I have 2 wonderful family sessions to share with you today that I shot back in December :)
I’ve been doing a lot more indoor work lately as opposed to outdoor because it’s been so cold! It is indeed still possible to take great photos outside in the cold, but honestly, the older I get, the less I want to deal with freezing temperatures lol.
Thankfully this winter I haven’t had to very much :)
First up is a warm family session with Rasheid and his beautiful children! You may remember some of these faces as I photographed Rasheid and his twins earlier in the year! So in December he reached out because his oldest would be in town so he wanted to capture everyone together and I was all for that :)
Such a beautiful family, these four!
If you’re interested in booking a session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me and schedule yours today! Currently booking: March and April 2015.
I can’t believe this month is almost done! Well I mean I can, because February IS the shortest month, but still lol.
So what’s on tap for today? A brand new Artist Spotlight! :D Today I want to introduce you guys to a talented writer and all around creative being, Joel!
I began following Joel on twitter, early last year I believe, after seeing some of his beautifully inspiring tweets! I appreciated that he consistently had a positive tone and often had something upbuilding to say- and if you are on twitter, you know that that is not often the case lol.
So rewind to a few months back- Joel made a trip down to DC for his photo session and interview and we had a great time! I will forever love linking up with fellow creatives who are passionate about what they do and will continue to share them with you :)
So without further ado, meet Joel!
What is your name? My full name is Joel Daniels. I go by Joel. Some folks call me MaG (my old artist name). Some call me J, or Joey…I call myself blessed though.
Where are you located? I am located in the birthplace of Hip-Hop: Bronx, NY. It’s where I was born and raised.
What do you do? Well, that’s a tricky question. My daytime 9-5 is that of a Discharge Planner for a nonprofit organization in New York City. Formerly incarcerated individuals who suffer from psychiatric disorders are referred to my office following their release from jail. It’s my job to connect and link them to other services within their respective communities.
But, what I REALLY do is make art. I act, I write, I rap…art over everything.
How long have you been a writer? I guess I’ve been a writer for as long as I knew what putting words together to form a thought on paper actually meant. I was writing poetry around the 2nd grade. I was freestyling in my mama’s bedroom at around the age of 5. I used to write for the sports section of my elementary school’s newspaper. I had a rhyme/poetry journal by the end of 5th grade. I’ve never known anything else but writing; anything else other than rhyming words together.
How did you become interested in writing and when did you know you wanted to make a career out of your passion? I guess it started very early on when my mom made sure I had a book in my hands. I always loved words. I was ordering books from Scholastic since kindergarten. My mom would buy me comic books and such. There is so much beauty in language.
I can honestly say that writing as an actual career didn’t seem like an option until 2013 when I won the Bronx Council of the Arts BRIO grant in poetry. I felt like that gave me credentials, and solidified that I could actual make money off of something I’d do if I was sleeping in a cardboard box.
Rapping didn’t really become a career choice until after college when I came back from school and realized fully that theater and acting wasn’t where I wanted to be at the time, and decided to throw myself into the music scene – showcases, recording, collaborating, and learning the ropes of the business. The DIY process of the music industry taught me A LOT about myself.
Who are some of your influences/inspirations? D’Angelo, Nas, Yasiin Bey, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Newman, Stevie Wonder, Kurt Cobain, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Toni Morisson, Junot Diaz, Sam Cooke, Gil Scott-Heron, Jay Z, Andre 3000…I’m just a big ass fan of art and lovers of art culture, also, those who can tell their stories through their mediums.
What has been your favorite project that you’ve worked on so far? By far it’s my latest musical release (that dropped January 10th 2015 aka my birthday. Shameless artist and birthday plug! Go me!!!), “songs for charles”. It serves as sort of an ode to my father, as well as a depiction of where I am in my life currently. I think that project best reflects my growth as an artist, a Black man, and a human being.
What other types of creative work do you do? Well, I’ve done some voiceover and commercial work. I’ve also done some modeling. I emcee different events in NYC. I’ve been doing more public speaking at middle and high schools in 2014 about creativity and finding your voice through your creativity. Wrapped up shooting in a short film I was acting in; did some theater stuff at the NYU Gallatin School earlier in this year. I just try and go where the art is.
What inspires you? Life inspires me. Love inspires me. The world around me inspires me. Women inspire me. Other artists and their art inspire me. My mother inspires me. I’m in a constant search for inspiration wherever I may go, at all times. I try to keep my eyes open as much as I possibly can.
What keeps you motivated? My purpose keeps me motivated. Knowing that I have a higher calling and that my source, which is love, is the catalyst for the all the art I attempt to create. My desire is to help create and shape a better, newer, world for ourselves and future generations. So that alone is enough to keep the blood pumping and juice flowing on a daily basis.
Any advice to fellow creatives (in your industry or otherwise)? Be patient with yourself and your craft. Trust yourself. If you don’t see what it is you want in the marketplace, create it. Don’t sit on your ideas, you’ll think of new ones. Fail often and repeatedly, learn from those failures, and move forward. Be honest with yourself about the intentions behind whatever it is you’re creating. And share your art. Anything created and not shared is still a hobby; some folks say if you’re not making money, then your art is your hobby. BS. If you’re TRYING to make money off of your art, it ain’t a hobby no more.
Any other fun tidbits we should know about you? Well, I love to read, and eat food. I really love me some naps. I like walking, A LOT. I meditate, I have a life coach, I shoot content for Beardbrand.com’s YouTube page and write for the Postbadbeard’s website. I’m also single, and like eating mangos.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Joel a little better! Please be sure to keep up with him on social media and go listen to his music- you will enjoy it :) I did! My slight contribution to Black History Month was doing an Artist Spotlight every week this month :) But I don’t want you to get used to this being a weekly feature lol. I will keep it regular, but it will end up being monthly or bi-monthly so stay tuned for the next talented creative next month!
Sooo how about a little something to brighten your Tuesday afternoon? :)
Due to unforeseen circumstances with an attendee, I now have an opening for the upcoming DC Group Mentor Session on Friday, March 6! So instead of letting the spot go to waste, I’d like to give the seat away to someone deserving!
Available and interested? All that’s needed is to send a simple email to me (danielle@dfinneyphoto.com) telling me why you deserve to win the seat! That’s it!
The winner will be chosen and notified on Friday so this is a quick giveaway :)
Nominations are accepted, but multiple emails do not count for multiple entries. Because I’m certain there will be a number of stories that move me, the winner will be chosen at random from the pool of those most deserving.
NOTE: Please only enter if you are certain you can attend as it is on a weekday.
I do apologize in advance that I won’t be able to extend this offer to everyone, but I am always happy to share where I can and I look forward to reading all of your amazing stories ♥
Today? The next in line of fellow creatives whose full sessions I never shared from their artist spotlight features. Today you get to check out the complete mini session from my fun shoot with Wardrobe Stylist, Bianca from September 2013!
Bringing these sessions out of the archives has made me a bit nostalgic. We need to link up and make some magic Bianca! Take a look at some of our past work together!
It was a long time coming getting Bianca in front of the camera but she finally obliged (because she needed headshots lol) and she found it wasn’t bad at all :) So glad I got to capture Bianca’s fun & funky personality!
Details! Look at that necklace! And those shoes ♥
If you’re interested in booking a session and would like to have the DFinney Experience yourself, email me and schedule yours today! Currently booking: March and April 2015.
I am feeling top notch today and I can’t wait to share why next week :D I hope you’re having a pleasant start to your week!
Today I want to revive a feature I intended to have as a regular one, but we see how well that worked out lol. So I’m bringing back Music Monday! Music is such a huge part of my life so I will try and make this feature not so sporadic :)
For the past month, I have been on a heavy 90’s music kick! And for the past few days I can’t stop listening to early 90’s Mariah! That’s my favorite Mariah lol.
These are my absolute favorite albums of hers! Not that late 90’s- 2000’s and beyond Mariah isn’t awesome, but this Mariah? No comparison in my opinion. Kind of how I feel about Toni Braxton’s first CD… Nothing that came after that compared. I’d like songs here and there, but for albums that I can just listen to straight through? Those were some of the best!
But singing along with all of these songs this past weekend totally transported me back in time and I remembered just how much I loved to sing (I still do, I was just MUCH less afraid of doing so in public!). I remember singing “Hero” as apart of a chorus for our 6th grade graduation in elementary school (totally just gave away how young I am lol) and then singing the same song again for my high school graduation with 3 other girls! I remember trying to decide what we wanted to sing and then when it was decided that we’d do “Hero” I was like “Oh… great.” Lol clearly they love “Hero” at graduation ceremonies.
(eek!) thinking back, I can’t believe I actually did that! Lol I’m so nervous singing in front of people now. And I remember being disappointed with how it turned out because the music person played the wrong version of the song, so instead of singing to the instrumental we had to sing along to HER version :/
I had a chance to redeem myself though because I was the salutatorian so I think my speech went better than that song did lol.
Anyway, this year makes 10 years since I graduated! :D
Somehow this post morphed into graduation memories when it was supposed to be about Mariah Carey, but yeah… that’s it. I just wanted to share how much I loved early 90’s Mariah lol!
So do yourself a favor and go listen to those early albums if you haven’t already or if you haven’t in a while.
That’s it for today! Stay tuned for more blog awesomeness this week :)
