a first moment...Vanisha

I spoke to Vanisha on a the phone a lot before we actually met. We'd hooked up on a Photographer/Model website called Model Mayhem when I'd actually started expanding my technical knowledge in photography and I wanted to work with some models who were expanding their portfolios, figuring we could do a bit a trade off. The idea for Pangea's Garden was, at best, just a little more than a notion. It was at a time when I thought that the idea might be more self-indulgent than anything and that what I wanted create would not have much of an audience.

We did a group shoot with a few other photographers and models in a studio that cool but afterwards we went as group to review using another location that was more suitable for group shoots

Anyway we in a concrete courtyard that allowed for interesting slices of sunlight to make way and I caught a couple of images of Vanisha in that dance of light and shadow. I looked at the images and I knew I couldn't be the only one that is moved by this.

Right?

inspired verse...

That window, even screened,
allows lady beetles.
Luck sprinkles the ceiling.
Magazines and perm rollers
litter your flat like
so many sweets
beaten from a donkey.

But right now, little matters
except butter. Butter, you hope,
will armor you: against
the city's parasitic grit,
against your bus mate's
accosting grin. The coarsest of
sentiments slipping
past manilla teeth.

Morning breathes her last. Your
metronome quickens as the wind
hijacks Adhan,
presses traces of worship
against your hips, and
trails you to the door.

the artist model series - xian: moods and monochromes

Always the muse, Xian stands out because of her expressiveness. Working with the artsy environment at Apache Cafe & Lounge, she creates moods with each pose that constantly inspired artists and photographers alike.

Khade...a revisit in pink

Khade in a west end butta aftershoot

the artist model series - xian: the first muse in locs & white

Xian was the first.



At Apache, she was the first model I created images of (first as sketches, later as photos). And while I loved the images I captured, there were so many quality concerns with the digital images that I was inspired to solve the problems and get it right. The solutions are technical, having to do with camera sensors and lighting techniques.







But I was inspired to go the next level. Create better images and new ideas. Grow.

I guess that is what a Muse does for you.

the artist model series - sonia: curves & locs part 1

As I've mentioned before... the vision for the images in Pangea's Garden all started with my captures at the Apache Cafe & Lounge. This pictorial is part of a short series of retrospectives of how what I've seen has influenced and inspired me.

The model goes by the stage name DarknCurvy and you can find her on MySpace.

it started on a night at the cafe...

It was Monday and I was already beat down.

It was a long workday, after a very taxing weekend and I was soooo sleepy, not tired, just sleepy.

My favorite joint was the Apache Cafe & Lounge on Art Monday nights. Harking back to the days of the beatnik era, the Apache Cafe, basically, is one of those joints where creatives of all types hang out in a eclectic, funky atmosphere. Poets, painters, musicians, singers, DJs, dancers, photographers and film makers all have a place here along with patrons, entourage and students. It seemed like each night of the week focused on a different art form. For example, Sundays it was Spoken Word and Wednesdays were Open Mic for singers and musicians. On Art Mondays, Apache would bring in a model or two and puts them on a model stand for painters, photographers, visual artists of all types to be inspired. And I got to tell you I went in there planning to having one drink, maybe two and calling it a night. I just wasn't feeling it, you know.



But I got there, had a shot of Grand Mariner and proceeded to find my Muse. And there she was. I was no longer tired. I was no longer sleepy. I pulled out my camera and grabbed a few shots of the scene.

I'm energized now; the music feels like my theme song and each image makes me want to shoot the next. I'm intoxicated by the Grand Mariner and the model's locs & curves. A couple of friends come over, we start laughing about dumb stuff. We talk a little about real jobs. I am enjoying the night. I take a couple more pics and order another shot.



The muse... the drink... the crew... the model... my captures...

I was in a moment and I was living...thriving... in it.

You feel me?

Khadeshia...West End Butta

New York To The Heart, But She’s Got Love For All!
Khadeshia is serious about her creativity. Never conforming to the industry standards, because, for her, the epitome of beauty is what’s true, so eventually the industry will conform to her as the standard, and if not she is just fine thriving outside the box. Poet, model, actress and the inventor of K. Beam Creations Custom Buttas, she is a beauty on the move. It was her beauty and her buttas that sparked the theme for these captures.