The Genee International Ballet - behind the scenes

note to self: (you don't have to read this. its' just my visual diary so I can recollect my experiences cause it's really kinda long) The last photo essay that I was really passionate about, finishing it feeling happy, at peace, and satisfied was about 9 years ago. It was when I spent 3 weeks in and out of Chiang Mai with the Sangha Metta group which worked closely with people living with HIV and AIDS. It just came to a point when I started thinking very hard about it, got into it, stopped thinking about it and allowed the story to unfold in front of me -where I could get close, then step back, dettach and start shooting again. It's really hard to find that balance where I got close enough but not too close so that I didn't start to go blind to things happening around me. That's when I really feel like i've not only been able to shoot and document what I cared deeply about, but was able to do it from just enough distance where the power of observation was not interferred with my personal feelings to a point of being indulgent or too shallow. I personally feel that that is the best equilibrium where story telling is concerned. Three to four months ago, I found out that the Genee International Ballet was coming to town. I flirted with the idea of doing a photo essay. Just pretty pictures, nothing much. Then the time came and I was suddenly thrown into action. I have often given short talks in friend's documentary classes where I would share experiences and give feedback to shooters. All of a sudden, I found myself on the other end. It felt really weird. I felt a little worried about what I was able to capture but I managed to focus and allow the story to unfold. As I did that, I started to feel the energy and vibe from the dancers. I started to feel inspired by their discipline and persistance. They dance, they fall, the pick up and start all over again. I started to realise that Ballet dancers were often very misunderstood. I used to just see the very pretty and graceful side of dancers. We fail to understand how strong they are simply because they make it look so easy. That started to pull me in the right direction and I started to enjoy myself. I love piano music, so this was a treat. At first, the dancers would react when they saw me but over the next 4 days, I guess i started to look like part of the furniture. They started getting really used to my presense, and maybe some trust was gained so they didn't mind that I was around. There were points when I would be right infront of them and they wouldn't even notice. All these things suddenly jolted me back to school days when we were taught about how the journey of a photo essay is often more valuable than the finished product. I totally agree. I learnt so much from these dancers. I've allowed myself to rekindle that passion for photography. Suddenly I am alive and inspired again. It just feels good to be back in action, doing something that I really love, knowing that I've still got it deep inside of me. The passion, that is. Apart from all these emotional lessons, I also tried my hand at putting together an audio multimedia sound piece. I've always admired fellow photographers who have done these. I've always wondered what editing sound would be like. I've always loved listening to the BBC sound stories. I've always wanted to try. There were some moments where i secretly wished that I was not given access to shoot certain things, so that I would have a lazy experience. It's quite mentally draining thinking of the "slideshow" and thinking about the photo essay and sound and how i want to piece everything together while shooting, editing and recording at the same time. There were days when I just felt like throwing up after editing days of work. I started forming ideas in my head.. hearing sounds all over again, stuff that I recorded. How I would piece them together. Eventually, I decided that I had enough photographs. The only missing shot was my parting photo and winner photo. So I decided to piece together as much as I could. The sound was put together first. In this case, sound was important other than for the obvious reasons that it would be an AUDIO slideshow. I already had all these photos, and it would be easier on me to match pictures with my sounds. So that was what I did. Maybe it helps to have a bit of music training. So i understand the timings but that's not important. It just helps. I had to download free demo softwares to edit sounds. Learnt it on Youtube, and tried my hand at it. I realise that it was never too hard, I was just really lazy last time. I dunno if I took the right steps to get where I did but all I knew was that I had it all in my head, and i just had to get it out down into the computer. Somehow. This is the Result: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_entertainment/ballet_competition/index.html I'm really happy because the edit went out exactly the way (well, 98percent) I made it. It's really very satisfying. Playing with audio is very very fun. It brings your photos to another dimension. I'm really inspired to try more in future. I'm really blessed to have so many people support me in this, helping me make calls, making this work, pitching the ideas, talking me through it and encouraging me, allowing me to achieve another level in my own abilities and most importantly, being able to communicate with everyone through my photos, giving these ballerinas as much exposure and a glimpse into the real work that gets them where they are. They are super. Super fit, Super strong, mentally and physically. I am so inspired by them and I can only hope that I can translate that into photos and inspire others as well through their moments. There's so much love to spread!!!! so happy. I know that later on, as I set out to do more, this is gonna look like it was no big deal and it would prolly look really amature.. that's the fun part about diaries.. hopefully I can grow on and learn on and move on. WOOT!