my christmas was a blast...

...how was yours?

(that's my younger cousin William with his new ipod touch)

New Take on an Old Image

This is an image from a wedding I shot back in 2004, but reworked a few weeks ago using the Gelatin Relief process. Just thought I'd share now, since I have a whooooole lot of images to be put through this process,some of which you will be seeing in the new year.

Sleepy Frida

I needed to test my new camera out and turned to the most adorable subjects that I know - my puppies! Frida is more cooperative than Maurice by far. She holds her position while I take multiple shots, but as soon as he sees the camera he gets up and goes to another room. Little curmudgeon. Anyway, prepare for cuteness overload!





Below is a rare photo of Maurice taken before he realized I was taking his photo. He normally doesn't wear t-shirts (I don't like to force dogs to be frou-frou), but he had stitches on his side and we didn't want him to rip them out. He's fine now and the shirt is long gone.
:)

My Favorite Cameras

A lot of people find their way to my blog through a variety of means. Sometimes they find me through a link on another web site, sometimes they are clients of mine, and sometimes they arrive here by searching for keywords that appear often in my blog. And one of those topics that attracts a lot of people is the gear I use, specifically my Holga and film photography. Well, an article written by friend and fellow photographer Angela Kleis addresses the topic of a photographer's favorite camera in her latest Smithsonian Studio Arts Blog column, and she interviewed several photographers to find out what their go-to cameras are and why. See the article HERE and you'll get to hear about my favorite cameras to shoot with - the Holga gets a mention, big surprise! But, so do a few other film cameras made by Hasselblad and Nikon. Go check out the article for my full quote, plus you'll get to see what other area photographers like to shoot with most.

ISPWP Contest Winner!

Yes, it's that time where I announce that I placed one of my recent wedding images in another contest. This time it's the ISPWP (International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers) Fall contest in the "First Dance" category. The image can be seen above and was taken at Jessica + Todd's Thorpewood wedding this past September.

See the contest category HERE!

Get Your Rear In Gear!

Over the weekend I photographed the First Annual Alexandria Get Your Rear in Gear 5K Run, Walk and Tony Snow Mile for a Miracle! at Fort Hunt Park in Alexandria Virginia. These races happen all over the country as part of the Colon Cancer Coalition, which is the local connection to Tony Snow (Fox News / Press Secretary to George W Bush), who lost his battle with colon cancer last year. Over 500 participants came out to the event, which was awesome to see. Some of the teams that participated were quite colorful, including the Kilters (or was that "Kilt Lifters"?) (pictured above) who ran in kilts, carried foam weapons and many who ran bare chested for the entire 5K.

My own grandfather died of colon cancer, and so to do my part to help, I'm donating 25% of all print sales from this event to the Colon Cancer Coalition. Find the entire photo take HERE.

A few more photos to give you a taste of what's in the proofs linked above:

The team from Trinity High School wore matching hot pink argyle socks...









An eclectic mix gathered at the starting line!



Tony Snow's sister, children, and Fox News Producer Griff Jenkins take their place at the starting line:



And they're off!





The winner James Wiggin approaches the finish line:



I was so happy the leaves were still on the trees at the park - it made it so pretty!









Tony Snow's kids being interviewed by Fox News after they completed the 5K:

Shutterbug Magazine Feature

If you happen to be by a place that sells magazines, make sure you check the November issue of Shutterbug Magazine. Specifically, page 90, where you will find a feature with yours truly. The work profiled is my wedding / artwork hybrid site at www.erinantognoli.com.

I got a note about a half a year ago asking if I would allow the magazine to use a screen shot of my website with their profile, and of course I said yes. But, because the article is only available online to subscribers, I had not seen it when it first came out. I began getting emails from all over the world telling me they loved my work and that the article was really great, so that made me feel better, but ultimately I had to see it for myself and made a pit stop to Borders where I found the magazine on the rack.

I'd share it if I could, but due to copyright issues I can't scan and post the page, but if you get a chance check it out this month at the nearest place magazines are sold.

***UPDATE - it's now online! Check it out here: http://shutterbug.com/web_profiles/1109web/ ***

Latest Exhibit

I have some Holga work on display RIGHT NOW including the image above, and the artists' reception is this week! More info:

See several of my Holga DC series pieces at the Area Artists Show at Johns Hopkins University in Rockville, MD.

I'm sharing the space with several other incredibly talented local artists: Liliane Blom, Andy Cleavenger, Pamela Clifford, Jacqui Crocetta, and Barry Schmetter.

The address is:
9601 Medical Center Dr.
Rockville, MD 20850

(the actual show is in the lobby of the 9605 Building that's all the way to the right when you pull up to the campus).

Hours are Mondays - Fridays 7AM to 6PM, and Saturdays 8AM to 2PM.
The show is on display until December 18th.


*** A formal reception will be held on Thursday, November 5 from 6:30-8PM so stop by if you want to talk with me or the other artists! ***

Area Artists Show at JHU

If you want to know where you can see my artwork now, here's the scoop. Find it at the Area Artists show at Johns Hopkins University in Rockville, MD. I have 4 of my DC Series Holga pieces displayed in the show, so check it out.

I'm sharing the space with several other incredibly talented local artists: Liliane Blom, Andy Cleavenger, Pamela Clifford, Jacqui Crocetta, and Barry Schmetter.

The address is:
9601 Medical Center Dr.
Rockville, MD 20850

(the actual show is in the lobby of the 9605 Building that's all the way to the right when you pull up to the campus).

Hours are Mondays - Fridays 7AM to 6PM, and Saturdays 8AM to 2PM.

A formal reception will most likely be in November, details to follow!

ISPWP - Self Portrait contest

Normally I don't like to do the things where I post everywhere I know to get people to vote for me because

a.) I never know as many people as the other entrants, so it's pointless, and
b.) that's just really annoying

but, I thought I would post the self portrait I entered here and tell you a little bit about it... where it was taken, the circumstances, the technical details, etc. Partly because I think some of that info might be interesting to some of you, but mostly just because this is one of those few images that I really love, even though it doesn't fit with any of my gallery work and won't ever (likely) be in a solo show of mine. But, it does have a permanent home on my dining room wall - the image, which was hand printed and toned by me, is 11x11, the frame 16x20.

So, a few years ago, I was spending Thanksgiving with my husband's family at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. We had the whole family, dogs and all, and rented this townhouse to stay in for a few days. The rest of the family was sleeping upstairs, but we had the basement with the sofa bed. The very first thing I noticed upon descending the stairs was this deer head on the wall, with the ceiling above it punched out where the antlers might have hit. Being a vegetarian and lover of animals, this was rather creepy to me, but my family hunts so I grew up around this sort of thing. At that instant, I knew I wanted to make a self portrait with the head.

As for the technical, this image was shot with a Hasselblad 501CM and Kodak TMax 400 120 film. The exposure itself was made with the camera on a tripod, triggered by a bulb shutter release with a 100 foot cord attached (that's in my hand that you can't see). The exposure was 10 seconds, if I recall correctly. I held very still for most of the shot, and in the last few seconds I started to shake my head to give a ghosting effect while still retaining some detail in the face. I have a whole roll of this exact setup where my head is in various states of blur, but this was my favorite. The image you see here is exactly as it was shot... no post processing in Photoshop.

So... that's that. And if you feel so inclined, you can see the image along with the competitors at ISPWP's site HERE. You don't have to vote, because like I said, I know I won't win. I just like to take photos, and think any contest can be embellished if a deer head is included.
:-)

Zip Code Show

You wanna know where you can see my work next? tomorrow, the Zip Code Show opens in Arlington, and I have two Holga pieces on display there (pictured here), one of which is making its gallery debut!

Details:

The show, an artdc.org and Art Outlet collaborative event, is being held in partnership with Halstead Arlington and the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization. It will take place at the Halstead Arlington, a new luxury apartment building at 1028 South Walter Reed Drive in Arlington, VA.

The ZIP Code Show will open and close with Saturday night receptions that will include art, artists, performers (see below), a cash bar, and hors d' oeuvres courtesy of Rincome Thai Cuisine . The work will be on display during the receptions and Tuesday, September 1 through Friday, September 4.

Artists:
Erin Antognoli, Michael Auger, Jennifer Beinhacker, Stephen Dobbin, Cheryl Denise Edwards, Laura Elkins, Rita Elsner, Deirdre Forgione, Vickie Fruehauf, H.A. Gallucio, Ric Garcia, Eve Hennessa, Kevin Irvin, Mishka Jaeger, Jessica Jastrzebski, Angela Kleis, Tara Kocourek, Carrie Marie Lipscomb, Matthew Michael Malone, Stephen Mead, Bono Mitchell, Claudia & Sergio Olivos, Kelly Perl, Linda Plaisted, Caren Quinn, Tariq Rafiq, Jeremy Arn Ramirez, Rhett Rebold, Stephanie Elaine Robbins, Johanna Rodriguez, Lisa K. Rosenstein, Roy Utley, Jessica Van Brackle, Emily Voigtland, Alexandra Zealand

Where:
the Halstead Arlington
1028 South Walter Reed Drive
Arlington, VA

Show dates and times:
Opening Reception: August 29 from 5:30 pm - 12 am
Closing Reception: September 5 from 5 - 10 pm
Gallery Hours: September 1 - 4 from 5 - 7:30 pm

Performances by: Rhythm Worker’s Union (Djembe drumming), Parliament Hill (American folk), KUKU (Nigerian singer/songwriter), Saffron Dance (Belly Dancing), Margot MacDonald (American blues/rock), Wes Tucker (American folk/blues), DC Shorts (film)

Another Contest Win!

I am happy to announce my 5th place finish in the "Family Love" category of the ISPWP (International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers) Summer image contests. The winning image was taken at Jennifer + Joe's wedding at The Washingtonian Marriott in Gaithersburg, Maryland last year.

I rarely enter contests (the ISPWP is about the only contest I enter these days, in fact!), so it's always an honor when the judges choose my work among all the other talented photographers out there. I have a wonderful time making these images, and it's always nice to see others reacting well to them too.

Check out the contest images here: Summer 2009 Contest - Family Love
And the ISPWP site here: ISPWP

The ISPWP has a strict code of admittance for wedding photographers, as follows:

Membership Requirements

The application process helps to ensure that ISPWP members are established, experienced and have reached a high level of professionalism. The membership committee will evaluate applicants on the following criteria:

* At least 50 weddings as the principal photographer (not as secondary/backup)
* Sponsorship by an existing ISPWP member OR two email references from recent clients and two email references from fellow professional photographers
* Website review
* Agreement to operate your business in accordance with the Code of Conduct
* No unresolved complaints with the Better Business Bureau or other similar consumer protection organization

Family Reunion - Hasselblad Images

I recently attended my annual Antognoli family reunion and decided to skip the digital photography altogether this time around. Armed only with my Hasselblad and a pile of 120 film, I made these and many more images of my relatives. I chose these two images to share for this post because they both share the balloon motif.

These are scans from the actual silver gelatin prints that I made in the darkroom last time around. Normally I just scan the film, but I wanted to know that I could print these for real, rather than adjusting in Photoshop after the fact, so what you see is what resulted from my darkroom time.

In short, I learned that I am rusty with the Hasselblad, and even rustier in printing straight (read: non-Holga or alternative processes) images in the darkroom. But it felt so good to print "normal" single frame photos and I am going to try to do this again in the near future.

The Knot - Real Wedding!

I love my job, and would continue to make beautiful images for my clients even if my work never appeared in any magazines... but it's also awfully nice when my work is recognized. Luckily for me, I can have both!

The Fall issue of The Knot is out on newsstands now, and you can see the cover above. My wonderful bride and groom Crystal and Nick got a fabulous 4 page spread in that issue, where you can see a good many photos that I took at their wedding. Click on the images to see them larger, and look for the magazine wherever they are sold to see it in person. Also, you can see a link to the online version HERE, though there are not as many photos online as there are in the mag.

Thank you again to Crystal and Nick, who had that great combination of style and sense of humor to make the editors at The Knot take notice!

The Kiss Monster

I've been shooting a lot of film lately, and am going to be developing a good bit of it this weekend. So, in the meantime, I thought I'd share a photo I took a little while back of Frida, the Kiss Monster. She will lick you to death if you let her, and I liked this image because it was taken just before she struck!

Have a good weekend, and I will be posting with some filmy goodness next week if all goes well.

Wall Mountables at DCAC

(Cherry Blossoms - on exhibit at DCAC for Wall Mountables!)

I will be participating in 1460 WALLMOUNTABLES 2009 - DCAC's Annual Open Exhibit with 3 of my brand new Gelatin Relief pieces. Come and check it out!

When:
July 17 - August 30
Opening Reception: July 17, 7-9pm

Where:
DCAC (District of Columbia Arts Center)
2438 18th Street NW
Washington DC 20009
(in Adams Morgan)
http://dcartscenter.org/

The nearest metro is the Woodley Park Zoo / Adams Morgan stop on the red line. I'd recommend this as parking can be tricky in the heart of Adams Morgan.

Experience one of DC Arts Center’s favorite and longest lasting traditions at 1460 Wall Mountables! The gallery is divided into two foot by two foot squares and the artists do the rest. A DCAC tradition since 1990, 1460 Wall Mountables gives everyone a chance to show their work in DCAC’s gallery. Come to the opening, mingle with the artists and purchase some of the fantastic work for sale.

Crystal + Nick - "Real Wedding" Knot feature!

One of the parts of my job I love, aside from making awesome images for my clients, is getting those awesome images published in wedding magazines. And I am happy to report that Crystal and Nick's wedding is currently featured in the 2009 Fall/Winter issue of The Knot DC, Maryland, & VA. Get a sneak peek HERE. It's on magazine stands right now, so go pick up a copy and check it out! We are on pages 46-49... a 4 page spread!

Holga Artist Portraits - Jessica Van Brakle

Jessica is another artists who made my Top 10 Artomatic Artists list. I had never met her before this photo session, but she was kind enough to let me Holga her in my signature style. This is the portrait that resulted, which portrays Jessica with her artwork (as seen at Artomatic on the 9th floor).

Check out Jessica's artwork HERE.

And check back for more Holga portraits of DC area artists to come! Portraying the area artists with the Holga is an ongoing project of mine, and I love that I can lend my own interpretation to their contribution to our art scene.

PS... you only have 2 weekends left to check out Artomatic! Get more info about the show at AOM's website at www.artomatic.org.

Holga Artist Portraits - Todd Gardner

Another artist I was able to Holga recently is Todd Gardner. Todd is a friend of mine, so he was included in my Artomatic Top 10 Friends list. However, I don't think that makes me biased - he's an incredibly talented painter and is displaying some freaky cool robot-plant-animal hybrid paintings this year.

This portrait was taken with Todd's display, which includes a large self portrait, in addition to the robots.

See his work at www.toddgardner.com.

And stay tuned for even more of my Holga Artist Portrait series, which is an ongoing project of mine!

Holga Artist Portraits - Christian Tribastone

He made my Top 10 Artomatic Artists list. His work was so compelling that I bought a piece. He let me Holga him in my signature style. This is the portrait that resulted, which portrays Christian with his artwork (as seen at Artomatic).

Check out Christian's artwork HERE.

And check back for more Holga portraits of DC area artists to come! Portraying the area artists with the Holga is an ongoing project of mine, and I love that I can lend my own interpretation to their contribution to our art scene.

Artomatic Top 10 (and then some)

Lists, lists, lists... anyone who follows Artomatic knows about the "Top 10" lists that are floating around out there. And I have some favorites that I'd like to share. But... it's more than 10. I've grouped them below!

(For reference, look up any of these artists at Artomatic's Artist Catalog)

Top 10 - Artists I do not know, or did not know prior to this Artomatic.
These are not necessarily new artists or new to the scene, but I was not familiar with their work.

1.) Paul Jutton - Floor 3
2.) Corwin Levi - Floor 3
3.) Stephen Beardsell - Floor 5
4.) Marty Ittner - Floor 5
5.) Syl Mathis - Floor 7
6.) Megan Van Wagoner - Floor 8
7.) Jessica Van Brakle - Floor 9
8.) Kira J. Appel - Floor 9
9.) Christian Tribastone - Floor 9
10.) David D'Orio - Floor 9


Top 10 - Artists I knew prior to Artomatic.
These are mostly my friends, or people who I am in contact with and am familiar with their work and the progress on their projects throughout the year. Since I have a lot of artist friends, I mostly chose artists who either switched things up a bit significantly from previous Artomatics (or other exhibits), or who have a display that is quite a bit "outside the box" in some way. Plus, I just plain love their work, so I think that even though I come in with this knowledge and bias, it's still worth checking out what they have to show this year.

1.) Andy Cleavenger - Floor 2
2.) Alexandra Zealand - Floor 3
3.) Sean Welker - Floor 7
4.) Jack Whitsitt - Floor 7
5.) Sherill Anne Gross - Floor 7
6.) Marcie Wolf Hubbard - Floor 7
7.) Sean Hennessey - Floor 9
8.) Rania Hassan - Floor 9
9.) Todd Gardner - Floor 9
10.) Kerri Sheehan - Floor 9


And, for the heck of it, the other artists who made my initial list. It was very hard to narrow down to my two lists above, so I figured I'd include the rest here. Depending on my mood, many of them could have made the top 10 as well. Their displays made me pause and take a bit longer than average to check them out, and I think they all deserve a closer look by anyone visiting Artomatic. Sorted by floor, they are:

Floor 2:
Phyllis Mayes
Susannah Parnin
Ben Tolman
Emily Green Liddle
JT Kirkland / Matthew Langley (they have adjoining walls, not sure if they planned it but they play well off of each other)
Dale Hunt
Jeannette L. Herrera

Floor 3:
Joseph Dailey
Pam Rogers
Caren Quinn
Michael Auger
Susan Chapin

Floor 4:
Brie Husted
Richard J. Bailey
Kelly McGovern
Jamea Richmond - Edwards
Rita Elsner

Floor 5:
Eeshan Meldar
Matthew Carucci
Phil Vickery
Steve Strawn
Paul Sharratt

Floor 6:
Hilary Woznica
Cedric Williams
Susanna Raab
Pat Goslee

Floor 7:
Shawn Helton
Johanna Mueller
Mei Mei Chang
M. Gert Barkovic
Malcolm Blaisdell
Emily Sloat Shaw

Floor 8:
Jorge Caligiuri
Will Mallon
Erica Ricardelli
Novie Trump
Michael Janis
Tim Tate

Floor 9:
Dana Ellyn
Peter Harper


I'm sure I've forgotten a display here or there that I reacted well to, but just either forgot to write down or got distracted. With over 1000 visual artists participating this year, that's bound to happen. There were a lot of displays I really liked, but didn't write down because I had the goal of a top 10 list in mind and wanted to keep it as concise as possible. I'd advise anyone visiting to check everything out for themselves because there is just so much, and art is subjective, and all that fun stuff. But, plan for a good chunk of time - it took me over 5 hours to go through 8 floors of art to compile this list. :-)

To see the show:

55 M Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

May 29 - July 5, 2009

Fri-Sat: Noon-1 am
Sun, Wed, Thu: Noon-10 pm

Take Metro! Located directly above the Green Line Navy Yard Metro Stop, West Entrance.

Meet the Artists at Artomatic!

Do you like to meet artists? If you are in the DC metro area, you are in luck, because Artomatic's Meet the Artists Night is tomorrow. That's Saturday, June 13 from 7-9 PM. And, I will be there at my space (floor 9, area 4, just off the elevators) with my Holga setup to Holga visitors who come to talk to me. See an example of what I did last year right here in this post.
:-)

See the show tomorrow evening with the artists present, or stop by during the next month to check out the art! The details:

Artomatic

55 M Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

May 29 - July 5, 2009

Fri-Sat: Noon-1 am
Sun, Wed, Thu: Noon-10 pm

Take Metro! Located directly above the Green Line Navy Yard Metro Stop, West Entrance.

Holga + Gelatin Relief = ???

Chinatown (Click on the image to see the texture / details more clearly)

So, I've decided to experiment a bit and combine my trademark Holga technique with the Gelatin Relief Process. What resulted were 5 prints that are variations of my original Holga artworks that you may have seen on my art site or blog before, printed to contact size as before, but with the texture and coloring of a Gelatin Relief. They are one of a kind prints, and cannot be duplicated exactly. If you are interested in purchasing one, or having one commissioned (yes, I can make this process work with ANY of the Holga images I have created), let me know and I will give you the full details of the relevant piece!

Artomatic Opens This Friday!

Artomatic

55 M Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
Located directly above the West Entrance of the Navy Yard Metro Stop, located conveniently on the Green Line.

Opens May 29 and runs through July 5th.
Hours:
W-TH Noon-10pm
F-Sat: Noon-1 am
Sun: Noon-6 pm

In case you couldn't tell from the photo of my space, I will be exhibiting 9 of my Route 66 Holga photos. I have shown a few of them in various exhibits, but half of them are making their debut here at AOM. Leave a comment in my book and tell me what you think.

The opening party will be this Friday... so come on out! With over 700 visual artists and a couple hundred performing artists, it will be a blast for sure. I am on the 9th floor just off the elevators, but be sure to check out all 9 floors of art. It's a lot to take in all at once, so I recommend multiple trips. It's free, so you have no excuses!