I photographed the Kingsized Elvis Royale this past weekend as part of my ongoing documentary on the Dames Aflame. As usual, the ladies were stunning onstage and off, giving me plenty of photographic fodder.

Obviously, I particularly liked the moments of them standing in the “wings”, ready to strut onstage — plumage and all — at any moment.

I couldn’t decide which of these I preferred since they were so thematically similar…

Love this dude. He’s got all the vibrancy, personality and talent you could ever hope for.

gloATL is always so amazing to photograph. I love the concept, the talent of the choreographer and the skill of the dancers. I usually feel as though I’m far more in the way than during any other dance performance shoot because of the dancers’ proximity to and interaction with the audience. But it’s worth it.

Some of my favorites from “Roem,” at Woodruff Arts center — the company’s final performance of the season.

The dancer was perched atop a ladder. How often do you get a view like that?

This dancer writhed along the trunk of a tree inches from my face, while several other dancers took center stage. Well, center lawn.

Evidence of the dancers’ incorporation with the audience and, um, security…

Nothing is surprising and yet everything is with this company. Trouncing through the garden to OutKast…

I photographed a really sweet local dancer recently and had tons of fun working with her. It’s nice to be surrounded by so many talented people. It’s my favorite thing about shooting portraits of artists.

It’s also great working with dancers who are versatile and well-rounded in their styles.

As I went through these images with my editor, choosing which ones would be featured on the paper’s site, he remarked on the state of Atlanta dance. He called it a refreshing community that lacked the snobbiness of many cities’ dance scenes. This really rung true for me, as I’ve been repeatedly impressed by both the caliber of dancers and companies and the quantity of them in this town. Atlanta’s dance scene is a mishmash of contemporary and hip hop, each constantly achieving new heights in creativity and audience inclusion. Dance here is for the love of dance and for the love of community, which is such a joy to be a part of.
This past weekend I photographed Brooks and Company Dance as they put on a collaborative performance with aerialists, percussionists, cyclists and graffiti along the Beltline. It was an interesting experience and a great addition to the burgeoning tradition of installation dance in Atlanta. The performance was titled “Ment” referencing the combination of movement, pavement and moment that celebrates the coming of the Beltline and all it means for the communities it will eventually join together. It was fun to be there and even more fun to photograph.
Some of my favorites:

Since it’s the first day of summer, I think I’ll pull one of my faves from the archive and share it. Here’s to long days lounging in some body of water….

Three words about Bonnaroo:

Showers.

Sleeping.

Hulas.