April Editorial (Behind the Scenes)

Credit: Maria Plutz/Tony Powell Images

WASHINGTON LIFE MAGAZINE APRIL FASHION EDITORIAL

PHOTOGRAPHER Tony Powell

MODEL Natalie Hockey

DATE Sunday, March 20, 2011

LOCATION Tudor Place, Georgetown

CLOTHING STYLISTS Krystal Ugo & Kristin Lyle

HAIRSTYLIST Warren Beautiful

MAKEUP ARTIST Leah Bassett

LIGHTING ASSISTANTS: Andrew Paterini, Daniel Gill, and Maria Plutz

Credit: Maria Plutz/Tony Powell Images

Credit: Maria Plutz/Tony Powell Images

Credit: Maria Plutz/Tony Powell Images

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Courtney Portraits!

Courtney Caldwell. Georgetown. October 22, 2009. All images © Tony Powell

To see the entire photostream click here!

© Tony Powell. October 22, 2009

© Tony Powell. October 22, 2009

© Tony Powell. October 22, 2009

© Tony Powell. October 22, 2009

© Tony Powell. October 22, 2009

© Tony Powell. October 22, 2009

Urban Chic Shoot

Courtney Caldwell © Tony Powell

Crystal Hannon © Tony Powell

Thanks to the staff of Urban Chic, yesterday got off to a great start with a photo shoot at one of the most solid and of the moment boutiques for ladies in DC. When model Courtney Caldwell and fashion blogger/stylist Mekeda Saggau-Sackey approached me – at Noche de Gala last Monday – about shooting there, I couldn’t resist. Washington Life Magazine has sent me there twice to cover events: Shoshanna Lonstein’s trunk show and a Spring shopping event, so I knew the layout, but found the back patio and parking lot to be great impromptu locations to take pictures. Courtney is a natural. I could have photographed her all day. I brought along my newest model/friend, Crystal Hannon, to get to know her, in front of the lens, before our really big couture shoot this Sunday – two very wealthy friends have agreed to loan vintage couture dresses by Vera Wang, Badgley Mischka, Calvin Klein, and Nicole Miller. Our first shoot together yesterday was a great success, even though my Pocket Wizards had a mind of their own and decided to trigger the strobes whenever they chose. I guess I’m heading over to Penn Camera today. After the Urban Chic shoot, Crystal and I found a wooded area on Whitehaven that was ideal for playing around with black and white photography. I learned from it all and the results exceeded my expectations. If I can walk away from a shoot with a handful of solid images I’m satisfied. Yesterday’s shoot yielded dozens. Let’s just hope that the rain stays away this Sunday!!!

Courtney Caldwell © Tony Powell

Crystal Hannon © Tony Powell

Courtney and Crystal © Tony Powell

The Last Kiss of Summer – Adult Swim and “Club Ritz”

Check out all the Labor Day Adult Swim photos at www.tonypowell.smugmug.com

© Tony Powell

I photographed the Courage Cup fashion show at the Liaison Hotel a few weeks ago so in picking a pool to go to for the last time this summer I opted to head back there for the Labor Day Adult Swim – hosted by Ashley from VH-1′s House of Love.

Ashley from VH-1's House of Love © Tony Powell

The popular weekly get together – organized by promoter Eric Lund – has been able to attract a wildly diverse cross section of party goers ranging from teen-age to middle-age. Although the rain did finally shut it down late in the day, most of the afternoon (1-6) was filled with good times and sunny skies.

© Tony Powell

© Tony Powell

I headed over to Starbucks in Dupont Circle to wait out the rain before changing clothes and going over to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Georgetown for a party hosted by Seyhan Duru, Freddie Wyatt, Omar Rahman,  & Dawoud Al-khabbaz. For the second time, this quartet have taken over Degrees Lounge and the upstairs area of the Ritz’s fairly conservative dining spot, Fahrenheit, and created a mise en scène worthy of the clubs in South Beach. All remnants of dining were taken away leaving behind a vault of a space, like a painter’s new canvas, primed for the extent of the imagination. The party was so hot, the hotel’s fuses blew three times!

Click here to see all the “Club Ritz” photos!

© Tony Powell

© Tony Powell

The head count exceeded 900, the DJ was imported from London, and the lighting that accompanied the music was, perhaps, the most impressive I’ve seen in Washington. The state-of-the-art laser show seemed to occupy every cubic foot of the room, leaving no person or corner untouched. The effect created by the randomly shifting colors and shapes lent an edgy quality to some of the images from that night.

© Tony Powell

I was reminded of one of my favorite Surrealist painters, André Masson, who pioneered the technique of “automatic drawing,” a method wherein the artist’s rational mind is subjected in favor of the unconscious mind by allowing the hand to move randomly around the page. Since I was unable to see what was occurring through the lens in the interval it took the shutter to allow light into the camera – 1 to 2 seconds - I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

© Tony Powell

© Tony Powell

© Tony Powell

Click here to see all the “Club Ritz” photos!

A Model Team

Rhiannon Day © Tony Powell 8-10-09

Jacqueline Akoko © Tony Powell 8-10-09

Yesterday was probably one of the most artistically satisfying days of my life. Having been a studio photographer for so many years, a long-term goal has been to amass enough equipment and a team of stylists and assistants to enable me to set up shop wherever I’d like – indoors or out. It’s finally happened and yesterday’s shoot couldn’t have been more productive. A Higher Power is always at work in my life…it’s only when I get out of my own way can I feel its presence. I felt it in a big way yesterday when all the major components required for a successful photo shoot came together beautifully – but not without a few minor snags along the way. The hair and makeup artists with whom I was blessed to work with on this shoot each have A-list celebrities and politicians as regular clients, so I was particularly humbled when all agreed to work with me. Hairstylist Johnny Wright, makeup artist Carl Ray, and stylist Christopher G. Johnson, teamed up with two of my favorite models Rhiannon Day and Jacqueline Akoko, and my assistants Kevin Smoot and Poppia Ahmed for a full day of shooting in and around Georgetown. Of course I’d have to pick one of the hottest days this year on which to shoot. Even the steady breeze at Jack’s Boathouse (our first location) couldn’t abate the heat, which maxed out at 96 degrees. It felt like 105! My new Canon EOS 5D Mark II is, by far, the best digital camera I’ve ever owned and at 21 mega-pixels, it’s a relief to no longer need to rent it’s equivalent. After a few hours on the pier at Jack’s we packed up and headed over to Dean and DeLuca for a much-needed break before meandering through Cady’s Alley shooting guerilla style, from place to place, challenging myself to determine composition, aperture, and shutter speed on the fly. I felt like Andy Warhol with his entourage as we travelled (7 of us) through the streets of Georgetown en mass. What a scene we caused, a few times….all in the name of art! Next up? The Russian twins from L2 later today. Carl, Christopher, and Kevin are all on board. One more shoot next week and I’ll have enough photos from which to choose to complete the BEAUTY gallery of my website http://www.tony-powell.com, which I hope to launch by October 1.

Jacqueline Akoko © Tony Powell 8-10-09

Rhiannon Day © Tony Powell 8-10-09

Carl Ray, Rhiannon Day, and Johnny Wright © Tony Powell 8-10-09

Jacqueline Akoko and Rhiannon Day © Tony Powell 8-10-09

Beach Bash @ L2

Check out all the photos @ www.tonypowell.smugmug.com

Kelly Homan, Aouatif Hamadi, Luiza Rodrigues

L2 Owner Rodrigo Garcia and Fletcher Gill

The dozen or so times I’ve been to L2, Georgetown’s most private of hotspots, it’s been suit and tie, or at least a jacket. When I heard that the dress code for last night’s Endless Summer Beach Bash fundraiser included swimsuits, bikinis, towels, and sandals, I couldn’t resist. It was also my first opportunity to try out my brand new Canon EOS 5d Mark II digital camera at an event. I’ve known that Fletcher Gill has been doing good work with his non-profit, Luke’s Wings, for some time, but now I know just how good. His organization provides travel planning services and airplane tickets for the families of our wounded soldiers currently hospitalized at medical and rehabilitation centers all over the country. His efforts last night raised enough money to reunite the children of a military family with their parents, whom they haven’t seen in over 4 months. Their father is recovering at Walter Reed from injuries sustained in the war and his wife has been by his side since his arrival at the hospital. An arcade-style surf simulator, a beachwear/bikini competition, L2 beach balls, and beach-themed drink specials and games, all contributed to the oasis-like atmosphere inside L2 that was musically managed by the ubiquitous DJ Neekola. The prize for the winner of the best beachwear/bikini competition was a $500 shopping spree at Bloomingdale’s compliments of David Lazarus and the Lazarus Foundation. I had only planned to stay for an hour or so but ended up being there for 3, the time flew by so quickly. I kept bumping into people I hadn’t seen in a while. I caught up with stylist Lana Orloff and almost didn’t recognize Carolina Furukrona, who was showing off a sporty new haircut.

For more information about Luke’s Wings visit: www.lukeswings.org/

L2 Tattoo

Kate Michael

Lana Orloff and Carolina Furukrona

Screening “TAKEN” in Georgetown with Innocents at Risk

Andrea Rogers, Tony Powell, Debbie Sigmund

Great time tonight at the cocktail reception in front of the Letelier Theater in Georgetown before the screening of “Taken,” one of the best action films I’ve seen in a long time. In it, Liam Neeson plays a dad bent on revenge as the result of the abduction and trafficking of his vacationing 17 year-old daughter. Debbie Sigmund, founder and head of Innocents at Risk, hosted the event with Andrea Rogers, and they were joined by Donald and Wright Sigmund, Matthew Christian Davis, former Washington Ballet dancer Aaron Jackson, and various Immigration officials among others.