WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND YOUR "NATIONAL" USERNAME? Baseball is my favorite sport, and people have gone as far as to label me as an aficionado of the game. I would be able to engage in a two-hour conversation with the most knowledgeable historians of the game, gaining insights and new perspectives from one another.
The National League of Professional Baseball was what began major league play. It became Major League Baseball with the merger of the American League 120 years ago. I went with National as my username as my way of paying homage to the formation of professional baseball. The National League started it all, and there you go.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR APPROACH TO YOUR STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? Doing this has allowed me to meet new people. Getting to know a complete stranger makes for an interesting story to tell and some interesting memories to recount. My photography is also about the women I meet and I'm genuinely interested in them. I want to get something real out of them, not just use them as a flat surface. I'm not interested in shallow, glossy fashion images. I'm more interested in the actual person. When I shoot photos, I'm interested in something that goes far beyond. That's what I want. Sometimes I succeed, and sometimes not.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO SAID HE HAS TRIED TO WALK UP TO LADIES, ONLY TO GET TURNED DOWN CONSTANTLY? HOW DOES HE GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK TO DO THIS AS WELL AS YOU DO I'm going to tell you why this is not working for you. You can't walk up to a woman ... out of shape ... you kind of stink ... your style is just wack. Listen, you can't just walk up to a woman in any old way and not have the right tone of voice and not being cognizant of your body language because there is an art form to this and you need to be a smooth operator to be successful and classy at this.
There is a reason why this is not working for you: you can't just walk up to a woman and say to her in a voice, tone, and posture that makes you look and sound socially inept, "Um ... pardon me ... excuse me ... hi, how are you? You look so beautiful. You're SO beautiful. Now pardon my ProWings with the grass stains from doing the lawn yesterday, and I know I'm a little dorky ... but I would to take pictures of your feet, please."
Here's the thing: you've got to look the part. You've got to look the part, otherwise the woman is not going to buy what you're selling. She's going to say, "You wanna take pictures of my feet?! Ay, pobrecito (Spanish for "Aw, poor thing!"). Not today, honey -- come back to me next week and try again."
The look has to be right, the body language has to be right, and, for extra credit, the fragrance has to be right. With the way I look and the way I smell, if I walk up to a woman with my tonality, energy and my charisma, and tell her I would love to photograph her feet, is it going to happen all the time? No, it won't. But my chances are very good, though ... why? Because everything is in a straight line: the look, the charm, the energy, the confidence.
In order for her to buy what you're selling, to buy into your program, she's going to look at you and she's going to think you look just right. In order for her to accept your proposal for a shoot like that, your presentation has to be good. If you have to lose weight, lose weight. If you've got to go back and read what I said about how to look good, do that as well because you've got to get the look right. You can't do this if you look and come off as disorganized.
HOW DO YOU GET INSPIRED? AND WHAT INSPRIRED YOU MOST? MOVIES, BOOKS, MAGAZINES? WAS IT OTHER FOOT FETISH PHOTOGRAPHERS? OR WAS IT THINGS THAT WERE AROUND YOU? I got my inspiration from photo magazines. Photo magazines that have nothing to do with any sexual fetishes. I would look through magazines that feature works from photographers who shoot interior designs, the lifestyles of the rich, nature, architecture, you name it. Just as long as sex (or anything else that's meant to make someone aroused) is not involved, I got inspiration from those aspects of human interests.
I don't think I've ever been inspired by another foot photographer, probably because I want to expand my mind's horizon to see what else was out there, to see the beauty in things other people may not have paid attention or become purview to. I got my inspirations from things that had nothing to do with women's feet.
∙ When you are connected to the everyday, when you are pushing through the barrier of seeing the events that unfold before you ... when you are at peace with your camera, that's when it becomes natural, and only then will it become easier to find the stories, to find things that are happening, to respond to them naturally. If you seek out these things too hard, if you walk through the park looking for that next great photograph, then you are closing your eyes to the possibilities that something might happen ... just off to your left, or behind you. You don't go charging through the bush, hunting for that butterfly to seek, look at, and admire. Instead, you have to go gently so that you don't scare off the events happening around you.
∙ You want to take the stance on life of resistance or acceptance. That's all there is and there's no middle ground. If you keep on choosing resistance, that means a no. I feel that life is a yes, then so are the opportunities that come with having the camera ready. Welcoming life and living in the now is all we can do, so what are we waiting for? Photography has shown me that even at a thousandth of a second, some fresh, and yet fragmentary revelation, is possible.
∙ There's no anxiety or haste with my work. Even though photography is fast and instantaneous, you can do it fast and not hastily. In other words, if you expand the moment of consciousness, your own consciousness as an artist, time becomes flexible, meaning that in the space of recognition comes the thousandth of a second of pressing that button. This feels like Einstein's physics about time in that I can manage these two dimensions of time in the same living consciousness of my being there, recognizing, raising the camera and knowing I have crossed paths with this moment of my destiny that I've either created this moment or that I've witnessed it.
∙ Photography is not only mechanics. When it comes to this, I'm not a camera technician. When it comes to taking photographs, I'm perhaps the least technologically savvy person when it comes to how a camera works, but my photos will stand the test of time because I'm an artist when it comes to the camera. Photography has a spiritual dimension in which your humanity is what's being recorded along with the subject matter. I want my work to show the expression of my humanistic qualities, how moved I was by what I saw. You see, it's not just design out there ... instead, it's something special about this medium that a machine can record emotions, feelings , humanity, and we give this to each other as our offering. It's not just about shaping the picture nicely in a frame, it's about how much compassion, or emotion, or understanding can you bring to the frame with an interesting arrangement of all of this information. That's the secret to how I shoot my photos.
[ December 28, 2023, 02:20 AM: Message edited by: National ]
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A LOOK BACK AT BRYANT PARK The following shoot was shot eleven or twelve years ago, during my Bryant Park Days. Her name is Jessica, but I heard her pronounce is as Yessica, and so that's what I'm calling her. She was a tourist from Brazil. She didn't know any English, and I didn't know any Portuguese. I wound up speaking to her in Spanish, and she to me in Portuguese, seeing that our languages shared some similarities. When that was established, we then had a level of understanding each other and everything went well from that point on.
Her feet were impressive to me. Her toes were well taken care of and her soles were simply fantastic. This is what taking photos of feet is made of, when you come across a very nice of them.
It was a very different time when those photos were taken. A lot has happened since, and at times I wonder what someone like Yessica is up to these day?
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NATURAL CLASSIC These were lost files. By lost files, I mean that the picture ("file") was lost in the sea of photos of thousands of photos I had taken over the years. These files were lost and just magically appeared in a folder in my computer about a month ago. I was glad and relieved that the photos from this shoot wasn't lost to space after all because I didn't think I was going to recreate a shoot like that one again. If it had been some other shoot that took place on some random day, I wouldn't mind not having access to it anymore because I always had more photos from other women I could showcase. But this one was different. This was something I always wanted to show, and when I came across them recently, I knew that the lineup of photos I'm showing this week was going to become more stacked.
--
This shoot took place back in 2020, and many people were wearing their masks because Covid was still the talk of town. I couldn't get too close to Ilana so as not to make her worry about me having something that could make her sick, and so I had to keep a safe distance from her. Besides, she warned me that she still wasn't completely out of woods yet when it comes to fighting Covid because she was still struggling with it at the time. She said she was going to let me take pictures of her feet, but told me that I could catch the virus from her if wasn't too careful. I decided to proceed with the shoot, even it meant getting me sick for you guys. I felt it was worth taking the risk because her feet looked luxurious and I knew this was a shoot I needed to have. I didn't get sick from the shoot, by the way.
HERE IS ILANA TALKING ABOUT THE STRUGGLES SHE HAD WITH COVID This video was shot for her followers a few months after the shoot took place. It was hard for on the day of the shoot, and listening to this made me realize just how hard the virus had hit her. She's a fighter and a winner. Click Here to Hear Her Speak
I believe Ilana was 46 years old when these photos were taken (which would make her 49 now). She takes as immaculate care of her feet as I'd ever seen anyone take care of them. One can make the argument that she takes care of her feet, and takes the time to make sure they look as presentable as possible better than a 39 year-old, a 29 year-old, or even a 19 year-old.
A BIT ABOUT ILANA LANE'S BACKROUND Her aunt gave her her first camera when she was seven or eight years old in the early 80s, and that was it ... she's been shooting ever since.
She started working in production in her junior year of high school; producing, directing, shooting, and editing half hour segments for PBS. By her senior year, she was an associate producer for a news station in Reno, Nevada where she grew up. She landed her first sports gig shooting hockey for [a radio station in North Carolina] when she was twenty and spent the next ten years working as a news photojournalist and sports videographer in San Diego and LA while doing still photography.
In 2012, Ilana had back surgery that ended her time as a sports videographer, and took her out of working in production. She couldn't sit or stand around for too long, so she started figuring out other ways to occupy her time when she's not shooting stills. She currently spends her free time shooting love stories and rescue dog features for a company she started based on her rescue and her experiences with injuries, and the rescues other people have made of their dogs from the shelter system.
She wants to develop a magazine for those who have dealt with injuries and physical disabilities, featuring articles from medical professionals who want to give advice on what those people can do to get themselves back into better shape.
SOME OF HER CAREER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: ∙ Working with George Carlin on "Life is Worth Losing." ∙ Getting to interview Walter Cronkite, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell, Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Phil Jackson, etc for Fox. ∙ Getting to play with Ligers while working for ABC. "Seriously. It happened," she told me. ∙ Having lunch with "The Rock" (yes, that Dwayne Johnson) while filming a WWE Pay Per View event. ∙ Eating sunflower seeds with Randy Johnson on the field before shooting her first MLB game. ∙ Having her still photography featured in galleries across the west coast since 2003.
*How She Looks Like without the Mask*
She told me that I could take as many photos as I wanted, but then that'll have to stop at around a quarter to one because there was a phone call she had to make. I looked at the time on my phone, did the math, and saw that that left me a lot of time to work with, which made me happy because I love taking my time in shoots that feature women with feet I find to be among the most beautiful.
This was one of my favorite shoots, considering the amount of physical space that was between us. The closest I was able to get to her was when I was inches away from her feet. I had to respect her space, by taking into account that she still wasn't fully well from Covid at the time, by not going anywhere near her face.
--
Ilana's feet is something that pleases the mind, makes you smile or sends you off someplace that has an effect on mood. It certainly did for me. In its presence, her feet are like the sun that shines through on a cloudy day, as her picturesque toes glisten with the depth of the ocean. Her soles carries the warmth of a thousand suns, and its grace is a symphony of elegance and strength, making them a breathtaking masterpiece of everything that gives pleasure to the senses or the mind.
ILANA LANE -- Click Here SHOE SIZE: 12 (US), 44.5 (EUR), 10 (UK), 28.5cm, 11.22047in
A HEARTFELT THANK YOU NOTE SHE SENT ME "Didn't think about it until this just now, but these feet have carried me through all kinds of triumphs and adventures big and small.
Most pictures of me from this summer are of my feet. Hanging out of that hammock. Those feet gave me life and my friends and family hope. Each time I went out was a victory. I've been fighting and striving my whole life and those little piggies have taken me far.
Thank you for your time. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your vision."
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NATURAL CLASSIC This is one of my favorite shoots. She is a lovely woman with a heart of gold.
She smiles a lot, is respectful and helpful to everyone, she forgives easily, doesn't make fun of others, is grateful for the small things in life, and she doesn't take anything for granted in life.
--
This was the Early Bird Special, as this shoot started at 9:30 in the morning, which meant that I must've arrived at the park at a quarter to nine for me to walk my route to get to that spot. I'm glad I was there when I was. She was already sitting on top of the rock by the time I got there.
A bit of a history lesson before I get back to the story. When it comes to the oldest part of Central Park, that would be the ancient bedrock that was formed between 100 million and a billion years ago.
During the last ice age, glaciers slowly crept over Manhattan, and moved rocks across the bedrock. In turn, that left behind the protrusions and boulders that are in the park today. Today, visitors have the chance to climb up some of these larger rocks to take in the views from above, find a spot to relax on, and just explore what the park is all about, and that's what this lady was doing that morning.
"TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF." She answered, "It's funny that you want to take pictures of my feet because I have a story for you. Imagine this: I spend my work days with my full body weight set squarely on the tips of my toes which are squished together inside a box made out of literal cardboard. So what am I?"
I guessed figure skater before I told her was kidding around.
She's an American Ballet Theatre dancer, and what she described was just part of what her days are like. In some ballets, "I even have to hop on my toes as if my shoe is hammering a nail into the floor."
She told me to think of this as Dancing with the Stars mixed with rugby. A typical work day for her likely includes around ten hours of conditioning, technique, rehearsal, repeat, repeat and then repeat again. 50-60 hours per week is common. And the teaching methods tend to be more scolding, slangs and slurs, not unlike what an athlete of another sport endures. There has been plenty of ups and downs throughout her dancing career, but she knows she needs to be her own cheerleader for the choices she makes, which leads her to the moments where the positives outweigh the negatives. She doesn't have "a lot" of free time to enjoy aspects of her social life because she spends most of her waking moments running back and forth between her home and the studio, saying: "it's sheer joy behind it that drives you towards the same path forward. You need to be a little crazy in order to be a dancer."
"Professional dancing, I guess, is among the most underrated and undervalued forms of profession. People often assume that it's for those who aren't good in academics, by which they mean it doesn't involve any brains, skill or intellect. But after doing this for as long as I have, I can definitely say it's the most competitive industry which requires not just physical skill and athleticism, but high intellect as well for quick grasp, execution and be totally aware of your body." She has my utmost respect.
HOW DOES SHE COPE WITH THE PAIN OF DANCING ON POINTE ALL DAY? When she leaves the stage and heads home, she relies on a host of things that bring her feet relief so she can dance another day. Here are her must-haves:
∙ Epsom salt soak. When performance season hits and she dances several shows per week, she takes as many as two Epsom salt baths per day, saying, "The lukewarm bath with salts helps with inflammation and swelling." It's her go-to when her feet needs a little extra care.
∙ Though chic footwear trends are always tempting for her, she is committed to being sensible. After a full day in pointe shoes, she laces up quality street shoes to prevent potential injuries. She went as far as to tell me that couldn't remember the last time she put on heels. Her sneaker of choice? Nike Tanjun running shoes (which she had on on the day of the shoot) or Hokas.
∙ A good roll out. In an effort to wake up her muscles and release tension in her arches, she rolls out the bottoms of her feet on a tennis ball or wooden foot roller.
∙ Years ago, her boyfriend gifted her some orthopedic ice-pack socks. She thought they were only meant for elderly people, but now, they play a central role in her post-performance recovery process. She keeps them in her freezer and puts them on "all the time".
∙ She's a sucker for tried-and-true topical pain relief. "I am old-school ... I use Tiger Balm," she says. "I typically put it around my arch, and my Achilles tendon, and spend some time massaging it in." During performance seasons, she moves through this process once every two or three days.
*Three ballerinas. Our lady is the one in the middle.*
She's a Minnesota girl through and through. Minnesota is her heart and soul. She loves the life in the Big Apple, but who she is and what she knows is unmistakably what makes her a small town girl.
I told her she had beautiful feet and how they possessed qualities that give a sense of satisfaction or pleasure to see and think about. Her feet are what drives her to put on a performance that's captivating and expressive, where people can be truly moved by her artistry. I told her that, too.
She was truly and sincerely touched by what I had just told her. She was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say, really, other than to say that what I said was really one of the highest form of compliments she's ever received as a ballerina. This is a woman of grace, poise, and elegance who moves around with fluidity, precision, and control, giving off a sense of ethereal beauty in what she does.
Good feet: strong, flexible, and well-arched. Being right there with the feet of a well respected ballerina was a pretty cool moment for me. Two people (meaning myself and her) who like feet and who always look at feet for different reasons met in Central Park. We talked about feet. We gained a new understanding for why feet are useful and admired from the other person's point of view. I made sure time really slowed down for this shoot because I made it a mission to enjoy every single moment of it. And I did.
She is a beautiful and wonderful soul. She illuminates it.
*Yes, that girl you see on the left is also the same woman on the right.*
A NEW CHAPTER IN HER LIFE She was in the park that morning, thinking to herself ... the gathering of goals, visceral contemplation of where she is, where she wants to be, where she will be, and placing those thoughts in the present. It is the act of living as though her dream reality already exists here and now. She feels an overwhelming sense of freedom, a feeling that she should lean into, rather than run from.
She needed a change in the scenery. A studio with windows. A class with a view. A new set of teachers, a new set of tools. A shift in perspective, a purview breakthrough.
A new chapter began even before the last one ended. Started living in the new. Which brought her to the park. To reflect on life. A feeling of Freedom. Things Falling into place.
SWAN LAKE -- Click Here SHOE SIZE: 9 (US), 40.5 (EUR), 6.5 (UK) She is a beautiful and wonderful soul. She illuminates it.
[ December 29, 2023, 11:49 AM: Message edited by: National ]
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What a wonderful story and what exquisite feet she has! My favorite photo in her gallery is #42 which shows both her beautiful face and a close-up of one of her wrinkled soles.
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HAS THERE EVER BEEN SOMEONE YOU SHOT WHO HAS REALLY SURPRISED YOU? WHO WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU EXPECTED? There have been some who come to mind. The first one was Bloody Mary. I went into that shoot not expecting anything outstanding to happen. The other shoot is one that may very well be the greatest shoot I've ever had. I haven't shown it yet, but everyone will know what I mean when the photos finally go on display at the end of next year. It was completely different than from what I had expected to happen, that it was unlike any other shoot I've had. I went into the shoot expecting it to be short because she gave me the impression that she wasn't going to stick around for too long. But the shoot was magic and she stayed with me throughout the entire thing, until the camera battery ran out of power. Another one shoot that was different than what I was expecting it to be was Aimee Young. There could others, but those three come to mind.
WHAT'S A QUOTATION ON PHOTOGRAPHY YOU LIKE AND WHY? '... The camera is therefore an eye capable of looking forward and backward at the same time. Forwards, it does in fact 'shoot a picture', backwards, it records a vague shadow, sort of an x-ray of the photographer's mind, by looking straight through his (or her) eye to the bottom of his (or her) soul. Yes, forwards, a camera sees its subject in the first place, thereby showing simultaneously THE THINGS and THE DESIRE of them. If, thus, a camera shoots in two directions, forwards and backwards, merging both pictures so that the "back" dissolves the "front", it allows the photographer at the very moment of shooting to be in front with the subjects, rather than separated from them. Through the "viewfinder" the viewer can step out of his shell to be "on the other side" of the world, and thereby remember better, understanding better, see better, hear better, and love more deeply, too ...'
-Wim Wenders
This passage, from Wim Wember's book Once, represents an appreciation for those who photograph, rather than telling people they should be there and be a witness to the moment. I think people often see photography as only seeing the surface, but Wenders talks about photography helping you appreciate things more deeply.
LAST YEAR YOU SAID THAT YOU DON'T GET AROUSED DURING SHOOTS AS OFTEN AS PEOPLE THINK YOU DO. HOW DO YOU NOT GET A HARD ON IN EVERY SINGLE SHOOT? Does an art student get excited at the sight of a nude model in a life drawing class? No, because context is everything. In that sense it doesn't happen all that often.
But in the sense that I do get excited, I get excited for what type of images I could create with the women I meet. The turn on is the creativity. As long as you don't seem turned on or act inappropriately, you should be fine. Just be a professional about it. Besides, they love the attention it gives them, so we understand what's going on. If it happens, just pretend it's not happening and it'll either go away or she'll ask you out for drinks after the shoot.
I will say that sometimes the women I shot gave the game away by asking, "Do you get turned on when you're taking the photos," thereby letting me know they were turned on.
DESCRIBE WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU'RE IN THE PARK LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO PHOTOGRAPH. ALSO, WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOUR TAKING THE PHOTOS DURING THE SHOOT? When I'm walking through the park, people are just coming past me when suddenly ... one lady, for some reason, has a kind of vibration that speaks to me, and I would sense a possible harmony. In those moments, I would have to get my courage up to cross the social barrier between strangers, go over to this person, say hi, tell her what I do and ask if I could take images of her feet. I'm saying this while holding the camera in my hand, and they immediately almost can't believe what they've just heard because it's not everyday when a woman would have a guy walk up to her and ask to take those kind of photos of her.
You see, in a way, the camera acts as bait. The women would take me seriously because I'm not standing there with an iPhone. The entire encounter makes the women curious about me, and it would allow me ... just that breath or two ... to establish a communication, a rhythm with them. It could be playful when I say something funny, or it could be me making an observation about the clothes they were wearing, anything from an artistic expression to how their shoes look, or something else. By establishing that human moment, and then getting them to say yes, I would then suggest a spot where we could do the shoot (if the woman I'm talking to was already standing).
What I wanted from these women was to see if I could see their secrets. Whatever their hidden mysteries were, I was hoping they would deliver those to the camera. In the early stages of the shoot, I would keep a line of conversation between myself and them in which I'm holding them there so they could feel as if they can sigh a sense of relief, a moment of relaxing and giving themselves over to the camera. It was never really my way of doing things to press the button when I saw them attempt to impress me by being too showy or flashy ... too posey, smiling too much and giving their bodies some kind of cute form (which is another way of saying too posey). I wait until they dissolve, and some instinct in me would know that that's the right time to shoot some photos because that was when their realities would tell themselves.
To finish answering this question, I would talk to the women long enough to get them settled in, because what I wanted was the possibility of intimacy, especially in the era of the smartphone where everyone is self conscious when they're posing and trying to look their best. It's human intimacy between two strangers when a woman would trust me enough to relinquish something of her secret to the camera. If you look at my photos carefully, you get a feeling that you're with the person, that it's not a staged studio session. With my photos, you feel that there's something vulnerable about these women.
∙ When taking photographs of these women, you need to convey a body language that doesn't threaten them in any way. You have to be comfortable in yourself and comfortable taking photographs in a place like Central Park. I will try to bob and weave to make myself less visible to the women I'm photographing, and what happens is anyone who happens to walk by won't care what's going on. To the women, it'll become a natural part of the conversation. And why does it become a natural part of the process? Because even though the subjects know I'm taking pictures of their feet, they have convinced themselves in some way that the camera is not there.
∙ When you take a picture, you can only take in so much at once. Sometimes what will happen is that things will show up in the picture that you didn't see when you originally took the picture. It feels like a gift when something happens, whether it's a gesture or an expression or something happening in the backround that you didn't at all register when you took the picture, and then I'll find it in the picture after the fact. That feels like a gift. These four photos right below are examples of this, with my favorite one being Carrina (the third one). She was reading her book. I didn't realize at the moment that photo was taken that she peeked above the book and gave me that loving look.
∙ If you have stories in your photos, it makes your images that much richer. If you can inject stories into your images, you give a reason for the person looking at your photograph to linger, to spend time with it. The way you interpret that photograph, will be different than how someone else views it, as there is always something there to sink our teeth into, to spend that moment considering the photograph. The longer someone spends considering your photo, the longer that person is going to have that image stay with them afterwards.
QUICK, ... WHO YOU WOULD TAKE HOME TO MOM?
∙ It took my breath away that taking images of the feet of women I've just met in Central Park, understanding that this was a possibility made it feel as if there was a key that had been put into a door and the door opened to discover that there was nothing to be afraid of. In front of me, there just seemed to be a meadow filled with sunlight, grass blowing, birds chirping and welcoming, and I would step through that doorway into my life, and there was no reason to look back and resist. I truly believe that that first step I made was what gave me the sense that life could be like that. That every time something comes to me, I say yes to it. I enter the next unfolding of being.
[ December 30, 2023, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: National ]
quote:Originally posted by Jota Milagros: What a wonderful story and what exquisite feet she has! My favorite photo in her gallery is #42 which shows both her beautiful face and a close-up of one of her wrinkled soles.
Glad to know that her story made you feel what it was intended to make people feel. She is one of the good ones.
Her feet, combined with knowing what she does for a living, has made that shoot something special to truly live through. I try my best to share those those things with the people in here as well, and Swan Lake was one of those I really wanted people to get a sense of what a remarkable moment the entire interaction was.
Your favorite photo from that set could aslo be my favorite as well. When I got to that portion of the shoot, I knew I was on a roll there. What a special sight to behold, viewing underneath a ballerins's feet like that. That's just powerful.
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NATURAL CLASSIC It is my privilege to recognize the extraordinary contributions of the recipient of the National's Most Influential Award. She has made a lasting and positive impact in the lives of her colleagues as a leader, advocate, role model, and mentor. This woman is leading with purpose. She guided by her passions to help others just like herself to embrace who they are and to rise above the challenges and to never give up. She inspires others through her commitment, sharing her time and her wisdom, supporting the professional careers of fellow members of her group, residents, and the children whose spirits she uplifts.
Today, it is my sincere honor to acknowledge and applaud Lindseynova, and I ask that you join me in congratulating her in her impact of helping people with disabilities.
I'm proud of a lot of shoots I've done, and this is one of them. How the shoot started was how I saw her, meaning that she was already lying on the grass long before I got there. The thing was, I almost missed her. The path I took would not have allowed someone to spot her immediately. By the grace of luck I happened to turn my head to the left and saw her. I was that close from not ever seeing her, even though she was about fifteen feet away from me. I had to stop for a moment to take a deep breath before walking up to her because of how she appeared so suddenly, and because I knew that I was in for a nice shoot. You'll know who to ask when you actually go out there and try it. When that special appears, it'll hit you like a ton of bricks. It's not easy to explain in words. I wasn't sure why I knew it, but my instincts told me. Sure enough, I sat right next to her, snapping photos away at her feet. How richly rewarding it is to be that close to a woman's feet.
WHAT MAKES HER LINDSEYNOVA She has a high position at a program that provides children with disabilities the chance to exercise on a regular basis in a group setting that's fun and supportive for them. In addition to helping these children become much stronger and healthier versions of themselves, she helps them gain confidence through their successes where they can measure their achievements at any level of participation, whether it's going for their weekly walks or race a local 5K. The children can run, walk or wheel and are paired with her and other volunteers who provide training assistance and encouragement.
Lindsey joined the organization back in 2018 as a volunteer and has been with them ever since. She used to hate running until she participated in one of their races. It didn't take her long to realize that this was the place she needed to be, that this was her calling. Pretty soon, she began running with the kids in their Central Park workouts.
She is earning her Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy at Columbia University's Vagelos School of Physicians and Surgeons. When I met Lindsey in Central Park, she was catching up on her studies to help her towards that goal, and there's no reason to believe that she won't graduate from there with honors and high accolades. Before Columbia, she graduated from SUNY Empire State College with 4.0 GPA, earning herself a Bachelor's Degree in Science, with the bulk of her concentration in Disability Studies.
GRACE UNDER PRESSURE Living her life as an adult woman with ADHD and an autoimmune condition that limits her movements, senses, and activities, she has found support, inspiration, and friendships in her community. That support system keeps her drive strong, striving towards what she was called to do: become an occupational therapist and give back by helping those who are struggling everyday with their mental and physical disabilities.
To make life for herself as smooth as possible, Lindseynova has to take things one day at a time. She has to make her physical and emotional health a priority, which is not easy for this autoimmune warrior. This lady is an over giver in her life. She has a big heart.
She was glad I was there to help take her mind off of things while I was shooting her feet. She gave me all the time I needed to be there. With that kind of time, I took the time to enjoy the surroundings, the vibe from her generosity, her feet, and life in general. All of which helped with the creativity on how I wanted the photos to come out. It helped appreciate the view of her feet more, and it gave me the time to have so much empathy for her. None of it was rushed. All of it was peaceful. She liked how I was able to balance the liking of her feet while not being intrusive to her about it at the same time, which made her stay at ease with me throughout the entire shoot.
Her cognition, mobility, and ability to do activities of daily living have been affected. So many things from sunlight to foods, to weather, to stress can impact her. She wants to be well. Sometimes she feels as if life is passing her by while she waits for different medicines to work. Things could be a lot worse, and she feels grateful that they're not. Even so, it takes its toll on her, until she realizes that she's blessed with so much and she begins to think of what she has and not what she's missing.
A REAL-LIFE HERO Lindseynova is a gift to many people. She brings joy, love, support, and positivity into their lives. She also provides comfort, companionship, and understanding. She loves spending time with all of the disabled kids. They bring her so much peace, and they give her so much love. She does all of the things she love when she can. She gets to do those things because she has people who really care about her. She is forever grateful to them.
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NATURAL CLASSIC I was having a great day shooting photos in the park and I had enough power in my camera's battery to do one more. It was a beautiful Saturday and I needed my luck of great shoots to continue. When I saw her walking in the park, I knew, just from taking one look at her, that she had the makings of someone that can make a shoot become a fascinating one.
Everything about her, from head to toe, called for a more delicate shoot, a shoot that was going to require the continued sequence of existence to slow down. This was a shoot that was not going to be rushed. It was going to allow us to make discoveries about one another and of her own self.
I was following her, walking a bit faster than she was so I could catch up to her. At first, I thought about not going up to her because she was quite a bit away from me when I saw her for the first time. I felt a bit lazy to make the effort to catch her, but I couldn't get rid of inner senses telling me a special shoot could happen with her.
She was walking along, looking for a place to sit. At the time I didn't know she was looking to sit somewhere because I thought she was going to leave the park. But as soon as she found her comfort spot, she decided to sit by the tree, which was where the shoot wound up taking place. I walked up to her, asked if she would open to having pictures of her feet taken, and she went along with it.
She lives in Bergen County, New Jersey (a 45-minute drive from NYC), and she is of Indian decent. She makes her trip to the New York every once in a while. Our lady dines at fine restaurants with friends, grabbing a latte at the coffee shop and attends art gallery openings.
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We have an artistic and creative, magical beautiful being on our hands. Sometimes, she's misunderstood, but she is a force of nature.
∙ She is always learning and expanding her knowledge base. She is never satisfied with the status quo and is constantly seeking out new information and experiences. This thirst for knowledge allows her to stay ahead of the curve and be at the forefront of innovation.
∙ As someone with an artistic nature to her, she continues to learn and grow, and she inspires others to do the same. She reminds us that it is never too late to start learning something new, and that the more we know, the more we can achieve.
∙ She trusts her own intuition and follows her gut feelings. She is in tune with her inner voice and uses it as a guide to making decisions. This ability to listen to her intuition allows her to take risks and pursue her dreams. It also allows her to stay true to herself, even when it isn't easy. Intuition is not just a feeling, it is also a form of intelligence she uses to her advantage. By following her intuition, she is able to tap into a powerful source of guidance and wisdom, which allows her to live in a more authentic and fulfilling life, and to create work that is truly unique and meaningful.
∙ She's knowledgeable and seeks knowledge. At some point in the conversation, she wanted advice from me on how make a name for herself in the art industry. She listened attentively, asked the right questions, and I appreciated that she took my advice to heart. She felt that I was a mentor of sorts to her, and I felt the same thing.
You'll get some surprises when a woman takes her shoes off and removes her socks. She painted all of her toenails of one foot black, and painted all of her toenails from her other foot white.
A unique trait I noticed about her was that she spoke in catchphrases most of the time, one of them being that pedicures are the art of painting happiness. Other catchphrases she used during the shoot:
"Fear kills more dreams than failures ever will." "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." "Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working." "When a woman becomes her own best friend, life is easier."
We talked about a wide rage of topics, and something either one of us said reminded her of a catchphrase to use.
She maintains a sense of curiosity and a desire to continuously learn and evolve. She embraces challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth and persevere through obstacles in her artistic journey. She thinks and acts in ways that align with her own values and feelings -- rather than the values of others. She creates a pathway for herself that reflects her unique voice and experiences.
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Great photos in her gallery! My favorite is again one with a sole close-up the woman's face in the same photo, #32 in this case.
One correction: There are parts of Bergen County, NJ, that are a 45-minute drive from midtown Manhattan. But, the town of Fort Lee, Bergen County, NJ, borders Manhattan. The George Washington Bridge has its east end in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and its west end in Fort Lee.
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NATIONAL Q+A ∙ I would leave my home, take my camera with me and I would go out to the park to see what happens. If you have a camera, and you visit the park, you'll get moments you cannot expect or anticipate, so be ready. If you're sitting at home, not knowing what to do with yourself, nothing will happen to you.
∙ If you never get turned down, you're never going to get success. Never believe someone when he says that you can get good at this without ever being rejected. This is like someone saying that he can teach you how to lead the Majors in homeruns without ever striking out. Something like that would never, ever happen. There is no way a baseball player is going to hit more homeruns than anyone else in a season without striking out. If you don't believe me, just ask Aaron Judge when he hit 62 that year. It's a ridiculous notion to think anyone can be successful at this without women turning down their offers of having their photographs taken. A woman saying no is not this huge ambiguous creature that men make it out to be. With me, of course I would've preferred it if every woman I walked up to said yes, but I was never afraid of a woman not wanting to have me take her pictures. Respect her boundaries and move on.
∙ Photography captures a moment, 250th of a second, one whole second, sometimes longer because some of the night time photographs captures the moment three or five seconds long, which runs the huge risk that the women will move. It's the skills I had to learn to maintain the subject's stillness, to maintain the purity of their giving over of themselves, relinquishing their secrets to a camera operated by someone they just met ... it's truly majestic when you think about it because this is mystical stuff we're talking about -- just like a magician or a tribal elder who knows how to pull the truth out of people.
A WOMAN YOU WOULD NOT WALK UP TO. A woman who's walking very fast. If you have somewhere to be, you wouldn't like it if someone interrupted you. You're doing the same thing to them. Walking fast is a telltale sign that they have errands to run. They have somewhere to go. If she finished her errand, she will actually walk slower, so why go after her when she's walking fast? If she's walking slower or at the normal speed, she's more likely to stop when you get her attention.
THIS IS SOMETHING I BET MANY PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW: HOW HAVE YOU DONE THIS FOR AS LONG AS YOU HAVE WITHOUT SOMEBODY THROWING A DRINK TO YOUR FACE OR BOPPING YOU ON THE NOSE? If your open-heartedness is on your being and on your face, if what you're doing is enjoyable to you, and you're smiling because it makes you happy photographing these people, when I'm engaged in the moment, that's when I light up, and that's when I think the women in Central Park get the signal from you that you're not a problem, that you're not dangerous, that you're not going to steal their souls. As a result, they will welcome you in that regard.
The secret to what I do is to stay accessible, to be generous, caring, and love for that moment the object of your desire, and you will have the key to making photographs.
There was a woman who was dressed fantastically the day I met her. She was so astonishing, I was drawn to her. I felt it was important to have a few words with her because having a conversation with beautiful people in the park is a highlight of the day. I said something about the way she dressed, and she was immediately happy that I acknowledged her efforts to look great that day, that the door was opened immediately. The next thing I knew, I was just mere inches away from the soles of her feet, taking as many photos as I wanted.
HOW CAN I FIND MY OWN STYLE? There are always a great mass of people who can easily imitate or try on the approaches of other people, and this applies to painting, sculpture, dance, photography, film, etc. There are always imitators. How does one find one's own voice? It requires a kind of listening to your impulses, instincts, intuitions, all of the eternal stuff that is your engine of creativity. I think learning to trust that is the task for anyone who wants to embark on a journey as amazing and fulfilling as mine was. You want to be an individual artist rather than someone who copies someone else's style. Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque created the Cubist ideology, and so it was easy for people to come in and start fracturing everything. They were just imitators. The two or three inventors of Cubism are the ones who rose above it all because by the time everyone else was copying them, the originators had already moved on to the next phase of their lives and creativity.
If someone is passionate about public feet photography, you have to look for what excites you precisely. In other words, don't look at what you think I, or another public feet photographer, don't look for what you think we would've made. Instead, look for what is the moment. Carve your own path. Look for what is the scope of the space that life is taking place in that's yours. If you recognize your tendencies and your appetites in a sense, you'll begin to make pictures that only have your fingerprint on them ... not on the negative, not on the print, but on your vision. That's exactly what happened to me. There were different steps along my path where an idea refreshed itself in my mind in such a way that I could not negate it. The idea had a simple power, and it seemed to call me more loudly than everything else. When that arrived, and I started to do it, I poured myself into it. Some people may not have understood the kind of style I was trying to cultivate for myself, but I knew that I was going to keep working on it until I make it strong enough that you will get it. In a way, you need your individuality.
WHAT DID YOU END UP LEARNING ABOUT THESE WOMEN FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHS YOU TOOK? I think what I saw, or what I learned, is that they come with vulnerabilities. They wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, put on makeup, comb their hairs, get dressed. But when they're out in the world, they're all a little uncertain as to how they're perceived. Meeting these women and listening to them tell me a little bit about themselves, what happened was if they could deliver something of their humanity, their tenderness, their compassion for themselves and for others, they became more and more real to me. In other words, they were not just a façade of a person who's combed their hair perfectly or put on the lipstick perfectly ... it's all a mask. But if that mask can be opened a little bit so that they can come through, it's as if the mask falls away and these vulnerable human beings inside shines through for a moment in front of the camera, showing me that the humanity is their reality.
With a lot of staged shoots, the subjects will stay in pose all the time. In those cases, I often felt how scared they were, how they were holding on for dear life. I often felt how they were trying to keep their outside image present rather than reveal something more human, something more special about themselves ... their secrets, in a sense.
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NATURAL CLASSIC There I was in Central Park, enjoying the autumn scenery on a day that was milder than it usually was for that time of year in New York. The colorful tapestry of the trees glowing in shades of red and yellow was quite pleasing to the eyes. Amidst the contrast of the concrete jungle that is New York City, it's quite a welcome diversion to enjoy the parks and get a feel for the natural world as best a city slicker might. That environment is also a natural place to meet women, and the fall portrait was not the only thing that was beautiful that day.
At some point in the afternoon, I spotted a woman to approach. She may have been reading a book. I thought about walking up to her, but decided against it at first, and walked away. Then I looked back and saw her still sitting there. My mind began to stir, and I decided to go back. While I've been correct many times with regards to which women to approach and which women to not, I sometimes may miss out on opportunities, and I was very close to not saying anything to her. There was something about her that made me change my mind, something that drew me in to her. The allure of it all, she drew me in.
Meet Laurel from Amsterdam, Netherlands.
∙ She hones her intuition. She takes the time to listen to what her observations tell her. At first they may be wrong and from time to time, she may read someone incorrectly, but more often than not, she takes the time to assess what her intuition is telling her.
∙ She never speak negatively about herself to others.
∙ Laurel maintain an air of mystery. There's a reason mysteries are a popular genre in literature and television. But once the mystery is solved, that's when the story ends. Because she keeps a certain air of mystery about herself, she'll always be one step ahead.
∙ She accepts imperfection. As one of the most beautiful women I've photographed, and as a confident woman in her own right, Laurel owns her unique look, talents, age and well-balanced lifestyle. If anyone chooses to chide, bully or snicker, she'll just place a mirror in front of that person's face, exposing his or her own lack of self-confidence.
∙ She has created a life schedule that includes time for hard work and productivity as well as regularly pampering and self-rejuvenation.
She spent her university years studying computer science and programming & data processing. She also specializes in financial econometrics. She has held corporate jobs with the word "Financial" in its title, such as the one she has now as the financial manager of a furniture store. She also manages the legal and HR team there, saying, "I am responsible from payroll administration to insurance and matters related to the labor law. Legal also falls under finance, so I sometimes interact with lawyers. Questions from suppliers also come to me. That variety is really great and makes my role extremely dynamic."
The two of us shared a great conversation, one that was without barriers, meaning we had a conversation that was warmheartedly open and trying to make a connection by better understanding each other's life experience. We touched on personal matters which allowed her to share with me bits and pieces of her ups and downs with me. There was a focus towards sharing and learning about something.
I love her feet. Simply love them. I love it when a woman's first three toes (including the big toe) are of the same height, followed by the fourth and fifth toes descending in height, just like hers. Coming across a set of feet that are the stuff dreams are made of makes for a compelling shoot. I was taken aback when I saw how seamlessly they matched and lived up to the rest of her. If I wasn't in Heaven during the time of this shoot, then I was pretty close to it. Her feet, her beauty, her personality made me feel as if I was finally at peace. My mind was cleared, and any thought that did pop into my head had meaning to them and felt positive and comforting. We became completely comfortable with how quiet the shoot was. We felt as if a fog had been lifted and I could truly absorb how wonderful all of it truly was.
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I love Laurèl's big feet! My favorite photo in her gallery is #39 because of the point of view. The ground level point of view, beneath her soles and looking up at her, is perfect.
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quote:Originally posted by Jota Milagros: Great photos in her gallery! My favorite is again one with a sole close-up the woman's face in the same photo, #32 in this case.
That's a good choice there. Interesting photo. That was one of the photos I chose to feature in the thumbnail that was included in her story. I like how in that thumbnail, that photo, the way its placed, give a bit of an edge to her cool girl persona.
That was a real cool shoot, and she was fantastic through and through. Photo 32 was sexy, and it was fitting to take such a photo of someone with that look, matched with soles like that. The eyes draw you in to her sole and soul.
quote:Originally posted by Jota Milagros: I love Laurèl's big feet! My favorite photo in her gallery is #39 because of the point of view. The ground level point of view, beneath her soles and looking up at her, is perfect.
I love her facial expression in that photo.
quote:Originally posted by imnotdave: Amazing stuff. Shame this will be your last year. You've done a truly wonderful job.
Thank you very much for appreciating the contributions I've made in this forum. It does suck that this will be my final year posting original content, but I feel that the time is right for me to move on.
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