Uncategorized Archives - Brandy Isadora

Photographer and Author

May 14

by Brandy Isadora in Uncategorized 0 comments

Ava (A Short Story)

Working Title: “Ava” Word count: 2,754 1978 “I know I’m right. Fifty million French men can’t be wrong,” my mother Ava stated as though it were a fact. I grabbed my three-year-old daughter Lily who was running around the living room with her arms out like an airplane. She wriggled in my grasp when I tried to sit her on my lap. Her curly locks were frizzing, making my nose itch. “Not the fifty million Frenchmen again,” I retorted. From the time I was a little girl, my mother would try to win any argument with the fictitious French men. I later learned she picked up this phrase from the 1929 musical comedy called, of course, “Fifty Million French Men.” Ava got up to get a new pack of cigarettes from her purse and walked to the fridge to grab orange juice and vodka so that she could make a Screwdriver. “That husband of yours is irresponsible, and it’s going to get you into trouble. Why does he have to leave a company that’s paid him good money?” she said. “Because they weren’t treating him well, and this new business is his passion. Sometimes we have to follow our […]

Mar 30

by Brandy Isadora in Uncategorized 0 comments tags: #amwriting, #anxiety, #author, #authorslife, #blogging, #COVID-19, #depression, #henrydavidthoreau, #quarantine, #quarantinelessons, #stayhome

You’re Not Alone Even If You Feel You’re Alone

This isn’t going to be my typical blog post. At a time like this, it’s impossible to go about business as usual. All of our lives have been affected by the virus in some way or another. I also know there’s already a lot of information out there about COVID-19, the economy and job loss, and mental issues stemming from prolonged isolation. So, why am I even bothering writing about a topic that’s been front page news for weeks? I think it’s worth reiterating that the majority of us are suffering from anxiety and depression from the uncertainty that many of us face as a result of COVID-19 and it’s impact on businesses and the economy. While social distancing and self-imposed isolation are critical at this time, we would be remiss to believe that these policies wouldn’t have an effect on our mental state. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men live their lives in quiet desperation.” Sometimes social media convinces us that we are not living our lives right. Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen many posts of people chilling in their fashionable loungewear and announcing that they’re doing their “inner work,” meditating, playing board […]

Dec 23

by Brandy Isadora in Uncategorized 0 comments tags: #arizona, #author, #authorslife, #goals, #portraits, #tattletales, #tattoobook, #tattoos, #todolists, #writing, NikonD800E, studiophotography

A Year in Review

At the end of the year, I take some time to review my work and reevaluate my goals. I’m certainly not one of those people who does New Year’s Resolutions, but I do like to hold myself accountable and make sure that I’m using my time wisely to accomplish everything I want to do. During my review, I list what I think went well and what I would like to improve in the future. When I was a graduate student, I worked with Susan Griffin, a writing mentor and renowned feminist and author. Every time she looked at my writing, she would first tell me what I did well. She explained that it’s just as important to know what you’re doing right because you want to build on that. Looking back at the past twelve months these are some of the strengths and weaknesses I found in my own work. Strengths 1.) An education in self-publishing: I had to wear many hats this year because I had to learn about the process of designing, printing, selling, and marketing my book. I’m by no means an expert, but the education I got this year will be extremely important […]

Holiday Gift Ideas

Holiday gift shopping can be challenging, especially if you wait until the last minute. I’ve gotten better at making my purchases earlier in the year, but I still struggle to find unique gift ideas. The hardest are the White Elephant or Secret Santa Gifts. Most often gift cards work really well. Who doesn’t love an Amazon Gift Card, right? However, there is something gratifying when you can find that perfectly gift for someone that will make them laugh or smile. Here, I’ve listed some gift ideas that might elicit a chuckle. Everything I’ve listed below is available for $25 or less. 1.) Wine Tumblers by Tru Blue Steel I know a lot of people who like to enjoy their wine with their significant other or friends. While the Yeti brand can be a bit pricey, there are many other brands that offer the same features for a fraction of the price. These Tru Blue Steel tumblers are BPA free and dishwasher safe. Plus, they run just over $20, so they won’t break the bank. 2.) Lets Get Galactic Art For several months, I’ve been following Holoreader on Instagram. Holoreader is an Instagram account that belongs to Cassie Lola, […]

Dec 02

by Brandy Isadora in Uncategorized 0 comments tags: #camera, #digitalcamera, #DSLR, #holidaygiftideas, #holidaygifts, #photography

Picking Out The Right Camera

Sometimes people have asked me for camera recommendations. It’s usually people who are fairly new to photography, and they want to purchase their first DSLR camera. The technology has improved so much over the past decade that you can’t really go wrong with any of the top camera brands you see on the market these days. So when people ask me what camera I suggest, I ask them what are they looking for in a camera. When you figure out what you want in a camera, it helps narrow the field. Here are some examples of things to think about when looking at cameras: Weight/Size: I know a lot of photographers have recently switched to mirrorless cameras because they are smaller and lighter weight, which puts less wear and tear on their neck and shoulders. Type of Photography: Some people don’t know what they want to shoot, or maybe they’re interested in learning many different types of photography. When I first started, I really enjoyed concert photography, so identifying a camera that performed well in low light venues was important to me. Budget: Obviously this factor will have a lot to do with influencing your decision. You don’t have […]

Tattle Tales: Making the Book

Considering the fact that Tattle Tales: Tattoo Stories and Portraits was first photography book, I definitely went through a learning curve. Looking back on the process, there are things that I wouldn’t do and other things that I would do again. Creating a sample book was one of the best decisions I made. I feel with most things in life it’s a good idea to really know and understand what you want, but remain flexible and open to other people’s opinions. For my sample book, I used Mixbook because it’s fairly easy to use and they frequently have sales, which makes it more affordable. There are many websites that allow people to create photo books. I just happened to hear about Mixbook, and I felt pretty happy with their quality and customer service. My book was pretty easy to organize because each spread was about one or two people. However, I wanted to make sure that my layout wasn’t too text heavy or stylistically repetitive. Initially, I wasn’t worried about the page order. If you try to make all the decisions at once, you’ll feel overwhelmed. I created the page spreads first. Afterwards, I took a few days away […]

Sep 03

by Brandy Isadora in Tattoos, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: #amwriting, #author, #authorslife, #bodyart, #bodyart; #inked; #tattedup; #tattoochicks; #amazingink, #book, #photojournalism, #proofreader, #tattletales, #tattoobook, #tattoos, #writing

Tattle Tales: Making the Book – Proofreaders

My book, Tattle Tales: Tattoo Stories and Portraits, has been my first foray into the world of self-publishing. The learning curve has been huge, but I’ve learned so much from other people through social media platforms and blogs. While I don’t consider myself to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination, I like to use my blogs to discuss some of the challenges I faced and share what things have helped me. In this post, I’m going to explain the importance of a proofreader. My book doesn’t have a lot of text. It’s mostly portraits, but there’s nearly 16,000 words in the whole book and most of that were from interview excerpts. Although I think it’s a good idea to have someone you trust look over your work and get their feedback as a reader, it’s absolutely crucial to use a proofreader. My eyes spent so many hours scrutinizing this book that I could easily overlook an obvious error. For me, it wasn’t an option to not use a proofreader. Even when a mistake is minor, it distracts the reader and takes away from the work. Plus, having a professional review your work takes some of the […]

A Cup of Joe and a Slice of Humanity

My adventures with coffee shops About a year ago, I wanted to create a space for myself to overcome my anxiety with writing, so I created a website called Demitasse Wanderlust where I blog about the different coffee shops in the greater Phoenix area. I’ve been writing most of my life. My degree is English Literature, so you can imagine the amount of writing I did in those four years. However, after I graduated from California College of the Arts with a MFA in Creative Writing, I noticed that I had developed a lot of anxiety when it concerned sharing my work with others. The workshops in graduate school made me acutely aware of all my weaknesses, but they also affected my confidence. The main and original purpose of this blog was to remind myself to lighten up. As my mother often tells me, “Even the longest life is a short one.” As I’ve been working on this blog, I’ve realized that coffee shops are more than just a place to satisfy your caffeine addiction. They are symbolically significant in our society because they offer a place to gather, meet, and to feel a part of a community. […]

Jul 15

by Brandy Isadora in Fashion, Tattoos, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: #beauty, #bodyart; #inked; #tattedup; #tattoochicks; #amazingink, #fashion, #gluttony, #Nikon, #phoenixphotographer, #photography, #phxphotography, #sevendeadlysins, #tattoos, studiophotography

Themes

I enjoy all my shoots, but I particularly had fun with this one. When I first mentioned doing a photo series for the 7 Deadly Sins, a lot of people told they thought it was over done. In some ways they’re right, but I thought it would be an interesting challenge to see if I could come up with my own interpretation, despite the fact so many people have put their own stamp on this theme. This photoshoot was Gluttony, which involves an excess of food usually. I got the inspiration for this shoot from an old Gwen Stefani video called “Luxurious.” There’s a scene where Stefani is lying on colorfully wrapped candy. I loved the colors and the concept, and so I adapted it to my shoot. I certainly did get weird looks at the store when I picked up bags and bags of candy. Though I bought quite a lot, it still wasn’t enough. During the shoot, I made sure to arrange the candy so that I would be able to go back into Photoshop and clone the candy so that the entire background would be covered. The editing was a little more difficult than I thought it […]

Jul 08

by Brandy Isadora in Art, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: #author, #authorslife, #doubt, #phxphotography, #tattletales, #tattoobook, #writer, #writing

Dealing with Doubt

The hardest part with the arts is that there is no “right” answer. It’s about choices, preferences, interpretations, and so much more. As an creative person, there have been many moments where I have felt doubt creep into my mind. Typically, I’m one of those people who thinks about every outcome, as though I’m playing a game of chess. This is especially the case when I’m trying to get to sleep, and I can feel my fears spiderwebbing. It’s definitely not a healthy way to live, but how do we overcome doubt? When I can feel the anxiety intensifying, which has been a frequent occurrence these last few weeks, I’ll talk to my mom. One of the things that she always tells me is, “It’s not brain surgery. You don’t have someone’s life in your hands.” This is very true, and I’m glad my work doesn’t involve a life or death situation. However, this doesn’t always help me in the moment when I have to make a decision. I’m a perfectionist and very passionate about what I put out into the world. For example, I had been really stressing about a decision I had to make about a project […]