Imagination Is The Beginning Of Creation. You Imagine What You Desire, You Will What You Imagine, And At Last You Create What You Will - George Bernard Shaw

Thought I would share some of my photography with you today - And since we are on the subject of photography, here are a few of my favorite photography resources! I will be working on updating the site with a resources section soon which will include more info on Photography and other topics of interest. 

I also want to thank everyone out there for the overwhelming amount of love and support you have shown from day one. The sisterhood and positive support has been tremendous, and I am very grateful for it all! A big shout out to some of my male readers out there, thanks guys for support as well! 

 

Blogs/Websites:

Strobist

Photo.Net

The Photo Forum

Books:                                                                                                                                                        

Understanding Exposure, How To Shoot Great Photographs With A Film Or Digital Camera 

Learning To See Creatively

Adobe Photoshop CS3 For Photographers 

Spotted this beautiful building downtown!

 I talked to this gentlemen briefly about issues some of the homeless men and women of Downtown L.A are facing. Their public benefit cards are being stolen, and they are being physically, sexually, and verbally abused. I am starting a non-profit this year in order to bring awareness to these issues, as well as provide a safe haven, delicious healthy food and snacks, resources, clothing, and toiletries to assist them in their transition back into society. As no one should ever be forgotten.

At my favorite Cafe; Bricks & Scones, working on my editorial schedule for the blog, I have a ton of videos and special features lined up for you all! 

 

Walking around the Flower District, I love putting together my own floral arrangements on the cheap! Ten bucks and under is usually my limit.

 

 This building had a lot of character!

 I thought the eyeglass necklaces at Forever 21 were pretty cool!

Still eating my yogurt sprinkled with Flax Seed & Wheat Germ. It's definitely made a big difference in my skin!

Yesterday I wore two bun's on either side and slapped on a hat. I was feeling a bit hair-lazy that day. I'm wearing my new favorite earrings my mum brought back from Africa. Thanks mum!

Later on that night, I took it down to go out to the movies. I only had five minutes to get ready, so I just spritzed it with a bit of Tui Leave In by Carol's Daughter and left the rest up to nature.

 This pic was taken earlier this week, I intended on sharing my Bantu Knot out results. However it was an epic fail [as they always seem to be]. I had to run some errands and didn't have time to finagle it back into a ponytail, so I wrapped it up. E-badu style and went on my merry way.

Happy Friday everyone! I will see you all Monday!

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A Photograph Is Memory In The Raw. - Carrie Latet | Week In Photos

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a while since I have shared "week-in-photos" with you, so here they are!

 

Dinner at Yamashiro's last night! My hair was a mess, I twisted it with a butter-based product, because I wanted more of a fluffier look. Instead I got an un-defined mess. Ah well.

 

Pics snapped earlier in the week from my test shoot with Lo!

 

I think she's still sore from squeezing into that tiny space!

 

I picked up these high-waist shorts last night after dinner from American Apparel. They have the cutest zippers along the side, and I loved the fit. The light coral color is what drew me in.

I also got this pink petticoat, and blue long-sleeve lace bodysuit [pardon the black bra].

I am fascinated with the buildings downtown! I make a trip down almost every weekend just to shoot!

 

The buildings have so much character!

 

I love snapping pics of worn, weathered buildings with fire escapes!

 

I decided to climb up one and get a better view.  

 

While snapping pics of buildings, I ran into Lo [what are the odds]. No kidding. She was Downtown pulling clothes for a client. 

 Later on that day I picked up some seed beads for my jewelry line. 

 

Here I am a few days later at the Bilal concert

A couple of days ago, I had a late breakfast at my new favorite cafe; Crave. I ordered the usual...Strawberry Crepe's...

Test Shots + Answers to Your Photography Questions

 

I am finally working on getting my portfolio together, which means I have been doing a lot of test shoots as of late. I shot these photos of Lo last weekend, and I am really digging the mass amount of greenery. She is wearing one of my vintage 50s pin-up bathing suits I scored at an estate sale for under $2, a vintage hat I picked up one day while thrifting, and some random African beads used as as necklaces.

I shoot with a Nikon D60. If you are interested in that model, know that it has now been replaced with a newer model: Nikon D5000 

The Nikon D5000 will run about $600 [comes w/18-55 lens] - HOWEVER; if you can find a vendor that carries Refurbished camera's, you can get a Nikon D60 [with the 18-55 lens] for about $200-$250 - Whenever you are purchasing a refurb, always source from a reputable vendor. Samy's Camera is one of my favorites www.samys.com 

As far as lenses are concerned, I love to shoot with prime lenses [lenses that don't have zoom capability] because I find that they are much clearer. Here are some of my favorites!


Nikon 50mm 1.8 [$124.95]- This is hands down one of my favorite lenses to use for food photography, and portraiture shots. It's perfect for low-light conditions, and produces photos that are crystal clear. 
One note about this lens is that it will NOT auto-focus on the following Nikon models: D40, D40x, D60 and D5000, which means you will need to focus manually. 

Big Bucks? You can get the Nikon 50mm 1.4 [$439.95] instead, which has the capability to auto-focus on all Nikon DSLR models. This is also much faster in comparison to the 1.8 model which can be crucial if you are shooting a moving subject. The creamy bokeh [out of focus/blurred distorted area] that this model produces is also a selling point.

Nikon 85mm 1.8 [$432.97]- One of my favorite lenses to use for in-studio shoots, as well as close range shots on location. The clarity that this lens produces is unbelievable, and the bokeh [out of focus/blurred distorted area] is nice as well if you're in to that kind of thing.

I also love to visit photographer's websites for inspiration; here are some of my favorites at the moment:

www.3680photography.com - Met this photographer at the Bilal concert, and I was hooked on his work after seeing one photo.

Kwesi Abbensetts - I absolutely love the grittiness of his work! I have been a fan for some time now!

Purveyor of Old Goods

I absolutely love antique shopping! - As a child I would go on pretend "treasure hunts" throughout my neighborhood searching for odds and ends. I would also spend my summers in the local library doing research on the archaeologists that discovered some of the most coveted pieces from the ancient ruins in Egypt. I always knew that one day I too would go on "treasure hunts" of my own when I got older; certainly this isn't as grand as an excavation in Egypt, but the thrill I get is amazing nonetheless.

Here are some pictures I took at one of my favorite antique stores tucked away in the outskirts of L.A! Check out some of the pics the gracious owner allowed me to take in her barn chock-full of treasures!

Antiques At The Barn
Address:
6851 W Avenue I
Lancaster, CA 93536
Telephone Number: (661) 726-9556
Hours of Operation:
Hours 11-6, Sun 12-5

I left "the barn" that day with a few goodies to add to my old book collection;