I Can See Your House From Here

Unedited image taken at Aerial Inspirations Worcester

This last 12 months I have been working taking pictures and videos in various Pole and Aerial Studios around the area and my respect and admiration for the sheer strength, skill and lets face it, bravery of these ladies (mostly) grows with every visit and I hope some of my images do just that.

It is very easy to look at these images and think, ‘yeah that’s nice’ without actually understanding the heavy breathing and effort which goes into physically pulling yourself off the ground to a good height and then holding yourself there, all the time with a serene look on your face and controlled poise in your body.

This shoot with Orly came about after seeing her perform in a social media video, hanging from a metal tripod over the concrete floor much to the crowds delight. (No safety net!) We discussed ideas and agreed to meet at Aerial Inspirations in Worcester, where she teaches and had just a couple of hours to capture part of some shapes she uses in her routine.

When performers are moving between shapes and holds, the momentum and flow of their routine allows certain muscles to rest, even for a few moments before changing to the next shape. I’m not saying this is easy, however when you are trying to capture an image, these holds aren’t flowing. They have to be as static as possible. The performer has to hold them for many seconds while the lighting and angle is assessed for the shot.

Some of these shapes I’m told are easier to hold than others. I wouldn’t know as I’m scared of heights, which makes my respect for these individuals event greater. Combined this with their flexibility, to not only hold the shape, (point the toes) but balance their body, turn the head to the camera (or light), rotate the silk either left or right at my command really is amazing.

Yes I can climb a rope and I’m happy climbing mountains. But get me to the height of a roof with nothing but a thin soft mat underneath while holding my entire body weight with a piece of flimsy fabric and a whole new me will emerge screaming ‘get me down’.

Fullest respect to Orly for the grace which she displays when doing this. On the ground she is a slim every day girl, not the muscle bound circus performer you might expect. Thanks once again to her for sharing these moves with me and to Imogen Gunter Zak who let us use the studio. Aerial Inspirations is in an epic old railway building in the heart of Worcester. If you want to try Pole, Silks, Contortion, Hoop or any of the other mind boggling things a body can do, then go and check them out. Nice people and very supportive no matter what level you’re at.

My feet are staying firmly on the ground thanks :)

Photo notes: I now have a fully portable lighting rig which runs from heavy duty portable batteries. Used in this shoot were 2 Octaboxes using a split lighting technique and balanced with natural light.

“I can see your house from here” - is a music pun from the album of the same name by Camel (Yeah it’s an old hippy thing)