The Aesthetic: Halloween at Anthill Farm

On Halloween I ventured to Anthill Farm in Honesdale, Pennsylania to party, wild out, and photograph performances by Emily Warren and Gordon Voidwell. The annual halloween extravaganza has developed over the years very nicely and I was excited to see what all the hype was about. The main festivities took place in the barn, a 1,500 sq. ft. structure with 40 foot ceilings, minimal lighting, and a floor covered in wood chips. The people who work on the farm had decorated the barn beautifully. A stage in the corner, with red and yellow lights shining down on the performers, haystacks stacked 30 feet high and a pinata the size of a smart car hanging from the rafters set the scene for a pretty interesting night.

The super talented Emily Warren and her band of gentlemen took the stage at around 10:00. Dressed as Amy Winehouse, Super Mario, a skunk, a phoenix and Hubert Grey (a made up actor who had a part in The Man in the Iron Mask), the tribe of musicians set the mood for a night of smiling, dancing and fun. Gordon Voidwell followed. It was my first time seeing Will Johnson perform with his full band. They really tore the motherfucker down. Some of the weirdest and coolest sounds I have ever heard.

Ecstasy is a hell of a drug. Everyone kept telling me, "You probably think you're taking great pictures but then tomorrow you're going to realize they aren't as cool as you thought they were". Those people obviously don't know the extent of my aesthetic prowess. I held it together.

The most challenging part of the night (aside from not melting into the hay) was shooting in such low lighting conditions. Taking everything I've learned from TCG, I set my ISO to 1600, and stayed in situations with either interesting or decent lighting. A lot of people were using a flash. It kills the ambiance! Let those lights do their job and adapt to your surroundings. For more pictures from the night, check out my photoblog here.