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Photographer

9 mins read

Capturing Culture: Photographer Laylah Amatullah Barrayn’s Lens on Identity and Change

Meet Laylah Amatullah Barrayn—a photographer and author ignited by her family’s photo album and mentored by luminaries like Jamel Shabazz and Dr. Deborah Willis. Inspired by their purposeful storytelling, she wields her camera as a force for change.

In this interview, Laylah shares her thoughts on the transformative power of photography, challenges stereotypes, and unveils her latest project, “Day One DNA: 50 Years in Hip Hop Culture,” reflecting her commitment to celebrating narratives within the Black diaspora.

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn
Installation photographs from Day One DNA: 50 Years in Hiphop Culture, on view at the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery at Harvard University. Photo by Anthony Artis

What drew you to the world of photography? 

I was drawn to the photograph from my family photo album. I saw the power in our family photographs early on because those images were able to convey ​so much about building and refining my own identity as a first generation New Yorker via the Great American Migration. I was drawn to photography by the robust community that I encountered as a young person in New York City.

I saw masters in action, who embraced me and guided me, photographers like Jamel Shabazz, Dr. Deborah Willis, and Chester Higgins.​ They worked with a clear purpose to share the strength, vast history, culture, and beauty of our community. These photographers worked with authenticity and integrity. It has been so inspiring how they used their cameras to positively influence the world in which we live. 

In what ways do you think photography can be a tool for challenging stereotypes and promoting cultural understanding, especially concerning marginalized communities?

Photography can be used as a catalyst for change when marginalized communities reclaim their narratives through the lens of their own. ​Through our own ‘gaze’ we can define ourselves through sharing first-person accounts that are rooted in lived experiences, tradition, and culture. ​

It is also powerful when we establish platforms such as SHOPPE BLACK when we self-publish and create other initiatives to share our stories. And even though we don’t own the major social media platforms, using them strategically can draw attention to stories and perspectives that have not been amplified, which can in turn contribute to more inclusive storytelling.

Could you share the significance of this latest project, “Day One DNA: 50 Years in Hiphop Culture,” in the context of your body of work?

​Most of my work has been storytelling through documentary photography​ and essay writing, this is where I’ve delved into narratives, communities, and traditions within the Black diaspora. ​My work has appeared in publications like The New York Times, Ebony, and National Geographic.

My work has also been included in a number of books on photography. In 2017, I ​co-authored “MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora”, ​this project ​presented the ideas, perspectives, and experiences ​of African and Black diasporic women photographers. My most recent book is “We Are Present.”

I’ve also curated exhibitions, another form of storytelling. My current curatorial project, “Day One DNA: 50 Years in Hip Hop Culture,” explores the friendship and artistic partnership between two iconic hip-hop artists, Ice-T and DJ Africa Islam. By delving into their archives, we gain insight into the early days of hip hop, witnessing its evolution and the experiences of its pioneers as they laid the foundation for the culture.

Rapper/Actor Ice T speaks with Day One DNA curator Laylah Amatullah Barrayn and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr at the Copper Gallery. Credit: Anthony Artis

“Day One DNA” serves as both an exhibition and archival project, aligning with my broader exploration of the contributions of the Black diaspora. Hip hop, as a cultural phenomenon, emerges from the collaborative efforts of individuals across Caribbean, Latino, and African-American communities, shaping the dynamic art form and culture that we now have come to know and appreciate as hip hop.

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn
Installation photographs from Day One DNA: 50 Years in Hiphop Culture, on view at the Ethelbert Cooper Gallery at Harvard University. Photo by Anthony Artis

Could you highlight some of the standout artifacts or elements within the exhibition that hold particular significance for you or tell compelling stories?

The exhibition has over 200 artifacts. As a photographer, I loved going through the photo albums, and handling prints from the ‘70s and ’80s that developed from film. Many of these photos are candid moments of Ice T and DJ Afrika Islam on tour with artists like KRS-One and Biz Markie. “Day One DNA” features over 800 vinyl pieces, including first-run records by iconic artists such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Isaac Hayes. These records laid the foundation for DJs and producers to some of the most classic hip hop tracks.

The clothing is another favorite, black leather medallions—a staple from the ‘80s—and an array of custom-made jackets and suits. Additionally, shirts and sweaters from iconic hip hop brands like FUBU and Karl Kani. One of my favorite pieces in the show is a custom-made “tuxedo” jacket made from African wax print, showcasing a portrait of Malcolm X. This commemorative piece resonates so deeply, it shows the legacy of our “shining Black prince” endures through music, hip hop lyrics, and even through fashion. It’s definitely one of my favorite pieces in the exhibition.

What do you hope visitors will take away from experiencing this exhibition, both in terms of knowledge and emotional impact?

I want visitors to develop a deep appreciation for the foundational elements of hip hop. I want visitors to be inspired by the creative, entrepreneurial spirit, and drive inherent in the culture. I want visitors to leave feeling empowered to create something unique, taking pride in the grassroots cultures and communities they belong to. Also, I hope they feel motivated to initiate or build their own archives and encourage family and community members to join in. Last but not least, I want viewers to recognize that an institution alone does not legitimize a culture or archive a tradition.

What advice would you give to aspiring Black women photographers who aim to carve their path in the world of photography and visual arts?

This is advice I’d offer to anyone, with a particular emphasis on young black women photographers and creatives: you don’t have to settle. Seek out collaborators and institutions that are genuinely excited, not begrudgingly or lukewarm, about working with you. There is an abundance of eager collaborators who exist and they are ready to support and assist you in realizing your vision and dreams. If you encounter the smallest signs of disrespect, don’t hesitate—walk away, or better yet, run as fast as you can!

📸 Cover image credit: Malik J. Glover

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5 mins read

Largest Collection Of Gordon Parks Photos Acquired By Howard University

Howard University and The Gordon Parks Foundation recently announced a historic acquisition of 244 photographs representing the arc of Gordon Parks’s career over five decades.

The breadth of the collection—which spans Parks’s earliest photographs in the 1940s through the 1990s—makes it one of the most comprehensive resources for the study of Parks’s life and work anywhere in the world.

The Gordon Parks Legacy collection, a combined gift and purchase, will be housed in the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

The photographs serve as a rich repository for the development of exhibitions and multidisciplinary curricula that advances scholarship on Parks’s contributions as an artist and humanitarian.

Howard University’s acquisition is part of The Gordon Parks Foundation’s commitment to supporting initiatives that provide access to and deepen understanding of the work and vision of Parks for artists, scholars, students, and the public. Building on this partnership, the Foundation and Howard University are exploring future projects that draw on the collection to catalyze new research and joint programming.

“This landmark acquisition provides new dimension to studying the work and lasting impact of Gordon Parks through the context and resources of a university,” said Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr., Executive Director of The Gordon Parks Foundation. “Gordon embodied the many values that Howard University stands for, making it a fitting home for engaging with one of the great chroniclers of Black American life.”

“Howard University is proud to be the recipient of such an important collection of work by African American artist and photojournalist Gordon Parks,” said Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, President of Howard University. “Mr. Parks was a trailblazer whose documentation of the lived experiences of African Americans, especially during the civil rights period, inspired empathy, encouraged cultural and political criticism, and sparked activism among those who viewed his work. Having a collection of his timeless photographs in the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center will allow Howard University faculty, students, and visiting scholars to draw on his work and build upon his legacy of truth telling and representation through the arts.”

“I am extremely excited about this historic acquisition by Howard University and this rich addition to Moorland-Spingarn’s collection,” said Ben Talton, Ph.D., Director of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. “It fortifies Howard’s place as the premier institution preserving the legacy of the global Black experience. In addition to acquiring the nation’s largest Garden Parks collection, Howard University is gaining a partner in the Gordon Parks Foundation. This collection and this historic collaboration provide our students and faculty with direct access to Parks’ work and the resources of the Gordon Parks Foundation for research and teaching. As a photographer and filmmaker, Parks provided a unique narrative of the beauty and pain of the history of the United States during the second half of the 20th century.”

The collection traces Parks’s progression from early portraits of rising talents to becoming a leading photographer of Black celebrities through the subsequent decades.

Represented are Parks’s mid-career works Sidney Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun, New York, New York, 1959; Duke Ellington in Concert, New York, 1960; Louis Armstrong, Los Angeles, California, 1969; among other photographs of notable figures from the period.

The holdings also include photographs taken later in Parks’s career of subjects representing new generations of changemakers at the height of their emergence on the cultural scene, including portraits of the iconic fashion model Iman from the 1970s, and images taken in New York of Jazz musician Miles Davis in 1981, and filmmaker Spike Lee in 1990.

 

17 mins read

Photographer Bruce Talamon captured Black joy in the glory years of Soul and Funk.

Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White had one name in mind for his memoir photos: Bruce Talamon. The photographer, who has nearly 40 years experience shooting feature film stills, began his career documenting R&B, soul and funk music’s golden age in the 1970s.

bruce talamon
Bruce Talamon

In 1979 and 1980, Talamon traveled with Earth, Wind & Fire, capturing shows, rehearsals and moments in between as the band toured Europe, Japan, South America and Egypt. That’s where Talamon took White’s favorite shot, a black and white photo of the musician walking toward the pyramids of Giza.

Photos by Bruce W. Talamon.

Herb Powell, who was helping to write the memoir, looked through Talamon’s pictures of the famed funk band and asked the question: “What else you got?”

A light bulb went off. Talamon began to reflect on his collection of images — of Teddy Pendergrass, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and many, many more — from the era. It was this eureka moment that led Talamon and his agent to pitch art-book publishers in New York. But they all passed.

Eventually, Talamon took matters into his own hands, writing a provocative letter to publisher Benedikt Taschen in 2015.

Photo books have documented jazz, rock ’n’ roll, the Rolling Stones. But there’s never been a photo book on R&B, soul and funk music, Talamon said. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s criminal. That speaks to being marginalized as the music was back then.”

Talamon usually was the only black photographer on the West Coast consistently photographing R&B, soul and funk musicians, he said.

“Generally, white photographers showed up at the white acts — Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, the Stones,” he said. “They might do the Jackson 5 and Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye and Smokey [Robinson], but they weren’t going to do Thelma Houston. They weren’t going to do Ashford & Simpson because there was no market for it.”

Diana Ross performing in Los Angeles in 1976. The Supremes would have 12 number-one singles and become the most celebrated vocal groups of all time followed by a wildly successful solo career for Ross. Credit: Bruce Talamon

To Talamon’s surprise, a representative from Taschen wrote back within a day, and weeks later an editor was in his living room poring over more than 5,000 early-career photos.

“Here I was revisiting this stuff some 40 years later, and it jumped out at me — the Parliament-Funkadelic group shot, the stuff with Bill Whitten,” Talamon said, referring to the designer of stage costumes for the Commodores, the Jacksons and others. “One of the things I said to my editor: I definitely did not want this book to be just some black guys screaming into a microphone. I had no interest in that, because this is about so much more.”

Motown company basketball game: Katherine, Janet, Michael and Randy Jackson with Billy Bray, Los Angeles 1974. – Photos by Bruce W. Talamon.

Bruce Talamon

Teddy Pendergrass, 1977. Photos by Bruce W. Talamon.

Marvin Gaye and his brother Frankie eat Thanksgiving Photos by Bruce W. Talamon.

“Bruce W. Talamon. Soul. R&B. Funk. Photographs 1972-1982,” released this fall, features nearly 300 images chronicling the performers and the fans from the era. Talamon’s book highlights not only the icons — including Franklin, Wonder, Summer and the Jackson 5 — but also showcases influential acts that didn’t find the same mainstream success, such as the Stylistics or the Dramatics. Also documented are cultural touchstones such as Don Cornelius’ music and dance TV program “Soul Train.”

A 1978 shot catches Marvin Gaye and his brother eating Thanksgiving leftovers at their mother’s home on South Gramercy Place in L.A. Patti Labelle props up her heels after a long day of interviews and radio-station visits in 1977. Quincy Jonesis at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco working on music arrangements with his then-wife, Peggy Lipton.

Sitting in his South L.A. home, Talamon flipped through the nearly 10-pound tome on his lap and reflected on how those early photos affected his career, which has included work for magazines and for filmmakers like Steven Spielberg.

“So many visual artists don’t get recognized until they’re either dead or in a wheelchair,” he said. “It’s nice to get this recognition.”

Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire, 1978 Bruce W. Talamon

“I definitely did not want this book to be just some black guys screaming into a microphone. I had no interest in that, because this is about so much more.”

Bruce Talamon

 

Wattstax, 1972

Isaac Hayes, 1972 Bruce W. Talamon

Born and raised in South L.A, Talamon never planned on becoming a photographer. As a political science major at Whittier College, he aspired to pursue law.

During a semester abroad, Talamon purchased his first camera, a Pentax Spotmatic, for $100 in Berlin. “Then I read the directions and started photographing,” he said. After learning that Miles Davis would be performing at the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Talamon bought cheap seats to see the jazz artist. But he also wanted to take photos.

Camera in hand, Talamon headed toward the front of the stage.

“The usher said, ‘You have to go back to your seat, sir,’ ” Talamon recalled. “And I said … ‘Well, I’m a photojournalist from Jet magazine.’ ” The lie allowed him to snap some of his first music shots.

After graduating college, Talamon moved back to L.A. to pursue photography as a career.

In 1972, Talamon secured a photo pass to Wattstax, a benefit concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum held seven years after the Watts Riots. Dubbed “Black Woodstock,” the concert included the Staple Singers, Albert King and the Bar-Kays. Then 23, Talamon captured his first R&B photograph: soul singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes wearing aviators and wrapped in chains that draped from his shoulders to the stage.

The concert is also where Talamon met one of the most influential people in his career, Howard Bingham, Muhammad Ali’s photographer.

Soul newspaper 1972-82

Mel Melcon/ Los Angeles Times

That year Bingham introduced Talamon to Regina Jones, the publisher and co-founder of Soul Newspaper, a publication born out of the Watts Riots and focused on black entertainers. His first cover assignment for Soul was photographing “Me and Mrs. Jones” singer Billy Paul at an obscure nightclub in the Crenshaw district.

“It was packed full of women, from young women in there, old sisters in there, shaking it up to ‘Me and Mrs. Jones,’ ” Talamon recalled. “It was wild up in there. The drinks were flowing.”

After a couple of months freelancing for Soul, Jones sent Talamon on a press junket to Japan and Hong Kong with Motown Records’ premier female singing group, the Supremes.

It was there that he caught the attention of Bob Jones, a prominent black publicist who worked for Motown. Talamon said that for Jones it was important to hire black photographers. And in an era when black music was also a political statement, artists began speaking up too. “They understood the power of their positions,” Talamon said. “Black acts were asking stuff like, ‘Where are the black photographers?’ ”

Motown became his first corporate client and led to more gigs with record companies shooting publicity and editorial photographs.

At Soul, Talamon photographed what he called R&B royalty: Pendergrass, George Clinton and Smokey Robinson. Oftentimes, the newspaper featured artists before they hit the mainstream.

“This woman allowed us to experiment, to have fun,” Talamon said of Jones. “She knew we would come back with something good.”

“He never stopped trying to improve himself,” Jones said. “Bruce was always trying to come up with a better picture, a better lighting, a better staging, better concert shooting. … He was always looking to be better and make the publication better.”

Combing through Talamon’s book was an emotional experience.

“We were all too busy moving so fast with very, very, small staffing to low to no budget,” Jones said. “You’ve got a deadline every two weeks and then on to the next issue. You didn’t get to sit there and look at [the photos].”

And all these years later, she said, the work is proving even more important.

“There’s no other book I’ve ever seen out there … that covers intensely the way he does the black recording artists of the era,” Jones said. “I don’t think there’s anything like it.”

Donna Summer, 1977

Donna Summer photographed for the cover of Soul newspaper by Bruce W. Talamon.

After convincing Jones to invest in strobe lights to improve Soul’s covers, Talamon used the new equipment in sessions with Summer, Bootsy Collins and Chaka Khan and her band Rufus.

He referred to Summer’s shoot as one of the most important in his career.

In 1977, Summer was scheduled for 20 minutes, but when the queen of disco saw the sophistication of the setup by Talamon and his partner Bobby Holland, she stayed for four hours.

Months later, Summer told Ebony magazine that she had worked with Talamon, and the shoot became his first national magazine cover. That year he also shot comedian Richard Pryor for People magazine.

Importance of the Leica

B.B. King, The Roxy, 1978. Shot by Bruce W. Talamon

As a self-taught photographer, Talamon credited those who helped him throughout his career. He learned to light from Holland and Jim Britt, a staff photographer for Motown. He also counts Hollywood portrait photographer Bob Willoughby and rock ’n’roll photographer Jim Marshall among his teachers.

“Bruce put a stop to the going to law school, but Bruce didn’t put a stop to learning,” said Talamon, referring to himself in the third person. “I took the tools that I learned as a political science and sociology major and I applied them to photography.”

One tip he learned from Marshall was to use a Leica in quiet moments. Holding the camera in his hands, Talamon demonstrated the faint click of the shutter.

This was the camera he used to photograph B.B. King waiting backstage at the Roxy in 1978. It was the camera he used in 1984 while covering Jesse Jackson’s historic presidential run for Time magazine. Talamon used the Leica during Jackson’s apology at a New Hampshire synagogue for using a derogatory term to describe Jewish people in an interview.

“I took off all my Nikons, put my black and white in my pocket and walked up to them and said, ‘I need to be there,’ ” Talamon said. “He let me come in.”

Nearly 30 years later, after switching to digital cameras, he brought the Leica to set while working on the 2011 romantic comedy “Larry Crowne” and snapped black and white personal photos for Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

Then and now

Bruce Talamon

Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times

Talamon lamented the tight control that publicists and music labels yield over an artist’s image now. In the 1970s, the photographer was often given unlimited access. “You were creating something, and you were photographing and you were watching,” he said. “You can’t do that in five minutes; you can’t do that in three songs.”

“No publicist is going to use this,” he said, referring to the book’s cover, a blurred shot of Stevie Wonder performing at Inglewood’s Forum in 1980. “This was me having some fun after I’d gotten the shot.”

But all these years later, Talamon also noted the connections between performers of the past and newcomers today. “One of the things I wanted to show was how much these musicians have to give,” Talamon said. “Now that is something that is consistent with today.”

“That’s why I have that picture of Al Green collapsed at the door of his dressing room. … He left it all out on the stage. And that’s what they would do, the Isley Brothers, B.B. King, James Brown — when they said they were the hardest working men in show business, that’s the truth.”

Source: Makea Easter for The LA Times

2 mins read

Black Wedding Photographers You Should Know

Here are some Black wedding photographers who help capture special moments that will be cherished for a lifetime.

Black Wedding Photographers

Science of Life Photography ( Fayetteville, NC)

Science of Life Photography

GDA Weddings (Bloomfield, CT)

GDA Weddings

Enitan Wedding Photography (London, UK)

black wedding photographers
Enitan Wedding Photography

Derrel HoShing Photography (Toronto, ON)

Derrel HoShing Photography

Nkabani Photography  (London, UK)

Nkabani Photography

Trene Forbes Photography (Pikesville, MD)

Trene Forbes Photography

Tauriac Photo (New Orleans, LA)

black wedding photographers
Tauriac Photo

Sterling Pics (Atlanta, GA)

Sterling Pics

Aneris Photography (Charleston, SC)

Aneris Photography

Ashleigh Bing Photography (Bowie, MD)

Ashleigh Bing Photography

The Amber Studio (Dallas, TX)

The Amber Studio

Joshua Dwain Photography (New York, NY)

Joshua Dwain Photography

JB Elliott Photography (Serving the DMV)

black wedding photographers
JB Elliot Photography

Vision & Style Photography (Columbus, OH)

Vision & Style Photography

Tony O. Lawson


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