Talent, vision, and passion are the words that come to mind when describing our new Fab Man, Steven Duarte.  Steven Duarte is a photographer who is taking the industry by storm, having worked with the likes of Asher Roth, Nina Sky, Melanie Fiona, Brandon Hines, Brooke Jasmyn and more.

“I never initially sought out to be a photographer in a lot of ways photography found me.”

Check out the rest of the interview with Fab Man’ Steven Duarte after the jump…

ATF: So what made you pick up a camera?

Steven Duarte: I started seriously taking photos three years ago after my house in Boston burned down in a fire. It was a real blessing that everyone made it out safe. We lost everything except for one box of old family photos. I remember looking through all those memories and it really inspired me to create new ones. So I started taking photos every day of my family and people in my life that I love. I never initially sought out to be a photographer in a lot of ways photography found me.

ATF: What makes your photos different from the next photographer?

SD: I’m still young in the game, so I’m developing the answer to your question. What makes me different from the next photographer is that I refused to be over worked by anyone. I’m always actively trying to improve my craft and develop my eye. I know my progression isn’t going to happen by itself, so I try my best to constantly challenge myself. Many photographers develop a style and can answer the question “what makes your photos better then the next photographer” but never improve or truly evolve. For me, its one part a gift from God and the other part is something inside of me that knows I can get better.

ATF: Who do you wish was your muse?

SD: Sade. First off she’s one of my favorite musicians of all time! Second, I want my photographs to emote the magic I feel when I listen to her music. There is a rich and self-reflective nature to her art and I aspire to have in mine as well.

ATF: Lets talk about your roots, where are you from… How does that play into your work?

SD: My parents are from Africa, my mom is from the Cape Verde Islands and My Father is from Eritrea. I think the fact that my father is an immigrant has really helped my work ethic. No one in my family is an artist, but I come from a family that works hard for everything we have. No matter what I do professionally, that work ethic is going to be with me.

ATF: What celebrity would you love to shoot nude?

SD: Amber Rose! Wearing only her sweat, blood and tears. I really would want to see her less clean and fresh then we’ve been seeing her in recent photos. I wanna show her the inner dirty side on the outside!

ATF: Do you prefer to shoot women or men?

SD: I like capturing both men and woman. There’s a vulnerability that I like to achieve when shooting. It’s like going to therapy, the first couple of sessions you’re bullshiting yourself and the therapist. Hopefully after a few meetings you let down your guard and get to the real shit. That’s what I want to achieve with the people I’m shooting. I hope to give them a platform to let that “ugly” side show, because in my eye, that’s when human’s are the most beautiful. I just love shooting people!

ATF: We know that you worked at Vibe.  How did you feel when the magazine shut down?

SD: Totally surreal. I was working on the Michael Jackson Vibe Tribute issue the night before vibe shut its doors. Losing Michael and Vibe, two very significant parts of my childhood, was difficult. When I heard the news, I wasn’t surprised. We all saw it coming with the budget cuts, but we didn’t know when. Same with Michael – we all saw it coming.

ATF: We Love Melanie Fiona here at ATF, what is your connection to her?

SD: I met Mel while I was VIBE, we really hit it off and quickly realized we had a lot in common. What I love about her is that she is a timeless artist in a world of trends. I really appreciate her beautiful spirit in my life and soon enough the entire world will too! I’m excited for debut album “The Bridge” to drop this September. Love, love, love Melanie!

ATF: What is the difference between an event photographer and yourself?

SD: One is an artist and one is not. (laughs)

ATF: That was very blunt.

SD: It’s the truth, anyone can just point and shoot a camera.

ATF: Now what are some words of advice to up and coming photogs…

SD: Be open to criticism, take 40 percent of it, throw the other 60 away. Because it’s your vision and you have to live with it. I know it’s difficult, but don’t compare yourself to other photographers… you’ll only be discouraged.

ATF: Tell us something most people don’t know about you…

SD: Do we have enough room for that? (laughs) Photography is not the end all be all for me. There are bigger things in the world that I care about, like right now I’m currently working and developing an online documentary series titled ”HeyeV” (twitter.com/HeyeV) focused around the lives of people with HIV living and thriving in New York.

ATF: So where do you see Steven in 5 years?

SD: In 5 years I pray to be healthy and able. Everything else will be what its suppose to be. It has already been written.

Ideal play list for a photo shoot

“Beautiful “ – Snoop Dog

“From 93 till Infinity” – Soul Mischief

“Sweetest Taboo” – Sade

“Scream” – Timbaland

“Dead Presidents” – Jay Z

“Give It To Me Right” – Melanie Fiona

“He Loves Me “ – Jill Scott

“Sexy M.F” – Prince

“Black & Gold” – Sam Sparrow

You can check out more of Steven Duarte here

Brandon Hines from Duarte on Vimeo.

eyeDuarte.com – fotoBlog! from Duarte on Vimeo.

Interview by Ian Jarrell

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Here are the AllthatsFab.com 20 ?uestions for this week. This is a list compiled amongst the staff and our close friends. We loved the response we received last week. You fab readers really got into it. It’s fun reading what everyone has to say in regards to our questions. Now for those of you that don’t know about 20 ?uestions, we ask and we’d like some answers. This is a way for you fab people to get more involved on the site. If you would like to submit questions hit us up at staff@allthatsfab.com. We hope you enjoy…

1. Are people really watching Tiny & Toya, if so who is your fav?
2. What black film is most like your life; Love Jones, Two Can Play That Game, or Why Did I Get Married?
3. Where is Tamela Jones & Nia Long?
4. Should Brandy just go back to acting?
5. Whose reality show would be better, Beyonce or Solange?
6. Does Rocsi ever look cute on 106 & Park?
7. What celebrity needs to shoot their stylist?
8. What veteran diva needs to just stop with music, Janet Jackson or Mariah Carey?
9. Are you upset Chris Brown hasn’t paid tribute to the late Michael Jackson?
10. Who has the better videos Ciara, Keri Hilson, Beyonce, or Rihanna?
11. Does anyone care about Birdman anymore?
12. How did Raven Symone hide her pregnancy so well?
13. How do you feel about Vibe Magazine closing, and who is next?
14. Who should be on the next VH1 Divas?
15. Should they bring back Living Single with a new cast?
16. Who is more fashionalbe, Lady Gaga or Rihanna?
17. Does anyone parents really have the sex-talk?
18. What do you after you get cheated on?
19. Is the Steve McNair murder, a tragedy or karma?
20. What artist shouldn’t your man have in his Ipod?

]]> http://allthatsfab.com/2009/07/10/allthatsfabcom-20-uestions-12/feed/ 8 http://allthatsfab.com/2009/06/30/breaking-news-vibe-magazines-closes/ http://allthatsfab.com/2009/06/30/breaking-news-vibe-magazines-closes/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:35:55 +0000 Ian Jarrell http://allthatsfab.com/?p=10710

This is truly the end of an era. It’s being reported that Vibe Magazine has closed down, and these aren’t rumors anymore. Its a sad day in the world of urban entertainment. Vibe has always been your one stop source for everything in the urban world, it was our very own lifestyle mag. The biggest stars of yesterday and today have graced the cover of Vibe. ATF’s Ian Jarrell was lucky enough to work there before the closing. We wonder will Vibe Magazine just turn into a internet magazine. You can check out some covers after the jump..

Dear VIBE Team:

It is with a heavy heart that I share some tough news, VMG is closing down effective today, June 30th.

It’s been an 16 incredible years since VIBE’s inception. There are very few magazines with the richness of history and breadth of talented visionaries who created the powerful lens in which VIBE viewed and shaped urban music and culture.

Ever since I first set foot in this courageous company, I’ve regarded myself as incredibly fortunate to be be involved with this remarkable brand and group of individuals whose performance has never been nothing short of outstanding. We finished 2008 in an improved position versus the prior year, and accomplished so much, including:

* Editorial Awards
* Editorial transformation into content dept
* New Ad accounts being broken
* The Most Mag Launch
* Award winning re-design
* Profitable digital operation
* VIBE.com growth and improvements and programs such as  Best Rapper Ever,  #1 Stan, etc
* Mobile VIBE  launch
* Micro-site development Mostmag.com to start off.
* V Sessions
* Improved PR coverage

Unfortunately, over the last several months, a confluence of events has obviously posed VMG to exceedingly serious challenges.

* The collapse of the capital markets has impacted us greatly.  Over the past several months, we have actively pursued investment resources while working intensively with our bank to find a solution. But the deal market right now remains very poor and at the end of the day, the lack of investment resources to restructure the huge debt on our small company has made this outcome become a reality.

* The print advertising collapse hit VIBE hard, especially as key ad categories like automotive and fashion, which represented the bulk of our top 10 advertisers, have stopped advertising or gone out of business. It’s also unfortunate that in a recession many companies reduce the multi-cultural campaigns. These facts, coupled with the continuing decline of the music industry not to mention the newsstand wholesaler consolidation in early 2009 all negatively impacted our business in a significant way.

* The relentless economic situation has depressed our growth initiatives on the digital front. To be clear, VMG has made significant improvement in this part of our business, but not at the accelerated pace required to offset the devastating effects of the most severe recession in our lifetime and the accompanying print losses.

I want to thank you all for your hard work and commitment, and for all of the adventures along the way. I’ll miss this place a lot, but I’ll miss you all and the magic you create.

Vibe will be remembered as a shockingly brilliant content company that everyone can be proud of and I look forward with great excitement to all of future endeavors you all pursue.

With great affection and respect –

Steve Aaron

former CEO of VIBE Media Group

SOURCE

]]> http://allthatsfab.com/2009/06/30/breaking-news-vibe-magazines-closes/feed/ 3 http://allthatsfab.com/2009/04/29/eminem-covers-vibe-magazine/ http://allthatsfab.com/2009/04/29/eminem-covers-vibe-magazine/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:06:09 +0000 Ian Jarrell http://allthatsfab.com/?p=8252

Eminem is really trying to make a big comeback, he is now gracing the cover of Vibe Magazine. This is the magazines second Real Rap Issue. I think this cover is much better then the XXL cover. I do wish he would have came back with his blond hair, now he just looks washed out. I am so not feeling his new video, it’s just not funny to me..What do you fab readers think of the new Eminem? Will he be able to make a comeback? You can check his new album cover after the jump..

]]> http://allthatsfab.com/2009/04/29/eminem-covers-vibe-magazine/feed/ 0 http://allthatsfab.com/2009/03/10/ti-parties-with-vibe-magazine-in-nyc/ http://allthatsfab.com/2009/03/10/ti-parties-with-vibe-magazine-in-nyc/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:01:52 +0000 Aura http://allthatsfab.com/2009/03/10/ti-parties-with-vibe-magazine-in-nyc/

T.I. partied it up last night with Vibe Magazine EIC Danyel Smith here in NYC to celebrate his April 2009 cover.  Man, someone could have told me he was in town! lol.   Also spotted at the party was artists, Yung LA, and popular NYC club DJ, DJ Berrie.

Speaking of T.I., his new show “T.I.’s Road to Redemption” is really getting rave reviews and has a lot of people talking about it.   Its definitely not your average reality show.  In case you’ve never had the chance to see it, you can catch last week’s episode in its entirety after the jump.

T.I.’s Road to Redemption – MTV Shows

]]> http://allthatsfab.com/2009/03/10/ti-parties-with-vibe-magazine-in-nyc/feed/ 3 http://allthatsfab.com/2009/01/30/keyshia-cole-covers-vibe-magazine/ http://allthatsfab.com/2009/01/30/keyshia-cole-covers-vibe-magazine/#comments Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:58:55 +0000 Aura http://allthatsfab.com/2009/01/30/keyshia-cole-covers-vibe-magazine/

Keyshia Cole is covering next month’s Vibe, The Style Issue. I definitely think Vibe picked a good cover girl for this issue, being that Keyshia’s style has DEFINITELY been upgraded recently. I’m loving her new, classier look. I’m also looking forward to seeing who the mag picked as their “31 Most Stylish Stars”.

This issue hits stands February 17th.

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