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MELANIN IN THE GREEN (post creative block)

Webster’s dictionary defines a creative block as… Oooh man I don’t want to be those kind of writers (writers, take that Subaru and keep it… lol). I’ve seen most writers start off with a joke, so here goes, why do bees buzz?? I’ll give you time to think about that… because they can’t whistle :D :D (If you are laughing at this, you are my peoples).

It was a dark and stormy night, in a residential area somewhere in Nairobi, where a young dark skinned photographer tried to edit pictures that he has shot over the weekend but to no success. He tried all kinds of edits, from monotone to sepia but to no avail. It was then that he realized that he was on a creative block *inserts dramatic music*

Anyway, I’ve had been on a creative block for the past few weeks and let me tell you, that ish sucks(see how I’m trying to be PG hehe). I am one to shoot every week on Sunday, and believe me I tried to, once in a while, but it wouldn’t work. I was really uninspired, poses were all off, didn’t have fun during the shoots (Sorry if you are reading this and you were one of those I was shooting during that block). Editing was an even bigger struggle. Sometimes, I would try and edit the pictures weeks after the shoot which made the block even worse.

I think it started when I broke my favorite lens, my baby, my 35mm 2.0 prime lens. My only other option was to shoot with the kit lens and if you are a portrait photographer, or any creative for that matter, you know that the kit lens is a really sucky lens, especially when it comes to portraits. So for weeks, I would shoot unenthusiastically, edit in a half-baked manner and put out, in my opinion, sub-par content on my Instagram (@kevingakere if you don’t follow me #AlwaysPlug). It wasn’t a very good time in my photography life I’ll tell you that.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I got inspiration while watching a music video (I get inspiration at the most random times from the most random places by the way) and I had the great idea to do a tea farm shoot. I purposed to do this shoot right so I went all in, make-up artists, lighting, location etc. Got an amazing model (@ritakinuthia) who embodied the idea I had for the shoot, and pulled it off so well if I may add.

We drove up to Kiambu and just made things happen. The shoot was a success, my creative juices were flowing, I was pumped, I was in my element, in the zone and I loved every moment of it. Anyway, let me not bore you with the play by play of everything that happened that day. Here are the images from that shoot, my personal project dubbed ‘Melanin in the Green’.

Model: Rita Kinuthia 

MUA: Mercy Jebet.

Assistant: Muriuki Ngare.

Concept/ Photography: Kevin Gakere.

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Modestly Spectacular

Wallapangalaz my guys,

So I know its been a minute since I posted on here, apologies if you miss me that much, check out my Instagram @Kevingakere (Shameless plug :D ).

Anyway, I’m back with a vengeance. So I have always wanted to do a full modesty shoot and luckily for me, Ikran came through and we made some magic in the city of Nairobi.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand awaaaaaaaaaay we goooooo!!!!!!!!!!

Fun fact: During this part of the shoot, some guy was driving near us in a Toyota Noah and was recording Ikran on his phone hhahaha.

Model: Ikran Omar 

Location: Nairobi, Kenya.

Photography: Kevin Gakere

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We made a man-made bridge, crossed a river filled with alligators, fought an army of white walkers to get to the shoot location (Okay I might have exaggerated just a little bit ) but oooh my was it worth it. 

This had to be one of my favorite shoots of the year 2016.

Model: Merab

Photography and edit: Myself. 

Assistant: Philip Wanjie

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Depression

Depression clung onto me, Hugged me like a faux fur coat, Whispered to just let my sanity, sense of reality go.

Poetry by Jaaziyah Satar

Photography by Kevin Gakere

A collaborative piece by Jaaziyah Satar, Christopher Siganga and myself.

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Bulimia

Bulimia was the final but most brutal of all, A gentle lover's whisper it took on, Convinced me she was helping me but really she was destroying me from the inside out; I was a tangle of numbers from the tape and the scale; I spoke nothing but calorie counts, Is death really  worth the skinny feels?

Poetry by Jaaziyah Satar

Model: Jaaziyah Satar

Photography and edit by Kevin Gakere

Location: Creatives Garage

A collaborative piece by Jaaziyah Satar, Christopher Siganga and myself.

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amazing work.... Black is Beautiful.

                           glazed with a gait of earned grace

                   sun’s rays found abode in her skin - glistening

                             uncovering grounds [treasures],

              untold eyes tell of a torn past; albeit a stride to conquer.

                                                                              - coruscate. 

Photography/Creative Direction: Manny Jefferson

Styling: Vane Karolle

Model: Ifeoma Nwobu

Words: Teniola Oriola

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Anxiety

Anxiety was next, Consumed me until I suffocated; Breathing in nothing but self hate; It felt like a million and one voices in my head screaming at me to just give up - -I would never be good enough.

A collaborative piece by Jaaziyah Satar, Christopher Siganga and myself.

Poetry by Jaaziyah Satar ( https://www.instagram.com/jaaziyah/ )

Photography and edit by Kevin Gakere ( https://www.instagram.com/kevingakere/ )

Location: Creatives Garage 

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Moving portraits.

Model: Rahma Ramadhan ( https://www.instagram.com/rahma.ramadhan/ )

Shot by: Kevin Gakere ( https://www.instagram.com/kevingakere/ )

Drone footage by: Victor Odetho 

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The African Tribes girl.

Model: Wanjeri (https://www.instagram.com/wanjeri_kabutha/ )

Paint: ( https://www.instagram.com/heri.chari/ )

Photography: ( https://www.instagram.com/kevingakere/ )

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Hijabi Princess...

Location: Oloolua Nature Trail.

Model: Rahma Ramadhan (https://www.instagram.com/rahma.ramadhan/)

Photography, Direction and Edit: Myself (https://www.instagram.com/kevingakere/)

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Model: Ffyonah Wanjiru (https://www.instagram.com/ffytrey/)

Location: Oloolua Nature Trail.

Photography and Edit: Kevin Gakere (https://instagram.com/kevingakere/) (Myself).

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Dope Stuff Trevor

Started as a doctor, halfway through it I quit my job to follow my dream. 55 years down the road and I don’t regret anything. #ThisIsEgypt

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Even in the greatest of crowds, I want your eyes to only see me ㊙️ #xmasmarkets ⛄️ (at Manchester, United Kingdom)

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Model: Geoff Wakaba,

Location: Daivin Auto Ltd (Kunga Lunga, Industrial Area)

Project: Beauty Under Repair.

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This is Angela Muthoni,another cool kid from United States International University. She is also part of my Beauty Under Repair Series

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This is Jaaziya Satar, she is a cool kid and she is part of my Photo Series called Beauty Under Repair.

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Street Fashion.

Models: Geoffrey Wakaba & Daisy Gakere.