It is astonishing how quickly kids around you grow up. If you are introspective, as I get sometimes, you'll look at your younger siblings, cousins...and look at the older family members and wonder if they are as tickled about your growth as you are of the younger ones.

My cousin, Queenie (named after her mother) celebrated her birthday and it was an opportunity to reconnect with family members I hadn't seen in about a decade. At her party I found out that her dad, my mother's older brother used to take pictures of my mom when they were younger. Decades later, here I am taking pictures of his daughter. Who said history doesn't repeat itself?
To youth, legacy and teenage birthdays!

Queenie

The group of friends who are "fresh"

Chop Time...no friend.

2nd generation of Benneh-Amoah

Queenies!

The birthday girl's mini photo shoot

I really like the 'M' word: matriculation. To me, it gives the impression one has accomplished more than just the required courses and a piece of paper with the college dean's signature. Matriculation is Major lol, at least in my head it is...and thinking back to my own college graduation last year, it is indeed a momentous occasion. Especially for us (say I) first generation folks. So witnessing my friends graduate was equally fantastic and looking back I can appreciate and understand the elation they and their family shared!

In the first picture, Cathy....aka Be Chillin' is a wonderful young lady and my memories of her are quite fond, as she's always been kind to share encouraging words regardless of what I set my mind too. The others in the picture Sherine, Christine & Franny (in the 4th) are just as fabulous!

Phil's in the next picture and we shared many a day on the basketball courts at SouthWest Rec, he more often than I, and in my opinion could have been a walk-on for Billy Donovan's team now.

Christina (3rd picture) was my muse early junior year lol. She started Poets Inc. with another good friend Ashley, and together they constantly remind me to never lose sight of the power of words and expression.

Whew, this post is a little longer than usual, but I'd wanted to take a minute and congratulate the class of 2010. To quote my mentor and role model Nelson Mandiba Mandela: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Go change the world!

This picture was taken at a wedding a while back, found it in my stash and it reflects my mood today.
I'm excited and passionate about a lot of things, most I do out of my free will and I offer my time and services...well, for free. It's frustrating when it is not appreciated, or worse yet, even acknowledged. Makes every statement afterward seem like it is, to borrow a South Florida term, "coming from the side of yo' neck." Leads to that: Yea...whateva look.

I had the angels come to the studio for a marketing campaign I'm working on for the month of February, en par with a revamped website. We (ahem, more them than I) hand-made a hair band with petals from Micheal's and a glue gun; then I let them loose for one of my funnest photo sessions.
For now I am their favorite photographer ever! Along with best brother, hehehe. And that makes me happy, very happy.

I remember back in prep school in Ghana, almost all the teenage girls were required to cut their hair and back then I didn't think there was much wrong with it. My mother, when she attended prep school, got hers cut as well and the tradition has continued till this day. Of course most ladies in the States tend to only do so in college, after quite a bit of soul searching, as it can have a noticeable impact on their appearance. Chris Rock's movie Good Hair is out, and this post celebrates all who've braved the criticism to cut their hair and are very proud with it.

Akon has a line on Indie Arie's song: "Nappy headed brothers never had no ladies//then I hit the barber shop real quick//had a mini lil' twist and it drove her crazy" makes me smile every time. So true. The funny thing is this is true in American and Ghanaian culture. Indie spoke words of wisdom in her song but it did not occur to me that my little sisters also have perm till I saw Chris Rock's trailer to his upcoming movie Good Hair. I guess the pandemic is closer than we think. Click movie title if you're curious.

I went to a Catholic church choir robing event with my dad over the weekend. It was a day long affair with choirs from different denominations in attendance; Pentecostal, Presbyterian and Methodist. I sang along to a few songs that I surprisingly remembered from my prep school days and witnessed priceless moments like the one above: The girl and her mom, both in the choir, as they admire the younger's certificate of appreciation.

One of the things I like about being back in VA is the opportunity to see old high school friends and some of the people I grew up with, and the Kuffour sisters are no different. Their older brother was actually my 'road-dawg' back in the day.

Taking grad photo shoots is a bitter-sweet reminder that my 4 year tenure at UF is about to be over. I actually enjoyed spending the hour or so with Shari-Ann partly because she has a priceless smile and it was great recounting some of our favorite memories of being a Gator. She did ask a pertinent question though, who is going to take my (the photographer's) graduation pictures?

Women's Appreciation Day (WAD) is one of my favorite events that my chapter hosts annually. I have three angels for sisters and I the women in my life (mom included) dearly, and even if they are not in attendance its still a great opportunity to appreciate women. I took way more pictures but these two were in my top list for 'most telling'. We invited a representative from Mary Kay to do facials, there were also massages, free food etc. Disclaimer, no its not the same person in both pictures lol.

I'm walking around campus and I'm trying to savor every moment...after four years who would have thought that I'd want my last two weeks to be my most memorable at UF. Well at least the most documented behind my camera...I sneaked into the dance pavilion as Olivia, Kendra and Sam preview a dance performance for the spring showcase this weekend. Yea I know, I need a wide angle lens and a tripod but for what I got I wasn't complaining at all. Kudos to UF junior Courtney Baron for choreographing this dance entitled "Go forth young child, and soak your sponge" for her Dance Composition 4 class...maybe I should have taken up dance as well. Sike, nah.

I was playing around with a photo editing site I just discovered and smiles and sorority girls are my favored subjects...wait that didn't come out right. Well the colors definitely caught my eye and I wanted to compare and contrast smiles, colors, girls...now I'm just being silly.

The Ladies of the Iota Lambda chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. marched and joyously sang through campus. They were amongst a sizable new class of Greek initiates to join the NPHC and MGC councils. Though quite a few people wondered why they only marched and sang, I was impressed because thier serenade was a refreshing difference from the usual 45 minute shows other organizations put on in order to introduce their members. Probate shows seemed to have become commercial, and people were lining up with quarters in anticipation of the next step and dance routine. The first picture, with the little girl and the 'future aka' shirt, made it in today's Alligator.