both themes.

Love these gloves and the lines they created with Peyton’s port de bras

This converse look was especially fun to shoot. Peyton’s movements maximized the flow of the blue top and really brought an electric energy to the look.

Towards the end of our time we started losing light, (we shot at the studio from 6-8 PM) So Peyton wore this unique white fluffy top that we paired with a maroon leotard. The white top picked up the remaining soft light and Peyton’s body was nearly silhouetted.

This was a phenomenal shoot. I was feeling extremely inspired by the Noguchi Gardens, Peyton’s movements and Jessica’s passion/great taste for styling.

Keep an eye on the Zine fore more shoots with Peyton and Jessica Szuberla.

-Oliver Endahl