Do you remember the cotton commercials with the models who had blond hair, looked squeaky clean and the best skin ever? Megan would have been a perfect candidate for those ads, if it hadn't been some twenty years before her time (but we remember!). Megan is also a trooper - braving fields full of pricklies in flip flops and standing in icy water in front of Helen Hunt Falls...in the rain. She was brilliant! We wish her all the best for her senior year!
This is Divyanka, an award-winning performer of Bharatantyam, a style of Indian Classical Dance. Divyanka arrived to her session in costume, which was quite intricate and beautiful, as you can see (she told me later it takes over an hour to put on). Then she and her mother began to apply the red paint (alta) to her feet and hands. Once this was done and she was ready, we made some traditional portraits, and then Divyanka began to execute a series of precise poses, expressions and gestures—each combination of which has a different meaning. When I showed her the finished pictures, I asked her whether she was evaluating them on how she looked in general or if she was evaluating how well she'd executed the poses. The latter, she said. She is seeking perfection.
Sarah has been a regular on our blog. She debuted with us about the same time that we were really getting stoked about lit photography (can you tell?). More recently, we had a wonderful time photographing her with her parents. Well, she's back! And, honestly, we could never tire of photographing this lovely young lady.
You remember Grace, right? Our ballerina? We had the opportunity to photograph her again at Spruce Mountain Open Space not long ago. One of our favorite shoots ever—enjoy.
We love the Michalak family. They live quite close to us and have been vecinos muy excelentes (oh, sorry...I've been watching the World Cup on Univision too much I suppose... very excellent neighbors). Sarah watches our boys (and is one of THE BEST sitters we've ever had), and the whole family pitched in to evacuate our things during the Black Forest Fire last year when our neighborhood was evacuated while we were out of town.
So. Awesome.
Thank you Chuck, Jan and Sarah for allowing us to capture your familia maravillosa!