Powell Play

jackquinn

14Dec09

To view and purchase all photos click here!

The most impressive and anticipated holiday gathering to date this season occurred last week on the entire roof level of the W Hotel.

When Susanna Quinn calls to say she’s having an event and wants it captured it MUST be important.

Each party she throws seems to be better than the last and the Quinn Gillespie & Associates Holiday party she hosted was the best yet! (they got it to snow inside!)

Filed under: Events, Nightlife, Politics | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, Brit Hume, December 8, Ed Henry, Holiday Party, Jack Quinn, Joe Crowley, John Warner, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, Susanna Quinn, Tommy McFly, Tony Powell, Virginia Hume, W Hotel

© Tony Powell. Molissa Fenley

Mass Balance. Choreographed and danced by Molissa Fenley. photo © Tony Powell

September 15 and 17, 2009

Venue: Judson Church, 8pm
Location: 55 Washington Square South, New York City
Program: Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape, music by Alvin Curran and poem, STEP, written and performed live by Bob Holman
Mass Balance, music by Cenk Ergun, prop by Todd Richmond
Cosmati Variations 1-4, music by John Cage

Performed by Kristina Berger, Molissa Fenley, Wanjiru Kamuyu, Katie McGreevy, Cassie Mey, Elisabetta Minutoli, Paz Tanjuaquio and Alyssa Lee Wilmot.

Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape – the New York premiere of a work performed twice: once as set to a score by Alvin Curran and then again danced with STEP a poem written and performed live by Bob Holman.

Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

This work was created while Fenley was in residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, February 2009. Alvin Curran’s score was created by his recording the sounds of the Nantucket ship horn against the sound of John Cage’s voice reciting the five monosyllabic words of Curran’s title.

Bob Holman, also in residence at the ACA, watched rehearsals of the work underway, taking notes of phrases said during the choreographic process, directions taken, relationships expressed, movement described. These notes were then translated into the poetic form that is Holman’s work.

Ice, Dew, Food, Crew, Ape. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

Standing in the middle of the stage and surrounded by the dancers moving through the choreography, Holman is sometimes in close proximity to the dancers, sometimes encircled as the dancers continue through their spatial constructions.

Mass Balance – music by Cenk Ergun, prop by Todd Richmond (NY premiere). A solo for Fenley, the work marks the beginning of a new investigation of dances made using a prop designed or suggested by a visual artist.

Mass Balance. Choreographed and danced by Molissa Fenley. photo © Tony Powell

Fenley carries a 10-foot wooden dowel throughout the piece, experimenting with images of balance and weight. “Mass Balance” refers to the difference between the accumulation of snow and the ablation of ice of glaciers. Yearly measurements have shown a disequilibrium caused by global climate change.

Cosmati Variations are a series of works that Fenley choreographed while in residence at the American Academy in Rome, February-August, 2008.

Cosmati Variations. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

Each variation is inspired by an aspect(s) of the 11th Century Cosmatesque mosaic pavements present in many of the basilicas and churches in Rome.

Cosmati Variations. Choreography by Molissa Fenley. Photo by Tony Powell

The inspirations are in terms of design: T-square and serpentine eyelets; in terms of measurement: movements or spatial travel that require three feet; in terms of ardor: demand of execution and in terms of form: triangles nested within squares.

Filed under: Art, Dance, Events | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, 55 Washington Square South, Ape, Cassie Mey, Cosmati Variations, Crew, Dew, Elisabetta Minutoli, Food, Ice, Judson Church, Katie McGreevy, Kristina Berger, Mass Balance, Molissa Fenley, New York City, NY, Paz Tanjuaquio and Alyssa Lee Wilmot, September 16, STEP, Tony Powell, Wanjiru Kamuyu

Celebrating Martha!

01Dec09

Martha Hill circa 1922

With my Juilliard professors Laura Glenn (Limon technique) Janet Soares (Dance composition) and Danny Lewis (Limon technique)

To say that a quarter of The Cathedral NYC’s ballroom last night was occupied by living legends of the dance world is not an over statement. Each year around 200 dancers, choreographers, and educators gather to celebrate the life of pioneer in-the-field, Martha Hill. I have the great honor of being the official photographer of the Martha Hill Dance Award Gala and look forward to it each year with great anticipation.

Martha Hill is credited with singlehandedly uniting the chiefs of modern dance, during it’s infancy, and also for laying the groundwork that enabled the discipline to be studied, as a major, in colleges all across the country.

© Tony Powell. Murray Louis and Beverly Blossom

Tony Powell. Choreographer/Dancers Murray Louis and Beverly Blossom

I was very fortunate to have been one of the last students hand-picked by Martha to attend The Juilliard School - where she presided over the dance program for over 30 years. Well into her eighties at the time, Martha Hill was an inspiration like none other, full of energy and insight, wisdom, and compassion.

Ten years ago an award was created to celebrate her life which recognizes 3 individuals each year in 3 different categories of the life arc of a dancer: The Young Professional, The Mid-Career, and The Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year’s event was presided over by choreographer and dancer Murray Louis with awards going to Jacqueline Green, Virginia Johnson, and Beverly Blossom respectively.

© Tony Powell. Dance critic Jennifer Dunning

With my Juilliard classmates choreographer and dancer Rebecca Stenn on the left and author and dance educator Dr. Elizabeth McPherson (Beth just wrote the new book about Martha Hill)

Filed under: Dance, Events, Leisure, Nightlife | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, Awards Ceremony, Beverly Blossom, Dance, Jacqueline Green, Martha Hill, Martha Hill Dance Award Gala, Mary Anthony, Mary Hinkson, Murray Louis, November 30, The Cathedral NYC, The Juilliard School, Tony Powell, Virginia Johnson

Pole Pressure!

26Nov09

An unlikely set of circumstances led to my introduction to top-ranked pole dancer and Pole Pressure studio owner Jessalynn Medairy last week which culminated today in one of the most productive and meaningful photo shoots I’ve ever organized. Productive in that Jessalynn has a work ethic similar to mine and meaningful as it proved to be the right time, the right place, and the right person with which to attempt a fully bare-body outdoor shoot. I’m preparing new work for an exhibit, in the new year, of my large-scale photography, and some of these images are prime candidates for the show.

We almost didn’t meet. After a long night of shooting for Tiffany & Co. in Tyson’s Corner last Saturday, I remembered that my friend Lani Hay had invited me to Jayne Sandman’s 30th birthday party at the The Rookery. I really wanted to celebrate with Jayne and also to hear (Lani’s husband) Mark T. Smith, Jay Scott, and (Jayne’s husband) Jeff Dufour’s rock band, which headlined the B-day bash – but my body was asking to get some sleep. I’m glad that better thinking prevailed.

When I arrived, the band was already in high gear and the place was a sea of familiar faces and friends: Holidae Hayes, Winston Lord, Amanda and Curtis Polk, Susanna Quinn, Cindy and Evan Jones, Lindsay Czarniak, Jessica Gibson, Patrick Gavin, Lee Brenner, and Alexe Nowakowski.

I spied an attractive blonde woman hanging out with Sharon Yang and something about her seemed special…but I didn’t know what. I later discover that she was none other than Sharon’s pole dance teacher, Jessalynn Medairy, among the top 12 pole dancers in the US for 2009 and in the top 15 for 2010.

The woman has NO inhibitions – and that distinction shone through, lending the resulting images we created an immediacy that only authenticity can provide. She IS her art and, at least for the 4 hours we were together, we breathed as one. I can’t remember a time when I was more in sync with the person in front of my lens than with Jessalynn. Shooting started early in the afternoon – indoors at the Carriage House Studio, home of the DC Photographers Coop – near 9th and O Sts. The 9.5 foot tension-based pole she brought with her was securely erected within minutes – snugly fitting between floor and ceiling, providing the necessary support for the myriad moves she executed over and over again.

As luck would have it the rain stopped as soon as we finished in the studio so we headed over to Rock Creek Park to a secluded area near The Nature Center. We were able to get in a hundred shots of what I really wanted to shoot: the bare form in space, outdoors, in nature. We erected her portable stage and 10 foot pole right there in the middle of the woods. My strobes were being powered outside by one of two sine wave inverters that I own, which gives me roughly 300-400 full power bursts of light with as many lights as needed, attached. The only disadvantage of working with an inverter is not being able to use the modeling light on a strobe head for any length of time, as the battery will deplete quickly or worse yet, the inverter can become damaged.

An additional sign of support from the Universe came in the form of the Sun – it showed it’s face the second I was set up and ready to take my first shot. That bit of Sun changed everything for the better so the portable lighting was repositioned to allow the Sun to be my rim light. We’ve planned our second shoot together once she returns from an International pole dance tour of England and France.

She’s heading to Europe today for a week of competitions, teaching, and workshops. A dancer, choreographer, and teacher of dance myself, I found the newness of her very specific movement style intriguing, forever expanding my limited conception of movement and portraiture.

Filed under: Art, Dance, Photography | 3 Comments
Tags: 2009, Alexe Nowakowski, Amanda Polk, Carriage House Studio, Cindy Jones, Curtis Polk, DC, DC Photographers Coop, Evan Jones, Holidae Hayes, Jay Scott, Jayne Sandman, Jeff Dufour, Jessalynn Medairy, Jessica Gibson, Lani Hay, Lee Brenner, Lindsay Czarniak, Mark T. Smith, November 25, Patrick Gavin, Pole Pressure, Rock Creek Park, Sharon Yang, Susanna Quinn, The Rookery, Tony Powell, Washington, Winston Lord

Booshie Shoot

25Nov09

You never know who you’ll meet or where it might lead when staying open to all possibilities! Choreographer and dancer Kate Jordan invited me to the most recent open house at the Carriage House Studio, just before Halloween. The loosely knit group of photographers (pros and hobbyists) that comprise the DC Photographers Co-Op come together there once a month to share ideas and also to work with a variety of models, in the studio, and throughout the adjacent alleyways in the historic Logan Circle corridor of DC.

The models that night a few weeks ago were dancers on loan from Kate’s dance company – they also rehearse there as part of an exchange. The stylist was a newbie seamstress and Booshie Design founder, Ginger Carlin – she only started sewing a year ago. What I first noticed about her was an overabundance of energy – she bounced around from model to model adjusting clothing (all her designs), applying makeup, and touching up tresses of hair, here and there. A veritable one stop shop for models, she seemed like an ideal partner for a photo shoot.

We hit it off right away. A casting call went out and we had 3 great new faces with which to work – Vanja Simovic, Juelles Chester, and Erica Dudley a.k.a. Model Keka. Makeup artist Carl Ray, Hairstylist Shannon Greene, and my photo assistant Kevin Smoot, rounded out the team.

Fast forward to the day before yesterday! Our grand plan for an all-day shoot at the Carousel, the Hall of Mirrors, and the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park came to a screeching halt when Mother Nature showed us her plans for the course of the day! The steady downpour of rain forced us inside and thanks to Ginger we were able to get the Carriage House studio on short notice. After a long day of shooting and some homemade chicken and steak fajitas back at Ginger’s Q Street crash pad we were ready for round 2! But where? Still raining, Ginger, model Juelles, and I drove all over NW DC looking for a quirky indoor location. A gas station? Safeway? The nightclub Heaven and Hell? Tryst? At midnight I finally decided to try the lobby of the Donovan House on Thomas Circle. After a series of emails and phone calls to the director of PR and Marketing, we got the green light. The PR director remembered my name from the summer when I would come up to shoot parties on the roof by the pool each week.

Filed under: Art, Fashion, Leisure, Photography | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, Carl Ray, Carriage House Studio, DC, DC Photographer Coop, Erica Dudley, Ginger Carlin, Juelles Chester, Kevin Smoot, Model Keka, November 23, Shannon Greene, Tony Powell, Vanja Simovic, Washington

Capital City Ball

22Nov09

Click here to view and purchase all the photos!!

Filed under: Charities, Events, Nightlife | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, Capital City Ball, DC, Dupont Circle, Innocent's at Risk, November 21, Polaris Project, Tony Powell, Washington, Washington Club

Birthday Bash

15Nov09

For Politico coverage click here!

My good friends- DC Film Commissioner Kathy Hollinger, far right, and Kimball Stroud, threw me the best birthday party I can remember! Fifty or so friends came out to Cafe Milano to help me celebrate last week in style!!! Thanks Kathy and Kimball!

Filed under: Events, Leisure, Nightlife | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, Birthday Party, Cafe Milano, DC, Kathy Hollinger, Kimball Stroud, November 12, Tony Powell, Washington

Art Soiree

12Nov09

Art Soiree presents a perfect way to end the FotoWeek DC in an elegant and memorable fashion.

Join us Sunday, November 15th at 7pm for the most unique event in the city

“THROUGH THE EYES OF MEN”

You are invited to an exclusive photo-exhibition featuring five most esteemed local male photographers at a brand new, upscale and sophisticated venue – The Reserve – latest addition to the DC Restaurant and Lounge Scene. The Reserve is the perfect place for a casual yet elegant evening of dining, wining and lounging in an industrial, modern two level loft-like space. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to see Women’s Beauty through the lens of these prestigious photographers, savor great wines from around the world and delight in complimentary food samples from Chef De Pue.

We are proud to present:
5 photographers 5 personalities 5 passions 5 imaginations 5 techniques

HISHAM IBRAHIM
TONY POWELL
SERGIU ODAINIC
JERRY R. HARKE
ANTHONY BRICE

Our Art Soiree is all about exhibiting exceptional art in a unique setting for ONE NIGHT AND ONE NIGHT ONLY. This time you’ll be able to meet and interact with the photographers and appreciate their work. Come early to groove to new beats from DJ MOVA and continue into the night with DJ ODAINIQ.

Filed under: Art, Events, Leisure, Nightlife, Photography | Leave a Comment
Tags: ANTHONY BRICE, Art Soiree, DC, HISHAM IBRAHIM, JERRY R. HARKE, Photography, SERGIU ODAINIC, The Reserve, Tony Powell, Washington

Courtney Portraits!

24Oct09

To see the entire photostream click here!

Filed under: Art, Fashion, Photography | 3 Comments
Tags: 2009, Courtney Caldwell, DC, Georgetown, October 22, Portraits, Tony Powell, Washington

Samantha Craig

22Oct09

Samantha Craig. October 21, 2009. Northwest Washington, DC & National Harbor Waterfront, MD

Makeup by Carl Ray

Filed under: Art, Fashion, Photography | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, DC, Fashion photography, MD, National Harbor, October 21, Outdoor Photography, Photo Shoot, Samantha Craig, Tony Powell, Washington

DANCERS AND BODY MODELS CALL!

18Oct09

DANCERS AND BODY MODELS CALL!

If interested, direct message me at tonypowell1@comcast.net instead of responding to this post or call me at 301.343.7805. I’m preparing for a gallery show – Body Language - of new images captured in darkness, experimenting with the effect of light on bodies in motion and at rest.

Looking for uninhibited, spontaneous dancers/models between the ages of 18-26 to collaborate with on this project. Up to 6 photos will be given to each dancer/model to add to your portfolio.

All photos taken in a safe, relaxed, and professional environment with a maximum time commitment of 3 hours. Forward this post to anyone you think fits the criteria and may be interested. Thanks, Tony

Filed under: Art, Dance, Photography | 1 Comment
Tags: Black and White Photography, Body Language, Dancers and Models Wanted, Dancers Call, Delphina Parenti, Model Call, Tony Powell

Carrie Miller Portfolio

12Oct09

Click here to see the entire photo shoot!

Shortly before photographing Barack Obama and Lady Gaga for Washington Life Magazine on Saturday, Carrie Miller and I were able to squeeze in our first photo shoot together. I’d seen her a few times with lawyer and night-lifer John Burns, while I was shooting over the summer at the W Hotel, but I never had a chance to introduce myself. I decided to ask her to shoot with me when I saw her again this past Thursday night at the grand re-opening of the W. My instincts were dead on. Carrie is one of the most naturally gifted models I’ve worked with to date. I normally leave a shoot with a handful of usable images but the portfolio Carrie and I created Saturday yielded dozens.

© Tony Powell. Carrie Miller. Chinatown. October 10, 2009

© Tony Powell. Carrie Miller. Dupont Circle, NW. October 10, 2009

Little did I know that time was of the essence if we were to make this work. She was heading back to school at USC Sunday night, so when I got the call on Friday that she could only shoot Saturday, I had to scramble to make it work. And work it did!

© Tony Powell. Carrie Miller. 9th & G Sts., NW. October 10, 2009

I didn’t want to try to round up a few assistants in a day so I decided to shoot before and during the “golden hour” – the hour after the sun has risen above the horizon line or the hour just before the sun dips below it – a time of day when the shadows cast by the sun are least harsh. With the help of her boyfriend John, I was able to shoot, guerilla style, at a few different locations around DC.

Backgrounds exist everywhere. Training the eye to make use of any location and deciding how to light it is the great challenge. The process of creating an image is as rewarding, if not more so than the image itself. The only way to surmount a new obstacle is to take a chance at thinking or doing something in a different way. I’d never grow in understanding if I always did what I’ve always done. Instead of canceling the shoot when it started to rain lightly, I went with it, taking advantage of the even, overcast lighting produced by the thick overhead clouds – the greatest of all softboxes….and it’s free! With a set of brand new White Lightnings and my new Canon 5D, we set out to create something that was never there before.

Filed under: Art, Fashion, Photography | Leave a Comment
Tags: 2009, Barack Obama, Carrie Miller, Chinatown, DC, Dupont Circle, Fashion Photo Shoot, John Burns, Lady Gaga, October 10, Portfolio Shoot, Portraiture, Tony Powell, W Hotel, Washington, Washington Life Magazine

Click for my Facebook page
Blogroll
Meta
Recent Posts
Categories
- Art
- Books
- Charities
- Cinema
- Dance
- Design
- Events
- Fashion
- Leisure
- Music
- Nightlife
- Photography
- Politics
- Sports
- Uncategorized
December 2009

M T W T F S S

« Nov

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31
Archives
- December 2009 (3)
- November 2009 (5)
- October 2009 (4)
- September 2009 (11)
- August 2009 (17)
- July 2009 (14)
- June 2009 (1)
- October 2008 (2)
- September 2008 (4)
- August 2008 (5)
Recent Tweets
- Incredible app to organize all of your friends Facebook photo albums in one interface: http://www.caffeinatedcocoa.com/photobook/index.html - 2 weeks ago
- A fantastic artist-no longer with us. http://www.comcast.net/articles/entertainment/20091119/US.Obit.Jeanne.Claude/ - 3 weeks ago
- http://twitpic.com/ondxv Phillips Collection 2:51pm 11.7.09 - 1 month ago
- http://twitpic.com/naoca DC Farmers Market - 1 month ago
- Wolf and Lynn Blitzer at Cafe Milano - 1 month ago
- http://twitpic.com/mn2e2 Kramerbooks, Dupont Circle - 1 month ago
- http://bit.ly/punSr - 2 months ago
- Just left a beautiful production of Don Quixote at the Kennedy Center by Washington Ballet. - 2 months ago
- Just photographed Gloria Estefan and Eva Longoria! - 2 months ago
- is photographing Barack Obama tomorrow night! - 2 months ago
- http://twitpic.com/k5a1r is about to be a judge with Miss DC for the Miss Eden Pageant. - 2 months ago
- http://twitpic.com/jrq0e Corcoran Gallery art opening of Ed Burtynsky Oil - 2 months ago
- http://twitpic.com/jrq0e Corcoran Gallery art opening - 2 months ago
- http://twitpic.com/jnubv at a Q&A at Politics and Prose hosted by Maureen Dowd with NY Times food critic Frank Bruni - 2 months ago
- At Mass about to take communion. - 2 months ago

December 2009
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Nov
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

© Tony Powell. Molissa Fenley Mass Balance. Choreographed and danced by Molissa Fenley. photo © Tony Powell

September 15 and 17, 2009

Blogroll

Meta

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Meta

© Tony Powell. Molissa Fenley

Mass Balance. Choreographed and danced by Molissa Fenley. photo © Tony Powell