Last Tuesday was the “birthday” of blues dancing in Portland at Lenora’s room. Lots of people showed and it was a very fun night. I took some pictures in between dancing - or more like danced in between taking photos. As I mentioned in my previous Blues Dance picture post, these are darker to reflect the ambiance of the room.
To see the full set, go to Part 1 and Part 2.
(These images are registered copyright by Evrim Icoz. Local dancers, feel free to use them in your myspace/facebook profile, but I ask that you do not remove the copyright note. Commercial usage such as websites promoting dances can be granted if you touch base with me first! And if you have friends looking for a photographer for weddings, children’s / baby portraits, or commercial/event photography, please pass my name!)
MORE PICTURES –>
I am doing more dance photography lately, especially of Portland’s growing blues dance scene. It helps me explore different styles of photography, try out new techniques, and make new connections. I try not to use any flash for the blues scene as it kills the mood. So some of these are darker than normal, but that is how the ambiance was. Taking pictures of fast moving dancers in extremely low light is very hard, so it is a great challenge and fun:
© Evrim Icoz - Please do not use without permission and do not remove copyright sign.
I went dancing last night at Lenora’s Room ( 615 SE 6th Ave and Alder, Portland, OR) and had a blast. I had very low energy from editing until late night for couple days but I convinced myself to go dancing by taking my camera with me. I had a vision to photograph the blues dancers (very very low light) in the moody environment they dance at, and I didn’t want to use flash since it can really distract and annoy the dancers. Being a dancer myself, I try very hard not to disturb the dancers.
Here are some of the dance photos:
Portland has a great swing dance community and they came together to host the 2008 Portland Lindy Exchange. Some of you might remember the pictures from the 2006 exchange here. I can’t believe it has been two years!
I was able to attend all three nights, however, the second night was right after a fantastic but long wedding I shot, so I didn’t bring my camera that night. Since I have not been out dancing as much lately, I didn’t take as many photos but rather took advantage of the great crowds and got my dancing fix in. Despite that, there are still over 200 photos.
>>>>Click here for the full set!<<<<
Here are some favorites:
My buddy Jon rocking the house with Stephanie
Two of the nicest dressing ladies in swing dancing:
Brenda
Shim Sham
The band at Tiffany Center Ballroom
Yours truly dancing (I look too serious!) swing dance
Melissa
Russ
Joshua
Karissa
Gail
Crystal Ballroom - my favorite place to dance
Spark - great blues dancer
Tibor - Our Hungarian friend was born in 1926 and still dancing!
No idea - I guess he didn’t want his photo taken
$6 for a beer? Are you kidding me?
One of the best places to take dance lessons is Northwest Conservatory of Dance in Hillsboro. I had the pleasure of photographing their dance recital a little while ago, and got some great images. This time it was time to photograph the young dancers at the studio! Check out what we came up with. Parents of the dancers can see the whole set here (password required).
We stopped by a great swing dance in Portland at Imago Theater. It was beautifully organized and the bands were great. Here are some photos, and even more can be found here.
Portland Swing Lindyhop Blues Balboa Dance Dancing Photographer and Photography
Yanet and Jose had a very intimate wedding at Sayulita, Mexico starting at Casa Kukana then to the little church at town square and then a fun reception at the fabulous Calypso Restaurant. Here is a quick sneak peek:
Imago Ballroom / Theater is a wonderful location on SE 8th and Burnside. It is very near the Viscount Ballroom that I used to go every Friday. Russ started a swing dance on Friday at Imago, and the first act was the Pete “Spanky” Petersen vs Pete Krebs band duel. It was just a friendly event of course. We rocked out to both bands and the end result was VERY close. What a great night. Beautiful music, great dancers and great location.
Here are some photos. If you want to see more, click Portland Swing Dance Pictures at Imago Theater Ballroom.
