The other night, Suite Suzy was going through boxes of her old photos when she stumbled across some of her high school photos.

This was great for me because I hadn’t seen any of these particular photos in all of the time that we have been together (13 years).

Thumbing through the images inspired many good chuckles from the early 80’s fashions, wild mulatto girl hair, interesting eye brow arches & “sexy wanna be model” poses. It was a Suite Suzy that I’d never seen. And it was almost like unlocking a mystery. Not like she was keeping secrets but it was like a time capsule of sorts.

The photo above is from her 1984 high school senior portraits. I found this image to be so beautiful. And until I saw it, I never thought that out daughter Olivia favored Suzanne but this image makes them appear to be twins.

I asked Suite Suzy if I could hold on to the photo for a while & she obliged. The next morning I woke up, picked up the photo again & smiled at it.

Last night I was 1 of 5 featured photographers at the EXPOSURE.Detroit Photography Exhibit Opening & it was AWESOME!!!

The show lasted 3 hours & there was no one point when the room was not packed with fans, friends, admirers, photographers etc. I mean PACKED! Being that this was my first gallery styled show, I had no idea what to expect but I planned as much as I could. Luckily Suite Suzy was there to help keep me grounded because it was kinda crazy. Crazy but cool.

I was also happy that many of my friends made it out to the show to check out my work for the first time. I talk about my art loosely all the time but many have not seen it. It was nice getting their feedback & seeing the amazement on their faces as they viewed my work.

I displayed 9 of my favorite abstract macro pieces & they went over very well. Over the course of the evening, many commented on how sensual, colorful & unique my subject matter. I found it interesting though that so many talked about the sensuality of my presentation. One attendee stated that my piece “Wonderful Red Cliché” appeared to be two vaginas and this was before she purchased it. How awesome is that!?!

During the show, I was also able to connect with other photographers who inquired about my creative process, techniques that I use & I even gave some camera advice to some new photographers. That was pretty cool because I’m never really in a situation where I get t explain my work to others who know what I’m talking about.

After the event was over, Suite Suzy & I enjoyed a wonderful meal, then joined friends for drinks & laughs. Many of the laughs centered on some pretty unsavory topics. YES!!! I love unsavory topics.

The night was magical for many reason & I’m still on cloud nine from the love that I received from so many people.

One a funny note:
- I posted that I was wearing a beret to the opening on FB. When many of my friends showed up, they asked where my beret was. I had to explain that I couldn’t find neither my black or raspberry beret.

- Every time I gave someone a hug last night, they told me that my hair smelled of cloves. Everyone! Funny thing is that I didn’t have anything oils or other products in my hair. I’m still trying to figure out where the fragrance came from.

If you live in the Detroit area, you can see the photography exhibit through May 2010 at the Bean & Leaf Café located in Royal Oak, MI.

Over the Labor Day weekend, my best friend, road dog, & ace boom cool Cousin Dee got married to her long time boo Mato Allen (you know him as the “Yellow African”).

The wedding was months in the making & of course, I was slated to be the photographer to capture their special day in only a way that I can.

I would be lying if I said this was an easy wedding to work because it wasn’t! 1st of all there were 325 guests, we had 3 stops for post wedding/pre reception on location photos & African traditions that I was not accustomed to but had to capture. There was almost too any things going on for me to keep my mind right, so I’m very happy that I hired an assistant to help me keep it all together.

I tell you, it was a long 12 hour day but it was all worth it for my cousin.

Earlier this week, I joked that I had to watch “Coming to America” to get me prepared for this wedding & that was quite funny but it was so true. Mato’s family hails from Sierra Leone & they were thick up in that piece. My family & Verlisa’s friends probably made up 15-20% of the quests with everyone else from Mato’s side.

And let me tell you, they were sharb! Sharb as hell! Afro sharb! Yes I did say Sharbbbbbb. Very colorful dashikis, agbadas, head wraps, dresses & everything in between.

Knowing what to expect in terms of dress, I made it a point to find the sharbest agbada that I could & I got lucky at the last minute with a piece straight from Nigeria. Later in the evening, Cousin Dee joked that it was the 1st time that my African clothes actually fit in anywhere. I couldn’t do anything but laugh because she was so right.

Anyway, there are some other things I want to discuss about the wedding & the interaction of the cultures but now is not the time. I think I’m going to do a vlog about it after discussing it with a few of my friends about the stark cultural differences that I noticed.

Oh wait, here’s a link to a few preview photos from the big day.

I don’t know about you, but I think Father’s Day is everyday. I see my gifts every time I wake or at least when they want something & they always want something.

It’s hard to beleiev that I’ve been responsible for someone else’s life for 11 years. Its definitely been a journey & worth will. I’m looking forward to making this same statement 11 years from now & beyond.

Happy Father’s Day to all the men out there holding it down & taking care of business. And an extra special shout out to the moms out there playing tow roles to make things happen.

My next few weeks are going to be kinda intense with activity but I have my mind right for the challenges.

Some of the major things I have going on include the end of the spring semester, which ends next week. In the meantime, I have 2 projects due & my final exam by next Friday.

At this point, I have a 95% in the class & I’m hoping that I kick ass on the final so that I pull this A. I must show & prove!

Then we have a trip planned to visit NYC in a few weeks for a mini vacay. I’m looking forward to getting back on the eat coast. We plan on doing some museums & spending an entire day in Central Park doing nothing at all but living. Making this trip extra special is the fact that we are driving.

Yeah, I know it sounds intense but the drive to NY from MI is beautiful & very scenic. I plan on having a great 10 hour trek packed with good music & filthy rest stops.

And in the midst of all of this is my planning of me being at the 50th Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. I have tons of prints to pull together, matting to be cut, the coffee table books to assemble & all sorts of other little details. BTW, the fair is jumping off July 15-18th, I would love to see you, especially if you are coming to buy! :)

I plan on displaying some rather large dramatic pieces that I hope I do not wind up taking home when it is all said & done. My fingers are crossed!

Speaking of art, I also submitted a 20×30 piece to the University of Michigan Health System Employee Art Exhibition, which opens next week.

This show should be pretty interesting & I have to start a marketing campaign to get people to vote on my piece because I would love to win best in show for photography. Here is a link to the piece that will be on display.

Oh and speaking of art & me being on the grind; 2 weeks ago, I got the following message;

“Hi Tafari,

Wow! You’ve really caught Getty Images’ eye!

The Getty Images peeps selected another 10 of your photos for possible sale on the Getty Images web site.”

I was so geeked that I peed on myself a little bit. Anyway 9 of the 10 images are now on sale & I’m waiting for one last model release from my friend Yvette. This one will be hard to get because she is in Germany & I cannot get in touch. By the time I get this last image submitted, I will have a total of 15 creative photographs added to the Getty Images Flickr Collection. Go me!

And ‘m looking forward to getting my Getty royalty statement at the end of the week & so hoping that I had some sales. My fingers are so crossed!

Wanna here some funny shit? Today I got an email from “enRoute magazine (Air Canada’s in-flight magazine)” requesting use of one of my photos for the publication. The request stated that if I let them use the image, they would give me credit & send me a couple copies of the mag when it goes live.

I responded back by saying that I was flattered that they wanted to use my image, then mentioned that my licensing fee was $465.00. I never heard back.

1st of all, I don’t need credit in a magazine, I need cash in my mutha fucking hand! That credit ain’t gone do nothing for me feeding a family of 5. Sorry boo!

On a final note, I hope to bring some more on the grind soon! I’m hoping to secure media credentials for Zap Mama’s show happening in Ann Arbor next week courtesy of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, which happens to be on the last day of class. Here’s to hoping that the stars align the way that I need to them to.

Suite Suzy has been my baby’s momma for 11 years now & when I think about that time, I’m taken aback. The time has really flown by & our 1st daughter Olivia is growing faster than a weed. Damn, I cannot believe that she will be in the 6th grade this year. Whoa!!!

Within the last 11 years, Suite Suzy has had a near death experience giving birth to the 12 pound Olivia (vaginally), taken on the shared responsibility of raising my little sister Sade since the death of our father years ago & most recently brought our little demon seed joy Amelia into the world.

The journey with our children has been an interesting one & Suite Suzy has been a great captain keeping things together as only a mother can.

I think if I were one of my kids, I would feel very lucky to have a mother like Suite Suzy because she really is great. While I’m pretty restrictive, Suite Suzy reins me in with a voice of reason, even when she bites her hand in a fit of Suzy rage.

Anyway, although Suite Suzy is not my mom, if I don’t get her a gift for Mother’s Day, my ass is GRASS! Every year is a challenge because I try to get something that I know she will cherish & put her in the mood to break me off a piece.

This year, I decided on jewelry. Not just any jewelry, but something custom & quality.

With my mind made, it was easy to get my thoughts translated into reality by contacting my girl the ultra talented & creative metalsmithing DIVA Tamra Gentry.

Tamra always has some out of the box designs she pumping out in her home workshop. Whenever she posts images of her work on Flickr I’m always like damn, your really made that. The woman is bad.

Suite Suzy’s Mother’s Day gift is actually going to be her second piece from Tamra’s creative mind. A few months ago, I surprised my boo with a pair of sterling silver rams horn hoop earrings that she loves. I’m thinking that I should get my money right, so that I can get another piece for her as our 10 wedding anniversary is just a few short months away. Hmmmmm!!!!!

So this is what Suite Suzy will actually be receiving. It’s a handmade sterling silver chain with a sterling/copper mokume gane sphere.

I think I will give it to her over dinner. Well maybe not, I don’t want her getting grease on it from the 8 piece Popeye’s meal that we’ll be enjoying (NOT).

BTW, Im totally proud of the kick ass gift wrapping that I did and Im also wondering when I should start lobbying for Father’s Day.

Yesterday was my Mommies birthday. Mommie is my mother’s mom and the person that I attribute my creative vision to. Mommie was a true artist and no one to fuck with! She encouraged me to be me no matter what I became. She also always told me that the most important things in life are an education & culture.

When I was a teen, she would always tell me how cultured I was in this funny English accent voice she used to do. It was always quite funny.

Mommie was an unconventional grandmother but her love was always there, even between beatings & getting cussed out for causing a mess in her home.

Mommie died 11 years ago & I still miss her so. When I’m involved in situations, I often wonder what she would say or do. I miss her so much that words could not express it. The only why that I could possibly express my feelings would be through a heavy tear filled with the best memories that a grandson could offer.

Cousin Dee and I often talk about Mommie & recount funny stories. Even more funny, we say things they way she would & in her voice.

But I don’t think anyone misses Mommie more than my sister Baby. She went out and got tattoo with Mommies name on her hand & it’s big. She’s so damn hood.

Factoid: Mommies favorite word was nigga (hmmmmm) & she used it in it seems like every sentence no matter who she was talking to.

The evening, for me at least started off very rocky to the point that I was ready to go home & this was even before I hooked up with Cousin Dee.

See, I planned to go to the Centaur for drinks alone to get my head right before the gathering. So when I got to the Centaur, I saw that it was packed with baseball fans from the Detroit Tiger’s opening day game.

I mean it was so packed that I could not get in the door. And even if I could get through the door, I was just not mentally capable to handle being surrounded by that many drunk sports fans. Anything could have jumped off, especially being one of few Negroes in the spot.

So I left, met up with a friend & went to a spot far removed from downtown Detroit. Just to illustrate the madness that I encountered, here are a few of my Tweets:

“Drunk baseball fans have taken over down town Detroit. This is not cool!!!
5:51 PM Apr 10th

I’ve seem 3 white woman passed out so far on the streets as I hunt for parking. Do U need to drink that much at a baseball game to have fun?
5:57 PM Apr 10th

Downtown is looking like a mistake right now.
5:58 PM Apr 10th

Leaving downtown, drunk fans are making this a dangerous situation. #goddmuthafuckingdanm!!!
6:11 PM Apr 10th

Right now downtown Detroit smells like stale beer, Dinty Moore beef stew, with a light hint of vomit & piss.
6:13 PM Apr 10th”

Fast forward a few hours, I made my way out of Detroit to attend Alphonso Cox’s art show in Royal Oak (his work is very hot!) & back to downtown Detroit for Cousin Dee’s birthday jump off.

So its now 9pm & Cousin Dee calls me to tell me that the plans & venue changed because of a mix up with reservations. She decided to move the party to Eclipz Lounge in the Greek Town casino. At this point, I was hungry & when I got to the lounge, I called Cousin Dee to find out where she was. She was like we are eating. Eating at the restaurant that we were all supposed to meet at but she canceled.!.!. I was like WTF!!! WTMF!!!

Then she was like we are almost done & we’ll be at the lounge in 20 minutes.

So I was pissed, hungry & sitting in a very smoky lounge with bad music & service. It was a hot mutha fucking mess! And to make matters worse, that 20 minutes turned into almost an hour & some change. Here are a few Tweets that show how pissed off I was.

“Night is turning out to be a hot mess. At the Geeek Town Casino surrounded by smokers, drunks & slot machine losers. Should have went home!
9:29 PM Apr 10th

This lounge sucks, it’s not sexy & the DJ is a bitch. Gonna kick my cousins ass for having me up in this. Bygbaby is pissed the fuck off!
9:31 PM Apr 10th

I’ve been here for 10 minutes and have not been approached yet for a drink. Bad service! I’m not interested anyway. Just saying.
9:36 PM Apr 10th

I’m about to pull a hoe move & go home. I’ll have to celebrate my cousin’s b-day at another point with lunch. I wore my pink socks for nothing!
9:45 PM Apr 10th

I’m great at bitching and complaining. Especially when I wear my favorite pink socks for nothing!!!
9:48 PM Apr 10th”

So about the time that I did my last Tweet, I was getting ready to leave & that is when I ran into Cousin Em who was like why the fuck are you looking so sour. After I told her & her boo, she was like yeah, I hear you. As it turns out Cousin Dee gave her bad info too in terms of the plans also.

At this point, the baseball fans were all up in the lounge, drunk as ever, loud, dancing etc. It was just not sexy.

After I got my mind right Cousin Dee finally saunters in with her pimp switch, looking fucking great with her new bobbed sew in, tight red dress & black stilettos. I was like look at my cousin. I mean that mutha fucka was sharb (yes sharb with a long a) but I was still mad.

My attitude was bad & showing to the point that she cussed me out & told me that I was not going to fuck her b-day up, and was like get it together or leave. To all of this I said fuck you, buy me a drink bitch.

So again, after I got my mind right, I started to have a good time, no great time but this was all after I posted this to Twitter:

“Note to self: Tafari, you are too old & sophisticated for the club atmosphere. This situation is so passé.
10:53 PM Apr 10th”

Once I started to enjoy myself, the whole tone of the party changed big time. The change jumped off because Kid Rock walked up in the lounge.

I mean, people were all over his ass like white on rice. It was all very interesting to watch.

So next thing you know Kid Rock was chilling near our table while many of the other guest, including me started to take pictures with him. The Twitter piece:

“Kid Rock just walked in. Everyone is excited. Why????

11:42 PM Apr 10th

Just took picture with Kid Rock. He was on the musty side. But still nice. My man groupie moment is over.

11:52 PM Apr 10th”

Once all of the picture taking & groupie love was over, Kid Rock then asked if he could sit with us & we were like sure. As he sat with it talking shit, doing shots etc, you could see the obvious jealousy & disgust on the faces many of the lounge goers (mostly white). We all noticed that shit & we joked that they were mad because KR likes to hang with Negroes more. He chilled with us for a good hour.

It was almost surreal as the champagne & tequila flowed. The dancing, singing & back riding we did was just so crazy.

Truly it was awesome for Cousin Dee how the night was turning out. We really partied like rock stars with one. How crazy is that shit?

Fast Forwarding a bit; I danced my ass off, talked all kind of shit & thought to myself, can this night get any better or more interesting. Once I asked this question, that is when shit flipped & my buzz was over. This was the point that I noticed that my silver bracelet was missing. The same bracelet that I was afraid to tell Suite Suzy how much it costed.

When I saw that it was missing, I started to sound the alarm! I demanded that my friends help me find it. Shit I was crawling on the floor, digging between cushions & all kinda shit. Well all of my efforts were futile & the bracelet could not be found. At this point, I Tweeted:

“Just fell victim to the recession & thievery. My Sterling silver bracelet is missing. I can literally cry now. This night is not worth it!
about 23 hours ago

It’s interesting watching the party go on around me as I’m wondering who has my fucking bracelet. #stayathomenexttimebitch
about 23 hours ago

Yeah I know the party is jumping & my socks are pink but I want my damn bracelet back!!!! #ilovepinksocks
about 23 hours ago from

So fucking hurt now. I may cry all the way home!
about 23 hours ago

I somehow feel like I’ve been exploited. Don’t ask me to explain why. I could not even break it down. At least my drinks were free tonight.
about 23 hours ago”

My night ended on such a down note! Before I left the casino, I did file a report incase someone was actually honest enough to turn my beloved bracelet in.

After I filed the report I bounced & headed home. I called my boo to tell her what jumped off & she comforted me during my drive & by the time I got home, she had made me a little something to eat seeing that I was still really hungry.

As I was eating, I thought to myself about how spoiled I really am. I bitch a lot, always want my way & stop at nothing until I win. Truly a big baby. The I refected on the fact that I really am lucky to have all that I have & the bracelet was small potatoes. My family is healthy, we have a home, we have an income etc.

With that said, I crawled into bed & my boo held me until I fell asleep.

Fast forward one more gin’. Its now 10am Saturday & I get a call from the Greek Town. It was Agelita calling to tell me that my bracelet was turned in & that I can pick it up any time. I screamed thank you in her ear & told her that I loved her. After I got off the phone, I called Cousin Dee to share the news & she of course was happy & offered to pick it up for me.

I was so fucking happy! This put the cherry back on top of my Friday night. I later went to pick it up from her & we sat around laughing about everything that went wrong with the night & the many unexpected surprises that occurred.

A-fucking-mazing!

…:::I was tired when I wrote this, forgive me because it does go astray:::…

My Future:

Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about what my future professional life will be like. Will I be a photographer fulltime? Will I be the human resources professional that I’m studying for?

I have also been thinking about how I think & where my interests lay. I’m a very serious right-brain thinker with a somewhat crippled left-brain (but not really).

With said, a career in photography will meet all of my right-brain needs but for the business piece, I will need to pull out my left-brain power. If I go with a career in human resources, I think it will be a good marriage of left & right-brain skills that could keep me satisfied at the end of the day.

Recently I started talking to HR workers to get advice, direction, clues etc. And today after attending the Greater Detroit Area Human Resources Conference hosted by the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources I have a few more clues & contacts that will help me in the not so distant future.

One day, I hope to have an idea of what I want to be when I grow up figured out. I now think that asking kids what they want to be when they grow up is a dumb question. Especially if you run into a kid like me because I never knew.

I guess what I can say is that at least I am successful thus far, no matter who schizophrenic my hustle is.
———————————————————–
Pamper Me Bitch:

So today after the HR conference, I treated myself to a paraffin wax manicure at Fundamentals Spa in Ferndale, MI (one of the regions best Black-owned & operated spas).

The conference wrapped early so I have like 50 minutes to kill before my appointment. So I decided to stop at the Meagan Mitchell Salon to see my salon friends & to also check on my colorist Mary Vest Henderson, who just got back to work after being off for months following a broken wrist. (this is a perfect example of a run on sentence.)

My timing was actually perfect because Mary’s b-day was this week, so we had a little cake after singing happy birthday (I needed that snack). Then I winded up breaking out & doing an African dance. I tell you, things are always funny at Megan Mitchell’s.

Anyway, while we were chit chatting, Mary thanked me for referring some customers to her (this is when things got interesting). So after probing, I found out that the 2 new clients found Mary via my blog, some anonymous readers with locks.

I actually found this was exciting! I may be a fucked up writer who can’t proofread for shit but my points are made & my referrals are always on point (yes, they are).

Mary is my girl & I’m happy that she is satisfying color needs of my unknown readers. If I’m talking about you, show yourself dammit!

So back to my manicure: The manicure was the shit & my hands are back to their normal sexy man hands state, no more bitch length nails.

The staff at Fundamentals Spa really know how to treat a brother!

Side Note: Suite Suzy was like, you can get a manicure at one of the local Asian spots for cheap, but my thing is, I prefer to spend my money on quality products & services within my community. 15 extra bucks for something that makes me feel great & is really a reinvestment into my community is what I’m down with.
———————————————————–
Real Friends:

So after my man pamper time, I headed to meet with my girl Zana. We have not kicked it in weeks so we had lots to catch up on. Spending time with Zana is always great because she knows when to cuss me out, is genuine & just a beautiful person.

Zana is one of a handful of real friends that I have outside of my home. And you know real friends are hard to come by!

After Zana & I caught up, Cousin Dee & I set up a mini Thursday jump off at a Chucks Millionaire’s Club (a very hood bar on Detroit’s west side). Normally, we prefer a nice lounge or more upscale bar but we deviated for shits & giggles.

Flashback: The last time I was at Chucks it was like 1995 or 1996 & back then, I thought “hairy navels” were the bomb (yes, I have enjoyed bitch drinks for a while). And that last time I was there, I winded up kicking it with a stripped who was like 20 years older than me.

We shared a bottle of Don P & danced. During our little time together, she told me that she was a lesbian. She was telling me that she hates “dancing” but it was all she knew. She also shared that she was a lesbian because men repulsed her. It was a very interesting ironic.

I have never understood why people feel open with sharing their personal business with me. I guess it did not matter because she paid for the bottle.

Back to today: When Cousin Dee & I walked into Chuck’s, we were both surprised to be frisked like we were thugs (only in a Detroit hood bar). I actually was really turned off & was like, do I look like a thug? I mean; for real!

After that drama was over, we caught up, talked some shit, enjoyed some of the best chicken wings in the city & good service. Honestly speaking, Chuck’s always had great bar maids who are on top of their game.

While we were talking, I told CD about me being reincarnated as a Pisces with the body of an Alvin Ailey Dancer & said that I needed my hair & dick to remain the same as they are now. She then threw me off by asking if I would be circumcised in my next life & of course the answer was no!

I then cussed her out for asking me that, then she cussed me right back out for being the fool with a reincarnation requirements check list. Too funny. And yes, the coming back as a Pisces is total fun bullshit.

Cousin Dee & I always have a great time & it was a nice mini cousin date jump off.
———————————————————–
On The Road:

I will be in DC next week for the Cherry Blossom Festival & I’m really excited about it. I will be a quick road trip, arriving in town Thursday & leaving Sunday.

I have a few must do festival activities, like the photographers boat tour & a few photo walks/bike rides that will have me on the go. Then I found out today that there will my BFF will be hosting a BBQ & possible cocktail party (that I suggested). If the cocktail party jumps off, best believe I will be serving ginger lime martinis!

Hopefully there will be no hoe baths on this trip!
———————————————————–
School:

It’s kicking my ass & I have a month left in the semester. Nuff said!

Yesterday I anxiously waited to read the results of who was selected to participate as an artist for the 2009 Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. I had applied back in November 2008 so it was a long time waiting for the application process to close & finally the jury process.

Well yesterday, I never got any information after checking the website all day like every 20 minutes.

So today I constantly check the website & still got no answer on the website. Things changed while I was at lunch with my wife. I got an email from the selection committee notifying me that I had made the waitlist.

When I got back to my desk after lunch, I check the website & found that I was 46th on the waiting list, which is 75 people deep.

I’m very excited about this because:

a) I was not rejected

b) My work is more interesting than at least 29 other poor souls but slightly not as good as 45 others from across the country

c) My work was reviewed in 5 jury sessions by up to 4 people & this tells me that there is some respect for my work

d) If I get in, this will be a major ostrich feather in my cap

If I do not hear anything by June 21st in terms of my waitlist status, I will take myself out of the running. I do not want to get in at the last minute & have a disastrously stressful 3 sales event.

My fingers are crossed hoping for the best outcome.

Oh wait, there’s more; I need to tell you that my presentation at the 3rd Pecha Kucha Night in Detroit was awesome!

There were at least 400 artists & art enthusiasts in the audience. Suite Suzy could not make it because no one wanted to watch out 3 damn kids but my momma & Cousin Dee made it out which was awesome. I was also lucky enough to have Amber (Bam) Cabral show her face in the place and a new Twitter friend Kensington.

I have met some great people through all of this social networking.

BTW, here is a link to the images I presented at Pecha Kucha last night.

Anyway, the last 7 days have been packed with good news & opportunities for my photography career! I wonder what’s next??? My artist resume is really starting to take on a life of its own.

Many of you support me from your corner of the world & I really appreciate all of your encouragement as I haphazardly guide myself through my photographic journey.