IS IT REALLY OVER???

Nottinghill Carnival 2011 photo by Ryan Black

That's the question that flooded my mind as I woke up this morning or rather this afternoon after sleepin' in for most of the day. Carnival IS really over. I spent most of the night last night at dinner with two friends talking about that sence of euphoria that comes over you in the middle of the celebration of Carnival, and Nottinghill is no exception; more so J'Ouvert.. It is truly leveling and humbling. 


No matter who we are, whether a top end model just spotted on the street; or gracing the pages of  a multimillion dollar fashion campaign, Carnival has the power and ability to make us all one. For that is what it does. The stevedore and the bank manager hold hands as they gyrate to pulsing rythms that lead the way to ensuring that at the heart of it all we KNOW what is right. 


There are no isms or politricks, no dem and we,  just us and if we can exist together in such joy and abandonment for ONE DAY...., why not longer. Why not for life.

le boys as i spoted them last carnival

and gracing the cover of OSWALD BOATENG's WEBSITE THIS YEAR

rasconrad truly enjoyed 

all that was the carnival this year 

and is looking forward eagerly 

to the Thames festival 

that follows in two weeks. 

See you there

NOTTINGHILL HOTTING UP!!!

It's Friday, the end of the week and the beginning of celebrations that will either see you headed out to Manchester Pride, or just generally getting out of the city for the Bank Holiday Weekend or if you is Trini to the Bone like me, making final preparations for the Nottinghill Carnival.


I had the pleasure of getting up close and personal when 3CANAL was on stage at CALO's launch at Alexander Palace 

and had a whale of a time on stage with my band that I'm playing with this year SUNSHINE INTERNATIONAL ARTS.


I'll be taking in a healthy dose of ABIR this Sunday, and then all that will be left is to cross London's version of the big stage this Monday in the section entitled 


'DREE VAY CHILE'  Fitting isn't it.


So have a good weekend, whatever you get up to. 


PLAY HARD, but PLAY SAFE.


and LOOK FUH MEH ON DE ROAD.

RasConrad likes nothing better, 

than to be half-naked; wining behind a truck 

listening to the sweets sounds of Soca and Calypso,.. 

and truthfully who doesn't

iPHONEOGRAPHY - WEST CROYDEN after the riots

I've been bringing you images of in and around LONDON, 
to highlight everyday locations that we pass by everyday.
To show you them in a new light.
To perhaps open your eyes to seeing them in a new way.


I didn't go into the riots 'purposely'  hoping to capture images of people 
at their worst. But I did have to go to West Croyden.
And though the riots were over, the aftermath definately falls into the 
category of seeing things in a new light.

(images taken near West Croyden station the day after riots erupted there and throughout London)

© 2011 RASCONRAD iPHONEOGRAPHY
all rights reserved www.rasconrad.com

TURNING YET ANOTHER CORNER...

there have been riots and revelations,  updates and upheavals, 
trials and tribulations and through it all we stand firm..., so why not me?




It's been quite some time since I've blogged, 
I think in a lotta ways my 'spirit' was broken.
But I am blessed with the most AMAZING  friends and family
and I am learning to better appreciate my faith
and to look at the little miracles that occur around me everyday
rather than waiting for signs in floods, or people walking on water.
The real test in not to walk on water or fly in the sky but to walk on the earth.
Somehow I have managed to pull through it all.


Now I look forward to letting go of the past, 
and looking towards the future.
Secure in the knowledge that even though I may NOT know what it [the future] will bring
that WHEREVER I end up, that is where 'I' will be.


'I' ..., that is myself..., 
pure, unadulterated and with no additives or preservatives...,
'I'  will be there.


Not 'I' , as I believe the would like me to be...
Not 'I' , as I think I should portray myself to the public...
Not 'I' , as someone skulking in corners and hiding in doorways...


 I AS IN ME. AS I AM WITH NO APOLOGIES.


For at the end of the day..., 
if we are true to ourselves, 


IS NOT HALF THE BATTLE WON ALREADY.


RC...


blessings

RASCONRAD iPHONEOGRAPHY.

(images taken across from Camberwell Green London SE5 near the 176 bustop)
Welcome to the album RASCONRAD iPHONEOGRAPHY.

The world is merely a reflection of how it is viewed. We can choose to see the positive or the negative. To revel in the possibilities or bemoan that which is not achievable.
from the point of view of a photographer, I believe firmly in the adage that "the best camera is the one you have with you". For no matter the instrument, much lies with the person that wields it.


These are images.., in an around, out and about; all taken with my 'iPHONE'.
The purpose is to make you look again; glance around a second time. Revisit the place you pass on a daily basis. Come to see the world through mine eyes.
Not that i think my view is all that important, I wish only to give a new narrative to the story.

Enjoy.


FOR ALL IMAGES in this series please visit

http://gallery.me.com/rasi​con#102726

(image of The Shard, London Bridge SE1. Kings Cross, taken from London Bridge station on Platform 6)


© 2011 RASCONRAD iPHONEOGRAPHY
all rights reserved www.rasconrad.com