About Amaranth
Amaranth began in 2009 as a collaboration between fine art and documentary photographers Sheila Griffin and Becky Holladay. We met while studying at the International Center of Photography and discovered our mutual love for all things square, dreamy, and Brooklyn.
We first began photographing weddings for our friends and quickly realized that weddings offered so many of the same things that drew us to documentary photography. A wedding is an opportunity to be let into the inner circle of someone’s life and to tell the story of a momentous yet very personal occasion. It is a day full of joy and hope and we always feel privileged to be a part of it. We are honored to have the job of capturing moments that turn into family heirlooms. This is one reason we love shooting with film. Film has a warmth, depth, and romance that we and our clients love. It allows us to slow down a bit and visualize the resulting photo-object.
In 2014 Becky began working on a documentary film and since then Sheila has taken the Amaranth reins. Becky still photographs as an associate photographer and Sheila has carefully selected a few other photographers to work with who share the Amarnath style and work ethic. It is a small and personalized operation. We all shoot with a mix of professional medium format film cameras and the latest digital cameras. We include prints and custom thank-you notes or albums with our packages because we believe in holding photos in your hands and putting them on the wall! We want you to have not only beautiful wedding photos, but art made on your wedding day.
…and we believe in marriage equality for all!
More about Sheila:
I grew up in a small New England town spent one year at college in NH, then moved to NYC in 1999 to go to art school at The School of Visual Arts (SVA). There I studied painting, drawing, printmaking, and finally earned my BFA with a focus on sculpture and installation art. I worked as an artist and educator teaching in museums, schools, community organizations and participating in many group art shows around NYC. In 2004 I moved to Japan for a year which rekindled the on-again-off-again love affair I’ve had with photography since high school. I bought my first Holga at a little shop in Tokyo and really delved back into photography during my travels in Japan and South East Asia. When I returned to NYC I quickly enrolled in ICP’s program for photojournalism and documentary photography, and haven’t looked back! I now live in Brooklyn near prospect park with my tiger-striped-dog and finance.
My photos have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, City Magazine, and numerous other regional and national publications. Non-Wedding clients include The Posse Foundation, Artist Roxy Paine, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Center for Global Affairs. I have received awards from the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), the International Photography Awards (IPA), a New York Photo Award nomination, and a fellowship from The International Center of Photography. My work has been exhibited in several NY galleries, and at the Pingyao International Photo Festival in China.
