From the Nominator

"BYU's motto is "The world is our campus," which speaks to our focus on international outreach. This motto is exemplified by the BYU Dance Department, which sends several dance companies on worldwide tours every year. In order to tell that story, one of our photographers traveled with the BYU Ballroom Dance Company on their European tour last spring. In addition to documentary coverage of the tour, the photographer decided to do a series of portraits of dancers in each city that they visited.  

When they got to Brussels, they found out that their hotel was only a block away from La Grand-Place, a gorgeous public square built in the 12th and 13th centuries. After scouting it out that night, they decided to bring dancers back the next night after their concert to capture some images of them dancing against the historical facade.   

They didn’t get to the square until almost midnight, but the photographer was shocked by how many people were still milling around, although most could no longer walk in a straight line. After doing a few test shots, the photographer saw a puddle on the ground and made a beeline for it, knowing that it would make the perfect reflection for a low-angle shot of the dancers posing. The dancers thought it was crazy to have them dance behind the dirty puddle of water—that is, until they saw the photos. The impromptu photo shoot immediately drew a crowd of onlookers, who kept looking at the images on the photographer's iPad and shouting out encouragement and advice."

From the Judges

This beautiful photo is truly the tale of two images. As the description details, the composition is built around La Grand-Place and a dirty puddle. The photo demonstrates the technique needed to produce a grand photo at night.