Last week, while on vacay in NYC I had the awesome opportunity to photograph Janella. What made it awesome was that she’s a great person & it was her birthday, working on the Brooklyn Bridge & then getting a mini tour of Brooklyn during the course of the shoot.

I told Suite Suzy that working with Janella was the best shoot I had all summer. It was totally easy going, not too hot & we laughed all the way through it.  I cannot work & be serious without laughter!

Janella is totally a Brooklyn girl & describes herself as an intense but free-spirited workaholic (a union representative who LOVES her career).  She also says that she is a bit much (but she’s cool with that). She’s happy,  loves to laugh, and makes the effort to be a good friend to really good people.

I say that, she’s just all that!

Since Janella is all things Brooklyn, she wanted to incorporate her city in the shoot, so the Brooklyn Bridge seemed like a natural location choice.

My one concern was that people would be all over the place on the bridge but that was far from the case. People that walked past cleared the way & even complimented my model. That was pretty cool.

This may sound crazy but I really felt like I knew what I was doing when we were on the bridge. I was in a very nice zone!

After we wrapped at the BB, we headed to the Brooklyn Museum, which is MASSIVE! Outside of the museum are some great backdrop features that could yield some very diverse images. Shit, it was almost like being in a candy store.

Oh, I have to mention that Janella & I both had assistants on the shoot. Olivia was my right hand woman working the reflector, swapping out lenses for me & making sure I had water.  Janella was assisted by out mutual GREAT friend Renea! Without Renea, my last two shoots in NYC would have not been positive.

Renea certainly helped Janella throughout the shoot but moreover she was the on-set comedienne. Her impersonations are totally classic. At one point, she gave me a brain freeze laughing at her Iman voice impersonation. That shit needs to be recorded!!!!

Anyway, as we got ready to wrap, we stumbled upon a reflection pool at the museum & my imagination got a little wild.  Before you know it, Janella was in the middle of the pool & from there, my favorite shot of the day was born.

It was a well spent & productive 3 hours!

Post shoot, Olivia & I met up with the rest of the family & had a great lunch at Junior’s where I had a corned beef & pastrami sandwich. Yes!!! I ate beef & it was damn good!

If I ever want to laugh my ass off when talking to my momma, al I have to o is ask her about her childhood hood & figs.

I called her last week after I picked up a few figs last week & asked if she wanted some & she just went off. It was hilarious.

She was like you know I don’t fuck with no figs. I hate them bitches!!!! I am not making this up. You see, my momma & I are almost one in the same when it comes to cussing & talking all kinds of shit. I love her for that.

When we talk, its nothing but laughs unless when we are talking about my sister & how she owes me all kinds of money. That bitch! OK, wait, let me calm down.

Anyway, so in my home, only Sweet Boo Boo & I enjoy figs & we set these off with the quickness. They were great!

Well, I didn’t win for the best photo blog in the 2010 Black Weblog Awards but I’m OK & have been taken off suicide watch.

While my news was not great, so many of my friends were winners & that makes me super excited for them!!!

Go – Mostbeautifullest, What Would Thembi Do?, Kiss My Black Ads, Afrobella, SoulBounce, Friday Favecast, & The Gentlemen’s Standard! You all rock out with your cocks out!

All in all, it was a pleasure just being nominated (I’ve always wanted to say that).

With this said, I would like to thank all of you who held & continue to hold me down with support & guidance. Next year? Maybe!

My weekend road trip to NYC was much better than I had hoped or expected. We had very few concrete plans & yet everything came together perfectly!!!

I was able to enjoy happy hour at one of my favorite watering holes in the village with a friend, had tons of delicious meals, did a little people watching at Coney Island while getting broke paying for kids rides, randomly met 2 social media contacts in person, I got to dance at the Brooklyn Loves Michael Jackson party in Prospect Park, set off an awesome photo shot in Brooklyn & I picked up macarons from MacarOn Café. PERFECT, PERFECT PERFECT!

The trip had several highlights but I think was the Brooklyn Loves Michael Jackson party, which was hosted & organized by Spike Lee. It was nothing less than epic!

Over the course of 6 hours, attendees were treated to MJ impersonators, surprise guests like Snoop Dogg & kick ass dancers. What a great way to spend a day in Prospect Park!

Then I had a GREAT photo shoot (images coming soon) around Brooklyn with an awesome Virgo. I’ll spill the beans in a later post but I will say that your boy put in some work!

Next up:

- Fashion week is 9 days away & I’m like whoa! My mind says that I’m ready but it doesn’t feel like it.

- Classes start next week also & I have not registered. I think I will take two classes but one class sounds so much better. I need to hurry up & finish! Blah!

- Today is the last day to vote in the Black Weblog Awards. Please vote for Tafari’s Mindspill for best photo blog! Help me make this happen! >>> http://tinyurl.com/292zw38 AND YOU CAN VOTE MORE THAN ONCE!

Be sure to also check out & vote for some of my favorites peeps & reads!

• Afrobella
• Black and Married with Kids
• Friday Favecast
• The Gentlemen’s Standard
• Kiss My Black Ads
• Mostbeautifullist
• SoulBounce
• What Would Thembi Do?
• Womanist Musings

- In 19 short days, I officially enter my late 30s.

In NYC for the weekend on a little get-a-way. Not many plans but I will be spending a lot of time in Brooklyn this trip.

Right now, I have a 2-location photo shoot in Brooklyn, spending afternoon at Coney Island & chilling at Spike Lee’s “Brooklyn Loves Michael Jackson” party.

Before I part for the road trip home, I will be making a stop at the Macaron Café for a dozen of macarons. I cannot wait for that!!!!

If you see me on the streets NYC, holla at me!

This morning I woke up with Biggie on my mind.

“It was all a dream
I used to read Word Up magazine
Salt’n'Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine
Hangin’ pictures on my wall
Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl…”

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Yesterday, my evening was a little intense after I found out that The NYLA Report’s team was accepted into a major show at Fashion Week. I guess you could say that I was at the point of excitement where you really can’t concentrate.

Then I got caught up in a bunch of text messages, emails, chats & phone calls from all over the place which kinda exacerbated where I was in terms of being able to focus.

Things only got worse when I received this email:

“CONGRATULATIONS!

We are happy to inform you that your application for Press and Industry

Accreditation for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York has been approved.

A schedule of shows will be posted on the event website once it is available. Details on picking up credentials, policy changes, updates and other information will be provided in subsequent emails.

Thanks again for your support of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.”

The text messages & phones calls just put me in a tale spin, then I took to FB & Twitter & poured a few drinks. I was truly a mess in all of the right ways.

I’ve been talking about this for a while, so you know that I am beyond being excited!!!!

A few years ago, this whole process was just a thought, a dream even; today it’s happening & it feels like a dream. Just two weeks from now, I’ll be done with my 1st day @ NYFW. WOW!!!!

Now, I ask the question; Who gone check me boo?

So I’m at an event tonight where my friend Shades is being recognized for a piece of public art he designed is being unveiled.

While he was posing for a photo, I was looking at the photographer snap her shot. When she was done taking the photo, she turned to me and asked if I had “camera envy.” I smiled and said yes.

That bitch was shooting with a Nikon D200 with a kit lens on it. Yeah I’ll be envious of that old janky shit if you want me to be.

She really had it twisted!

Yesterday, I stopped in the local farmer’s market to get a few things when I spotted some of the largest watermelons that I have ever seen. I mean they were HUGE. So huge that I called Suite Suzy & asked if she want me to get one.

Funny story is that I am not an lover of watermelon. In fact, I hate it!

What kind of Negro am I you ask?.?.?

I’m the type of Negro that likes no melon. None at all. You can have your watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew, honey rock & anything else.

Even with my hatred of all things melon, I love watermelon candies, & I love the smell of a fresh watermelon being cut. The smell reminds me of Alabama; my home state.

The smell of cantaloupe makes me throw up in my mouth! I have also banned cantaloupe from my home because of the smell.

Unfortunately, Suite Suzy & the kids love cantaloupe but they only eat it when I’m not home.

So anyway, I get this huge watermelon home & the family goes crazy like I brought home lottery winnings. That bitch had to be at least 15 pounds or more.

One thing I wanted to do was to take a picture of me eating the watermelon kinda like this but I decided not to. I feared that the photo would wind up on Hot Ghetto Mess or worse.

So I decided on something a little classier if you will; a watermelon styled as a delicious dish.

With all this said, I present you with watermelon balls drizzled with fresh lime juice & mint.

Myths:

• All Black people LOVE watermelon
• Fried chicken takes a back seat at a at a Black family reunion when watermelon is available

Facts:

• Historians say watermelons first grew in the middle of the Kalahari Desert (that’s on the continent of Africa if your dumb not in the know)
• Watermelon is actually a vegetable and not a fruit
• The watermelon was brought into America across the Atlantic oceans by African slaves

With just 19 days left to go, my plan is officially in motion that now that my travel is officially booked for New York Fashion Week.

No, I have not got my official credentials as of yet but like I said before, I’m gonna make this happen one way or the other.

My friend Asia Willis of the NYLA Report joked that waiting for IMG to confirm press credentials is like waiting for a college acceptance letter & that nobody wants a reject letter. I responded by saying that waiting for IMG is like waiting to hear Maury say “You are NOT the father!!!”

Anyway, I’m still pretty nervous all as a newbie but I got even more nervous yesterday after running into fashion photographer Piper Carter who shared some great stories.

In addition to some fascinating stories from Piper’s experience as a Fashion Week photographer with Vogue & various blogs, she gave me some great quick pointers & lens suggestions.

Looks like I need to pick up a Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 (rental of course) OUCH!!!

On a funny note, Piper asked me if I’d have an assistant while work. I told her no, she then looked at me with this wild look & did this funny body move & was like Hmmm, good luck on that…. Oh shit. After this season, Ill have personal knowledge & see how far I can go it alone.

In general, I will need to get my aggressive Detroiter skills in full effect just incase I have to check someone that TRIES to check me.

I hate having to be aggressive while working but you gotta do what you have to do to get the shot….

Remember back in the 80 & 90s when videos were hot because they were just hot, not because they were blinged out.

I think I’m way too old to look at videos now but I love me some videos from back in my young days.

I tried sangria on my 2nd trip to Barcelona, SP many, many years ago (98′).

I was on a 3-day layover and hanging with my fellow flight attendant buddies, Nitza Rodriguez, Gladys Montisenos & Jorge Carballo who was our self-appointed city tour guide.

On this one particular day, we did a little shopping, people watching & tons of tapas eating. It was perfect! As the sun began to set, Jorge found a little restaurant for us to have dinner.

The restaurant was quite small yet charming & I remember all of the marinating octopi & squid in this case & dangling lights hanging from the ceiling.

Jorge, Nitza & Gladys all had paella & I recall it smelling & looking WONDERFUL but since I cannot eat shell fish, I settled on a chicken dish. The chicken was pan-fried in olive oil with garlic & I swear to this day that it was the best chicken I ever had.

Most importantly, Jorge ordered a pitcher of sangria. When it came to the table, I asked what it was (I was young & not as international & sexy as I am now). When Jorge explained, I was like sure, pour me a glass up.

Well, several glasses later I remember us getting in a cab & me waking up in my hotel room with no sheets on the bed.

After that night out dining, laughing etc, I was hooked on sangria!

Sangria goes with any meal if you ask me but it’s PERFECT on hot summer evenings when enjoyed with friends.

My recipe is fail-safe & certainly a crowd pleaser. If you try it, I hope that you will enjoy.

Ingredients:
- 3 bottles of red wine (Doesn’t need to be super expensive. I used a mix of Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- ½ cup Cherry brandy
- ½ cup Grand Marnier
- 2 Apples sliced (granny smith & pink ladies are perfect)
- 1 Orange sliced (I prefer navel)
- 1 Star fruit sliced
- 1 Lemon sliced
- 1 cup Strawberries

The Jump Off:
- In a large pitcher, mix your liquids & sugar until the sugar is dissolved
- Mix in all of your fruit & refrigerate over night.
- Before serving, your sangria give it a good stir then enjoy glass after glass.

Factoid:
Sangria was introduced to America at the 1964 World’s Fair in Ney York City.

This evening I worked an event for the Woodward Avenue Action Association where they celebrated a new Tribute light feature on Woodward Ave in Pontiac.

This newest Tribute light feature is the 2nd on Woodward Ave with the 1st being in Ferndale.  If planning goes well, we will see a 3rd in Detroit next spring.

If you’re not from the Detroit area, Woodward is a significant stretch of roadway because it is thriving as the premier business, creative, cultural, recreational destination in metro-Detroit. Woodward has been recognized as a Michigan Heritage Route and National Scenic Byway & it’s considered as Michigan’s “main street” as it travels along 27 miles through 11 communities.

The timing of the event was perfect because there is TONS of traffic up & down Woodward Ave as people gear up for the Woodward Dream Cruise. Classic cars were all over the place.

Even at the Tribute event, there were several classic Pontiac cars that were built in the city.

So after the event was over, I decided to head to Sonic for a slush & fries & got caught up in all of the madness along Woodward. The traffic was basically bumper-to-bumper for miles on end. People were our looking at the cars, the cars were creeping along slowly as the drivers were flossing the muscle cars, candy coated paint jobs, fat tires & white wall.

It was really a stimulating spectacle.

At one point, I noticed a banana yellow car parked in a light & I basically broke my neck to get over to it.

It was a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air & it was PERFECT & so bright. The interior was even more impressive as it was totally new.

After I finished taking snapshots, I jumped on the road & wondered why cars have no imagination anymore.

Will anything we’re driving now be exciting to see in 50 years? I don’t thinks so but then again, I’m no car enthusiast.