Monday, January 20, 2014

NFL Honors Trophy

Above: NFL Honor's Trophy as shot by Antfarm Photography

With all the Super Bowl XLVIII hype over the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, it's difficult to ignore any of the buzz even if American football isn't exactly your cup of tea.  Whether you're sporting your jersey on game day or just rolling along with the diehard crowd (chilled beer at the ready), it doesn't take a football savant to appreciate a distinguished trophy when you see one.  It may not be jewelry, but the photographic logic is the same, utilizing dramatic lighting while paying meticulous attention to reflective surfaces.  Once you realize that a shiny NFL trophy and a multi-million dollar ring aren't so dissimilar once they are on our set, it's no wonder why the NFL chose Antfarm to photograph their NFL Honors trophy.

                                                              Antfarm Photography 

                                                                                                                              Antfarm Photography                                                               

Thursday, January 16, 2014

ANTFARM PHOTOGRAPHY: 2004-2014

2014 marks the 10 year anniversary of Antfarm Photography.  Commercial photography has been our forte throughout, and after being in business for a decade we've learned a thing or two about luxury jewelry photography and producing happy clients.  Not everyone gets the chance to see their work displayed on LCD screens at Bloomingdales or on various pages of Town & Country and Harper's Bazaar, so we consider ourselves pretty fortunate to still be in the commercial game after so long.  We work hard at honing our craft and constantly seek to raise the bar on ourselves.  Looking back at the past decade, it's exciting to see that our work continues to pay off.

And it's not just the commercial work either.  To the public, our abilities in the realm of jewelry photography are well-known and (hopefully) respected, but our personal endeavors usually take a back seat to the work we do for our various clients.  Though the images we produce on our own may not necessarily involve multi-million dollar diamonds, they certainly involve the skills we employ on any given commercial shoot and allow us to develop new techniques and ideas to take into those demanding situations.

~~~

Old and new work personally developed by Antfarm photographers David and Steve:

OIL



                                                                                                                                                         Copyright © 2006 Antfarm Photography


WATER



          
                                                                                                             Copyright © 2014 Antfarm Photography

Keep up with more of Antfarm's ongoing work on our tumblr: http://antfarmphotography.tumblr.com

Friday, November 15, 2013

PHILLIPS JEWELS; DEC 2013 CATALOGUE







Not even a month since our multiple-day photoshoot with Phillips and already the online Jewels catalogue is up and running.
Here are a few of our favorites:
(clockwise from top left)
Van Cleef and Arpels, Diamond and Gold Ring, $50,000-$70,000
Cartier, Diamond Ring, $275,000-$300,000
Natural Fancy Colored Diamond Necklace, $450,000-$500,000
Fancy Pink Diamond Ring, $2,900,000-$4,000,000
Check out the full catalogue of stunning Jewels here, all shot by Antfarm Photography:

And while you're at it, check out the images from our Hourse of Waris photoshoot, now up on the Forevermark site!
 


Monday, October 21, 2013

"Waris in Africa: A Diamond Journey"

Cool little snippet about Waris Ahluwalia from purple DIARY:

"Waris in Africa: "A Diamond Journey" Dinner for House of Waris Forevermark Collection


Looks like the man behind the House of Waris Forevermark collection we shot last month was at the Explorer's Club celebrating his new creations.  Here are a couple of images from that shoot:



   

Friday, October 18, 2013

Lord & Taylor

Perhaps you're wondering why you haven't heard much from us since July....

We've been busy.  Which is great!  But we became lax in updating our followers, which is not so cool.

The good news is that we have plenty to update you on--complicated shots for new clients, new work in cosmetics AND jewelry, and of course a generous amount of pictures of Pixel the dog in between to keep it light.

For starters, here is that special cosmetics shot we did for Lord & Taylor back in September:

On set after some meticulous styling by Peter Tran.
The final product.

Monday, July 29, 2013

ANTFARM UPDATES

     Shooting and retouching may take up the majority of our efforts here at Antfarm, but during those rare moments of down-time there's always a project waiting to be completed.  Though we usually reserve major studio renovations and the like for our slow summertime schedule, this summer turned out to be the complete opposite of slow.  Shoots for clients such as Effy Jewelry, Carolee, Spark, Leo Ingwer, Penny Preville, Chloe+Isabel, Lynn Ban, and Verdura continuously sprang up last minute, consecutive weeks became booked with multiple day shoots, and our retouchers rose to the challenge of speedily perfecting hundreds of photographs that Dave and Steve shot with the guidance of various art directors.  But we'll show you some of those images at a later date.  Until then, check out the small  (and large) projects that we managed to complete so far this year:


David took multiple shots of this bracelet during his shoot for auction house Phillips De Pury.  Steve took on the task of some heavy-duty retouching to produce this large pristine print hanging over our client couch in our studio.


If you were in our studio two weeks ago, you would have been walking on bare concrete.  Retouchers turned handymen Seth and Josiah took the one week break we had from shooting in July to coat the floor with a high-gloss epoxy.  Consequently, the floor is now highly reflective and gives the studio a cool gallery atmosphere.

Josiah's panoramic iPhone shot of the studio back in order after a job well done.

David and Steve produced a number of Blurb books to send to both current and potential clients, a kind of portfolio that exceeds the expectations of your run-of-the-mill presentation book.  Complete with client testimonials, tight edits showcasing the crème de la crème both of jewelry design and photography, and a detailed list of designers, these exclusive books have been well-received across the board.


Friday, May 3, 2013

KINGSLEY TAVERN


If you've read Antfarm's bio on the ArtMix Creative site, you know that when David and Steve aren't preoccupied with shooting and and retouching images at the studio, they're engaging in some good ol' quality time with the family.  Considering the way David and Steve handle their studio and work, it isn't surprising to see that their relatives are just as enterprising and attuned to how their own businesses relate to their clients.

While Steve is hard at work producing high quality images here at Antfarm, his cousin, Anna Gowan, is managing the hustle and bustle of her up-and-coming restaurant in western Connecticut, Kingsley Tavern.  Having just opened this year on North Main Street in Kent, CT, Kingsley Tavern seems to have made quite the impact already, securing itself as a casual yet classy establishment--the type of place you could grab a gourmet burger with your pals or impress a date over some wine.  Swing by for lunch on a Friday, take advantage of the bar (open late!), and feel free to saunter on in after waking up late from an active night on the weekends because they have your brunch needs covered.  


                       
                              Bar opens at 4pm and stays open late.  Plenty of indoor seating for the crowds.


  Outdoor seating on the porch of Kingsley Tavern.


All the information you need to contact Anna Gowan should you have any questions about Kingsley Tavern.

As if the welcoming porch, spacious seating, and stocked bar isn't enough to get you to stick around, just check out the food--gourmet pizzas, surf and turf, salads, pasta, pork belly, and plenty of gluten free and vegetarian options.  Steve captured the two shots below before digging into his meal:




And who knows?  Perhaps this neat cousin connection between Steve and Anna will open up more opportunities for food photography by Antfarm.  Until then, eat up and enjoy.

Check out Kingsley Tavern's vast menu options here.
Read the reviews on Yelp.