Upcoming Developments! (TBA)

Hello everyone,

Just a quick heads-up; we at Ravimi Photography have been working very hard backstage planning several large events for you all. News on the upcoming events will be announced early next week so keep a close eye on the facebook page and this blog. While you wait we welcome you to check out Ravimi's latest art at www.ravimiphotography.com 

-Ravimi Team

Blog Viewer's Perk: As readers of the Ravimi Blog you get a little hint on one of the many upcoming events: I recommend you check out the Davidson Fine Art website; very cool place to see art.

Is Photography an Art? Capturing Emotions

Whenever I'm contacted to do a photoshoot the first thing I ask is, "Once you get to see the final pictures what do you want to see; how do you want them to make you feel." Since I don't edit my work (not even my event/model photography) it's imperative I understand what the client wants. But simply asking, "what do you want" will only get you so far since not everyone comes with a clear idea. However, asking them how they want to feel always gets me the answer I need.

These guys were shooting for their Reggaeton Album cover (now on iTunes)

What I enjoy most about portrait photography is getting to understand the people I photograph. Even if two people want to give off the same emotion in their pictures, they will always produce completely different images because each person brings their own unique personality into the images. The images I produce also depend on how quickly the model and I are able to build a relationship (rapport). 

High-school friend with her Boyfriend

College friend

My Barber
I've known these models for quite a long time so it's a lot easier to produce images
that are closely aligned with the emotions they want to express.

My style of model photography is ever evolving and maturing. My process for improving does not just lie in producing better images (using composition and lighting) but also getting better at expressing the individuals in the image. Many times I've discovered that by trying to capture the portrait of someone I end up including my self in the image. My landscape and still like photography require me to transmit my emotions into the final image, and usually I end up doing the same process with pictures of other people. It's a bit intimidating at times considering that I expose my inner feelings to anyone that closely examines my work, but on the flip-side it's also interesting to imagine that every image I take becomes a page in a wordless autobiography.  

Achieving Profound Understanding:

Next time you view an artwork I challenge you to not only examine how the image makes you feel, but to also ask yourself how do you think the artist felt when making the image. When I take a portrait I become aware that the portrait is also one of myself; how I "see" and "feel" about the person is sometimes expressed through my work. See if you can spot the emotions of the artist, and ultimately if you can have a conversation with the artist through the art.

Sincerely,

Rafael Migoyo (Ravimi)

Contact: ravimiart@gmail.com 

Website: www.ravimiphotography.com

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Spring Season Limited Edition Collection!! "The End, The Beginning"

With the start of the new year I am happy to announce a new Limited Edition collection for art enthusiasts. The collection "The End, The Beginning" will be available in a Limited quantity of 17 Aluminum prints. 

The collection includes nine(9) carefully selected images of the final Sunset of 2016 (collectively referred to as "The End") and one(1) image of the first Sunrise of 2017 (titled: The Beginning). Once 17 total Aluminum Prints have been made from the collection of 10 images the entire collection will never be available for reprinting on Aluminum. 

All images will arrive Autographed and with a Certificate of Authenticity along with an exclusive gift for the first 5 completed requests. The Gift will be one 8x12 archival paper print of any picture from the Ravimi Photography Website. The archival paper print will be autographed as well. For more information please contact us through email, private message, or phone number.

Email: Ravimiart@gmail.com

Phone:813-523-6809

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UPDATES

-One 12x18 aluminum print of "The Beginning" has been purchased

16 of 17 prints remaining 

The End

Peek-a-boo
"The End ('16)"

As I was sitting on the sand looking at the sun set for the last time in 2016 I considered all the things I have experience these last 366 days (it was a leap year). I learned what I want to do as a doctor; Geriatric medicine. I also learned a lot about art and photography and how it’s not always just about the picture as much as it is about the emotions they offer. 

I learned a lot about the country I consider my home; for example, everyone has a different idea of what makes “America great again,” but on the flip side everyone shares that desire to make America a wonderful place. I also learned that not all weird things happen in Florida e.g. creepy clowns chasing you down, and the zodiac killer running for President (sorry, not sorry TD). 

It’s been quite an intense year to say the least. But in life there are as many ups as there are downs, and as I watched the sun snuggle below the horizon I was reminded that tomorrow so will the sun rise again.

"The Beginning ('17)"

Message from the artist:

Thank you to those of you that have supported me from the beginning and to those that are just starting this journey with me. I truly do appreciate your patronage. My process of making art does not end with me taking the picture and then printing it, that's just the start: the other half belongs to the viewer, and lastly the investor. Even without funding I will always make art (it's what I love) but with your support I'm able to go beyond what I can do by myself. Just as the process of my art does not end with the click of the shutter, your investment also serves the purpose of continuing my work; with your help I've been able to travel to Cuba and take pictures of the place I was born, and the city I grew up in; I was able to travel to Puerto Rico with my camera and explore the rivers and mountains that exposed me to the beauty of adventure; and with your help I was able to travel to Colombia, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my entire life which further developed my work as an artist. 

Next time you are considering buying one of my art pieces remember that you're not only buying one art piece, you're investing in the future of art. 

Sincerely,

Rafael Migoyo (Ravimi)

Contact: ravimiart@gmail.com 

Website: www.ravimiphotography.com

"Value of a Patron" 25% coupon code: "ARTFOREVER" [mention this code when inquiring about an art piece)  

El 18 de Colombia

The doors opened with a small pull of the handle, and like a breathe coming from the mountain, the chill trickled into the car. We had arrived at El 18. 

Our small group of family and friends gathered outside the busy patio of a restaurant with a sign that read, "Pa'Las Que Sea!" We started toward a small inclined dirt road on the other side of the highway, El 18. 

We weaved through cars and people, trying not to lose their footing on the loose dirt covering the rocky path. Once we arrived at the summit, a cool breeze and spectacular view reminded us what it means to view the world from atop a mountain.

After the chill surmounted our desire to keep viewing what looked like the edge of the world, we hobbled toward the restaurant where the short walk began and decided to explore the food of El 18. 

Into the restaurant we went. 

In the back we found an inviting patio with a gorgeous view of the Andes. The mountains lay around the valley like giants from prehistoric times, petrified after millennia of sleep, reverent and immovable.

We ordered a nice bowl of hot chocolate accompanied by an adult-sized slab of mozzarella. The cheese melted in the steamy chocolate drink, which warmed our insides, while the view soothed our minds. 

The afternoon came with mountain mist that flowed over the rim of the Andes, and washed across the valley covering it in a sleepy blanket and 

marking the end of the trip through El 18.

Away from the Tourist Trap

I stood there at the summit of Cali, Colombia in the presence of El Cristo that had a chip torn of it's cranium by a lightning strike a few nights before. I looked over the railing surrounding the tourist section and looked to the city I was slowly falling in love with.....

But then, as usual, my habit for adventure with my camera kicked in and I jumped over the railing and began to walk down the mountain side away from the tourist section of Cali's El Cristo. 

What can I discover away from areas contaminated by guided eyes, I wondered. 

And not far from the tourist section my eyes were called upon by an interesting tree stoically resting on the mountain side. I sat down on the mountain, aimed and.....

After a short rest I continued my adventure and came up to some ledges formed by scattering hills of red dirt. I began to jump down from one to the other, slowly, since I was wearing flip flops not having foreseen this adventure. At the bottom of the red hills I came upon a small path formed by rocks sliding down the mountain incline and continued to walk onwards. And there it was, a sight worthy my attention and worthy my lens. I aim and I shoot....

-Ravimi Photography

Con-Artist

Photographers take pictures of the world and its properties and make them art by adding elements to the image that inspire human emotion. The art of photography is not capturing what is (in terms of nature), but what is to us [humans/the mind]… and with that, we con.

We are conartists.

A landscape becomes beautiful because it looks, and afterwards feels, natural (within the context of human interpretation). A portrait is simply an image of a person, but in the eyes of some it can become art when the artist is capable of using their skill to help the 2-dimensional image (the portrait) transcend a physical meaning into a physiological dimension (the mind) - by this point, instilling emotion.

These are such big words for such a simple process of composing the frame around a subject and then pressing the shutter button. But this is exactly what research in photography covers: the relationship to the images we create and even more obscure topics that include the study of diaspora relating to the artist and even more obscure topics like the relationship between an object and its name. 

I personally judge the greatness of my art, and vice versa, on the depth of its content. Some of my art is only meant to represent a small puddle for the viewer to cool off in after being in the hot sun that is the social world (sometimes, even our own minds). But some of the other works I've composed represent much more than a little trickle of water; my deeper work is meant to be a spring, a spring that gushes inspiration from its origins and whets the appetite of the viewer but makes them desire more once they realize how much there is left to experience. 

I'm still a toddler in this world of thought, but that won't stop me from writhing out of the muck and reaching for the stars in that dark yet profound sky that is the mind and the world around it. Each step forward consists of experiences, and with each experience I'll be there with a camera at hand to photograph what I see, as well as inadvertently marking where I currently am, and, eventually, where I was.

My goal as an artist is to experience. To grow and create a physical representation of the metaphysical thoughts within my mind, and others. I hope to create images that resurrect the soul out from the daily miasma that sinks us into lifeless repetition and brings forth a human with desire for more out of themselves. 

Escape the voluntary prison

I hope to do many things - that is part of being young - but even that thought is a trap because the older minds aren't lacking of curiosity. We may find insecurity when dealing with obscurity but everything was once obscure; water was once a mystery to our minds, but once we quenched our thirst with it, it was no longer obscure and had now become secure in our minds as a source of life and continuation. 

The only security I have in my photography is my camera and my skill; that is the exact reason why I don't edit my own photography and only use my camera's computer to process it. Everything else is obscure, but within that I'll find the solid path and that alone is enough to inspire me.

Work alongside life

Expedition for Exhibition

One of the images from Cuba

I was recently invited by a Fine Arts and Photography Museum in Cuba to exhibit 30 Landscape photographs from my collection. Since the invitation, I have worked on filling the 30 slots and so far I am at 17 images (Most from Cuba). 

In order to fill the remaining spots I will be doing short (1-3) day road trips to different States. Unfortunately I do not have enough money, as a full-time student, to cover for the trip expenses (specifically Gas and food along with the occasional bed if sleeping in the car is not a, safe, option).
Therefore I am reaching out to you in the hopes that you may be interested in supporting my short missions to gather more images. 

How can you help? 

All images that are on sale on my website are now 40% off until July 1st, 2014 when you use the keyword "support" on checkout. Any purchase made on my website from now till July will go into the trip funds. If you have kept an eye on a specific photograph in my collection NOW is the time to make it yours.

Another of the chosen image

If the Exhibit in Cuba goes well I hope to open another here in the U.S. But the future of these exhibits lie on my ability to produce more work for your enjoyment. And I need your help. 

Help me create Art.

Ravimi


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Las Manos: Portraits through the hands

One of the subjects most discussed in photography, especially in contemporary photography, is that of “Identity.” After reading several articles that blew me away (because of their depth and detail), I realized I had found the second path that I've been looking for within the past year that would lead me to the next chapter of my work- context.

Well, I wanted to sound dramatic there; hopefully it worked! But, honestly, I did encounter what I felt I was missing. My work, no matter how good it was (relative to the past few years), lacked definition, context (that word again).

What does context mean?   in my case...

It refers to the relationship between the viewer and my images. For the past few years, I've been working exclusively and intentionally on building a strong, capable, photographic skill base. My focus was solely on composing (correctly), lighting (correctly), and vision (being able to discriminate between good and bad shots before even lifting the camera to my face). And these basics (composition, lighting, vision) will always be works in progress, no matter how skilled I get. But now I'm slowly expanding my work by bringing meaning and audience into the frame. (I'm such a punster).

Because of my new academic involvements I've started thinking, "Why not give my work a deeper, more intentional meaning?" So this is the first blog [actually, the second, lol. The previous post was the first] about such attempts. Except I will supply one element that has been referred to in the past couple paragraphs:

Context

This collection was originally focused on just getting nifty-looking pictures (remember, I was only focused on building a base)...But, with new intentions, I'm adding some meaning to this collection. This post covers Identity, through people’s hands. The title, "Las Manos" (Spanish for “The Hands”) refers to a collection I started in Cuba on my last visit. I wanted to express the value our hands hold in our lives. Hands produce action from our thoughts; and from action they produce character, Identity.

Las Manos

Born and raised in Cuba. 

These next images of "Las Manos" are accompanied by a portrait of the contributor. (cover image too)

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We do so much with these extremities that we sometimes don't actually realize how often we use them. Every day we use them to get out of bed, each finger wraps around the handle of a brush to brush our teeth, to straighten our hair. We prepare our meals with our hands, or simply use them to accept the meals prepared by the hands of others. We use them to determine how we feel: forehead hot; sweat down the neck; cold. And we also use them to express our feelings: hands over our eyes – fear; hands against the cheek of someone else – Love.....or anger. 

   

So don’t simply do, but feel and observe your actions, because after the actions are done they belong to your past and ultimately our past actions build our future as well. 

Ravimi

Editor: Mercedes Flowers and Eric Staab

Thoughts of Collection (People of Cuba)

One thing I've learned about making these posts is that the hard part isn't really coming up with a topic. The hard part is mustering up the power to break from the chains of procrastination and write the topic fast enough lest I lose interest in it. That would leave it to wither away in the dusty corners of the unpublished section of the internet- shame, shame.

That's what happened to a post I was working on that discussed my hand photography. It actually became tough trying to put into words its meaning without giving it meaning; it was difficult to give a subject verbal meaning without "polluting" the viewers' opinions. [I like thinking that my viewers' opinions are raw, like my Sushi.]

So the light bulb of intense literary inspiration that burns the procrastination chains away temporarily came on. Coincidentally, a new idea decided to board the inspiration train.

This post's subject is the "People" gallery within the "Cuba" collection on my website.

Love this image. It really captures the spirit I see within the kids.
Would you call it innocence... or something else?

My People

One of the topics of my research for photography (yes, there is such a thing as research with photography) is the study of Identity within photography and the photographer. As you already know (maybe not), I was born in Cuba! *silent whispers from the audience* And I actually came to America at the age of five. You don't really have to remember that, since I'll most likely bring it up again in the future (for a legit reason). 

During the 16 years that I've lived in America, I've traveled to Cuba five- maybe six- times, and the last two times I went as a photographer. The "People" collection of the "Cuba" folder isn't just a portrait of what I see in Cuba, but it is also a portrait of myself, as a person. Each image represents how I see the country and its people, my people. So if anyone ever wants to write about me (obviously you would), then just look at my photography work as your main source of information.

Photography is a very expressive art medium. Unlike painters, we can't express our emotions through the motions of the brush, but the image itself tells the viewer (almost) exactly what we see. More to the point, it shows you what we are looking at.

Anyways, I'll probably go into a philosophic photography rant some day, but not today :) So no worries, my good reader. 

So here are some of the images I took and short statements to go with them:

This is my classic rock-loving uncle. He's 20 and represents a lot of how I'd describe the
youth population in Cuba. Not all, of course. There's a really large range of opinion in Cuba,
which is shown by the different types of personalities. He just follows the "against-the-man" nature.

After I left, he was drafted.

This picture is called "Perdidos en La Habana," which translates to "Lost in Habana." Why?
Well, I didn't originally think of naming this picture what it is called now when I took it, but the
name came when I showed it to my Cuban family, and they all started laughing. They said that the licence
plate was from Guantanamo and that they had broken down in Havana (both are very far apart).
It's one of those "I can't believe this shit" laughs.

So that's how I got the name. "Perdidos en La Habana" represents breaking down far away from "home."

I REALLY like this picture, because it really captures a massive part of the Cuban situation with the rest of the world.
The guy's expression (in foreground) is awesome too. I won't go into detail about
this image, so I'll leave it to you to give it an interpretation.

Manga (pronounced mAHn-ga, not Man-ga) and Anime are MASSIVE in Cuba, especially with the younger gen.
 This guy happens to be a member of Cuba's largest Manga and Anime organization, maintained by the
Cuban youth. They actually have contacts in Japan, and they talk about the latest and greatest in
the culture's happenings. And Magic the Gathering and other card games are really popular as well.
Fun Fact: Shingeki no kyojin is the most popular Manga right now.

My adorable nephew (period)

This picture was really awesome to get. When I saw it a big light bulb turned on,
which is ironic since this image represents the frequent power outages throughout the entire
country.

Think about it.

There are many more images in the "People" collection on the website, so I recommend you check them out. Every single picture on the folder represents a unique aspect of the Cuban identity and the things they currently face in everyday life. It also represents a part of me- the image hunter (as my cousin, who is a professional painter, described). In the comments section, feel free to share some of what you see when interpreting these pictures.

On a last note, I'd like to thank the new addition to my editing squad, Eric Staab, for looking over my crappy writing. Without him (and the other editor, the wonderful Mercedes Flowers) you'd be looking at random words with cat emojis everywhere. And yes, I have an editing squad. Mixed feelings.

Till next time.

Ravimi.

Edited by Eric Staab.