A Time For Collaboration

In the last 6 months I have been a part of more collaboration than I have in my entire career. It's not that I've been opposed to it I guess I just rarely thought about it. In 2013 myself and three other artists Paul Branton, Brian Golden and Darno Demby created 4OfAKind, an art collective that has allowed us to collaborate both thematically as well as on actual works of art. While we all have our individual practices, these instances where we come together have been magical. 

With these passing months I have truly come to appreciate the power of collaboration. The grace, open mindedness, and communication required to do a large scale four man collaborative piece have pushed me a step further in both my growth as an artist and as a human being. We continue to mine each other for inspiration. 

Professional Artist Magazine Contest Entry

This piece is an abstract representation with my relationship with both the materials I use as well as my personal identity as it regards to my work. My personal experience is a large part of the work I create. The creation of work that transcends the personal to the universal can sometimes prove challenging with regard to the mainstream.  My work often broaches the subject of marginalized identities and points of view. As a professional  artist I create works that speak to my personal experience while realizing the universality inherent in it as a part of the human experience.

Precious Fragments

In life things often get broken. We generally discard them when that happens but sometimes there are pieces worth saving. Worthy of a little time and energy to make something beautiful of them

Polychromed Pit Fired Stoneware

Polychromed Pit Fired Stoneware

Been a Long time! / Life gets in the way!

It seems like it has been forever. Well, I guess it has bee quite a while since my last post and I'm sure most of the people who were paying attention before have stopped lol. 

Life got in the way. Some of you know me personally and some of you know and love the work I do and some of you somehow randomly stumbled across this because I added the right keyword or tag to the post that put it in front of you.

We're 8 months into 2012 and it seems like this year is just flying by. I decided today that I would look back at what the first frame was that I shot for the year. I got a great laugh when I discovered this.....

seriously this was my first shot for  2012

Yup thats right a big ole' blank nothing. I could look at this two ways. I think I'm deciding to see it as an empty space ready to be filled with the potential creativity and energy I have instead of seeing a big black hole sucking my life away.

So what have I been up to since then.......

The Value of Memories (me on my soap box again)

As a photographer my work is in capturing the fleeting moment and making it last forever. Most of the moments I capture will never happen again. Wether it is a family portrait session on the lakefront, a young mans 13th birthday, a young woman's quinceañera or cotillion, senior photos, an engagement, wedding, anniversary or just a day someone wants to remember, those moments only come once. When I look through the camera I anticipate and wait for them to happen, I stage them, create them, push and pull them out of people to capture something that will live forever.

I shoot all types of events and moments. From time to time during a consultation or just a side conversation I will get asked the ever popular question. Why are photographers so expensive? I have the heart of a teacher so I do my best in these moments to find the opportunity to educate a friend, acquaintance client or perfect stranger who could easily become one of the other three. Photography is a combination of artistry and technical skill. Some of my fellow photographers cringe when I make my plumber analogy but it makes the most sense to people. Pretty much anybody can turn a wrench and measure the length of a pipe and put together the pieces of a simple puzzle. For those simple jobs it's always very possible to do the work yourself. You can probably muster your way through changing your shower head or putting new knobs on the faucet. Now imagine if you will a new bathroom jacuzzi tub, steam shower, lovely fixtures and all. You want it done right so who do you call, the plumber. Why, because they have the expertise needed to get the job done right. 

Now imagine its your wedding every moment that happens only happens once. There is only one chance to catch the look on his face as you walk down the aisle, the moment you place the rings on each others fingers, that first kiss the first time you dance together as husband and wife that silly moment when he (even though you both swore you wouldn't) rubs the cake in your face. Ten, twenty, thirty years from now where will you go to reminisce about the moments. The food is gone, the decorations are gone, ......... oh wait the photo album, or maybe the wedding video. Thats where we go to relive those special moments. Surprisingly the very most lasting record of this once in a lifetime event is the one thing that so many people leave to chance. 

Guess what we are only in the place and stage of life were in for the moment. It is ever changing. Like a dandelion in the wind we are always moving off to a new adventure. So stop take a moment and capture what you can and if its really important get someone who can beautifully capture what you want to keep forever.

Before you know it your precious little peekaboo baby will be graduating high school, off to college, in love and engaged to be married. Life happens fast. Make the memories lat forever and make them beautiful. Understand the value of those memories and the ability to look back on them as an investment in the life you cherish so dearly :)

Ok enough of my soap box. Live your life and love it .

New Sample Book Of Portrait Work

Click here to view this photo book larger

So You Want Great Headshots (5 pointers to think about)

1)Choose wisely. 

First things first choose your photographer wisely. I have so often in conversation had people ask me to take pictures for them before they have even seen my work. Of course I would never make it a habit to turn down work but I always advise potential clients to take a moment to look through my work. It is truly important that you see the work of the photographer you choose to create your headshots. There is no real right or wrong way to do it but thier style should fit witht the way you want to represent yourself. See if your photographerpecializes in a specific type of portrait or if they are more versatile.

2)Personality is important.

Remember that you are getting your headshots done with the intent of aquiring work using these images. As a model or actor it is important to have your individual personality shine through. There are many aproaches to this but most importantly remember that the photographer can only work with what you bring to the table. If you are incredibly dull and lifeless that will show in the images just as strongly as if you are vibrant and energetic. What type of message do you want your headshots to communicate.

 

3)What kind of work do you want.

Keep in mind what kind of work you are trying to get. Do you want to do theater, film, or commercial work? Are you comedic, dramatic, universal. Are you a specific type of charachter or are you an open pallete. These things have the potential to affect the way that you want to be seen. If you are a comedic actor you would want your headshots to have an air of levity. A dramatic portrait would not necessarily be the best choice for you.

4)It's all about the eyes.

Of course your smile is important, too, but the eyes can make or break your picture. They are refered to as the windows to the soul for a reason.Your eyes give you the opportunity to show the layers in your personality. Rather than thinking about the viewer looking at your picture, think about you looking at the viewer. A direct and intentional look into the lens is like making direct eye contact with whoever views your headshot, and we all know the power of direct eye contact.

5)Keep it simple.

Clothing, makeup, hair, and even expression are generally best when simple. The more complex something is in a composition the more it draws atention away from the focal point. If the essence of you is the focal point the last ting you want to do is draw your viewers attention away from is you. You want to draw them in! 

Take a moment to look at the world through my eyes

I just wanted to sharewith you an over view  have been doing this year. A small snippet of what I have been up to. Enjoy!!!!!!!

In Progress

I am always in progress whether I am working on a series of images for a particular project or working through a simple edit from a portrait session. 

I absolutely am addicted to beauty. Small problem it takes up a lot of my time. Big problem as my wife describes it I have been given the beauty in so many different places. I can as easily find myself lost in the eyes of a young woman as I can in the amzing beauty of an autumn blossom.

My work is always evolving and developing and I am always working on something new. There are a huge number of projects are constantly in progess that grow at pretty rapid rate. I find myself regularly influenced by so many different aspects of life that are just so simple and yet amazing.

It's Been Too Long

Seems like it has been forever and a day (actually two months and a little change) since I last posted on my blog. Life as we know it gets in the way sometimes. Last night I went out to the movies with my wife of nearly 14 years. We went to go see For Colored Girls. I had been advised against going to see this movie but I felt and still feel secure enough in my relationship to handle an piece of cinema out there. It's a pretty well known book of poetry that was turned into a play and now into a movie. While I came away form it with all of the trauma I have sean heard experienced or caused dredged up thats not at all what stuck with me. It was just beautiful to see I love the way so many of the heightened emotional moments became some incredibly inspiring still images in my mind. I have always been drawn to the power of human emotion throughout its spectrum. I have to be honest and say this movie is not for everyone. For some it will just leave you angry pr depressed to see all of the pain filled within it. It al depends on your perspective. One of the things I hope people come away from this with is understanding  that while the cast of this film is all black, the issues presented in it are not race or culture specific.

Working On The Integration Of Everything!

I hope everyone will like the new integration. I am attempting to make the relationship between my blog and my site as seamless as possible. This is proving to be not necessarily a difficult endeavor but definitely a time consuming one. It will be good though I think to have these all connected making your experience all the more pleasant. Of course I have been working on a lot of projects and making strides in developing my time management to help keep myself on to of the things I need to take care of. I hope that you will enjoy following me along this journey as I make things work a little smoother.

"Project Freckle"is moving along smoothly with several of its sister projects in their beginning stages. I still think and work very similarly to the way I did when painting was my primary medium. (painting hasn't disappeared by the way once i get this ship sailing a little more smoothly i will have the brush in hand again) I have been fortunate in having a great response to the project and the people interested in being a part of it.

model: Kimberly Lewis

Keep an eye out for more project concepts to be released as time passes.

There will be a link to the project 365 which is almost complete. Just a month or so to go. 

The High Key Portrait

Creating a high key portrait is not as difficult as it seems.

The range of tones in a high key portrait are predominantly on the light end of a histogram. If you think of a graph where the far left is black the center is a middle grey and the far right is black. The largest portion of tones in the image would fall on the right of the center of this graph.

Lighting the dramatic portrait using chiaroscuro.

Creating a dramatic portrait using chiaroscuro is actually a much more simple process than it may seem.

Chiaroscuro (Italian for light-dark) in art is characterized by strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for using contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects such as the human body. The influence of my years as a painter bring with them a great affinity for this type of lighting. In photography this is often referred to as low key photography. When used in portrait photography, the term “Key” refers to the overall tone of the final photograph. The elements of the portrait that play into the tone of it are the color of the background, the color of clothing used and the color of any props or foreground elements. Portraits that have a consistent key generally have much more of an impact that those whose elements are not consistent.

Valencia Bey

This is one incredibly talented woman. It is truly a pleasure to have her as both a friend and a client. If there were ever a prime example of what a tryly vibrant personality looks like she would be it. The photo shoot seemed more like fun than work. That's one of the great things about this job, getting to know amazing people.

In 2006, Valencia produced her debut CD, Heart of a Brown Girl, a diverse folk/rock CD that is, according to WXRT-Chicago’s Richard Milne, “a little bit of Tracy Chapman with more of the big wailers like Odetta.” Most comfortable with her voice and her guitar, her acoustic performances have been called intimate and moving by her audiences. She performed briefly on the folk music circuit, sharing her music with appreciative audiences across the U.S., receiving favorable reviews and gaining new fans.

Her latest project, Coffee and Conversation, is a blend of genres – rock, blues, soul and jazz – and its themes of sunshine and loss, love and pain appeal to a broad audience. The project is currently a CD Baby recommendation in the Rock: Adult Contemporary music category. Valencia has been recognized for her songwriting by the Academy of Gospel Music, VH1’s Song of the Year and the International Narrative Song Competition.

Heart of a Brown Girl received positive reviews. “I’m Falling” received national airplay and was featured on WXRT – Chicago. Valencia has appeared in the major motion pictures “Quebec” and “The Express”, as well as several independent films. She has also graced the stage, in the role of Lutiebelle in “Purlie Victorious”. She also produced the Positively Acoustic songwriting series, which featured songwriters across the globe in an intimate environment where they shared music with positive themes as well as the stories behind their songs.

If you want to hear a breathtaking blend of jazz, blues, soul, rock, and gospel you need to click here and give this artist a listen.

Auset & Booda Blaou

Poet, Activist, M.C. all titles that describe the two talents in this session. A great evening spent sharing creative ideas with real down to earth people.

Check Out the rest of the pictures in the full post!

Unseen Beauty

For 15 years I have been trying to get this woman to see how beautiful she is. I guess I should consider myself lucky that she doesn't see what I see. I don't think I would have had a chance with her if she did. I spent 10 minutes with her in front of my camera. Just wait until I get her really comfortable.

A video that I really enjoyed, that tells a great story. Just wanted to share.

I know there are some odd technical inconsistencies from a photographers perspective but the story is really interesting. You never know where you will meet the person you need for a project you are working on.

The making of "Into My Eyes"

The Couples Photo Session has arrived

Jump For Joy

  

Every once in a while you stop and take a moment to really

see the joy that children find in some of the simplest things. I wish jumping made me smile like that. Hell I wish anything made me smile like that. I love the simple joys that children have. Now i only we could find a way to bottle tat it would be on late night infomercials for $19.99 or in some random commercial telling you to ask your doctor about it. Hopefully all the side affects are ones that we would love to have.