Structure
Years ago I was told I needed structure in my life. She was old this woman, and I was a contrast to the wrinkles time had given her. I had a lifetime of youth on my side, a hundred unplanned years that I wanted to live out the way I saw fit. I nodded, claiming that I heard what she had to say. But I continued to do whatever I wanted. I fought so hard to keep hold of this freedom!
Years forward I stand in the shadow of her words, reveling in the satisfaction of my freedoms intact. She’s long gone and I’ve loved the adventures I’ve ventured to find. I am happy in my choices, but feel a lingering sorrow in moments of dullness, in my disorganization, when my thoughts jumble because I don’t know what I’m to do next. When I’m driving in my car I feel that she’s right there with me still whispering these words for the taking: “My child, you need structure in your life.” I agree and yet still I fight the mere thought, in detestation of this concept called ‘”structure”.
I am frozen some days but wisdom tells me that the snow eventually melts with the seasons. I will grasp my many moments of clarity when I am inspired and continue marching to the beat of my own drum, even though on occasion her words might be right. My rebellious soul will always be free, even if one day structure does enrapture me.
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Emerging Focus Closing Weekend!
Just in time for the closing weekend of the Emerging Focus Photo Competition I was interviewed by the Icon. You can read it here: http://iconla.tumblr.com/post/17558032880/emerging-focus-tami-bahat
The closing reception will be this Saturday February 18 from 5-7 pm at The Icon. It’s your chance to meet with the finalists and see all the great pictures one more time! Or for the first time. ; ) Hope to see you there! Here is the invitation: http://www.facebook.com/events/380372818654793/
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My Portraiture Featured at Photo LA
I’m proud to announce that one of my portraits is being featured at Photo LA : The 21st Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium! What a way to start off the year!
The Emerging Focus Photography Competition has chosen 20 finalists and will be showcasing our portraits during the exposition this week from January 12-16. The portraits will be judged at the Opening Night Benefit Gala on Thursday the 12th from 6-9pm, hosted by Moby and featuring DJ Aaron Byrd from KCRW. Once the exhibition is over, the portraits will move to Icon Projects, a gallery space at the Icon Los Angeles, to be exhibited for an additional six weeks and available for sale to the public.
Tickets for the Opening Night Benefit Gala can be purchased here.
Tickets for the exhibition (as well as many photo tours/workshops) can be purchased here.
It would thrill me to have you come visit the exhibition!
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Nikon Owner Magazine Front Cover reprise
There is an old saying that “lightning never strikes twice in the same place.” Well the amazing people at Nikon Owner Magazine have given me this beautiful opportunity to become an exception to that rule. I could not feel more honored to represent this brand, as well as having my work presented on a worldwide scale. I have been a subscriber to this magazine for years and am in love with their design, quality and esthetics in each and every issue. They have an incredible ability to incorporate the unique work of passionate photographers from around the world, presenting breathtaking images in various formats.
May I present to you the most recent cover of Nikon Owner Magazine, featuring my photography. There is an article inside featuring eight pages of my work, so please have a look!
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Carnivore
Lean muscle inside a shell. Serious eyes. Through these long tunnels of branches I rise, the hunt for meat has had me crouching on hands and knees.
I watch you from afar, head cocked gazing off into the distance. It takes every ounce of will to hold my body still. When the time comes the capture will be swift. You are a slow-moving creature, lost, small, pinned inside this hard exterior for years.
For me every breath is a struggle. Without your arched nuances exhaling life into the inner lining of my being I will not survive.
I am a creature of this earth, for this I should not be feared. I wait for the instance to dig you out, to taste your decadent core.
Why have the others not yet pounced? Perhaps they listen for the creatures that squawk at the dawn, only to discover they are simply empty, blaring, transitory sirens across the horizon.
You view the world in black no matter what time of day. I wish for my face to be the first thing you see when the light shines in.
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Intersection
It can be said that on occasion, our greatest pain intersects with the greatest love of our lives. If we cut ourselves off to living, to not feeling what we think we can’t bear, we may just be cutting ourselves off to the greatest achievements of our lifetime. The calm before the storm. Attempting the unknown. Jump head first, you may otherwise never learn that you’re capable of creating more than you ever thought you could. You may never know because of being scared.
And what is scared? A feeling. A feeling that will stick around until you tell it to go. This feeling has a way of dispersing once we confront what seemed impossible, not allowing ourselves to go ahead. That’s our responsibility. Inhibitions will never apologize for their actions. They’re only there because you give them that permission. They can make your world feel so small. They make your stomach churn with anxiety. They put words in your mouth such as “can’t”.
Let them go. Banish them from your daily life and vocabulary. Do one thing today that inhibitions would hate, because after all, you always had that rebellious soul that couldn’t be stopped from anything but yourself.
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From Photo To Video
I have taken many photos for Los Angeles indie rock band The Active Set. Recently they set out to film their next music video, and their director Lior Molcho approached me. He was a fan of a shoot I’d done with Matthew Stolarz (singer) called “After Hours” and wanted to use the visuals. He asked me to help art direct the video as well as do makeup, and I jumped right in. The result is the video for It Multiplies.
But I’m Free
If life is understanding that we need to make every moment count, where did we go wrong? When did it become okay to have criminals representing us, cultivating the deterioration of our way of life? It’s lazy, it’s greedy and although the glitz and glamour look sexy and alluring from the outside, it’s whorish. When did it become normal to invest, with a blind trust, our hopes and dreams in these men and women only to be let down?
But I’m free.
I’m free to help others that fall by the wayside.
I’m free to hold strongly to my own morals and beliefs even when it’s the norm for our respected politicians to be seduced by greed, sex and power while promising us a better life.
I’m free to NOT watch the eleven out of thirteen channels airing news on my television screen every night, flooding my mind with frightening, sad and scary stories, all contributing to the feeling that this world is a dangerous place.
I’m free to hold a door open for a complete stranger even if they do not say thank you.
I’m free to conquer my own fears.
I’m free not to give up on the things that I’m most passionate about despite what anybody else says.
I’m free to be admired because of what I have to say and who I am, not because it comes along with knowing all the pretty people and owning things that give me status.
I’m free to avoid getting intoxicated, with the knowledge that it’s a sobering experience waking up from a drunken mistake.
I’m free to not be a size zero even if the magazines imply that is the beauty standard.
I’m free to have these wrinkles from each and every beautiful year I was able to experience living on this earth with my friends and family.
I’m free to set a positive example for the young people that follow in whichever trail I choose to blaze.
I’m free to inject art into this world and make people think, even though the government doesn’t see a reason for supporting that kind of thing.
Are you free?
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You Call Me Woman
I was raised by women that endured endless pain to see me succeed and I bear this name. I come from a long line of words and actions filled with wisdom both irrational and sane, an exponential intelligence which rolls from my tongue. So excuse me if I come off as arrogant when your ignorance gets to be too much. My boldness connects to my heritage, a rich colorful tapestry of life that flows through my veins, generations of experiences woven together that rise up within.
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