Orchids, Through Angel's Eyes

Like honeybees drawn to flowers, photographers were drawn to the annual Deep Cut Orchid Society's show at Feb. 9-12.

Throughout the huge greenhouse, which was infused with the fragrant flowers, one could hear the sounds of shutters and whirring cameras. Children with cellphone cameras, hobbyists with handheld digitals, and Holmdel's own Angel Marti -- equipped with his Canon Mark 5DII and closeup lenses to best capture the delicate nature of extraordinary orchids.

"Photography is my hobby and passion," said Marti, who speaks with the accent from his native Mexico. By day he's a technologist at Infineum, where he handles the deployment of new products for the lubricant industry in Latin America, used by companies like Exxon and Shell Oil. But in his free time he's all about the image. Although he's shot all kinds of things, his favorite subject is portraiture. His latest ideas are called "Fashion Face" and "Fashion Flowers." He works with models who trade "time for face."

He is working on a digital book with a certified Cosmetologist Lindsey Goldstein, Hair Stylist Angela Camporeale and wife Lourdes Alcaraz, who is a florist and also a volunteer with the Holmdel First Aid squad. He works out of a professional home studio in The Orchards development off Laurel Avenue. Their two sons have left the nest: one is a bio-medical engineer in the Princeton area, the second is senior at The College of New Jersey studying chemistry and anthropology.

The concept is to create a series of images of a woman's face that will engage the viewer at a very personal level called "Fashion Face." They will start out black and white, without makeup. "A visual expedition into the intimacy of human condition of the subject’s face," he explained. The next one will demonstrate a classical glamorous face enhanced by the talent and skills of professional makeup artist, hair stylist and florist. The third image will be "exotic and colorfully eclectic, " he said -- images that can evoke instant emotion within the viewer. He already has three models in the queue. He would like to have eight.

Another concept is "Fashion Flower," a series of full body and half body shots using different kind of flowers  and natural materials covering the body as wardrobe. It will launch in the summertime.

Marti shows his work, called "The Art of Kxandra" on the Model Mayhem website.