Dancing with "Soon to be Stars" - Alexis Brewer & Derek Walker

A few months back I met Alexis at work (McCormick & Schmick's). We both work there, she a bartender and I a server - but only by necessity. As you all know, I'm a photographer and an actor, but what you may not know is Alexis is a competition ballroom dancer. A what? A COMPETITION BALLROOM DANCER! You've all seen those ballroom competitions on PBS? Yeah, she does those and has been doing them for years. I know, CRAZY! Who does those things? Well apparently her and her partner, Derek Walker. And naturally, I wanted to photograph it. The idea was to photograph them during practice and then at the competition at University of Maryland. Unfortunately, due to complications, the Terrapin tournament never happened for the two of them...but this weekend they are off to Columbus, Ohio for the OHIO STAR BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS. Begun 31 years ago, the OSB Championships is the largest Pro/Am competition not just in North America, but in the world. With over 6 days of competition, the Championship provides all levels of exciting dance competition and hosts the World Pro/Am Championships and World Professional American Smooth and Rhythm Championships. Like I said, the stuff you see on PBS. Though one could compete in several events throughout the week, Alexis and Derek will be competing in the Amateur Open International Latin competition consisting of the Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble & Jive. The difference between them all...I haven't the slightest idea, but they look great doing it.

One of my favorites from the shoot.

Alexander the Content

My first reaction when Alex called was, "Your last name's Content? That's AWESOME!" Alex found me through his friend Praem who got his headshots a few months ago, and though Alex isn't an actor, he needed a headshot nonetheless. You see, Alex is singer. Not a singer that you'll see in a musical and certainly not the kind of singer you'd see in XMAS Carol (i.e. Me) - a real honest to God trained singer. Now for those of us, myself included, who don't know what that means, here's the skinny...he's good, apparently damn good. So why does he need a headshot then? Apparently, there's a competition coming up at the end of January in Annapolis and if he qualifies and passes the first couple of rounds, his chances of making the finals in NY greatly increases. So, he needs a headshot for the competition. Oh - I almost forgot, whoever makes it to NY, gets a week of personal voice coaching at the Metropolitan Opera...SWEET! Needless to say I wish him well. It was great being able to talk about music, relaxation techniques for both singers and actors and the overall world of being an artist. Best of Luck Alex!

The Traditional Look.

The Traditional Look with some Attitude.

A look that says I've done something mischievous?



Much different look with the hair down.


The sun finally went down so we could do a little outdoor work.


As Always, Clowns.