Friendships & personalities: Working in the unknown~

What I love most about life is the unknown: the nervousness at which I exit an airport in a new city for the first time, the unknown streets, the unfamiliar smells, the change in my step as I walk, realizing that I am not hearing English as droves of people pass by me!

What I love about traveling is one thing that and only this ONE thing: people glancing at someone and holding that gaze for a split second prior to the smile or the smirk that is open, receptive, unmasked inviting~ young or old, male or female, street punk or societies child, it does not matter to me about language or class, or environment, what matters most is that connection that moment that says it all.

The eyes, the hands the body language, the smile, the hello, the hand gesture to go forward~ The eyes lock on the hand extends and the introduction has been made, the connection is there, the time is right~ 

Timing, exploration the unknown seeps inside my head, the words rise to my lips as I say hello or slightly bow my head as to offer myself to this moment, acceptance is the ultimate reward. My passion, my life centers on this moment! My job depends on these moments. These relationships are real they are tangible they are here and now.  The once unfamiliar smell becomes my smell, my walking stride becomes that cities stride. I am home, I am comfortable, I am aware that I am only a guest, I am conscious of my role, I am immersed in this moment. I get infective, I get affective.  I absorb it and I give it back~ I give in, you give in~

I capture this moment I tattoo it into my memory, I etch it on my skin, I reach out for the second time and snap the shutter. I am a photographer, I am working, I realize that this moment is now gone. I am that person that understands that I will never see you again. I will never have that connection again! We both understand that this moment is ours, that language does not matter, but what matters most is the time.  

I leave that path that destination and I return home. I turn on my computer I open my email. I am pulled back to your city, to our time! Your emails come in 10 at time, from the beach, from the bar, from the yacht, from airport, from the streets, from the market, from the club, from the hotel, from every where~ I take it all in I digest it, I click out of my emails without opening one of them.

I stare at my desktop,  I glance at the folder on my computer I click on it and I know that once I open it I am transported back,  I am returning home again,  I am lost in your city,*( our city)  I am lost in our conversation, I am lost in thought as I flip through all of our images. Hours have passed and the emails continue to pour in. I’m already apologizing for the delay, I am already writing that email in mass quantity in my head: Saying thank you, saying everything about our time and how special it was, How we should stay in touch, and  yes the images, yes I know how much they mean to you, how excited you are to see them.  How much it meant that you took the time your time to allow me to do what I do.

I recoil into my thoughts as I’m selecting photos for my client, for you my new friends~ For you I am up at 3:52 am, for you I am retouching our images, for you I am ever thankful to you for making my life a  little easier on the road!~  

              

                                                               -MORE TIME-

          

The Ultimate Way the Ultimate day, the vibe of Miami Reggae Festival!

With Stephen Marley (Jamaica), Tiken Jah Fakoly (Africa’s Ivory Coast),  Cultura Profética (Puerto Rico),  Natiruts (Brazil), Midnite (St. Croix USVI), Gondwana (Chile), Black Slate & Carroll Thompson from the United Kingdom, Carroll Thompson (United Kingdom), Bachaco (Venezuela), Causion (Antigua), Don One Musical Showcase (Jamaica), Cornerstone Sounds (Cuba), DJ Majestic (Trinidad & Tobago)…..........

What can I say, I was @ home….. Literally @ home, when I was thirsty I was given water, when I was hungry I was given food, this is what life is all about – connecting with the life, the people around you, findingsecure footing while walking amongst thousands, breathing in the rainbow of flavors that intice you. This is LIFE, this is / was the Miami Reggae Festival……

Moving throughout the grounds, old friends appeared, and new friendships were made! What I found was comfort in the rain, I found a kinship with the musicians, I found that all paths in life keep crossing; I found that burned out memories get re-ignited and flare up in the spirit of the lyrics.  A hand shake, a pound, an acknowledgement of acceptance that goes unspoken~

We are @ the Miami Reggae Festival we are chilling with Gondwana, and Bachaco, we are shooting, we are on the bus with Tiken Jah Fakoly we are off the bus, we are trading jokes with Black Slate & the sweet Miss Carroll Thompson, we are all feeling that vibration, the bittersweet hum that enters into your skin and touches your bones.

We are taken to Africa’s Ivory Coast, we are taken to Puerto Rico, we are taken to Brazil, we are taken to St. Croix USVI, we are taken to Chile, we are taken to the United Kingdom, we are taken to Venezuela, we are taken to Antigua, we are taken to Cuba, we are taken to Trinidad & Tobago and NOW WE ARE being TAKEN TO PARADISE, we WERE lead right to the front door of Jamaica!

 

WE were taken by our hands and by our souls, we were taken by our minds, we were taken by Stephen Marley, we were taken, we were transformed, we, the willing were following………………………..are following….. the voice of  Stephen Marley

And when we thought we had reached a plateau, we had hit the highest levels, with the vibrations passing through each and everyone of us at the same time! Only to hear Stephen Marley introduce his brothers Damian and Ky-Mani 2 more Marleys and more Marleys are on the stage. The colors changed, the vibe grew 1000 fold…

 …….. LIFE IS here. Life is echoing throughout MIAMI, life is being savored, life here is……. respected.

Special thanks to:

http://www.rockersmovement.com

http://masonjarmedia.com

https://www.facebook.com/icypublicrelations

https://www.facebook.com/culturaprofetica http://www.culturaprofetica.com

https://www.facebook.com/bachacomusic/info

http://www.bachacomusic.comhttp://www.gondwana.cl/ https://www.facebook.com/GondwanaChile http://www.stephenmarleymusic.com/ http://tikenjahfakoly.artiste.universalmusic.fr/ http://alexandrecarlo.com

https://www.facebook.com/alexandrecarlo?fref=ts https://www.facebook.com/pages/Midniteband-Midnite-StCroix-Roots/108380163219

****www.facebook.com/steady70

Summers Gone~ & Fall is already upon us!

The summer has ended and fall is already here. As some of you have read or
heard over the past 5 months my assignments have taken me to St. Lucia,
Antigua and Barbados (Elite Island Resorts) and New York City, Seattle, Miami andAtlanta ( We Love Colors). My clients are some of the top-rated resorts and spas in the Caribbean (St. James Club Resort and Spa), in NYC I worked with one of thlargest Dessert Companies in the world ) Bindi USA, In Miami I worked with Westin Diplomat Hotel. In Seattle I worked with one of the most highly recommended spas (Anayana Spa).

Currently my work is being featured in Destinations Travel Magazine.

This months feature is a photo essay is on Antigua as well as a story on
Food working as a photographer with Master Chef Eric Barale from Oceania
Cruise Line.

http://www.destinationstravelmagazine.com/September2013/#/76

http://www.destinationstravelmagazine.com/September2013/#/56

In the coming month's many of my other clients and other projects that I
have been busily working on over the past 6 months, will be featured in
the magazine 'Destinations Travel Magazine', with over 90,000 twitter followers and over 800,000 website views a month and growing. Every month, I will have a 

feature article on food and will be filled all the great little details 

that make up some of the tasty dishes, chefs favorites recipes, working with only
local and seasonal sourced ingredients and more...

Also each month, I will be providing 'Destinations Travel Magazine' with
cover stories that will focus on exotic travel, spa get-aways, select USA,
Caribbean and Latin American destinations.

There are two personal book projects that I have been producing here in
Miami. One is food-based and involves some of today's most talented
top-rated chefs in South Florida, and without giving out too many details:
just think about what your ""favorite meal was as a child"!

My other pet project is on Yoga, Yogis and Arco-yoga... Thinking how pure
yoga is, how pure life could be if yoga was a daily ritual...  taking the
purity of Yoga and mixing in with the reality of life .. you get a twist –
you get a odd twist! Now think how odd? Well in the next few weeks and
months there with be a gallery show, there will be articles printed, there
will be a whole lot more to see and read and hopefully you will be a part
of it..

Be sure to checkout Steady70.com for new images, Facebook ( www.facebook.com/steady70) for daily pictures of the day! 

October 2013 Destinations Travel Magazine....

The greatest self is a peaceful smile, that always sees the world smiling back~ Bryant H. McGill  

As it appears... We all enjoy watching life go by~ We all comment as we witness life go by~

We all enjoy watching life go by~ We all comment as we witness life go by~

The story could be something so great or so stupid, it could be magical, it could be inspirational or it could be as boring as about waiting in a line at a 7-11 or driving in your car or sitting in baggage claim area in an airport that is how the story will start. It will be like this ....let me tell you a story .... or I just had the most ... or have you heard...  

                                                             

All the while we start to put ourselves into that story that situation and you start to think and to begin to act a certain way, or respond a certain way, to pretend to you can actually hear the voices, the music, * (the background noise)  you can smell the air, you can feel the situation... You can BE right there in the thick of it... 

If you are a good story teller as you are watcher of life your audience no matter how large or small will be experiencing this with you,  as it is appears... right in front of you right in front of them... You are there in that moment~ 

                                                                   

  

As it appears....... As a story teller, as much as a good story teller that I am.. I find myself as a witness each and every day at any time every moment I am watching I am absorbing I am asking myself if is this worthy. Is this moment worthy of my time? If this moment is actually worth showing to you my client, or to my potential client, to my friends to my family is it good enough for me? 

If this image worthy of telling a story The Story! The story of that moment.... Am I a good witness that shows you, Am I a good witness that can bring you into that moment make you feel that moment. Am I a good witness that wants to make you Re-tell this story? 

                                                             

My life is like a video gamers life staring at a monitor or at a TV, instead of the gamers graphics changing colors or backgrounds or moods or ducking from a bullets, or jumping into a car seat...  

My story is this I find myself looking through a hole less then 1/2 inch wide and 1/2 an inch high.... I see everything clear in focus, I can feel the mood, I can smell the air, I can taste life, but it always comes back to one thing.... Am I a good story teller? Is my audience no matter how large or small are they experiencing it as I just did.. As it is appeared in front of me as I have just experienced it...  

                                                             

That is the question of today~

September Destinations Travel Magazine~ Steady70 ~Antigua~ Travel--Foods-Spirits~LIfe~

Antigua~ Travel and foods! Featured in this months Destinations Travel Magazine~ September 2013~

Images By Steve Levine Steady 70 @ the St. James Resort and Spa Antigua~

Images By Steve Levine Steady 70 @ the St. James Resort and Spa Antigua~

Images By Steve Levine Steady 70 @ the St. James Resort and Spa Antigua~ 

Images By Steve Levine Steady 70 @ the St. James Resort and Spa Antigua~

A big thank you to Darlene at Destinations Travel Magazine ~

Antigua~  Elite Islands Resorts~The Saint James Club Antigua~

www.destinationstravelmagazine.com

It was like the circus came to town and I was right smack in the middle of it @ a little park in Delray beach~

Today after many too many hours of working non stop for the past few days~

I was invited down to Anchor Park in Delray beach to chill play, watch join what ever with a few friends ~ It turned out to be  a great bunch of cool gumby types that could not stop climbing, sharing or swapping partners, tops ( Flyers) became bottoms ( bases) and bases became flyers. 

The changes came fast and swift, under the middays sun about 90 degree sweat poured and smiles shone. Coming together were acro yogis from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and from Delray Beach.

It was like the circus came to town and I was right smack in the middle of it.

Thanks guys for the invite~

The blog, My blog the return after a few weeks of island hoping, state jumping my return to South Florida has been a ride! ¬

Trying to find time to play catch up, follow up and maintain a online and off line social presence    while going through images, emails, phone messages and contracts for up coming assignments has been harder then a juggler, juggling chainsaws on top of ship in the in the great baring sea during an ice storm~

Nah that is just fluff it just takes good time management~ It is life and it is my life and it is exactly how I like it~ No sleep, lots of coffee going through images as I am shooting it live again right before my eyes.

    (Get off the bus & see the world~ De Palm Tours Aruba )

As I am going through images of Aruba I find myself squinting as I remember being perched on the bow of the yacht sailing over the white caps of Caribbean waters shooting this amazing port when we ran into a wave head on cutting right through it instead of on top of it…  The wave hit my face. It felt like someone was holding my eyelids open while sucking down gallons of seawater and being soaked from head to toe. The stinging in my eyes I was sliding, I was falling I was...

 (We are not sheep we are zebras)

I was searching for the railing with my hand, my camera was in my other hand, I almost fell off the freaking yacht, with or with out my camera, I don’t even remember smacking myself in the head with it, it happened that fast and that quick. I heard the captain in the background laughing at me as I rubbed the welt with my hand.  I love returning home just so I am able to digest all the stories, digest all the moments that lead me here, in front of my computer immersed and lost in images and smiling as the memories come floating in one after another~


Well that brings me back, back to sitting here at 10:19 PM as I am going through my recent images. Have a great night as mine has just begun, and the coffee is starting to brew…….

Cheers you my friends for making life so special~

(After a long day on the yacht it was good to get off of it and on to the beach~ With Capt. Freeman)

And Yes I know that these images have nothing to do with what I wrote... but that is the point, it made you close your eyes it made you think about what it felt like......... Because again it is all about IMAGES..........................GO~ SEE~ DO~

Island hopping and landing first on the island of Saint Lucia!

 St Lucia is the perfect destination~


When I first heard I was going to be headed to St. Lucia all I could do was smile! My excitement grew to where I was ready to do a back flip! St Lucia is the perfect backdrop for any adventurer: from mountains to climb, natural waterfalls,  breath-taking views,  forests to explore, underwater exploring and most important is the people of St Lucia. The people, the welcoming reception I received was awesome, the dancing, the food, the spirits, the vibe this island had it all...... There is St. Lucia and there are other islands.... With that being said I will let the images speak for themselves...


To friendships that I've made, to my new mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and elders who made this trip truly a one of a kind experience. You opened your hands, you shared your story with me, you gave me the opportunity to get inside your head and see life through your eyes.... For that I will be forever grateful......... Names are irrelevant! but your firm hand shake or your soft voice or your glowing eyes will forever be etched into my heart.  

Then came the foods, the spas, the views and so much more! More time is what I kept hearing in my head More time is what I kept repeating, more time is what I was told to me many times. Island life is island life~ Island life is what follows..... 

More to come, more islands more Island Life........

                           ALL NEW IMAGES FROM ST LUCIA~ Antigua~ Barbados~Moscow


                                              http://steady70.com/destinations.php
Photographer Steve Levine,steve levine Photographer, food photographer in Miami, steady70 foodphotographer, gourmet food photographer, New York City food photographer,steady 70,  photo by steve levine, photo by steady70, photo by steve levine steady70, Steady70,www.steady70.com Steve Levine global assignment , getty travel photographer, steve levine getty photographer, images by stevelevine,images by steady70, image by steve levine steady70,photo by stevelevine steady70,photo by steve levine,photos by steve levine, photos by steady70, steady70.blogspot.com,facebook.com/Steady70,twitter.com/Steady70, twitter,Elite island resorts, eliteislandresorts.com, travel to St Lucia,travel to Saint Lucia, resorts in St Lucia, Saint Lucia resorts,The Saint James Morgans Bay, The St James Morgans Bay, The St james Morganbay St lucia,http://www.sjcstlucia.com,www.sjcstlucia.com, St james Morgans Bay Resort,Mark Grebby, General Manager,gm@sjcstlucia.com,Steady 70 2013 Steve Levine photographer ~ St Lucia 

Nothing is more pleasurable after a good meal than...... Chocolate cake! ~Bon Appétit

I mean a thick slice of fresh chocolate cake! A 5'' inch high slice of cake, a fat thick 5 inch layered slice of chocolate cake topped off with chocolate flakes.

                                         Enter the star of this shoot:  BindiUSA Desserts!

                                                 Next up was the Red Velvet cake:

Heaven's and the powers that be managed to fill up two (2) refrigerators with there new selections for the Summer of 2013....  All I can say is stay away if you have a problem with sweets, stay away if you have no control.  I spent 12 hours working with chef Michael Giletto * (my food stylist on and great friend) where he had to re-create the most perfect cuts of cake, making sure that every morsel of the chocolate flakes were perfectly laid out, double checking that each and every pistachio nut or sugar was positioned correctly to balance out our feature cover image while our client eagerly watched as we worked on each aspect of sets to get what we all needed. 

To be drooling from the lip, deciding in our minds where to cut the chocolate cake and how large of a slice we want…. Some of the images are posted here and others can be viewed at: 

http://bindiusa.com/home.asp As of today the images are live on the Bindi USA ( Desserts ) website

The Cover for Bindi Desserts Summer edition 2013-2014 

Th

Pistachio Cheesecake: A creamy pistachio cheesecake with pistachio pieces, topped with a light pistachio mousse and sprinkled with pistachios, on a cookie crumb base.

Many thanks to BindiUSA,

http://bindiusa.com/home.asp

Chef Michael Giletto food Stylist,

(http://www.michaelgiletto.com) 

Rhiana Hritz Art Director (http://www.rhiana.com), 

Studio space provided by Taina A Studio 

(http://www.qnycreative.com/category/clients/bindi)

~ fino alla sucesiva~

Gluttony at it's best: Behind the Curtain at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival Miami Beach

~ Behind the Curtain at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival~

The movers and shakers, the powers that be and me... Inside all the chefs where still prepping, still organizing, up until the final seconds...Then the first of the doors opened then 4 doors opened, then 8 doors opened in the middle resessed in the ceter of the grand ballroom was the softest voice that greeted everyone joining in with a welcomed sound of a piano playing in the back round..

The mood was set by the pianist as he stroked the keys lightly enough to complement mood and low enough to hear bottles popping and chinging of glass's coming together. As freely as the wine flowed the aroma of sweet and savory, spice and citrus quickly took over the air ... This is South Beach Food and Wine Event Best of the Best at Fontainebleau hotel. 

This is where 47 of the nation's best chef's presented a tasters menu of the finest foods. .

Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, Chef Anita Lo, Chef Anne Burell, Chef Nubo Matsuhisa, Chef, Aaron Brooks, Chef, Francios Payard, Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, Chaf Guy Fieri, Chef Heddy Goldsmith. Chef Johnny Iuzzini, Chef Todd Erickson, Chef Marc Forgione, Chef Marc Murphy, Chef Michael Mina, Chef Norman Van Aken, Chef, Pascal Oudin, Chef Scott Conart, Chef Sunny Anderson, Chef Daniel Boulud, Chefs Art Smith, Chef Lorena Garcia, Chef Andrew Carmellini, Chef Duff Goldman, Chef Andrew Zimmern,Chef Timon Balloo, Lee Schrager, and many other food network icons.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach presents Wine Spectator's Best of the Best sponsored by Bank of America,

Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village featuring MasterCard® Grand Tasting Tents,

The Big G

gay Social

Wine Spectator Wine Seminar Kosta Browne 

Best of the Best at Fontainebleau hotel

Chicken Coupe hosted by Andrew Carmellini  

A Red Hot Night: Presented by Target: Hosted by Ingrid Hoffmann

Then there was the grand tent and major parties, food throw downs, and lots and lots of Food events.Then there were the after parties.. of which I can't show images, because I was asked to leave my camera's behind and allowed to enterbehind curtain.........