Photographers Just Want To Have Fun

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Okay so if you have seen me at a wedding you know I am all over the place. From the start I am taking photographs quickly and at various angles and locations. I take photographs of you when you choose to pose. I also take photographs of you when you do not even know I am there. Yes, I only show the ones where you look good. ;)

The other thing you will notice is while I am photographing the wedding reception I am dancing. Hip Hop, R&B, Salsa, Merengue, Electric Slide, etc. I fully enjoy photographing weddings. The dance floor is a great place to photograph as well as get my cardio in...lol.

So I finally decided to share a photo of me "going in". I was holding one of my cameras (on a sling under my suit) while the groom took my other camera from my hand to take this photo.

Fotographer Fun

Moving Forward

Sometimes I just feel BACKWARDS. I just came out of a very inspiring keynote address at a photography expo in NYC and I feel VALIDATED. Not validated as a photographer, but validated as a person.

The way my brain thinks may seem crazy to others. Creatively I am engaged as a photographer, writer, director, producer, actor, mentor, minister, teacher, consultant, entrepreneur, social architect, and a leadership developer. I don't FIT in anywhere. At times I have felt so ISOLATED. But today I don't. My multiple disciplinary lifestyle has had me feeling all over the place most of my life. Today I have clarity and peace.

There have been so many times I have been consumed with this OVERWHELMED feeling. I was juggling all these disciplines and was FAILING at keeping all the balls in the air. Today I realize I am really shifting BETWEEN disciplines.

When I think of church culture and church leadership it is through a creative lens. Now I understand why I flow the way I do in liberating and invigorating the culture. When I share photos from my jPhone it is because I love making people laugh and smile. I want my image to provide healing for wherever they are at that moment in their day. When I produce and direct a theatrical/video piece, its purpose is to encourage/edify/empower/entertain/educate others. When I mentor/teach, I want to see others grow and blossom with a support system I never experienced. When I photograph w/ my Canons I want to highlight the beauty of people in their natural element. I love the candid/photojournalistic photos of unposed people living and being Real. And I usually do this within an urban landscape.

With my lenses I can capture the "extra" dynamic for those who only see themselves as "ordinary" because I believe every single person is extraordinary in some form or fashion. I want people to believe they are not "less than" but "more than enough, and then some".

This is me y'all. I think on many levels through multiple disciplines while sharing on various platforms.

Shalom

Actor Headshot - Christian Simmons

ACTOR HEADSHOT

Trained as a musician, Christian Simmons took a stab at acting in the recent Mitchell Torres play "Redeemed", which was performed last month in New York. He did so well and enjoyed it so much he decided to take some professional headshots.

Last week we had a cool time shooting headshots in the Bronx studio and on location. I wanted to highlight one of the headshots he selected.

Actor Headshot

Teaching New Photography Class

By popular demand I have partnered with the Hip Hope Academy to teach an intro photography workshop, "How To Take Better Photos with you Point and Shoot Camera (or your new DSLR)".

All the info is on the flyer below.

- J

Bridesmaid Beauty

WEDDING

One of the last photos I took at Valerie and Joey's wedding at Perona Farms was of Elizabeth. She was one of the bridesmaids in the wedding.

This portrait is banging so I had to share it.

Sneak Peek - "Valerie + Joey Wedding"

WEDDINGS

Since I had such a great time photographing the engagement photos of Valerie and Joey, I knew their wedding would be just as fun. Located at the Perona Farms in New Jersey, this wedding had a beautiful outdoor ceremony on a gorgeous sunny day.

Well let me not give away too much of the goods since this is a sneak peek of their wedding. Check out a few photos below:

NYC via jPhone

Here are a few more pics of traveling through new York City from my jPhone:

Rap Fest 2010 Urban Fine Art Gallery Link

URBAN FINE ART

So yesterday I posted the video slideshow for the Rap Fest 2010 Urban Fine Art Gallery.

Today I opened up the link to all eighty-one portraits on my website. You can enjoy them at Rap Fest 2010 Urban Fine Art Gallery.

Happy Viewing!

NYC Skies

Traveling in NYC with my jPhone grants me the opportunity to capture lovely sights all the time.

Enjoy the beautiful skies in Queens.

Urban Fine Art Fave - "Rap Fest 2010 Urban Fine Art Gallery"

EVENT/PORTRAITURE

This summer I worked on various personal photography projects while still working for my clients for photography, video and ministry. One of those personal projects was Rap Fest 2010 which took place on August 14th.

After having a wonderful eight hours of photographing this gospel hip hop concert in the Bronx, I took my time in processing and selecting the portraits to be exhibited in the Rap Fest 2010 Urban Fine Art Gallery.

Today I will share the video slideshow of the portraits. Tomorrow I will share the link to the gallery itself.

Enjoy the video! Music by Richie Righteous.

Rap Fest 2010 Urban Fine Art Gallery from Joseph D. Martinez on Vimeo.