Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2008 In Review!!!


I am privileged to live in an apartment that has a most fantastic view of Toronto, and I have shot the skyline many times over the past year. One of the hallmarks of the past year is the theme changing CN Tower which now acts like a seasonal event clock based on it color and lighting. So I open this year in review with a few shots of the tower!

As of this posting there is just under 60,000 unique visitors from 142 countries in the world! The blog has grown leaps and bounds and has just under 400 posts since 2005! Thanks is just not enough to say to those who visit regularity. The kind words I recieve nearly everyday make this all worth while!

Much love out to my best friend Lasaunji who became my reporter in the field and tracked the comings and goings of Jenssen Atwood and Barack as they visited Detroit! Thanks Soni!!!!

OK there I am doing my photo thing at block-o-rama this year during pride, Snaps is the name I got from the House of Monroe!!!, More on them in a second!

What a blessing it has been to be able to contribute to the scene in Toronto via these three wonderful people, Murchy, Polly and Blackcat! Thanks so much for letting me do what I do best, take photographs and make people happy!

Blackcat! Its all about the hair! ;-) heheeheh


Summer Splash 08!!!!!!

Just call me Snaps Monroe! I have really had a blast following these guys around this year at the various events!!! They always rock the show!!!!!!


The Elementals from the Blackcat Experience!!!!

48! two more to 50! I'm looking forward to an awesome party in 2010!

Temi!!!

What a history changing year! We know the deck is stacked against ya man but Barack we got your back!

Just a few of the EPIPHANYNoir models from 2008, if I forgot you its not that I don't love ya! Thanks to all who have made this a memorable year for me!

To add to all that it has been a very good year for my work as a photographer with the Ballet Creole poster, The Dance book and the prelim copies of my book of portraits! I have been blessed and I look forward to 2009!


The dawn rises on 2009 and I believe that even with all of the challenges it will be a great year!

Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

An Uncle For The Eigth Time!

Got a nice little extra holiday treat today, A new nephew, Daniel Thomas Cushman! Born at 1:07am this morning at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 1/2 long! Truly a blessing for Matt and Nikki and the rest of our family... I've had a smile on my face all day!

Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Christmas In Michigan

It's been more than a couple years since I went home for the holidays. Hard to believe I know but the story is complicated and quite frankly in hid site not worth think on anymore. I went this year for a number of reasons, I wanted to see my brothers new home, I wanted to see my nieces and nephews just to name two. The trip had a degree in difficulty as there was snow in mass quantity almost every day which made moving around a pain in the ass. But I have to say that it was all worth it... We celebrate Christmas as a family on Christmas Eve... It was nice but the bonus treat came on Christmas morning at my brothers and sister inlaws home when the two girls ran about the house because Santa had come! There was even a little something under the tree for me which was quite unexpected! I haven't had that kind of Christmas in years... and it was truly needed and made it all worth while.

Stayed with my brother Matt who had a tree in the room I slept in... I really liked it because it was warm and inviting light that reminded me of Christmas's past.

Toys are essential especially those that are Sci-Fi/ Star Wars related! These aren't the gifts you were looking for;-)! I guess jedi Mind tricks do work at Christmas!

It was truly a white Christmas this year both at my brothers and at my fathers home....

On the last day in Detroit I hung out with my extended family over an awesome lunch at Olga's Kitchen! The conversation was phenomenal and fed my spirit in so many ways!




Traveling with a good friend really makes that 4 hour train ride go in a snap! Thanks Kevin!

Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The First Black Santa December 1963


Sonny Liston was perfect for the part. By now he was known by everyone as the meanest man in the world. He was a sullen and surly champion, a "street nigger." He had served time for armed robbery and didn't give a damn about his image. This newest heavyweight champion of the world flaunted his surly, menacing image at a time when rising racial fever dominated the headlines. The early '60s were the years of Freedom Rides, of Dr. martin Luther King, of black revolution, of rising racial tensions. I was looking into the eyes of a changing America. I explained the idea of a black Santa to Liston's
advisor and idol, Joe Louis. "That'll be the day," said Joe skeptically, but he went ahead and twisted Sonny's arm. For the shooting, Carl Fisher and I went to Las Vegas, a place Liston called home because he was a notorious dice freak. We got set up in a hotel room with Carl's photographic gear, ready to capture the Western world's newest Santa and snapped the first shot. But Sonny wouldn't stay put. He couldn't resist the crap tables in the lounge. We snitched to Joe Louis. He lumbered over to Liston's table, grabbed his ear, wrenched him around and led him back to the elevator. "Git," he whispered in Sonny's ear. "Git!" Bent over like a puppy on a leash, Liston returned to the room and we photographed the first black Santa to our hearts' content. All hell broke loose when the cover came out. Several advertisers took their money and ran. Subscribers demanded refunds. Angry letters flowed in. Harold Hayes said that Sonny Liston created more trouble than any cover since the invention of movable type. But it set the spirit of the magazine for years to come. Sports Illustrated said: "Four months after Liston won the title, Esquire thumbed its nose at its white readers with an unforgettable cover. On the front of its December 1963 issue, there was Liston glowering out from under a tasseled red-and-white Santa Claus hat, looking like the last man on earth America wanted to see coming down its chimney." And Time magazine described the cover as "one of the greatest social statements in the plastic arts since Picasso's Guernica." Ho, ho, ho. As Lois has declared again and again, "This wasn't just cover." Rather, it was a powerful political statement that transcended the medium. In the early 1960s, the times were definitely changing and Esquire, with its long history as a highly literary though somewhat racy men's magazine, wasn't keeping up. The writing was as good as ever, but sales were dropping; its covers were failing to do their job. "The statements inside (of a magazine) are useless unless there is a statement on the outside," Lois says. So, with an acute prescience, a hardheaded willingness to enter the political arena and a willing editor, every month Lois created statements that were difficult to ignore.

From the book "Covering the '60s: George Lois, The Esquire Era." George Lois, Monacelli Press, Inc. New York, NY 1996 p70

An interesting contrast in time, 1963 to 2008... from the first black santa to the first black president. Much has happened and not happened in the past 45 years. Does the election of Barack Obama signal the end of the civil rights movement or give it renewed momentum that will take it into an era of true inclusiveness. 45 years.... lets hope the answer to my question doesn't take as long to manifest.

Seasons Greetings to all my EN readers! ... will post my year end review in a few days... Thanks again for all the love and support.


Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

A Soulful Performance!


Performance weekend is here and I went to see Fridays opening performance! I had shot Thursdays tech rehearsal(the images posted are from that shoot), but tech rehearsals are like watching the show slowly diced up in to smaller sections often without costumes and over a longer period of time as lighting goes through its final tweaks. So when I saw the final piece on Friday I was truly memorized at the complexity of the non-stop 76 minute performance. It was great to see it with out the filter of a view finder which sometimes causes me to miss some of the nuances of the choreography. Dance always evokes an emotional response and last night was no exception. It was also a thrill to see my photo on the marquee and once again I feel blessed at the good year I have had!










































Note: All images and text (not specified) is copyrighted by Christopher Cushman. This site does not specify or denote the sexual orientation of any model and as such please post your comments accordingly.