July 3-12th:
This past week has been pretty awesome, had some nice time off and got to spend some good quality time with my friends and loved ones. I’ve gone biking, boating, ate some amazing food, listened to fabulous music, and finally got out to start shooting some personal projects of my own. l don’t have alot more to say about this week, so I’m going to talk about four businesses that I support and am currently involved with. I think everyone needs to know about them.
1: Crystalooney’s Creative Arts: A few years ago when worked for The Capital Newspaper in Annapolis and was out looking for some nice “wild art” I stepped into B.B. Bistro in West Annapolis and saw this energetic Aussie entertaining kids during one of her afternoon programs where she read stories and painted faces for the kids. I took a few photos and moved on my way, but Christalene also was in my memory…what a fun person I thought. Fast forward a year and I officially met Christalene at a birthday party that I was hired to photograph…we talked about our businesses and then went our separate ways once again. Then some time later, we met again at another event and the little cogs in our brains started turning…we were at the same events doing our thing time and time again…why not begin to collaborate and do some of these gigs as a team. About 6 months ago we did our first birthday party together for a mutual friend’s kiddo. It was a blast, I documented the party and she painted all the kids faces, had a story time and gave the birthday girl a little princess makeover. The album I made for the family was awesome and something they will have for years and years to remember when their little one was just 4 years old.
I’ve continued to work with her photographing a couple body painting demonstrations, which I was blown away by, she can transform someone into the most amazing body of art! A few weeks ago I photographed a belly henna that she did for an expecting mother. Photographing the human body form is always a beautiful experience for me, but seeing a gorgeous pregnant belly with an intricate henna design on it made it even more wonderful.
When I photograph her artwork, I become more inspired and I am pushed to new limits. I encourage you all to check out her work and consider hiring her for your child’s next birthday party, friend’s bridal shower, or give a gift of a belly henna at your next baby shower. Henna and face painting is not just for kids…it’s a fun way to express yourself, even if it’s just for one day. www.crystalooneys.com
2: Already Artists: I’ve been working at this awesome little art studio on Maryland Avenue for just about three years. Again, it’s thanks to my time at The Capital newspaper that I even found this place. I was sent on an assignment over 5 years ago to photograph at the studio and as soon as I walked and saw all these little artists learning and doing such advanced artwork, I was hooked. When the time was right, I talked to Stacey (the owner) about working with her and I soon started. I just love this place, from teaching the kids everything from the most successful artists in history such as Monet and Van Gogh, to learning about our contemporary street/outsider artists that do graffiti in the streets of their towns, the kids really do get a well rounded art experience. We work with all kinds of fun materials too. We’ve been know to even use trash as a medium…and wow the people who walk by our little window on Maryland Ave. each week. So, if you have kids under the age of 13, check it out…we’d love to have you join our fall classes! www.alreadyartists.com
3: 49 West Coffeehouse and Winebar: I’ve been hanging out and frequenting this place for quite some time now, so it was inevitable that when I realized it would be nice to make a little extra money to buy some more equipment (because a photographer always is looking to buy some new equipment), I chose 49 West as my place for secondary employment. It’s an awesome place, I can’t say enough good about it. The food rocks (I recommend the salmon bagel for breakfast & the chicken salad or one of their ever changing specials for lunch), the people are great, and they are great supporters of the local businesses (they serve Cafe Pronto coffee…a local favorite)…Being a regular there is like being part of a little family, I guess you could say it’s my <a href="“>Cheers…where everyone knows my name. The best part is the back room where some very talented musicians play on a nightly schedule. This is my favorite place in Annapolis for live music. Nowhere else in this city can you get such an intimate show without spending a ton (unlike the place I won’t mention just a few doors down). The wine and dessert selection is always a nice treat at the end of long day and they have my favorite beer (Guinness) so I can’t complain one bit. If you’ve never checked out this place, mosey on down and see a show and have some lunch or dinner…it’s the place to be!
4: The Annapolis Sound: I recently started working with/contributing to the area’s newest media group, The Annapolis Sound. I am so excited about this opportunity because I really respect what it is that they are doing as a media group in today’s crazy fast paced world with news exploding all around you. They are taking Annapolis and really showing the different angles that this city has…not just sailing and crab cakes, they are digging a bit deeper and telling good stories about our area. Unlike the local paper, which is good for it’s own reasons, The Sound has the time to really sit with a story (without the demanding deadlines that the daily paper has). They focus on interesting topics and cover them in an interesting way, such as multimedia, staff roundtable discussions (podcasts), and photo essays. It’s nice to read about your town and peel away the layers to see what’s really going on around you. My favorite segment that they do is called “Six Degrees of Sound”
where they interview a local person asking them six questions about their life, with on of the questions being, “who or what do you want to know more about?” It’s very interesting to see what the average person in this area is interested in, and a lot of time, it’s something I want to know about to. Enough about The Sound….go read it for yourself and check out some of my photos while you are there!
Freckle Photography-Annapolis, Maryland 