DeWeese Photographic Arts Feminine Strength
The shooting for the Feminine Strength project is virtually complete, but still an ongoing process. Work from the project made its gallery debut at the Robert Canaga Gallery in Eugene, Oregon in September of 2001 and then again in December. Hopefully, those won't be the last.
The participants in the project ranged from 20 to 58 years of age. The 58 year old was arguably the strongest of the group. She has a son that was a Navy Seal; wonder where he got his strength? Several were mothers and one was a grandmother. Athletes, triathletes, rock climbers, fitness instructors, martial arts practitioners, and people that built their strength through manual labor participated.
The best part of this project was getting to meet these wonderful women. Working with them had effects on my life that I couldn't have predicted. Shooting with a couple of ballet dancers introduced me to ballet and you only have to look elsewhere on this site to see how that influenced what I shoot these days. (I even take dance lessons myself but you won't be seeing any photographs of me dancing on these pages). A gymnast that is also a potter, and now a good friend, taught my youngest daughter and I how to throw pottery on a wheel. (You won't be seeing any of my pottery anywhere either.)
Working with strong women can have its drawbacks. You can visit this link to see what happens when a shoot with a strong woman goes bad.
The following photographs are a few from the series.
Nudes Dance Landscapes Portraits Hand-painted SX-70's Links Modeling Information About DPA Contact