Iron Kids

During an album shoot I had in the projects of Oakland City, all the neighborhood children began to gather around and watch in amazement. Many of them have never seen or been out past their own block. As I we took a break from shooting one scene, I looked over my shoulder and saw these 4 little girls sitting on an old corroded air conditioner eating slices of white bread. It was snack time! You could see crusts of bread lying on the ground from where they trimmed it off…. we all did it when we were little. For something to drink, they shared a can of Tahitian Treat…now how hood is that? Their clothes were soiled from playing in the grassless courtyard of the housing project. They all jumped down after finishing their bread to ride their rusted tricycles and muddy big wheels lined the bottom of the porch. These were good times for them. It struck me how in all this poverty and grim, these girls who were all no older that 6 years old had the most innocent smiles on there faces. They had no concept of poverty, injustice, or class structure. Their world existed only within the fences of their projects and it was enough for them because it was all they knew. Somehow they found happiness within this desolate existence. I call them…IRON KIDS.

Hip Hop, Where Are You?

Today I was driving to the store and turned to 107.9, Atlanta's Hip Hop Radio Station. Immediately I grimaced at the sounds that came from my speakers. Another local "rapper" whose name I choose not to mention has been on heavy rotation for the past 3 months with his debut single. He meandered through the track with elementary verses that had no substance or message. I shoot my head and asked myself what has Hip Hop become? Why dont't the real MC's get radio play to the masses? I remember a time when Hip Hop pure. No videos exploited our women, protrayed fake lavish lifesyles, or glorified crime. Hip Hop gave the world a first hand look at how Black Culture thrived in America. There are still many MC's out there who have a message in their music that uplifts our people. Unfortunately, new "rappers" in the game are selling there souls for commercial success by making fade music. Fade music to me are songs that are hot today and forgotten tomorrow. Real MC's make songs that speak to your soul and feed your intellect. When ever I photograph a Hip Hop artist, I ask them, "How will your music progress the Hip Hop movement?" To the "rapper", Hip Hop is fame, money, drugs, and women. For the real MC, Hip Hop is revolution.

One Day

New York City is a place that stirs up so much creativity inside me. My friends in NYC are some of the most talented artists in the game right now. NYC is a hustler’s town. You have to be because the cost of living is so high. For the price of a small studio apartment in NYC, I could buy a nice size 3-bedroom house in Georgia; I guess that's why I never moved there. Plus the cold weather never appealed to me. I’m a Down South Georgia Boy, snow and I don’t mix. Everything about New York is so busy. It truly never sleeps. There is so much visual stimulation from the dated architecture to the fashion billboards to Harlem street life. It’s a photographer’s heaven. Walking down Time Square one night, I stopped and took this photograph to remind myself of why I became a photographer. I look at this photo everyday, I inspires me keep pushing for my dreams and make them reality.

Where am I going?

I often think about what direction my photography is going. We all question our abilities at times, but I have had the hardest time figuring out what field of photography I should specialize in. I got my start taking photos of children and families, and then I began shooting fashion and weddings. Now with an artillery of diverse photos, I need to figure out where I should direct my energy to growing the business. One thing I know is that clients go to individuals who specialize in certain services. If I needed my oil changed, do I go to Pep Boys (who does it all), or do I go to the Jiffy Lube 10 minute Oil Change(who specializes in changing oil)? Sure, Pep Boys could get the job done, but the JiffyLube would probably get the job done faster because they are specifically set up to do just oil changes. So if I specialize in high fashion, more high fashion clientele will use my services. Yet if I do it all, a prospective client will not know where my expertise lies. I must define my expertise to be a successful photographer.

School Dazed

Since returning to school after a hiatus of working in the real word, it feels completely different being back in this environment. College life posed so many distractions for me when I was younger. I pledged a fraternity, I was involved in several organizations, and worked a part time job all at the same time while taking 4-5 classes. Now that I'm older and alot more wiser about the decisions I make, I'm not letting all my past distractions get in the way of me graduating in December. My photography is gaining more national exposure and notoriety. For the next couple of months, I'm immersing myself into my school work and my art. Once the school dust clears, I'll be better prepared to take on this cut thought fashion world.

HAIR IDOL is a nation wide model search that includes a hair styling competition using Sensationnnel Hair Products. During the past two weeks, I photographed the Atlanta and Florida HAIR IDOL Competition entries. I had the greatest experience shooting these creative and over the top styles. The make up artists from the Atlanta and Florida were wonderful to work with. The models, who were mostly everyday women, all had positive attitudes which made my day pass with laughter and great conversation. What I enjoyed most about the entire job was the amazement in models' eyes when they saw themselves in the photo, looking more beautiful than they have ever seen themselves. Many of them never had a professional photo shoot, not to mention the degree of hair styling and make up. I feel so blessed to be able to bring smiles to people's lives through my art. Hopefully, one of the styles I shot wins the competition because the stylists I worked with this week were truly deserving of accolades.