Opening Reception | Pass Thru Gallery

This past Wednesday evening, I was in Dallas... trying to manage nerves (with wine lol) as folks arrived for the opening of #talkaboutuncomfortablethings at Pass Thru Gallery. Traveling with me from DC, were my mom, Lakiya, and Denyelle! And visiting from Jackson, MS was Jay! So in the back of my mind, I told myself, "even if no one else shows up, I know there will be at least 5 people there" lol.

Thankfully, a few more than 5 people were in attendance :)

When too much is going on, I kind of shut down and go numb. So honestly, it took a week of processing for me to understand why I was so overwhelmed by everything last week.

First, the pain that prompted the creation of this project is still very present. I am still depressed. I am still trying to figure out how best to manage the daily mood and energy shifts present with rapid-cycling bipolar II. I am still trying to navigate my anxiety and ADD triggers... In short, trying to figure out how to regain my quality of life while managing illnesses that I wasn't aware of for the first 29 years of my life.

It's a process. And I'll be honest, every day I don't show up for the fight. The exhaustion wins some days, and I have to try again the next. So... with all that being said, it is extremely hard to accept good things happening to you when you don't feel good about yourself. And I was dealing with a lot of that leading up to and on the day of the opening.

The vibe in that room though? Nothing short of amazing.

Everyone who came to the opening contributed to the warm atmosphere. Takiyah really created something special with this space and it was an honor to be the first to share my art in her gallery ❤️

Without further ado, I want to share this awesome video recap of the opening that Jay put together! 

I'm so thankful to Jay for this beautiful video! I wasn't mentally all there last week, but having been able to decompress a bit, I can smile now and say that I'm proud of myself. For not curling up into the ball that I wanted to lol. 

Huge thanks go to my wonderful muses! The beautiful fellow black women creatives who agreed to allow themselves to be vulnerable with me: Fisayo, Yodith, Naseera, Adina, and Erika. ❤️

Thank you to everyone who made it to the opening and thank you for the kind words and support from afar from those that weren't able to! If you're in/near Dallas or will be visiting Dallas within the coming month, be sure to visit Pass Thru Gallery and check out the exhibit!

The journey to wellness continues ❤️

-Danni

Afeku Maternity | Washington, DC Maternity Photographer

Last, but certainly not least, for today is the Afeku family! Can I tell you how easy they were to photograph? Their love for one another was a true joy to document 💙

Bessie is a fellow photographer, and I have to be honest when I tell you there's always a bit more anxiety than normal when another photographer trusts you with taking their photos, let alone documenting something as important and exciting as a pregnancy! Once we met though, I knew the session was going to be a great, and it was!

It is one of my favorite things to photograph families with a more natural style and truly just capture them in a warm and loving manner. I was able to do just that with the Afeku family :)

Check out some of my favorites from their session:

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If you’re interested in a maternity session, I would love to document this exciting time in your life! Email me to schedule yours today! Currently booking: June, July, and August dates.

Vaughn Maternity | Washington, DC Maternity Photographer

Next up for today? Ron & Imani!

Adrian and I shot Ron and Imani's wedding back in 2012 (post originally formatted for my old blog), so I was very happy when Imani reached out to schedule a maternity session!

As the day for their session neared, the forecast called for it be a rainy and stormy day :/ So we planned to shoot at the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait gallery ended up being THE perfect location for them, so I am actually thankful to the rain for moving me in that direction lol.

Just as I remember from their wedding day, Ron and Imani are such a warm and loving couple and it was an honor to document this new chapter of their journey 💛

Here are some of my faves from their session!

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If you’re interested in a maternity session, I would love to document this exciting time in your life! Email me to schedule yours today! Currently booking: June, July, and August dates.

Watson Maternity | Washington, DC Maternity Photographer

Happy (Maternity) Monday to you! 

I've been meaning to blog these sessions for weeks now and today I finally sat down and got it done! 2017 so far, has been the year of bellies :) I have had more maternity sessions since the start of 2017 than I have in all of my years taking photos! So today I want to share some of these gorgeous photos with you!

First up? Sharon & Clarence! We got together on what ended up being a very mild February day and had a sweet mini maternity session. It was an absolute joy capturing their love for one another 💕

Here are some of my faves from their session!

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If you’re interested in a maternity session, I would love to document this exciting time in your life! Email me to schedule yours today! Currently booking: June, July, and August dates.

#talkaboutuncomfortablethings | Gallery Opening

Happy Monday to you!

Unlike this past week has been for me, today actually IS happy lol. I made it out of bed before noon, and even if I don't get as much accomplished as I would like to, I'm already happy that this week is shaping up to be better than the last :)

Today I am SUPER happy to share with you something that I can't even believe is happening... I'm having my first gallery exhibit next week!!

You guys. 

You guys.  I canNOT even begin to explain to you the levels of nervousness and excitement that are present.

It has been a desire of mine to have a gallery exhibit for yearsss. But I'd honestly given up on seeing it happen because I didn't think my work was "cool" enough to be in an art gallery, nor did I really see myself as an artist. I have a complicated relationship with that term. I always thought of artist and made the mental connection to fine art- those who can paint, draw, sculpt, etc and I could do none of those things. It wasn't until a few years ago that I expanded my view and begin to see myself in that light as well. I knew I was a creative, I just had trouble with calling myself an artist.

The more I began to take on creative and personal projects, the more I was able to see myself in that light because i wasn't just bringing to life a client's vision, I was bringing life to my own ideas- and one of those just happened to make this whole thing possible!

My beautiful friend and fellow sistog, Takiyah (an amazingly talented serial entrepreneur!) is opening her own gallery space, The PASS THRŪ Gallery and I am honored to be the first exhibit! 

My exhibit #talkaboutuncomfortablethings will run from May 3 through June 3. This project means a lot to me. After my diagnosis last year, I began talking more openly about mental illness and how it looks for me using the hashtag #talkaboutuncomfortablethings. I was also doing small photo projects here and there inspired by this as well... So, to now have my personal project in an art gallery? I can't even explain how that feels. It's still so very surreal and (currently) I am probably more nervous than I am excited about it. This feels like a new level of vulnerability and I need to pull it together before May 3 lol.

What makes this even more exciting to me is that this exhibit will be during Mental Health Awareness Month! I started talking about my struggle a little over a year ago in hopes of (in some small way) challenging the stigma surrounding mental health, and I hope to continue to talk about this for as long as I can.

So, if you are in or near Dallas (or want to take a trip :), we will be having an opening reception and artist talk on May 3 from 7-9p and I would love to see you there!

-Danni