Joseph Tidline Reviews Bertil Nilsson

Bertil Nilsson, London based photographer, is a commercial and editorial photographer, but his personal focus is on dancers and contemporary circus performers. Bertil has worked for 5 years with circus artists throughout Europe and North America to explore and document contemporary circus, "Undisclosed: Images of the Contemporary Circus Artist," which was published in September 2011.

In his artist statement he discusses his interest in the level commitment required to train for the circus. As the project grew Nilsson began to experiment with exposure, space, and location in his documents.

I noticed Nilsson's work while scrolling through a blog that follow online. The photo below was an advertisement for the blogs best posts of 2011. I thought the lighting was impressive and I've always been drawn to dance as a subject matter in photography. There is strong contrast in texture between the two figures in the room and the background and this element explored even more other photos. I particularly think that the figures work exceptionally here as we, the audience, are able to ponder the flesh and the artificial and how they compare and differ.

Texture, light, and skin tone play larger roles in Nilsson's macro work. Here he photographs a young man dancing contemporary while doused in white paint (there is also a video you can view on his website that complements this particular series of photos). The flaky texture of the white paint contrasts well with the dancer’s skin and I do like the overall composition (the hand is not too centered in the image); however, I think he needed to use a tripod and decrease his aperture. Parts of his body are a little blurry and I think the entire figure should be in focus. This is especially noticeable in his fingers.

If you want to check out more of Bertil Nilsson's work you can view his entire portfolio (including images from his new book) here.