Ben -- A FEARSOME WARRIOR -- 2003

This is my buddy Ben Paul.

Not only is he whirling dervish, he is also a Fearsome Warrior!

Thanks Ben for letting me photograph you along with all the rest of your family too!

I LOVE THE ATTITUDE OF THE KIDS EXPRETION...

WHERE WAS THIS TAKEN????

Reminds one of the classic portraits of the real warriors!

Very well done. I congratulate you.

ricky -- Ben has true grit!

The expression is one of fierce displeasure that he is being asked to stand in one spot for more then about half a second.

And how did I get him to stand for this shot? -- Why Thanks Mom!

Jim, this is absolutely gorgeous! Are you using a backdrop here?...hard to tell....at any rate, beautiful tones, great expression, perfect composition....i really love it.

Reina -- This was taken at an outdoors Pow Wow (my favorites -- dancers too, as dancing on grass for three days is much easier on the knees then dancing on concrete).

So since this was outdoors I used that ol' standby Indian background -- a teepee!

Works for Ben cause he's still close to the ground (and the teepee's wide base). Doesn't work for other "fancy dancers" like Curtis Joe who when in his regalia is 7 feet plus tall and whose headdress -- at that height -- is wider then the narrowing teepee's cone.

Jim,

 

Which PowWow wsa this and is it just one tribe or a regional one for several? Which ones? I'm curious and will be up that way later in the summer and love PowWows. I go to the three affiliated tribes in north central N.Dakota every couple of years since my mother-in-law is native Mandan. I must get shots next time since I've not truly been into photography until that past year. Good work!!!

Ahhh, the teepee, of course! Love it even more now...

Don -- this was taken at the annual Squamish Nation Pow Wow held every August long weekend in North Vancouver, BC.

All the West Coast Pow Wow's I've ever been to have been inter-tribal.

And there in lies a strange fact -- generally West Coast Nations do not Pow Wow, they potlatch. That means that there are very few participants in native West Coast regalia even when the Pow Wow is held on a West Coast Nations land.

And my buddy Ben? I believe that Ben is wearing Plains Indians (such as Cree, Sioux), "Fancy Dancer" regalia.