I am an Atlanta based, wedding photographer but more importantly I am an artist. I believe that there is beauty in everything and that life, itself, is beautiful in all of its uncertainty. My camera serves as a powerful tool, allowing me to express my creativity in amazing, sometimes unconventional ways. I am able to use the medium of photography to capture the magnificence and beauty of the world as well as the people in it.
I look forward to meeting you, reading your comments, and sharing my work with you. Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. I hope you come back soon and often! To book the studio email us at studio@saadiamechel.com
Alright, as cheesy as this movie sounds I was actually pretty excited to see it. Although it was not the best movie I’ve seen this summer, it was quite entertaining. Being someone that likes history, I was impressed with how closely the movie stayed to the history of Abraham Lincoln’s life. It almost seemed like the vampire stuff was an afterthought which I kinda liked. Now don’t get me wrong, there was vampire slaying and Mr. Lincoln had some very impressive moves. He was swinging that ax around like a pro! Overall, I think if you like history with a little vampire twist you’ll enjoy this movie. The added bonus is that it was produced by Tim Burton (who I absolutely love!). I give this movie 2.5 out of 5 stars because like I said, it isn’t the best thing I’ve seen but it was entertaining enough. Also, for the movie to tote “vampire hunter” in the title I expected a lot of vampire related madness and that simply was not the case. Strikes me a little as false advertising. Just my two cents. Anyway, I didn’t feel compelled to ask for my money back so that’s always a good sign.
~ Saadia Me’Chel
I just learned this movie is based on a book so maybe I’ll go read the book now. Maybe…
I have been fighting against a lot of things in my life at the moment. It is utterly exhausting. I’m not quite sure why I put myself through so much torture. I am truly learning the art of letting go and letting things just be. Sometimes you gotta just go with the flow…
Ah, fashion photography… how I love the! I really like this image by David Olkarny
I look at this guys work and think to myself, “Hmmmm… I really need to take my self-portrait photography to the next level!”
I absolutely LOVE superhero movies so when I found out they were doing a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, I nearly flipped my lid. I had high expectations for this movie because The Avengers (which came out a few months ago) was exceptionally good. I really liked the original Spider-Man movies, with Tobey Maguire in the title role, so I was a bit skeptical if I would be able to get onboard with Andrew Garfield playing Peter Parker and his alter ego Spider-Man. Mr. L and I went to see the movie on my birthday and let me tell you… it did not disappoint. Overall, it was a very good take on the Spiderman franchise. I really loved Garfield as Peter Parker. He seems a lot more believable in this role than Tobey Maguire did (sorry Tobey). And… I’m a big fan of Emma Stone so I enjoyed seeing her as Gwen Stacey. The scenes between her and Garfield were some of the best in the movie and you can definitely tell that the actors have good chemistry. Since I’m absolutely positive there will be a sequel, I’m looking forward to seeing where they take the story next. I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. Very good… go check it out!
Today is my 27th birthday! Gosh that sounds old! Although my life isn’t exactly what I expected it to be, I’ve come to the realization that I am exactly where I’m meant to be. I decided to celebrate the culmination of another year of life by doing a self-portrait. Now… I’m off to celebrate my birthday! Have a great day!
At the time, I must say I was very upset by this. I mean, how dare you tell me to get a “real” job. What quantifies a real job anyway? 9-5? Working 40 hours? Working for someone else? Steady income? I don’t know. If anyone can tell me I would greatly appreciate it. At any rate, I proceeded to tell the person where they could shove it… okay… not really, I did however tell them that I AM in full control of MY life and to trust me when I say I’m not chasing a “pipe dream.”
After our conversation I decided to look up pipe dream. A pipe dream is defined as an unrealistic hope or fantasy. Nothing about me being a photographer, an artist, a business owner, a graphic designer reads as an unrealistic hope or fantasy. I mean, just for the simple fact that I’m doing it makes it realistic… it is happening, right now… it is REAL. You can’t always believe everything you hear. People are always going to have an opinion about what you are doing (or not doing). The only thing I can do is be me. I’ve never been good at trying to be someone else or being something I’m not. As I told this person the other day, I know the plans God has for me. Plans to prosper me and to give me hope in my final outcome (Jeremiah 29:11). I got this… how about you worry about you?
~Saadia Me’Chel
Here are some (a)musing things for you to enjoy:
A white board, some nails and a single unbroken black thread by Kumi Yamashita…..just amazing. I seriously blown away by this.
I love the digital photography school blog. You can find answers to almost any question you have. Good resource!
I found a great website that has numerous website & blog templates at a very reasonable price. If you’re looking for some options I’d say definitely check them out!
I have to admit, these Google glasses seem pretty darn cool. It’s amazing where technology has gone.
Last week was a pretty interesting week and it definitely had it’s fair share of ups and downs this. How was your week? Did you make it through the heat wave? I barely did, Saadia and heat DO NOT MIX. Anyway, here are my hits and misses for the week.
Misses
The heat wave. We reached a new average high in GA with temperatures reaching 106. Yikes!
Driving a car with no A/C and non-functioning windows. Enough said… heat wave + my car = no buneo
Looking at new website options. There are so many out there that it literally gave me a headache.
Now on to the highlights…
Hits
Nice parents who let me drive their cars. Thankfully my parents care about me enough to not make me drive my car in the blazing heat.
Magic Mike… enough said!
Early birthday presents. I’m the proud owner of a brand new fossil watch
Welcome to Friday Flicks. (Don’t you just love alliteration! I do! lol)
I decided to start a new series on my blog. I LOVE movies. I think film is so closely related to photography so it is no wonder I feel such a strong connection to film. Whenever I go to the movies, I’m actively engaged in the storyline but also the lighting, composition, directing, editing and acting. I go to the movies every week to catch whatever movie has come out that week. So… I thought I would share with you guys some of the movies I’ve seen and what I think of them.
Today’s flick is “Brave”
Brave is about Merida, a Scottish princess, who feels she is being forced by her mother to do things she doesn’t want to do. Being a free spirit, Merida refuses to subscribe to her mother’s ways and wishes. Merida fights her mother tooth and nail on everything. Constantly wanting to change her fate she wishes she can find a way to change her mother and thereby change her destiny. But with all things… you should be careful what you wish for. Merida quickly learns that changing one’s fate comes with a price.
In order to prevent ruining the movie for anyone who may want to see it, I will just say that this movie serves as a good representation of the relationship between mothers and daughters. I wanted to call my mother and tell her “I love you & I appreciate you” after I saw it. When I was growing up, I often resented my mother because I felt like she was trying to “ruin my life.” (my! how dramatic we are when we are teenagers! lol) As I’ve gotten older, I realize that anything my mother did was not to harm me but to protect me and to help me grow. Anyway, back to the movie…
It isn’t the best Pixar movie I’ve seen (UP is my absolute favorite! Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet!) but it is very well written and exceeds a lot of other movies that are being presented this summer. I can’t quite put my finger on it but, it seemed like something was missing in the overall tapestry of the story. It felt like the climax came too soon and was resolved too quickly but that’s just my two cents. The animation is top notch of course and the characters were real and believable. I particularly liked the triplets, Merida’s little brothers. Although they don’t have very many (if any lines) their hijinks provide needed levity to the story. Overall, on a scale of 1-5, I give this movie a 3.5 out of 5. Good family movie with some strong concrete themes.
Lastly, I want to add that the short before the movie was phenomenal! I really love Pixar’s short! Although there was no dialogue, I was really impressed by how clearly the story was presented. Here’s a clip from it:
Let me know what you guys thought of Brave. If you haven’t seen it, definitely check it out and let me know if you agree or diagree with my thoughts and observations.
I’m falling more & more in with love editorial & fashion photography. It is my dream to get into stylized fashion photography so every opportunity I get to shoot something in this vein, I’m over the moon. The lovely ladies at Sadiddy Magazine asked me to shoot for them again but for the cover this time. I was more the happy to oblige. Now that the magazine has been officially released, I can share some of my favorites with you all. I edited these photos using my new Photoshop action “Denim it is!” I really like how this action saturates the blacks and adds a little denim hue. Let me know what you guys think and please head over to: http://iamsadiddy.com/magazine to check out the magazine and my spread on pages 82-91.
It’s a perilous thing some times… being a creative person. We are drawn to the edges of inspiration & despair all in one fell swoop. I believe, it is possible that all of us creatives are a bit “bipolar,” teetering between the happy and the sad, brilliance and insanity, excellence and defeat. Perhaps, it is this dichotomy that actually makes us who we are. This is what gives us the ability to create, to explore, to push ourselves, to move forward, to be… brilliant. After wallowing in the depths of despair, the muck & mire of our failed attempts, we are allowed the opportunity to burst free from our ashes like the Phoenix. We become born anew, ready to get right back to creating something, anything with the hope that it is bigger than us. Something that is better than anything we did before.
This art…
… it’s hard and uneasy. Yet beautiful and magnificent. It makes you cry in the middle of the night then wakes you with joy in your heart in the morning. It makes you want to laugh and cry all at the same time. It’s hot and cold, happy and sad, up and down, joy and pain, love and hate. It’s everything wonderful and terrible about this world. It’s…
… whatever you want it to be. It is art.
After years of being a creative, an artist, I’ve learned to accept the dichotomy. The inherent juxtaposition in this very word. It is only through reconciliation and acceptance of these two halves of one whole… that I am able to find peace in the title of artist. After all this I can say, photography is what I do… an artist is who I am.
~ Saadia Me’Chel
Here are some (a) musing things I found to share with you all:
There are so many talented singers on YouTube. It literally blows my mind. This is a mash-up of Gotye “Somebody’s I Use to Know” & Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody.” Loves it!
I am absolutely in LOVE with Kristy Mitchell‘s Wonderland series. She created the series in remembrance of her mom. The images (and the story behind them) are absolutely amazing. The image below is of the White Queen. Do your self a favor and check it out!
This an amazing tutorial on creating soft, beauty light in your photos. It still amazes me what you can do with light.
When I first started I would go to Google & Youtube to learn how to do a number of things in Photoshop. This is a great tutorial on Photoshop blending modes.
Thoughts become things, dreams do come true and all things remain every possible. The universe loves me and it tells me so everyday.
Ever wondered how to create custom tabs for your Facebook page? Yeah, me too! The awesome Alex Beadon did a tutorial to show to create custom tabs so that you can keep your branding consistent. I need to do mine now!
Kyle was in Atlanta visiting friends for a few days and decided he wanted little old me take take his picture while he was here. I was more than happy to snap a few pictures of him so that he can use them on his site and in his marketing. It can be a daunting task photographing other photographers. I must confess that I’ve actually done it quite a few times and it doesn’t gets any less daunting the more I do it. My colleagues in this industry are familiar with lighting, composition, exposure, etc. so I always want to put my best foot forward because they will know if I’m doing something wrong or “faking the funk” lol However, I’ve been fortunate enough that the photographers I’ve photographed have been totally nice. They give me room to be me and create images I like. They also have been stellar clients! I couldn’t ask for more!
I added a “pin it” function to my blog so… feel free to pin any of the images on my blog to Pinterest!
~ Saadia Me’Chel
Love the camera tattoo. Maybe I should get me one? lol
