December started with a bang! I launched my first solo exhibition on 2nd December at More Vino in Trinidad. Thanks to Ian Royer and curator Nicole Craig :-)... The launch was really special because it was the night before my 24th birthday!! .... I was surrounded by my family, great friends, well wishers, great wine and my photography on canvas. What a way to start off my birthday!
The exhibition is in aid of the Cyril Ross nursery where a portion of sales are donated. This home has become a home for many abandoned children living with HIV. I instantly jumped at the idea of having the exhibition when I realised it would help them out tremendously!
This exhibition has been a pleasant surprise to most since I have become increasingly known for my portraits :-)....So I took an alternative route with my exhibition. I am currently exhibiting 12 photographs on canvas of my abstract work as well as landscapes around Trinidad & Tobago.
I am giving you a sneak peek into the exhibition that runs until Dec 31st...at More Vino located at 23 O'Connor Street and Ariapita Ave. So if you are in Trinidad, be sure to check it out !
I am really loving this whole pregnancy vibe that is happening at Ife360! And mommas just keep on coming... :-)
Carlene and I were classmates during our mechanical engineering degree and she booked her photoshoot quite a few months in advance. So I called her couple weeks before the shoot to finalise some details and that's when she let her little secret out...she would be 8 months pregnant on the shoot date! I was reeling with extra excitement for our shoot, because mothers-to-be are super fun!!
When I finally saw her for the first time since we left university, it was amazing to see how she had...hmmm....grown...ehh heh :P
I used some backlighting techniques, to highlight the beauty of the curves a woman develops as her child matures!
I did my first baby bump shoot with Jessica, a great friend of mine from school. She was having a twin and she happened to tell me quite nonchalantly that she was expecting them. I was shocked and excited for her! So we teamed up for a shoot along with her boyfriend, Aaron but I realized I needed a makeup artist and a stylist and that's when Janelle came in, I had never worked with her on any of my previous shoots however I had seen her put together a mean wardrobe. I called her up the day before my shoot with Jessi and she was immediately on board for our first shoot together! We have been working together ever since!
Jessica in all her beauty...She soon gave birth to twin girls :)
As in all our shoots, Janelle and I strive to keep the ideas artistic and fresh. And that is a constant for our 'baby bump' shoots. I can't help but notice with pregnant women that there is an atmosphere of tranquility and joy that surrounds them and they're willing to go "all out" within the shoot. I always feel privileged when I am commissioned to capture memories of such a special moment especially for first time moms...
I want you to share in some of the joy that I feel, when I am behind my camera.
My friend Rianna recently asked about my inspiration for photo shoots and it is a question I usually get from those wanting to be in front of my camera. Inspiration comes from so many places, it may be other photographers or a photo I saw in magazine or online but I love when my models come with their own ideas! My MUA & stylist, Janelle is superb especially when we collaborate we really mesh well together during the production of a shoot. One of my most memorable collaborations was with Nickesha Smith! She emailed me earlier this year (March) and wanted to do a shoot based on her poetry, when I read this poem, I instantly became excited to work with her. She was willing to do almost any crazy thing Janelle and I came up with which gave us some awesome photos!
Here's a little excerpt from one of her poems which we used as inspiration for our shoot!
Am I ready?
By Nickesha Smith
Am I ready? Am I ready?
Am I ready to live this life totally free
Of the mental turmoil that often defines my reality?
Am I ready?
Am I ready to let go of feelings of negativity, vulnerability and insecurity
That affect my personality?
Am I ready?
.....
Can I really trust myself
To step out into new dimensions
Walk in new directions
Stand up for my convictions
Release my passions
Risk my relations
And taste the loneliness that often accompanies those situations?
Am I ready for that?
.....
As I ask God these questions with eloquent redundancy
He softly reminds me
That hurt
That joy
That experience
That love
Were all preparing me to live my life purposefully
Stopquestioning, doubting and reflecting, he assured me
Rinki and Leanora are very colourful characters! While preparing for this shoot, Leanora appointed herself the stylist and MUA, but everything that Leanora started, Rinki finished because she wanted to have some more control over what her end product was going to be! So everything you see from these shots are a combination of Leanora, Rinki, many trips to the mirror to re-adjust makeup, and all the while I am nearby being very amused by the calamity that 'almost' happened. It was all great fun I must say! Even my nephew Amari, pitched in, and he is almost 2 going onto 20. My bro, Swayo was the creative director (I really wished I had him on some more of my shoots) and Nicole his girlfriend helped us select jewellery and at times glanced at the chaos in their apartment.
This shoot was a family affair which was filled with great laughs and I am happy to show you the results of it :-)
I want to introduce you to my dear cousin Leanora, now I haven't seen this girl in about 11 years and she returned to Trinidad with a mission, to reconnect with her homeland. And re-connect she did!! My girl had almost everything she could remember from her younger days in Trinidad. One thing that is great about Leanora is that she such a sweetheart and very much like a sister to me so now she is in London and as soon as I landed in the Queen's Land for vacation madam wanted a photoshoot...and I must say, she is quite a model! We did this shoot while I was a bit under the weather however my Lea had fun being creative and expressed her unique style...We have a few more shoots to do and I am looking forward to working with her again...So here they are! Enjoy! :-)
Last weekend was amazing! I had a fun time photographing Lyndon and Leola's engagement session. We raced against the light to catch an early morning sunrise at Maracas Beach on Trinidad's North Coast. By the time we arrived the lighting was just perfect. Engagement sessions are really different from my usual fashion shoots because I do very little posing of the couple, I just ask them to have fun and enjoy the elements available ! Now little did I know that Leola and Lyndon would be so ....hmmmm....engaging..heh heh...they have such chemistry they really made my work easier than usual....They are a wonderful couple and I look forward to doing their wedding later on this year. Check out some of their shots from the session...
Ife360 Photography was founded by Ife Smenkh-Ka-Ra (that's me!)...yes I know that may be a mouthful...and yes that is my real name...and no, it is not a tongue twister :-) ...I have been interested in photography since I was 15, and was eventually mentored by the late Richardson Henry while I was at secondary school, Holy Name Convent, in Trinidad. I built my foundation on film photography and learned photography techniques long before I owned a camera. A few years later I hijacked my uncle's Kodak point & shoot, and FINALLY began to really explore all that I had been learning all along. Soon after turning 18, my dad got me a Nikon F100 (no way I could afford that on my own), unfortunately some retards decided to steal it so again I was without a camera :-( . I knew the next camera was on me....and for quite a few years my photography became dormant until I hit uni, at the University of the West Windies, my dad AGAIN got me a camera but this time a Nikon D50(he went straight for digital this time) ....my trusty ole pal until today....I can't wait to get my Nikon D300!!!! (Hey dad....hee hee)
I have been wanting to do a blog for awhile now, I was always just soooooo preoccupied with other things like latin dancing...learning spainsh...modern dance and I am a mechanical engineer as well so lets just say I have to make time. What I realized mostly was that I am dying to tell others (those who are willing to read this) what I experience through my journey in photography....and I am sure I can learn a thing or two from you as well....
So....here I go....enjoy my journey...and feel free to leave comments!
