With so many dogs and cats in need of a loving home, photographers Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich do their part to make them feel loved. For the sixth year in a row, their studio Dancers & Dogs paired animals from the Stray Rescue of St. Louis with professional dancers from Saint Louis Ballet in a series affectionally titled Muttcracker. Not only do these dogs and cats get to experience the limelight, but these photos also help find them forever homes.

From young kittens to older dogs, Muttcracker includes all ages of adoptable canines and felines. They are joined on pastel blue and pink sets by dancers in costumes to create a sense of wonder much like a professional ballet. While the animals don’t don any fancy costumes, they still dazzle next to their human counterparts. And best of all, it showcases the lovable temperaments of these animals in need.

“Our work is all about spreading joy,” Dancers & Dogs tells My Modern Met. “Dance is so often depicted as being very serious and full of drama. We want people to see the lighter side of dance. What better way than pairing dancers with silly, fun-loving partners that bring our genuine smiles and laughter. Dancers & Dogs is meant to be a beautiful and uplifting ray of sunshine.” Seeing such sweet dogs and cats have a chance on stage is sure to bring a smile to your face. Plus, knowing that these pets found families makes these portraits even better.

You can keep up to date with Dancers & Dogs’ latest projects by following their Instagram.

Dancers & Dogs paired ballet dancers from Saint Louis Ballet and animals from Stray Rescue of St. Louis for a heartwarming photo series.

Called Muttcracker, these artfully made photos are helping find homes for dogs and cats from the shelter.

Animals of various ages join professional dancers for the sixth year of the project.

See more cute interactions between the dancers and the animals in these videos:

Dancers & Dogs: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Dancers & Dogs.

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NASA has just released a mesmerizing image taken with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) capturing a massive star-forming region known as N79. Situated roughly 161,000 light years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. But although spanning more than 1,630 light years across, this colossal star-forming complex remains largely unexplored. 

The JWST uses a Mid-Infra Red Instrument to capture distant galaxies in such unprecedented derail, allowing scientists to develop a better understanding of how stars form and how the universe came to be. N79 is often considered to be a younger sibling of the 30 Doradus or Tarantula Nebula and remains a steadfast fascination to astronomers due to its exceptional star formation efficiency. 

• Improve your night-time photography game with one of the best telescopes for astrophotography

This latest colorful capture focuses on one of three giant molecular cloud complexes in which a humongous starbursts at the center. Gassy clouds are shown in orange, yellow and blue hues while the six large spikes appear due to the hexagon symmetry of the JWSP’s 18 primary mirror segments. 

Webb’s MIRI, captures longer wavelengths of light, revealing the glowing gas and dust within N79 allowing astronomers to explore and understand the inner workings of these ginormous clouds. As mis-infrared light penetrates deeper than short wavelengths, it isn’t absorbed or scattered by dust grains in the region which is why this image also reveals still-embedded protostars within the region.

Star-forming regions such as this are of interest to astronomers because their chemical composition is similar to that of the gigantic star-forming regions observed when the Universe was only a few billion years old and star formation was at its peak. Star-forming regions in our Milky Way galaxy are not producing stars at the same furious rate as N79, and have a different chemical composition so these new images from the Webb telescope allow astronomers to compare and contrast start formation in N79 with that of early, distant galaxies. 

As the JWSP continues to unravel mysteries of the Cosmos, it provides scientists with more information than ever before and the general republic with jaw-dropping images that show just how magical our universe is.

Celebrating its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Stress Positions is a chaotic film starring John Early and directed by Theda Hammel. Taking place in New York in early 2020, I was immediately taken by the look of the film and how well it captured that specific moment in time. Below, you’ll find a transcribed conversation with Director of Photography Arlene Muller in which we break down her approach to the film. We also discuss music videos, Early as a comedic legend, and the interesting challenge of not only shooting in a New York brownstone, but adding hurdles via shooting through environmental obstacles. Check out the conversation, and be sure to check out Stress Positions! 

Stress Positions premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, and it will be released by Neon later this year.

Alex Papaioannou: So, again, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I saw Stress Positions this morning and really liked it. Are you from New York? 

Arlene Muller: I am originally from New York! I grew up in Brooklyn.

AP: So I’m curious, what is it about filming in New York that excites you the most?

AM: So I’m a huge fan of the Safdie brothers and Sean Price Williams, and I think that chaotic, New York energy is what excited me the most about this film. I think you can definitely see it in the visuals, the storytelling, and the editing. Actually, the gaffer on the film was a key grip from Good Time. And so, it was interesting to have that energy in an ensemble comedy. Because this isn’t an action film, but in a way, it has action film energy. The stakes seem so high all the time. Even if it’s just someone coming over, you know, like Theda’s character, Carla coming and seeing the male model. The stakes are just so high and it’s so intense. And John Early’s performance is so high stakes. And that’s New York. It’s a high stakes place. So that kind of energy makes sense for this film.

AP: Definitely. And it being set in early 2020, it captures a very specific… insane, moment in time.

AM: [Laughs] An unhinged moment in time!

AP: [Also laughs]. It hits very hard.

AM: One of my friends saw the film this morning, and when they came back were like, “I loved it. It’s so unhinged.” And I think that’s something that our generation in particular, like the people who are involved in making the film, could really relate to specifically with regards to COVID, but also with regard to millennial culture.

AP: One more thing about New York. I’m always interested in films shot on location there due to such a variety of architecture across the city. And the brownstone in the film is a perfect example of that. It looks like 3 or 4 floors. I’m just curious what the prep was like leading up to shooting?

AM: Yeah, we were able to prep in the brownstone, and Theda was doing rehearsals in there, too. So we were able to do camera rehearsals there, which was great, because that would allow her, as a first time feature director, to see how the shots could be. And then obviously, we also improvised on the day, as well. But it was definitely great to have a sense of what we were getting into. We were there at least a week or two before we started shooting.

AP: Was it already abandoned?

AM: [Exclaims] Yes! It was crazy there. There were plumbing issues and everything. Like, our producers jumped through many physical hoops to get everything together. Even to a point where we could use the restroom during production. Stuff like that. They had the production office upstairs, so my crew was constantly running up and down the stairs, going to charge batteries. There’s obviously no elevator, you know? So everybody got a workout.

AP: I want to go back to having the film take place in 2020. You’re shooting a lot through plastic covers, or people with masks. Even gas masks! So, what was the approach to that as far as the look of it all, and, you know, capturing an image through a cheap plastic cover?

AM: Physical barriers and obstacles are a huge part of the visual language of the film. And that was something that Theda really wanted to come through. The idea was that things were difficult for people. And visually, those obstacles make the sort of tension of the film more apparent. That was definitely part of her plan. That’s a great observation.

AP: [Laughs] Thank you. Keeping with the visuals, there’s a lot of instances where light is just going off the rails. I think of the disco ball rolling down the stairs in the beginning, or when the camera is facing the projector and we just see bright, colorful light. How did you plan that? Did it come about on that day? Is that something you’ve had in your mind working over the years?

AM: I think a lot of that stuff came naturally. We were looking for ways to make the image a little bit jarring. In the beginning of the prep, Theda said that she wanted images that were really truthful to the feelings that the characters were having. She didn’t want to be precious, and that was something that carried through the film. We weren’t looking to create something that was like the perfect, harmonious world, because this isn’t a perfect, harmonious world. So all of that stuff, from the lens flare to the strong and jarring light, plays into that idea of “This is what the characters are feeling.” This is their point of view.

AP: So, I love talking with people who work in film, who have also worked in music videos. I find the world of music videos to be its own little sub-section of film, and it’s always so interesting seeing the jump to shorts and features. I’m curious if you feel what you’ve pulled most from your music video experiences?

AM: Well, I don’t have that much. I’ve mostly stayed in narrative.  But I’m actually actively trying to do more music videos, because it’s such a wonderful way to be creative visually. So I would say that experimenting with angles, using wide angle lenses, really tight shots. That’s some of the stuff I can say I’ve pulled from. And not just from my own music videos, but also just my experience loving music videos.

AP: Do you have any favorites?

AM: You know, I really love Chris Ripley’s work, like I love “Thot Shit” by MeganThee Stallion. I just love music videos that are shot on 16 millimeter. I love stuff that’s really inventive and that pushes the envelope. I love Tyler The Creator’s music videos. I’m really a big fan of hip-hop. A$AP Rocky music videos. [Animatedly] Okay! Favorite would have… What’s the one with the hook that has the flute in it? [Starts whistling].

AP: “Praise the Lord”?

AM: Such a brilliant music video. Yeah. I mean, all his music videos are amazing.

AP: Agreed. Him and Tyler have a very distinct vision.

AM: And, you know, there’s a frenetic energy in music videos that’s really exciting. And I think we have some of that energy. A lot of whip pans and zoom ins and zoom outs.

AP: Definitely! I love it. And speaking with regards to frenetic energy, the film was shot in 24 days, right?

AM: 24 or 25, yeah. We may have had a couple of extra where Theda went out with her own camera.

AP: So, obviously that’s a very tight shoot. And I’m curious, did it feel like that on set? Or was it just freewheeling, and kind of going with the flow?

AM: I have to say, I’ve worked so much in the low budget, indie world. So that’s a pace that I’m very used to. But absolutely, it was very tight. Everybody was giving it their most. There’s 110% of energy on every day that we were shooting. You could feel it.

AP: Did John Early have to do many falls from the hose spraying into the window? [Laughs]

AM: You know what? Honest to God, he’s such a pro that the answer is no! He is a comic goddamn genius. That man is insane. He did not do a lot of takes for it, and he barely rehearsed it either. Maybe like three times. That was actually one thing we were all talking about: he didn’t have to rehearse his falls. He’s so good!

AP: A great pratfall goes a long way. And speaking of John Early, he’s a comedic legend at this point. Was there a lot of improv on set or was it more of sticking to the script? Just curious what it was like working with him.

AM: No, it was very carefully rehearsed. He rehearsed a lot with Theda and with Qaher [Harhash], especially the birthday party scene and scenes like that. It was pretty immaculately rehearsed. I would say that he’d improvise within the confines of the lines, but there wasn’t a lot of wild improvisation of lines and stuff like that.

AP: Gotcha.

AM: Although I have seen him improvise on other stuff that I’ve worked with him on, and he’s a genius.

AP: I can imagine any B-roll with him is a lovely time.

AM: Yeah, he’s a genius.

AP: So, looking forward. You said you wanted to get into music videos, but do you have anything upcoming that you’re excited about?

AM: I have a 16 millimeter short that I’m shooting in Australia, which I’m super excited about. She’s done a short film and this is her second short. It’s sort of a dreamy exploration of a woman who’s experiencing hearing loss. So it’s a very visual, emotive film.

AP: Do you work often with 16 millimeter?

AM: Yeah! I own my own 16 millimeter package, and I just love it so much. I love 35 [millimeter] too, but it’s harder to convince people to shoot on 35 because of the cost. It’s a little easier to go for 16.

Press Release

Photographs by Dave Hanson, a local businessman and award-winning artist, will be on exhibit at Gallery East during the month of February. The exhibit, entitled “Road Trip,” will be on view from Feb. 2 to March 1 in the Central Instruction Building (CIB) on the campus of Utah State University Eastern.

“My photographs are mementos of passion from my ongoing visual autobiographical journey,” he explained. “They are the outcomes of the variations of my thoughts and the evidence and artifacts of my presence in the places that I have been, the things I have seen, and of the people that I have experienced. They tell of the brief moments in my life that have paused me in my steps and have roused me from life’s visual slumber.”

He continued, “The exhibit, ‘Road Trip,’ is an accumulation of those captured moments from the visual odyssey of my travels throughout the western United States. The resulting images are a celebration of my search to discover and capture—with fresh eyes and a unique vision—what I have found beautiful, interesting and unexpected.”

The series of some 30 photographs represents a unique vision of the West, featuring travel spots, weathered structures, and roadside views of the American landscape.

Hanson is an artist with a life-long passion for the medium of photography. He was born in Price, Utah and for over three decades, his photography has encapsulated an eclectic range of subject matter. He’s been intrigued and inspired by everything from the uniqueness of the human face and body to the historic remnants left by man on the land and in the beauty of the landscape itself throughout the United States and around the world.

His photographs represent the outcome of his vision as translated through the passion of his soul. He incorporates digital, film, and multiple historic alternative photographic processes to capture and create his uniquely authentic art. Since 2005, with over 215 gallery shows, his images have been exhibited and collected in galleries throughout the US, Greece, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Canada, England, South Korea and France.

Hanson’s exhibit, “Road Trip,” will be on view from Feb. 2 through March 1. An artist’s reception and talk will be held on Friday, Feb. 9 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Students, faculty and members of the community are welcome to attend.

Gallery East is free and open to the public during the academic year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed weekends and holidays. Contact Noel Carmack at (435) 613-5241 or email noel.carmack@usu.edu for any questions about the exhibit.

After writer Beatrice Hazlehurst pondered whether hemlines might altogether disappear in 2024, we passed the baton to photographer Alex Frank to manifest the concept. In tandem with stylist Lucy McFadin, the creative duo braved a 20-something-degree evening on New York’s Lower East Side to respectfully poke fun at the city’s confounding fashion sense. Think: ultra micro minis with fluffy snow boots—a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Ahead, we asked Frank and McFadin to recount the onus behind the editorial imagery, detailing everything from where they warmed up to their thoughts on the polarizing trend.