The first evening
One evening in Porto, Alex and I were walking back after sunset at Jardim do Morro. He stopped for coffee, and while I waited outside I noticed someone arranging music and fire props at the edge of the square.
Alex returned, looked across the square and smiled. He knew her: Natalia. He introduced us, and we sat on the kerb to watch.
I had a 24-70mm f/4 lens with me, but I chose not to make photographs that night. The light was low, the movement was quick, and I wanted to watch before deciding how to approach it. After the performance I asked Natalia whether I could return the following evening to photograph her. She agreed.
Returning with the 50mm
I came back with a 50mm f/1.8. The flames lit Natalia for a fraction of a second at a time, then left her almost completely in shadow. Exposure, distance and gesture kept changing, so the work became a matter of anticipation rather than direction.
The edit
The difficult part came the next day. The performance produced hundreds of variations, but the photographs worked best when the fire, Natalia's movement and the surrounding night held together in a single frame. The edit became an exercise in removing repetition and keeping only the gestures that changed the sequence.
More than one evening
Natalia and I stayed in touch during the rest of my time in Porto. After some performances we sat on the street and talked about art, travel and ordinary life. The photographs began with a chance encounter, but what I remember is the time around them as much as the fire itself.
