The Cost Usually Winds up Being More

So, this evening, or night rather, I went online to Adorama's web site to reserve some equipment to rent for my upcoming shoot, this Sunday, November 20.

The videographer who's shooting had emailed me earlier on this week giving me a list of items I needed to bring to the shoot in order to get the results I wanted: 1) A wireless mic so that the recorder could pic up my voice; 2) A recorder for the audio portion of my video 3) A light kit including a 1,000 W light bulb for lighting.

I had no idea that this was required for the shoot and I also assumed that he would "naturally" have all these things.

Turns out I was wrong.

When I went to reserve the equipment, I was pretty ecstatic to find out that the price of the rental was a lot less than I expected. However, there was one "minor" snafu, I needed a major credit card or a certificate of insurance to hold the full replacement value of the equipment in case it got damaged, lost or stolen.

Didn't have neither, so I had to go another route. The details of the other route aren't important, let's just say that it cost me more than I wanted to spend (not much much more, but more all in all).

My experience here displays a valuable lesson that I learned a while back when I started taking action towards my goals and has once more been drilled into me: whenever you make plans or goals in life, expect that they may take longer or cost more than what you initially planned for.

You may make plans or set an initial goal to be done by a certain time frame and to cost a certain dollar amount, but in life, because you cannot foresee all that may happen, "unseen" costs may pop up, and unseen events may occur all serving to derail your initial plans to spend a certain amount of money and to have your goal completed within a specific time.

You may have control of yourself, and be the type of person who does things when you say you're going to do them, but there are other many other variable out of your control, one of them namely being people. Invariably, if you embark on any goal, you're going to one way or another wind up working with someone who you depend on to a certain degree to get something done that you can't do yourself. And of course, you have no control over people and the things that happen in their lives which may ultimately wind up affecting how they help you with what you're working.

Such is the thing called life. Rather than get frustrated and shake our fist at the gods, we should just accept this as a part of life, knowing that eventually, in one way or another, what we want will get done if we persist, just maybe not within the time period we had hoped or without us spending more that we had expected.

Second Photo Shoot w/ Alex Ogundiran for Upcoming Video Project Completed

Photo by Kemuel Valdez

So, this past Wednesday, November 9, I did my second shoot for my upcoming video project with the diversely talented Alex Ogundiran. Hopefully, this is the last photo shoot needed for this project, though, as you know when you embark on any endeavour, you may have to make changes down the line.

Alex Ade Ogundiran is a Celebrity BEAUTY and FASHION Photographer of South African and Nigerian heritage making waves in the world of fashion. This successful former model-turned photographer has worked with the best of the best and is passionate about redefining BEAUTY with one click of the camera. With creative vision and edge unlike any other and an out-of–the-box approach, Alex highlights his subjects’ strongest features with a unique lighting technique to create the PERFECT image.

I also might add that he publishes and edits his own magazine called TDM, creates websites for talent/companies, and also helps people with branding. For a full read on Alex and his work, click here.

I met Alex on Model Mayhem, where he had initially reached out to me after seeing my profile in order to set up a shoot. Initially, when I saw his online portfolio, I saw he had an incredible eye but thought he only did high fashion and though I usually don't shoot high fashion, something told me to call him and talk with him, and when I did, I found out he also did underwear, fitness, body shots, etc.

Cool! Exactly what I needed for my project, an underwear photographer.

When I met with him a few days later at the Barnes and Noble Cafe in Union Square, he showed me his underwear and fine art shots and I saw he had as great an eye for the male form as he did for high fashion.

BAM.....decided to hire him for the project.

The shoot took place a few weeks later in "Do or Die Bed Stuy" after we were able to find a suitable time for the two of us. It went off without a hitch. Alex was totally chill and cool to work with. We shot underwear for my project, did some fine art, and a live video.

Can't wait until I see the pics. He told me to expect a two week time frame.

Hired a Videographer for My Upcoming Video Project!

After a meeting yesterday, Friday, 11/4/11, with the Creative Director of XY Pixels at a Starbucks Cafe, I decided to hire his company to shoot and do the video editing for my upcoming video project.

I'm particularly excited to be shooting with XY Pixels, because I did a photoshoot with him back in June 2008, the day after I got back from the Dominican Republic and I was VERY pleased with the results. From the first time I laid eyes on his photography, I made it my mission to get a shoot with him because I loved the mood his photography portrayed, the muted tones of the colours in his pics, and the way he shot the male form. I knew his pics would be a great add to my portfolio.

Here's a couple of the shots I got from that shoot:
















Several years later, when I conceived of this project and was looking for a videographer, I happened to be checking out his site and found that he had expanded his craft to videography. When I saw some of the videos he shot of different artists, I knew this was the man for the job. After meeting with him where he was able to see my vision through my verbal description and the story board I created, the deal was sealed.

You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned his name. Well as talented as the Creative Director of XY Pixels is, he likes to keep a low profile and said I could write about him on the condition I just spoke about his company and not about him as a person. Fine. Understood. I tend to be a private person as well so I get where he's coming from.

Either way, tentatively, the shoot is slated for Sunday, November 2oth. Can't wait!

If you're interested in finding out more about XY Pixels, you can visit his site here to see his video and photo work and find out about the services he provides. The man is immensely talented, you won't regret it!

First Photo Shoot for Upcoming Video Project Completed!

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted on here. Well, things are slowly starting to heat up so you're going to be hearing more of me.

After I came back in August from a very fruitful trip to Miami where I spent a month, I was on a high over accomplishing so many of my goals over the past year, facing my fears and stepping out of my comfort zone. However, I also knew that it wasn't good to rest on my laurels, that instead, I had to decide what I wanted to do next.

After some prayer and and conversations with my mentor, PSCOTT, CEO and Creative Director of PSCOTT Images a month later I decided the next step I needed to take was a video project to continue to promote the brand of Ike Love.

I have to admit, the project took a while to start because frankly......I didn't have the money. Really, all I could do is hold meetings to see who I wanted to be on the team for this project and who I could pass on.

In any case, I'm pleased to announce that I've finally begun the project with a photo shoot a week and a half ago (Friday 10/21/11) with Gabriel Velez.

Gabriel Velez, a black and white photography lover, is a renowned photographer whose work has been published, and exhibited in museums and galleries both nationally and internationally. He is originally from Colombia but is now based in New York City. You can see more of his work on his website.

We met quite "randomly" (ha ha) at the Jazz @ Lincoln Center Cafe in the Upper West Side. Myself and PSCOTT were having a meeting where we were updating his web site and going over my photos and we happened to be sharing the same table with Velez. Velez overheard our conversation and introduced himself as a photographer and lo and behold, after seeing his portfolio, he turned out to be just the person I was looking for. This was a true testament if you give your path over to God, He'll surely open doors for you.

The shoot took place about a month later (we both had to find a date that fit our busy schedules) on the rooftop of my apartment building. Other a neighbour who lived on the floor directly below the roof asking questions, the shoot went off without a hitch. The real BIG challenge was that it was FREEZING outside with the wind blowing. I've never shot in weather so cold, and what made it more challenging was that I was in undies!

To get through the shoot, I truly had to put on a robe, go inside, drink some hot tea and warm up some before another round. This was the only way I could get through because I truly dislike the cold and get cold very easily.

Velez was truly very patient to shoot with. He was truly committed to giving me the best shots that reflected his unique eye and my unique look to form the perfect shot. He even had us say a prayer before the shoot just to make sure everything was aligned. It's interesting that unlike other photographers, he doesn't like the model to pose in ways that a model may choose to accentuate certain parts of his body/physique, etc. He felt that was too contrived. He'd rather the model stand natural to reflect the look and feel he was trying to create.

Stay tuned, more to come....