the smithsonian s+udio arts blog - featuring me!

i was just featured in the smithsonian studio arts blog with an article about my mordançage work.  it focuses a little more on my mordançage work as it is applied to wedding photography, but a lot of it is general and spans my personal work as well. check it out HERE!

the above image is not featured in the article, but you can see different photos over there. :)

washington monument / american indian museum holga

i made this image during the last sketchcrawl on the mall in washington dc this past february.  because it was cold, we chose to museum hop for most of the day to make our sketches, and this shows some of what we passed by throughout the day. :)

pictured are the american indian museum on the left side of the frame, which is where we ate lunch (their cafeteria is pretty awesome!), and the washington monument is in the center of the frame.

what do you think?

this is another 16x20 mordançage print from my march darkroom session. it's a little different than the others in that it is a single image as opposed to a composite. i'm still not sure how i feel about it, and while i usually only post the "keepers" here, thought i'd see what you all thought about it. i'm still working through this series and trying to determine what direction(s) to take, so feedback is always helpful...

if it matters, it's another taken during the snow storm in february...

click to see it larger. :)

you have questions? i have answers.

because i get a lot of questions from people around the world about my work (especially my holga artwork and process), i decided to start a formspring page to give inquiring minds a platform to ask me their questions. this way you can also see what others have asked, and i won't have to write the same answers many times over. win-win :)

here's a direct link to the question box if you have a question, or you can visit the page here to enter your question or view other people's questions: http://www.formspring.me/antognoli

another large mordançage

here's yet another 16x20 mordançage / gelatin relief print from my printing session back in march. this is an older negative made from images of cherry blossoms from 2009, but i enlarged it (the previous images i made were 8x10, so this is a significant change!).

despite the size difference, the prints themselves are very different because it is impossible to duplicate a mordançage print exactly. each version has unique color and texture, which is awesome from my perspective. hopefully you think so too!

(as always, click on the image to see it a little larger!)

more mordançage

here's another 16x20 mordançage / gelatin relief print from my darkroom session in march! :)

(click the image to see it larger!)

BIG mordançage prints

yes, i am aware that it's been ages since i've posted. but i've been very busy in the darkroom, and have lots of new images to share. my latest batch are 16x20 mordançage (gelatin relief) originals, which is super cool to see them so large. here's one that is based on images that were taken during the snowpocalypse in february, and i'll post more later!

(click the image to see it a bit larger!)

Upcoming Exhibits - Fraser Gallery + Laurel Arts Guild

I am happy to announce some exciting exhibit news! I have two opening receptions in March, and both exhibits will feature some of my new gelatin relief prints!

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Firstly, I found out I was accepted into the 9th Annual International Photography Competition at the Fraser Gallery in Bethesda. I plan to attend the opening reception where one of my brand new Gelatin Relief images will be displayed. More info about the show:

MARCH 12 - APRIL 3, 2010

A group exhibition of photography by finalists of this annual competition, curated by Catriona Fraser. $950 in cash prizes will be awarded, with a Grand Prize of $500.

The Fraser Gallery received submissions from 151 photographers. The finalists are Erin Antognoli, James Blackie, George Borden, Deb Casso, Alain Debrabant, Sharon Dowis, Karl Doyle, Jane Vanden Eynden, Lee Goodwin, Edward Hahn, Chris Heard, Walter Hobbs, Jessica Jastrzebski, Prescott Lassman, Minny Lee, Anita Licis-Ribak, Stephen Marc, Michael McCullough, Kent Mercurio, David Orbock, Michael Palmer, Walter Plotnick, David Quinn, Allen Russ, Virginia Saunders, Edgar Stewart, Shaun Van Steyn, Michael Wilson, and Christopher Zedano.

An Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony will be held in conjunction with the "Bethesda Art Walk" on Friday, March 12 from 6pm - 9pm.

This is the piece that will be in the Fraser exhibit:

Find the Fraser Gallery at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD 20814

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I will also have a photo in the LAG (Laurel Arts Guild) Open Juried Exhibition from March 5th - 28th. Local glass artist extraordinaire Michael Janis juried the show.

The opening reception will be on Sunday, March 7 from 2-4pm.

This is the piece that will be in the LAG exhibit:

Find the Laurel Arts Guild at 9700 Muirkirk Rd, Laurel, MD 20708

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I was also awarded a solo exhibition at Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland for the 2010-11 season. I don't know exact dates at this time, but will keep everyone posted as soon as I know.

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So, the year started out to look slow but is shaping up to be pretty busy for art, which is a good thing!

Snowpocalypse 2010

I hope everyone is staying warm during this recent wave of snow. We lost power for 30 hours over the weekend, but it's back on now and so far so good. Here's a photo that my husband Andy (also a pro photographer) took on our street of me with our two dogs, Maurice and Frida.

ring hand :: gelatin relief

gelatin relief :: yellow shoe

One of my wedding gelatin relief prints - I recently made some of these prints from my 2009 weddings and will begin to share them. And soon I will begin my gelatin relief work on my personal artwork projects. The first steps are done, but a lot more needs to be done to them... it is a very time-intensive process.

H+M Bridal Gala - This Weekend!

It's bridal show season, and I'll be posting about my upcoming events here on the blog and on Halo Photographic's Facebook Page to keep everyone informed about where I'll be and what sort of specials you can expect from me at these events!

***For this show, anyone booking me AT THE SHOW will receive a FREE medium leather bound album valued at $1100. Because it's a big decision and the offer is only available during the narrow window of time that the show is running, I will definitely be happy to answer any questions you have about my services via phone or email prior to the bridal show so that you are fully informed and ready to snag me for your date at the event. :)***

First up is the H&M Bridal Gala in Hagerstown THIS SUNDAY!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
11:30AM to 4PM

Find it:
Hager Hall Conference & Event Center
901 Dual Highway
Hagerstown, MD 21740

I am in booth #52.

Over 50 vendors (including me!), food tastings, beauty demonstrations, huge door prizes, fashion show by J&B Bridals, and more!

Pre-register for a free gift and $1 off admission at www.hmbride.com

film fridays - citiwide

taken in new york city during my last visit there.

the specs: hasselblad xpan II camera and kodak tmax 400 film.

Sneak Peek

This is part of a (MUCH) larger project I am working on. I'll share more later but it will take a while to finish everything (did I mention this was a BIG project?). So figured I'd leave everyone with this single image as a teaser...

Oh, and Happy New Year!
:)

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: