{"id":1731,"date":"2019-02-02T17:34:34","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T17:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archerphoto.com\/?p=1731"},"modified":"2019-09-04T10:52:19","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T10:52:19","slug":"night-session-with-elena-lopez-benaches-olympic-silver-in-rio-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvgrkdwu.a2hosted.com\/archerphotopuntocom\/night-session-with-elena-lopez-benaches-olympic-silver-in-rio-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Night session with Elena L\u00f3pez Benaches, Olympic silver in Rio 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Puedes leer este post en espa\u00f1ol:\u00a0https:\/\/www.archerphoto.eu\/sesion-nocturna-con-elena-lopez-benaches-plata-olimpica-en-rio-2016\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n

It is possible that taking many photos and writing sometimes seems like much more work than is worth doing.<\/span>\u00a0But it is also true that sometimes you build things without realizing it.<\/span>\u00a0I had wanted to take pictures of rhythmic gymnastics for some time.<\/span>\u00a0But I do not have too many contacts in the sector, so I left it as a wish that had been left pending.<\/span>\u00a0And one day there is the opportunity to take pictures of Elena L\u00f3pez Benaches. Perhaps\u00a0<\/span>the name, does not ring a bell.\u00a0<\/span>But she is an Olympic medalist: with the Spanish team she achieved silver medal in Rio de Janeiro (the Equipaso, that’s how they are called).<\/span>\u00a0Of course, my doubts were between zero and none.<\/span>\u00a0We warned Nadia Alba to help us with makeup, hair and a little assistance in costumes, and she came with her brother, Salva, a classic dancer, who agreed to collaborate as well. He helped us in this night session with Elena L\u00f3pez Benaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Elena<\/figure>\n

Interrogating Elena L\u00f3pez Benaches<\/span><\/h3>\n

Curiosity moves me, so I asked her many things during the session, even though she has\u00a0a very extensive<\/a>\u00a0and well-documented\u00a0Wikipedia page<\/a>\u00a0.<\/span>Elena has had an ankle injury from which she is recovering during this year of rest from the competition.<\/span>\u00a0She was on vacation in Valencia – she lives and trains regularly in Madrid, but she’s from Tur\u00eds, a Valencian town), so we took photos here, in the capital of Turia.<\/span>\u00a0But I asked her about life in Tur\u00eds, because in her hometown she even has a street named after her and even the municipal gym is dedicated to her.<\/span>\u00a0“The truth”, she confesses, without an apex of arrogance “is that in the town they behave very well with me”.<\/span>\u00a0It’s funny because almost never get such remarkable recognitions in life.<\/span>\u00a0But it seems that “not being a prophet in your land” is not something that affects Elena.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Elena<\/figure>\n

“I’m still not 100%”, she explains when we are preparing some plans.\u00a0<\/span>But the elasticity, the precision and the capacity is incredible.<\/span>\u00a0Normally, when doing jumps and pirouettes, there is a factor of luck for the pose to go well.<\/span>\u00a0It is not the case.<\/span>\u00a0It does not fail a single time, but when she sees herself in the photo, she becomes extremely self-critical.<\/span>\u00a0“In that pic I do not have the foot completely OK”.<\/span>\u00a0And it’s not that position it’s wrong, it’s that it’s not perfectly stretched.<\/span>\u00a0In addition, she excuses himself for not being able to hold for long in positions that she performs perfectly and that are almost impossible to perform.<\/span>\u00a0The flexibility is amazing, but his naturalness in the pose is even better.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Night<\/figure>\n

Rhythmic gymnastics in a deserted Valencia\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Our idea of \u200b\u200bthe night session with Elena L\u00f3pez Benaches <\/span>was to make different looks for an almost deserted city on a mid-August night.<\/span>\u00a0The idea was not to mount large sets with flashes, but to capture, especially the movement, and the contrast with some places in the city, to look for the urban texture, instead of the coldness of a studio.<\/span>\u00a0With the LEDs combined with the streetlights of the city we were slightly low in light, but we did get the desired atmosphere.<\/span>\u00a0For this session, Nadia Alba took care of the hair and makeup.<\/span>\u00a0“Normally we have to take care of ourselves,”Elena explains to me, when I ask her about the sponsors and the support they have.<\/span>However, he confesses to me, the atmosphere with the team is very good.<\/span>\u00a0“We leave all the negative issues out,” she says, very sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Night<\/figure>\n

Another aspect that we comment on is how such a visual sport does not have a greater, and better media difussion.<\/span>\u00a0They had a TV ad,\u00a0 with Freixenet (an important cava company in Spain), that was seen and well valued.<\/span>\u00a0There is even a very interesting little documentary (\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KnjX5xD8f28<\/a>\u00a0), but rhythmic gymnastics do not have a big pull.<\/span>\u00a0“There was a lot of glitter on the set,” she recalls, “and it was very uncomfortable, because it got everywhere.”<\/span>\u00a0Sometimes in pursuit of the image professionals press a little more than necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Night<\/figure>\n

I’m Sergi Albir, professional photographer<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0If you need photos you can send me a message to\u00a0sergi@archerphoto.eu<\/a>\u00a0or a Whatsapp to +34 644459753 today.<\/span>\u00a0I make photos, videos and contents both for the Internet and for other media.<\/span><\/p>\n