BROOKLYN, NY.- Causey Contemporary photographer, Michel Demanche has won first place in the special categories for the 2009 Holgapalooza National Photographic Competition, sponsored by LightLeaks Magazine. Out of 2500 entries, her entry, "Finding Santa" was selected as the the Holgablog award for the strangest, most bizarre and downright WTF photograph. The image will be printed in issue 16 of Ligh Leaks, Low Fidelity Photography available at lomography stores worldwide and at lightleaks.org.

Michel says of her winning photography, "this image was taken with a holga plastic camera during the Envision Art Groups 2009 spring trip to New York. I think that I saw Santa on one of his vacation days and quickly captured both his image and some of his special magic. The blurring, scratches and unusal qualities of the image come from some of my own special magic, when I take the picture and int eh processing of the film."

A Native Texan, Ms. Demanche, currently an assistant professor of art at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is known for a multi media manner of art visualization. Often her work is the result of stories that manifest into painting, mixed works on paper, or photography. Michel has been interested in the subject of eminent disaster, be it in the form of nightmares, storms, or man made destruction. These works have found their way into many venues such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Women's Museum, Franklin Furnace Archive and as part of the permanent collection of the Houston Museum of Fine Art. In 2003 she was the grand prize award winner at the Florence Biennele, with selections based in a new direction, traditional silver print photographic records of natural transformation.

As a mid career artist she is fortunate to also be part of several permanent collections such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Frito Lay Corporation, and E-Systems of Dallas. Her work can be found through her representativesCausey Contemporary, Brooklyn, New York and William Campbell Contemporary Art, Fort Worth, Texas. Locally her work is part of the Levinson Collection at Sheppard Pratt.Ms. Demanche is represented by William Campbell Fine Art in Texas and Causey Contemporary in New York.