The REV It Up List

Earth Mosaic

Fabulous idea.. I am SO doing this.. will you join me??
go here for more info.

peace.
Ngai
xxx

Days with my Father..... a photographic series.

If you have EVER doubted how beautiful and meaningful photography can be.
or  if you have NEVER doubted..

you must see this.

stunning. beautiful. sad. truthful.

it's life, really.

peace and bliss,
Ngaire
x

A Tale in Photographs: The Harsh Desert

Photographs by Jayel Aheram will be on display and available for purchase at the Incredible Artist Gallery in Palm Springs, California, from  October 9-26, 2008. Jayel will be at the gallery on the 23rd and 24th to discuss his work as well as introduce new photographs.

"The Harsh Desert" is a tale in photographs. Jayel Aheram presents a collection of things seen, experienced, and lived while serving in the harsh deserts of Iraq and elsewhere. A unique view of events rarely seen in the nightly newscast, a point-of-view of one troop in a war zone and at home, and a glimpse of a vastly different and sometimes beautiful Iraq.

Following on from the tremendous success of his February's hit solo show and his participation in Art4aCure, US marine Jayel Aheram returns with a new show and new incredible photographs. Jayel has recently returned from a tour of duty and will be joining us.

"The Harsh Desert" will be one of the most talked-about shows of the season, so you cannot afford to miss it!

Special Events:

Thu/Fri October 23rd/24th, 7-10pm: Meet the artist.

Sat, October 25th, 7-11pm:  Artist Reception - Meet this incredible photographer as he introduces his stunning new works.

Jayel Aheram is a United States marine based out of Twentynine Palms, California. Still on active duty, he was deployed to Iraq's Al-Anbar province.

Incredible Artist Gallery
333 N Palm Canyon Dr
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 325-5917

If you can't make it to the exhibit, be sure to stalk his flickr, his twitter, and his photography site. He's an amazing photographer who tells great stories of real life with his camera.

 

Lucrecer Braxton: Photographer and Artist

Written by Maria Hammon

I often find myself mesmerized by the incredible talent displayed by a woman whose photography skills always manage to blow my mind away. When I see her works, it is instantly that the words inspiring, empowering and simply beautiful immediately pop into my head. She masters the use light in her self portraits in such an intense, natural, way that it is hard to describe it with words. Her still portraits are simply stunning. She has been an inspiration to me for several years and this is why it is so exciting to me to have to opportunity to ask her some questions about her art, her process and the things that she loves. She stops at nothing to share her heart and soul in what she does. Whether it is through her amazing photography, her art, her digital art work, or her blog, this woman spills artistic genius in every inch of herself. I am thrilled to introduce to you, through this interview, to Lucrecer Braxton.

Lu, How long have you been a photographer?
I started getting serious about photography about seven years ago.

How do you typically prepare for your photo shoots? Do you have a process, or system that you typically follow?
When I am shooting for clients, I make sure all of my equipment is ready to go for the session. That means having my lens clean, cleared memory cards and charged batteries. If I am meeting my clients for a location shoot, I make sure I know where I am going and have the directions. I also like to arrive early so I can scout out the location and find the best places to pose my subjects. A little bit of preparation goes a long way in making a successful shoot.

Do you do any post-processing?
I use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for post-processing. I like to keep my images as natural looking as possible, so I do not use a lot of actions that over saturate my images. I shoot for simple, clean black and white images or color images that have a timeless feel to them.

Who, or what, are your favorite subjects?
I enjoy shooting teenagers. There is something about their presence and fearlessness. They are old enough to take direction and young enough to have an innocent wonder about them. They also like to experiment and shoots with them are a lot of fun. I also like relationship photography. When I shoot, I look for connections. How people connect to each other, their environment and with the camera. Images like that are more genuine and timeless in nature. I also shoot a lot of self-portraits; not because I am vain! I shoot them to test out new techniques and try out things before I shoot my own family or clients. It is a great way to experiment with photography and learn to use the light.

I realize that you are not only an amazing photographer, but also a tremendous artist, please share some of your recent projects and explain what you liked most about creating them.
Art is my heart. I started the Art Slam about a year ago as a way to introduce art journaling to others. Recently, I spoke about the Art Slam at the BlogHer conference held in San Francisco. I enjoyed connecting with other liked minded bloggers and sharing my love of art with them and encouraging them to give it a try simply for the love of the process.  After I came back from BlogHer, I was contacted to create a piece of art for an online group. What I enjoyed most about that piece was creating something that represented the spirit of the ladies who wanted to carry on the qualities of beautiful blogging and positive posting. I have a couple of collaborative projects in the works and I am working on a photography project that will feature women and their perspective on their own greatness. I also completed a project with Wacom using the Bamboo Fun. It was so much fun returning to my digital scrapbooking roots and working with a great product.

What is your favorite art medium?
Right now, I am having a pretty good time using acrylic paints. I like the versatility of the medium and that I can manipulate it.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from today?
To be completely honest, I am not thinking that far. I have been working really hard this year to live in the moment. If I have to answer, I see myself happy. I hope to be living a very authentic life by being true to my passions and living fearlessly. I plan to have found my tribe; that group of spiritual, soul sisters who encourage and uplift me with their spirits. I will continue to make art, shoot beautiful photos and live.

Are you a dreamer by nature? If so, what is the direction of your dreams? I would have to say I am. I finally gave myself permission this year to pursue those dreams. When I did, all kinds of doors started opening up for me, like going to San Francisco as a speaker, working with Wacom and meeting some of my Internet friends in person. Being in the presence of people living their dreams is very inspiring. It let me see that anything is possible if you believe. My dreams are leading me down a rather interesting path and I have no idea where I will end up. I am being open and enjoying the ride.

How do you find your inspiration?
I find it by being open to my environment and the people around me. I find it by reading and looking at other artists’ work. Music inspires me, as does color, food and profound words.

Is there anything in particular that makes you want to stop what you are doing, and create art, or grab your camera and take pictures?
Sometimes, I will see an interesting shape or grouping I want to remember. I carry a journal with me and I will record observations about anything that creates a spark.

I recently learned that you are part of a new blog, http://www.penscrappers.com/, can you share a little about your work and participation with this blog?
It was a lot of fun creating for Pen Scrappers and being a part of a wonderful group of creatives. I used to do a lot more digital scrapbooking about two years ago. Working with the Bamboo Fun was like putting on a pair of comfortable shoes. I created a page featuring my youngest child graduating from pre-school. I was able to share my photography and play around with digital papers and elements by some of my favorite designers. It has been great exposing people to the versatility of working with a pen tablet.

End The Summer With Some Disney Magic

Written by Maria Hammon

The end of summer vacation is nearing and after a recent trip to Disneyland,  I started counting the ways my family enjoyed the magic.

1. There is so much beauty in every corner.

Just check out this lovely view from the side of the main Cinderella castle!

I don't ever get tired of looking around for pretty places. In Walt Disney grounds, you never run out of photo ops. Ever. 

2. You can easily find water fountains...and pretty one for that matter!

Who can resist feeling like a princess while hydrating?

I love all the little details along the way. Every nook and every corner is so perfectly designed to make everyone feel HAPPY and welcome.

No wonder it is called the "happiest place on earth." It IS.

3. They have talking garbage cans. Actually, we found one at the California Adventure park in Disneyland. Just amazing to see what those Disney people come up with! A talking garbage can!  Kids just love it.  My daughter loved it when the garbage can thought she was Hanna Montana. Pretty smart talking can...it brought the biggest smile her face!

4. This is a place where grown up men get to be fun, young and creative! See this cake decorated by my almost 41 year old husband. When he was making this artful looking piece of cake, he seems to be no older than four years old! This place is truly magical!  It makes anyone drop years by the minute! 

5. Disneyland is a place where everyone gets to be a kid again! Here, no one feels silly wearing hats and walking around dressed in silly outfits. Who cares...it's Disneyland!  A place where FUN is born.

6. There is so much history in one single place...and a lot of memories get made EVERY day.  Rain or shine. I have there on rainy days and it never stops people from having fun!

7. Everyone makes you feel welcome! Whether you are staying at one of the Disneyland resorts, or at the cheapest little hotel across the street from the park, you are always treated like a million bucks! Always! And believe me, I've stayed in almost every hotel near by...from the fanciest (years ago on my honeymoon) to the cheapest little Best Western hotel in my recent visits. And no matter where I stay, I get the same royal treatment!  Gotta love that!

  8.  One of the best things about Disneyland is that you are always WELCOME to take pictures EVERY WHERE.  In every store, shop, restaurant or hotel. They let you and even encourage that you take pictures. These are smart business people. They "get" free advertisement.  They know people will blog and share these photos around the world and it will ultimately be beneficial to them. They don't have any ridiculous rules about photography dos and don'ts, like many other places I've been to lately where photography is not allowed.  I've been known to take pictures at the park from 8 a.m. to midnight...just about 1500 pictures in one day.  Just tell me, how much fun is that?! For me, it's heaven on earth quite literally.

Brandi Carlile: A concert to remember

Written by Maria Hammon

Brandi Carlile is DIVINE. Her music, her vibrant lyrics, and the way in which she connects with her audience, are spectacular!

Linda and I attended Brandi's concert earlier this week and I cannot possibly think of a better time I have had in a long time! I can tell you that nothing can be better than getting the chance to take pictures without anyone telling us not to, and getting the chance to get as close as we wanted to (or needed to in order to get good shots) to the artists! We got to listen to some of our all time favorite songs (most of which Linda and I have heard over and over again only because we both have similar quirky ways in which we over-listen to our favorite tunes) and we even got a sound preview of Brandi's upcoming CD, due to be released in the Fall.  This was truly an amazing concert that I highly recommend to everyone!

If you are already a fan of Brandi's music, you probably already know that her lyrics are fantastic! If you haven't heard her music yet, you need to do that now! Really. Two of my favorite songs are called The Story, from her second CD and Follow, from her first CD. Both songs have lyrics I can deeply connect to. And who doesn't relate to the fact that we all must follow our heart to see where it might take us, or that all the lines across our face tell the story of who we are. I think I better go now, I need to go listen to her CDs one more time!

I'll share a few pictures of the concert here, but you can also visit my flickr page as well as Linda's blog and flickr page for more pictures of this event!

   

   

 

Roaming the Desert with Photographer Kyle Cassidy

Photographer Kyle Cassidy has been roaming the Mohave Desert with his camera, his ipod, and his thoughts and we are so lucky he did. Kyle created Mojave: A Travel Diary in Words and Images which can be ooohhed and aaaaaahed over and downloaded (for free!) here. The photographs are stunning and full of emotion, as are Kyle's words. Pay attention to both so you don't miss anything!

Kyle Cassidy is an award winning writer, photographer, and graphic designer living in Philadelphia. He is the author of six books, most recently Armed America:
Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes, which was named one of the 100 best books of 2007 by Amazon.com. His Photo-a-Week blog was one of the first photography blogs on the Internet and is viewed by some crazy thousands of people every day.