Girl that kicks ass!
14th January 
no responses · Blog Ah, I just love girls that kick ass! This is Angela, hair coloring master by day, amazing cake baker at night and a Muay Thai fighter by early morning! I love martial arts and admire the strength of will one has to have and the commitment necessary to master the art. I bugged her and prodded until she agreed for me to come and photograph her regular early morning training routine.
I hopped in a cab with all of my gear and got to the gym early. Angela only had just over an hour to train and a few minutes for a portrait after. I always love a challenge and I did my best not to disturb her routine. The practice was intense, but the space was large and bathed in morning sunlight.
I love boxing gyms, the little punching bags and alleys of large ones, boxing ring and gloves, there is blood, sweat and tears soaked into every inch of every surface there. Sure, I could have muted the colors more and added contrast, pulled out my lights and made it really dramatic. And that may be how competitions feel, but the practice is very different. Beside the blood, sweat and tears, there is also a lot of laughter, playfulness and desire to learn and do better. The morning light was inspiring and my time was very limited. I shot nearly the whole story with available light only. The only image I set up a light for was the portrait of Angela and
her trainer Simon. I had my lighting and location ready before they stopped their workout and only kept them for a few minutes. I think having me around watching them sweat made me a part of their routine for the day and standing in for a portrait at that point seemed more of a natural progression of fun, rather than uncomfortable moment one would rather avoid, resembling the pain of sitting in dentist’s chair. I am a firm believer that when it comes to getting the shot, there is a pretty small window of opportunity and if you don’t get the shot within the first 10 minutes, you have to shift gears or give up.
I really respect the drive Angela has for her passion, I fantasize about making the trip to Thailand with her when she goes to practice and compete with martial artists there, where she has the chance to learn from the original source. Besides the fact that I would really enjoy getting my butt back in shape and learn a thing or two, it would be a great story to tell.
