atlanta, ga- girls got bills...gotta pay those student loans back i guess.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
FEAR AND IGNORANCE: THE REMEDY
I know I am going to upset someone, so let me say this now, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we live in a world today that seems to care more about labels than feeding displaced children and restoring vitality to a fallen community. I'm sorry that we live in a world where the idea of someone's faith, true or not, should determine the amount of trust in that person. I'm sorry that we live in a country that can't see past its own flaws long enough to realize that a change is not only needed, but urgent.
Let me start here first, all politicians fall into the same category: FULL OF IT. With that said, there are still some who would rather perpetuate, and often fan the flames of ignorance rather than extinguish our anxieties with truth.
In the last 2 and half years I have noticed something happening. From the moment President Obama was nominated til now, a great secret has been revealed about our country. Ignorance is alive.
Let me address something right away, I am a Christian, Baptist to be exact. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior! In my upbringing, I went to a Catholic elementary school, and high school. I had friends that were of all races, creeds, and economic backgrounds. I think I have lived a diverse life. In that, I have learned that not everyone thinks the way I do and that is their right. But something my parents taught me from a young age, and my experiences reinforced in me, is that I shouldn't ever pre-judge someone by the way they look. It happened to me more than I can count and I don't want to perpetuate that mode of thinking.
Ignorance: Ignorance is a state of being uninformed. The word "ignorant" is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult.
Fear: Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear is one of a small set of basic or innate emotions. This set also includes such emotions as joy, sadness, and anger. Fear should be distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any external threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats which are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.[1] Worth noting is that fear almost always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable. Fear could also be an instant reaction to something presently happening.
These 2 words could be the death of our society.
I say that to say, when we are uninformed and take no time to educate ourselves, we encourage fear within ourselves and pass that anxiety to others we have influence over. If we depend on one source and one point of view to inform us, how much are we really exposing our eyes to? If I never took the time to hear an opposing view and process it, how could I grow? How could I mature? How could I learn to love beyond my own scope? We have a great opportunity with all these media outlets, to learn a great deal more than we ever have before. But with the internet, cable tv, iPhones, blackberrys, satellite radio, newspapers, magazines and word of mouth, we seem to ingest less and less valid information. If you watch one station, all day long, you simply brainwash yourself into one mode of thinking. You are accepting one point of view, thereby stunting your growth.
The same is true for a person who never engages a civil discussion with someone who is not like them. We could quiet a lot of noise if we stepped out of our comfort zones and took an opportunity to learn something about someone new.
Like I said, I grew up in a very diverse environment, perhaps more diverse than my parents. My sister and I had ever color of the rainbow visit our house and vice versa. And while we did have some blatantly disrespectful things happen to us, we also met some of the people who we call friends and family.
If we don't take the time to combat ignorance and fear with information, we may as well trust no one and die alone.
So your homework this week: meet someone who is not of your own faith, color, economic status, or sexuality, and find out how much we are really all alike in this world.
"But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Let me start here first, all politicians fall into the same category: FULL OF IT. With that said, there are still some who would rather perpetuate, and often fan the flames of ignorance rather than extinguish our anxieties with truth.
In the last 2 and half years I have noticed something happening. From the moment President Obama was nominated til now, a great secret has been revealed about our country. Ignorance is alive.
Let me address something right away, I am a Christian, Baptist to be exact. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior! In my upbringing, I went to a Catholic elementary school, and high school. I had friends that were of all races, creeds, and economic backgrounds. I think I have lived a diverse life. In that, I have learned that not everyone thinks the way I do and that is their right. But something my parents taught me from a young age, and my experiences reinforced in me, is that I shouldn't ever pre-judge someone by the way they look. It happened to me more than I can count and I don't want to perpetuate that mode of thinking.
Ignorance: Ignorance is a state of being uninformed. The word "ignorant" is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult.
Fear: Fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear is one of a small set of basic or innate emotions. This set also includes such emotions as joy, sadness, and anger. Fear should be distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any external threat. Additionally, fear is related to the specific behaviors of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is the result of threats which are perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable.[1] Worth noting is that fear almost always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable. Fear could also be an instant reaction to something presently happening.
These 2 words could be the death of our society.
I say that to say, when we are uninformed and take no time to educate ourselves, we encourage fear within ourselves and pass that anxiety to others we have influence over. If we depend on one source and one point of view to inform us, how much are we really exposing our eyes to? If I never took the time to hear an opposing view and process it, how could I grow? How could I mature? How could I learn to love beyond my own scope? We have a great opportunity with all these media outlets, to learn a great deal more than we ever have before. But with the internet, cable tv, iPhones, blackberrys, satellite radio, newspapers, magazines and word of mouth, we seem to ingest less and less valid information. If you watch one station, all day long, you simply brainwash yourself into one mode of thinking. You are accepting one point of view, thereby stunting your growth.
The same is true for a person who never engages a civil discussion with someone who is not like them. We could quiet a lot of noise if we stepped out of our comfort zones and took an opportunity to learn something about someone new.
Like I said, I grew up in a very diverse environment, perhaps more diverse than my parents. My sister and I had ever color of the rainbow visit our house and vice versa. And while we did have some blatantly disrespectful things happen to us, we also met some of the people who we call friends and family.
If we don't take the time to combat ignorance and fear with information, we may as well trust no one and die alone.
So your homework this week: meet someone who is not of your own faith, color, economic status, or sexuality, and find out how much we are really all alike in this world.
"But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wasted Words
Wasted Words
I hate wasting my vocabulary on ears that don't comprehend more than 3 syllables at a time. I'm staring into a gorgeous face that masks so very little in intellect and has misconstrued the truths I hold self evident. She's perplexed by my verbal, multiple tongues I can speak, my lyrical cunnilingus could leave her quivering from hands to feet. I choose to eat, never had a problem with that, the taste of chocolate facts and that's all I need, and none I lack, to satisfy my minds hunger and keep me in heat!
If you choose to meet me on the intellectual plane I speak, than get off your knees and bring your needs to seek me in a more than cyber-physical lane. Merge left and toggle back, right click on my eyes and commit this to your hard drive: I am tired of the same, mundane, ultra common, pseudo intellectual verbiage that tends to explain nothing but a shallow need to fill shoes designed by MTV. Translation: I want someone real, tangible, kissable, huggable, lovable, and most importantly, honest-able. That's right, able to be honest.
She must be capable and willing to give me 100 percent of self with no digressions from truth and no hesitations from action. Show me the mind, through the heart and reflected in the smile.
Wasted words falling on deaf ears, the inaudible action of speaking to a brick wall covered in pink paint pissing me off cause she can't see the light in front of her face...wasted words on digital paper, take another look at my face, my memoirs typed in my space.
Jack Leroy Manning III © 2007
Wasted Words
9.3.2007
I hate wasting my vocabulary on ears that don't comprehend more than 3 syllables at a time. I'm staring into a gorgeous face that masks so very little in intellect and has misconstrued the truths I hold self evident. She's perplexed by my verbal, multiple tongues I can speak, my lyrical cunnilingus could leave her quivering from hands to feet. I choose to eat, never had a problem with that, the taste of chocolate facts and that's all I need, and none I lack, to satisfy my minds hunger and keep me in heat!
If you choose to meet me on the intellectual plane I speak, than get off your knees and bring your needs to seek me in a more than cyber-physical lane. Merge left and toggle back, right click on my eyes and commit this to your hard drive: I am tired of the same, mundane, ultra common, pseudo intellectual verbiage that tends to explain nothing but a shallow need to fill shoes designed by MTV. Translation: I want someone real, tangible, kissable, huggable, lovable, and most importantly, honest-able. That's right, able to be honest.
She must be capable and willing to give me 100 percent of self with no digressions from truth and no hesitations from action. Show me the mind, through the heart and reflected in the smile.
Wasted words falling on deaf ears, the inaudible action of speaking to a brick wall covered in pink paint pissing me off cause she can't see the light in front of her face...wasted words on digital paper, take another look at my face, my memoirs typed in my space.
Jack Leroy Manning III © 2007
Wasted Words
9.3.2007
Hangover and Heartbreak
My friend Alice and I did this one night. I called her and told her what I was looking for and she jumped right in with both feet. The editing took the most time for this image to look as gritty and rugged as it does. I think I used about 13 layers in photoshop til it was just the way I wanted it.
Monday, August 23, 2010
the crazy 88
One of my Favorite themed shoots. I went all the way top LA to shoot this on the UCLA campus. A great friend of mine allowed us access to her soundstage and we went to work. 5 hours of shooting and we came out with great images. (left to right) Ratana, Devin, Mia, Steve, Stephanie all took on the tasks of getting into charector and doing an awesome job!
Love's Space
How quickly we move through time, our journey began and ended so fast. like the big bang, we exploded into the heavens. We went into this dark abyss of a friendship with good intentions to create our own solar system, but the depths of Love's Space were impassable. Like two celestial bodies drawn in by gravity, strange bodies coming together to create a synergetic representation of love and friendship, only to be disrupted by the moons and space dust between us.
Now, I am left floating in space searching for a way back to your orbit. I am spinning around and around hoping that your crescent comes back into view as space junk floats into my path and corrupts my atmosphere. I continue to spin and move, damaged, but alive.
A planet in peril, I hold on to the life inside. I think I see the signs, but the directions in these constellations are unclear and impossible to navigate. So many stars around me, but all I want to see is you...
Love's Space has never been so dark, its never been this empty, and it makes me wonder how long I will have to endure the emptiness once occupied by you. This is hard to understand, and I am not an expert in astronomy, but I can't physically survive with out the oxygen you provided before this vacuum existed. I'm choking in this place, floating away, in Love's space.
Jack Manning III(c)
Now, I am left floating in space searching for a way back to your orbit. I am spinning around and around hoping that your crescent comes back into view as space junk floats into my path and corrupts my atmosphere. I continue to spin and move, damaged, but alive.
A planet in peril, I hold on to the life inside. I think I see the signs, but the directions in these constellations are unclear and impossible to navigate. So many stars around me, but all I want to see is you...
Love's Space has never been so dark, its never been this empty, and it makes me wonder how long I will have to endure the emptiness once occupied by you. This is hard to understand, and I am not an expert in astronomy, but I can't physically survive with out the oxygen you provided before this vacuum existed. I'm choking in this place, floating away, in Love's space.
Jack Manning III(c)
Kill Bill : My version
One of my Favorite themed shoots. I went all the way top LA to shoot this on the UCLA campus. A great friend of mine allowed us access to her soundstage and we went to work. 5 hours of shooting and we came out with great images. (Lara Lee) Pictured is the lead role of Beatrice Kiddo aka Black Mamba
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Kiva
everyone loves Kiva...the camera does too. Her effortless expression and simple body position make this one of my favorite photos
sunset serve
This is a favorite shot from 2 years ago. My friend Ebonie played volleyball for Hampton University. This is not photoshopped. I got his raw, in camera. It took about 15 takes to get everything just right, but it was worth it.
Newport News, VA
Trey Songz NUVO national ad campaign
I was fortunate enough to be published nationwide in this shoot I did with Trey Songz for Nuvo!
Atlanta,GA
Why did I get married...again..
One of my favorite photos from this year!
Tory's hand looks larger than life and his expression says it all. Christina is holding her dress and looking at Jaye in shock and panic. Jaye's expression is electric and you can see her arm flexed in an attempt to grab the wedding dress. awesome work guys!
Newport News,VA
Tory's hand looks larger than life and his expression says it all. Christina is holding her dress and looking at Jaye in shock and panic. Jaye's expression is electric and you can see her arm flexed in an attempt to grab the wedding dress. awesome work guys!
Newport News,VA
Hampton University students
This is part of the Ebony Magazine photoshoot I did last year. I was proud of my "home by the sea" for being selected as one of the most fashionable HBCU's around. This is on the waterfront of Hampton University. Go visit sometime!
www.hamptonu.edu
GO PIRATES
Jam and Q
These 2 have married for a few years and they have the energy and vibrance of newlyweds. They inspire hope when you see them. Hope that the world is not a cold heartless place and that love does exist. Thanks for a fun shoot guys!
Peidmont Park, Atlanta,GA
Sandy and Amir
My long lost cousin Amir and his radient wife Sandy plus one. I love you guys! Amir and I are 2nd cousins, and didn't find out til a random meeting in a Philadelphia studio a few years ago. We connected the dots later that winter and since then we have been involved in each others lives. I sang at his wedding and now I'm fortunate enough to provied an appopriate gift as they are expecting their first born in 2 months. congrats!!!
Philadelphia,PA
toe stance- Corin
Corin is one these people who walks in a room quietly, sits and watches before showing her electric personality. I have come to love shooting with her. she is also a great dancer. We did this in Philly at a small studio in the hood. RIPMJ stance!
BOOM CACK!
Michelle Seabreaze
I've been chasing this face on model mayhem for 2 years and I finally got to do a quick look with her in Harlem last week. Its a pleasure working with professionals. Thank you Michelle
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