About

Hello all, and welcome to Studio Lafoncette Photography.

I am a self-taught photographer who focuses on cultural photojournalism, particularly

relating to Trinidad & Tobago carnival and its descendant carnivals in North America. I have
covered carnivals in Trinidad, Washington DC, and New York as a freelance photographer for
the past four years. However, I was an avid photo hobbyist for 12 years prior to that. My
work has been published online in Island Vibes Magazine, and in the Amistad Literary Journal
of Howard University. Last year I held my first photo exhibit for Support Women in the Arts
NOW (SWAN) Day 2010, entitled Mas Women and Women Behind de Mas. It was the outcome
of a series of interviews and photographs I did with female bandleaders and carnival queens
for Trinidad Carnival 2010. I return to Trinidad Carnival as often as possible in a quest to expand my archive of carnival photography. I believe I have a responsibility to offer one of many alternative stories on this very important aspect of Trinidad & Tobago heritage.

In 2011 I traveled to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to photograph the event
for the Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archives. My work was on exhibit at the New Horizons
Gallery at Children’s National Medical Centre during the spring of 2011, and at the juried
members exhibit of the Arts Society of Trinidad and Tobago in November of that year. I was also chosen as a Best of Photography Finalist and my work is published in Photographer’s Forum Best of Photography 2011 catalogue.

I reside and work in the Washington Metropolitan Area, but I claim Trinidad and Tobago as my homeland. When I’m not behind
the camera, I am a mentor, and I work as a psychotherapist at a community mental health center.

My connection with my heritage in the vibrant colors of T&T … extends to
my photography. Photos are a way to highlight your personal story, but they make tangible the
important elements that make us different, make us human and celebrate human differences. So
I’m not only interested in my story but in my subject’s story, in your personal story.
I’ve used my photos to expose others to a different culture, to learn about my past and to
discover the present. I hope that the more we know and understand each other, the more we can
appreciate, respect and genuinely love humanity.”

The blog portion of this site is an opportunity to post highlights from events, provide updates, and add some of my thoughts on the photos. I strongly welcome and appreciate your comments. I hope that visiting this site is as pleasurable an experience for you as creating it is for me.

Enjoy

Leslie Robertson Toney

Studio Lafoncette Photography

PS: In a perfect world I wouldn’t need to bring this up, but, this site is not a source of free photos. © Leslie-Ann C R Toney and Studio Lafoncette Photography, 2000-2012. Unauthorized reproduction, use and/or duplication of this material, including original photographs, without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner are strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Leslie-Ann C R Toney and Studio Lafoncette Photography with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. To purchase high resolution images click here.

Send me a message via email and let me know what your needs are. You’ll find I’m quite a flexible person.