Sharma Shari Photography

Yasmari + Ahmed Wedding Photography

2012-01-24T20:35:00.000-08:00

Life Around Holidays can be hectic and if you add moving, your brother-in-law's wedding, my first wedding and a maternity shoot right before leaving for a 2-week vacation to Puerto Rico (Christmas at Home!), it could be disastrous. Somehow I made it...AND forgot to share my first wedding! But better late than never.

Yasmari + Ahmed - December 3rd, 2011

For some, it takes a lifetime to find that special one. That wasn't the case of these two Love Birds. After a short dating, they just knew. But really, how much do you need when you know the person in front of you is the one? It was a very intimate wedding at Los Olivos Restarurante, in the city of Caguas, Puerto Rico.

I know Yasmari since High School and I felt honored shooting this great day for them. It was my first wedding "riding solo" and can't express enough the gratitude for the support and confidence Yasmari and Ahmed put on me.

A great way to tackle a wedding cake...

There were only a single lady still single, the Maid of Honor (and not under the age of 15). The funny thing...her boyfriend proposed 2 weeks later. SO ladies, the bouquet toss works!

To see more photos of Yasmari + Ahmed wedding visit HERE!

Happy Wednesday!

I'm dreaming, I'm scared

2012-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

What is on my mind these days!...

Source: 28.media.tumblr.com via Sharma on Pinterest

3 Years and counting...Guinness Record, Watch out!

2011-12-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

Three years ago, I was pacing around my parent's home waiting for some news on who was going to marry us. We have just received a call, morning of our wedding day, that Obi's uncle was not feeling well and the family was on the phone talking to any pastor, minister, judge or rabi they could find among their friends. I was crying, so HARD. I was ready for every stupid thing that could go wrong...Shoes failure, no car to get to the reception, no photographer, etc. I had even my favorite pizza place in my phone in case something went wrong with the catering service...but I forgot to prepare for that.

But God wanted us to marry a day like today. His Uncle arrived at the ceremony and the evening went on, just perfect...or so I remember.

It's been 3 crazy years, filled with love, uncertainty, brain storming sessions, tears, laughs, trips, long hugs, great walks, good food, memories....

3 years...83 to go!

Happy Anniversary, Ob!

PS. The Record Guinness is 86 years. See more here.

New Year = New Challenges + New Fears

2011-12-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

A New Year approaches and with it I found my self totally overwhelm by this amazing world that the photography business is. 2011 it's been a year of a lot of learning. I took (finally! AND with the BIG push of my hubby!) to dedicate all my time to my own business. I stopped working part-time at Disney World and immerse myself into Sharma Shari Photography.

This year I assisted to my first conference as a professional photographer, WPPI U. I decided for this one because it was kind of confort zone. I knew the city, I stayed in my friends house, I was in my territory. Still, I felt like everybody else had everything figure it out. I hadn't even decided how to redo my website. And I started to compare myself, my work, my equipment, everything! ..I left the conference feeling excited about all the new things I learned, the people I met. But utterly overwhelm by the amount of it, all at once.

A couple of months have past, and the feeling is still present...it is angry because I've been ignoring it for a while. I plan to continue to do so. This dream is taking shape, one step at a time but it is taking form. And it is scary...but it is scarier not to continue.

Happy Sunday!

Happy 12, Ob!

2011-12-12T06:05:00.001-08:00

It was a crazy day, I just got out of one of the worst finals ever, Digital Electronics. I was tired and cranky. I went to my friends' apartment to relax a little and stop thinking about the disaster. But, nobody was there except Ob. My designated date...

You see, all our friends had a significant other, we were the only ones single...and me made fun of it. We joke about being a couple and having dates and mock our friends...

But the joke was on us...

Ob: "What a Kiss means to to you?

Me: (trying to ignore my LOUD-POUNDING Heart) "Well, the beginning of something, the ending of something or something?" (Yeah, right? Super smart answer!)

Ob: (Kiss)

ME: (WEEEEEEEEE!)

Ten Years had passed, we got married almost 3 years ago....and I wouldn't say I love him more. I love him the same....A LOT! My love for him is stronger. He is my best friend, traveling partner, therapist, coach, best-omelet maker, lover, team player, handsome guy, my husband.

Ob, I love You! I love who I am when I'm with you! You make me be a better person every day. I thank GOD every day for you!

Happy 12!

Family Portrait: The Rodriguez Blanco

2011-12-11T13:32:00.001-08:00

Past November, I had the opportunity of shooting a beautiful family. Jose and Irmarie were High School Sweethearts. But it wasn't after a casual reunion years later that they found each other and fall in love all over again.

Now, they live in Lake Mary, FL . They are blessed with a beautiful and spirited 2-years-old, Adriana Kati, whom laugh is impossible to resist

I was incredible honored to join them at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs, FL for their Xmas session. It was a windy day but they are an awesome family to photograph. No wind is going to ruined that. Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed capture them.

Daddy's Little Girl

We took one like this when she was 6mo...

Right there...the laugh that melts my heart!

Happy Sunday!

Books, Thrift Stores and other Life Randomness

2011-11-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Did I ever tell you that I love books? It is actually more like an obsession than love. Almost to the point I think I may need rehabilitation in the future. There is something about the written word that makes my day; letting the imagination run wild. I'm still debating into buying an eReader. I love to read, but I also love holding the book, turning the pages (I know....geek!) So, I'm not sure of making the move yet. Although it would allow me to have more books without taking over our entire apartment.

That's how I got into thrifts stores and flea markets. You can find good books very cheap and in good condition. Somebody's trash is another's treasure, they say. During my travels looking for more books, I found this:

Yeap, that is an authentic Dooney & Burke, ( I checked all the marks, it is legit). The price?...$3...No typo, only $3, as in Three! I'm not into brand handbags, but when I saw it and knew I had to grab it. When I got the cashier, I shrunk a little. waiting for her to tell me that the price was a mistake or something. I walked out of the nice store with a Dooney & Burke wrist bag, and two books: Eat, Pray, Love and 1984; all for $3.60. Jackpot!

In other news, New site is up! Still working on the Art area and the mobile version but I'm pretty excited about it. I did it using ShowIt, a great tool for photographers and artists in general out there! Check them out!

Danelis & Luis

2011-10-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

A great afternoon in Sunny St Petersburg, FL. Danelis and Luis let me capture them before leaving us to Maryland!

Good Luck, guys in your new adventure! Hope to see you soon and you better get the air mattress ready!

An open letter to my "much" younger self

2011-08-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Dear 9 year-old self;

Greetings from the year 2011! I know this could be a little bit of a shock, but since you are a true geek I know you'll understand. Yes, it is me...you...from the future. You are turning 32 today. 3+2=32! Can you believe it? I know you think that you are the coolest kid alive right now. You are free and young. You like science, video games, books and your dolls. You can climb every available tree and make the most original outfits for your Barbies. Anything couldn't be better than this. You don't want to grow up, like Peter Pan. Adult seems boring, with all their worries and funny cloths.

But let me tell you something, you were wrong! The worries are there, but your life is not one bit boring. You work part time @ Disney wearing crazy outfits. Basically you get paid for dressing up and playing with character (hello?!). You take photos of everything and sometimes people pay you for it (Shh, they don't know they are paying you for having fun!). You enjoy Ice cream more now that you discovered there are flavors other than chocolate (Thank You, Ben & Jerry & Colbert for the AmeriCone Dream !). You stay still and enjoy a sunset! (No more running inside because is getting dark). You can cook real food ( No, for real! And It taste good). You can drink now all those crazy "juices" with little umbrellas in it and you like them (specially Mojitos and Appletinis). You got more books now and very cool ones. You wore mostly jeans and fabulous shoes. And the working suits are not that boring anymore. You got through college, TWICE! You fly a lot (Not to all the cool places you are dreaming off but we are working on that one).

You like scary movies now. ET is not a threat to you. You still laugh at silly movies and cry with very sentimental ones (AND still can't watch Bambi. Sorry that damage was permanent). But you are a strong woman. Even when you think you are not. You think now that Boys rules not drool! (You even got married!). ...

I almost forgot...you got two Godsons, and you won't believe from who...

give up?...

Patricia's Sons! Yeap, Diego and Sebastian!

You also got nephews and nieces...from Yammy, Say and other friends you met along the way. Yes, you have met a lot of cool people from all around the world, including Japan and India! Can you believe it?

As you see, life get's even better! Just hold on a little bit and you'll see it too! I can't wait for what it is store for you next. I'm a little scared too. But life is an adventure and you've done great so far! Let's keep going! So much to learn, so little time...

There is only one thing left to tell...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

See you in a while!

Love,

A 32-year-old You!

Stop or I Shoot you...literally!

2011-05-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Revolver camera: a Colt 38 carrying a small camera that automatically takes a picture when you pull the trigger. At the left: six pictures taken by the camera. New York, 1938.

The First Time We Played

2011-05-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw you, you were playing with your brother and some neighbors in the small hill in front of my home. I was watching you for a while trying to find some guts to join you, guys, in what seems the most fun game ever. I knew you were a tomboy like me, the mark of dirt in your pants told me so. But still I couldn't fight the fear to get closer.

My concentration was interrupted by Mami's voice. 'I screw it! Here goes my chance to make new friends' I thought. Mom was walking towards the door holding one of my trucks. 'Go play with them' she told me. I took the truck and started walking towards the dirt.

That was the first of a million nights playing in that same hill. We built dirt roads for our trucks, played with the barbie dolls, rode the bike, sat down at the top of the water tank , listening to the sounds of rock music while talking about boys, or played with the telescope at night. By that time I thought nothing could get us apart. Then came college. And I was scared, but the more apart we were, the less it felt when we got back together. It was around that time that I understood that our bond was stronger and unbreakable. No matter where we are, we will be always together in the hill in front of my house in a warm summer afternoon.

I dare you to dream

2011-05-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

“Each of us has an inner dream that we can unfold if we will just have the courage to admit what it is. And the faith to trust our own admission. The admitting is often very difficult.” -Julia Cameron

5 years ago, I dare to dream a crazy dream. I went against what everybody told me I should do. I was scared. But I kept moving. Today is a day closer to that dream. Each step is an accomplishment, each day is a new opportunity to get it. I get distracted sometimes, life is full of distractions, but I keep walking. The important thing is to get back on track. To keep moving, to keep visualizing the dream, to keep focus. A lot of new challenges await, I know it. But I'm ready...I think I am...I can do this! I am on my way. I dare you to do the same. I dare you to dream!

“To dream anything that you want to dream.

That's the beauty of the human mind.

To do anything that you want to do.

That is the strength of the human will.

To trust yourself to test your limits.

That is the courage to succeed.” -Bernard Edmound

My Google Experience!

2011-04-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, I was one unhappy computer engineer, who left everything behind to change her career. After Atlanta, grad school, Masters in Fine Arts, marrying my best friend, Florida, working for the Census, waitressing at El Toro Bravo, and working at Disney, I was looking for the next thing to do. I hit the Monster.com in search of a posting that would get my attention. A simple ad did: "Big 500 Fortune Company seeks photographer in the Tampa Bay Area". Sure, why not? But the phone call that came after was unexpected. It so happened the big company was Google and they wanted me.

Seven months have passed, and here I am, ready to keep going, to move on. My days as a Certified Google Photographer have come to an end but the experience will stay, and what I learned will continue helping me in the future. I wanted to share them with yoou. So here there are: The Top 10 things I Learn While Being a PhotoG (Certified Google Photographer):

1) Every time you travel, you need an "I was there" photo. This is imperative. Not only you get a great keepsake but also bragging rights.

The Google Bike!

2) Office spaces are overrated. Specially if you have this view:

3) Watch for the weather. Remember that you learned that offices are overrated

4) It's ok to call in if the view from your apartment looks like this:

5) Keep your mind open and your phone ready, because accidents can happen in front of you:

7 cars were involved in that one! Yikes!

6) Everything can change pretty quick. You may talk to a business one day, and find it evicted the next.

Or your camera may be working fine and then decide to stop working:

BTW, if you camera gives this error, it just died.

7) Don't be afraid to try food. You may be missing good stuff:

Vietnamese Sandwich - Very Good!

DU'A GANG (Honey dew) Boba Slush

8) License Plates can be fun. Specially one that has come a long way:

9) Hydroponics aren't exclusive for Marijuana. They are a great way of growing your own indoor garden. I showed this photo to someone and they gave me THE LOOK, followed by: "How is the job doing? Is everything ok?"

10) Be friendly and respectful with everybody. You'll never know when you'll going to meet a celebrity:

At the end, I was getting a little cranky about having to deal with rude owners, long drives and apps problems. But I can't complain. I got to know Tampa Bay Area better in those 7 months that in the previous 2 years I've been here. I can't deny there were bad days when not even the cool colored logo could make you feel better. But overall it was a great experience. And lets be honest... IT WAS GOOGLE. What's not to love!

Art Tuesday: Abelardo Morell

2011-03-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

"In a way, photography has been my way of thinking, putting some thoughts together in a stretch—enough to make the picture ask questions, philosophical questions about the world." --Albelardo Morell

Abelardo Morell was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948. After fleeing in 1962, he moved to in New York were he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College in 1977, and a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University School of Art in 1981. He received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Bowdoin in 1997.

He is best known by his work with a camera obscura, a device that consists of a box with a hole in one side. When light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside, it is reproduced, upside-down, but without changing color and perspective. He takes an ordinary room, and transforms it into a camera by placing black plastic over all of the windows and leaving a 3/8" hole through which the light passes. He then sets up his view camera in the room, points it at the opposite wall, opens the lens and lets the image appear on the film over the next eight hours. The result, a fusion between the outside and inside, letting the existing reality outside the window overpower the room.

Umbrian Landscape Over Bed, Umbertide, Italy, 2000

La Giraldilla de la Habana in Room With Broken Wall, 2002

The Empire State Building in Bedroom, 1994

Santa Maria della Salute in Palazzo Bedroom. Venice, Italy, 2006

His images are a paradox. You usually go to a room, specially a bedroom or hotel room, to relax, unwind, disconnect from the outside world. You close your windows and blinds, and let the world outside behind. But with his work, he is forcing you to confront the outside, accept it, because is everywhere you look. It takes over the space. At the same time, is not quite perfect. The image is upside down, interacting with everything in the room, changing our perception of reality and how we deal with it.

San Francisco View Looking East, 2002

All this empowering and mind-bending world from the outside is making its way through a little 3/8" hole...isn't that ironic, don't you think?

Take the time and learn more about Abelardo Morell and his other body of works, here.

Free Lens Hoods

2011-03-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

While browsing one of my favorite websites, Photojojo, I found this neat link to a website for printing and putting together your own Lens Hood. It is free and maybe less sturdy that the real one, but it does the job for the best price (ahem, FREE!). You may be asking, Well, Why use a printable lens hood?

Ultra compact - can be carried unfolded.
No waiting to order one - simply download, print, cut-out and attach.
Redundancy - don't worry if you lose one; just print another!
100% recyclable.
Can be modified to cater for different digital SLR sensor crop factors.
Available in both 'rounded' and 'petal' versions.

And best of all...

They're absolutely free!

If you want to check them out, these are the guys: Lens Hoods
I got mine, the only thing I got trouble with was getting it in place, until the paper was molded enough. Maybe, it is not real deal, but sure can save the day!

Art Tuesday: Shirin Neshat شیرین نشاط

2011-02-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

"My only advice is to spend less time on thinking about success and put all the energy in making art itself. Otherwise your relationship to your art changes. It becomes less genuine and honest. Art should not be born from a pressure of becoming successful but something deeper. This is always a danger and the cause for mediocrity in art." -Shirin Neshat

Shirin Neshat شیرین نشاط was born in Qazvin, Iran. Her father's love for western culture, lead him to encourage his daughters to “be an individual, to take risks, to learn, to see the world”. She left home right before the Revolution. Her family suffered the economical impact of the revolution and the new Islamic Government. Instead of coming home, she began studying at Dominican College. Eventually, she enrolled in UC Berkeley and completed her BA, MA and MFA.

After moving to New York and marring a Korean curator, Kyong Park, director and founder of Storefront for Art and Architecture. In 1990, she returned to Iran and was confronted with what she remembered and what it is now. The Women of Allah series was born after that trip, as a way of coping with the discrepancy between the culture that she experienced and that of the pre-revolution Iran in which she was raised.

Her pieces are simple yet charged with social, cultural and religious codes of Muslim societies and the roles of men and women within. Using stark visual contrasts like light and dark, black and white, male and female, she emphasizes this theme. It also deals with the political and psychological dimensions of women experiences in contemporary Islamic Societies. She resists stereotypical representations of Islam, instead her work deals with the complex intellectual and religious forces shaping the identity of Muslim women. She adds Persian poetry and calligraphy as a way to portrait concepts such as martyrdom, the space of exile, identity and femininity.

But how about hearing it from her own voice?

I love her work. She helped me deal with my thesis, specially with the identity crisis this one provoked in me. She can be so powerful and present a cruel reality in very poetic way without offending the bodily codes of the Islamic Woman. A genius, inspired and motivated only by the desired to deal with her own confusions. Truly inspiring!

If you want to know more, please visit: Shirin Neshat.

Art Tuesday: Pete Eckert

2011-02-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

By Webster Dictionary, Photography is the art of capturing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (as film or a CCD chip). Image is define as the optical counterpart of an object produced by an optical device (as a lens or mirror) or an electronic device; a visual representation of something. Visual, of, relating to, or used in vision; attained or maintained by sight. Using this 3 definitions you may concluded that to photograph is to capture something that you see. But can we only "see with our sight"?

Peter Eckert is a carpenter who was trained in sculpture and industrial design. He was also on his way to become an architect at Yale, until he was diagnose with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a condition that leads to permanently blindness. After loosing his sight, he was so afraid of not being able to take care of himself, that he enrolled in Martial Arts classes, achieving black belt, and went back to college to obtain a MBA. Eckert:2, Blindness:0

In 2008, he won the Artist Wanted "Exposure" competition. His medium? Photography.

(Eckert: 3, Blindness: 0)

"One day I was cleaning out a drawer and found my mother in laws’ old camera. She had passed away a few years earlier. I like mechanical things, so Amy found me fooling with it. I asked her to describe the settings to me so I could figure out how to use the 1950’s Kodak. I found the camera fascinating and discovered it had an infrared setting. I thought a blind guy doing photos in a non-visible wavelength would be amusing. I was hooked. I knew nothing about film or manual cameras." (excerpt from his website)

(c) Pete Eckert

His images look like out of a surrealist world, a dream world: Men made out of light, shadows, blurry. It's like a combination of how he remembers the world with how the camera can capture it. He photographs places he visited before going blind, and with the help of his other senses, specially his hearing, he position his camera and make the shots. His lack of sight frees him from the rules of traditional imagery but at the same time makes him more grounded to everything that surrounds him. He have friends who help him in the darkroom, but only after the image is already in a contact sheet. He do all the process himself, from setting the camera, developing the film, and doing the contact print. He ask for feedback, where his imagination can not reach.

"I could cut sighted people completely out of my process. I could do a write up about the event of taking the photos. The negatives, contact sheets, and write up about the event could be the final product. I like doing the dramatic large prints better. I want sighted people involved. It is a good bridge between the blind and sighted. I want to be included in the world and accepted."

(c) Pete Eckert

His dedication makes my complains during the long hours in the darkroom back in my MFA days totally lame. But sure gives me motivation to keep experiment and creating in this medium I love. He gives the phrase "Don't give up, get even" a whole new meaning! Eckert: 4, blindness: 0 (Take that, Blindness!)

...And to you who are reading, what's your excuse? ;)

**If you want to know more about him, visit his website Pete Eckert or watch the biography video made for the Artist Wanted

Art Tuesday: Google Art Project

2011-02-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

Today's Art Tuesday is a little bit different. Instead of talking about a specific artist, I'll talk a little bit about this new Google project, the Google Art Project!

The Google Art Project is a collaboration with some of the world's most unique museums to allow people to discover thousands of art pieces, even from the comfort of our homes. If you have used the Street View feature on Google Maps, this project uses the same technology to allow you to navigate through the museums floors, and enjoy the pieces in high quality images. Also, while you enjoy the virtual tour, you can select and save your favorite pieces, building your own personal virtual collection.

Being a geek artist and working for a similar project (Google Business Photos), I couldn't contain the excitement and admiration for this amazing project. And quickly started to look up how was done. Nope, it is not necessary video. It's more like thousand of photos put together to recreate these great rooms, very high tech without disturbing their original elegance.... Still wondering, how is done? Here is the video to show a little bit of the Google Magic...

I know virtual art would never substitute the feeling of standing in front of a master piece,...but this is a great way to bring back art to the people, to make it accessible, like it should be.

YEAH, for Instant Film!

2011-01-31T21:10:00.000-08:00

I grew up with cameras around me. I still don't know why it took me so long to figure out that i want to spend my life taking photos. My dad love taking photographs and I learned how to freeze time from his Petri 35 mm and his Instant camera. I loved the Petri...But there was nothing like the old Polaroid. There something magic in the sound of the print getting out from the camera, the anticipation, seeing the print develop quick in your hands...the instant gratification.

In February 2008, Polaroid announced the end of an era, no more Polaroids, no more instant gratification in the quest of freezing time and preserving memories. But, like happens in life, you tell someone they won't have something anymore and the desire to have it comes in. That's when the Impossible Project came in. October 2008, Forian Kaps and André Bosman bought the production machinery from Polaroid and leased Building North of the former Polaroid plant. Slowly they are reviving the film, the Polaroid Renaissance...

I am excited to have my instant camera back and running. Finally manage to buy some PX 600 Film V 06. Now, it's time to have some fun. Thanks, Impossible Project!

Art Tuesday: Pepon Osorio

2011-01-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another Art Tuesday! This week Artist is a fellow Puerto Rican, Pepon Osorio.

"My principal commitment as an artist is to return art to the community," - Pepon Osorio

Pepon Osorio is Puerto Rican multimedia artist, better known for his large-scale installations that blends the conceptual art with the community dynamics. The visual language that Osorio uses, loud yet elegant challenge the traditional canons of the art world and makes his way into the polemical art world. With his large-scale, multimedia installations, he recreates common places like a bedroom, a house, or a simple community barbershop to provoke critical contemporary discussions about stereotypes, and cultural identity. By reclaiming symbols of an, often resilient, culture, he is empowering those symbols and stimulating the viewers to question and re-examine their own core values.

My favorite installation is En la Barberia No se Llora (No crying aloud at the Barber Shop) (Figure Above). It was the first piece I had the chance to see in person at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MaPR). At first, the installation, as many of his, is overwhelming. There is a lot to see and to take at the same time. Pink walls filled with Latino Influential males personalities, barber chairs cover in plastic flowers, the flags, the salsa music all combined to tell a story, a story that started as his own but ended up being a representation of culture, social situations and stereotypes of a community.

Knowing his work has helped me find my own voice, learned how to deal with these issues and transformed them in pieces of art, in my case, photographs. He has opened a lot of opportunities, not only to Puerto Ricans, but for all artists whom have felt “othered” or whom thinks that talking about their nationality or cultural identity is not a good theme in art. Pepon Osorio has became a great example of the issues and values he presents through his work. Helping his community along the way, returning art to the community.

The Installation was set up at an abandon building in Manhattan Lower Bronx, where Osorio
worked as a social worker.

If you haven't got the chance to see his work, I encourage you to watch Art 21: Pepon Osorio.

Happy Tuesday!

Art Tuesday: Arnold Newman

2011-01-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Art Tuesday!
From now I will try to commit my Tuesday post for Art, mostly photography. Here you'll have some info on my favorite artists and links to where to find more info about them. This First Art Tuesday will be...Arnold Newman.

"There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that's impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants." -Arnold Newman

Arnold Newman was an American Photographer known for his environmental portraits of famous artists. His portfolio includes portraits of President Kennedy, Picasso, Georgia O'Keefe, Gordon Parks, Ansel Adams, Igor Stravinsky, and many more. If it was famous between the 1940-1990, there is photo taken by Newman. But what made him a true master wasn't his subjects, but how he reveals about them by using the environment. Take this photo of Igor Stravinsky. Even if you don't who he is, you can deduct he is related to music, specific Piano.

Newman style not only incorporated the environment as a story teller, but changed the way the portraits of the famous should be. It doesn't matter if the "famous subject" is in one corner or only shows part of his eye. You were looking at all the other elements that were part of this person, which became a different kind of portrait of them.

I can't get tired of looking at his photos. Each one is like a puzzle to me. Specially the ones I don't know the subject...Umm...Let's play a game...Here is 5 portraits of famous people (at least for some) Can you guess who are they? Or at least what are they? Leave your guesses in the comments...

And a Bonus ...this one is EASY!

For more info on Arnold Newman, you can visit The Arnold Newman Archive site.

Happy Artsy Tuesday!

Books, Books, Books

2011-01-17T20:51:00.001-08:00

I love books.

I don't know when exactly started but I remember being a little girl holding those read-along Disney stories in front of my fisher price record player. I don't know why but having a little bundle of pages in my hands made my day. Still does.

I was going low on my "reservoir" of books to read. So I did what everybody close to the holidays will do...set a wish list with all the books I would love to read/have AND sent it to my husband. He is good taking hints, so on Christmas morning I found 3 of them under the tree. The Fourth one, he let the Three Kings brought it to me.

This new collection and the desire to devour them at once, gave me an idea: To create a quota of books I want to read this year (Yeah! Like I need another excuse to read). So this year, I want to read 30 Books, roughly 1 every 2 weeks. I already finished Coraline...and started LOST. If I know myself like I think I do...I read more than that. In the next book post I'll make a list of the books I'm planing to read...Any recommendations are more than welcome...

Happy Monday!

1/11/11 Dali Day in St Pete!!!

2011-01-11T18:14:00.001-08:00

Today's Date: 1/11/11...My nerd side can't help but to think in Binary Code, Computer Code. My artistic side is thinking Art, it's thinking DALI.

Today, open the new home for the Dali Museum here in Tampa Bay. The new building looks like it came from Dali's head itself. It's basically a 3 story 18-inch thick concrete box. Falling from the roof, there is an irregular giant drop (dome), inspired in Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome. But don't let the fragile feeling of glass fool you. This baby is reinforced and certified for a Category 3 hurricane. For a more detailed description, you can check out the St Pete Times article here

The first time I saw The Persistence of Memory, I thought he was crazy. I couldn't figured out why people like him so much. Until one day, I stopped and looked. My left-side of the brain started to question the meaning of it, Why he did it? What he wanted to say? The more I looked the more I wanted to know him, understand him. Maybe it was his past or the present? While my left side was immerse in the logic...the right side was getting hooked. And the Dali fan was born.

Photographer Philippe Halsman wanted to explore the idea of suspension in photographs and who better than Dali to help in the matter. Using the same artistic elements presents in Dali's work, or at least whichever was possible with the limitation of the medium at the time, they capture flying cats, thrown water, kicked bread and Dali in mid air. I like to think that Halsman intentions was to capture how Dali saw the world. If we could photograph, with 1940-50s equipment, how Dali view the world, it would look like something similar to Halsman's photos. I can easily imagine Dali seeing flying cats or water jumping around him while he was painting.

Untitled, Slavador Dali, 1942

In Voluptas Mors, Philippe Halsman, 1951

Leda Atomica, Salvador Dali

Dali Atomicus, Philippe Halsman, 1948

I'm still not sure if I truly like Dali's work, but it sure fascinates me. One thing is true, it would be very interesting to see the world through his eyes.

Happy Dali Day!

FEAR

2011-01-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

This past year was one of many challenges. I know everybody says that. But truly it was, at least for us. Our paths and plans got shaken, I'm still not sure if it was because we were heading in the wrong direction or because we needed a little detour to get a crash course of some life lessons we were missing. The thing is it got me thinking a lot, trying to figure it out what comes next. I've been reading, researching, soul searching...trying to figure this out. In my search, I crossed path with these words by Marianne Williamson:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

Then It hit me...I spent most of 2010 in fear. Fear of "what ifs". The Fear was so intense that I found myself blabbing excuses of why I was not doing stuff. I could sweare at the time that they were all valid ressons. Now, I know better.

Sometimes we don't succeed because we stop ourselves before even starting. This year that is going to change. 2011 will be a year of actions...even if they turned into fails, or even more frightful...if they become a HUGE success!

Happy Sunday!

Three Kings Day!

2011-01-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

Today was, well still is Three Kings Day back home, in Puerto Rico. A great celebration that starts on January 5th by taking a shoe box, filling up with grass and putting it under your bed. The grass is for the Camels or, in some parts, for the horses which carry these kind kings and THE presents. On the morning of the 6th...instead of grass, you find toys or whatever you asked for. It is my favorite holiday and I have the most amazing memories from this day growing up.

This is the first year I'm not in the Island to celebrate it. So what can this Puerto Rican do? To ease my nostalgic self, my hubby went outside and picked up a little half withered-half green grass from our Apartment building green areas. I got the camera and savor the moment, our beautiful shoe boxes under the bed and all my illusions restored. Thanks, Ob!

HAPPY THREE KINGS DAY!

New Year, New Adventures, New roads

2011-01-04T18:43:00.000-08:00

A new year has begun. I, like the rest of the world, sat down and wrote a bunch of stuff. People called them resolutions...I would like to called them dreams, plans, adventures. Yeah, Adventures. That list is like a travel itinerary. Listing all my adventures to come...Gotta love the freshness of a new year!!

HAPPY 2011!!

Native American Paintings

2010-12-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

Today, I had the opportunity to shoot a Gallery in Clearwater that mostly shows painting of the Wild Wild West, specially of Native Americans. Paintings, sculptures, you name it...each one beautifully crafted and detailed of what we can recall of that time.

Standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by all those Native Americans showing the long lost glory, I couldn't help but wonder, Is that our way to say "We are sorry"?

Coffee + Lens = Cool Mug?

2010-11-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Being a photographer and a Coffee lover, I thought it would be impossible to choose among my two loves, enjoy holding them both, at the same time...in the same hand.

I thought wrong:

Buy the The Camera Lens Mug at the Photojojo Store!

Of course it comes for Canon too (For you Canon lovers!)

DIY Monday!

2010-04-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

If you've been following my blog, this week I will start with a series of projects to keep myself learning about what I love to do...photography.
Today, Monday, is time for DIY project. This week I've decided to build a Simple Fold Away light box. I got the idea from DIYPhotography.net blog who posted an entry from Drawings in Motion blog. I've been researching different styles and techniques for a light tent, but this one won me over. I think it was the fold away part...on Wednesday I'll post some updates!

Happy Monday!

New Things!

2010-04-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot how to get my motivation high. So I decided to give it a twist to my posting here in my blog. I'm going to be exploring different projects and doing some research about different topics. The best way to explain it is like this:

Monday: Do-it-yourself Photography projects
- I thought it is about time I put to good use all the tips and things available at the DIY Photography. I'll be sharing the projects and the results.

Tuesday: Review a Tool
-I'll be researching photography tools available and review it, some from experience some just from the result of the research.

Wednesday: Shoot Day
-Shoot something, trying new stuff, developing new ideas. Shoot Shoot Shoot.

Thursday: Photographer of the Week
-As a photographer, it is always important to know about other photographers, past, present and maybe upcoming artists. I'll dedicate this day to the life of a photographer.

Friday: Summary or Any other thing!
- Sometimes will be the review of the week's work. Others, random photography stuff I find...Either way, more info that I hope will help you...

This "new thing" will start Next week...Let's see how it goes...

My Show!

2010-03-02T20:05:00.001-08:00

Past Friday, I had my first Solo Show and the culmination of my Masters degree. The pieces looked great @ The Showcase School of Photography in Atlanta. It was so emotional, not only because it was the first time I saw them the way I wanted, but also because that night I saw my dream come true. It is also the beginning, the beginning of the next chapter...

Here are some of the photos of that Night:

Happy 20th Birthday, Photoshop!

2010-02-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

This Month, Photoshop - the number one photo editing and manipulation tool - turns 20! Here are a couple of links that will make you go down the memory lane...

20 years of Adobe Photoshop
Happy 20th Birthday, Adobe Photoshop
Adobe
First Version of Photoshop

And my favorite, a video from 1990 when photoshop was just getting out! TV Guide was "accused" of putting Oprah Winfrey's head on other woman body.
Adobe TV Broadcast

Happy Monday!

25 Photography Writings you should read

2010-02-21T14:32:00.000-08:00

Surfing through the Photojojo webpage, I found a link to a web page written by a photo MFA Student, James Pomerantz. In his blog, he includes a list of 26 Photo Writings you should read. Going through the list, I found out that thanks to SCAD and, specially, Prof. Steve Aishman, I have read half of them. I'm way behind. So I've decided, as soon as my first Solo Show is over, I'll start to read each one of them... Here is the list:

Photo Writings

1. Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, in “Illuminations” ed., Hannah Arendt

2. Walter Benjamin, “The Author as Producer”, in “Reflections” ed., Hannah Arendt

3. Roland Barthes, “The Rhetoric of the Image”, in “Image Music Text”

4. Roland Barthes, “The Photographic Message”, in “Image Music Text”

5. Roland Barthes, “The Death of the Author” in “Image Music Text”

6. Roland Barthes, “Camera Lucida”

7. Baudrillard, “Simulacra and Simulation”

7. Susan Sontag, “On Photography”

8. Susan Sontag “Regarding the Pain of Others”

9. Vilem Flusser, “Towards a Philosophy of Photography”

10. Michael Fried, “Art and Objecthood”

11. Michel Foucault, “Of Other Spaces: Heterotopias”

12. Martha Rosler, “In, Around, and Afterthoughts (On Documentary Photography)” in “The Contest of Meaning”, ed., Richard Bolton

13. Deborah Bright, “Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men: An Inquiry Into the Culture Meanings of Landscape Photography”, in “The Contest of Meaning”, ed., Richard Bolton

14. Allan Sekula, “The Body and the Archive” in “The Contest of Meaning”, ed., Richard Bolton (also in October, Winter 1986)

15. Allan Sekula, “Reading an Archive” from “Blasted Allegories”, ed., Brian Wallis

16. Christopher Phillips, “ The Judgment Seat of Photography” in “The Contest of Meaning”, ed., Richard Bolton

17. Walter Benjamin, “A Short History of Photography”, in “Classic Essays on Photography”, ed., Alan Trachtenberg

18. Andre Bazin, “The Ontology of the Photographic Image”, in “Classic Essays on Photography”, ed., Alan Trachtenberg

19. Siegfried Kracauer, “Photography” in “Classic Essays on Photography”, ed., Alan Trachtenberg

20. Hubert Damisch, “Five Notes for a Phenomenology of the Photographic Image” in “Classic Essays on Photography”, ed., Alan Trachtenberg

21. Craig Owens, “Photography En Abyme”, in “Beyond Recognition”

22. Craig Owens, “The Discourse of Others: Feminism and Postmodernism”, in “Beyond Recognition”

23. Douglas Crimp, “Pictures” October, Volume 8, 1979, also in “Art after Modernism: Rethinking Representation”, ed., Brian Wallis

24. John Szarkowski, “Mirrors and Windows”

25. Rosalind Krauss, “Notes on the Index: Part 1 and Part 2” in “The Originality of the Avant – Garde and other Modernist Myths”

26. Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” in “Visual and Other Pleasures”

Happy Sunday!

Today is his Birthday!

2010-02-17T22:22:00.001-08:00

Today is his birthday...My friend, my lover, my partner in crime, my support, my travel buddy, my husband! Today, I am thankful because he exists. Today I am thankful because he is here with me!

Happy Birthday, Love!

Great Week!

2010-01-29T20:28:00.001-08:00

This week has turned out to be a great week for my art. In less than 3 days I gave a presentation about my work, got Audience Choice Award for it, ended up finalist of the Best of College Photography 2010 (Photography's Forum Magazine), My photo is used by a local blogger that covered the event and I got the news release of my thesis show. A lot for such amount of time. But I guess that's how life works.

Here is a little more details on each event:

Wednesday, Feb 27th - 15 Minutes of Fame talk - FMoPA

I had the opportunity to talk about my work, for the first time, outside Atlanta. We were 6 presenters, different degrees and years of experience in Photography just talking about what we love. At the end, all of the visitors had the opportunity to vote for their favorite. It was a tied between me and Robert Neff . On a curious note, he was also an engineer.

You can find a little more info about the activity in Dawn Elliot blog, Tampa Do-Gooder. The photo she uses, is one of my most recent work.

Friday, Feb 29th (Today)

First of all, I received a letter from Photography's Forum Magazine telling me that I was one of the finalist of the Best of College Photography 2010. What that means is that my photo is going to be published in a Best of College Photography 2010 publication and that I have the chance to compete for the next round with prices from $100 to a new Nikon. Being in the book is already a big deal, so I'm excited. The photo that entered was this one:

This photo is part of my thesis, which will be up @ The Showcase School of Photography by the end of February. The Opening Reception will be on February 26th, 2010 from 6:30-9pm. If you are in the Atlanta area, make sure to stop by!

Near the End!

2009-08-18T12:36:00.001-07:00

As the end of the Summer Quarter approaches, I'm closing up my two sets for the Photo Arts IV class and part of my thesis exhibition. You've seen the Puerto Americana, and part of the flag in the previous post. The third one is a little bit complicated but fun to do. It is linked with the same idea of self discovery but is the Journal style. Here are 2 of the most finished one so far:

New Work!

2009-08-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my new work. It deals with the confusion of being a Puerto Rican. We are American citizens, we are part of the States yet we have our own culture. We speak both languages and are very influenced by the presence of the States in our country. This work tries to help find my identity and work with the misconceptions about our relation. The first part is already done and you can see it at my Web Page: Puerto Americana

I'm working on another serie which is going to be part of this one,
I'm pretty excited how this one is coming along. I hope to have it finished and uploaded at the end of August.

WELCOME!

2009-04-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Sharma Shari Photography Blog!
Here you'll find info about my work in progress and some of my thoughts about the process.