Archangel Images is a small photography and content creation firm based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We produce high quality art photography for both publication and the gallery trade. Our work has been shown in numerous galleries in both Europe and America, and published in a multitude of fashion, art, literary, and photographic magazines.
We shoot predominantly nudes as part of our artwork, believing that the human body in its purest form is one of the most beautiful and meaningful subjects of art. Part of our intent is to counter a growing over- sexualization of the nude human form to sell everything from the prurient to soap in Western society. We view this overly-sexualized depiction of the nude as a betrayal of the traditions of Western art and Western culture. The nude, after all, for much of Western history was an integral part of our artistic heritage, including in the Western tradition of religious artworks. We believe that the current proliferation of pornography tends to reduce human beings to sexualized objects; our work is intended to celebrate the wonder that is the human form, instead of to tear it down.
A growing portion of our production now integrates short story writing with packages of images to produce magazine-ready complete articles. We use a variety of literary forms to achieve the final result, including poetry, which appears neglected in modern Western culture. Text and customized images create a unique style of finished product that both displays images and helps to guide the reader on how to interpret them around a central literary theme. We do, on occasion, accept requests for customized integrations from major publications.
We shoot both digital and film (35mm and Medium Format) images, mostly in black and white using cameras by Leica, Hasselblad, and Minolta. Our photography is characterized by high dynamic range, composition within camera, minimal post-processing, and an emphasis on quality of image. We use natural light in our photography almost exclusively. For film development, we both develop our own film as well as employ the services of commercial darkrooms.
For quality control, we rely on our own network of advisors from the art community, including academic specialists in art and art history, practicing artists in photography, darkroom technical specialists, painters, sculptors, and others. We also rely on a network of advisors and mentors in the photographic community, including the Royal Photographic Society (London, UK), the Shutterbug Community (London, UK) and the International Leica Society.
We are dedicated to treating those we work with, and those we work for, with decency, fairness and respect regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. We will not work with any entity that does not adhere to the same standards.