On The Streets: Being a Photographer

One of the things I enjoy about being a photographer is being able to capture the little things in life. Whether it's taking an action shot or even a simple portrait, I love being able to make people feel comfortable with themselves and just see things through a different perspective. 

Here are some photos I took this past week/weekend! Enjoy!

"Happy"

"Family Outing"

"Feeling Jazzy"

"Girls dressed up as anime characters"

"Comfort"

"Observe"

"Lonely man"

"Hand in hand"

Feel free to "like" and share my Photo page on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/EffAyPhoto

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3

Weekend Fun in Minnesota Part 2: The Adventure Continues

Cowles Conservatory

There is so much to see in Minnesota that you would need more than a day or two to visit museums and visit the little boutiques and shops around the city. Since it was a nice day outside, we decided to take a walk around the Walker Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. When you first walk the first thing you see is a artist-designed mini golf course. Its a really unique space to enjoy with family and friends.

Then in the middle of the garden you see this enormous spoon with a cherry on top! I didn't realize it was a spoon until after taking this photo. This sculpture is called "Spoonbridge and Cherry" made by Claes Oldenburg. He is known for his large scale public objects such as this.

"Spoonridge and Cherry" Artist: Claes Oldenburg

Boyfriend and I

As we continued walking we saw other variations of sculptures made by different artists, check out the photos below!

"Molecule" Artist: Mark di Suervo

Garden walkway

"Hare on Bell on Portland Stone Piers" Artist: Barry Flanagan

Posing!

"Without Words" Artist: Judith Shea

Passing through the "Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge"

My favorite piece was inside the Cowles Conservatory. It was of a giant glass fish. I was just amazed at how this sculpture was made and how detailed it was. 

"Standing Glass Fish" Artist: Frank Gehry

Sadly, we weren't able to see all of the sculptures but from what I had already seen, I had a great time. Its nice to walk around and see things that you usually don't see especially a giant spoon! If you're ever in Minneapolis I highly recommend going to the Walker Sculpture Garden!

More info. about the Walker Art Center: http://www.walkerart.org

Map of the garden: http://www.walkerart.org/garden/

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3

Stripes and High Waisted Shorts

The weather has been feeling like summer lately. Its been warm and sunny! I had to take advantage of how nice it was and take a stroll through Mahoney State Park. If you've never been, its a place you want to plan on coming for the weekend cause there's so much to see and do!

MY OUTFIT

Striped Blouse: Urban outfitters

Shorts: Goodwill

Gold Snake Skin Loafers: Target

Blue Belt: Charlotte Russe

 Backpack: Rome/Italy

Happy Blogging!

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3

Weekend Adventure to Minnesota Part 1

This weekend my boyfriend and I decided to get out of Omaha for a little bit and venture out to Minnesota; home of the Minnesota Vikings and known for its largest city, Minneapolis! A few things I was looking forward to seeing in this trips was the Mall of America, art around the city, and just things that we had never seen before. 

Look here's a photo of us looking pretty excited!!

Our first stop was the Mall of America. When we first got to the parking lot I couldn't believe how big it was, I felt as if we were going to Disneyland cause of the traffic and the rows of cars waiting to find parking. Alright, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit but, it was pretty big. As we entered, I saw people sitting down with their bags on the floor and their faces looking tired as if they had been walking for hours.  Once we got to the center of the mall, I was speechless. Four stories filled with 520 stores, 50 restaurants and attractions, and the nation's largest indoor theme park! Also did I mention that there's no sales tax on clothes or shoes! Crazy right! 

There are so many things to look at, where do you start!

Welcome to the jungle, I mean mall!

When you walk to the south end of the mall, towards the south food court you are able to see this giant Transformer figure made out of Legos. It was a sight to see! I wonder how many Legos it took to make this and the other creations around it.

Giant Transformer made out of Legos!

The indoor amusement park was just breathe-taking, I'm still wondering how they fit that all in one mall!

Indoor Amusement Park & Nickelodeon Universe

After we made our rounds around the mall, I spotted this cute vintage boutique called Tatyana, a retro inspired dress shop. I had to go inside and take a look. And of course try on some clothes!

*Those high-waist pants would look great with some wedges and a red belt. 

Pants: Carpenter Capri- $134.00

Blouse: Tie-N-Go Flower- $45.00

Dress: Windward- $132.00

They even have men's clothes!

Shirt: Anchor Mustard Diamond Bowling Shirt- $60.00

One of the girls there had on this lovely cherry dress! 

She's wearing: Wild Berries dress- *On sale for $84.00

After our mini detour at Tatyana's we continued to walk around and see what other things this mall didn't have. My boyfriend had been wanting to get some nice dress shoes and a minimalist wallet, so we found a store called Johnston & Murphy. This store is known for their craftsmanship in shoes, classic style clothes for men and women, and leather goods such as wallets & messenger bags. We met this delightful gentleman who helped us out and posed for me for a photo! I gotta say, I really like his mustache!

Briefcase/messenger bag: Vintage Collection Flapover Briefcase- $395.00

After 4.5 hours of walking, going on roller coasters, seeing the different stores, and meeting cool people, we decided to leave. What I liked about the mall was that there are different themes on each floor that you go on. At one point we saw a giant chandelier dangling. One of the things I should of brought with me was my walking shoes, because you can walk for hours and not even realize where the time has gone. Then again time flies when you're having fun right!

 More to come on part 2 of my weekend in Minnesota!

Happy Blogging!

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3

Paint Your Own Pug

This week I wanted to share with you all a mini art project that is fun and would a great addition on your wall! 

Materials that I used for my project are:
1 #2 Pencil 
1 brush set

1 blank canvas panel

5 bottles of Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint

1 newspaper/used magazine

Choosing your object/model:

I chose to draw a pug because of their interesting facial expressions and also I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. As I browsed through Google, I found this awesome pug illustration by pugslope.com. I thought it was a good example to use since it's simple and you can see the details on the dog's face. I used this as a guide to draw my own pug.

Let's Begin...

I started off by sketching my pug and what I wanted as a background. Once that was done, I painted over the canvas using acrylic paint by Apple Barrel. I was debating if I wanted to paint the background or the pug first,  butI just thought it was easier to paint the back. Even though I painted over it, I could still see the light sketch marks that I made. I used those line and re-sketched the figure of the pug.

Once that was complete, it was time to paint it. I used the colors; chocolate brown for the mouth, ears, & outlining of the eye. And khaki for the body & face. One thing I love about painting is experimenting with the different brushes.  I used the thin brushes to outline the areas where the eyes were going to be and I used the broader brush for the body and ears.

Progress...

I used a light brown for the eyes as well as a thin brush to make the outline in and around the eyes and face. You can see the photo coming to life!

The end piece! 

I had a really fun time doing this project. It was a bit of a challenge seeing how the eyes were going to look and how the overall piece was going to turn out. But it turned out great! The best thing is to get out of your comfort zone and draw different things so you can keep practicing your skill. Like they always say, Practice makes perfect!

From LA, With Luv
Fati <3

The One and Only Betty Boop

It's crazy to see how big of an influence Betty Boop was in the 1930's, yet she is still a rockin' legend today.The first time I saw this retro doll was on a denim jacket that I found at a swapmeet. I thought it was really cute with all of  the rhinestones and a giant patch of her on the back, with the fine words embroidered words 'Betty Boop'. 

Like many of us, we have seen memorabilia of her at antique stores and even use her image or design as fashion inspirations. At the end of the day, "Betty Boop remains animation’s first leading lady and a glamorous international icon".

DID YOU KNOW... That Betty Boop first appeared in the short cartoon film "Dizzy Dishes", created by American animator & film director Max Fleischer on August 9th, 1930.  

Here are some Betty Boop fashion inspirations seen today; created by Creative Director & Fashion Designer for Joyrich, David Melgar!

Joyrich x Betty Boop

Joyrich x Betty Boop 

Joyrich x Betty Boop

She's even a Halloween costume hit!

Spirit Halloween

Through her flirtatious personality, her independent attitude, and her flapper like style, she has left a memorable trademark throughout American culture.

Learn more about Betty at: http://bettyboop.com/biography/

*Photos courtesy of Joyrich & Spirit Halloween. Quote copied from bettyboop.com

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3

Artist of the Week:

Need new music in your life?? Check out this rock n' roll band from Omaha, Nebraska called The Derby Birds! 

Now don't let the name fool you they are no roller derby team, they are a group of guys ready to rock your night away. If you like artists like the Beatles, Dr. Dog, or even The Kinks they are worth giving a listen to!

Read more about The Derby Birds and my interview with Tony Bonacci, the man behind the band below.

The Band

       Gabriel- Bass Guitar                                        Michael- Lead Guitar                 

         

                 Jon- Drums                              Tony- Keys, rhythm guitar & vocals                

The Interview

Me: What is your album called?

Tony: We just released our debut album self titled The Derby Birds.

Me: What are your songs about?

Tony: My songs are usually a combo of different stories and characters combined. For instance, if it's a love song chances are I'm talking about 3 different girls at once. Some of my songs are personal stories but mainly I write fictional songs about things that could be. 

Me: What are you guys working on now? Any upcoming shows?

Tony: Since we just put the album out we're not doing much as far as writing or recording. I'll probably start writing songs after I finish the film projects I'm involved in. We will however be playing shows soon. 

Me: Is there a website where people can sample your music?

Tony: Our album can be streamed at derbybirds.bandcamp.com. It can also be downloaded for free there by typing in 0.00 in the price box  when you go to download.

Me: If you were to play alongside a band/artist, who would it be?

Tony: I'd say Mac Demarco or Dr. Dog for sure. 

Shout out to Tony for this awesome interview. 

*Photos courtesy of The Derby Birds & Whitney (Tony's gf!)

Don't forget to check out their music and follow them!

Take a listen:

http://derbybirds.bandcamp.com/

Follow them:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thederbybirds

Instagram: @toastb

From LA, With Luv

Fati <3