June 30, 2011

That GOOD GOOD Around the Web

Pop’Africana Magazine’s lovely website unveiled the Maki Oh Autumn-Winter 2011/2012 lookbook a few days ago. Maki Oh is an absolutely brilliant designer who hails from Nigeria; her garments have long captured my attention. I am so amazed by her attention to detail, the way in which she combines different textures in her designs, and the manner in which her clothing celebrates the female form. She truly is a gifted individual. Here are some of the photos; the rest can be seen on POPAFRICANA.com (here).



I predict very big things in the future for Herds of the Fathers. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this company, Herds of the Fathers is a men’s accessory brand which was started by Tobi Babajide & Jason Akoi (check out my interview with Tobi by clicking here & Tobi’s “He’s Got That Good Good” feature by clicking here). Herds of the Fathers recently launched their new website, new tumblr, and announced that their new line of bags will be released within the next few months. I am extremely excited to see what these Tobi & Jason have come up with for this new line; judging by their premiere line, I know it will be absolutely amazing. Make sure you like their facebook group so you can keep up with all the latest developments!


Listen to this:


This is definitely my idea of a jam for summer, I’ve been vibing to this track for the past week. For those of you who don’t know, The Stuyvesants are an instrumental hip-hop duo composed of Darien Victor Birks and Allan Cole. I love The Stuyvesants because the beats that these 2 produce are nothing short of utterly magnificent. I urge you to listen to & download their album, Brooklyn’s Finest, by clicking (here). This song in particular can be downloaded off of Darien Victor Birk’s blog (here).


One of my past “He’s Got That Good Good” featurees, Spencer Edwards, asked me to share his style book for Spring-Summer 2011 with you all. Unfortunately, the video link is not allowing me to embed the video directly in this post but you can still click (here) to watch & listen to Spencer as he breaks down what style means to him.


Blogs to love: Here are just a few of my favorites fashion based blogs. Click on the photos to go to the blogs.





                 

June 23, 2011

A Look Through My Lens, Part 4

For all of my new readers, “A Look Through My Lens” is an ongoing series on That GOOD GOOD Blog which features remarkable photographers from all over the world. I am a huge fan of photography and I have such a massive amount of respect and love for photographers so I knew that creating a series that shed light on these amazing individuals was a great move for my blog. I have done 3 “A Look Through My Lens” installations thus far which has allowed me to interview 8 incredible photographers: Nakeya Brown, Shako Oteka, Rog Walker, King Texas, Chris Charles, Mambu Bayoh, Dana Shum, and Brandon Hicks. Today, I present you all with 2 more immensely gifted photographers to add to the “A Look Through My Lens” family: Cameron Davis & Naima Green. As always, I have interviewed both of these photographers and their responses to my questions accompany their photos. Enjoy!



I've always been into photography in some form or fashion. When I first started delving into my art side, I used to draw, so I would find photos that I really liked and would free-hand draw them out. So maybe it started out there or when I saw this photo my Dad had shot of my mother before I was born, it was so classic and such a timeless photo. I still have it to this day and look at every now and again as a reminder of what I want my images to say years from now.
I'm a photographer so I take photos of whatever interests me but if I had to put myself in a category by industry standards, it would definitely be an editorial photographer. I try to capture emotion, feelings, moods, certain tones, and mold them in a way to tell a story through the photographs and create a sense of thought. This means I want people to look at the picture and start to think "what was that day like", "what was he thinking when he photographed this" "what was her mindset" etc...


If I had to think of certain words to classify my style of work only a few words come to mind, first would be nostalgic, old school, classic. Nostalgic because I want my work to create that feeling of longing to be there, to be in that photograph, to experience that day, to experience the moment. Old school because my work takes inspiration from great artist before me and classic because I go thinking that everything I take is classic even when it isn't, I think photographers need to have a sense of pride and self but not in an arrogant way but in a way that exudes confidence in the work that you do.
What is my favorite thing to capture in photos? People! People are my favorite type of subject matter to capture. Taking a photograph of someone is truly a unique and different experience every time because each person I take photos of is different from the last. It’s sort of a worldly experience you get to have. Everyone I shoot for the most 98.5% is either a friend or someone who I end up making a friend and I wouldn't get to do that if I wasn't photographing people.


Right now, I use a Sony Alpha that I've been using for the last 4-5 years now and it’s honestly a love/hate relationship with this camera. I've learned to embrace its negative attributes and turn them into positives which, in turn, make my style as it is today. I also started shooting with a Minolta x9 but I'm really in need of an upgrade as soon as possible for both cameras. The next camera I get will be a Canon, I've been sold ever since I got to shoot with one awhile back. Hands down, they have some of the best lenses in the industry.
Admiration is so tough for me because I honestly take admiration to the greats to photographers who just started yesterday, but Annie Leibovitz is definitely a huge inspiration for me. She has to be one of if not the greatest editorial photographer of all time. Richard Avedon for his timeless portraits, he inspired some of my recent portraits, and of course Andy Warhol for his amazing use of contrasting and over exposure. If there was one photographer that I shared a key trait with in terms of photography style it would definitely have to be him but as much as we look at greats, we miss amazing artist right in front of us right now, so if I had to think of a current photographer who is just amazing and has inspired me it would have to be the photographer Billy The Kidd from New York. Something about his portraits are unreal to me. One day I'm going to intern for him or just meet up with me and pick his brain.




I took my first photography class when I was 9 years old at the Harlem School of the Arts; we made our own pinhole cameras and developed our own film. From there I travelled for a few years only using disposable cameras. Then I started working with a Pentax ZX-50 and Canon DSLRs. In terms of inspiration—my parents are art collectors. I grew up around art and was always encouraged to make it.
I love daylight portraits; it’s like magic when the light is perfect. I also really enjoy shooting inanimate objects some may fail to notice as beautiful. Those items we work with day-to-day: telephones, pans, furniture etc.



3 words to describe my photos? Intentional. Detailed. Simple.
My favorite things to capture in photographs are personas. I like to go into my subjects’ space and capture them how they are most comfortable. Some of my favorite work is when I show up not having scouted a location and am forced to adjust to what I find.


Right now I shoot with a Canon 7D. I’ve been devoted to canon for 7+ years; it just feels right.
I love fashion photographers like Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, and Scott Schuman. I admire Lindbergh and Avedon because the quality of their images is unmatchable; they are icons. Two of my favorite art books are Peter Lindbergh: Untitled 116 and Avedon Fashion 1944-2000. Testino and Schuman are contemporary photographers, equally as talented, who take part in creating and documenting our incessant culture.

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June 22, 2011

And The Winners Are...



Congratulations to the winner of the PeaceImages Cuff, Kasturi, & the winners of the Alex Folzi Briefcases: Lemo, Xavier, & Vivi! An e-mail has been sent to each of you.




A HUGE thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway!

If you didn’t win this time around, don’t fret! I will be holding another great giveaway next month (July), so stay tuned!




June 16, 2011

He's Got That Good Good: Ludget Delcy

I meant to do this post last Thursday since I do these features every other week but, for some reason, I never did. Not to worry, today’s Good Good feature is well worth the wait! Ludget Delcy is one of those rare individuals you find that who is simply overflowing with talent and passion. He runs one of my favorite men’s based street style blogs called Dapper Lou and I urge every single male (and female alike) who may be reading this to visit his blog and get inspired! He really has a way with capturing the purest essence of style in New York. His photography is absolutely exquisite and so his personal style so, without further ado, here is..


Ludget Delcy from Bed-Stuy, NY

How old are you?
I'm 24 years young.

What do you do for a living?
I'm a Fashion Blogger and Photographer

What 3 words would you use to describe your style?
Sophisticated, Eclectic and of course Dapper

Where are your favorite places to shop?
To list a few: Opening Ceremony, Paul Smith, online shops, Flea Markets, Uniqlo, Zara, Blucker, John Varvatos and Y-3.    

What is the 1 article of clothing that you couldn't live without?
Pants: for function purposes and style.

Ludget’s style is incredible. It doesn’t matter if he is dressed up in a trench coat and a tie or dressed down in a tee and a pair of shorts; he manages to maintain this sense of effortless cool in every single outfit. I am also a humongous fan of Ludget’s taste in shoes, I have never seen so much amazing footwear belonging to one person! Thank you Ludget, you’ve got that good good, indeed!

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