“Alley Oop” was created by Doc List of Austin, Texas. The image is of a dance duo who do a combination of acroyoga and dance (“acrodance”). The male dancer, Dmitri Gonzalez, is a well-known parkour acrobat and teacher in Austin, as well as being well-known and respected in the acroyoga community. The female dancer, Holly Go Lightly (yes), is an acroyogi and dancer. When they came to Doc’s studio, they told him they had an idea for a move they had been working on. The challenge for Doc was that his studio has 14 foot ceilings, yet he still had to capture the image. This was an actual launch, not a composite. Holly stood in Dmitri’s hands and he tossed her up and then dropped his arms back. “That is why he looks like he’s worried that she’ll crash to the ground,” says Doc. Lighting was accomplished with a stripbox up almost to the ceiling to the camera left and a rectangular softbox to the camera right. “My goal was to get this on the first try,” explains Doc. “I didn’t get it on the first try but did on the second. It was amazing to see as well as to photograph.” Doc List is one of the current Councilors-At-Large for Texas PPA.
