The Ballet Project

The Ballet Project is an ongoing photo series of ballet poses at beautiful unexpected locations around the Hudson Valley and Catskills region of New York. The project is now in its third year. 2013 had 10 parts and was shot over several months in the summer and fall of 2012. The 2014 edition was shot in the summer and fall of 2013 throughout the Hudson Valley and Catskills. For the 2015 edition, I expanded the dancers in the shoots. This year we have Megan, Jenn, Amelia and Paige.

My goal was to create a fantasy world but retain the identity of each specific location. I was inspired to start this project because my daughters study ballet and I wanted to create images that depicted them in an almost story book scene so the rest of the world could see the vision I have of them.

You can read more about the Ballet Project on our Press Coverage page.

2014 Edition
Click to view: 2013 Edition \ 2015 Edition
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Part 1 – Plum Point
Plum Point is a park along the west shore of the Hudson River in New Windsor. We arrived shortly before sunset to capture the dramatic clouds and tide as it started rolling in...

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Part 2 –Pond Eddy on the Delaware
Our next stop last summer was in Pond Eddy. We found a dirt road that lead back through the woods to an overlook on the Delaware River. It was late in the day so the sunlight started to warm up...

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Part 3 – Little Stony Point on the Hudson
One summer evening we took a trip to Little Stony Point. This spot is my favorite view on the Hudson River. The sunset and clouds worked out perfectly and the light turned a warm gold as the sun went down.

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Part 4 – Falls at Spring Glenn
These images were shot at a quite unknown spot in Ulster County called Spring Glen Falls. Even though I had directions, we took a number of wrong turns on our walk

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Part 5 – Caves at Rosendale
Our next stop was Rosendale in Ulster County. Rosendale is famous for the cement mines dotting the area. I was looking for a scene that had that magical fantasy sort of look.

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Part 6 – Mohonk Gatehouse
We stopped on one of our trips last summer at the old Mohonk Gatehouse just outside of New Paltz. I have always wanted to check this location out but never had the time. We were driving by on our way to a planned location when we spotted the gatehouse.

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Part 7 – Old Gatehouse Road
After the our shoot at the gatehouse (see part 6) we walked a few minutes down the dirt road to a magnificent tree lined portion of the road which looked out at the Trapps and Skytop. The trees and road made for an interesting set of photos.

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Part 8 – Shawangunk Grasslands
The grasslands preserve was a location that I had not idea even existed. After shooting several locations earlier in the day I was looking over a Google map and found a green spot on the map that designated a nature preserve in the Town of Shawangunk in Ulster County.

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Part 9 – Night: Shawangunk Grasslands
After shooting at the grasslands at sunset, I decided that the scene was so beautiful I would try to come back at night. I had been wanting to shoot night portraits with stars for several years and finally found a location that might work perfectly.

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Part 10 – Peekamoose Falls
Peekamoose Falls is located in the middle of nowhere in the Catskill Mountains. The falls are actually right off the road and are absolutely amazing.

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Part 11 – Rio Lake
During the early fall last year we decided to explore along the Delaware Valley. Eventually we came upon Rio Lake on the border of Sullivan and Orange counties. When we arrived we spotted a great rocky shore near the road.

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Part 12 – The Peekamoose Blue Hole
On another misty day last summer we ventured back into the recesses of the Catskills. This time to visit Peekamoose Blue Hole. This is a famous swimming spot in the mountains.

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Part 13 – The Ashokan
After our shoot at the Peekamoose Blue Hole, we continued to wind our way through the mountains and eventually ended up on the Ashokan Reservoir.

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Part 14 – Fields of Liberty
For the final installment we traveled up to the Town of Liberty in early fall. I had heard of a beautiful field with great views at sunset. So we did a little exploring and found what we were looking for.

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