IESEFMarch, 2014

Real recognizes real.

It had only been a couple of months since I’d left Bsst Buy with my shiny new Nikon D3000 and 18-55mm kit lens when I got a reply from Kat Gordon, baker/owner of Muddy’s Bake Shop. I sent an email to her and several other local businesses asking if I could come in and capture what it is they do on a level more intimate than the typical newspaper spread.

Her email, turns out, mirrored her jovial disposition and she invited me, a photographer with ba-sically no credentials or “real world” experience come in and shoot her and her shop. For me, it was a game changer and since then, there’s always been a certain allegiance to all things Kat/ Mud-dy’s (the free samples she hooked me up with didn’t hurt the cause either). She was one of the first who took the time to help a ‘yung IESEF’ grow on a professional level and one of the few that have worked with me consistently since..

So it’s only fitting that Muddy’s Bake Shop be included in the first issue of IESEF to feature local businesses, movers and shakers, and generally cool people. There’s a lot of real ‘round here.. I, for one, recognize it.

I hope you do too.

Enjoy, -IESEF

Prints?Commissions?

Collaborations?

MemphisIesef@gmail.com

“StillLife”Memphis, TN2014

Occasionally the grit that makes up Memphis’ Grit ‘n Grind comes from salt and sand generously sprinkled on the temporarily frozen pavement. The awe of fresh powder is short-lived as everyone gets on with their lives. White snow gradual-ly but inevitably turns to brown mush.

Take a picture, it’ll last longer.

“ShitHeds”Memphis, TN

2013

The doors slid open quietly. The cold air at my back transitioned to a notably neutral temperature. Not frigid, but definitely not warm or welcoming. Sterile. Methodist Germantown was surprisingly re-ceptive and trusting.

“Methodist”Germantown, TN

2014

It was about 1 a.m. and I had been there visiting for a couple of hours. I excused myself to stretch my legs and the longer I walked the more stretching my legs turned into exploring. Aside from the nurses and muffled lobby televisions, my footsteps were the only thing to be heard.

The best camera is the one you have on you. So, I always try to have a decent, if not discreet, one on me. My Samsung Maxima point and shoot was stuffed in my pocket. Semper paratus.

UntitledDowntown, Memphis, TN2014

Reaching any goal can be an arduous task. Barriers, gates, blockades, closed doors, detours.. Both physical and mental... Count on them.

Be ready for them.

Be ready to do what it takes to overcome them.

Salt, cholestorolDelicious red and yellow

What moderation?

“Aftermath”McDonald’s, Memphis, TN

2014

“PieHard”Memphis, TN

2014

I can’t think of anywhere else you’d want to be if you were in Memphis on National Pie Day (which, oddly enough, is not on March 14th) other than Muddy’s Bake Shop. Your Boy was living the dream...

“Yay Pie!” indeed. In a couple of hours this whole counter along with the majority of baking racks there would be stuffed full of trays of pies. 750+ Slices.

“Wells”

Memphis, TN. 2014/13

“SweetHearts”Memphis, TN2014

“SoleSearchin”Minglewood Hall, Memphis, TN

2014

The most expensive pair of shoes I’ve owned were $90. They were a nondescript pair of black Nike Shox and the only reason I had them was because they were a gift. Although I’m very thrifty when it comes to footwear, I’m a huge fan of the sneakerhead subculture. I can’t fathom spending 200, 300, $400 on a rare colorway but I love seeing them.

...So you can probably guess who was there when Sole Searchin sneaker convention rolled into Minglewood Hall...

Hint: Me.

“Lucy”Old Forest, Overton Park, Memphis, TN2014

A shoot that has literally been months in the making. The stars (and our schedules) finally aligned and we were able burn a roll together.

The low temp made for empty trails and a sense of solitude that probably won’t be able to be rec-reated once it gets warmer. Good times..

“North”James Rd., Memphis, TN

2014

“2545God”Orange Mound, Memphis, TN

2013

“BlueSuede”Southwind, Memphis, TN

2014

Tucked quietly away on the corner of a small strip mall in Southwind, you’ll find the embodiment of a dream realized; Blue Suede Ballroom.

Since the age of 9, Andriy Velychko (pictured on the facing page) has been dancing better than most of us could hope to. What started out as a way to make fun of his friend who was taking dancing lessons quickly developed into true passion. That passion has taken him to many a dance floor around the world and, luckily for us, brought him to the U.S. and later, Memphis.

While teaching and competing, it was always a dream of his to have a studio he could call his own. In 2008 Andriy made that dream a reality with the opening of Blue Suede Ballroom.

Andriy and his staff do it all here.. lessons, dance parties, group and singles training, if it has to do with dance, they have you covered. I got a chance to hang out on a Friday where they were offering free Waltz lesson followed by a dance party that left my jaw touching the lovely hardwood floor. Seeing the pros do their thing was an experience all in itself.

It was cold and wet outside but the windows of the studio were completely fogged by the time we left. Good stuff..

UntitledCrosstown, Memphis, TN

2014

“Diffraction”Memphis, TN2014

“Paths”Memphis Botanical Gardens, Memphis, TN

2014

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.

-Henry David Thoreau

“Wiseacre”Wiseacre Brewery and Taproom, Memphis, TN2014

Beer. What’s more awesome than beer? Awesome craft beer. What’s more awesome than awesome craft beer? Locally made awesome craft beer! Duh.. But look, there’s a lot of beer hype in Memphis these days but a sip of any of Wiseacre’s brews lets you know immediately that these guys are the real deal.

Kellan and Davin Bartosch, the brothers behind the badassery at Wiseacre, were kind enough to let me play Peter Parker one evening. Truth be told, their mentality, hospitality, and, of course, beer changed the whole trajectory of this magazine you’re reading. Like I said, these guys are the real deal and, like with Muddy’s, there’s a certain loyalty there. Drunken “Hell Yeah”/10.

UntitledMemphis, TN2014

Watching “House Hunters” makes my blood boil at times. Buyers-to-be throwing out hip keywords like granite, crown molding, on-suite, stainless steel, ...puh-lease.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting these things but I just feel it’s more about impressing than actual function.

The older I get the more I respect the idea and execution of modest digs.

“HumbleAbode”Collierville, TN2014

“Amber”Nonconnah Greenbelt, Memphis, TN2014

“Warning”Orange Mound, Memphis, TN2014

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Copyright IESEF, 2014

Memphis Soul Collective