Christopher Duggan Photography bio picture

Christopher Duggan

Christopher Duggan is principal photographer of Christopher Duggan Photography, a New York City-based wedding and dance photography studio. Christopher and his team cover Manhattan's finest wedding venues, the Metropolitan, Tri-State areas and the Berkshires, and frequently travels to destination weddings. The company's mission is straightforward and heartfelt - create timeless, memorable images of brides, grooms, their families and friends, and capture special moments of shared love, laughter and joy.

Christopher has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene. He has photographed WestFest at Cunningham Studios, Dance From the Heart for Dancers Responding to Aids, The Gotham Dance Festival at The Joyce Theater, and assisted Nel Shelby Productions in filming Vail International Dance Festival.

Duggan often teams up with his talented wife and Pillow videographer Nel Shelby. A New York City-based husband and wife dance documentation team, they are equipped to document performances, create and edit marketing videos and choreography reels, and much more.

He is a regular contributor to 4dancers.org and the Culture section of Huffington Post and his photographs appear in The New York Times, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, Munaluchi Bridal, and Bride & Bloom, among other esteemed publications and popular wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's celebrated photography collection in 2010. His company has been selected for inclusion in “The Listings” in New York Weddings magazine. Christopher's images from Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival's Inside/Out have been chosen by the National Museum of Dance for a year-long photographic exhibition beginning this May.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Jacob’s Pillow Dance 2012 | My new Natural Light Studio

Every summer, I dream of ways to make more art at the Pillow. I love photographing performances, and you know Inside/Out is my favorite space to shoot dance, but I was craving more.

You're probably wondering how I could ask for more than gorgeous dance like Yin Yue at Inside/Out, huh?

I’ve always been inspired by John Lindquist’s dance photos on the elevated platform behind The Ted Shawn Theatre. The landscape around it has changed – there are more buildings, the Pillow Pub, the Doris Duke, and the vegetation has grown – but it’s still a perfect place to photograph dance in the natural light of the beautiful Berkshires sun.

Another compositional inspiration is Richard Avedon and his simple, powerful portraits on white.

The set-up of my Natural Light Studio itself was inspired by my friend (and photography hero) Clay Enos. When I told him that I wanted to do something similar to his Street Studio at Jacob’s Pillow, and I wanted advice on his construction, he said, “Take my Street Studio. Enjoy!” So thank you, Clay!!

Morphoses in my natural light studio at Jacob

Choreographer Pontus Lidberg and Jens Weber of Morphoses in my Natural Light Studio

These last two weeks, I was able to play in my new studio with dancers from Morphoses, Inside/Out and more, in addition to photographing fabulous performances by Lee Saar The Company and Vertigo Dance Company.

LeeSaar and Vertigo were amazing. I have a specific affinity for Israeli dance – the dancers bring such a specific intensity to the work. There’s drama and incredible strength. It’s really impressive.

LeeSaar The Company received a rousing standing ovation on its opening night

This weekend I hope to work in my Natural Light Studio with LeeSaar’s husband and wife team. They’re game for doing studio portraits with me and I’d like to do something with them as a couple.

Vertigo Dance Company flies through the air at the Ted Shawn Theatre

There is such a richness of artistry and talent that passes through the Pillow each week. My idea for the studio is to invite as many artists as possible to work with me in a five-minute portrait session. And I hope that by the end of the summer I will have photographed a few hundred artists. Excited to see what develops!