New Leaf Yoga Foundation's Still We Rise Gala 2017
New Leaf Yoga Foundation is an amazing and impactful non-profit organization that I have recently partnered with, in addition to the Centre For Addiction And Mental Health, as cultivating the mental health and wellbeing of Torontonians, Canadians, and humanity are causes that are incredibly important to me.
If you are unfamiliar with New Leaf Yoga Foundation, it is a Canadian-based non-profit organization that develops and implements life-skills programming for youth, through yoga and mindfulness. The organization inspires and supports youth to tap into their inner strength and resources, so that they may cultivate seeds for peace in their lives and communities, and they have supported numerous youth within the city's underdeveloped communities, within the Canadian justice system, and elsewhere.
As such, I have offered my services as a photographer and cinematographer to New Leaf, pro bono, and I will also be collaborating with them as an ambassador, by sharing my story with the youth that they support and mentor.
Through my own experiences, through the myriad of challenges that I have faced over the course of my life, and through my observations of the challenges experienced by many other individuals (and organizations) around the world, I intimately understand the hardships and opportunities that anxiety, depression, other forms of mental illness, and childhood traumas can present in one's life. And it has taken me thousands of hours (and a lot of concentration) to process and transcend my own experiences of anxiety and depression.
The People of Venice Beach
Some of the most interesting and enjoyable moments of my recent trip to L.A. were the moments that I shared with the people of Venice Beach, in my spare time, and specifically on the Venice Beach boardwalk.
Venice Beach experiences an influx of millions of visitors per year, it is one the most populated tourist attractions in the United States, and it often regarded as "a cultural hub known for its eccentricities".
Because of the countless tourists that visit the boardwalk, there are numerous vendors, buskers, and homeless people there, and throughout the surrounding beach area, and I learned a lot about Venice, California, and the individual lives of many of the people that I met on the boardwalk.
Over the course of one and a half miles, and facing the picturesque sands of the Pacific Ocean's shoreline, the walk features mimes, clowns, jugglers, jesters, break dancers, gangsters, food vendors, painters, drug addicts, and everyone in between, and the sheer number of individuals that are hustling, and essentially pursuing the American dream, can be overwhelming at times.
Portraits of Lexy Panterra
Recently, while in Los Angeles (and among other projects), I collaborated with, and shot promotional portraits of recording artist and actress Lexy Panterra, in L.A.'s beautiful fashion district.
Given Lexy's Persian heritage and laid back personality, I felt connected to her as soon as we met, due to the fact that I grew up in Toronto's North York district, with a number of close friends who are of Iranian descent. In fact, prior to high school, at least a quarter of my friends were children of Iranian immigrants, and from a certain perspective, hanging out with, and working with Lexy felt familiar -- as if I was spending time with an old friend.
Moreover, I was excited to work with her, due to her obvious talent and beauty, and I was curious to find out how a relatively young artist was able to amass a social media following of well over two million fans (via Instagram alone), within a relatively short time period.
My excitement was further amplified by the fact that I was working with Lexy's highly-organized assistant, Naaz Amirsadeghi, her talented make-up artist, Jenny Ventura, and my friend Monica Seggos, who happens to be one of the most gifted stylists that I have worked with. As such, I entered a state of flow and extreme focus, prior to taking a single picture, primarily because I fed off of the creative energy in the awesome studio that we were working in (FD Photo Studio), and also because we had a clear game plan of combining cool, late 80s and early 90s looks with modern looks.
Portraits of Rachel David
Since the dot-com bubble and the early days of MySpace, there have been major paradigm shifts within the human realms of psychology, philosophy, communications, economics, technology, and employment (among many others).
In many ways, these shifts have changed human life as we know it (in the developed world), and have recently been spearheaded by my generation – the millennials.
With that said, I recently collaborated with, and consequently shot portraits of Rachel David – a Toronto-based journalist, producer, entrepreneur, influencer talent relations agency founder, and professional funny woman, whose personas and entrepreneurial adventures embody many of the cultural paradigms that define my generation.
At the age of 19, after graduating from the Radio Broadcast program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Rachel moved to Toronto to pursue a career in television, in the midst of the last great recession, and as the digital media revolution began to explode, only to realize that the career opportunities and upward mobility in Toronto’s television world were non-existent for her (at the time).Read more
Portraits of Jamel Shabazz
Jamel Shabazz was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of fifteen, he picked up his first camera and started to document his peers. Inspired by photographers Leonard Freed, James Van Der Zee, and Gordon Parks, he was marvelled with their documentation of the African American community.
In 1980, as a concerned photographer with a clear vision, he embarked on a mission to extensively document various aspects of life in New York City, from youth culture to a wide range of social conditions. Due to its spontaneity and uniqueness, the streets and subway system became backdrops for many of his photographs.
Ultimately, his goal was, and still is to contribute to the preservation of world history and culture. In the past two decades, he has had over two dozen solo exhibitions, including “Men of Honour”, “A Time Before Crack”, “Pieces of A Man”, “Represent”, "When Two Worlds Meet”, “Back In The Days,” and “Seconds of My Life,” which have been shown around the world, from Argentina to The Netherlands, England, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, and throughout the United States.
I first met Jamel in 2009, after learning about the evolution of his photography online (through my friend and colleague, Che Kothari), and developing a sense of respect for his use of the art form.
Portraits of Claire Fountain
I first began working with Claire Fountain of Trill Yoga in February of 2016, and recently shot her this past August, in Manhattan.
She is an amazing person, a fantastic subject to photograph, and the first yogi that I have ever shot.
Since our first photo shoot, and through a number of conversations, I have learned a great deal about her, myself, yoga, psychology, philosophy, writing, entrepreneurship, and many other subjects that overlap in interesting ways.
Otherwise known as CB Quality, Claire is a writer, and personal trainer that fell in love with yoga in her Mississippi hometown, before ever stepping foot on a mat. As a way to overcome her life's obstacles, she began a journey of learning and studying anatomy in order to heal her mind, body, and spirit.
a j a n i photography: Bridgestone Winter Driving School
A couple of weeks ago, and in collaboration with Gloria Chik of Urbanebloc and Rogue Stories, I was invited to attend the Bridgestone Winter Driving School, in beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
My recent trip to Colorado marked many firsts for me; including but not limited to my first time traveling to the mid-western region of the United States, my first time traveling to the Rocky Mountains, and my first time attending a winter driving school.
As we flew across the Rocky Mountains from Chicago, not only was I blown away by the breathtaking views below, but I also experienced an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunities and experiences ahead of me (in Colorado, in 2016, and beyond).
a j a n i photography: Qatari Camel Trainers
Throughout the Arabian Gulf, camel racing is traditionally known as the sport of the sheiks.
In Qatar specifically, the pastime became a professional sport in 1972, and camel racing fans enjoy the fiercely competitive games each month, at the Al Shahaniya Racetrack.
Located about an hour north of Doha, the racetrack is one of the most popular camel racing tracks in the middle east, and races typically take place on Fridays, from November to February.Read more
a j a n i photography: Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park
When I first travelled to Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park in central China, a few years ago, I had no idea that the trip would be as tumultuous as it was.
Travelling from Chengdu, in Sichuan province, to Jiuzhaigou, was supposedly an eight hour journey, but ended up becoming a very uncomfortable, fifteen hour bus ride.
Firstly, most of our journey to the park including bumper to bumper traffic, so getting there within the projected eight hours was impossible, especially given the geography of the mountainous regions that we were traversing.
Secondly, I was sitting in close proximity to an old Chinese man who had urinated himself at the beginning of our trip, and the smell was unbearable. Fortunately, his trip ended prior to ours, about halfway to the national park.
a j a n i photography: The Grand Mosque of Qatar
During my recent trip to the middle east, one of the most awesome sites that I visited was The Grand Mosque of Qatar, otherwise known as The Abdul Wahhab Mosque.
Located relatively close to Doha, Qatar's downtown core, The Grand Moque is the largest mosque in Qatar, and includes 90 domes, 18 entrances and can hold up to 30,000 people.
Built in 2013, it was named after the 18th century Islamic theologian and inaugurated by the Former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
Initially, I was overtaken by the mosque's extravagance and size, and I was impressed by the sheer volume of light fixtures and details within and surrounding its structure.