: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

issue :where have U been?:

Me? hmmm, just a little busy!

I've been:
* shooting a new editorial for lunchbox magazine
* working on my new promo material
* condensing my "to shoot for" list to fit MY style
* getting geared up to shoot for a new non profit where I shoot some super cool people
* cleaning up images
* cleaning up my hard drives
* preparing to send new promos to clients
* playing in a ladies poker tournament @ the Borgata where I placed 38th or 206 (clearly would rather have been #1 or even 27th so I'd place in the cash! NEXT TIME)
* being a mommy
* being a wife :)
* personal client shoots

And lots more... but that's just in a nutshell...

Right before I started blogging, I was working on a few images I shot of one of my fav models... We'll call her "Bean". She is such a sweetie and so professional. Her mom is ALWAYS on time and Ms. Bean is always on her best behavior on the set! Just about every chance I get, I submit her to be photographed for a job I'm working on because I can always count on her & 9 times out of 10, the client selects her :)

Well, I've got to run! BIG LOVE is on!

issue :life:

Right now I am feeling so overwhelmed and frustrated. Feeling like { Murphy's law } is right on point this week... Not much is going right....

I had an entire list of things to complain about and had to stop myself right in my tracks... NOTHING I am dealing with even scratches the surface of what the people of Haiti are having to endure :-( My heart goes out to everyone there and here who are having to suffer through this.

If you haven't done so already, please donate to help them out. Every $ counts...

Text YELE to 501 501 to donate $5 up to 6x's to be billed to your cell phone. I know that most of us are struggling to keep our heads above water, but it's the right thing to do.

sample from my Lunchbox Magazine editorial.. seems appropriate as a message for Haiti as well... LOVE

issue : a n e w y e a r :

Happy New Year!

January 1st is my anniversary & the beginning of a new year for me. I can say that I'm ready for this year, but the question is "is it ready for me!?" I feel soooo motivated, pumped, driven, unstoppable. I certainly don't plan on this wearing off @ all. 2010 has lots in store for me!

My "Resolutions" ???

1. choose my battles wisely. I have the tendency to "act up" when I don't get my way. This year I want less of that and more "bending" on my part.
2. DO IT MYSELF. Last year I feel as though I relied a lot on partnerships. This year I won't be scared to bang doors down on my own!
3. Don't let others block my blessings. By that I mean, I don't plan on letting anyone Else's negativity bring me down... Ultimately causing my blessings to be blocked by reacting negatively.
4. J U S T D O I T. I won't be "talking myself into" doing things. I'm going to just do it.
5. STAY ORGANIZED! (myself + kids)
6. Remain positive & inspiring.
7. Try to stay away from gossip! (ok, except for celebrity gossip, lol)
8. Follow up, Follow up, Follow up, Follow up!!!

Lastly, my top 3companies to shoot for in 2010 (amongst others):

1. Billie Girls
2. Shop Justice
3. Target

Lastly I'll leave you with a photo of breakfast I made for my hubby for our anniversary. Heart shaped pancakes + a "K" for Kardan & "T" for Tawny (short for JaTawny)

issue :Christmas:

This year we hosted our families Annual Christmas Dinner. Each year it is at a different family members home. It was so fun! My husband put up the tree and strung the lights while my mom & I decorated the house and got ready for the dinner! My mother is such a talented decorator, I wish she would take it a little more seriously... Below are a few shots of the decorations and my babies on Christmas morning.

*each year we put milk & cookies out for Santa, this year he ate everything and left only a crumb :)

issue :blood, sweat + tears:

A couple months ago I was sent a link to a photo contest by a client of mine. I was excited after clicking the link realizing W Magazine was having a contest based on the word "Obsessed". Photographers were instructed to submit images that depict the word "Obsessed". Immediately the thoughts of plastic surgery & beauty ran through my mind! I knew that was the topic I wanted to touch on, but I was also certain TONS of photogs would be focusing on the same obsession. Since my niche is photographing kids I came up with the cooky idea of a wacky surgeon that performs cosmetic surgery on children & the mother who was encouraging this. Face lifts, Botox, etc. This is the initial image:

After being UNimpressed with the image (don't get me wrong, my little model is such a cutie, but it didn't have the UMPH factor) I decided to put together a whole entire set, use more than one model, shoot the adult model as the mother and surgeon, etc. The shoot as a whole took me about 3 weeks to put together. This was my final submission:

Unfortunately my image wasn't chosen to be included with the top 20 for the public to vote on (here is the link: http://theartcontest.wdesires.com/public-voting.php) I must admit I shed a tear or 2 because I put soooo much into this shot & I would have been soooo ecstatic to have won! Of course I know this image will find it's place somewhere important some time soon so I am not discouraged.

Story to accompany image below:

Obsessed with "i Candy"
i candy: n. Informal

Someone or something that is visually attractive or pleasing to look at that often only thinks of self. Addicting, puckering, colorful... There are an endless supply of manufactured dolls living to cater to their sweet tooth and convert to today's version of the Stepford Wife. Obsessed with strutting the perfect frame within the perfect clothes. The perfect extensions to frame the perfect face which, of course, houses the perfect nose, eyes, and lips.

Possessed by the hunger to gain (and maintain) perfectly constructed and eternally youthful beauty, they devote their lives to impressing their friends and foes while blissfully living the charmed life.

Clearly, this sort of mind trip is never complete without the support of flawless husbands that typically provide extravagant dwellings, jaw-dropping vehicles & pie-in-the-sky offspring. Due to their self-inflicted mindset of entitlement to perfection, God forbid that their new human-accessories decay their ideals of what their perfect replica should be.

This image depicts what extremes that someone SO obsessed with manufactured attractiveness may actually go to in order to keep up appearances. Am I putting "extras" on it? Perhaps. Maybe even I became too obsessed with this contest and went too far. Or, did I barely scratch the proverbial (plastic) surface?

Photography/story: JaTawny Muckelvene Chatmon

Hair & Make Up: Progressive Hair Dressing

Styling: Pat Philogene

Models provided by: Cima Talent

*thanks to Elbie & Mecia for help with editing my story.

issue :inevitable:

Seems like every other week I'm having Internet issues. Dang you Comcast! You can credit me by hiring me to shoot your next campaign! <~~~ I'm serious!

Anyhoo, check out a sample shot from my shoot yesterday. This shot was done @ Ferrell McCollough's studio in Laurel, MD. Such a cool photog. Having a blast collaborating with him. After I photographed my model, he was kind enough to take this silly shot of me!

issue :work of heart:

Hi there! I know, I've been a little MIA. I've been working SUPER hard on a project that I am SO proud of!

I put everything into this project & so did the crew! I can not wait to share (which will be in a few days)

Here is a photo of me "modeling" to test the lighting :) This is just a piece of the set we put together.