The stage was lit and the crowd was quiet.
She sat watching them, taking in the silence.
Her red dress freshly washed from the performance before.
Her hair let down and her bare feet on the floor.
Her talent was enough but her beauty was greater.
She was a burning star, but she wouldn't realize until later.
Later did come, yet time no longer passed.
She stayed in that theatre now reciting the past.
No tickets were purchased and the front door was locked.
The dust sat beautifully on top of what others had forgot.
She floated above the scuffed and tattered floor.
Her dress never dirty, her burning, no more.
Days were nights and nights were days.
Her piano rotted on top of the stage.
Now her skin was washing thin.
Transparent was her beauty.
Either this was her chance
Or a pure game of cruelty.
Days had been years and years had been days.
But today the sun was actually burning through the haze.
Oh to return for one more night!
Just to touch the keys and caress the light.
She called out with hope, raspy was her voice.
She began to levitate as if by choice.
Colors began to rush back in.
Her star back to burning, the show to begin.
And there she saw it, her piano, her friend.
Where she could play for one more night, while the veil was thin again.
Behind the Scenes:
I've never done levitation photography before, so that was the driving force behind this shoot.
We were lucky enough to be able to shoot in the second and third floor of the Old Town Hall Winery in Lexington, Michigan.
It wasn't until I entered the space that I switched my thinking from a glamorous "floating" shoot to a haunted levitation shoot.
It's told the Winery is said to be haunted, really haunted, by adults and children. Even tv crews have came to check the place out and left because it was that haunted.
Not sure where I stand on this... I can at least say I was happy to be photographing there in the daylight.
We did have a few happenings with lights and our fog machine, and our model, with no clue how it happened, did look down to see her big toe cut and bleeding. She later lost her toenail, so, take that how you wish (extra props to her for working through the shoot the WHOLE time like that!). Maybe the ghosts were not happy with our presence, or we just had bad luck.
As gloomy as the day looks here we shot this in August (I think) on what had to be the HOTTEST day of the year. Only a few minutes in and we were literally stripping off our clothes and shoes to continue working. Not to mention what we hauled up 2 flights of tall stairs:
fog machine, a gallon of fog juice, loaded camera backpack, loaded trolly with light stands, lights, reflector, extra fabric, cords, battery pack, and god only knows what else. Oh, and a ladder. A 6 ft tall metal ladder. Oh, and a small, heavy ass trampoline we found in the garbage a week before. Call us crazy, but... Ok, no, no excuses, we're crazy.
After 3 hours I got what I wanted and we hauled all of our stuff back out and celebrated with lunch and a cold beer.
When editing, this effect is created by layering images, removing unneeded things, adding in shadows, and a lot of blending.
Here's a look at what an image looks like BEFORE and AFTER I mess with it.
Check out the full beauty gallery here!
If you have a thing for hauntingly beautiful girls in red dresses (or black dresses!) I suggest you click those links!
And if you're in to Dark Beauty see what we shot in the woods at dusk!
