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MADCAP 7-HOUR
PHOTO ADVENTURE
ON LOCATION:
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
CONTINUED
In order to work with Stephen you have to be great ― but only for 1/500th of a second! This is within the reach of most mortals, with practice. I became more confident as the day wore on. He has a way of instilling that.
I still marvel at this photo, wondering whether that is really me, and if I could ever look that good again. Seeing oneself captured in a work of art, is quite humbling, yet intensely motivating. How did Stephen spot that precise moment when Gail’s and my legs looked as one, our hands were exactly in line, and even the stiletto from Gail’s shoe projected a perfect parallelogram? I learned to stop asking.
Stephen was so fired up. I wondered if he slept or ate. I insisted and we took a late lunch break. Gail was wearing tango gear and nearly to frozen in the wind, and needed food. So did I. Our photographer did eat, proving he is human after all, but the frenzied talk about tango never waned.
By now I was starting to understand how Stephen worked, and became excited about going to Kirstenbosch, the world famous botanical gardens.
There I positioned Gail on the edge of a bird-shaped spring lined with Batavian bricks known as Lady Anne Barnard's Bath, which could be as old as tango itself. Gail was concerned that there were scuff marks on her shoes from collecting her feet. “No, no they are good.” exclaimed Stephen. “They give the shoes life.”
We worked with natural light, but the time of day was against us. Steve used fill in flash to produce the image, “Ponderando,” (shown above) ― to my eye the most artistic shot of the day, nature itself magnifying and
“PONDERANDO”
‘Dancers pose to reflect on the tango...is connection real or mere illusion?
exposing the character of the shoes. They tell a story of thousands of collections (part of the technique of tango, the feet must touch as they pass each other, ensuring one center of balance).
Having finished for the day, or so I thought, we walked past a large duck pond. The soil was too soft and the stilettos sunk into the mud. Duck poop was everywhere. Gail gingerly removed her beloved shoes that had been purchased in Buenos Aires and are nowhere to be found in South Africa. Stephen happily clicked on…
"REFLEXIÓN"
"As if a part of nature, the tango reflects its perfect image."
We were tired…time to go home. The sun was setting. Then the charmed American accent drifted across the water... ”Can you try it with shoes?”
Egyptian Geese, not having taken kindly to our still being there, jumped in and
disturbed
the water. We continued to tango until we heard those magic words... “Got it!” The
geese were no problem for Stephen, who had used the fresh ripples to enhance his
artistic shot.
"Apuntalado"
“Propelled off axis, her foot deliciously arcs an intimate swirl, and
two hearts blur into one, somewhere in the Cape Town dusk of South Africa.”
My favorite shot, below, was cropped from the final photo of the day, framed by calm water that clearly reveal tangueros’ feet. Large ripples reflect the classic image of “one animal, four legs” captured in this tango moment.
Hastily I ferried the exhausted Gail to the car before Stephen could conjure another creative flash of inspiration. After seven hours of shooting I could only admire her ability to remain on her toes and flex her calf muscles continuously to relentless yet exhilarating direction: “Hold, got it! ― No, put weight on left foot...lean in...lean out...smile...don’t smile,...look here...look there.”
That evening during another tango class with Mark, Stephen delivered the photos. I offered him a lift to the airport the next day, as his flight was leaving close to ours. “No,” he said, ”need to stay flexible, you never know what might come up.” What a fanatic! Man after my own obsessed heart.