I’ve known Keturah aKa Dr. Jeffries since my high school days. If you know me then you know that it’s been a long time. A LONG time.

Now that I’ve dated myself…..

Photographing Keturah and Ray was a pleasure as we made our way around the Cranbook House & Gardens laughing while trying to keep cool.  Sometimes I wonder if I should be having as much fun as I do on my assignments like I do.  I guess it’s a sign that I really enjoy what I do even when working with a banging headache.

Keturah & Ray’s sweet baby girl Riley will be here in a few weeks & they are so ready to love her. It was evident.

Driving away from the session, I thought to myself that Riley will be one spoiled little girl & lucky to have a doctor in the house. How awesome & Huxtable is that?!?!

You can see more from my session with Keturah & Ray here.

On my recent trip to NYC, thanks to a friends referral (THANKS Renea!!!!), I was able to pick up NY area actor Christine America as head shot client. Love my friends!!!

Christine & I talked maybe twice before actually meeting & we clicked. I love when that happens!

We settled on meeting at Battery Park, which was pretty interesting. I say interesting because I showed up maybe about 30 minutes early & actually just sat at a bench & watched the tourist be tourist.

It was quite seeing people be so excited about the city, taking pictures & boarding tour buses etc. I guess because I love watching people I found it more amusing than maybe I should have.

So, during my session with Christine, all I did was laugh & sweat. She’s quite the comedienne & it was soooooo hot out.

I teased Christine for having a ready-made electric smile & she kept bringing it making my job smooth. Going through Christine’s images was a joy, because I just saw so much to work with & that smile was popping.

It will be great if she can attract some acting work with this fresh batch of head shots!!! My last headshot client has been hot ever since I did her head shots. She actually landed a VERY nice role in a movie staring Gerard Butler where she has some hot & heavy scenes with him.

Anyway, I’ll be back in NYC in a month & I’m hoping to pick up more business. I just don’t know how to go on vacation without incorporating a little work to balance out my fun times.

Looking forward to my lovers road trip get-a-way this weekend to celebrate my 11th wedding anniversary along with BFB & The Good Dr. Long, who will be celebrating their 2nd wedding anniversary.

During the trip, we are doing nothing specific so I’m hoping for tons of random goodness.

I know one thing, Suite Suzy & I are looking forward for adult time together! Kids are a challenge in the summer time & its certainly time for a break from these crumb snatchers.

While in NYC, I plan on photographing elements the city in 36 frames with my Mamiya/Sekor 500DTL camera. My theme is somewhat determined but I will see how it flows once I get on the ground running. Stay tuned!

On another photography note: I have a scheduled photo shoot with a NYC actress, which should be pretty cool. From our initial conversation, I know that she will be quite fun to work with. Get money!

I know I said I was gonna be on a lovers road trip get-a-way but a brotha has to make some cash!

Photo history:
Taken with my old iPhone 3Gs on top of Rockefeller Center, processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Remember little Kellen? Well, he recently turned one.

In Korean culture, the one year birthday or “Tol” is historically very significant.

Way back when, due to Korea’s climate, and many childhood illnesses, childhood mortality was extremely high. Many children unfortunately died within their first year of birth.

After the age of one, the survival rate improved, which made this a significant moment for the child & their family.

Tol has two meanings in Korean. The most common meaning is a child’s first birthday. It can also be used as a generic description for birthdays: Chut-tol (first birthday), Du-tol (second birthday), Seo-tol (third birthday), etc.

According to my favorite online source; Wikipedia, A boy would traditionally wear: pink or striped jogori (jacket) with puple or gray paji (pants), striped durumagi (long jacket), a blue vest printed with a gold or silver pattern or a striped magoja (jacket), a jonbok (long blue vest) with a gold or silver pattern, bokgun (black hat with a long tail), and a tarae-busun (traditional socks).

And as you can see, Kellen was a #1 Stunna!

Thanks Brandon & Kathleen for trusting me helping you to preserve Kellen’s special moments!

You can see a few more images from my session with Kellen here.

Bravo Bravo is THE hottest annual [charity] event in Detroit hands down.  I love working Bravo Bravo because you get the best of all worlds; beautiful people, good food & non-stop exotic libations. Did I mention non-stop exotic libations?

This year’s Bravo Bravo theme was “Destination Fashion & I partnered with Asia Willis of The Nyla Report & Margarita Barry of I Am Young Detroit, to capture some of the hottest looks rocking in the halls of the Detroit Opera House.

I wonder if I can get Asia & Margarita to do a hot mess of Bravo Bravo next year. The hot mess that you see is so fascinating. Like very fascinating!

Anyway, check out The Nyla Report for this year’s hotness.

When Monica Blaire is on stage, you are always in for a soulfully energetic show & last night at Bravo Bravo was no exception.

After Monica’s performance, we talked briefly & she said they weren’t ready. I laughed because no one is ready for Monica because she brings it hard & different every time!

I love watching her grow as an artist & performer. She is really making shit happen & represents the Detroit creative scene very well.

If you are not following her on Twitter you should! Word on the street (Twitter street) is that she is about to drop a new mix tape. Cop that!

On amother Bravo Bravo note, stay tuned for a post that spotlights some of the hottest looks from one of Detroit BEST parties of the year.

Sometimes you just need a friend to listen and not really say anything.

This evening, I got a text from actor, client and friend Misty Mills letting me know that she landed a role in “Machine Gun Preacher,” which stars Gerard Butler!

The role she scored is quite surprising and I will not spill any details except to say that it involves a raunchy bathroom scene where Misty and Gerard…

Misty of course is very excited about this opportunity and attributes her recent surge in auditions to her headshots, which I did this spring.  I say it’s a combination of her awesome talent, personality AND kick ass headshots.

I love seeing my friends reach their goals big and small!

Go Misty!

In other good news, I got my Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens back from the repair shop today! Midwest Camera Repair is all about their business! They were able to get it back to me in less than a week, which is just in time for a wedding this weekend. So lucky to have a Nikon authorized service center near me!

While my baby was in for repairs, I rented a replacement lens from www.barrowlenses.com and I must say that they are kick ass! Competitive prices, wide range of products and 2 day business shipping is standard! If you’re in a pinch or want to try that lens that you’ve been lusting after, check them out for sure!

This morning I had the chance to meet little Madisyn Skye for a newborn shoot. Isn’t she precious?

Madisyn’s parents were the winners of one of my newborn photo sessions that I gave away last month.

Madisyn was a fun challenge to photo & I learned a few things from her like:

• When dealing with nude babies, keep plenty absorbent towels nearby
• Redos are not allowed
• The baby runs the show
• Keep your room as warm as possible

The sessions was planned for two hours but by the time it was over, it was three hours as I was on Madisyn’s schedule. It was all good & I enjoyed rocking her to sleep, which was totally not part of my deal ;)

I have to credit my photographer friends Kristen Caldwell & Maya Henderson for helping pull up the strength & nerve to a) offer this contest & b) actually pull it off. Thanks so much for the encouragement & creative ideas!

Over the next few days, I’ll be working on Madison’s photos & will post a few more so you can marvel at my amazing skills.

Accessories:

• Bracelet: Pier One Napkin holder (yes, it really is)
• Lace Baby Wrap: Springtree Road Handspun Yarn & Fiber

Black Magic: Her Hands
Black Magic: Her Smile
Black Magic: Her Skin
Black Magic: Her Being
Black Magic: Her Promise
Black Magic: Her Love

Art Credits:
2010 Tafari Stevenson-Howard
Muse: Tamara Rasberry

I met Danielle on Twitter (@vivrant_thang) many months ago & had the pleasure of hanging with her twice while in DC along with many other of my Twitter and blogging friends.

The next time I see Danielle, she will have a head filled with Sisterlocks, so I took this opportunity to photograph her in all of her Afroed glory.

So nice to see Black women embrace their naps!

And I’m officially considering this image as the beginning to my nappy hair photojournal!

Yesterday, I did something that I said I would never do again after my fiasco last year. The promise I made to myself was to never to venture downtown Detroit on opening day at Tiger Stadium.

Last year was the 1st time that I experienced the crazed madness of opening day & it was truly a mess! Drunken baseball fans every where, people (men & women) pissing in alley ways, women passed out in the streets, fights, vomiting & just about anything you can imagine.

I was so turned off hence the promise not to make that same mistake twice.

So how did I wind up breaking the promise to myself? I still don’t know. Maybe it was my intense need to have a cocktail or two to wind down my week of extreme highs & lows?

At any rate, I made my way downtown & was able to find a parking space right outside of the Centaur, my favorite watering hole, so I guess it was meant to be.

I walk up to the door & some bouncer type guy was like 10 bucks to get in. I’m like bitch I’m a regular, I’m not paying to get up in here to possible get vomited on my one or more these over indulged baseball fans.

OK so I’m in.

The place was packed like I’ve never seen before. Like way worse than when the Super Bowl was in Detroit.

So I meet a couple of friends that had been hanging out & we just watch the madness surrounding us. It was almost like observing a social experiment with hundreds of crazed drunken white folk. Nothing but laughs!

While I’m chilling I stumble into this group of young people who are like have a toast with us. I’m no! I don’t know you & I proceeded to walk away & they were like come on have a toast with us.

I gave in to get them off my case.

OK, fast-forward 45 minutes later… I pay my tab & I’m out the bar headed to a meeting when I spot this guy in his undies just chilling on the sidewalk. Turns out he was with the people that I did the toast with a bit earlier.

Then I notice that all of his friends were around. I egged him on to take it off so that I could take his picture & so did others on the street.

A minute or so later, I pop the lock to my car & get in to take off but before I do, the people that I did the toast with were opening my car doors & like climbing into my car. Eight people just like fucking randomly got into my five passenger vehicle. I’m like WTF is going on & why am I letting this happen.

I was like WTF are you guys doing…. Then they were like come hang with us. I’m like no, get out of my car please. Then they were like can you give us a ride to the Old Shillelagh. I reluctantly said yes. WTF was I thinking?

All the while I’m driving these eight people in my five-passenger vehicle, I’m hoping that I don’t get pulled over for a moving violation. Again, WTF was I thinking?

As a side note, during the drive I played Erykah Badu’s “Turn Me Away (Get Munny)” and my random passengers love it.

Anyway, four minutes later, we arrive at their final destination & my passengers start to file out of the car all while I block traffic & have a city bus blowing at me.

Before they took off, one of the girls was like “Tafari, give me your card.” I’m like shit but I get out of the car to give it to her then next thing I know I’m doing group hugs with my eight new random friends. And the city bus is still behind my car & the driver is looking pissed.

As I turned to get back into my car, the one girl pictured above gave me 20 bucks, hugged me & said thanks again.

Now I’m back in the car taking off before this damn bus rams my car. As I’m driving off I laugh, wonder WTF just happened and figuring that white people must simply love me.

In a matter of 3 short weeks it grew almost 3 feet in height. I was waiting for the day it said “feed me.”

As the flower started to get bigger & bigger, I became overly anxious to see one of the strangest flowers ever. You see voodoo lilies only bloom every other year or so (some bloom after 2 or three years, some even less frequent) & they smell like rotting meat & its VERY strong.

Barb had warned me that the smell would be raunchy, but I just was not ready for the true funk that came from the exotic beauty.

Fun Facts (I like fun facts):

- Voodoo lilies are pollinated by flies who are attracting by the stench
- Voodoo lily flower stalks arise from the bulbs and can quickly grow to 6 feet in about 2 weeks
- Voodoo lilies are cultivated, harvested, and processed as a food item in parts of southeastern Asia

If you interested in seeing a voodoo lilly bloom, check out this time-lapse video produced by the United States Botanical Garden.

While out & about last Saturday at Monahan’s Seafood Market searching for red snapper to make my ceviche, I ran into local photographer Lisa Monahan. Lisa noticed my camera & coincidentally, we saw that we had the same model.

As we talked, I also noticed that she was shooting with the Nikkor 10.5mm fish eye lens that I want and she eyed my 24-70mm, which she has an interest in. Not too soon afterward, we eagerly swapped lenses to play around a bit & boy do I want that lens. Will I be able to resist?

While we talked camera lenses, I made a connection. I have been seeing & admiring Lisa’s work around Ann Arbor & now here she is with me swapping lenses. How awesomely random.

So funny how I was out searching for fish & wound up talking shop & lenses with another camera happy artist.

Today I discovered Le Petit Zinc, a hidden restaurant in Detroit thanks to my good friend Tony. This now makes for two restaurants that I have discovered in Detroit this month.

I called Tony up for lunch after I was done with a photo assignment Sunday afternoon & we settled on meeting at Mudgie’s (recent favorite). I was looking forward to a great turkey sandwich, root beer & chips. Actually, I had been thinking about eating there for the past few days so I really needed to satisfy my appetite.

All of my food lusting came to a screeching halt when I pulled up to Mudgie’s & noticed that they were closed on Sunday’s. Why didn’t I call first?

With disappointment totally set in, Tony asked where to next & I said to somewhere where grease wasn’t on the menu. Tony then suggested going to Le Petit Zinc. I was like what? What’s that?

As it turns out, Le Petit Zinc is one of many new creperies popping up around Detroit & it was literally around the corner from Mudgie’s.

We enter the small & cozy dining area & I was struck by the lively & VERY French décor. The bright yellow walls, aroma of brewing coffee & scent of warm bread comforted me.

The menu was offerings were simply stated & reasonably priced making me want to try it all!

I ordered the “Jambon et Fromage” (ham & brie), which came with a small green salad flavored with a light but tasty oil & vinegar dressing. The crepe was filing & hit the right spot! The cost of $6.25 made it even better.

Good fresh non-greasy food @ reasonable prices is a major plus!

While I‘m totally digging Le Petit Zinc, Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes is my unmovable favorite creperie in Detroit.

I wonder what I will stumble upon next!?!?

Side Notes:
- I LOVE roosters. They are so cool
- I have always wanted to paint my kitchen yellow
- I ate my 1st crepe 8 years ago
- Tony knows where everything is