Karjaka Magazine

The Value of Fashion Week

The Value of Fashion Week

What are my plans for Fashion week you say? Nothing. Kudos to those brave souls in the photo pits, struggling for the best angle with 30 other photographers, racing to process and sell the image to whatever new source will buy. Meanwhile, your favorite A-List...

Take Lunch on The Run.

Take Lunch on The Run.

Windows Please. Gesturing That four top in the middle would be great. Thanks! Creativity on the Go Change it up. To quote Paul Simon, "Hop on a bus, Gus and set yourself free." Break up the monotony of the routine and see life from a different perspective. Doesn't...

Grace Under Pressure

Grace Under Pressure

I'm standing outside of Saigon Market in Union Square waiting for the visionary that is Jeff Karly of Unique Expozzure to talk over his latest fashion line campaign, and I'm seeing it all. The world is passing me by, just outside Parsons and NYU, it's a small Mecca...

Coffee and Creatives

Coffee and Creatives

Or in other words, "What now my love?" Over coffee and shoptalk I commiserate with my crew. We run at breakneck speed, building our businesses. What's the newest strategy? Where are our blindspots. What worked, what didn't. Meanwhile with the market... Household...

I’ve Got My Eye On You

I’ve Got My Eye On You

Elizandro Garcia-Montoya The Power of Suggestion What are we doing here? It's 2019 and the internet, social media, and print marketing are in full throttle. So why are we still seeing the standard average imagery? Law firm contacted me today asking for competitive...

The Illusion of Knowledge

The Illusion of Knowledge

I'm sitting at the White Horse Tavern texting this post into my notepad. Anyone else would sit down at the bar with a brew, and try to recover from this heat wave. Me? Inspiration has struck for this post which came following a few meetings at Parsons. I've talked...

Legacy

Legacy

Master Retoucher and Printer to Avedon, Penn, and Vogue. 2pm on a Tuesday and I'm getting weepy listening to Strauss in my Studio. Yeah, Art makes me weep and getting lost in a live recording of Don Quixote, waiting for the last 6 minutes with Rostropovich, Berlin and...

Wait for it… Or the Joys of Landing a Plane on Fire.

Wait for it… Or the Joys of Landing a Plane on Fire.

There are two types of people out there when it comes to "entrepreneurship" with some obvious grey areas and variances. The... I'm going to wait until conditions are perfect. My business plan has been vetted by 100 people; my product is the best/only one of it's kind;...

Hands Of The Artist

Hands Of The Artist

Vicky Chow Who's ready for a massage? It's Monday, July 1st and my hands ache. No, it's not arthritis. The last few months feel like a blur. A handful of fashion shoots, gym and composer portraits, concert shoots, photo editing on steroids and business expansion have...

Sunshine and Curls

Sunshine and Curls

Jen Hinkle It's that time of the year. Beaches, Brews, Bunkers and Melanoma. I've been in the portraiture game a while. If you're counting, about 15+ years so I've seen it all when it comes to skin. To a certain extent, photographers are also honorary dermatologists....

Escape with Me

Escape with Me

Daydreaming is underrated if you ask me. Remember when you were in primary school and just drifted off into space every now and again? Or you're older and still do that at the office? You'd get into trouble because you weren't paying attention. For us creatives, that...

Just Hanging Around

Just Hanging Around

There’s something to be said about the hang. As school comes to a close at Parsons this week, it got me thinking on some of the greatest advice I've ever received... go forth and hang, mingle with artists alike and non. Get out of the office/ the studio/practice...

Mother, That Voice of Reason … that Persistent Voice.

Mother, That Voice of Reason … that Persistent Voice.

I hear voices. You guessed it, I am a little crazy. If you've spent anytime with me at all, inevitably my family comes up... usually in an anecdote of my Father in some awful Eastern European accent. But behind all that is The Consigliere, Mother. Not only in my head...

The Ritual

The Ritual

The water boils. 8 scoops of fresh Lavazza Gran Aroma are pouring into my Bodum french press. Pour the water. Steep for 4 minutes. Stir. Press. Pour. And the magic making begins. Post morning routine, this is how the art starts to flow in the studio. I have a...

Am I Doing This Right?

Am I Doing This Right?

What do I do with my Arms? It comes up more often than you'd think. Arms, hands, hips, eyes... whatever. And not just in sessions with private clients but young models as well. Photoshoots on my end can be a nightmare on logistics, no matter how large the production....