Miami Carnival 2007

This is a piece of Caribbean culture. (and No, this is not a celebration for the ill-fated Carnival Center that was built with wasted tax payers money in Miami last year). If your parents are from any of the islands in the Caribbean, then nine times out of ten you know exactly what this yearly event is. Non stop soca/reggae/ska/soca/soca music and food. Our kind of soul food, curry chicken, jerk chicken, roti, coconut water , fish tea, beef patti & coco bread, tamarind balls and the list can go on and on. This event goes on for seven days straight. Forget about the one in Brazil. It's all about the West Indian massive.

The parties (or "Fetes" - pronounced "Fets") that go on can start anywhere from 9pm and not not stop until 10am the next day. Ticket sales for these events range from 20 to around 75 dollars and the pre-sale tickets go very fast. Most are outdoor and take place in large parks or entertainment facilities. Hours upon hours people are eating, drinking while famous Caribbeans artists are coaxing attendees to "wave yuh flag". To "wave yuh flag" is the most exhilarating thing to do and the most beautiful sight to see. People are jumping in unison to blaring soca music while waving their respective island flags in the air. A sea of colors and a sea of bodies. I myself, was apart of it all. Friday night, 4:30am, soaking wet at the "Socavivor/Wave Yuh Flag Fete". Soaking wet, not by sweat, but by a downpour of rain. You would think that people would run for cover..umm..nope! The more it rained, the harder people danced, and danced and "wave yuh flag".

The weeks events lead up to the big Mas Parade and Concert. What is Mas you ask? Mas is when different groups or band have certain colors and costumes. If you are interested in joining a band, you register with them, pay a fee and wear their colors or costume. The parade showcases how well a band displays the most energy. Energy means half naked people doing suggestive pelvic thrusts, gyrating and performing moves that are considered R rated to American public. And that is the just the men. LOL

Either way, I decided to head down to the parade and take some pictures.

Well folks, I hope you enjoyed some higlights from the parade. Soon i'll put up a slide show of all the pictures I took. Until then, "wave yuh flag"!

..there is a piece of summer still left

..well, labor day is soon to come..then the barage of holidays.... (*sigh* I could have sworn this was yesterday)

anyway, my next photo intallment will be..*Drumroll Please*

A Weekend in Miami!

My sister is coming from Canada, and now that I am of age , have transpo and a couple of dollars, we can actually DO MIAMI! (somewhat, it is expensive as all get out) I plan to take some shots and post really soon. Untill then....

Summer Breeze.....

Where is the summer going? Seriously!! Wasn't yesterday Memorial Day? Anyway. A gentle summer breeze blew me into the nations' capital last week. I was attending my sorority's leadership conference and also visiting some friends in the Baltimore area. In a wierd way it felt like I was doing a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage to a place where five woman ( also inspired by two men) came together to establish one of the nations oldest predominantly African American sororities. History.

This same summer breeze wisked me away to the nations oldest HBCU (Historically Black College and University). Im a FAMUAN but I will give Howard University their props. (just this once LOL) This same summer breeze blew me into a city where two of my favorite people live (and also a city that was hosting what had to be the wierdest comic book/anime cartoon festival...folks went all out dressing up to match their favorite characters....weird!)

Well as always, this summer I am showcasing my journey in becoming an advanced photographer. Yes, me and my Nikkon Coolpix L3 are riding tough! This little camera can take some good shots. But, you know I'm still saving for my Nikon D-40. Hopefully, I can make something happen before Miami Carnival/Carribean Music Festival. So many people come to town from the West Indies and nationwide for this event. So, this is indeed a photographers dream!

Fin!

Right after a rain storm (and waiting to see Hillary Clinton.....like that was going to happen)

I thought this would be a nice shot. Kinda like what you see while looking at a hotel website :)

Then entrance to the International Headquarters of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. ( I was hoping you would guess by now :) )

Past International Presidents of Zeta Phi Beta.

The Five Founders of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.

To see this lit in warm lighting was photo op I could not pass up!

Miner Hall (.....now called Miner Teachers College)

Phi Beta Sigma owns the entire block and offices where they rent the spaces out to small black owned business to promote economic growth in the surrounding community! Impressive!

Phi Beta Sigma International Headquarters.

As always I love feedback. Leave some comments!

Happy July 4th

Greetings!! I think im the only on the net right now. I've had my bar-b-que already and hopefully, if negritis doesnt set in, i'll be on South Beach.....with my Nikon Coolpix :) Anywho, after a weeks delay, the "My Block" photo project/slide show is up!!. I learned alot in these two projects. Taking picutres at different angles rather than the "hey everybody, gather infront of the camera" snap shot - shot! I also learned..if you are doing outside shooting...and you have a subject....do it all in one day. "My Block" was taken in sunny and cloudy/wet conditions. It made the shooting rather interesting. I also learned that driving around in a black car and making random stops AND taking picutes in a BLACK neighborhood is suspicous to the locals.

Do you now how many people slowed down, just to see what I was doing?? One man rolled up next to my car while I was getting out and proceeded to mumble some words I could not make out before he drove off. I got squatters rights, I been in this area since October 1979!

AND WHAT!

So here it is..

My Block - The Norland Area




My motivation you ask? To look back at this journey, and see where I started in comparison to where I will be. Along with taking "FIYA" pictures, I always wanted to tell a story with my pictures. Who knows where this could lead to..but the most important thing about this journey is that............ I started!

God Bless!!!

Taste Of Chicago...

I had the opportunity to make it to Chicago again to visit family and attend the "Taste of Chicago"! The vibe was cool, the food was good and the people were NOT rowdy. I guess full stomachs lead to peaceful minds.

Anyway...

Maze feat. Frankie Beverly performed that opening night. It was truly a beautiful thing to see so many people peacefully enjoying the entertainment from this legendary band(Did I mention 90% of the audience wore all white!!). I love big cities. I travel alot and my favorite places to go are huge urban cities. I grew up in the suburbs and my city does'nt have a "real" downtown area.

I was able to get some great shots from my Nikon Coolpix, but it is nothing like a DSLR. (anyone want to donate one to me ? LOL). Here is a link to the movie slideshow. It takes about five minutes to load up so be patient. You will need Windows Media Player or Real Player on your computer in order to view it. Oh an of course, please turn your speakers up!!

Taste of Chicago-07 Slide Show

God Bless

p.s. I know the first project is not up yet as I have said, but it is forever raining down here and there are a few more picutres I would like to take before I call project #1 completed!

Off to Chicago!!!!

Greetings,

I did not forget about the "My Block" photo project that I'm putting the finishing touches on. I just realized, my flight to Chicago is tommorrow and I have not packed a single thing. Not to mention today (I'm typing very early Thursday morning...like 1am early), is going to be a busy day..(Corporate-wide mingler, several projects due before I leave for the mingler...art show later tonight...yada yada)! With all that is going, I soooo lost track of time.

I'm still researching DSLR cameras though. This Minolta 35mm film camera is kicking my tail and a sista "aint" paying for a $1,000 Nikon. I'm settling for a Nikon D50. From what the reviews are saying, it's great starter camera and some of the features are better than the later versions. Also, you can get a real good one for under $500. So, send up a prayer as I bid with the best on ebay!

I feel bad for not delivering what I said I would, so here is the cover art I designed for the slide show as a teaser for what is to come. Be safe!

no script..just play it by ear

Anyone want to give away a SLR camera (film or digital) cause working with a film camera is begining to show its draw backs..like..the cost of purchasing and developing film. I will take a film SLR because, if the shot does not look right, I simply delete, try again, save to film and proceed. But the film camera is good. Good start actually! I'm learning how to set Aperture Priority and Speed (i.e a picture taken at f/2 and 1/250..very good setting for minimum depth of field). After I take this roll of film to the developer, I will determine if I am going to stick it out with the old school film camera or go to the nearest pawn shop or check ebay for a film SLR. Why not a digital SLR you ask, I got a busy summer lined up, and it requires increased finances.


Currently I am working on my first assignment:

My Block - The Norland Area(183rd to 199th)

It will consist of snap shots from certain points in my neighborhood taken with my digital camera (Nikon Coolpix L3). The slide show should be up by this Wednesday with complete story. Yes, a story indeed!! When you are rolling around North Dade in a black car, taking random pictures in a 99% percent black neighborhood....there WILL be a story....

TRUST!

Throwbacks...

Ok...I'm back..with some photos taken my senior year at FAMU....



I thought this to be ironic...a "No Parking" sign..with a car parked under it! This was taken near the student union or what "old school" Rattlers call "The Set".

I was walking back to my campus apartment and I happend to stroll by the bus stop at the student union. I told everyone to "never mind" me and continue to look natural..but the girl chose otherwise..

This a very fine picutre of some of the members from the FAMU Chapter of Progressive Black Men. To this day, the image is being used in their publications. I still wonder how my brothers managed to look so cool in 95 degree heat during a Tallahassee summer.

On the way back to campus I was riding with a friend when we saw a roadside bar-b-que stand. These guys were a bit aprehensive when I rolled up with my camera. But when I mentioned I was a photogrpahy student, they gave me the "black mans head nod" and proceeded to continue with their tasty transaction...

This was taken on the Venom shuttle bus to one of my programing classes. This young man is a fellow classmate as well as a member of the Marching 100. He was in deep thought that day and did'nt seem to mind me sticking a camera in his face...

Greetings!!

Another summer is upon us. With my current schedule, summer allows me to do the things that I want to do......if I have the time. :)

Anyway, I registered to take a photography class at my local community college to pick the art back up again (I used to be a decent photographer during my days at FAMU..but that was five years ago...shhh dont tell anyone). To my surprise, they canceled the class...TWICE. So after about five mintues of verbal frustration, and a trip to the local camera shop..I decide to take matters into my own hands and proceed with re-teaching myself the art of photography.

I raced home with ad-hoc directions of how to use my old 35mm Minolta (a gift from dad's camera collection a few years back) from a very nice old cuban guy from Wolf Camera, grabbed my photography text book I used back in college..and started taking pictures!!

A few things.. this camera has no flash pieace, and no other lense to use with it. Until..I start an unplanned journey through my father's Cannon camera bag and found not only a flash for my Minolta, but a 50mm lense (a professional film camera in mint condition AT NO CHARGE..can't beat that).

I figure I'd start with the basics then work my way up to one of those $500 -$1000 dollar digital SLR cameras. (anyone have a Nikkon D80 they want to give away??)

So with all that being said. This blog is for the sole purpose of displaying my picutres during my self motivated - self driven photograpy class where I am the student and professor (along with Google and other photography sites where I can learn some techniques from) My first entry will be some throw back black and white picutres I took six years ago while I was senior at Florida A&M University!

God Bless