Holga Wedding!

On Thursday I tagged along with friends Jamie and Natalie of Borrowed Blue to do something I've been itching to do for quite a while now: to photograph an entire wedding using a Holga! I've tried to bring a Holga along and shoot a roll or two in between regular coverage, but I have found that it doesn't really work as well as it could, since I'm too worried about missing a moment and can't focus on making a really great Holga image. Anyway, I have all the film (yes, film!) finished, and am in the process of editing it. When I finish going through everything, I'll post more images, but I couldn't wait to show this one.
:-)

Thank you Jamie and Natalie for letting me shoot with you, and also thanks to Vanessa and Jesse, the wonderful couple who allowed me to be there on their big day!
(That's Vanessa being escorted to the ceremony by her dad in the photo above...)

Edited to add more images!

Friday Night Fun in a Field

It's Friday night (technically now Saturday early, early morning!), and Andy and I were here looking for something to do. Most couples go out to eat, take in a movie, maybe go socialize. Not us! We drag our gear to a nearby field and take photos of each other! So I am posting a few of my photos of Andy, the cutest human boy ever!

You'll have to ask Andy for the photos he took of me.
:-)

The Cutest Thing Ever

I know every mother thinks her baby is the cutest, but I know for a FACT that mine is the cutest thing in the entire universe! This is Maurice, a few days after his haircut, sleeping on one of his big soft dog beds.

When we first bought this bed for Maurice, he didn't know what to do with it. He was a rescue dog, and lived the first year of his life chained up outside. And there were no big soft dog beds for outside dogs. So he just grabbed one end and started whipping it around the room! I figured it was just not going to work and chalked it up to another waste of money, but then I fell asleep on that bed one day, and he came over and slept next to me... and has been sleeping on his bed ever since. I guess someone just needed to show him how it was done, and if it's one thing I'm good at, it's sleeping.
:-)

Artomatic - Meet the Artists!

Friday May 4th (that's today!) is meet the artists night at Artomatic. The whole thing goes from 6 PM to 1 AM, and artists are encouraged to be in their spaces so that you can talk with them and see the people behind the art. Get the lowdown HERE. Artomatic is just a metro stop away (Crystal City), and there's also free parking across the street. The address for Artomatic is 2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA, in the old Patent Offices. So come and have some fun!

Another bit of exhibit news - I got into the ArtsCouncil@GRACE2007 show! I entered 5 of my Holga pieces (all of which are in Artomatic), but am not sure which one(s) they chose for the show yet. Here's part of the e-mail I received to let me know:

Congratulations on being selected to exhibit your work in ArtsCouncil@GRACE 2007.

We received over 500 artworks for consideration for this annual juried show, making the selection process an exciting challenge for our juror, Irene Hofmann.

We hope that you will join us at the reception and award ceremony for this year’s exhibition at the Greater Reston Arts Center. The opening reception will be held on Friday, June 22, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

In addition there will be an artist’s dialogue on July 12th at 7:30 p.m. at the gallery. We hope that you will be able to join us for this opportunity to discuss your work with other artists and interested viewers.

So great news all around, and I hope to see a lot of people tonight!

From Sasquatch to Spider Monkey

You might remember this post when Maurice got his annual summer haircut last year. Well, that time is upon us again, and I am here to share a few photos that I grabbed during the grooming.

This is what we started out with:

Some think he looks like a bison. Some would say bear. Others are boring and guess poodle or sheepdog. I think he looks like a sasquatch, and Andy thinks he looks like a gorilla. In any case, he's a big hairy beast, and gets entirely too hot in the summertime with this coat.

Let the shaving begin!



This was perhaps the most freakish moment of the haircut. Normally we start with the body and finish with the head, but we thought we'd try it the other way around this time. The result was that it looked like he was wearing a fur coat (don't tell PETA, they might throw paint on him!). See for yourself:

^^^I know it looks like he's screaming in this photo... but he's just yawning :-)


And finally, the finished look:


Maurice is already much happier, and when we went for a 2 mile walk he was peppy and ready for anything. We'll shave him a couple more times over the course of the summer, but it won't be nearly as drastic as the first annual haircut to kick off summer.

Finally, Some Holga Love!

It's just after midnight, and upon returning home I checked my blog subscriptions to find that my holga work at Artomatic finally got some love! I checked out Mid Atlantic Art News, where Lenny has been compiling a lot of the area artists' top 10 Artomatic picks (my list will be coming once I get to check out ALL of the art there), and the newest list is by JS Adams... and I'm on it!

It feels great to be chosen as a top 10, especially when there are over 400 artist participating. JS, you made my day (whichever day you count just after midnight as)!!!

Three Generations - Holga Style

I've been testing some new methods of making Holga images, and so today took photos of the family during a get together to try some of these applications. Inadvertently, I found a Holga camera that I hadn't used since last summer because my photographer friend Hassel, who is down in Georgia, sent me a modified Holga around that time that I began using immediately upon receiving it. But there was still film inside the older Holga that I had forgotten about! So I finished off the roll and developed it, and found a photo of my father that I took last July!

So now I have three generations of my family in one batch - My father, Andy, and Maurice. (No laughing, Maurice IS my baby!!!)

And I know these aren't the multi-layered Holga images you have come to expect from me... but don't worry, I will be doing more of those again very soon. Like I said, this is all building toward something (can you feel the suspense? I can...).

Artomatic - Opening Friday 4/13!

Tomorrow begins Artomatic 2007! This is so exciting!
Come see my Holga work at Artomatic... I'm in Room #6A55, and I will be there tomorrow for the opening. So if you are around, stop by and introduce yourself.
:-)

Here are the specs:

ARTOMATIC 2007
April 13–May 20, 2007
2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, Va.
Metro stop: Crystal City
Free admission. Donations accepted

HOURS
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday: Noon–10 p.m.
Thursday: Noon–11 p.m.
Friday, Saturday: Noon–1 a.m.
Closed Mondays

Artomatic, the Washington, D.C., area’s eclectic, engaging — and occasionally even eye-popping — arts extravaganza is back this spring and promises to be more of a draw than ever before.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic is the region’s one-of-a-kind multimedia art featuring more than 600 regional artists and performers. The free five-week event, to be held April 13–May 20, will feature nearly 90,000 square feet of paintings, sculptures, photography and other creative work.

----------------------
And here are some photos of the installation. I will post more photos from later on over the course of Artomatic as they happen!

My space featuring my Holga project:



Sean Hennessey and Angela Kleis in Sean's space. His room is awesome, and he does faux finishing like what you see on the pillar there for his living. Very cool!



Angela Kleis during installation. She had collapsed at this point, and like the good friend that I am, I took her photo and then asked if she was okay (in that order!). She's fine, and her space looks great too!



Jesse Cohen, founder of ArtDC.org, gets a little crazy during the last evening of installation, and Jack Whitsitt looks on:



Alexandra Silverthorne, who is located across the hall from me, is hard at work hanging her photos. She does great documentary street photography (that's what she's hanging here, I believe):



Sean Hennessey and Rania Hassan, who are my next door Artomatic neighbors, look at photos they've taken during installation:



I'm having a blast hanging out with all my DC art buddies and meeting new people or the people who I only know from online. Did I mention how excited I was that Artomatic is finally here?

Celebrity Look Alikes

I spent the holiday with my family in Pennsylvania. It was nice to see them all again, but there's just one bit of information that I find puzzling beyond anything else. Family members told both Andy and me that we bore a strong resemblance to celebrities who have been in the news recently. Who do I look like, I know I hear someone out there asking...

First up: Me. I am the spitting image of.............. Anna Nicole Smith! That's right. I know some of you knew I looked familiar, but just couldn't quite put your finger on it. I pulled up a photo Andy took of me over the weekend, and am putting it along side one of ANS so you can compare:




Maybe it's the blonde hair. Could be the blue eyes. Makeup... yeah, I can see it. The chest... sure, that HAS to be it. I wonder if Anna Nicole wore Canadian socks? No matter, the similarities should be obvious regardless. Yup, my celebrity twin for sure.
:-)

Next up: Andy. Andy's celebrity look alike is so obvious I'm surprised I didn't think of it until now. If you saw him on the street, Andy would most likely be mistaken for........... Britney Spears. In fact, my cousin Kelly was calling Andy "Britney" by the end of the weekend. Duh. Again, an image of Andy from the weekend, along with his twin Britney:




Andy shaved his own head around Thanksgiving. He's mad that Britney stole his idea, but is a little flattered at the same time. Anyway, you can see where there is a resemblance, no?

So there you have it. We will sign autographs, but with whose name? Ah, that is the question...

Give Me A Hand

Okay, so that was corny. But there are only so many ways to introduce my latest Holga images... so if you can do any better, by all means, leave me some new suggestions for titles for these posts!

On a related note, Artomatic opens in less than two weeks, and I will have a wall with my Holga work on it. I will post more info when the date nears, and it will be really fun, so you should make it a point to come and check out all the artwork (especially mine!).

Making Cookies!

I stayed in Philly en route to Boston last week, and while there got to make cookies with Jen's family. She has four daughters, and coming from a family with only one brother, it was a change of pace! I had a lot of fun and took photos of course!

Jen said she didn't have any photos of her with all four daughters together (as tends to be the case when you are the family photographer!) so I made sure to try and get all 5 of them in the frame together. These are really more documentary portraits, as I obviously didn't set anything up, but I think it does the job well.
:-)


Here are the rest:

Boston Holgas

While I was in Boston, I shot some rolls of film with the Holga, and thought I'd share some of those now. These are only scans of the film - film is best when printed traditionally, and I haven't had time to do that yet... yes, I am impatient to share my latest Holgas with the world! So at some point soon I will have actual real prints made of these.

The first image is of Jane Gibbons-Eyre (the aussie mentioned in the last post), Jen Capone, and Craig Molway, all talented photographer friends of mine.

The second image is of Jane enjoying her first ever snowfall. She was so happy and thrilled that she got to see snow! They apparently don't get snow in western Australia, so it was a privilege to share that experience. Being from western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, I take that experience for granted sometimes!

The third image is of Craig's wife Sarah, who was frolicking in the snow with us. She was walking backwards to avoid getting snow in her face, hence the footprints looking like they are in the wrong direction. Ah, yes, mind games in photos are fun!

I have more Holga images from the trip, but these are the only ones that are web ready at the moment. And besides, I still have lots of other images to share from the trip.
:-)

Boston

I recently returned from a trip up to Boston to get together with some photographer friends. The occasion? A fellow photographer, Jane, is from Australia and is currently on a cross country tour of the United States. Boston was on the list of cities where she would be stopping, and since I had never been to Boston before either, I figured I'd make the trek up to see everyone. It was so worth it, and I have the photos to prove it!

I'll post more photos, including some Holga photos I took during the trip, but I'll start with this series of Jane taken at the Chocolate Brunch. There's nothing like having only chocolate (and lots of it!) for lunch, let me tell you.
:-)

Read All About Me!

Finally, for those of you who are not in Montgomery County, you can read the article that features me and my Holga photography in the March issue of Montgomery County Insight Magazine.

Go Here to download the article!

Note: Andy took the photo of me for the feature, and the editor of the Magazine chose one of my Holga photos with Andy in it for the layout. Which is funny because I very rarely feature people in my Holga photos. But that's okay, I'll take it. Let's keep the attention in the family!

See Erin. See Erin's Artwork.

This Friday is the opening of the DCist - Exposed show. The flier above gives details, as well as the dates of the show. I will be at the opening, and will be exhibiting my Chinatown Holga photo. So if you are free, stop by and say hello and see some great photos of DC taken by DC area residents!


Remember the interview I talked about a few posts back? Right now, as I speak, the March issue of Montgomery County InSight Magazine is available FREE at Whole Foods, Giant Foods, major bookstores, local libraries, retail stores, restaurants and other choice areas throughout Montgomery County, Maryland. So pick one up today. It's full color, and my interview, complete with photos, for the "Artists Among Us" section is two whole pages long!

In a couple of weeks, the online version will be posted, and I will post a link to that so that all of you who are outside of Montgomery County can see / read it.

Trinity

The other day I photographed Trinity for a pageant that she is preparing for. Now, this is not typical of the type of work I usually photograph, as I usually try to make images of children in their natural environments. But... because I know Trinity's family and knew how adorable she'd be for the photos, I agreed to set up some studio lights and make the photos she'd need for her pageant.


Now, I've never made pageant photos before, and in fact have never even been to a pageant. So I have no idea if these photos will do the trick to win Trinity the "most photogenic" prize in the competition. But I can't imagine a cuter little girl! She's been practicing her moves, and if what she displayed during the shoot was any indication, twirling is a very important part of pageant competition.
:)

Holga Photos - Adams Morgan, DC

Last week I headed down to Adams Morgan and ended up making some Holga images on the way to and from the metro. These are some of the resulting photos, including a couple of self portraits (the last two images).

Taxes and Photographers

Because I'm an award winning member of the Wedding Photojournalist Association and the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, I was interviewed for this month's WedPix Magazine. About TAXES and how they apply to being a professional photographer. Gee, thanks guys, for making me think of taxes a couple of months early! Actually, my wonderful accountant sent me a huge packet to keep me organized earlier the very same day I was interviewed, so it was already on my mind. And I'm also honored that someone thinks I know enough about taxes to be interviewed!

Actually, since starting this business, I've learned a lot about taxes. I'm no expert by any stretch, and resort to my accountant with any questions I have about anything, but some of it has to be proactive on my part. So many aspiring photographers ask me for all kinds of information about this business, and my first is to get yourself an awesome accountant! But since so many people ask me for advice, here's my tax tip for those starting out:

Always collect business tax, and set yourself up legally as a business with a tax id so you can do this. I can tell you from experience that paying the 5% state tax out of pocket at the end of the year sucks big time. And set aside 30% of everything you make for the feds. You're also taxed on your gear. Did I mention that taxes suck? But hey, I'd rather do it right than have them come after me in 10 years saying I owe them (tens of) thousands in back taxes!

When it comes to (your) business, operate legally and correctly, and you won't regret it.

You can read the article here: WedPix - Wedding Photographer Tax Tips