The next ZORPHOTOUR story is short but sweet, about a Bollywood dance photoshoot as a “thank you” for an unexpected favor.
Here’s a story of a Bollywood dance photoshoot that I brought from past summer’s ZORPHOTOUR—the 11,000-mile road trip through 31 US states to photograph friends and clients. Just two days before the departure we learned that the RV’s generator was broken and there was no way to have it fixed so quickly. After some frantic searching for a solution I decided to buy a portable generator. The problem was to receive it on time and even my Prime membership wouldn’t cut it—I could only have it shipped somewhere along my route.
Below is the extracts from my PolarSteps trip journal, the full version of this 30-day adventurous RV tour is available here.
Chicago-based Sruthi is one of my Instagram followers. Being an avid photographer, she originally contacted me offering her assistance with a shoot during her short visit to NYC earlier in the year. I didn’t have anything planned of interest but later, the news about my cross-country photo tour broke out so we had a new opportunity to keep in mind. There were no bookings in Chicago to collaborate, unfortunately, but she came back to my mind during that portable generator saga. Sruthi graciously agreed to receive the shipment for me. How else could I return a favor? I knew she was a dancer so as a “thank you” I offered her a little Bollywood dance photoshoot.
We met at the Baha’i House of Worship and spent a little time for her portraits and classical dancing moves (not too much from Bollywood, in fact). Her mom was my lighting assistant and I invited her into a couple of shots, too. This was my third Baha’i temple to visit after Haifa and New Delhi. Attractive concept, ambiance, and architecture!
Here are my favorite shots. Since this wasn’t a commissioned work, I took liberty to play around in post-production. 🙂 My plan is to prepare a director’s cut of the entire tour later—a special compilation blog with some of the best tour stories, moments, and my own favorite photos. Stick around for that powerful feature!
Click images for full size. Kindly refrain from re-uploading images to social media during the first week of feature. Share instead and give credit!
Here’s a quick behind-the-scenes shot:
