I’ll be on the West Coast for the long Memorial Day weekend, which is packed with activities, food and outings with many of my boos and bros.  And just to let you know, I will mos def be dining at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in addition to hitting up several taco trucks!!!!!

Without a doubt, when I step off the plane at LAX today, I’m going to do a body roll so slow, mofos gonna think I stepped out of the Matrix in my church shoes.

If you’re in LA, holla at me, let’s meet up!

“He’s on his way, he’s goin to Hollywood. He’s bussin it to Hollywood. Show him the way, he’s movin’ to Hollywood.He’s hoppin it to Hollywood.” Chaka Khan – Hollywood…

Everybody knows that my favorite look includes tight cheap jeans, sports coat, neck accessory & fine church shoes….

And no, my bag is not from China Town…. I’m just saying.

A scene from Fashion Week, captured by Cousin Dee…. She really needs to get a damn blog or website or something….

So many things, people & events made my 2011 great. When I wrote everything out, it was hard to narrow down my list but here I am with what made my 2011 a positive experience. I’m looking forward to a brighter, bigger & badder 2012. Let’s do this together!

The Ted Williams Story – I was so inspired to see this man go from a homeless citizen to an internet & national sensation as someone who got a 2^nd chance. Then I was sent on an emotional rollercoaster as details of his life started to unravel. Overall, he seemed to get help for his substance problems and that’s GREAT…. And I always smile when I hear his Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercials. He truly does have a great voice.

I was saved from Hurricane Irene – Thanks to my good friends, Mary Brown, Sakina Spruell & Robert Ballatt, I had a safe place to stay after being evacuated evicted from my Manhattan hotel in the wake of Hurricane Irene. They ensured that I had transportation, a place to sleep, great company, food to eat & flowing conversation. I were VERY nervous & could not get a hotel to stay in to save my life and felt so thankful for having people reach out to me. It was truly awesome. And the thing about it is, if it was not for Twitter, I would not know Mary, Sakina or Robert. Social media ROCKS!

Hob Nobble Gobble – For the last few years, I have wanted to take my children to the Parade Company’s Hob Nobble Gobble event but them pricey tickets though…. This year, I was able to make this happen. I was able to get tickets for my momma, Amelia & my nephew, Tony. It was nice seeing the babies all dressed up & running around this massive family oriented carnival themed Black tie event. Amelia is still talking about it & that makes me smile.

Chicago Road Trip – Back in July, I took a road trip to Chicago with one of my good friends to see Osunlade perform with Tortured Soul at The Mid. The road trip part was a hot mess thanks to Mega Bus but the time in Chicago was nothing less than AWESOME. It was my 3^rd or 4^th time visiting Chicago but the 1^st time that I actually enjoyed myself & had fun. We ate good, met up with friends, ate good again & danced like no one was watching. At least I did. Then, there was that roof top lounge…

SHRM Annual Conference in Las Vegas – It was a conference, I was with my human resources friends, random strangers, stayed at a luxury hotel & that is all that I can say. Everything else is stayed in Vegas…

Working for The NYLA Report – Through my continued work with The NYLA Report, I was able to photograph at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week for the fall/winter & spring/summer shows. You know, I love my time in NYC so adding photography, fashion & friends to the mix takes the experience over the top!

Racial Profiling in The East Village – One night last February while out with my homie Jose Vilson, we were doing a bar crawl and stopped in this one spot where we were the only people of color. As soon as we got to the bar, the DJ played “Africa” by Toto. We both started singing it loudly then realized what was going on. It was such a mess but we owned it. Now every time I hear the song, that night is the only thing that flashes in my mind. Later that night, I had some of the best tater tots on this planet but that’s another story for another time.

The Sip & See – Everybody knows that a Sip & See is the best way to get friends together…. So I have one whenever I travel and throughout the year in Detroit. Some of the best Sip & See events were the End of Summer Sip & See (Detroit), Sip & NYSee (New York) & Sip & D-See (Washington DC). If you were there, then you already know!

The Moth Story Hour – I have been a fan of the Moth Story Hour from jump and always wanted to attend the Detroit events to tell a story but I could not bring myself to do it. Well, August proved to be a month of courage for me because I did it. I attended the Detroit Moth Story Hour and was able to tell a story based on food. I did not win the slam but I did come in 4^th place. When I left the stage, I felt so good. It was not like I had a fear but it is a different feeling to have a microphone, lights, stage & audience right there but I would so do it again.

The Foreign Exchange – I have been up on the Foreign Exchange for years & have always wanted to see them perform live in Detroit but every time they came to Detroit (twice before 2011), I was out of town. When I learned that they were going to be in town back in May, I locked the date on my calendar.  Not only was the concert kick ass, I was able to photograph it, while singing & dancing with my friends. It was a night for the record books!

NYC Analog Street Portrait Series – I made 3 trips to NYC in 2011 and was able to get some great images for my series! I have been happy to share the experiences here online but I was VERY happy to share the experiences with an audience when I presented at Pecha Kucha Night back in April in Detroit. I know this may sound strange but I felt like I was really breaking shit down like I knew what I was talking about.

America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – It was such a great opportunity to be the official photographer for the Parade Company’s America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. The event and job was so big & I was able to pull it off with my team of photographers. Truly something that I am proud of!

Air Canada – You may recall when I had that drama with Air Canada who wanted to use one of my photos for an ad but did not want to pay me for it & how the rep that I talked to disrespected me. While that mess pissed me off, it was still a great moment for me because I took a stand on two fronts; no free work while others profit  & I will not be disrespected; especially by someone asking me for help!

My STUNNA SHADES – Need I say more?

Just got home from Vegas & had a wonderful time. The SHRM 2011 annual conference was amazing. Staying at the Aria hotel was amazing. Enjoying new & old friends was amazing…. I could go on & on.

On a not so cool note, I never made it down to the Las Vegas sign like I had hoped. I packed my have ass tripod, and a bunch of other junk for nothing. And I really anted that picture but see, what had happened was…

Anyway, in the AM, I leave for DC for a super long weekend with friends. Looking forward to being back in DC; my home away from home. Hoping to have a few good meals, tons of laughs & kicking at my Sip & See, which is set for tomorrow evening.

I’ll be back next week and back into my photography groove.

I’ll holla!

This ceviche was prepared by me. I shopped for the fresh ingredients. I sliced that avocado to perfection. I styled the plate. I took the photograph. I ate the ceviche. I processed the photo. I posted to photo to Flickr so that I could share my recipe and image with friends and admirers.

This all took time, energy & most of all, $30 for a piece of red snapper. OK….

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Today, my pissedoffness with Air Canada Vacations has ended after having a discussion with their marketing director; Manon LeBlanc.

I actually left a voicemail for a call back this morning & was happy to get a response this afternoon.  Evidently, my web campaign to spread this hot mess was successful because this story was circulated by Air Canada’s PR department and beyond. Since yesterday the post has nearly 300 hits.

Yeah, I put it on blast here, my FB pages, Air Canada’s FB page, Flickr & Twitter. I’m happy that the post spread because I think it’s important for photographers who grind like I do in this craft to know that our work has value & we need to claim that!

Anyway, here is the rub… Manon apologized for Nick’s unprofessional attitude and response. She also informed me that he is a 17 year old college intern working an unpaid 2 week assignment.  Until Nick encountered me, he was used to getting the photos that he inquired about. I guess you could say that he was really feeling himself before he ran into me.

I’m cool with the apology & can somewhat process Nick’s behavior.

On the photographer piece, Manon mentioned that Air Canada Vacations has been successful in procuring images from Flickr users in the past at no cost while providing credit.  They have also encountered Flickr members such as myself who know the value of their work is worth more than a byline.  In these fuck you, pay me instances, Air Canada Vacations isn’t a position to pay for a photograph because they don’t have a photography budget. In fact, they have and will change the focus of their story(s) if imagery cannot be obtained for .free99.

I’m tripping on the fact that they are able to fill a 300 page publication with free images. I mean, it takes a real marketing pimp to snake charm a photographer with photo credit only as the company gets paid by clients/passengers booking trips in addition to advertising dollars that they get through the publication.

Seems like the sky is falling or some crazy mess because more often than not that companies, groups & individuals need imagery but have no budget.

During the conversation I stated that it MUST be known that just because a photo is posted on Flickr does not mean that it is some random snap shot. In fact many of the photographers on Flickr are professions, semi professions and highly skilled photo enthusiast.

I refuse to play a part in that game. The gas is too damn high!

Lessons learned:

• Sometimes you have to cuss a bitch out
• Standing your ground keeps you from being taken advantage of
• Social media is a wonderful platform to spread information rapidly
• I love telling people to “Google my name & do my resume.”
• I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit

Lastly, I am thankful for Air Canada Vacations reaching back out to me to smooth this out & I hope that Nick uses this interaction as a workplace learning example on how not to wild out.

And no, they did not buy the photo, offer me a free trip, but they did Google my name.

I CANNOT leave the house without ironing the hell out of my jeans.

When I saw this, I literally screamed out to Sweet White Jesus to swing low & carry me home! I just cannot handle the cooning that Tyler Perry dishes out.

Can someone take Madea’s gun & just shoot that bitch?

I mean, I respect his hustle but why even attempt to spoof my beloved Black Swan. This act by Tyler is more egregious than the hot mess that Jim Carey displayed on SNL a few weeks ago (which I loved).

I guess we all know that Tyler Perry cannot be checked by ANYONE… Thanks Oprah.

I saw these boots at New York Fashion Week last fall & I just had to have a pair. Actually, the thought of owning them haunted my soul, so to put the haunting to rest…. I had to turn to Zappos & some credit card cash back rewards for relief. 

I love these boots because they fit perfectly, the leather is super soft & they were MADE IN AMERICA.

Now I am resting easy and looking good while doing so. Who gone check me boo?

A few weeks ago, IMG announced the dates for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2011 and I got all excited like I won something.  You know me so you know I get excited over the smallest shit.

Even before the announcement, my peeps at The NYLA Report and I we teasing out the idea for making the trip to NY for fashions & fun times in frigid temperatures. After the dates came out, it was on. We just had to go back!

With that said, I booked my travel accommodations and blocked out my calendar!

Fast-forward to today (12/08/2010), registration opened. Oh shit! My heart skipped a beat. Shortly after it was opened, I got the confirmation that my application was submitted. Again, more excitement!

Then, like 4 hours later, it that, I got the messages stating that I was approved along with the rest of the NYLA team.

The funny thing is that the turn around time was super quick compared to when we applied for spring/summer last fall when it took damn near a month to get confirmation. We all sat around waiting on pins and needles.

I guess they Googled our names and did our resumes this time!

Next, we wait for the show schedules to be announced, which I’m expecting sometime mid January.

I’m more excited about making my 2nd trip to fashion week vs my first because I will have some experience under my belt, can navigate better and cuss a mofo out without hesitation.

With all that I learned last season, I’m certainly going to be bigger, better and much faster!

In a previous post, I bitched about botching a roll of film back in September when I was in NYC for fashion week.  One of my biggest heartaches from that jacked roll was the shots that I got of Kelly Rowland as she made her way out of Lincoln Center.

The other day, I decided to revisit that roll to see if my feelings changed on any of the images.

I rediscovered the image above and the strange thing is that I now love it for everything that it is not; properly exposed & totally out of focus.

I love it because you can feel the eye contact, playful smile, and beautiful skin through the missed focus.

Not my usual offering but sometimes different is good even when it’s all accidental.

Love it or hate it, Detroit will never die although she looks like she is. And yeah, the title of this post may be a little harsh.

On a recent trip to Detroit for a photo assignment, I drove through my old neighborhood. The neighborhood that I lived in when I first moved to Detroit from Birmingham, Ala way back when.

As I was driving, I was devastated by what I saw. BLIGHT> DECAYED BUILDINGS> AIMLESS SOULS WALKING> MISSING BUSINESSES> BURNT OUT SHELTERS> MORE CHURCHES THAN I COULD COUNT>>>

At one point, I felt like I was in a Spike Lee movie scene where the people are not moving but everything around them is. You know what I mean right?

It was heartbreaking! It really was.

The place that I had fond memories of now looks like war torn Kosovo on a good day.

When I got to my assignment, I just sat in my car for a few minutes thinking about what I saw & didn’t.  I posted somewhere that I shed a single tear and I really did.

On a similar note, my BFF was recently in town & he ventured through the neighborhood that we experienced our formative years.

Afterward we talked and the only thing that we could say was what happened.

There are parts of Detroit that are great, some that are becoming great again, and many seem to be forgotten.  The forgotten areas are what I find heart breaking.

How can you want to gain “world class” city status when so much is out of an urban nightmare, the one that no one likes to talk about?

I’m just saying as a son of the city that I love to hate…

Sigh!

It was time to re-up on some new business cards & I guess the timing was right because my preferred printer has a major sale going on. 1000 cards for 30 bucks!

Needless to say I will be passing these babies out left & right!

I was torn on what images to use on the cards but I decided to go with two of my favorite portraits taken last year. The two images seem to be some of my go to images when I need to have some work printed for promo.

The image on the left is of Channing Pierce who is currently Miss Michigan USA 2011. The image on the right is Universal Motown Recording artist, Suai Kee.

Business expenses never die!

And you, check out Suai’s new video!