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:

http://www.phillips.com/lots/NY060213

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

http://www.forevermarkdiamond.com/us/jewelry/designer/house-waris

 

"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:

   

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.

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.

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.

Like Kingsley Tavern on Facebook.

PHILLIPS DE PURY

                                           Diamond Necklace                                A Internally Flawless Fancy Yellow Diamond Ring

                                        Estimate $55,000-75,000                                              Estimate $750,000-950,000

                                   Emerald and Diamond Ring 

                                        Estimate $40,000-60,000 

 

                             Pair of Diamond Ear Pendants                               A Pair of Sapphire and Diamond Earclips 

                                  Estimate $240,000-300,000                                                Estimate $85,000-100,000    

                                                                                                                   A Superb Diamond Rivière Necklace 

                                                                                                                               Estimate $375,000-450,000   

Gold and Enamel Necklace by David Webb

Estimate $24,000-30,000 

If you're wondering where you could possibly pick up one of these pieces to add to your casual vanity jewelry box containing your other ~$100,000 ear clips, ~$450,000 necklaces, you best find yourself at Phillips De Pury on April 24th.  Last month David spent about 2 weeks and change photographing every jewelry piece that will be auctioned off this coming Wednesday.  There's something about shooting a job for Phillips that isn't quite like the other jobs that we get here at Antfarm.  First off, the variety, and once you get over that, it's the quality and worth that gets you.  Surrounded on set by such designs as those of Cartier, Tiffany and Co., Piaget, Seaman Schepps,Van Cleef & Arpels...potentially all in the same day.  Photographing a ~$950,000 20.70-carat internally flawless fancy yellow diamond ring just doesn't happen every day.  But when it does, we make sure that little guy is shot right.  Hero shot?  You got it.

See all 172 pieces photographed by Antfarm to be auctioned off on April 24th here:

Phillips De Pury Jewels Catalog

              

 

Antfarm is now being represented by ArtMix Creative!  Be sure to visit the ArtMix site to see some more of our images and to check out the other artists in the agency like Darren Ankenman, Nick Ferrari, and Zoey Grossman.

ArtMix Creative

ArtMix Creative: Tumblr

Darker and Trendier

http://www.nationaljeweler.com/

        
                       Evil Eye ring by NETALI NISSIM                                                      Skull Ring by ANTHONY LENT
                     Protect Me Collection- Black Diamond                               Fearless Collection -Black Rhodium and 22K Gold over Sterling
                         http://www.netalinissim.com                                                              http://anthonylent.com

Various Pieces by LYNN BAN

http://lynnban.com

Looking through our e-mail a couple of weeks ago we stumbled upon one of our shots for jeweler Anthony Lent in the National Jeweler e-newsletter.  Interesting timing considering that we had just started to notice a particular trend from the clients that have come through our studio in January and February.  Madstone, Lynn Ban, Anthony Lent, Netali Nissim--we couldn't help but notice an edginess about what they were bringing to our set.  That's not to say that we don't get the traditional pair of elegant sapphire earrings or the diamond encrusted wedding bands that jewelry companies like Tacori bring to the table, but it's nice to see something a little left of center every now and then.

Jewelry is just as much a product of creativity, careful design, and technique as any other artform.  Macabre themes emerge as a result of interest in the occult and the human condition, and though the jewelers themselves are generally rather jovial and light-spirited in character, it only serves to make their interest in the themes of death and spirits far more interesting.  We're excited and intrigued by these designers, not only because they are pushing the boundaries of what fine jewelry is and can be, but also because they are the ones who keep the industry interesting and perpetually shifting. 

*All photography by Antfarm Photography.

OUTSIDE THE STUDIO

We do a lot of detail-oriented work in the studio.  On a day-to-day basis, when we're booked for a month straight of photography and don't see much beyond the walls of our studio it's hard to get a feel for how our work finds its way into the world.  

Steve adjusting a necklace by PENNY PREVILLE.

Our typical shoot days involve a lot of what you see above: steady hands, a meticulous eye, and jewelry that although perfectly suited for wear on the human body often resists styling for the purposes of photography.  It's a piecemeal process, so when we see the results months later either on a window front at Phillips De Pury, an LCD Screen at Bloomingdales, or running as an ad in Harper's Bazaar, we get pretty stoked and remember that our work isn't just contained in the studio.

Here are some of our recent accomplishments in the greater world beyond the studio:

Yellow diamond ring that Dave photographed at PHILLIPS DE PURY sold for $1,202,500.

Dave is quoted twice on page 60 of INSTORE mag's March 2013 issue.

Advertisement for SPARK CREATIONS that ran in HARPER'S BAZAAR November 2012.

Images from our December shoot with CAROLEE are now on an LCD screen on the window-front of BLOOMINGDALE'S on 59th and Lex.

If you see an Antfarm photograph circulating out there, feel free to tweet @antfarmphoto and let us know!  We don't necessarily keep track of where our images are going to be, but when we stumble upon them in a magazine or billboard, it makes us pretty damn excited about what we do.

CAROLEE

     Carolee (http://www.carolee.com) figured it out--sweets are just as much a decadent pleasure for the tongue as jewels are to the eye.  Now to translate that knowledge into a series of photographs...that's a different story.  We know that cake pops, rock candy, and cupcakes fresh from Magnolia bakery get our sweet tooth excited, simply judging by the countless experiences with those various forms of refined sugar, but how many times have we actually scrutinized the application of icing on our cupcake, or the even layer of sprinkles on that cake pop we decided to get on a whim while waiting on line at Starbucks?  Who cares?  After all it's not necessarily about what the damn thing looks like; it's about the sugar rush you are chose to indulge in.

     Too bad we're in the business of photography, and jewelry photography at that.  Our clients are expecting perfection and consequently so are we.  It all looks delicious upon first glance--the bags of multi-colored rock candy, box of liberally frosted cupcakes, silly-looking cake pops--but then you realize that you're supposed to be regarding these tasty treats as if they were jewelry.  After a while you really can't help but be visually critical of each piece because well, it's a shoot and that cupcake's purpose has shifted.  It doesn't matter if it tastes like soot so long as it makes the stones on those earrings pop off the printed page.  We add in the sensory information from our past experiences anyway, but it has to begin with a fresh, captivating image.  Luckily we have a ton of experience with that.

Just to be fair to the cupcakes and their intended purpose when they were born in the bakery, we did give them a chance to prove themselves to our taste buds at the end of the day.  Not bad.