Lady in Black

Black is when a smoker leans into a cigarette. It is the moment between the inhale and the exhale. That’s what black is. Black is the second before anticipation and the instant release following pleasure.

Black makes little sense, yet is always sensible. It is always witty yet excruciatingly bookish. Black is everything you want it to be.  It is who you are and also who you wish you were.

It is not simply a color- not merely something on a palette of “others”. Black is deserving of more than that. You see, black is a state of mind.  It is a state of mind only the wild can love. It is meant for those who find it mundane to walk barefoot in the jungle.

Why? Because it is a love affair with the fiercest man you will ever be with in your lifetime. Black looks dashing in a tux and rustic in worn out jeans. It is an affair with the most luscious of women- the woman who is curved and draped in silk.  Black will leave you feeling desperate. You will always be hungry, because black never satisfies. It knows how little to give, and always how much to take.

Black is only for those powerful enough to run with it. The creatures are so decadent and furious that he or she is rightfully chosen for this elite society.

What is black to me? Black is everything and nothing. Black is in the air and in the water. Black is a beauty, a damn treasure.

Gotham

Between jet setting from Miami to New York City in the past two weeks- (dare I say I am alive?) I have tousled with my emotions of being a lover of all things urban, industrial, and city like. I want to be that person that can fall in love with a country side- but as I weaved my way among the scorched pavement of Manhattan I found myself in a trance. To truly love this city, I believe you have to love it all. You have to embrace its chaos, garbage, density- and allow it to overlap with its sense of vibrancy, ingenuity, and charm. I mentally sucker punch those who complain about New York’s loudness, diversity, and wit. I have always known it as a city that discards of the weak and futile. Darwin would applaud this thought, but what I have learned on my many journeys to Manhattan is that if you are a minimalist, stay out of this city. The cramped, cluttered, and overdecorated skyline makes me lustful for patterned interiors, and excess of accessories on my wrists. 

Swaying from the Palm for bar bites, to the Upper West side where I rested on my favorite friend’s rooftop- NYC treated me well this July. Don’t forget the property envy of the floor to ceiling windows of my friend’s father’s pad- drool all you want loves, watch out for the keyboard. But as always I realize when waiting for the subway, or biting into the most decadent of cakes in Manhattan, perhaps I was always destined to have my greatest love affair with this city. (Credit goes to Carrie Bradshaw for that one, SATC fans rejoice!)

Golden iPhone

 

An impromptu photo shoot for an up and coming fashion site led me to the discovery of beautiful iPhone photography. I am a bit late- but truly, the toss up was between a Sony cyber shot and the iPhone. My confidante Amanda and I made the obvious decision to ditch the digital, go straight for the iPhone 5. The photos came out brilliant. A bit of editing for exaggerated colors- but overall the shots were good to go. There is an entire world of albums filled with iPhone camera gurus- why am I now hopping on the bandwagon?

I suppose I am attached at the hip to my mobile device. An iPhone 4S, I play, call, text, Instagram, and devour a lot of my world through this techno box. Perhaps, I want to rely LESS on this device- deem myself a bit more “earthy”? I want to be the kid that can ditch the advance electronics and go for the film camera. I would like to appear more….authentic?  But with a bloody brilliant camera as it is-@#$%^&!. One more use to let it hang around in my back jean pocket a bit longer.

 

Photography: Amanda Bertizlian

Nudity

Stumbling upon the editorial of Alessandra Ambrosio for Numero Magazine I became saturated not only by the beauty of the jeweled encrusted bodysuit, but by Alessandra’s body. In a world where women are attacked for showing too much, but criticized when showing too little- these photos beg the question if you got it how much do you flaunt it?

Do we celebrate by showing skin, or remain mysterious and seductive for instance with encrusted glittering sleeves on our bodysuits? I am tantalized by the concept of what is enough. I suppose, the right woman knows the difference between revealing her body and revering it. However much you decide to share with this world, always remember to cherish your beauty. 

Excess

One summer afternoon my talented friend Hana draped me in chains, handed me a mask, and  layered gold on my lips. Conceptually, the notion of excess as beautiful, almost necessary drove home the layered accessories, heavy metals, and glitter accents. Inspired by the Indian model Lakshmi Menon’s editorial in the May 2009 issue of Dazed.

 The divine world of Hana Ahmed Photography