Ballerina + Beach + Footsteps, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, Summer of 2013

We met as she was walking her dance classes with her best friend and both of their grandmothers. In the city ballerinas are seemingly everywhere. We saw them standing for a minute and decided to walk over and introduce ourselves. The grandmothers accepted us with open arms after seeing the images, while the girls themselves spoke with the joy on their faces. They were so curious about what was being presented to them.

We exchanged contact information and went our separate ways. A few days later we arranged the first session and drove around prior to collecting them looking for the perfect spot. We looked for a north-south street with one white wall facing west and an opposing light wall to reflect the sunlight of a late morning. Once we found it we picked up the girls and their grandmothers and headed back to the spot. 

The images from that first session helped our friendship grow and resulted in a fuller experience the second time around. The image presented here is from our second year together. We have since then moved the photography to the beach and have found it to be a liberating space for the girls. It also helps that they are treated to their time in the water after the photography is finished, all while their grandmothers wait so patiently for them, the entire time standing and chatting among themselves.

These are her footsteps as we arrived to the beach, and this was her hair as we finished with the session. While 'castles made of sand slip into the sea eventually' as one musical genius stated decades ago, her footsteps have been preserved onto film.

www.halimina.org

Note: These images were made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180mm combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.