The June 2009 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine features several top U.S.  companies, and their supplier diversity strategies.  Altria is one of those featured companies, where Connie Smith is the director of Supplier Diversity Development.  I photographed Connie a while back, creating a variety of headshots to be used for publicity purposes.  Well, one of those publicity opportunities landed her photo in the pages of Black Enterprise Magazine.  Connie’s photo is published on page 152 (left), as part of the article “Supplier Diversity—a Winning Strategy in Tough Times”.  Some other companies in the article include Coca-Cola, Macy’s, Denny’s, The Home Depot, Kellogg, and Allstate.  Thanks to Connie and all the other supplier diversity managers for your continued efforts.

During the last couple of weekends, Drama Kids International hosted their spring performances in northern VA.  The plays were held at Stonewall Middle School in Manassas VA and Walker-Grant Middle School in Fredericksburg VA.  The Drama Kids program teaches acting and public speaking skills to students 3-18.  Some students may choose to pursue acting as a career, while others will use these new skills at school or work.

After 9 weeks of after-school rehearsals, it was time to perform for their families and friends. The younger kids (5-8) performed the play “Paradesia”, which answers the question “Can shells talk?”.  The 9-11 year olds performed as pirates in the play “Bold Buccaneers”.  The older students (12-18) performed a play about a dress rehearsal gone wrong.

Thanks to Angela, Silver Sound, all the volunteers, and parents for the work you do with Drama Kids.  It was amazing to see the choreography and hear the lines that these students learned… the teachers did a GREAT job.  It’s good to see these students being introduced to the arts at an early age.  Here are some photos from the May 9th and 16th performances.

The Ivy Foundation’s Tea Rose Cotillion was a success!  The event took place on May 3rd at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda.  Thanks to all of the committee members and parents for all you’ve done to help this year’s event run smoothly.  This year’s theme was “Presenting Our Pearls: The Next Generation of Hope”.

The cotillion began with introductions of the debutantes and younger Rose Petals.  The young ladies Waltzed with their fathers, then did the Tango and Grand Promenade with their escorts.  Several awards were presented, including best scrapbook, highest GPA, and debutante spirit.  At the end, one debutante was crowned… Congratulations to LaShae, Miss Tea Rose 2009!  Thanks to Precious of Precious Perspectives Photography for assisting with candid photography.  Also, thanks to the string quartet for providing music for the guests throughout the evening.

I was recently commissioned to photograph 8 young ladies who will be participating in the Tea Rose Cotillion this month, in the DC area.  The session was held at the THEARC Campus of the Washington Middle School for Girls in DC.  Several portraits were created of each debutante, showing their formal dresses and some personality.  The images will be used as a part of the printed program for the upcoming cotillion event.  Thanks to the Xi Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) Inc.’s Ivy Foundation for sponsoring this occasion.  I’m sure the debutantes will remember this experience for years to come.

Check out the April 2009 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine.  An image from my portrait session with Natalynn was published as part 3 of the “Women & Money” article series.  The article begins on page 66, with the photo of Natalynn and her husband Dan appearing on page 70.  Photo credit was incorrectly given to another photographer for this image, and should read “Photograph by Benson Blake” at the bottom of page 70.  Black Enterprise Magazine is available at most Barnes & Noble and Walmart stores.

During the week of March 23rd, I had the opportunity to travel to Boston, Massachusetts for the annual Photoshop World Conference.  The event took place at the Hynes Convention Center and included a ton of seminars dedicated to Photoshop, Adobe’s premier image-editing software.  Seminars included a range of topics from how to best organize image libraries, to creating better image composites.  Here are some sights from the conference and the city of Boston.

Sunday, I took some time out to visit the cherry blossoms at the tidal basin in Washington DC.  This was my first time seeing them (that I can remember) in more than 10 years.  Even though all the trees were not yet in full bloom, I was able to find enough that were camera-ready.  There are just a few more days left to catch the pink blossoms at their peak.  The National Cherry Blossom Festival began on March 28th and will continue until April 12, 2009.  Here are some images I created of the cherry trees, in color and infrared (black & white).

Last month, Earl Bynum celebrated his birthday in the form of a gospel music event.   The concert was held at Mt. Lebanon (The Mount) in Chesapeake VA, where Earl is the minister of music.  Ju Joyner, Sheliah Belle, and Brother Ray co-hosted throughout the evening.  Gospel artists & groups included TaMyya J, Virginia Mass Choir, God’s Image, Naomi K. Thomas, Donald Ashley & Millennium, Antuan Barnes & Absolute Worship, As We Are, God’s Purpose, Vision, and Elevation… whew!  BET’s Sunday Best Winner, Crystal Aikin, also blessed the audience with a couple of selections.  Here are some moments from on and off the stage.