Medium

iPhone + Photoshop App Check my iPhone pictures set on Flickr for updates.

Sketchy Santas, a photoblog, proves that there nothing like uncomfortable photographs of bearded men with children in their laps to get you in that Christmas spirit. I wish I could have some of these pictures in hi res.

Links
SketchySantas.com
Sketchy Santa on Twitter

Austin based OG of Luxury Mindz stayed busy during this year’s SXSW and now you can see some of the work he did during the three day music festival. The collection includes  SXSW participant Bun-B, B.O.B. aka Bobby Ray, Mistah Fab, Big Boi, Janelle Monae and Asher Roth. Go over to OG’s site to view the full collection.

Also, if you missed our interview with OG a few month’s back, check it out now, the post also includes some of his other work.

Links
OG Photographer’s SXSW Hip Hop Project
OG Photographer Interview with BigBadMedium.com

Og of Luxury Mindz recently completed this documentary about Austin’s Destiny by Design program.

Destiny by Design, in cooperation with Citizen Schools, focuses on culture and career development opportunities within hip-hop.

Teaming with volunteers, the Destiny by Design kids were able to utilize their creativity to produce, write, and record their own song.

For more project info…

destinybydesignproject.com

OG seems to be keeping busy with all sorts of great projects. Good work and congratulations to everyone involved in this project.

Time recently published some photographs of Barack Obama from a 1980 photoshoot that was taken by a then aspiring photographer, Lisa Jack. It turns out that Lisa eventually did not go on to pursue photography but this once forgotten 1980 photoshoot with a young Barack Obama gives us with a look at the young charismatic president elect. Go over to Time and see the gallery, along with the rest of the Time’s photography.

OG’s shot of David Banner will be featured in Photo District News in December.

Congratulations to OG of Luxury Mindz! OG has been announced as a winner in Billboard magazine’s Ultimate Photo Contest. Billboard and Photo District News (PDN) selected OG’s photo of David Banner to be featured in PDN’s December issue. OG’s work can be seen at www.OGPhotographer.com and if you missed it, check out the feature we did on him back in October called Photos and Platinum Plaques.

Links
OGPhotographer.com
OGPhotographer on Flickr

Two things The Honest Ape loves: Beer and polaroids. 

Poladroid is a fun, easy to use app that seeks to replicate the classic insta-camera look that everyone loves and misses. The handling is pretty simple, just an easy drag and drop of a picture file to the app icon and after a few shakes you get a great polaroidesque shot. (Check out the video demo) It’s a fun app and an easy way to get the polaroid effect applied to an image. For now there is only a Mac version but seeing from some of the Poladroid blog posts they are working on a Windows version and improving the app with things such as better cropping functions. Check it out and download it at poladroid.net

OG has worked with many southern rap acts, including: Chamillionaire (top), Gerald G (middle) and David Banner (Bottom). 

For many their opinion of Southern rap music probably depends on where they stand on the map but no matter who you are there is definitely something to be said for a group of artists that work hard and know their audience well enough to make a good living as independent artists. So while many people in the hip-hop world like to view southern hip-hop as a cheap knock off of what the “art form” was meant to be, many in the South are too worried about steadily producing more of it, regardless of what others may think. This can be said for many hip-hop artists that have gotten to the point they are now by posting up and hustling mixtapes out the back of their trunk, but it’s important to point out that not all product that is hustled out the back of a trunk is created equal.

In terms of  design and photography all you need to do is jump on MySpace to witness firsthand that Pen & Pixel and their influence on cover artwork and photography is alive and well in the South. Whether that’s good or bad, I’ll let you be the judge, but many times when you’re looking for that platinum level of art you really are left with a gumball machine equivalent. It seems that just like everyone wants to be rapper, everyone wants to be a designer or photographer, without ever paying attention to quality. In Southern rap, there’s few artists and studios that really stand out and one artist who has not only embraced the culture and influences of southern rap but helped take to a more sophisticated level of artistry is Austin based OG of Luxury Mindz. OG took some time out of his busy schedule to rap with me a bit about his artwork, the artists he’s worked with, his platinum plaque, Austin hip-hop and the future of music related art.

Photo slideshow and interview after the jump ↓
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Dj and distinguised gentleman Scuba Gooding Jr. of Prhymates posted up some pics by photographer Francisco H Cortés from Brownout’s Super Soul Shakdown show in San Antonio. Scuba has been doing so much for the scene in San Antonio and if there ever was a good town for Brownout’s brand of latin funk, San Antonio is it. And if you’re one of the unlucky few who don’t know Brownout yet, you need to play some catch up. Check em out.

Links
Prhymates
Brownout
Francisco H Cortés