DLHermes Photography

Body Painting contest results

2011-06-02T11:31:00.000-05:00

In March I made my way to Dallas for the North American Body Painting Photography contest. It has been two months since the show and a month since I have turned in my photos for the contest. Yesterday I was checking up on the body painting facebook page and saw that I got 8th and 10th! It's not first, but I got two photos chosen out of 140. So thats 20%.. only room to move up from there!

8th place

10th place

the Austin Examiner

2011-04-21T00:33:00.000-05:00

I have just recently started writing for the Austin Examiner! You can become one as well, there are many topics and categories you can write about. No matter the city, most have a local Examiner. So if you like to write, check it out. Here is a link to my article about a chill little bar in Austin called Dive.
http://www.examiner.com/bars-in-austin/a-bar-called-dive

Sunday-Last day of NABPC

2011-03-09T10:00:00.001-06:00

Sunday at the NABPC

   This weekend has been so jam packed and crazy, but equally amazing. On the final day we all got up early and checked out of the hotel. Briant and I dropped Hannah and the model off at the Crown Plaza to get started. Since photographers aren't allowed in until 2, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. I felt like I was cheating because I was having fun while Hannah Drew and Darlene were working their buns off. Its a trade off though, when Hannah's done, I start.
   With every person still in the competition, there had to be about 30 something girls! They were all jammed in the painting room, everyone working as fast and diligently as they could. The photography room was quite intense as well. Way more girls, meant way less time per girl. I had to pick and choose my favorite girls, modeling wise, because I couldn't get every single girl. By doing this, I was sure to get some great shots. I did get a lot of great shots. I am pretty pumped to start editing and looking through all of my photos!
   I have to give a special thanks to Briant Lewis.. my boyfriend/ assistant. He helped me worlds this weekend. I said I couldn't have done it without him, he says I could.. and he may be right, but it would have been a heck of a lot harder and stressful. He did everything from uploading my memory cards to running and getting me food or drinks, to putting up with my 'do this do that' attitude! When I'm in the zone, I'm in the Zone!! Thank you so much!! Love <3
   This weekend was such a learning experience on so many levels. What a great pleasure to be involved in something so creative and beautiful. I hope I am able to make it out next year!

The Judges looking at the models as a whole

A view of the photographers shooting.

Saturday!

2011-03-06T02:37:00.000-06:00

Saturday at the NABPC ...

Whheww! What an adventure these last two days have been! So..we did get to see some of the body painting go down. Photographers and VIP are allowed in at 2pm. The body painting begins at 10 am and brushes down at 4pm. At that point the models are judged one by one and then escorted into the photography room where the photographers are waiting like hungry wolves ready to pounce on their prey. About 20-30 photographers shoot 10-20 models over the next two hours behind 7 different back grounds (that are very wrinkeled, boo) but you work with what you got, and that I have done! Its pretty amazing the shots you can get with 8 other photographers trying to get the best shot they can get as well.. just imagine all of these photogarphers, huge lenses, and flashes going off non-stop for hours. I must say, it's work! But amazing fun work.. I love it. There was amazing art today as well as models. Tonight at the runway show, they announced that all artists will proceed to the final round, which mean that tomorrow will be a maddd house. We were all pretty surprised, but everyone will get a second chance.. :) Here are some behind the scenes photos to give you an idea of what its like.

FRIDAY

2011-03-04T11:27:00.000-06:00

Friday at the NABPC

We were up at 8am... I must admit, its been a while since I have gotten up that early.. Ha. It was was definitely cozy and the beep,beep,beep of the alarm felt like part of my dream. I didn't notice until the second time it went off. But! It was up and at'em, Texas shaped waffles, and we were on our way down I35. Check in was quick and easy. Hannah is painting away on Darlene until 2pm and then the photographers will be let in.. I am pretty bummed that we're not allowed to be back there during the painting.. but I suppose I wouldn't want a bunch of photogs. back there while i was painting. . It will be neat to see them all done up when I get back.

Until later today,
yours truely

Photo Comp!

2011-03-03T02:42:00.000-06:00

Well, tomorrow the crew (Briant, Hannah, Drew, and Darlene) and I are going to the North American Body Painting Championships in Dallas TX. Hannah has entered the body painting portion of the contest and I have entered the photography portion, while Darlene is our beautiful model :) We are pumped to get there and I cant wait to see what these artists come up with. With all the good vibes, I'm sure the artists will be blowing our minds with artplosions of paint! The theme this year is postivive/negative... then tears and fears if you continue to the next round. We will see what unfolds in the next few days, and keep you updated!

New York

2011-02-18T16:40:00.000-06:00

New York was amazing and every photographers dream.. Well, maybe not every, but one could spend hours upon hours of photo taking.. I simply did not have enough time to photograph. Just walking around is an experience in its self. In fact, I don't believe I took enough photos. Just wanting to look around for my self was an adventure.. I did shoot with my 35 mm as well. When I use my film camera, and I get home.. I tend to look at my digital camera and think, "man, i didn't take that many photos..." then I remember, oh ya, I took multiple roles of film. Yes!
The over all aura of New York is so energized. I couldn't get enough of it. I wanted to spend days more, but money calls, and I loose. Home again, Home again, jiggity jig... Here are few of my digital shots, with camera and phone shots.. (for some reason, I love those the most... is that sin in photo world? i hope not!)

JumpUp!s Strangeloop Show

2010-08-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

July 10th Club DeVille, Austin, TX

The JumpUp! show at Club DeVille was full of life, friends, good eats, and treats. The night started off with the kickrock band called Shotgun Hustler. Briant Lewis, the drummer originally from Silsbee, Tx and Ty Boaze the vocalist and guitarist, came from Crystal Beach, TX. They made the journey to Austin TX to start this rockin band, Shotgun Hustler... and that they have done. Period. Chris Keen on base from Houston, joined Shotgun Hustler this year, and has proven to show what he can do on base as well as play with the fiddle from time to time. You can look for them at places like Trophies, Red Eyed Fly or Emos.

Now Chief... he blew his beats for the crowd. His hands graze the records every so slightly, letting out jams that will make ya move. He has an easy-to-get-along-with personality that brings you into his jams. So please, if you feel like dancing to an awesome wide variety of music, you can hear him play at Triple Crown with Electric Mayhem around 9.

After Chief, Promise came to the stage and mesmerized us with this lyrical skills. You have to really listen to his words, not just the music. They are intelligent and have reason, something you can't find anywhere these days. So keep your ears peeled for Promise.

While all of the music was going on, the most delicious food was prepared for the show. Billy Lid's Cooking and Catering provided us with a new twist on mexican food. I wanted to keep going back for the mexican spring rolls, soo good. She also made some mini tortillas with beef inside, with guacamole and pico.... oh so delicious.

So after all my talking, here are some photos of the night.

Promise

Chief

Billy Lids Catering

Chief

Shotgun Hustler's fiddle

Obviously, Club DeVille :)

Shotgun Hustler's Ty Boaze

Billy Lid's Catering

Add caption

Shotgun Hustler's Briant Lewis

Promise

Strangeloop relaxing before playing.

Shotgun Hustler

2010-01-18T14:27:00.000-06:00

hey hey!! heres some new stuff.. i have been having a lot of fun with these last few shots.. im going to continue the flow!

Blasting into the New Year!

2010-01-02T14:03:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year everybody! i hope all was well and fine when the clock stuck midnight. We most def had a blast... literally. Fireworks were flying in every which direction and you had to keep an eye out for sure or you were toast! Jamar made a huge foil man which we had fun blowing up.. thanks for that!

Starfish, beach, and boards

2009-12-23T23:28:00.000-06:00

Awesome trip to Corpus Christi!.. good people.. good fun... good times

starfish galore!

corpus

i just love this shot of salina

Fresh store in corpus.. Produce.. check it out if your there!

stefan

corey y salina

stefan kickin ass!

2009-12-10T17:56:00.000-06:00

just some odds n ends.. my sister refused to get in the family photo... so she jumped on the hay bail.. guess it all worked out, because i got this beautiful shot.

As for michelle, she spotted this bad ass banana spider and came and got me.. turned out so lovely!

2009-12-03T10:57:00.000-06:00

Sorry its been so long! with thanksgiving and my final thesis being due, i haven't had the chance to put anything up.. but here are some portraits for the day, since ive been posting most contemporary type things.. i felt i needed some homey, down-to-earth things up .. enjoy

A BLUE AND RED KIND OF NIGHT..

2009-11-22T17:56:00.000-06:00

HERES THE DAILY DOSE FOR YA.. ALL IN AUSTIN, LOCATION LOCATION.. THATS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!

daily dose of the little things!

2009-11-21T12:38:00.000-06:00

a night with skeletons and wizards is always fun!

eye candy

2009-11-19T23:19:00.000-06:00

hey! some photos for the day.. some odds and end type things.. today was lovely.. with a hint of rain, to calm the day.. just wanted to end it with some fajotos..

2009-11-18T20:13:00.001-06:00

Rukus Art Show.. San Marcos, TX.

tons of great art and great friends..
there was a guy who donated his car for the day to get taged. everyone got in on it! good ol fashioned fun! also a guy was using the car as a skate trick and ended up with a cut hand a a broken windshield.. were all friends, so it was not a biggie.. these are some of my favorites of the day, mostly just minor details that always catch my eye. minor details are the most important in so many instances, so please look a little more closely sometime..and enjoy!

2009-08-27T19:36:00.004-05:00

the twins.. great girls. they fought like sisters.. silly things. regardless, they were very smart and had a lot of enthusiasm. they both came from africa about 5 years ago and speak great english. they had to start taking the standardized testing within three years of being here, so they were being pumped with knowledge in a short amount of time. insane how much they soaked up ¡ ( they barley knew english when they arrived)... like i said, Smart! sister on the right was telling me that the law just passed for foreign children now get five years from the time they come here, to take the standardized test to give them some time to adjust. needless to say, she said she was upset about that!

2009-08-04T16:56:00.005-05:00

I am missing the kids back in san antonio. they were so interesting and interested. cant wait to see them again. here is marina, snacking on a poptart. she paused, only a moment for me.. she definitely has something in her eyes that i cant quite put my fingers on. there is a desire and a shyness ... lovely really.

Newcomers

2009-07-30T10:40:00.039-05:00

   
    I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to be introduced to some wonderful people. I cant fully explain how their spirits have inspired me to do so much in so little time. Most are children and maybe its hard for some to imagine but for others, not in the least. Although they have a mind set full of fun and games, don't let their age fool you. The majority of these children are more mature than you or me. They have come to be here from a country far from here, that we will probably never see. A land that forces these individuals to grow up fast, watch after one another, and experience hardships at such a tender age. They know no difference, so it is only foreign to us. (Us, being most of the Americans that were born and raised on this continent.) As mature as they are, they too have to attend school and learn the language to their new home, which they have proved to be a piece of cake. One of the many things that inspired me about these humans is their motivation to learn. They came to America not knowing a lick of english and in only a few years they speak english that is more proper than the average joe. Their brains are like sponges, soaking up every bit of knowledge they can. It has brought me back to when I was their age, anywhere from 9 to 15, and I thought, " I don't want to go to school today, class is so boring."  As I have aged over the years, I appreciate school and my education more than ever, but looking back to my young age, I never fully realized how much school is a great privilege to have, until I met these amazing kids. This country gives us the opportunity to go to school at no cost, I suppose you could even say it is a birthright for us, to learn all we can to become working men and women in our country.  Why do Americans seem to think school is lame? It used to be a privilege to be educated, to be able to attend school. Why is knowledge something that is boring now? Is it that these children were not exposed to school until they came to America?  
Looking back, we are, in a sense, thrown into school. We were not told that school is a privilege or how powerful knowledge is to us. We all had to go, that is what everyone does, go to school.  We as Americans, can not let the resource of knowledge be underestimated. We must give our children insight as to what it is to have the opportunity to go to school. We must let them know that some children are not able to have an education.  It is still a privilege to every human, whether we think so or not. 
   
    It is hard to try and sum up how these people have motivated me and made me realize such simple things so unexpectedly. It is more so something my soul conscious of.  Most of us take many things in our everyday life for granted, and until we don't have it anymore we won't quite understand what it is like to go with out.

    Thank you newcomers for showing me a new outlook life and thank you Jason for giving me the privilege.