Okay...deep breaths, deep breaths...many good things have been happening. Most are photography-related, some are not (but interesting, nonetheless)

• I just launched my new website. I'm still in the process of uploading photos, but you can still take it for a spin: [link]


• On Wed, Oct 19th, I am the featured guest on the TypicalShutterbug Audio Podcast, hosted by Victor Cajiao: [link]


• I recently took part in a Google+ Hangout, hosted by Trey Ratcliff (of StuckInCustoms.com). It was cool to rub elbows with Trey, and other Power-Hitters like photographer/educator R.C. Concepcion, celebrity-photographer Jeremy Cowart, and many others.


• I am featured in this month's issue of BlueCanvas Magazine: [link]


• I will be speaking at the WhatIfConference, being held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Jan 23-26, 2012. More info here: www.whatifconference.com


• Despite being kinda busy with photography-related things, work on my new CD is underway. It looks like I might well be able to at least finish tracking it by early 2012. If you would like to listen to a demo, featuring clips from 5 songs from the project, you may do so here: [link]


• And last, but not least (and an important element in my life, as well as in my photography), I recently met a super-cool woman. More on that, later...

A friend recently recommended that I consider signing-up on yet another photography/portfolio/social-networking site. He went on to say that it was "better" than DA, and that it would be "definitely worth" doing.

Now, this is not me knocking what my friend said (and I'm sure he will read this), but as I wrote my response to him, I realized that sharing my response might be helpful to a number of people who are trying to market themselves online.

[MY RESPONSE FOLLOWS...]

When you say "better than" DA, I ask, "better than DA...at what, exactly?".

When you say "worth your time", I ask, "what is your time worth, exactly?"

These are both personal and professional parameters that have to be assessed & re-assessed frequently, as you evolve as both an artist and a business.

Before I perform even the simplest of tasks, I always ask the question, "what exactly am I trying to achieve, by doing this?"...and I always define my answer clearly, before proceeding.

Here's my take on promoting myself online (which has worked astoundingly-well for me, so far) :

1 - Build a fan-base - The numbers do not lie...DA is the largest community of its kind. But like any community, it only gives back what you give to it. Success in any social community requires your ongoing interaction, and along with that, your time. Without your involvement, you will never become well-known within the village...you are just the stranger who lives at the bottom of the hill, that no one really knows. I only have time to involve myself in one-such community, so why not make it the largest community? If you are going to speak to an online audience, it is just as easy to address 10 people, as it is to address 1,000 people. Simple choice.

2 - Make yourself known amongst your peers - I define my "peers" as those who are either in a position to hire me, or are close to those who can hire me. My peers are magazine editors, photo editors, creative directors, art directors, advertising agencies, project managers, gallery curators, authors, and the list goes on. DA serves kind of a double-purpose, in that regard. My peers are on DA, to a certain degree...so there is some direct cross-over within this community...but my main peer networks are organizations such as Communication Arts, Google+, Gallery Owners, and the entire Publishing Community. Without these folks, I am still a "popular" guy...but a popular guy without much money.

To sum-up: Comments are always nice, but I am not here for my ego (ok...maybe a little). I want to buy a downtown condo within a year, and until/unless someone invents a "Comments-for-Cash" program, my main efforts are put towards promoting myself as a business

[END OF RESPONSE]

Remember: you can be the most amazing whatever-you-are, but unless people know you exist (and exist as a shining example of what you do), you cannot realistically expect to be in any kind of demand.

Extrapolate what you will from this...I'm just offering some free advice.

A few weeks ago, several of my friends and I did a group exodus, and left Facebook...and none of us regret the decision.

The day I booted FB out of my life, was also the day I joined Google+...and I do not regret the decision.

I immediately loved it, but I wanted to give it a go for a few weeks before I handed out any glowing recommendations: which I will now do.

So far, it has been amazingly good as a connection tool. In addition to my website, I simultaneously upload photos to my G+ gallery. This has exposed my work to a demographic I have yet to build a solid connection with...my peers. Within a very short time, I started receiving work offers.

While it might not be right for everyone, I do encourage you to check it out, at least

You can follow me on Google+ here: [link]

I am featured in Issue 23 of BLUR Magazine, available now.

Click the link above to download the Interactive PDF...it's free

I just viewed the issue, and was flipping gobsmacked. My own work aside, there are some absolutely humbling images from several other photographers here on earth: I was so impacted from looking at the other photos in this issue, I see so many directions I now want to steer towards, and just as many improvements I want to make in my work.

"One breeze stirs another", right? But in this case, the "breeze" is more like a tornado that hurled me to a place I did not even know existed

Get inspired

I've been commissioned to do a book cover for Simon & Schuster Publishing!

I'm not allowed to say anything about the book, for now...but let's just say that this is going to be pretty damn cool

Once again, I have to give credit to all of you who follow my work. While none of you might have directly made this happen, you did play a vital role, in-that you have increased my visibility, making it more-likely that my work will pass in-front of eyes belonging to someone in a position of hiring/commissioning me.

So, thank you

I've wanted to be featured in BLUR magazine » [link] for quite a long time...and it's finally happening. About 20 of my photos (along with an interview) will be featured in the September issue. And the cool part: it is available in downloadable (interactive PDF) format...and it's free. I have literally sat and stared at previous issues for hours. Want to see photography that makes me jealous? It's in BLUR. Check it out...your eyes will thank you.

Also coming up: I will be featured in Issue 10 of Blue Canvas Magazine [link] which happens some time in October. I'll announce it when a solid date is announced.

There's some other (very) cool stuff in the works, but I am waiting to announce anything, just yet...I'm adhering to my "no-jinx" policy.

And I leave you with today's Free Advice: when you go to brush your teeth at 3am, before you stumble off to bed, make sure you are putting toothpaste on your toothbrush, and not Hydrocortizone creme

Trust me, on this one...I speak from experience.

Blegh.

[Stefan Brisland-Ferner (Sweden), Jaime Ibarra (USA), and Zach Page (USA)]

I have always (even today) considered myself to be a better musician, than a photographer.

Many people do not know...for the past 7 years, I've been working on my newest CD, tentatively titled, "The Virru Project".

By "trade", I am a Flamenco guitarist...but for this project, I really wanted to collaborate with some of my musical heroes from around the planet. The biggest challenge was actually getting in contact with those I wanted to invite into the project. Not an easy task, as most of them have attained (what I call) "untouchable" fame status. I spent over a year, just lining up the talent I wanted to bring in. Once that happened, things began to gain momentum, but it did not truly reach full-speed until about 3 years into it.

As-of-now, the project has 13 musicians (not counting myself), each of whom I consider to be ambassadors of their respective musical genres, spread-out amongst 9 countries. Among them, 7 of my favourite female voices on this earth. To work directly with musicians who have been absolute idols of mine for years is ineffable...there are literally no words to describe what a thrill this has been.  

And while the production of this project has been wonderful experience, it has also been a logistical nightmare to coordinate. Lots of waiting for windows of opportunity to open up, and the constant hope that I have the money needed to take advantage of that window. Most of the money spent on this project went to buying airline tickets...either to fly the musicians to the US, or fly myself to wherever I need to go record.

It has been a labour of love & perseverance, and some incredible sacrifices have been made (by myself and the other musicians) in the interest of completing this project...but it finally looks like the end of the tunnel is in sight. The CD will be released in the first quarter of 2012. I will announce more, as it gets closer to the release date.

If you would like to listen to a demo, featuring clips from 5 songs from the project, you may do so here: [link]

As always, my thanks to all of you

[UPDATE - 07.09.11 - We have to wait until Saturday afternoon to shoot the video, which means you have until 11am CMT to submit any questions, if you would like to do so)

Hands-down, Jessa is my favourite human to photograph. In the almost 5 years we've known each other, she and I have produced untold thousands of images together. Images that I fully believe defined me as a photographer. The bond between us is unlike anything I've experienced...as-such, the waters we share run much deeper than a simple model/photographer relationship. Over the years, we've seen every facet of each-other...the most joyous times, as well as time spent at the proverbial bottom-of-the-barrel. We've been very close friends since the day we met.

I've said it before, but...every once-in-a-while, you meet someone who divides your existence into 2 parts: the part before you knew that person, and the part since you've known that person.

Jessa is most definitely that, to me.

Every time we work together, I look at the images and I am reminded that while it only took a fraction of second to press the shutter button, there are almost 5 years of history behind the images we just made . There is no substitution for that

We'd both like to invite you to an interactive Q&A. If you'd like to ask us any questions about the work we produce together (or pretty much anything else), please post them as comments on this journal entry by Satuday, July 9th, 11am (Central USA) time, and we will choose our favourite ones and reply via video.

Thanks...we both look forward to hearing from you!

The countdown begins...I am going to be photographing soon. I haven't been this excited about photographing someone in a very long time.

Remember when you were a kid, laying in bed on Christmas eve, trying to sleep? When the anticipation of the following morning made your efforts utterly futile?

That is how I feel now.

This is gonna be good

Just a short video showing some of the "Paradigm" shoot with the amazing Jessa and the body-painting artistry of Mirabai



» Bodypaint, Wardrobe, Styling, Hair » Mirabai Wagner
» Model » Jessa Peters
» Videography, Editing » Jaime Ibarra

Music Composed, Performed, and Recorded by » Jaime Ibarra, Stefan Brisland-Ferner, and Emma Härdelin

Ok, since almost 70% of the visitors coming to my website are on a device incapable of viewing Flash content (iPod/iPad), I have flushed the whole thing down the dunny, and replaced it with a Wordpress version.

"Adapt, or die", right?

It's taken me long enough to wrap my head around the thing, after years of Flash development, but I finally have something I'm happy with. It's very minimal, at the moment (content-wise), but the framework is in-place, and I'll be adding to it as time permits over the next few days.

Take it for a test-spin here: [link]

Several days ago, Willow found this when she Googled me



Apparently, I had an account on photo.net at one point...it was so long ago, I had completely forgotten about it. So much that I can't even dig up my login info for it. I was going to delete my profile there, but when I saw the images, I thought, "no...this is a time capsule of my early work", and decided to keep it up there for a while longer.

Until I take it down, please enjoy this little blast-from-my-past

(Click on the preview above to visit the full gallery!)

Not sure why I never had one before now, but: [link]

What happens when Mirabai, a model named Floofie, a lot of paint, an airbrush, some very cool props, and I get together?

I'm not exactly sure, either...but it's bound to be good. The answers will be revealed tomorrow, after our shoot.

(And btw...if you are dying to know who Floofie is, and don't want to wait, you can check out her website (NSFW-ish) here: [link] - she was the one model I enjoyed photographing during my 16 less-than-happy months in Oregon. She is an exemplary model, to say the least. It will be nice to work with her on my turf, this time.

Buckle-up, gang...

My Q&A on FadedAndBlurred.com will launch early next week...in the meantime, you can see the preview, here:



The preview talks a bit about what you can expect to hear on Friday, and there is a time-lapse video of me, working on an image in Photoshop (in case you've ever wondered).

If you drop by FadedAndBlurred.com, please be sure to leave a comment, and tell them you found out about the piece here on DA

There are SO many things happening, I am struggling to keep up with all of it...not that I'm complaining

I've been interviewed several times in the past 60 days...and there is an upcoming Q&A on FadedAndBlurred.com

I've been offered 3 gallery exhibits so-far, this year.

I just saw the layout for the issue of Inked Girls Magazine I shot for, and it looks good Not sure when this issue hits the stands, but I'll let ya know when that happens. Update: it's out now!.

I've been talking/negotiating with an artist's rep in Switzerland. Still in the contract negotiation phase, but it is looking pretty damn good (knock on wood).

My work will be appearing in 6 different magazines, over the next few weeks.

One of China's leading photography magazines, Photographer's Companion is interested in doing a feature on me. We are still in the image selection process, so I'm unsure when that will come out...but I'll announce it as soon I have a solid answer.

And on a bit of an unrelated note: Last night, I had a dream about a woman I'm very interested in...and no, it's probably not what you are thinking. In my dream, she asked me to make her some toast...lol



Hmm...maybe the dream actually starred the toast, while she only had a brief cameo-appearance.

Actually, no...I don't even eat toast...much less, dream about it.

But hey...I never claimed to be "normal"

I was recently invited by the awesome people at FadedAndBlurred.com to do a Q&A.

The exact date is unknown, at this point but it will be soon. I'll announce it once the exact day is chosen  

This

Is

So

Fugging

Cool.

In 45 minutes, I am hopping in a cab to go downtown and photograph one of my musical heroes! I have been given a 30-minute window to photograph the one-and-only Lissie. If (for some reason) you do not know who she is, click here » [link]


(I did not take this photo)

She is performing here in Austin tonight at 10pm, so I'll be photographing the show, as well.

Turns out, her tour manager is an admirer of my photography...and he is a super-cool guy, obviously

(Calm down, Jaime...)

Deep breaths...deep breaths...

More later...stay tuned!

Earlier today, I was answering the question, "how do you get such an 'intimate' and comfortable expression from a lot of the people you photograph?". The truth is, I don't do anything...it's already there, before I even pick up the camera. I've talked about this subject before, but I also wanted to post my reply as a journal entry, in hopes that it will serve some of you, here...

There is no substitute for a true connection with someone. It is entirely possible to make a good photo with someone you just met 3 minutes prior, but in my experience, that photo is missing so much.

Pretty girl, pretty dress, pretty tree...a photo like this requires no connection between you and the subject, really. I have long-since become disinterested in creating such images. "What else is there?", I quickly began asking myself. "Where is the story? Where is the narrative?"...and thus, I began my search for more.

In the 7 or so years I've been doing photography, I have learned this much about me: simply-put, I love to photograph who I love. I love to photograph those who love me. I've painted myself into a corner, a bit, I'll admit. There cannot possibly be 'love' between myself and whoever is in front of the camera (clients, for example), but this is why most of my images I post for the world to see are personal, in their nature.

Before anyone draws their own conclusions, I want to point out that "love" manifests itself in many, many ways...you don't have to be sleeping with someone to love them. I kind of guage it with "would I stop a bullet for this person?". If yes, then love is there. This is the foundation of (what I call) the "art" in my images. The person comes first...the colours, second (For the most part, the colours in my work are influenced directly by the mood of the person in the photo). This is what makes me want to pick up the camera.

A photo of someone who is so close to you, you've seen them cry countless times (and vice-versa). A photo of someone with whom you've shared moments that make life worth living. A photo of someone whose presence divides your life into 2 parts: the part before you knew that person, and the part since you've known that person. A photo of someone who significantly impacted & defined who you are as a human. These are the images I love. And while someone looking at such an image might not know any of the existing history behind it, there is a palpable connection present in the photo. The knowing glint of familiarity in the eyes...the slight curve of the lips as a hint of an oncoming smile begins to form at the thought of the retarded thing you both saw the cat do with the peanut butter, several months ago...these things are almost as undefinable, as they are undeniable to the person viewing viewing the photograph.

There are photos I take for money, and then, there are photos I love to take. I used to think these 2 classifications were mutually-exclusive of each other, but I am fortunate in that (often times), these 2 things co-exist...and in those moments, I can honestly say (for the first time in my life), "I love my job".  

I'm not sure if my life defines my photography, or if my photography defines my life...but I'm starting to think they are one-and-the-same.

But even if I never got paid a dime, I doubt things would be any different

End of diatribe.

Haven't been posting new images recently...too much project work keeping me from photographing what's in my heart. But I'm not complaining

COMING SOON:

• My work is to be featured on Xinhuanet.com (China)
  UPDATE: this went live right after I wrote this. You can now view the feature here: [link]


• Podcast interview on the popular photography blog, FadedAndBlurred.com


• One of my photos appears in the upcoming book, "Tattoo World", by Marisa Kakoulas


• Finally, I am just a few days away from releasing a few tutorial videos (available for purchase on my eStore, launching soon)
• And last, but not least, I am going to be shooting

I will be sure to announce these, when they actually happen

Meanwhile, thanks for your continued support! I have not had time* to reply to the wonderful comments and feedback from everyone here, but I assure you...I do read & appreciate all of your words!

*I officially need a clone of myself...if you are a genetic scientist, and can help with this, please send me a note!