Livin' La Vida Low Budget

...a bear's-eye view of life... ...#cellphone snaps are mine...

[thebearmaiden]

#photodump: I never put up #airplanepictures from my flight home from LA. It’s so amazing to see Earth from up high. Why do we refuse to take better care of her? #waterislife #protectourplanet #fromabove https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9UQs7vpFE/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

The worst thing the colonizers did to us, was they took from us our kindness. We taught them how to work this land, and what to eat, and how to live. And after they took our land and our food they kidnapped more of us and forced us to care for them and work for them so they could live. They taught us how to live in fear, to beat our kids and to be suspicious of each other. They taught us kindness was weakness, and that sharing was dangerous. My family never kept thanksgiving when we were in Jamaica, and we didn’t keep it the first few years we were here. But our teenaged best friend’s family were the ones who taught us how. And as time went on and my sister and I grew up to have families of our own we adopted Thanksgiving as a day for us to gather and to show off our cooking skills. And we’ve gotten into the habit of sharing our table with whoever needs it. I don’t even know many of us there were altogether this year 😂. I know there wasn’t a whole lot of picture taking or a whole lot of food left over either lol. So I’m showing my gluten-free cornbread stuffing (with home made gluten free herbed cornbread), my turkey marinated in Jamaican jerk sauce, garlic, lime and soy sauce, and my cranberry with ginger and cardamom. There was Mac n cheese, greens, candies yams, Brussels sprouts. Traci made cheesecake and cinnamon rolls, I made blueberry cobbler and peach cobbler. Thanks to a tradition started by our neighbor we took a plate up to an elderly neighbor. For me, the day wasn’t so much about giving thanks, it was about sharing. Cuz at this point, sharing is revolutionary. And PS I missed Poppy a lot today. #sharingiscaring #feedingpeopleisrevolutionary #thegreatcookoff #turkeyday #gobblegobble #familyovereverything (at Bronx, NY) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWu1byILsaw/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Yeah, I’m up. Of course I’m up. And caught a few before the clouds came in. These are #iPhone12maxpro, tomorrow I’ll see what the #Canon did. #partialeclipse #ilovethemoon #fullmoon #outmywindow #outbearmaidenswindow #nyc #thebronx #nyceclipse #lunareclipse #lunareclipse2021 https://www.instagram.com/p/CWc7dzBriTQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Bye bye LA. Will definitely miss the Sun, the sky and the palm trees. But we’ll be back. Shout out to the hosts with da mosts. The fam @oxymorondad ❤️❤️❤️ #calitrip #eastcoastgirl #santamonica #beverlyhills (at LAX - Los Angeles International Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWPEVcKP2kV/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Day trip to San Diego. #calitrip #eastcoastgirl #shotoniPhone #surfers #laJolla (at La Jolla San Diego) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWKQzgbr5F8/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

What’s new is old. #santamonicapier #vintage #calitrip #eastcoastgirl #ferriswheel #iphonephotography #iphone12 #iphone12promax #edit #formulasApp (at Santa Monica, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWFg_CyLY7w/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Rollin’ up on the #wattstowers #caliTrip #eastcoastgirl #LosAngeles #Watts (at Watts Towers) https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWFchu6lOlG/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Santa Monica Pier at dusk. #calitrip #santamonicapier #eastcoastgirl #shotoniPhone #shotoniphone12promax #iphonephotography #iPhone12 #ferriswheel (at Santa Monica, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWFafEDrwe_/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Los Salseros Boricuas #ConeyIsland 7.4.21 #portrait #portraitphotography #canonphotography #streetphotography #womenstreetphotographers #nyc #brooklyn #coneyislandboardwalk (at Coney Island Beach,New York.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUvT3dMv5tw/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

If I could hold summer in a bubble forever…. #ConeyIsland through a #lensball 7.4.21 #summerforever #lensballphotography #canonphotography #streetphotography #womenstreetphotographers #nyc #brooklyn #coneyislandwonderwheel (at Coney Island Astroland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUsnBn-vEZQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

The other day I was coming back from a gig and happened upon this lovely duo making beautiful music on the mezzanine level of the #4 train at 161st. I was happy I had my camera. They call themselves the @therocococommuters. And for some reason it gave me happy flashbacks of my music history class at Music & Art HS. The Rococo period was definitely one of my favorite periods of European music. That and Baroque. It was all so damn over-the-top. #subwaystories #mta #yankeestadium #rococo #rocococommuters #music #musicinthesubway #subwaymusic #nyc #canonphotography #streetphotography #womenstreetphotographers #theBronx (at Yankee Stadium) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUrLJ4MMs66/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Day 7 part 2 (😢). After the pool, we ate. And it was quite the dinner finale, after a whole week of everyone having a (successful) turn at the stove. Hammy learned how to do a 👍🏾, and after clean up some of us went down to the beach to see stars. I even saw a meteor. Didn’t catch it tho. But I DID catch the Milky Way (with my iPhone, too!) and a hazy half-moon rising. Till next time, OBX. I hope you like us as much as we like you, cuz we’re coming back. #ilovemyfamily #mishpocha #familyvacation #corporateretreat #thefamilyeyellc #obx2021 #keesobx #obxnc #corollanc (at Kees Vacation Home Collection) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTG6TTkrBxa/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Day 7. Last full day in #OBX. *sniff*. There was a whole lot of air-clearing and steamblowing this week, but I honestly hope everyone of us came away liking each other a little more… or at least understanding each other. But I love each and every one of us, wholly and completely, and it will never waver. We belong to each other. Ride or die. Let’s go get paid… Special thanks to @cj_swerv and @realkarmaaa for encouraging me to climb 220 steps 😂. And noticing the spider web. After which we visited the @islandbookstoreobx and I was happy to see 2 of Poppy’s books there (I was in Barnes and Noble 2 weeks ago and they had NONE—annoyed). Then I took a walk with @razorsandroses and @aiki29 to visit mosey turtles. Then a final dip in the pool. #obxnc #obx2021 #familyvacation #thefamilythatmakesup #williammelvinkelley #missyoupoppy #curritucklighthouse https://www.instagram.com/p/CTG4Sj2r8CR/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Me at 11. Stylin’ y’all. Also, I will survive the apocalypse cuz I can make a full meal with a little flour, some coconut oil and a green papaya cooked over an open fire. #Repost @wmkelley with @make_repost ・・・ Back at home, WMK kind if had his own yaad, in Bull Bay, 10 miles east of Kingston. @aiki_art29 and @thebearmaiden preparing dinner (probably some form of soup in the Dutchie, and flatbread) on the “two burner stove.” Propane was expensive. Bull Bay Jamaica 1976 #BullBay #innadiyaad #campfirecooking #family #africandiaspora #thediaspora #FamilyEyePhoto #blackandwhitephotography #photography #blackphotographer #digginginthecrates #jamaica #vintageJamaica #williammelvinkelley #wmkphotos #pentaxasahispotmatic https://www.instagram.com/p/CQzhw8rLTmP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Is and Poppy. 👉🏽 @wmkelley for the adventure #Repost @wmkelley with @make_repost ・・・ Because WMK was always behind the lens images of him, particularly with his daughters, are few and far between (parents, take pictures WITH your kids… we value them later). Here a few taken by @aiki_art29 with WMK’s camera in the beautiful front yard of our house on Montgomery Avenue, Kingston 10. Christmas Day 1967, the beginning of our Jamaican journey. #FamilyEyePhoto #blackandwhitephotography #photography #blackohotographer #digginginthecrates #paris #jamaica #williammelvinkelley #wmkphotos #family #africandiaspora #pentaxasahispotmatic (at Kingston Jamaica W.I) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQv0Bn7r0Gd/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

It’s gonna be a blast…. #Repost @wmkelley with @make_repost ・・・ For the past month we have begun to able to tackle the monumental task of archiving and cataloging WMK’s enourmous body of photographic work. He began shooting in earnest in 1967, with a @pentax.jp Asahi Spotmatic, and he took pictures continuously until the camera “died” in 1989. He only shot black and white. After meeting Henri Cartier Bresson in Paris when he came to photograph WMK, he never cropped his prints. He saved EVERY negative of every photo he ever took, and that includes photos from prior to 1967 when he had a Kodak Brownie. He ALSO had saved every negative from every photo his father took. We are probably just over halfway done archiving the negatives, then they will be scanned. Most of the photos were of “My Three Ladies” and their growth, but thousands more are of the Diaspora, the people he loved most. There are pictures of (borrowing a title from @jayzz_official and Kanye, here 😂) “Ni**az in Paris” including @marionbrownofficial, African princes and other travelers; there are THOUSANDS of pictures of Jamaica and every day life inna di tenement yaad, contrasted with the more “bougie” lifestyles of more affluent Jamaicans and business owners (a few of this collection were seen in @guardian in 2018); and then thousands more of sweet Harlem when we came back to this country in 1977. In Jamaica particularly, he had hoped to have his photography be a second income. He stamped some of his prints “Please credit Eyely Photo” and that was later changed to “Family Eye.” Over time, as more of the collection is digitized, we intend to flood this page with some of this work. Y’all have no idea what’s about to hit you… #staytuned #FamilyEyePhoto #blackandwhitephotography #photography #blackohotographer #digginginthecrates #paris #jamaica #williammelvinkelley #wmkphotos #family #africandiaspora #pentaxasahispotmatic (at Kingston Jamaica W.I) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQvzY3BrFLn/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebearmaiden]

Pet me. Now. Did you hear me? Now, I said. Please? -Lady Gayle #greycatsofinstagram #catsofinstagram #instacat #bronxcat #furry #myfriend (at Bronx, NY) https://www.instagram.com/p/COHi_MmBopT/?igshid=mnykyi13ifiz