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From ‘snowmageddon’ to art exhibit

Photos inspire new business line for local designer

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Sometimes inspiration comes in unexpected places.

Local gay designer Ernesto Santalla found it in the snow with his camera.

“It’s what I did for days as it snowed and snowed and then snowed some more,” Santalla, president of Studio Santalla, Inc., says. “I took black-and-white photos for years and didn’t stop using film until ‘snowmageddon’ last February, when all I could get my hands on was a point-and-click digital camera.”

Instant digital gratification became photographic disillusionment when the fruit of trekking through mounds of snow was a heap of mundane images.

“That’s when I got the idea to make collages,” Santalla says. “A single image is flipped and repeated four times. What emerges is a fascinating kaleidoscopic photograph, which gives the viewer a very personal interpretation, like inkblots.”

On Jan. 20, a show titled “Ernesto Santalla Symmetries” opens at Long View Gallery in Washington, which presents Santalla’s view of D.C. in the midst of the blizzard and buried under snow.

“I’ve incorporated my photography into Studio Santalla’s interior design projects in the past, but the collages created an area of expansion for my business,” he says. “In the design industry, the most logical area of expansion is for a designer to introduce a furniture line, or when an architectural firm is also the builder. … As a business strategy it is often referenced as ‘brand expansion’ or ‘white space,’ whereby a company adds a division in a related field to grow its business.”

As the interest in acquiring the photographs has increased since last year from individuals and corporations, Santalla started a new company, Ernesto Santalla Photography LLC, which sells limited, signed editions of the images.

“Because of the power of mega-pixels, the prints can be very large, which adds to the dramatic effect of the collages,” Santalla says.

“Ernesto Santalla Symmetries” runs through Feb. 13 at LongView Gallery.

CAGLCC Programs and Events

We want your opinions. Each year, CAGLCC recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that have contributed to the economic, social and cultural fabric of the LGBT community in the Metro D.C. area. It is no small task to cull through the many accomplishments of members of our community and our allies.

This year, CAGLCC will recognize a select group of deserving honorees at CAGLCC’s annual Gala and Awards ceremony on April 8 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Washington.

CAGLCC recognizes people and organizations based on their accomplishments: leadership, professional success and advocacy of LGBT economic and business issues. Past honorees have struggled to gain equality in the workplace for themselves and others, some demonstrate noteworthy success and professionalism in their careers, while others have been allies creating a supportive environment for LGBT employees.

The categories for the 2011 awards are Outstanding Business Person, Outstanding New or Young Business Person, Volunteer of the Year and Corporate Ally.

The Board of Directors of CAGLCC needs your help to identify qualified candidates for these honors. You can nominate individuals and organizations by providing a brief description of why you feel your candidate(s) deserves the award. Submit nominations to [email protected]. For more information on the awards, go here.

Member News

Congratulations to Gus Elfving, principal of Pet Peeps, who is celebrating five years providing professional in-home pet care services.

Christopher Brown, Esq. joined Ackerman Legal PLLC. His practice areas include commercial litigation, franchise and distribution and real estate.

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Books

A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat

New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

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(Book cover image courtesy of Random House)

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages

Happy is the bride the sun shines on.

Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.

He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.

He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.

But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.

Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.

Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.

What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.

In short, this book is quite stunning.

Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.

If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch

LGBTQ politicians gather for annual event

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Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) speaks at the 2025 Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

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Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co. 

Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.

For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

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