Jazz in the Gardens

Greetings..

This past weekend ( March 15 I think) I attended the third annual Jazz in the Gardens music festival here in Miami. I must say the vibe was NIIIIICE. It reminded me of my trip to Chicago last year to see Frankie Beverly and Maze. It was a sea of all races in the audience. That is what made it even better. It is something about music that brings EVERYBODY together. It was a two day festival where we had acts such as, The O Jays, George Duke, Chaka Khan, Kem, Crisette Michele, Nancy Wilson et all. I went Saturday night where George Duke, George benson, Chaka Khan, and Wyclef performed.

Me and my friend had great seats by the way. Four rows away from the stage!!!!! I failed to mentioned I have a Sony Cybershot..which is way better than the Nikkon Coolpix I had. I could not take decent night picutres with my Nikkon for the world. But..the D-40 will make up for it. (C'mon tax return)

The legendary George Duke

The legendary George Benson. He was JAMMIN. When he played Breezin, Gimme The Night and Turn Your Love Around...OMG!!! Everyone was DANCIN'!!!! Either he didnt age a day of his life or....he's got one heck of make up artist. George..can you tell a sista how you keep your skin so smooth.....??..

The legendary Chaka Khan. Can you say standing ovation for ten minutes..!!..

my favorite picutre...I like I how I was able to catch a portion of her face on the big screen while her eyes were closed...she was singing Angel..from her new album

another favorite of mine

Wyclef!!! I must say he really got the crowd moving. He is definiatly a showman. He was climbing over seats, gaurd rails, he climbed up the scafolding and anything that was or wasnt nailed down. He is truly a musician. SERIOUSLY!! He mentioned his mom was in the audience and that he would not curse. And you know what..he held true to his word. Entertainer and Musican..that is Wyclef. Too bad the Fugees are'nt together.

...and of course the sea of people. Please believe the crowd goes past the light source in the back...

My next installment will be New Years in South Florida...(I know im backwards). This summer, Im really going to kick-off the summer experience with "Memorial Day-Best of the Best Reggae Concert".

The Beta Pi Reunion

Its been a long time..since I left you..without a good pic to step to LOL.


My bad folks. I have taken PLENTY of picutres since October. I just did'nt put them up yet :(. (Gimme a few more weeks, I will put up some more pictures)

A few weeks back, I was able to cover the "Phi Beta Sigma - Beta Pi Reunion" cook-off during the Florida Memorial University Homecoming festivites. Now, I am a FAMU Rattler to the heart but I still love my HBCUs (Historically Black College or University). I was able to attend last years events and had a great time. This year it rained. Rained it did. However, the weather did not stop this event from being well attended. I chose a few photos for special reasons:



It's something about black and white photos that bring out the meaning of the pictures. The first one shows the branding of the event and of course the hand-sign for the fraternity. The second photo is my favorite. It represents the Old School and New School of PBS.





It kept drizzling so these young ladies tried to stay dry...







I like to call this: The Soul of Sigma! :) If you ever get an opportunity to take picutres of REAL "old-school" members of BGLOs please do so!! I think a group of black men are the best to photograph. This may sound silly but, their faces tell a story. It also helped that they were in a very jovial mood before I cajoled them for a picture.

and of course the group shot of the "New School"

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!