Personal Work: Aimana on film, September ‘24

1 Oct

Aimana, shot on film, September 2024.

Ever since seeing a photograph of this studio, nearly 20 years ago, I’ve dreamt of shooting here. The light. The view. The smell, the touch, the atmosphere… it has haunted me for over half my life. So when I finally got the opportunity to shoot in here, I knew I wanted to shoot something special… and these are those images.

I shot these images on 35mm film — just like my hero Alfred Eisenstadt in the 1950s and 60s, shooting dance in NYC. These are shot with the XPAN, which give you those beautiful panoramas — and for the portraits, supplemented with some of that beautiful Profoto light. Shooting on film with lights in the studio in a foreign land was wildly out of my comfort zone, but I’m absolutely delighted I pushed through the chaos of Production in order to get these images.

Huge, enormous thanks go to the following people, without whom I wouldn’t be typing these words: firstly @aimanaenpointe for truly getting it, and comitting fully to the shoot, @samanthazausch & @_anna_sneed for the amazing support, friendship, and guidance throughout my trip, @susan_ely at @Profoto for the incredible help (I’ve got some more stuff to show you Susan, don’t worry!) as well as @jphazon for making me feel so welcome and intro-ing me to @fredatfotocare, @fotocarenyc, & @tonydnyc, without whom these images wouldn’t have been able to be created, @photobyphe for her amazing production support and booking skills, and finally the team @gibneydance for being so accomodating. Thank you thank you thank you.