It was my privilege recently to photograph members of the Whangarei Academy of Gymnastics.
I have long known that a great image depends in a big way on putting something interesting in front of the camera.
To say I was unprepared for the grace, poise and athletic prowess of these girls would be a massive understatement.
In fact, my initial planning was woefully inadequate, as I underestimated the size of the backdrop I would need to illuminate in order to capture them doing what they do best.
But as with everything in my life, I was not satisfied with a second rate performance, and quickly arranged for a second shoot with Hannah Russell (Pictured above) which ironed out all the wrinkles that the first shoot threw my way.
Th idea I had in my head from the start was to do their abilities justice with a camera.
Gymnastics to me is all about grace and flexibility - it is a demonstration of the abilities of a finely tuned and meticulously trained body.
The simple fact that these girls are easily capable of physical feats that most people will never accomplish, demands that they are captured in as pure a manner as possible.
For this reason I opted to use a pure white backdrop, and in most cases, eliminate the distraction of shadows and the texture of the gym mat in order to present the gymnasts in a pure and uncluttered manner.
So, 7 hours of shooting and 10 hours+ of editing has brought me to this point.
I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Hannah Russell
Hannah is grace personified, and what she was able to do from a standing jump still amazes me.
Aside from this, she is absolute dynamite when tumbling, which was something I was determined to capture with a camera.
Claire Fuller
Photographing Claire was an absolute pleasure.
Aside from being incredibly comfortable in front of a camera, she has both poise and natural beauty in spades, which made photographing her so easy and so much fun.
Emma Espie
I haven't laughed so much behind a camera in a long time.
Working with Emma was a real pleasure because of that fact.
She is incredibly focused, and pours all her concentration into what she does.
However, she tends to poke out her tongue when she is concentrating hard, and this simple gesture had her, and most of us, in hysterics during the shoot.
(Wait for the blooper reel!)
Zoe Espie
Talk about dynamite in small packages!
Both Zoe and Emma were adamant about getting things "just right", which is a principle I am sure will reward them in their lives.
Zoe too shares Emma's penchant for strange facial expressions when she is concentrating, which honestly had me chuckling through most of the process of making the rough selections.
(Again, wait for the blooper reel...)
Pippa Benton
It's been a while since I've photographed anyone who has been as enthusiastic in front of a camera as Pippa was.
She has such a beaming smile I should have turned the lights down when shooting her!
Full of life and energy, she was also a pretty tough artistic director who regularly headed away from the lights to check the images that I was getting.
I hope you like what we came up with.
Maia Prochazka
There is something really special about Maia.
It is clear to see that she enjoys what she does immensely, and is so visibly happy that I am led to wonder if she has ever frowned in her life.
The WAGS Complete Slideshow
I am very grateful to have worked with such an amazing group of girls.
You are all so talented and well mannered that you made the act of photographing you so much easier than I had expected it to be.
I wish you all well with your young lives ahead, though I am sure, given what I have seen of you thus far, you are all headed for bright and wonderful futures.
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