Turn Back the Clock

Full Moon

I've had this idea for almost a year now. I wanted to have a bunch of ballerinas in the 60's just to see if I could capture the feeling and look of the time. I did the research and got my props, locations, and models together. We started out in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel where the bus stop is and we got out of the car and got beautiful shots in and around that area. When the bus actually came, the looks we'd get were absolutely hilarious. We headed out to The Grove with our four ballerinas in full leotard, tights, tutus, and pointe shoes (the funny part is that only one model is an actual dancer so we had a bit of improv). We caused a bit of a scene to say the least. The models killed it, let me start with that. Most of the time when models are faced with having to be in front of the camera AND in front of random people all around you can tell that they don't feel comfortable. These girls brushed it off like it was everyday life, I was blown away. We walked through the grove and stopped when we felt like we could get the perfect shot. We went to Du-Par's for lunch and decided to get some milkshakes to touch on that 60's diner look (it's not easy keeping hungry models from slurping down milkshakes when you need shots of them). After lunch we wandered, taking images along the way and then we jumped on the trolley. They were so sweet and after everyone got off they let us take as much time as we needed and take as many pictures as we could, music to my ears. We ended up in the theater where my little ballerinas were exhausted and laid on the stairs to rejuvenate, which ended up turning into a photo shoot itself. The image of the tutu shown from above was taken from the upstairs half of the theater. By this point our feet hurt, we were hot, and overall a bit uncomfortable but I would do it again! I think that shooting in a public space is super important to experience when becoming a photographer. You'll overthink it, you'll try ways to get out of it, but in the end it's the way to do it. Get out of your comfort zone, if you get kicked out, you get kicked out. There is nothing you can do about it. Just know that people will not think you look "stupid" I promise you that they will think you look pretty damn cool... To wrap up today's blog I want to share my favorite quote from that day which was said by my model Kalika Biswas half way through shooting, "wait... why are we ballerinas in the 60's??". At the top is Full Moon, check out the full gallery of images in the Projects under Turn Back the Clock!

-A

Props:

Life magazines: Five dollar or Less Book Store in Simi Valley

Hair curlers: Sally's Beauty

Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

Leotards,tights, shoes, and tutus were lent by Makalia Teagle!

Vintage dial phone lent by the Daneshvari family!

Locations:

The Original Farmers Market

Beverly Hills Hotel

Du-Par's

Pacific Theaters at The Grove