All Fruits Ripe

I'm late on posting this image and maybe a few of you have already seen it first release on my instagram account. From there the image pretty much took over instagram's explore page along with numerous repost. It also made its way on Facebook and just from one account on Facebook (not even my account) it has already amassed over 5ooo likes and 117 shares. I guess its safe to say that the masses love this image. About the image - the model is Kimberley Grant.  This was not the image we were suppose to capture that day but due to the cloudy weather we decided to move inside and try something else.  As destiny would have it, we captured this simple but beautiful fan favorite image. I call it "All Fruits Ripe."

When I shoot I do try to make it a memorable image that once you see it you won't forget it.  If you're a fan of my work 5-10 years from now if I ask you "do you remember the pic I took of the beautiful lady with the fruits in the kitchen" it should immediately come to the foreground of your mind.  Not everyone will enjoy this image and that's fine; I shoot for myself not to please people.  But if the majority likes it and you don't then it could be a reflection of you.  Thanks to all those who enjoy the image and stay tuned for what comes next.

Carnival Queen Arrested

The caribbean community is South FLorida has one thing on their minds for this weekend and that is Carnival. Carnival as it is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago is also celebrated in cities worldwide. As with other Carnivals, many participants wear elaborate costumes, often decorated with feathers and sequins. Carnival bands are organized groups made up of participants who pay for costumes fashioned by a designer and assembled by teams of volunteers. The costumed participants dance through the streets to the sounds of a steel band, a soca band or a d.j. - this is called "playing mas'". The image below was inspired by carnival but with my twist to it. The image was captured in Kingston Jamaica at Coronation Market. I have to say that this was one of my craziest shoots to date. I will be revealing a few more pics so stay tuned.

If you're playing Mas in Miami carnival and would like to participate in my on going carnival costume shoot please try and save your costume with head piece and send me an email letting me know you would like to be apart of the project. Unfortunately I will not be in town for Miami Carnival on Sunday so I will miss my ritual of photographing the event.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpkeFKKXuBM]

Making what you have Work

My day started off cleaning up then I decided to link my friend JusBus to go and scout a location for an upcoming shoot we are planning. When we got to the location to my disbelief the entire warehouse was demolish. This is a warehouse that I have shot in on numerous occasion and now its totally gone. To say the least that i was disappointed is an under statement but as we all know life is about adapting and moving on. I decide to check another location and its the journey to and from that location that presented my opportunities. I'm sure we have all heard the phrase "when one door closes another one opens" well that seems to be the case today. Everywhere we turned today we found the opportunity of creating great images. Being prepared in any scenario is the ultimate, but working with what you got and making what you got work is Talent. Often times we say that if we only had this we could do this but in reality half of the times we really dont need all the extras. Some of the most celebrate images we admire were created with point and shoot cameras. So instead of waiting to get that dream camera that you always wanted get out and start shooting and this applies to any craft. Start making what you have work. The images below were created today with the bare minimum meaning just the camera, my eye and the sun.

Thanks to JusBus for the inspiration today. If you're just getting into photography check out the work of Annie Leibovitz who also helped inspire me today. www.rogerbstillz.com

Jamaican Getaway

Towards the end of May my work will be on display in the design district. So I took it up on myself to go and gather new images from one of my favorite places; Jamaica. On friday I met up with my good friend Arri and we roamed the town. We started off in Halfway tree and ended up in Jones Town. I'm sure many of us who are Jamaicans and live in the Kingston area have never been in the heart of Jones Town. I find that hard to believe especially when its less than 15min from where a lot of us reside in Kingston. Jones Town is govern by certain law so you just cant walk up in there and start photographing; however, we were equipped with the proper tour guide that made things a bit easier. Along the way I photographed some interesting images. I took an image of a 95 year old lady that I thought was very interesting because in that kind of environment I never expected that someone could survive that long facing all the challenges they go through. Some of the challenge people in that area face mainly the kids are lack of education because they cant afford it. There's a small school that I came across but not sure how educationally fit those that claim to be teachers are. This put the system in a cycle thats difficult to over come. I came across a church sign that had about 11 bullet holes in it and I will showcase that image in May. The folks I met along the way were very nice folks. The kids were amazing and full of energy. I want to thank my friend Arri that always try and reach out to these kids. Arri has helped raise the funds to send these kids abroad to see a different side of the world and with good deeds like that hopefully the cycle of things can change for a better future for the kids. This is also one of the reason that we were welcome in that area.

We sometimes take what we have for granted but a trip like that made me realize how bless I am. We all have our own struggle but if we can help just one person make it to the next level there is no reason why we shouldnt,

On Saturday I headed out to Hellshire Beach. If you're not from Jamaica, Hellshire Beach is known for the best seafood on the island.

On sunday I met up with my friends and we went out to shoot again. We went somewhere in St. Thomas and found an old abandoned building that we decided to photograph. This building remind me of something you would see in the X-Files. We had a blast shooting and after we stopped to get some drinks because it was our friend David Madden's birthday. Thanks to Arri, David and Gian who made this a successful trip.

The images from this trip should be showcased in my May exhibit and I will keep you posted as the date gets closer. This Saturday you can find my collection of images titled "Faces of Change" in the Abro Gallery. Viewing will start from 7pm-10pm on March 14th at 2137 NW 2nd Ave. Miami, FL 33127. My work will be on display till around the 1st of April but I recommend you coming out on Saturday because you get to view many other artist work as well and not just mine.