If I could split my life into eras, it could be “dancer” and “former dancer”, or perhaps it would be “before photography” and “after photography.” It could definitely be “before motherhood” and “motherhood.” These distinctions seem quite simple but really they are so much more complicated than that. There is overlap, in fact quite a lot of it. Nothing is a clean break because things just don’t happen that way. Everything falls in and out of a messy gradient. Some things happening simultaneously, some things sudden.
I can’t remember not being a dancer. My earliest memories are of dancing and it was the one constant in my life that wove itself through every phase. Dance was always present. Then photography entered my life - it wasn’t a quick shift. I was still pursuing dance, teaching dance, and it had been after years of interest. Photography felt like something that I was not allowed to do. You needed money to be a photographer, cameras were (and are) expensive. It seemed like it was a boy’s club (it is.) So, after years of intrigue, of wanting to learn, I finally taught myself, but it wasn’t like a switch flipped and I quit dancing and started doing photography only, not at all. There were years and years of doing both.
I danced through two pregnancies, two infant-hoods, all the while working as a photographer. I found out I was pregnant the day after I enrolled in a real photography class at San Diego City College, finally. I had wanted to go back to school and photography was the thing I wanted to study. I remember hours spent in the darkroom, in the first trimester, the smell of developer making me slightly nauseous. watching photos rise on the paper like I was some sort of magician, it felt like magic. The encouragement and support I received from the faculty at SDCC was like nothing else I had ever encountered. They quelled my fears about photo chemistry and pregnancy, and gave me real mentorship even if it was just for one semester. They made me believe that this was something I could do, not just as a hobby, but for real. A real career.
Dance and photography are intertwined and inseparable for me. When I am photographing people it is common for me to break a sweat. I am constantly in motion and I encourage my subjects to move around too. There is no such thing as stillness. It is an illusion.
So, I am putting a lot of things together and offering my knowledge as a class on Substack. It is currently titled “Photography of Movement.” I plan on having both paid and free posts that are discussions, exercises, and information that photographers and aspiring photographers can use to approach movement.
Over the years I have loved teaching. I loved teaching jewelry classes at the bead store and the Encinitas Library. I loved teaching dance and creative movement to children. I loved teaching photography basics and facilitating a zine making workshop and I know that I am going to love this too.
So, if you’ve made it this far perhaps you are intrigued? Maybe you want to join the community, or you are interested in learning a bit from me and I really hope you do. Take a peak at my Substack and stay tuned as I post more lessons.