Beyond the Frame 31/
Putting a spring in your step with a love letter to dance and the art of "jumpology".
The daylight hours are shrinking in this part of our world; the warmth of summer days has faded; the energising season has departed.
If, as leaves are falling and mists are gathering, you find yourself searching for alternative sources of energy, look no further; I’ve got you.
Dance
“The job of feet is walking, but their hobby is dancing.”
— Amit Kalantri
As close friends can confirm, I love to dance. I am a dancer. Modesty almost prevents me from quoting one impressed friend, who may or may not have said, “To watch Gavin dance is to hear our hearts sing.”
It is true that I have reached an age at which dancing is commonly viewed as inappropriate and mostly discouraged on medical grounds. Do I care? I do not.
“I have no desire to prove anything by dancing…I just dance.”
— Fred Astaire
I’m dancing right now. Truly! Dancing and typing. OK, so this might begin to explain the typos and grammatical inaccuracies. Do I care? Well, I do care about that as it happens, but it can’t be helped. A dancer’s gotta dance.
At this point, paid subscribers will find recorded footage of my dancing/typing livestream.1
For those of you yet to be persuaded of the value of a subscription, (What do you want, blood?) I’m listening to a Northern Soul revival playlist, and my YouTube friend, Levanna, can provide a pretty accurate rendition of the moves I’m bustin’ whilst typing. I taught her everything she knows.
Do check out Levanna’s YouTube channel. I defy you to be anything other than delighted.
Not for the first time you may be reading my newsletter and asking, “Isn’t this supposed to be a photography newsletter?”
Well, yes, ostensibly that’s correct, but, you know, photography is really a means to interpret the curious nature of the human condition. And what better example of the curious nature of the human condition is there than our desire to dance?
(I am really nailing these segues 😬)
Jumpology
Strolling through one of the old towns in China’s Jianchuan prefecture, a babbling gaggle of schoolchildren ran in my direction. Without pausing, they divided each side of me like a river around an ancient rock, reformed their gaggle and flowed on in the direction of a clanging school bell.
One straggler followed, her purple sandals slap-slapping on the pavement, ebony pigtails bobbing up and down as she ran. She wore what looked like a party dress embroidered with pink flowers.
I lifted a camera, hoping to make a picture of her running in the street. She had other ideas. Without breaking stride, she skipped to her left, jumped onto the raised walkway at the side of the street, danced a pirouette and jumped back down to the street.
I only had time to make a single frame. She appears to be almost floating, buoyed by her own high spirits.
If I ever make a list of my ten most cherished pictures, this will be a strong contender. It was such an unexpected manoeuvre — a jump of sheer exuberance. She wasn’t performing or putting herself in the frame. I don’t think she even registered my presence. And what a joyful smile.
It is another example of a moment that I might later have doubted had actually taken place if I didn’t have the photo to prove it.
Pirouettes
Seven hours later, weary from a long day, I was sitting in the town square, enjoying a pot of pu’er tea with newly-made friends when the jumping fairy reappeared.
She danced into the square, performed a few more elegant pirouettes, and skipped away down a side alley.
I always have my cameras set up with a one-click memory option, ready to switch to shutter-priority mode with 1/15th of a second pre-dialled-in. I just had time to make three frames with one camera and a 35mm lens and three more frames with a second camera and an 85mm lens.
Who can guess what made her want to dance? Actually, I think spontaneous dancing ought to be the norm. So many people wear headphones and AirPods these days; presumably many are listening to music. I don’t know why we aren’t accustomed to seeing people grooving in the streets. Listening to music and not dancing seems like very odd behaviour to me. Those of us resisting the urge to dance in the streets are the freaks.
A Jumping Playlist
For those readers who’ve expressed appreciation for newsletter-linked playlists, here’s a toe-tapping, jump-themed offering (click cassette to activate).
Jump
When working for NGOs, once the serious work is complete, I’ll often invite kids to jump for a photo. It’s in these airborne moments that any pretence is abandoned and self-consciousness evaporates in the explosive act of leaping into the air.
The Jumping Beatles
There is a long tradition of photographers making memorable pictures by asking their subjects to jump into the air.
Fiona Adams’ picture of the “Jumping Beatles” was selected for the cover of their 1964 “one-take classic,” Twist and Shout.
”They hadn’t been in London much before, and I don’t think they had a manager with them or anything. It was all very casual. Anyway, they came outside, and there was this great pit in the ground. It might have been a bomb site. I got down in the hole, and then I had the idea of getting them to jump. They were wearing Cuban-heeled boots and there was lots of rubble around up there, so it probably wasn’t very safe, but they did it beautifully. Each of them jumped in a different style, as if they’d been practising.”
— Fiona Adams
I managed to track down a low-res copy of one of Fiona’s contact sheets, where it’s possible to see other images from that job. We can see just how much of that frame was cropped out.
Philippe Halsman
The undisputed King of the jumping celebrity portrait is Philippe Halsman. He coined the term Jumpology.
Here’s Philippe being interviewed, inexplicably, by Spock Leonard Nimoy. The full interview can also be found on YouTube.
The fact that Halsman managed to persuade Nixon and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to leap for his camera is equally as impressive as the resulting images.
As Halsman explains, jumping can reveal aspects of a person’s real character. It’s almost impossible to maintain a façade when in mid-air.
Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn leap with obvious glee. I bet the sound of their laughter filled the air during their photo sessions with Halsman.
Grace Kelly’s natural elegance is still evident when she’s airborne.
Halsman’s most famous jumping photos feature Marilyn Monroe. He couldn’t resist the temptation to include himself in one picture. What is revealed about Halsman when he’s leaping? I don’t know for sure, but he’s definitely not looking at the camera!
Halsman’s Jump Book has long been out of print. However, I learnt that an Italian publisher has printed a facsimile edition, which is available on Amazon.
I’ve ordered a German language edition, which is due to be delivered this week. 🕺🏼
Jumping in Thailand
If you’re a reader who knows me from Bangkok, you might have attended one of our photo walks and might even recognise yourself in one of these splendid jumping portraits. If so, thank you. 😁 (I see you, Mr. Paris!)
I have carefully laced this dancing and leaping newsletter edition with as much movement and energy as it would bear. I hope it gives you a lift in this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. But should you be in need of any more encouragement, I’ll leave you with the immortal words of my straight-talking grandmother, “Fuck it, Gav. Just dance.”
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In your dreams
What fun! thanks!
Another wonderful piece Gavin. Thanks so much. Love the video pieces as well.