What the actual Funk? I didn’t even know I had muscles there. I thought it was merely a thigh, my legs, I thought they were strong, they are but not in that zone. Owww, it’s a good pain though, my bum is going to be perkier, yep 8 more reps, let’s go, perky bum. Wash your leggings and cute Lululemon bra (or off-brand Target special bra (as long as it holds the girls in)), your Sunset Beach Pilates class is about to begin! Wait, I’ve completely alienated the guys in that statement, Pilates is good for you too. So gents, wash out your shorts and bro (see Seinfeld) and get ready for some intense muscle development.

Sunset Beach Pilates is housed in a bright welcoming studio. If it didn’t have the garage door, you’d have no idea it had been converted. It features a variety of classes ranging from beginner to advanced. Carli does a fantastic job leading the sessions and shooting for a few of them has been an enjoyable deviation from my regular work.

Indoor photography isn’t always a walk in the park (I’ve never understood that saying, what if there’s a crazy cat lady that decides to chase you during your walk, that scenario negates the entire point, wow, tangent). One of the challenges that comes up again and again with shooting indoors is lighting. There usually isn’t enough of it; but, I’m of the mindset that I’ll work with what I have. For the majority of the Sunset Beach Pilates photos, I raised the ISO (film speed) enough to accommodate a shutter speed that froze the movement of the exercisers but kept it low enough so it wouldn’t add heaps of grain to the photos. 

The Pilates shoots have also pushed me creatively, I didn’t want to give Carli the same shot set-up with a different exercise. Yawn, you can do those with a cell phone. I found myself getting low, standing on a chair, framing, using all of the photography composition techniques I could pull out of my hat (again with the cliché sayings… and no, a rabbit isn’t something I pulled out of my hat that day in case you were wondering).

When shoots aren’t scripted and they’re going well for me, I find a rhythm. Both times I’ve shot for Carli, that’s happened. At the end of the classes I’m sure the sweat all over my body is a direct result of my constant movement and sympathy sweat for the exercisers.  

The body achieves what the Funk believes!

Dear Reader, that catchy closing line is under construction as it sounds like a deranged 3rd person personal mantra or it may endure the test of time, stay tuned, dun dun dun!