Vision Dance

Some of you may remember Mariah from her fabulous wedding celebrating her marriage to Robert last November. Mariah contacted me recently to ask if I would consider donating some time to photograph her with her friends and business partners Amy and Angela for their website promoting their new passion: Vision Dance. These ladies formed Vision Dance to promote the love of dance on a community level by offering a weekend of dance classes for dancers of all ages. Proceeds from the weekend-long event go to benefit a great cause: the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Raleigh. Since Mariah was one of my favorite brides ever, it took me about three seconds to say yes. The ladies needed head shots for their website bios, plus some images of the three of them together just hanging out. So we met up a few weeks ago in downtown Raleigh for a really fun session, wandering around City Market and Moore Square, finding some really creative places to shoot. I'm loving urban shoots more and more. Here's a sample of what we got.

I kept calling Angela "Melissa" throughout the shoot. I hate it when I do that. Lucky for me, she was great about it. So I've decided her new name is Melissangela. I think it works. She has an amazing smile and the most awesome hair.

What you can't see because I've cropped this photo tight and converted it to black and white is that Angela is lying on the sidewalk in front of a trashcan. Downtown's got some trashcans with really cool graphics on them right now that made a really fun background when shot with a wide-open (1.6) aperture to make it go all blurry and soft. She was such a good sport about stretching out on the sidewalk!

Amy was one of Mariah's bridesmaids and it was great to hang out with her again. One of the things I love about digital is the ability to see what you've done and know if it's working. I knew when I saw her gray-blue shirt that she would look great posed against the white stucco and green doors of the Longview Center across from Moore Square. A few test shots later, we all got really excited when we saw this on the back of the camera:

If there's anyone out there is considering a remake of Heathers, I've got Amy's contact info...can you say Winona Ryder look-alike? Gorgeous!

My girl Mariah. This one's for you, Robert. All I can say is...smokin'!

After we got the head shots finished, we headed back to City Market to use what I call the Great Veggie Mural as a backdrop. I love pictures where people are laughing. Here's one of my new favorites.

A sweet shot of the three friends.

 
If you love to dance or know someone who does, please check out the Vision Dance website (www.visiondancenc.com) to see what these three talented, energetic and giving young women have planned for the weekend of August 16-17th. Classes in jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop (sign Kat up), musical theater and improvisational dance will be offered and led by some amazing and nationally-recognized choreographers. Proceeds will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Raleigh (for more info, visit the LLS website: www.lls.org). I'm hoping to be able to stop by that weekend and get some shots of the action, so stay tuned. Mariah, Amy and my friend Melissangela, it was a lot of fun! Thanks so much for asking me...you rock!