:issue: unscripted

{ This is why I love photographing kids }

*captured the various faces of "L Bean" during shoot for beetlejuice london

:issue: Mya, Kerry Rhodes {Until There's a Cure}

On Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Mya for Until There's a Cure Foundation. I was excited to meet her as I first heard of her when I was around 17 or 18 and knew all the words to ALL of her songs! My favorites are "love is like Whoa" , "If You Died I wouldn't Cry", "Best of Me", "Ghetto Superstar", "Case of the Ex" & "Movin On". Her songs are still played via my ipod. She's currently working on new music and has others (that I'll be downloading via iTunes) on her myspace page: http://myspace.com/therealmya

She was EXTREMELY down to earth and so sweet.

~ Fun Times ~

Please check out Until There's a Cure ( http://utac.org/ )

:issue: a beautiful mind

My Boopity is such a smart child.  My mom claims he said a word to her when he was 4 months *she was the only one in the room*.

When his teacher called us to give his progress report, she said she'd never met a child who's "wheels were always turning". It's true, you can literally 'see' him thinking about everything before he speaks. If something doesn't make sense to him, he will ask questions until it does. I love him so!

Yesterday was another "question fest". It drives me CRAZY but how can I complain when all he wants is to gain more knowledge and understand!

:issue: in 2012

i will be traveling all over on assignment

with my family & an awesome french or english nanny that schools my children while traveling.

my husband will also win the WSOP!

You future is what you make it, if you push hard enough for it!

:issue: post secret

elbie has been a lover of postsecret.com since it was first online, today I googled post secret images and found so many lovely secrets. I've been making little booklets with words torn/cut from magazines and books and placing them over images since I was little. Turns out there are 1,000's of people that do the same.

This particular secret doesn't apply to me as even at 30, I believe I can reach ever goal I have.

:issue: kodak moment

So, helloooooo :-)

A few years back (maybe 6) my mother used to drive to our townhouse that we were living in at the time at 7am and knock lightly on the door. I'd come down the steps wiping my eyes and say "hi mommy" & she'd smile and say "are you going yard sale"ing" with aunt Earline, Daddy & I today?" and as reluctant as I was to be getting up that early, I'd say yes and tag along for the ride. I found some pretty cool stuff! In particular I found a few neat vintage camera that I used for decoration in my office until recently.

Fast forward to this week... I had the bright idea that I wanted to start working with different camera formats.. Although I'm not bored of my digital, I find it quite boring to ONLY shoot with it. So I pulled out the little Kodak Duaflex that had been sitting as decoration for years. I guess I forgot that I needed film for it! I surfed around on Ebay and ordered some film and can't wait for it to arrive.

In the meantime, I decided it would be cool to shoot with my DSLR through the viewfinder of the Kodak Duaflex. So, today I did! I used a round tube to connect my DSLR+lens to the Duaflex and photographed my little bittle having fun in the yard! The images are so fun and vintage. The funny thing is that I thought I was starting something new, but when I came in after shooting I googled "Kodak Duaflex" because I'd like to purchase a less filthy one and actually shoot with it and realized there's a whole "thing" going on with shooting through the viewfinder of vintage cameras, lol. Silly me!

:issue: until there's a cure

Recently I've begun shooting for the Until There's a Cure Foundation. This is such an awesome foundation that raises awareness about AIDS. Please check them out and support their foundation by donating or purchasing a bracelet! http://www.utac.org/

For my first Celebrity PSA shoot with them, I had the pleasure of photographing recording artist and radio personality Lil Mo. Below you'll find a shot of myself, Lil Mo & the make up artist for the shoot. I'll be sharing more soon!

:issue: blogged

JaTawny Vision tribute to McQueen featured on ChildMode.com amongst others since it was released!

:issue: a tribute to McQueen

At 11:22 am on February 11, 2010 it was confirmed to me that Lee "Alexander" McQueen died.

At 11:22 am a month later (March 11th, 2010) I wanted to share this project put together by myself; JaTawny Muckelvene Chatmon (photography), Isabelle Philogene (wardrobe), Joie Hayes (make up), Kenni Ford (hair) as a tribute in honor of the great, late Lee "Alexander" McQueen. He always marched to the beat of his own drum creating pieces that either seemed to materialize directly from a child's whimsical daydream or harmonious beautiful nightmare.

I would have loved to have seen what he could have created for children, since we never will, here's how we imagined it might be.

Our McQueenies

crow photoshop brush by: deidarapwnz@aol.com

:issue: Black HERstory

:finished:

: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"