Zahna Simon is a deaf dancer located in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is the company and festival assistant director at the Urban Jazz Dance Company and is extremely talented.
We used a variety of locations in SF, including the Sutro Bath Ruins, Ocean Beach, the Hidden Staircase, and Sutro Heights Park.
You can follow Zahna on Instagram here @DeafEnPointe
-Oliver Endahl
Briana Baldovinos and I met up in Orange County, California.
We started the shoot indoors at a photo studio, and then headed to the coast to shoot at Victoria Beach.
This shoot was massive. We spent 2 hours in the studio and then at least an hour and a half on the beach. We got a ton of epic photos, and I had a blast chatting with Briana during the shoot! On top of dance, she’s also crushing it in academia. Below is a short interview with her.
Give us an introduction
Hello Everyone, my name is Briana Baldovinos and I am a 22 year old freelance dancer! I currently work at Disneyland as a parade performer in “Magic Happens”. I just recently graduated from UC Riverside with my Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience.
What’s your favorite food?
My favorite food is SUSHI!!! I love sushi and can never get tired of it.
What music are you listening to this summer?
My music genre varies on how I’m feeling, but this summer I have really been into house music!
What do you enjoy about modeling?
I enjoy the aspect of letting my confidence shine when modeling. I feel like I can really let the true art form of dance come to life when modeling and allow those who view it see the beauty of dance as well.
What’s something people might not know about you?
Some people may not know that I am premed! I would love to pursue a career in the medical filed and enjoy helping others!
What’s a piece of art (movie, painting, play, ballet, broadway, television show, book, song, poem, etc..) That moved you the most this year so far?
A book that’s moved me is “They both die in the end”, it’s about 2 boys who get news that they will die by the end of the day and don’t know how. They each are looking for a friend to spend their day with and it just puts into perspective that life is short and to make everyday a great day filled with love.
Would you rather Kayak 50 miles or Skateboard 50 miles?
I would rather skateboard 50 miles, my leg strength is much greater than my upper body strength.
What’s your plan for 2025?
In 2025 I would like to continue to grow in my dance and modeling career and gain more opportunities. I would also like to continue in my medical career and pursue my dreams.
You can follow Briana on Instagram here and you can check out our previous shoot featured in the Zine here
Till next time,
-Oliver
Sydney Tyra and I got together for a shoot at a studio in the downtown Los Angeles area.
Below are my favorite shots from the shoot + a mini interview with her.
Favorite Quote?
I love the quote from Little Women: “Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”
Favorite pizza toppings???
Artichoke and cheese!
What’s your favorite movie you’ve seen this year? (It can be old or new, as long as it was new to you)
I’d have to say Challengers! Amazing actors/score/cinematography all around.
What’s your unwinding routine?
My unwinding routine includes a solo walk by the ocean with some relaxing music, a long shower, and a Disney movie in my bed with a nice candle lit. (My all time fav is probably the Lion King)
What’s your favorite part about modeling?
My favorite part of modeling is when I get into the “flow” and everything else sort of melts away. I’m able to fully be in the moment and allow myself to express whatever comes to me. It’s almost similar to the feeling I get when I dance/improv!
If you could travel anywhere, what’s at the top of your list?
The top of my list is either Mykonos or Sweden to see the Northern Lights!
You can follow Sydney on Instagram here @Sydney.Tyra and keep an eye on the Zine for more shoots with her in the future.
Till next time,
-Oliver
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
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;
-Oliver Endahl
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
