PROJECT SERIES: A DANCE WITH NATURE

Following several series till date, this time we collaborated with a ballet dancer and instructor, an exceptional professional, Clara Habib.

A dance with nature is just another environmental project, which objective is to show the beauty of nature through a creative talent. In collaboration with Ms. Habib, we worked on this new series trying to create an inspiring set of photographs in which nature becomes artistically part of it, in a way where nature tell its story of beauty, generosity and diversity.

By connecting dancing with nature, our dancer pioneered a new way of communicating about the environment and expressing the feelings of love, gratitude and appreciation towards nature.

We would also like to thank “Casa Beethoven” (Ballouneh) for offering the outfits of the dancer.

The set of photographs were taken at Jered El Akoura, near the lakes, because the land is endangered to a construction invasion, and I wanted to benefit from the green virgin nature – which might not last in the next couple of years.

In this same location, every summer, the land is rented by various groups of individuals, organizing events where people are not being aware of the pollution they are causing when the events are over. This is a call of awareness to all irresponsible individuals, who are destroying the beauty of the land, intentionally or unintentionally.

I would also want to highlight the importance of preserving the animal life: In this spot, seasonal bird hunters conquer, illegally, this land and keep all the leftover bullets in field. May it be another call for these hunters to protect the animal life as well as the cleanness of the environment.

Now let’s tell you about the shooting conditions: The temperature dropped from +30°C during the day to 8-10°C by night. Ms. Habib did a considerable effort to stay still in her outfits!

The light conditions in which I was shooting were somehow harsh: There were campers who lit the area with their high beam lights. So, we had to move to another spot where lights were almost inexistent.

Posing for 10 seconds wasn’t easy at all due to the weather conditions and the non-flat ground, so I had to adjust the exposure to a faster one, this affected the quality of the photographs by boosting the ISO setting up to 10,000.

Two speedlights were set for this series: One to light the background and another one directly directed on the dancer.

This project couldn’t be done without the efforts of all the team:
Ballet dancer & instructor, Clara Habib.
Videographer, Sary Asmar.
Project coordinator, Jessica Rahhal.