Canon vs. Red

I always imagine the possibilities. Being able to do whatever I dream. The problem is that my dreams are more like fantasies created by kids from watching to many cartoons growing up. I ofttimes live in a world where the skies are so blue that the color cannot be reproduced by any solution available today. Don’t even ask me about the clouds. To document and or story board the multitude of ideas bumping around in my  head will take a lifetime. I am a photographer by love and with the advent of cinema dslr’s I am extremely excited about my new workflow.

We are at war and it’s not just one. There is the internal fight between Canon and Canon as well as the external fight between Canon and Red. (When I think about it, it’s kind of funny. Canon and Hasselblad used to do battle too!) The war comes in the form of our cameras for the absolute position of supreme rule over all things imaging. We are artists starving to show the work we create either to self or public. We create for the love of creating. The tools we utilize builds upon the old adding new and desirable features to stimulate our workflow and creative prowess. As a public we ask for things. Sooner or later, what we ask for comes to fruition in the form of an object completely out doing its competition. This is where the problem comes from. These tools we use to create carries a certain expectation backed by the name of companies with a long standing history to produce a product with proper functionality and vitality.

I am a Canon guy. When I dove head first into the art of photography in 2005 my first camera was a Canon 10D, six months later I bought the 20D, 1 month after I picked up the Hasselblad H1 and Leaf Aptus 22 digital back, within that same month I bought a Canon 1Ds MK2. Thats a lot of cameras to purchase within a year. But for me they all served different purposes. I sold the 10D to a buddy looking to learn about photography and my 1Ds MK2 was stolen on a shoot. Thats when I learned about proper ways to insure your gear. I went through Statefarm Insurance to cover all of my lighting and photographic stuff. I was distraught after the loss of my Mark 2. 8k down the drain. I was so trusting then. Fast forward 4 years. My 20d is functioning superbly with it’s Digic 2 engine chugging 8 megapixel images without effort. My Hasselblad H1 Leaf digital is so temperamental. I wish it had more functionality than it does. But again it serves its purpose  Even though I am rocking a 22 megapixel medium format camera I patiently waited for the next 5d to make waves. With all the rumors floating around dealing with specs and processor I was already sold. Again what we ask for, companies will develop for a price. With the 5D Mark 2 the price was right. Full Frame 35mm HD video 24p/30p/60p oh my Digic 4 processor and 22 megapixels, extreme light sensitivity. This camera was going to be a monster. So began the wait, visits to Canon Rumors and UK commercial photography – Northlight Images became a daily ritual. To have that camera was to have a tool that would redesign my workflow into something that I craved for years. I was so excited. Then it came, Nikon released their D90 with HD 720p and a frame rate of 24. Big grins came across the faces of many in anticipation of Canons response. I knew the monster was about to be set free. Hundreds of people were on the waiting list at Penn Camera, but I had my back up family owned camera shop I’d go to tucked away in the heart of Falls Church, VA. Dominion Camera & Photo Lab is my knight in shinning armor when it comes to getting the Canon bodies I need. They also sell Nikon stuff too.

Then the announcement was made. The rumored camera finally made real. Excitement was in the air but the specs didn’t match up to our expectations. No manual control! No 24p! Hey what’s going on here! I bought the camera anyway. Functionality that was to be included would be later available through firmware update. OK, I will continue to wait and use the camera for my fashion, beauty and portrait work. No worries.

A firmware update was about to be released. Again all the forums lit up like a Christmas tree from the speculation of manual control and 24p. Did we get what we wanted? Yes and no. Manual control was the first. Very exciting but we still felt slighted. We have to have the film look! Again I continued to wait. Not using the camera for its added purpose of video. That’s when a I took more notice of RED and it’s forthcoming Scarlet and Epic modular solutions. From the design to the spec’d functionality. 1 million configurations and it shoots at 6k.

What a monster. My initial thought was “Why didn’t Canon do this first?” I already knew the answer, but the question still had to be posed. Canon is a HUGE company. They have products in development that only the top-dogs know about that will revolutionize the industry as we know it. But they are out to make money. So when you think about it, to now include video functionality for their dslr’s after they noticed what consumers were doing was a business move on there end . Even with the the inclusion of that feature it was still considered a taste. Canon did not really know how this new feature would have been received. Its like the case with Apple and their software leaks here and there to the torrents. What better way to evaluate impact with consumers and end-users than to give them crumbs. Inexpensive bites followed by surveys on what can be done to make the mixture better. This is business 101 people!

Red was and still is a small tight-nit group with ginormous goals. Goals and ideas they follow through on. They also have a following in which they keep in strong contact with. That alone makes them a stark contender for the best imaging solution.

I am a full believer in the underdog. Again look at Apple vs. Microsoft. Everyone knows I am an Apple guy! Yes their products cost more, but you definitely know what you are getting. A product that lasts for years and is supported by updates that improve functionality and software integration. I did buy Snow Leopard and it does ROCK!

I believe RED follows a similar work ethic. Build something that works and functions better than anything else on the market, ensure stability, be attentive and they will love you for it. Remember the difference between smaller companies and big ones is communication and a belief in how these corporations think consumers will approach their product!

Are You Fit for Your Life?

Ok, Ok, Ok! I get asked a lot how big is my team when I am interviewed by a potential clients for a shoot. Other questions dealing with lighting, props, etc. Also pops up. I totally understand that I should have a team for day to day operations but at the moment I am still head over heels in love with the beauty of photography and moving from place to place with a team setting up my lights camera blah blah blah will turn my intimate affair into more of a seedy ménage à trois. Don’t get me wrong I like a little playful corruption but not with this delicate flower. I must touch, move, position and guide everything, plus I have time for all that later.

A buddy of mine whom I’ve come to respect as a great unsigned designer assumed I was an old fat guy with glasses or the typical photographer of late due to my shooting style. He even spread the word to his team that I may have been a bit unnerving on the eyes and to watch their facial expression at the first meet. We laughed about that over the third shoot. That did answer why I kept getting “Oh! So you’re the photographer?” questions the first time I met everyone. hehe!

Thanks to a good friend of mine. I am super healthy. Yeah I indulge in pizza and Starbucks (carmel machiato with 9 raws, extra carmel and whip cream), pause *breathe* – I’ll be right back! I need to go pick one of those up right now. …… I’m Baaaack!!!! UMMMMM so goooood! Anyway, I can’t eat all of that stuff with out turning into a big fatty! So what’s the solution? Proper dieting (eating), exercise and focus. I am a very competitive person in EVERYTHING I do. Photography is no exception. I run, cycle, play futball with my kid who is six, box, play video games, shoot, etc. May day starts at 5am and ends so time after 1am. I am a runner. To accomplish this I needed to talk to the master of all things fitness. Mark at FFL – FitFourLife laid out a work out plan and diet tailored for my needs and goals. Lean muscle, enormous strength and crazy endurance, yeah baby! That’s what I’m talking about. My workout ethics keeps me on track so when I do have theses super-sized photo shoots where I using BIG Arri HMI fresnels with 10 and 12 inch lenses (very HEAVY) over my tiny and portable Profoto D’s, I have to be in crazy shape to lug that stuff around from location to location. Remember I don’t have a team yet.

In this day everyone needs to be a little more fit. It sucks that every-time I go out all I see is over weight folks. I’m not talking big boned or stocky. I’m talking about the “I eat McDonalds everyday people”. I can tell by there bellies. From the parents to the kids. Very heavy breathers. Anyway let me stop there. Check out FFL^®and ask for Marc when you do!

A little info on FFL^®
FFL Fitness has devoted over 30 years to understanding the body. Through our experience we are recognized as an authority on mental health, wellness, and creating a pure path to healthy living through physical fitness and diet. Football, Basketball, Track & Field, FFl Fitness has trained many NFL athletes, NBA players, bodybuilding professionals, as well as students looking to increase there strength and stamina for their high-school or college competitive sports activities.

Each person that we help to achieve healthy living and wellness develops a new understanding of their body and continues to enjoy a lifestyle that will deliver not only strength of mind and body but longevity of life.

FFL-FitFourLife

This May Very Well be a Life Lesson…

I’ve taken some time out from this world to think about my existence and to truely find out what this life means to me. It’s interesting when you think about it. I’ve always thought about purpose and direction ever since I could remember. In fact, there is one memory that stands out.

It’s gray outside. The streets were wet and flooded in some areas due to sewage drains clogged with trash. It’d been raining all week and to make matters worst, I acted up that day which means my dad spanked that ass and punished me to my room. That’s why I’d been staring out of my window upstairs in my corner bedroom. The window was surrounded by an old wood frame that had been painted over to many times for anyone to count yet it still was splitting and splintering. I used 3M tape to cover up the cracks; Dad hated that. Yeah, that was me, the kid that always had crazy plans that were more trouble than what it was worth. That particular day however, questions kept running through my head. As a kid, there was only one that I really gave thought to, “Why Am I Here!”. I really never had a real answer then but, if thought was put into it, the answer would be based purely on cartoons that I had been watching that day. My imagination ran in circles even when I slept. I could have been cited with Attention Deficit Disorder but lucky for me that phrase wasn’t coined yet.

Until I found the truth, that question – Why Am I Here! stayed a lingering uninterrupted flow of chaotic energy. It was so distracting. Taking from everything that I held close to my heart. My direction changed like the wind. Never having a hold on anything that really mattered I moved aimlessly through this life. Well, that’s until I went through my awakening season. Everyone in some part of their lives be it young or old connects with their inner truth; it’s usually the latter though. This truth is a core set of rules that indirectly governs their life and the paths chosen throughout. Unless we are truly mature, we can not recognize or identify with this truth. It’s hidden from us. Left alone to be discovered like buried treasure lost at sea by those who hunger for knowledge on a quest for subsistence. My quest began just about 2 years ago. I was lost, angry, confused, directionless and purposeless. Daunting none the less, I was starting back at square one, well actually below square one. I was a wreck! and everything around me was well, what could I say except for, chaotic. So 2 years ago I asked myself not – “Why am I Here?” but instead, “Where do I Begin?”. The best answer for that was the obvious; at the beginning.

I can honestly say that I had rage burning in the core of my spirit. I was unbalanced energy attracting that same energy into my path. It was concealed at best through a mask of fantasy. This mask being drawn together to ease the burden of excuses that had been built up like a wall so great and a density so thick, that not even the purest force could corrode. This began my introversion. Because this was the beginning walk on my path to self discovery I felt like Alice in Wonderland falling deeper into the rabbit hole with no visible end in sight. As I continued my descent I combed through a range of discord. My life became boring and work-filled. Day in and day out it was the same thing. Wake up, brush teeth, bathe, get dressed, feed cats, go to work, come home, turn on the TV (preferably CNN), eat dinner, fall asleep in the big chair, wake up, brush teeth, bathe…. you know the rest. This went on for months. Then, one morning when I was sleeping Phoenix pounced on my chest and started playing with my face as if she was shadowboxing my cheeks. Phoenix was one of my cats. She had a sister named Lexi. Now Lexi was the younger of the two. She was very light hearted, timid and clumsy not like Phoenix who was the direct opposite. She had a presence of royalty. They were deep grey colored Burmese cats with white socks and white covered tummies. I love my kitties. They were beautiful creatures and excellent companions. They insisted my fall down the rabbit hole come to an end. That’s when I finally reached the ground.

I disliked being filled up with this randomly fluctuating ball of chaotic energy. I needed a release. The first step was to get my mind and body in-tuned with a flow that was uplifting and strengthening. It was time to absolve this draining routine and begin something new. I remember being handed a gift, a small nugget of information that made sense. I was told, “You are what you attract!” . However, I fought that statement with blinding force when I first heard it. Making excuses for the people I deemed close friends. I thought that trying to help others in my circle attain focus and clarity would help them reach whatever goals they set. But how could I help someone attain such clarity when I had none? Have you ever taken a step outside of your ego to view everyone around you. I did! Thats when I started to realize the truth. That’s when I started to gain a few pixels of clarity. It was small at first but everyday it grew. It did not happen overnight. This was a process of months. I took notice of the energies that were a constant in my life at that time and surmised they were not forces that added to my existence. They actually subtracted from it, through lying, cheating, manipulation, corruption. All in an effort to gain some sort of sanctuary under my wing. Was that me? Was I all those things? Remember, you are what you attract! I realized there has to be distance. I inferred change. I began to shed my old skin and with it random acquaintances as well as those I considered longtime friends whom I only saw with arms stretched out and palms facing the sky. I confronted head-on everything that carried chaos energy and extricated it. Finally, a veil had been lifted. I remembered the moon being so close, with the night sky clear and colored a deep purplish blue. I did not mind the glaring Burger King lights across 118. I just appreciated being able to see the moon with all its imperfections clearly at that moment as I stood naked on my porch on the second floor of my apartment complex in Germantown with a glass wine, nothing fancy Robert Mondavi Nappa Valley Merlot Vintage 2002.

Now that my question -“Where do I Begin!” has been answered. I moved back to the persisting question “Why am I Here?”. This question became comprehensible only recently. If we are energy moving along a distinct path attracting like energies how do we improve upon what’s already there? Easy, we shape ourselves to be better than we were. This can only happen through constant growth through seeking knowledge and understanding. Reading, researching, discovering, learning, doing, being passionate in your progression. Being Present!!!

Why am I here? I am here to create. I am here to live a life of purpose and meaning through constant learning and a belief that everyday we need to be absorbed in learning something new so that we maybe better than we were the day before.

~gabriel

VManavis.com is Now…

VManavis.com which is an amazing fashion, beauty, and commercial photography site has changed it’s name to VMarkelou.com.

Violetta Markelou, my good friend, is a fashion, commercial and editorial photographer with extensive training in the fields of glamour, special effects and theatrical makeup for photography and film.

www.vmarkelou.com

Skin-timate with Your Subject

Is it wrong to be a lover of skin? To be able to appreciate the tone, softness, texture, warmth, youngness, the look! “My goodness”. Everyone should love the simple complexities of skin. It’s so amazing. I took a break for a while; 2 weeks to be exact. What could I say, I’m a busy guy. I work a lot and play a little.

Clearing my mind from other analytical work I am now focused on my creative side. I have been reviewing for days now the digital rolls from a shoot that I have done with Multi-Stylist DemiV and one of the most amazing models I have shot to date, Anca. She sets the bar HIGH! For this write up I will be focusing strictly on the most engaging side of beauty, the skin. I love skin.

Choosing imagery from a set has always been my biggest challenge. Knowing what the industry wants is hard so I tend to go with what looks great to me. Be selfish, at the end of the day its about your happiness first and everyone else’s second.

I have chosen the image that I would like to start with. I have literally gazed and lost myself in this image. Anca’s skin is close to what is considered flawless, before being retouched. It is creamy smooth, dewy and young.

Retouchers infatuated with the fine details will know exactly what I’m doing. So for those that do not its called cleaning at the pixel level. I cannot tell you enough – DO NOT BLUR THE SKIN! Love the skin you’re working in.

I truly am amazed at this piece. It calls to me. I work on a 30 inch Apple lcd monitor. I fell asleep last night pretty early. I woke up to find my monitor showcasing her image as if at an art gallery. Simplicity is what draws me and simplicity is the method I am using to retouch. Anything more will not do her justice.

Look at that beautiful texture.

You can blur the blend mode layer.

Now were on even ground.

Masquerade Bee-Bop! The Ongoing Project

Its no secret that I use Adobe Photoshop CS4 as a part of my workflow. My personal project “Masquerade Bee-Bop” is underway and we’re having a blast. Due to the amount of work that my team and I have been doing as of late has had me sifting through hundreds of crisp and yummie imagery in Adobe Lightroom. Man, I love my Macs! Anywhoo, I have chosen 2 images that will be paired together in a set to be retouched in a creative way. ***Note***This is just a peak into my retouch workflow. When the Red Scarlet becomes available I will offer amazing video of cool stuff behind the scenes.

The hard part is over. I have chosen the imagery for this set. It is paramount for me to sit back, lights off and visualize the content onscreen as well as its many outcomes. I then fully realize what needs to be done. The stage is set, so let’s begin.

Music can be a guide when retouching and finishing art. It frees our movement and drives us in different directions each time you hear it. I’m listening to Blonde Redhead – Elephant Woman on iTunes as a beginning point and will most likely end with Θάνος Πετρέλης – Mia Nyxta Einai a greek song that I like. This is a powerful song from start to finish. I feel a major sense of accomplishment when I complete a project to this song. My ideas are flowing, its time to complete the basics!

These images are the starting point. The first thing I need to do is compose the image followed by cleaning up of the dust artifacts using the healing brush, and then bump removal.

As Blonde Redhead played, I started to reflect on interesting events in my life. Through this daydream (yeah I zone out when I work. I know I’m weird!) I saw a path in-which to create my image . A reflection. I did not want to reflect the same event. How many of you wish you could rewind time or better yet because time is irrelevant step back into an instance of yourself and go left when you may have gone right. That is what this image represents. A reflection of the same form moving slightly differently. This will be an interesting piece for me.

I finished cleaning the dust particles. I need to get an air pump for my sensors. It wasn’t dirty but its always good to be on the safe side. Now its time to reflect the image. Since this will be a mirrored reflection it’d be a good point to make sure your skin texture lines up. Remember, I plan not to have a plan. My subject, music, and mood determines the outcome. I am just the medium used to put everything together. A director of sorts.

Skin cleaning is always a challenge with each new face. There is no such thing as flawless skin. There is no uniform texture. There is no plug in that will clean a surface and protect it’s pores. This is where you get your wings! My way of skin retouching is an ever evolving technique. I find new ways to do things utilizing old principles. All of it deals with illusion. If you are a photographer, learn the art of make up! Kevyn Aucoin gives a lot of insight into the art of makeup. Following his techniques when coupled with an amazing Make Up Artist like DemiV.com on your shoots only enhances your post-production workflow.

When retouching skin remember this secret, ahem*** (clearing throat) “DON’T RUSH!” its not needed. Also work on separate layers from the original. Depending on the camera and the technique I use to shoot the imagery, my raw source file can go from being 66mbs to 126mbs when converting to 16bit tif or as big as 2gigs. I am not going to go into deep with it now, but my thoughts on capture isn’t to capture the moment. It’s capturing the energy of something, a surrounding, someone, etc.

Review, review, review! Right now you are removing blemishes at the pixel level to insure consistency and the realism. Zoom out to review your work. Eyes burning! Get some fresh air. Have a coffee. Comeback and review again. Know this, high-end clients can utilize a multitude of retouchers on one image. Its like proofreading for a newspaper but this time we’re looking for image accuracy.

***On a tech nerd note. Did I mention how much I love, love, love Adobe CS4? Especially on my Apples! Utilizing GPU’s in tandem with the cpu is a huge improvement over Adobe CS3.

Oh my, look at that! Missed One. Yep that one right there!

I grew up watching bugs bunny and those WB classic cartoons in the 80’s and 90’s. “Yes I am 32 and I still watch cartoons, ahhh, eeerrr, in appreciation of the artist creating it (wink, wink)”.

The female form in those cartoons were curvy with pronounced lines creating a path that the eye would follow. Those cartoon girls were seckzeaaahhhh!!!! That’s one of the reasons I can appreciate the form of a woman. For me her lines are like a road on a Sunday afternoon drive through a vineyard in a sports car with the sunroof open and the windows down; suns rays peaking through the trees which hides the lanes away. The air smells of strawberries and grapes.

Pay attention to your subject add her movement to your flow!

Subtle smoothing out of line creates a path for the viewer appreciating your work to follow. I’ve often seen imagery in the past where everything from the lighting, models, to the angles used, were spectacular. But when it came to the clean up, it may have lacked a little. Now, I’m ANAL when it comes to the finished product. Each shot represents my work and as an artist I critique myself rather harshly. It sucks that I do that but it does insure that I push myself to become better than I was the day before.

I have been utilizing photoshop in previous jobs to create websites, ads, and other type of marketing media. For years I’ve overlooked one of the most powerful of tools. The Pen Tool. I just discovered this a few months ago and WOW!!!!! It’s like there is a party in my pants. It has made my job of composing lines sooooooo much easier.

I am again going over the image looking for anything out of place. Skin blemishes, uneven skin tones, redness, etc. I will now move into the final stage of the post production of Zaya for the Masquerade BeeBop Project. Within this final phase you will yet again have to step back and visualize color. Your music will aide in this. Due to a desaturation of the red tone my piece has a blue tint to it. It looks nice but, I did like the way it was having a hint of magenta at the corners. So let’s bring that back!

I feel like Bob Ross. My happy little color in the right spots makes me all warm inside. My brothers playing my Street Fighter 4 on PS3. I’m taking a break for a hot second to crush him and post more pics as I finish up this last stage…

With my song Mia Nyxta Einai on repeat. I enter the final stage to the completion of my latest works. It has been pretty cool to document this entire experience. Again, this was only a peek into my workflow and methodology into creating imagery. I am now going over the imagery one last time. This final step is all about cloning out small things that can distract the viewer from the bigger picture. Like these fly-aways for example!

For your viewing pleasure… Masquerade BeeBop – Reflected

Masquerade BeeBop

Retouching Skin and Lips: A Look Before!

I am passionate about a 4 things! I will let you in on 2 of them. 1 is photography of course and the other is retouching. Last Sunday I had the pleasure of working with an exceptional model by the name of Zaya. Flawless skin! With her help, DemiV and I set out to add to the 2 ongoing projects that we started earlier this year. One project “Trashy Couture” and the other “Masquerade BeeBop! “. We were very excited with the results she delivered for both projects.

The before:
A simple breakdown, photographer, mua, hairstylist, lighting, plan, and some other random stuff that floats through my head that I can not think of right now.

During:
Shoot, laugh, joke, shoot some more, laugh, joke, dance, smile, pretend to sing, etc. oh and the best part of all!!!! Ordering pizza from Popito y Joahns (Poppa Johns). I like saying it my way.

After:
Image selection and image cleanup!
I am ***SPOILED*** when it comes to my tools and its only going to get worst. Some tools of the trade I used for the shoot are:

Canon 5D Mark 2 with CF Card
Lighting
Wacom 12×19
Apple G5 2x2ghz
Apple 30″ Lcd Screen
Apple MacBook Pro 15
1 of 2 500 GB WD porty drives
Adobe CS4

There are more cool stuff in the box but there is no point in listing them for what we did here.

I am going to show you the difference between the begining raw file and the finished retouched file… When I get back!

Fashion is “Trashy”

I love fashion but buying all the trends is not me! I’m a boots, jeans, tee-shirt kinda-guy. Now when I shoot that’s different. It’s all about the make-up, garments, hair and model. With my project Trashy Couture, there needed to be something different. What if all the models wore the same garment? What if it wasn’t the hottest Prada design? What if it was a Trash Bag? How much attitude and presence could the wearer bring to this set? We’ll have to see!

This is the start of a Trashy Couture set that I’m going to start cleaning up. Get ready for lot-a-pictures and tasty ramblings.

Blurring the Lines!

Photoshop  is not the end all, be all tool when it comes to delivering a spectacular image. But it is what’s needed for the market today. Understanding this and applying to your workflow can thoroughly improve upon a photographers work. Enhancing an image slightly, fixing color, dust particles, pimples, etc. is what one must do when creating a piece. This is what is included in a workflow.

Workflow is an order to things. It is the steps taken ,which helps the artist create an image from start to finish. Without it your lost! I am constantly reworking mine. To become better than I was the day before. I believe in that! Photographing and retouching  are separate talents combined to form a finished product. As an artist, your finished product is what you envision in your head.

For this shoot, we came up with a vision inspired by the fictitious characters of anime. We applied our spin to it and came up with this:

I am not a fan of blurry skin. Overly processed Gaussiened out like a porcelain doll. I hate it! Really! I believe in perfect skin to a point. It has to be natural. Clean and dewy. That is the sweet spot. Specular highlights. Ummm pours, unclogged and yummie. Create realism…

Ok, Ok, Ok, and now there is Vogue Republic

Me…

All of 2008, I was in a quandary, trying to figure out what I wanted to do when it came to photography. An entire year of being in a funk; not shooting a single image and constantly wondering if I was good enough to display my work to the public, or not. My thoughts, were of the uncertainty of being a success in a market that was, and still is, over-flowing with snappers and picture takers. Should I display my form of art to the world? What would my Visions be perceived as? Could you even call my work Art? Hmmph! Does it really matter what others think? Not really. Life as we know moves at the speed of your thoughts and we are here only for a blink. Now the question arises. Did I waste a year of my life figuring out if I was good enough, or did I have the right experience, or was I using the right tools? Not at all!

I read, read, read, learned, learned, learned, and then read some more. I read and researched to gain understanding of who I am and why I am. Through that time reading, researching, learning, and understanding, I learned myself.  It took one year, for me to do what takes some, a lifetime to figure out.

My belief is that we as humans function as a singularity reaching out and connecting to many different entities throughout our lives, when the need is there. Through these connections we form bonds. Some stronger than others but none the less all memorable and path changing. The bonds that I have made, reinforced, severed, and continue to build upon, opens new pathways for opportunity and growth. With that being said, if you are not growing through good life experiences your dying through bad ones.

You can evolve daily but only if you understand what you are evolving from. I have evolved over time from having a lack of perception to being able to see and perceive things as they truly are. Utilizing our given talent to understand the simplistic form of probabilities. Through this, I direct my energy.

As a photographer, I will continue to create Art through experience, life, and energy. I will capture the beautiful guise of a woman’s strength, her passion, and heart through my eyes. Photography is an intoxicating, spectacular, and mystical session between you and the entity or entities around you…