Admill Kuyler 03/02/2020 Admill Kuyler 03/02/2020

Photoshoot with Luca D'Amato

Please enjoy these photos I created with the Italian dancer, Luca D'Amato. Saying Luca is flexible would be an understatement…

Admill Kuyler 02/02/2020 Admill Kuyler 02/02/2020

What is most important in photography?

This photo marks the point where I fell in love with photography. It was in 2010 during a stage rehearsal for the Young Choreographer’s evening in Karlsruhe, the ballet was Reginaldo Oliveira’s first choreography with the title: “Attempt”.

I took it with a Nikon D5000 and some crappy 3rd party lens. It’s a bit blurry. There’s a lot of noise in the image. And honestly, I don’t care. The image projects a feeling. That is all that matters in photography. An image only fails if it says nothing. Who cares what camera you used?

Diego de Paula, Bruna Andrade and Bram Koch

I took it with a Nikon D5000 and some crappy 3rd party lens. It’s a bit blurry. There’s a lot of noise in the image. But the image projects a feeling. An image only fails if it says nothing. Who cares what camera you used? Do you care what pots and pans a chef used to make you that delicious dinner? I highly doubt that even the best pixel peepers (someone who zooms in so far they can make out the atoms holding a photo together) could tell you which camera was used to create an image. So many times people have asked me what camera I use. As if it really matters. There is no magic camera. Of course, I always strive to for the highest technical quality in my images, using the best gear available to me, but the emotion the image provokes and/or the story it tells, is by far more important to me.

Why do so many people add filters or film grain to their images? Because without them the images look too perfect. The imperfection is what makes an image interesting. Perfect is boring. Life is far from perfect. Life is interesting. So many people get plastic surgery and Botox. They all end up looking the same.

Many people want overly-photoshopped images. One day they'll look back and think: “what did I really look like back then?”. That is, if they ever look at the images again. Usually the photos just end up disappearing on their computer or phone’s hard drive after their 0,000058 seconds of fame on social media.

Whenever a new camera or lens is announced, photographers increase their mortgages and start selling their kidneys to be the first to buy it. In today’s culture people think that buying the latest and the greatest is the solution to all their problems. Today’s cameras are a 1000 times more advanced than 10 years ago, they can do everything and more than what you’ll ever need as a photographer. People took amazing photos 90 years ago. What cameras did they use?

Understanding the technicalities of photography will surely give you more control over your images. A better camera can surely help you achieve the image you are after. But don’t listen to someone who says that real photographers only take photos with “real cameras” set to Manual mode. Did you take a photo of your cat with your Cheap Chinese Mobile Phone, that is “badly lit”, but you just love it? Then print it out and frame it. You’re a photographer.

Admill Kuyler 27/12/2019 Admill Kuyler 27/12/2019

Zürich Engagement | Elizabeth & Tom

Elizabeth is a ballerina with the Zürich Ballet. One of the perks is being able to have her engagement photoshoot in a beautiful location: the Zürich Opera House.

We started by creating Elizabeth and Tom's engagement photos in the stunning Spiegelsaal (Hall of mirrors). Then we moved to the red carpet leading up the stairs to the gallery, and ended up taking photos in the auditorium's glamorous golden boxes.

It was the perfect location, as Tom and Elizabeth's romantic journey together started in the theatre.

Elizabeth had the wonderful idea of also taking some photographs with her wearing her White Swan tutu and pointe shoes.

We had so much fun on this unforgettable day, I just had to share one of the more silly photos we took here too. (scroll down to the end of the page)

I hope you enjoy viewing the photos.

PS Thank you for your help on the day, Rafaelle. You're the best wife/assistant/critic I could ever ask for.

Admill Kuyler 07/12/2019 Admill Kuyler 07/12/2019

Return of the Scrooge... and a behind-the-scenes peek at the "new" Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe

Selfie I took during a tour to Basel, January 2019

“Bah... humbug!!” I groaned, as I tried doing my first plié in over four months. I was excited to return to Karlsruhe ballet to perform and teach one of my favourite roles, Scrooge, in Youri Vamos´s Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol. You would think that Scrooge is just an old man, but once he goes through his famous transformation, he becomes a wacky ball of energy that does tours, entrechat sixes, and the moon walk, all in his pajamas and slippers.

At least this Scrooge has been keeping fit after retiring from ballet in July this year. I run an average of 30km per week, and have even completed my first 10km race in under 47 minutes. I love running. It’s my preferred way to suffer. It’s also the time I use to think. And it doesn’t make my hips hurt the way ballet does.

But starting to do barre again in our living room, I realized that I have been neglecting an important part: flexibility. Thankfully “Yoga with Adriene” on Youtube helped me oil the joints again. And I’m sure I’ll continue this practice, as it’s excellent for keeping both mind and body flexible.

Starting rehearsals in Karlsruhe was therefore easier on my body than expected. I worked at Karlsruhe Ballet for 12 years. So, it was weird to return there and find a completely new and different company. Luckily, there were quite a few familiar faces and I was welcomed warmly by the whole company.

Bridget Breiner, who now leads the company as Artistic Director and Head Choreographer, said that I was more than welcome to take some photographs during the rehearsals. Yay! Below you can view some photos I took during a studio run-through of their production, “Seid Umschlungen” (Be embraced). It is the first production of this new chapter in the history of ballet in Karlsruhe.