Beyond the obvious

We spent a wonderful afternoon doing a photoshoot with ballet instructor Christian Dedeene at dance school Rose De Leyn in Brugge, Belgium. I worked with Christian as he free-styled an impromptu choreographed piece for me. He was moving quickly. I worked with the available light, going with the flow. Technically it was challenging as I tried to balance keeping the ISO as low as possible against a high enough shutter speed to keep everything sharp.  I think our collaboration produced some interesting images. These images tell a story and are some of my favourites because of the gestures and intensity.  Before becoming a dance teacher, highlights of Christian's career included five years as solo and star dancer with Maurice Béjart's company.  Béjart was one of the greatest choreographers of the last century, and Christian says he learnt a vast amount from the maestro. Christian regularly performs his own choreographed pieces.  We first met, 24 years ago and recently te...

Firstly, there are no shortcuts. A camera is a simple recording device. You point it at something. Click. It records what you aimed at, and that's it. Simple as it sounds, improving photography is only about improving what is happening in that rectangle, whether you're looking through the viewfinder of the most expensive camera in the world or a box brownie. All through the age of photography from the first cameras through to film and then digital cameras, beautiful images have been made. Images that have stood the test of time and are as exquisite today as they were the day they were made. Ever complained about the weight of your camera. You need a transit van rather than a camera bag to move this Hunter and Penrose camera around. Never mind slipping a Smartphone camera in your pocket. As big as two fridges Hunter and Penrose camera was carefully restored by documentary photographer, Ian Beesley, and is now displayed alongside his exhibition of photos at Salts Mill. The truth ...