Still Point : Dance Photographs

Rating:
Summary: Not great, but pretty good studio dance photography
Review: "Stillpoint" is a decent collection of dance photographs by Ronald Compton which highlights members of the Hartford Ballet. Mr. Compton, a former executive of insurance giant Aetna (headquartered in Hartford), portrays his love of ballet and photography through an approach that incorporates a variety of depictions to bring out the beauty and vitality of the dancers.

What I liked most about this book is that Mr. Compton employed a variety of techniques and formats to present the beauty of ballet and the dancers' bodies. Out of 70+ images, a little under half are in color. The framing ranges from facial close-ups to head-to-toe shots of partnering scenes. Some photos are posed, while others snatch the dancer out of mid-air in a style reminiscent of Lois Greenfield ("Breaking Bounds"). While some of the dancers are nude, others are in full costume (as from a full-length ballet). Even the image quality was varied, from quite sharp to excessively grainy. All the photos are taken in a studio (i.e., none from performances).

On the downside, this book is lacking certain ingredients which make a dance photography book truly impressive. The attitude of the dancers, posed or otherwise, is sometimes missing a dimension that, for example, Greenfield and Greg Barrett ("Tutu") are able to achieve by freezing their subjects at the peak moment of raw energy and/or graceful movement. Howard Schatz, the best at photographing the human body (absolutely superb), is adept at making a dancer jump off the page through his masterful use of lighting, resolution and positioning to show the body as a thing of sheer beauty. Unfortunately, too many of the photos in "Stillpoint" are a trifle flat, meaning that there is a lack of contrast, or that the dancers too easily blend into a busy backdrop. The result is that a number of images are short of presence or devoid of anything that will make the viewer look long at them.

The book is almost coffee table size, and is printed on high-quality paper. There's an interesting interview with Mr. Compton and the publisher's (Aperture) rep in the beginning. Overall, this book is worth checking out by anyone who wants to become familiar with Mr. Compton's work, or who simply likes ballet photography.


Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: If you love pictures and you love dance, this book is for you! Give it a try...