On a beautiful hot summer day, Habesha, Inc. hosted Organic Fest 8 in Atlanta. It is a benefit event for Habesha’s Black To Our Roots program which assists youth in recognizing and reclaiming their African identity through research and study of African history and culture. Its was an engaging event that included live entertainment, guest speakers and an African marketplace. There was the Kuumba children’s corner, the healers demonstration booth and a very informative lecture and tour on Habesha’s organic gardening activities in the midst of urban Atlanta’s West End. Black...

“House in the Park is an annual music festival bringing together innovative musicians, DJs, and a diverse audience in a beautiful outdoor park space since 2005. HITP provides a family-oriented atmosphere, and is known throughout the Southeast as the “MUST-attend-event” for avid fans of deep house-music, Afrobeat and soul classics, and attracts over 1,000 people. HITP is held the Sunday before Labor Day, from noon to 8pm in an Atlanta park and is open to the public.” That’s the statement on their website. I had heard about the event earlier this year; a lot of my friends had...

Smiling, impulsive and full of vision. These thoughts were the impressions I remember from the leisurely stroll I shared with MoEss (short for MoreEssence.) On this pleasantly, overcast day, MoEss was inquisitive and open and loquacious. And as we meandered around a lake to reach the cover of one its gazebos, I couldn’t help but be impressed by this woman. She talked about all of the potentially exciting things we were going to do in the Garden and some of the fantastic ideas she had about future photoshoots and Pangea gear. Her enthusiasm inspired me! MoEss was funny and revealing, sassy...

It was an impulse. She said it would have to be that way. I met Niemah at the Malcom X Festival back in May and fell in love with her vibe. A very caring, very bright individual, she was an open personality who embraced the idea of simply meeting new people. The day we met, it was evident that she was poetically spiritual Sista. And when I asked her if we could do a shoot one day she said yes in such an immediate fashion that I was sure it was not going to happen. She assured me that it would but we couldn’t plan it. It would just have to be spontaneous. I was not in the mindset for that...

earthSistas FlowerChild and GreenRose. Their first steps into the Garden, are the beginning of an exploratory series of images that focus on the natural beauty of women in nature. Many of the images will be like the ones here; artistic, experimental… while other will be be lush, colorful and bright. All are intended to be rich and intimate portrayals of the earthSistas communion with their surrounding and the harmonious sensual beauty it creates. FlowerChild and GreenRose are like sisters, literally. They’ve been best friends for years, sharing a bond that is genuine and supportive....

by earthSista Nfinite Being in front of the camera inspired me to step behind it. I absolutely love photography, and I often get the urge to shoot. In those moments I call upon my muse, Hafsa. On this particular shoot I wanted to showcase her natural beauty. We shot in various spots on campus (Agnes Scott College). It was a beautiful day…hot and humid but Hafsa took it all in stride and managed to look phenomenal in the midst of the heat. I like both looks that Hafsa did…one was a little edgy and sexy, and the other was natural and Afrocentric. We had a wonderful shoot…it is always...

A stroll through nature… Its a moment of sun and wind and clouds next to the lakeside. We were talking and creating images. We conversed about a lot of things. We talked about hair; she styles natural hair beautifully. Talked a little about aspirations. The young sista dreams of publishing a natural hair magazine; I suggested that she blog about it here. And suddenly, in a moment of clarity, the sista formally known as Antiquity Lashay imparts a revelation. She takes on the alias of ISIS. ISIS, the Egyptian goddess of rebirth remains one of the most familiar images of empowered and utter...

The Malcolm X Festival was a great day in the park. And for me, what’s interesting are the things that stand out to you. There were no video games; no Gameboys, no PSPs or Nintendo DSIs either. In the backdrop of nature and color and music and dance and culture, I am enriched. Culturally and spiritually, I was moved. I was satiated as I took it all in. I wish I could say more but, honestly, words fail me. The day took me back. It was reminiscent of events I would attend more than a dozen years ago when such creative arousal was brand new to me. Saturday fired up my imagination and seeded...

entry by Vincent When I first met Brian A. Childress, my initial impression was that of a pragmatic, technically astute Photographer. I had not noticed his artistic sensibility; not yet. He and I, along with a few other Photographers and Models would all get together and rent a studio. In my early days of professional shooting, it was an opportunity  to hone my craft through the sharing and learning of techniques with others. The more we shot together, the more impressed I became with the images Brian created; images, not “captures.” He doesn’t like it when I call them “captures.”...

Recently I posted Hafees Byard’s images of an early morning stroll with ButtahFly and Hershey along a lakeside in Georgia. I was there shooting too and I thought I take a moment and share some of my captures as well. The morning was a glorious miracle that reminded me what tend to take for granted, assuming it will be there tomorrow. I hope these images reflect how much I revel in the Grace bestowed upon us. And I look forward to doing it again. As an EarthSista, Hershey has made her presence felt in the Garden and ButtahFly is well on her way of doing the same. I hope you like the...