yogis having fun

I had a marathon photoshoot yesterday at Back Bay Yoga, shooting nearly all 22 teachers in 6.5 hours. I packed my suitcase the night before; the Canon, the Sony, extra batteries, memory cards, a few lenses, a banana and some yogurt, ginger yogi teabags and a thermos, laptop, and my iPod. I also packed some yoga clothes for my own yoga practice beforehand at 6AM. Chris dropped me and my gear off at Back Bay at 5:45 in the morning, I did some yoga, cleaned up, set up in the 4th floor studio, ate half of my packed oatmeal, and then it was off to the races! Normally when I do a yoga shoot, we ease into it, chat a little, warm up and then just play. Because I had a brief session with each teacher we really had to get down to business, so for me it was all about being receptive; to the individual and the quality of their personality and practice, to the light in the space as it changed throughout the day, to the shape and depth of the studio itself. I challenged myself to stay present and observant throughout the day as these yogis shared something very personal: the taking of a photograph. Their openness and skill at what they do means I have a beautiful catalog of yogi photos waiting to be sorted. More work ahead of me on this project, but I wanted to share some of my favorite outtakes from the day. And my favorite... the Ashtangi High-Five.