Jul 8, 20173 min read

InMotion Toulouse (part I)

Ballet photography behind the scenes

Toulouse... Oh, Toulouse, I don't even know where to begin with this one. Our love affair started last year, and what I considered a simple crush became something deeper, stronger and it obsessed me for months. Maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but you get the point... I kinda fell in love with the city.

We made a few improvised photo shoots and were so lucky to get authorization to work inside the basilica St Sernin (you can see the results here). I knew that I had to come back there somehow someday for a bigger project. And then it happened, sooner than expected, with the help of the SO Toulouse convention bureau. 8 locations, 11 artists in less than 10 days... An "InMotion" special series just for "la Ville Rose"... something I have never done before for any other city I visited.

I was planning on doing a chronological 4 parts blog post but changed my mind this morning and decided to release a 3 part post instead... 3 parts for 3 categories, Ballet, Tango, and Circus will be on the menu.

The first location I am going to present you is one of my favorite. The Aeroscopia museum was on the top of my wish list for a while, and we finally had the chance to make a few pictures there. I didn't get to make all the crazy ideas I had in mind but we still got to make a few interesting shots. An almost sunny morning, with my partner Marlène and 2 talented dancers, Almendra Navarro and Denis Lamaj. The staff of the museum was fantastic with us, this museum is really worth a visit... Hope to come back someday for something huge.

Down below a really short BTS posted on my IG @hkvisuals

Almendra Navarro and Denis Lamaj

My 2nd Ballet photoshoot was a tricky one. We were granted the access to the Muséum de Toulouse (sometimes known as MHNT or Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle). We had a part of the museum of natural history for us... A unique place, for a unique opportunity, where we were able to create surreal pictures with the lovely Diana Mora. An unusual setting for a Ballet photoshoot, just what I love!

Another BTS here from my IG @hkvisuals

Diana Mora

This final ballet session was actually the very last photoshoot we made during our stay in Toulouse. It was a bit last minute because we contacted the place shortly when we arrived in the city and usually, on such short notice you can forget about getting any authorizations or official credentials. Plus, we had to find a dancer last minute too.

When we arrived our organization was simple, during the first 48h we had to visit all the locations in order to prepare and plan our photoshoots. Our time was limited and I had to make a top 10 list of the locations I absolutely wanted to use and the Église Saint-Pierre des Chartreux wasn't a part of it... what a mistake! During a day off (Yes we had a few breaks), me and Marlène decided to go visit the place and totally regretted our choice. The minute we stepped out we knew we had to make it happen during our stay... Luckily, dancer Ines Furuhashi was in Toulouse and available... The rest is history!

Down below another IG Behind the scenes:

Ines Furuhashi