Stillpoint: Dance Photographs by Ronald Compton [Hardcover]

Ronald Compton (Photographer), Ralph Gibson (Afterword), Larry Allan Smith (Foreword), Robert S. Miller (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

A passionate study of the transitory beauty of dance.

In Still Point, photographer Ronald Compton captures on film the visceral beauty of classical ballet and modern dance. The former CEO of a major worldwide insurance company, Compton eschewed the monochromatic world of spreadsheets and meetings in favor of a more aesthetic pursuit: photographing members of dance companies in New York City and Hartford, Connecticut.

Compton's work exhibits a remarkable sensitivity to subtleties of form and a flair for theatrical color. Hours spent watching rehearsals and performances have given him a fine eye for the grace of dancers' movements and the effort and determination necessary to photograph them. Stillpoint is a paean to the capabilities and beauty of the human body and the creative spirit.

Still Point contains an Introduction by Larry Alan Smith, president of the School of American Ballet, and an essay by photographer Ralph Gibson. In an interview conducted by Robert S. Miller-chairman and CEO of Waste Management, the world's biggest "environmental services" firm-Compton discusses the differences and similarities between his two careers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ronald Compton built a studio in his basement and began to photograph dancers in the late 1980s. At the time he was still the chairman and CEO of a large insurance company, and taking pictures, he thought, was just a hobby. He spent his Saturdays watching dancers through his camera and making photographs of them, and he has continued to develop a strong visual relationship to dance and movement over the last decade. This book is the result of those efforts. Dancers--alone, in couples, in costume, or nude--Compton catches them in the midst of motion. Witness a close-up of a dancer swathed in netting, or one barely balanced in a back bend on her toes and her head. These images are not the work of a mere hobbyist: Compton began taking photos in his grandmother's basement, and he supported himself through college by photographing weddings. Later, throughout his busy schedule of meetings, business trips, and more meetings, Compton took pictures whenever he could--on the weekends and sometimes back in the basement. After looking at these incredibly accomplished photographs, readers can't help but wonder if perhaps his career in insurance wasn't the hobby and photography his true vocation all along. --J.P. Cohen

About the Author

Photographer Ronald Compton was, until March 1998, chairman of Aetna. He currently lives in Hartford, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Aperture; 1st edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893818739
• ISBN-13: 978-0893818739
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,621,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not great, but pretty good studio dance photography, September 12, 2004

By 

J. Lizzi (Costa Mesa, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stillpoint: Dance Photographs by Ronald Compton (Hardcover)

"Stillpoint" is a decent collection of dance photographs by Ronald Compton which highlights members of the Hartford Ballet. Mr. Compton, a former executive of insurance giant Aetna (headquartered in Hartford), portrays his love of ballet and photography through an approach that incorporates a variety of depictions to bring out the beauty and vitality of the dancers.

What I liked most about this book is that Mr. Compton employed a variety of techniques and formats to present the beauty of ballet and the dancers' bodies. Out of 70+ images, a little under half are in color. The framing ranges from facial close-ups to head-to-toe shots of partnering scenes. Some photos are posed, while others snatch the dancer out of mid-air in a style reminiscent of Lois Greenfield ("Breaking Bounds"). While some of the dancers are nude, others are in full costume (as from a full-length ballet). Even the image quality was varied, from quite sharp to excessively grainy. All the photos are taken in a studio (i.e., none from performances).

On the downside, this book is lacking certain ingredients which make a dance photography book truly impressive. The attitude of the dancers, posed or otherwise, is sometimes missing a dimension that, for example, Greenfield and Greg Barrett ("Tutu") are able to achieve by freezing their subjects at the peak moment of raw energy and/or graceful movement. Howard Schatz, the best at photographing the human body (absolutely superb), is adept at making a dancer jump off the page through his masterful use of lighting, resolution and positioning to show the body as a thing of sheer beauty. Unfortunately, too many of the photos in "Stillpoint" are a trifle flat, meaning that there is a lack of contrast, or that the dancers too easily blend into a busy backdrop. The result is that a number of images are short of presence or devoid of anything that will make the viewer look long at them.

The book is almost coffee table size, and is printed on high-quality paper. There's an interesting interview with Mr. Compton and the publisher's (Aperture) rep in the beginning. Overall, this book is worth checking out by anyone who wants to become familiar with Mr. Compton's work, or who simply likes ballet photography.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, February 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Stillpoint: Dance Photographs by Ronald Compton (Hardcover)

If you love pictures and you love dance, this book is for you! Give it a try...