:issue: black is beautiful

February is black history month. It was initially my plan to photograph a variety of beautiful black women of different shades, heights and ages in gorgeous settings around Feb. 5th. to celebrate their beauty. But February didn't turn out how I wanted it to and I wasn't able to shoot at that time. I finally got to shoot yesterday, 2 days before Black History month was over and everything was absolutely beautiful! I will share more soon, below please enjoy a couple samples (un-edited)

:issue: i n s p i r e d

when I was younger I always tore magazine sheets out, hung them on my wall and/or made some sort of collage. I came across a little booklet I created about 8 yrs ago to keep myself inspired and thought I'd post some of the pages.

:issue: all grown up

I was 12 when my nephew was born. I was so proud to be an aunt! I took his pictures to school, made him home made baby food and changed his pampers. He was my "baby".

He was over one day and I decided to test some lighting on him. I'll be starting to work with a new non profit this month photographing celebrities wearing their bracelets. Black backdrop & studio lighting.

I like this photo of my "baby" who is now 18! I can't believe it! Even though I'm not his mother, I feel like I can now say "I know you're 18, but I changed your diapers!"

:issue: Permanent Fixtures

These 2 are stuck to me like glue. Thank goodness I have 2 desks in my office!

:issue: blackface?

Art or Offensive? Thoughts?

http://cocoperez.com/2009-10-12-vogue-paris-does-racially-insensitive-photo-shoot

http://thefashionisto.com/blog/2010/02/18/keep-it-goin-louder-arthur-sales-by-milan-vukmirovic/

http://cocoperez.com/2009-11-02-a-dark-day-for-v-magazine

hmmm, this is difficult for me as my initial thought was that this wasn't considered "blackface" necessarily... Blackface is more offensive, something like this:

http://www.sojones.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/poster_blackface.jpg

And then of course I was reminded of this campaign done by UNICEF a couple years ago. Childen in blackface:

http://www.blacklooks.org/2007/07/muddy_uneducated_uncivilized_people_who_need_to_be_educated_probably_by_any_random_westerner.html

*sigh*

:issue: crafty

Promos went out today!

Finally! Getting everything together and mailed out was a bit of a fiasco, but they're out! I brainstormed and brainstormed to figure out the perfect promo to send out. Something different from the everyday postcards. After reading a lot of crafty blogs (got a lot of inspiration from papersource.com) I put together my special little promo for 50 AB's,CD's,AD's that I wanted to send them to. I ordered everything I needed about a month ago and then we got hit by the snow storm! Took UPS about 2 weeks to finally get everything to me..

At any rate, I'm happy with them and can't wait until my next batch go out. Better start thinking now.

Below is a picture of the boxes I shipped them in. I of course blurred out the addresses on them to post here, but you get the gist.

What's in the boxes? I'll share in a bit. For now it's top secret!

:issue: personal touch

After my shoot today I spent most of the day scheduling e-mails to go out tomorrow morning. I typed each follow up personally rather than sending a formatted blast. Each company I want to shoot for, I have a personal reason I'd like to shoot for them. I only target companies that I know style matches mine and vice versa. I research all of the clients I want to work for and send a personal e-mail to them. Don't get me wrong every other month I send an e-mail blast to a small number of CD's, AB's & AD's I'd like to work with, but I think it means so much to e-mail each of them personally. My new promos that will be sent out tomorrow are personal as well. I will share soon, but I spent a while putting everything together and my husband helped with the packaging of the items.

SO, hopefully I'll get some awesome responses and some great new work from them. Persistence pays off!

issue :my letter to God:

" Hi God,

I know I've been talking to you much more lately and hopefully you have been hearing me... I know that you have. I just wanted you to hear me a little bit louder this time. I believe that prayer is powerful and when being said by more than one person, it's even more powerful... So as each person reads this, what I am typing is being heard by you again and again...

Today has been rather tough.

Yesterday as you know we went to see my fathers Oncologist. The visit itself was somewhat uplifting as they were able to start the first part of my fathers treatment... But what his dr. said about his cancer is troubling me today. It is just now hitting me that there is something that is spreading throughout my fathers body that is trying to eat his bones away and he is in pain. Can you PLEASE remove this cancer from his body but keep him here and healthy with us? There are still lots of things we want to show him, tons of things we all want to do to make him proud, lot's of days that our children want to be able to jump on him and hug him without hurting him... He has always been so strong and the rock of our family and it's hurting my heart that he is in pain. Even though he is in pain all he can think of is going to work and taking care of his wife {my mother} and home and now his body. You created and blessed us with such a strong man, please don't let Cancer break him down. Is this where you want us to come in and not rely on him to be the strong one all the time? I HEAR you and I am trying... Everyday I am trying to stay strong and help him be stronger by nourishing his body with foods that will strengthen him. Everyday my sister prays and is my mothers shoulder to cry on by staying @ their house and strengthening them with faith that things will be better. Everyone is trying, but today I need some help. Please remove this pain and cancer from his body but keep him here with us. Happy, Healthy, Working, Strong.

I know that "we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a Human experience" {~ Tellihard de Chardin } and I am not questioning your plan for our life, I am simply asking that you continue to allow my father to have a happy, blessed, healthy, cancer FREE, pain FREE human experience for many, many, many years to come and that you continue to allow us to be blessed with him in our lives.

~ Forever Yours,
JaTawny Muckelvene Chatmon

AMEN"

:issue: we {heart} him

Been spending a lot of time at dr's offices and hospitals lately with my dad. We still haven't received any new results, just a bunch of tests. Sitting on pins and needles for results and more information.

While we're with him at his appointments, we try to make him laugh to keep his mind off of things. It's working from what I can tell. He's in great spirits!

I usually carry along my camera while Mecia (middle sister) brings her video camera and we document everything :) Take a peek @ a few of the pics from yesterday below:

roads in DC weren't too bad!

she must have said something she thought was funny, but he didn't!

They rushed us to write our names I couldn't even write my complete last name!


wonder what she's thinking about...



they heart eachother

she's acting shy now about taking pictures... she forgets that I've seen all her photo albums and "strike a pose" pictures from when she was younger. AND she's told me plenty of times "woooo woo, when I was your age {30} I was unstoppable! everyone had their eyes on me!"

I let my mom snap this shot and I specifically told everyone it was going to come out like this... a shot of the entire room, not just us

i love this man :-) The best father anyone could ask for

issue :ice age:

I can't remember the last time I've seen this much snow :) I think I love it! { until it stops me from getting a job done }. I remember the first time I saw snow similar to this, I was around 5 or 6, and we just moved to Germany. We were walking from the Guest House to base.... well, they were walking, my dad carried me the whole way. Nice life being the baby!

My babies are loving the snow until it gets on one of their faces, lol.

Other than being pushed in the snow by my husband (payback is grand!) I've pretty much enjoyed being snowed in :) aaaannnnnd tonight it's snowing again! Don't want to get used to this, but it's actually very beautiful!

:issue: stumbled upon

being snowed in causes you to stumble upon all kinds of things. Yesterday while working on my computer I came across these pics of my babies that are about a year old. I adore their eyelashes.

pics of the blizzard coming soon

issue :a new look:

I am not sure if you've noticed, but JaTawny Vision has been re-designed {again}. I had been working on it for a while and took me a while to get it up {especially after the news of my dad}. This time, it's staying this was for a while. I feel as though it fits my style much more! Every day of the week you'll see a different image for the front page & you are now able to download my PDF portfolio's. Take a look & let me know what you think!

http://www.jatawnyvision.com

issue :dust yourself off:

The past week has been like hell for me... The one thing in life that scares me the most I am having to deal with. One of my parents being sick...Not only sick, but sick with Cancer... And since we found out my dad has prostate cancer, my mom seems "sick" as well... Her illness has nothing to do with her health, but her heart.

I am starting to realize how much of a GREAT influence my dad has been to me and others. I always knew he's an awesome dad, husband, uncle, GRANDfather, etc. but I'm just now realizing how MUCH he means to me... All my life he's been going out of his way to teach us lessons. Some of them I listened to closely and others I would roll my eyes thinking "Oh Lord, here he goes trying to make a point again". He did (and does) things like forcing me to learn to drive a stick shift first so I wouldn't take the "easy way out" of my driving lesson. My first car was a used Hyundai so I wouldn't start off with the best but work my way up to it. Everything he does for us has a lesson attached to it and I appreciate it soooo much now! I realize everything he has shown me helps me to push and push and push to get where I want to be. Of course him and I don't see eye to eye on a number of things and he's not ALWAYS right (just 95% of the time). Everything that he has taught me, I strive to teach my babies and in fact do without even knowing it.

The main thing he has taught me is to dust yourself off and try again... no matter what. He's been through so many things health and life wise and has ALWAYS dusted himself off and tried again... Just like I know he will do this time.

This test of our strength has shown me how much I love my father... I miss him when I'm not around him, I want to hug him every second, kiss his forehead, lay on his arm, talk to him, etc. and will never roll my eyes while he's talking again! *i promise*

:issue: broken hearted

my dad is the greatest man I have ever seen and will venture to say ever heard of... The other day I was told the most hurtful news...

my dad has prostate cancer... and it has spread to his bones... my LIFE in a matter of a couple of days has not been the same since and never will. everything looks and seems different to me. Suddenly the things that mattered don't and the small things are the only things that DO. smiles, hugs, kisses..

i am confident that he will be ok, my heart is just shattered in a million pieces seeing such a wonderful man hurting. Of course he's not showing that he's hurting much, but I know he's hurting and it's hurting us. And even still he is trying to inspire me by saying "the way you are calling these doctors trying to get a sooner appointment for me, you should be just as adamant about getting your work out there". i agreed.

Nobody ever prepares you for things like this. Why would you think something like this would happen to someone that is almost perfect? A man that makes it his business to teach us lessons from everyday things that happen, has never abandoned his family, loves his wife with everything he is, has always been uplifting, helpful, inspiring, STRONG ...

My week has been as follows:

Thursday morning: sitting on pins and needles waiting for his results... calling my mom every 20 minutes hoping it was anything other than cancer...

Thursday Afternoon: told the news I never wanted to hear... When I heard the words, I felt like I was not here anymore... nothing felt real... Immediately burst out in tears...

Thursday Evening: rushed to my parent's house with my husband & kids... consoled my mom who is dealing with being told her soul mate ( that she's been with since she was 15 ) has cancer (cancer took her mom when she was in her 50's). Hugged my dad as he rushed home from work... He looked @ us (my oldest sister, my mom and I) and said "What is this, a wake?? I'm still here and we're going to beat this" My other sister walked in with a "red" face and he told us all if we were going to cry that we'd have to stand outside with our coats off...

Thursday night: laid with my parents, kids, sisters, nieces, nephews and talked about it... My aunt & sister gathered our entire family on the phone and we all prayed. There were about 20 of us. I went home around midnight and cried myself to sleep.. Again, it felt so unreal... like I would wake up and it was all just a nightmare.

Friday morning: Woke up @ 6:30 am, took Boopity to school. Came home and called 15-20 Urologist offices to try and get my father a sooner appointment than Tuesday... The best anyone could do was Monday.. he decided to stick with Tuesday. I immediately researched what he should eat and found a cookbook by David Ricketts. "Eat to Beat Prostate Cancer". Spoke to my mom, dad & sister. My sister and dad decided they wanted to document everything that was going on so that when he recovers he can look back at his story and share it. I still felt the same... hurt, distraught, confused, sad...

Friday afternoon: Picked up Boopity and headed back to my parent's house. Took my parents to the grocery store (needed my dad to get out of the house) to pick up the ingredients for his new diet. While at the store I could see my father go in and out of deep thought. I don't know what he was thinking about, but I can only imagine what was going through his mind.

Friday Night: Cooked meals for him. (dinner, breakfast, lunch and more dinner). Watched movies with him. My sister videoed.

This is pretty much how the days have been going. On Saturday my friend gave us water that was given to her by her father who is a pastor. She said God told him to give it to his church and whatever they ask for, he'll give it. She gave us some of the water and we drank it. Sunday was a much happier day for us all. Little crying, lot's of smiles.

i know many that have survived cancer { my aunt kareen, cousin joyce & others } and it has taken others that i love from us { my grandmother, my grandfather (shortly after being given a clean bill of health after battling prostate cancer he passed of a heart attack) my grandfather in law }

But my dad.... cancer won't take him from us... this is just a new beginning, to see things differently, change the way we do things... it took me a moment to decide if i was going to publish this because of how personal it is. but my dad wants to document his recovery and this is just part of it.

issue :lunchbox magazine:

it's online! Check out the editorial I shot for Lunchbox Magazine last month for their Valentines day issue. Thanks for putting a temporary smile on my face. http://lunchboxmagazine.com

photography by: me

styling by: isabelle philogene

v-day crafts by: pearl's pizazze