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Every year since I've started photography, I have chosen a different personal artistic project with which to practice and expand my craft. This year, a friend sent me a ballerina photo taken in New York. It was a simple black and white photo featuring a single dancer in a window. The simplicity of the shot intrigued me enough to inspire the following collection, now titled "Viva Baile!". The idea of the shots is to focus on composition, shoot for specifically a black and white shot, and the posing of the model. I've gotten more elaborate in my shooting and editing, with more specialized tools and software, but I wanted something with minimal peripherals. Most shots are taken straight from the camera, converted to black/white, with minimal, if any, contrast/lighting editing performed. There were some shots that just needed to be shown in color, some needed some flashwork or computer enhancement. In the end, I wanted these to be fun shots and to see what I could get out of me, my camera, my editing, my models, and my city.

Thanks to all my brave and awesome models who volunteered for me. Another stipulation was that the poses had to more emotive and, sometimes, maybe even a little contrived than normal, or even less practical (Lety lying on a pier fence or Alysha hanging off a streetsign come to mind). Thankfully, they all came with awesome attitudes and ideas of their own ("How about if I...").

I wish this to be an ongoing series for the time, so check back to see if I managed another model in another location.

If you would like to buy any of these as prints, please contact me directly or come by my shop, located inside Xicali Imports, 7824 North Loop. I can print these as large as 20x30", edit them as needed (as NONE of these are edited to any standard size, only as the shot required), and remove the various embedded watermarks located in each of the photos.

All rights reserved: Ximenace, Ricky Jimenez Carrasco Photography, RJCP.

Model/location credits:
Shot #1: Lety Ruiz: currently working to be in law enforcement, all shots taken at Ascarate Lake.
Shot #2: Mandy Mena: Studied at UTEP, school instructor, & Emmanuel Munoz: studying dance at NYU. All shots taken along (and above) Scenic Drive and Rim Road.
Shot #3: Stephanie Cortez: EPCC Fire Academy graduate. All shots taken downtown from the EP History Museum to San Jacinto Plaza.
Shot #4: Alysha Green: Ms. El Paso / Ms. Texas contestant, UTEP student. All shots taken in the Union Depot area.