Balance

Jessie Kleitz

When I had tendonitis in my left ankle several years ago, I went to a physical therapist who specializes in dancers. She was a short, squat woman who also teaches ballet. I don’t do ballet, but ballroom dancing shares some of its terminology. I wavered as I rose into relevé. She slapped me on my left butt cheek and snapped, “Tighten it up. Tighten it up! You must use your butt to help stabilize the ankle.” Her advice and some gua sha had me pain free and stabile within a few weeks.

So what does that have to do with photography?

Life is a balancing act. Lamar Fisher, my first jujutsu instructor, taught that we have 24 hours in a day: 8 for work, 8 for sleep, and 8 for family, recreation, study, health care, commuting, etc. One can borrow from one category to benefit another, but it’s important to pay that back to keep life balanced. That’s easy for me to forget. I have obsessive tendencies, and various parts of my life suffer for it. I go too far, until a health crisis or personal crisis demands attention. Hence, the tendonitis.

Jim Maffei

Patti Maffei

I’ve been juggling dance, photography, health care, home maintenance, dating and other activities for the past few months. It feels like I’ve been dropping some of those balls. I’ve had some minor health challenges for the past couple of months, and I started a new part-time job in May at the National Camera Exchange in Golden Valley, Minnesota. I also have ramped up my ballroom dancing to prepare for the Twin Cities Open competition in July and the Heart of America Dancesport Championships in Kansas City, Aug. 12-14. As a result, I have not done nearly enough photography in recent weeks. I convinced my sister Patti and her husband Jim to sit for some headshots during a recent visit. And I’m scheduled to shoot a family portrait in a few days. But I’ve been aching for more. That should change in Kansas City.

I have a client scheduled for my “personal photographer” services on the first day of the competition. After that, I will be dancing more than usual, but I also have some photography duties at the comp, and will be offering portraits as well. (Note: I will not be the official floor photographer for the competition; I will be dancing too much myself.) Upon my return to the Twin Cities, I have a portrait session scheduled with dance-pro Georgie Anderson to experiment with some lighting techniques. Not all of these are paid gigs, but I remember the sage advice of my late wife, Liz Cummings Browning, a talented singer-songwriter and keyboard player: “You have to support your art until your art supports you.”

I think my physical therapist would agree.

With fall approaching, I’m now bookings sessions for portraits, headshots, sports, family gatherings and some commercial work. Drop me a line if you’re interested: dan@danzantephotography.com.