introducing DONALD CARMICHAEL @ LEVEL 1 MGMT.

photographed by Tarrice Love

featuring Donald Carmichael @ Level 1 Mgmt.

art-directed by Tarrice Love

Donald Carmichael and his unique blend of sensuality and masculinity finally took off with becoming the main face of the hip hop clothing line Parrish Nation. For the last two seasons, this Harlem native, has managed to use his good looks and charming demeanor to snag the Parrish Nation national campaign and numerous editorials ... while unsigned. He has appeared in Vibe, Source, XXL and Complex magazines and been photographed by countless respected photographers. Donald has walked fashion week for designers like Edwing D'angelo and Nico and Adrian. Currently he is represented by Level 1 Management.

Donald walked into my studio space wanting to do one thing.... make something hot! I wanted to do images that would catapult him out of the traditional urban catagory that so many agents/ bookers tend to place black male models. Donald has an amazing body and had no issues about showing it off. I enjoyed working with him and I can't wait to see where his career goes next.

fashion editorial: HARLEM TORCH - SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS featuring LAMAR JAMES and MAKIN CURRY

Harlem Torch, a magazine based in Harlem, commissioned me to photograph an 8 page fashion editorial featuring the latest fall collection of fashion designer Miguel Antoine. Brauck Westley-Busher, who is one of the publishers of the magazine, did the the styling.

(some the images are outtakes from the actual editorial featured in Harlem Torch magazine)

photographed by Tarrice Love

featuring Lamar James @ Identities and Makin Curry@ Next Model Mgmt.

styled by Baurack Westley-Busher

assisted by Q

I shot this mid August during the hottest time in New York. I was so excited that I wanted to make the best impression so I dragged all my equipment to work with me and stored it in my manager's office so I could make a straight shot to Harlem and be on time. I got lost trying to find the location on the call sheet and was a little late anyway. I arrived to the spot and the people there had no idea what I was talking about so I called Brauck and he informed me that the photo shoot is now a outdoor location shoot at Marcus Garvey Park. Now I'm dragging indoor equipment thru Harlem even more lost. I have a horrible since of direction and I seem to get lost every time I go somewhere. When I finally arrived, I saw Brauck, his assistant Q, model Makin Curry and the makeup artist ( i cannot remember her name but she was thick and cute). Model Lamar James arrived a few minutes after I did, but his skin was a weird orange color. He arrived straight from the airport, returning from a trip to Miami, with a crazy sunburn and a bad reaction to the medication. He was lead to the makeup artist for her to work her magic.

Brauck took me on a tour of the park to help me adjust to the changes and focus on how I was going to shoot this outdoor editorial without the outdoor equipment. I wanted/ needed my tripod and battery pack for the strobes but I didn't want to take 2 hours to go all the way back to Brooklyn to get them - I didn't want to make a bad impression and come off like a prima donna so I adjusted the vision of photoshoot with all the changes thrown my way. In the words of Project Runway's Tim Gun - we made it work.

THE HARLEM TORCH MAGAZINE

ON SALE NOW! 125th & Lenox - Harlem

& HUE-MAN BOOKSTORE & CAFE

Duane Reade Stores, Hudson Stands: Grand Central, Penn Station, Port Authority, Columbus Circle, UN Bldg, Newark Airport, Dulles Airport, Reagan Intl. & Newark/D.C.....

This was my first time in Harlem in the daytime and it was an amazing place. I felt like I was in a Spike Lee movie with a Stevie Wonder song playing in my head. I actually enjoyed working with the team from the Harlem Torch magazine. Everyone was very nice and made me feel welcomed. It was one of the first times working with a team of people that I was made to feel comfortable. People up here tend to turn their noses up at anything that isn't "New York." I am from the south and I embrace my southern heritage with pride and they didn't try to make me feel some kind of way because of it. Lamar and Makin did a great job. Despite the sunburn, Lamar served us great face like he always does and the clothes fit Makin like they were custom made just for him. I was very pleased with how the finished images turned out nice and the way they fit the image of the magazine. I do beat myself up a little bit because I know if I had been prepared to shoot outside I know how much better the pictures would have been.

It was pretty cool to walk into a magazine store a pick up a magazine with my work in it. I was beaming from ear-to-ear. I couldn't wait any longer for the magazine people to send me copies. I ended up purchasing copies for myself and my family. Seeing my work printed in a magazine was a great way to close 2009. It has given me and my family that glimmer of hope for bigger things in the upcoming year.

I INSPIRE YOU....YOU INSPIRE ME

I get emails all the time from aspiring models, photographers and other artist who applaud my efforts to be a relevant influence in an industry that often times make me feel like my pursuits are a waste of time. One particular email I received back in 2007 has stayed with me to remind me that the work I do is a true inspiration to people in ways I never could have imaged. I thought I would share it with y'all ......

THIS MESSAGE WAS SENT TO ME 8.21.2007 - 10:23AM via MYSPACE
Please don't pass this up cause it really means alot to me.
I was just thinking about you the other day. So I decided to go to your site and I saw that a lot has changed and you also have myspace.
I would definitely like to thank you for all that you have done for me through you work and your words...
It started probably about four years ago when I stumbled across the Ice web site. I was completely over taken by all the brothas and sistas that you had on your site. And the sense of strength, pride and beauty that poured from each and every photo.
Back then I thought that I wanted to be an artist. But I could barely draw a damn stick figure!!! So ever day after school and work I would teach myself to draw by studying your work... Year later I was paid to drawing people's senior pictures, their children and so on.
Later in life, after going through some family problems dropping out in the 10th grade. I was still admiring your work and continued to draw sit in front of the computer screen for hours drawing. Then one day I realized that nothing freezes time like a photo and it also takes less time then drawing (I am kind of impatient) in other words drawing started working my damn nerves.
So I decided I would go back to school in which I did.
I got my high school diploma and I am about to start college to study fine-arts and photography.
I am currently saving up for my first Canon digital SLR and studio lighting so that I can get serious and really pour these thoughts out of my mind.
Right now just for practice all the pictures that I have on my myspace page are shot with a cheap digital point and shoot camera. I am teaching myself the whole photoshop gig. I have come a long way and I still have so far to go.
But I would just say thank you cause GOD placed you in my line of sight at just the right time. All of this can be rooted back to you and your work and Two simple pictures that where drawn of your models (They are on a slide show on my page).
Please, Please keep in touch it would surely mean a lot to me.
p.s. ... In my opinion we as a people could go so much farther and we should be much farther into every angle of life then what we are. We just don't support each other well enough.
All I can do is my part though and I got ya back fo sho!
J-Fitz

After I recieved the email, I was so touched by this young man's genuine words, I called him. I wanted to thank him personally. We are now friends and talk on the phone regularly.

Right now, Photog J ( the name he goes by) is currently attending Ohio State University, one of the country's most prestigious state universities - pursing a degree in Psychology with a focus in Art History. His photography is impressively amazing and equally inspiring. His work has been included in art exhibitions throughout Ohio. He has also worked with fresh new modeling talent as well as superstars who have stomped runways for iconic legends like Calvin Klien. check out his work here

Growing up my Grandmother use to tell me and my brother that our life's blessings come from helping people and that we should always use what God has given us to leave a positive stamp on the world. I am so proud that my work has left an impact on my hometown - Memphis, models working in NYC, Photog J and many others like him. Until this particular email, I never really thought about how me taking pictures of models would impact someone's life on this level and I am soooo thankful that what I do is an inspiration.

Always strive to be your best you .... you never know who is watching

pictorial #011 - OBSESSION featuring JULIAN GONZALEZ

This is a pictorial series entitled Obsessed. It is a collection of images depicting a guy ( Julian Gonzalez) who is insanely obsessed with his girlfriend to the point of having a weird fetish with her clothing and personal items.

photographed by Tarrice Love

featuring Julian Gonzalez

styled by Tarrice Love

grooming by Tarrice Love

I have worked with Julian a few times and he is always amazing in front of the camera. He moves wonderfully and he tends to emerce himself into the "character" he is portraying.

LYNDSEY SCOTT @ CLICK MODELS DOES VICTORIA SECRET FASHION SHOW

For many girls it is a dream, but last night it became a reality for Lyndsey Scott @ Click Models. She worked the runway in the Victoria's Secret fashion show which was broadcasted on CBS last night.

I remember a shy young girl standing at my front door in the Bronx looking like a skinney girl scout - clueless as to what to expect from working with me. I was working on a beauty editorial where she and Ibrahim Yaqut @ Red Models were to be kissing. I wanted them to portray a wicked kiss with smoke coming out of their mouth. It was very difficult for Lyndsey because was nervous it was her first time working with a man in a sexy way and she wasn't a smoker, but she was a trooper and endured the smoke up her nose and was able to give me a steamy set of images.

Congrats Lyndsey..... I love to see models I have worked with doing their thing. :)

ARTEROTICA vol.05 featuring GREGORY PRESCOTT, SIDNEY ETIENNE, and WILLIAM SPRINGFIELD

Arterotica is an annual event sponsored by Trace magazine that features art photography, paintings, and performnce art that has strong sexual undertones. It was located at this lilttle bar/ lounge in Soho called Madame X. This was the fifth event and the third time I attended. They were featuring art works by painter Jonathan Herbert and photographers Gregory Prescott, Sidney Etienne, and William Springfield, whom all three of the photographers are very good friends of mine. It was the perfect location for an event like this. The decor and atmosphere was so sexy. I love coming to this place.

Attending this particular Arterotica not only gave me the opportunity to mingle with models featured in the artworks like Victor Ross, Ramel Murphy, Ashley Durvernay, and Shandra Starks - It also gave me the chance to kick it with photographers Jeffery Andre and Sean Watters (who always has the latest insiders dish, lol).

above: images by William Springfield, models Victor Ross, Ramel Murphy, and Shandra Stark chatting with photographer Gregory Prescott. photographer/ model Sidney Etienne with model.

above and below: model Ashley Durvernay chatting with photographer Gregory Prescott

above: the painting we affectionately called the purple booty-hole pic by Jonathan Herbert. Sean Watters browsing thru a draft of Gregory Prescott's hard bound book that I think would be a perfect gift for me ( hint-hint Mr. Prescott, lol)

dance performance artist Jazz....

introducing ALEX CIAPPARA @ BOSS MODELS NYC

With his classic American good looks and innate poise, Detroit native, Alex Ciappara brings good ole fashioned boy next door charm it modeling. With his brand of straight forward handsomeness in high demand, look for him to make a big splash campaign trail. I first saw Alex in the work of Lima, Ohio based photographer who goes by the name Photog J, who is a close friend of mine. I loved J's images of Alex and liked his look and wanted to work with him too. So when Florian @ Boss Model NYC called me and asked me to photograph Alex's new haircut I was happy to oblige. When shooting him, I played off his relaxed energy and kept things simple and comfortable. I wanted you to focus on his natural beauty.

NEW FACE: ISAIAH COLBERT @ RED MODELS NYC

The unconventional yet bankable appeal of native New Yorker Isaiah Colbert first caught my attention in photos shot by Samuel Zukato. I immediately got in touch with Isaiah and set up a one- on - one meeting. After meeting him in person I definitely knew their was star potential in him. He was handsome with these amazingly beautiful piercing green eyes and a slim, almost perfect model body. He also had a charm and features that reminded me of President Obama. My challenge with Isaiah was to capture him in was he had never been photographed and I wanted to show that with his unusual features (especially those ears, lol) that he was marketable and had character and personality that was multi-dimensional.

After I shot him his girlfriend sent the pics to George at Red Models NYC and they signed him instantly. I am very proud of Isaiah and with his personality, unique look and the agressive push Red tend to give their black guys, I anticipate a rush of editorial magazine work if the near future. Watch out for this one y'all .... this is one to not sleep on.

introducing: ANASTASIYA ZIMINA @ IDENTITIES INC nyc

Russian beauty, Anastasiya Zimina @ Identities Inc NYC is bringing sexy back in a big way. This girl to watch stopped by my studio for a quick test with my friend, photographer William Elliott Springfield, who was in town to shoot the upcoming Pelle Pelle campaign. As I watched her in action, I decide to grab my camera an ge a few shots of her myself.

NEW FACE: COLE GIORDANO @ CLICK NYC

Cole Giordano is currently represented by Click Model Mgmt. NYC/ 6+1 Management.
The ginger haired beauty is an editorial and runway force to be reckoned with. I was very excited to work with Cole and I'm looking forward to seeing him appear in some of the top men's style bibles very soon and on some of the blue chip catwalks, it's obvious this native New Yorker will be on our radar for some time to come.

photographed by Tarrice Love

featuring Cole Diorgano @ Click Models

styled by Tarrice Love

grooming by Tarrice Love

project: iM2 - INVISIBLE MEN

pierre woods @ ny models, lawrence annunziata @ identities, brian peters @ ford

zeric @ red nyc, darrell walden @ request, omar kennedy @ next miami

Invisible men is a project i was working that celebrates the black male image in the fashion industry. Each guy was to have a strong portrait that glorified their diverse and their unique features. I never anticipated how difficult it would be for for me to be able to get these men and their representation to support a project like this.
One model tried to make me pay to include him in this project, another guy told me that it was a nice project for those guys who needed it,- he didn't, and many, many others just felt they were "too big" to be apart of this. ---SMH

I have never seen an effort in fashion to celebrate black men the same way they have done so with women such as Trace Magazine's Black Girls Rule issue or the Italian Vogue Black issue by Steven Miesel. After doing a video interview with Darrell walden for my blog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiS6r4YdSyo) i was inspired to do this project - IM2 - Invisible Men.

Anytime a black male model books a job, he's usually one of few and they become representation of "black man" to the world and i think many of them don't realize how big that is. Without guys like Tyson Beckford, Will Lemay, Jason Olive ect. being the "black guys" back then ....we would have never thought it possible to be reflected today.

I grew up in the south where respect for the civil rights struggle is still felt. i am starting to really believe that it is impossible to get today's black people to come together to do anything for the common good of all. Are those days over? its really starting to feel that way.

I do want to say thank you to all the Guys and those who shown support through their agencies for a project like this. I might haveta scrap the project for now because it is proving to be too ambitious of an undertaking for me at this time. Hopefully one day the rest of the black male models and their agents and managers  will feel like I am on "that" level enough to believe in doing a project like this with me, because right now i'm an invisible man too.

KILLER LOOKS. KILLER BODY - BRIAN PETERS @ FORD nyc

I first spotted Brian Peters of Ford NYC at Fedex in memphis, TN. Its amazing what mama's cookin' and throwing boxes will do for the body.