Lizzy The Lezzy - Bad Romance!

Jay Alan Shoots all the Things!

·         Tell us a bit about yourself:

Born and raised in JHB. I Moved to the Cape Town about 5 years ago. I love the Mother City. I’m in my 3^rd and hopefully not final year of studying photography at the Ruth Prowse School of Art. I enjoy everything I do and realize I can accomplish anything when I set my mind to it. Photo shopping is my biggest hobby and I can get lost for days in front of my PC. J

·        Why did you decide to pursue a career in photography:

I believe that in everyday life we sometimes get too wrapped up in the reality we tie ourselves to, we forget to stop and take note of the smaller finer details. With photography we are able to capture all the beautiful things we see and hold onto a little piece of reality.

·        What do you enjoy most about being a photographer:  

It’s the best job in the world. I love everything about it. From pushing a button all day to working with models, landscapes, and cool lights in the studio – it’s all my little world revolves around. <3

·        What’s your favourite things to take pictures of:

 Everything!  I see beauty in everything so I don’t limit myself to anything specific. From model shoots, still life, wedding photography, events... If it’s out there I want to shoot it!

·        Who and what inspires you:

 I find inspiration everywhere. Annie Liebovitz is one of my biggest inspirational artists. Cape Town itself inspires me, apart from that I get a thrill from just going out shooting or sitting on Photoshop for days on end.

·        You’ve worked with Modern L on two occasions now, what was the experience like?

My experience with Modern L has been incredible! Looking forward to great work in the future with these amazing people.

·        Any special memories while working with Modern L?

Always positive, always inspiring. I love working with Jones and the crew J

·        How can fans and potential clients get hold of you?

Facebook: Jay Alan

Facebook Page: Jay Productions Inc.

Or drop me mail at: Jay160589@hotmail.com

http://www.wix.com/jay160589/jay-productions-inc

·        What advice can you give to aspiring photographers:

Do what you are passionate about and your passion will find you.

Gay is here to stay!

Our Destination

Take my rights? I don’t think so!

Taking to the streets

So earlier this month a traditional leaders called for the Civil union act to be abolished. Patekile Holomisa, head of the Congress of tradional leaders, and a member of parliament, appealed to the government to debate removing a constitutional clause protecting people on the grounds of sexual orientation. This however has far greater implications than just that of gay marriage.

Gay is here to stay

The ruling party has thus far distanced itself from the comments made by Holomisa and said that the issue would not be up for debate. Regardless of the ruling party’s statement, we, as the LGBTI community were having none of that!

Sluticia, Miss J, Amanda, Nanku and Nikki with the Gay flag of South Africa

The narrow minded bigot then went on to say that people were gay simply because the correct rituals were not followed at certain stages of their lives (as is done in certain cultures in South Africa) or at least, that these rituals were not done correctly. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but in that case all heterosexual people would have undergone said ritual regardless of their race and culture?

Melanie Lowe with Amanda and Sluticia

Not taking this lying down ,the LGBTI community was mobilised in four of the largest  cities in the country, with the Johannesburg and Cape town protests taking place on Saturday, and the Durban and Port Elizabeth pink people taking to the streets on Sunday, and the Modern L crew were out in full force at each of the venues to show our support!

The Modern L crew with Genevieve LeCoq

Myself, Nikki, Sluticia, Minxy and Nanku and Amanda volunteered as Pink marshals and we proudly carried the gay flag through the streets of Jo’burg all the way to Constitutional hill. Every news channel in the country aired images of Nikki dancing in the streets and directing traffic and the rest of the crew proudly sporting our Modern L shirts while the crowd waved flags and carried banners with clever slogans, telling Holomisa exactly where to get off!

To hell with Holomisa

The gathering at constitutional hill left us with mixed emotions. The powers that be refused to accept our memorandum but the speakers left us chanting and cheering as their speeches touched our souls. Melanie Lowe kicked off proceedings with an amazing message and a personal insight into her marriage and family life, ending off her speech by  saying we should live our love and prove that we should be taken seriously and got us all shouting her personal motto, “I choose me!”

Melanie Lowe adresses the crowd

Amandla! Then it was time for yet another speaker, Virginia Mgwaza- Setshedi  to make her voice heard and this was one speech I will never forget! “Holomisa wants a ritual, he’s going to have to slaughter a lot of goats…” and “Holomisa is NOT the chief in MY bedroom”! We were hysterical and the crowd went wild! Then the fabulous organisers took centre stage to give us the important message of always remembering that our rights are under threat by extremists and narrow minded people who do not understand the importance of true love, diversity and tolerance. They reminded us that these protests were critical in protecting our rights as the LGBTI community and if we let them take this away from us, it will in future not only undermine the rights of the gay community as human beings but also the rights of women, children and minorities.


Virginia Mgwaza- Setshedi 

Amandla!

With that being said, we were amazed at the strong turnout at this peaceful protest, and we want to personally thank Genevieve LeCoq and Monique Walker for the incredible initiative in Johannesburg and for making The Modern L a part of it! We salute you fabulous ladies for keeping the gay flag flying high and for fighting the good fight!

Genevieve LeCoq, Melanie Lowe and Monique Walker

We were rather taken aback that so many of our community chose to sit this one out though. From a community of literally millions, only about a thousand eager freedom fighters showed up? What would you do if one day these very rights were taken away? Would it then matter that you had a hangover or that you wanted to sleep late or that you wanted to make a few extra rands by getting in a few hours of overtime or that you didn’t want people to see you on social media platforms and on the news? It took us years to get where we are now, so would one morning out of your busy schedule have changed your life? Newsflash, it will change your life if you don’t have these rights any more. Ask our friends and readers from countries who don’t have equal rights and what they’d be willing to do to have the same freedoms we currently enjoy! Bottom line is, we are NOT a minority, but as long as we keep acting like one, we’ll be treated as such. The fight is far from over girls, take a stand and join us by signing the petition (http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Protect_our_constitution_and_the_rights_of_gay_people_in_South_Africa/?cimoIab)! You wouldn’t want anyone else saying “I do” on your behalf in front of the altar, so why would you let them say “you can’t” in front of parliament?

What we're fighting for

"If you can't change yourself to suit the world, change the world to suit you" - Miss Jones

Photography by: Linda - Imagery photography
                            Nanku Meyer

Poetry from the heart - Die lewe van n Paramedic

Cheeky Cherry - Calling somebody sexy that I used to know

Click on the Picture below for a FREE download of DJ Cheeky Cherry's latest mix, Calling somebody sexy that I used to know!

Mama told me not to come...

Photography: Tihan
Artwork & Design: Gothgirl
Models:
Coach (Cindy)
Coaches mom
Cheeky Cherry (Chantell)
Nikki
Sluticia (Lorette)
Gavin
Miss Jones

Modern L/Plumfizzle VIP:
Delia

Special guests:
Amanda
Nanku
Nicky
Liezel

Concept: Miss Jones, Gothgirl & Tihan

Next stop...HAPPINESS!

So most of you followed us on our long journey through sunny South Africa on The Modern L BIG roadtrip, but I bet that very few of you know why we actually went. Yes, we hooked up with our Rockstar photographer, JayAlan, and yes we scooped ourselves a new model and crew member and of course we had to secure a few business deals in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, but we drove for 24 hours, through the night, in the rain for something much more important than that…LOVE!

Nikki proposed the idea to me and I gladly obliged because it meant that I’d have a chance to see my family, most importantly, my favourite person in the world, my niece, Hannah. Sluticia (Lorette) and Nicole hopped on board for the ride and we departed at around 8 pm on Thursday night, an hour late, to make a love story, almost 2 years in the making, finally come true.

Our first destination was PE, the friendly city, and Nikki’s destination of choice. See, Nikki met Vilene in a chat group on BBM two weeks after Vilene relocated from Johannesburg. And from the start there was always that little something between them. The unspoken words, the uneasy emotions, the quiet harmony, and the silent longing to be more than just long distance chat mates. But as these things happen, life had other plans for these two for a little while, so it was time for The Modern L to intervene with a roadtrip, to make fate move its butt and steer it in the right direction!

Finally, we arrived in PE just after 8am…and the mounting tension was easily noticed by the look on Nikki’s face as we got closer to Vilene’s house, and not forgetting the way she nearly rolled the car, twice, in eager anticipation to meet the girl who’s been haunting her dreams.  And there she was, standing by the gate to greet us. Nikki went bright red and refused to make eye contact as she tried to play it cool. Unfortunately for her, that first kiss and the smile that almost circumnavigated her face was an easy give-away that she was instantly love struck and that the long journey and the months of waiting, wondering, flat batteries, video clips and voice notes she played over and over and over again had finally paid off and as you can see, it made for some amazing chemistry in front of the camera in Cape Town.

After breakfast, we were in the car yet again, for our second destination, the Mother City and 10 hours, 12 pit stops and 5 sore bums later, we arrived at my aunt’s house in Tableview. My niece was fast asleep in her bed when we got there, so I snuck up the stairs and stood watching over her as she woke up. As long as I live I will never forget how her eyes lit up when she saw me and the way she hugged me tight and asked if she was dreaming or if I was really there.

We spent the next day on Location all over Cape Town capturing not only the beauty of our models, but also the beauty the Mother City had on offer on Blouberg beach, at the castle as well as at the V&A waterfront. After wrapping, business could be put on the backburner until Monday and we split up for some sightseeing and family time. Let’s just say Melkbos, Simonstown, Devon Valley, Bayside mall Spur and the Liquor store fridge will never be the same again and thanks to a typical Modern L night out, Vilene missed her flight back home.

With business out of the way once again on Monday, we did some more sightseeing at a famous bubbly estate while Nikki and Nicole nursed their hangovers, then met up with the Cape Town crew again for drinks and to say goodbye until June when it’s their turn to come visit us.

On Tuesday morning at 4 am we were on the road again heading home. If you’re on the road for a good 18 hours, you’d be surprised what four girls get up to in an effort to alleviate boredom and to keep the driver awake. One thing’s for certain though, if any of us ever hear the song, Down under by Men without hats, again, we might just get sick!

Something else happened down in Cape Town, on the penultimate day of our visit. They say that the most amazing things come from the most unexpected places, but that’s another story for another day…And as Nikki says: “Love and fame DO walk hand in hand”.

Shot on Location in Cape Town by Jay Alan

Concept, artwork & Layout: Miss Jones & Jay Alan

Models:

Nikki

Vilene

Lorette

Nicole

Miss Jones

And introducing:

Erin Leonard

Bad Habits

Sometimes every single one of us falls into having bad habits. Most times we smoke, drink, etc.
 
The list for bad habits can go on but we all know what our bad habits are. We tend to think after an indulgent night that what we did actually harmed us. Like drinking too much again like the rest of the week, or perhaps had a one night stand with some random chick, maybe took some drugs or went gambling with the last money you saved.
 
There is another bad habit I did not mention: using a friend, you maybe pretend to be her bestie just to get yourself where you want to be, but in the end we all know the devil wears Prada. You may call her up asking her favours, when all you want to do is party, tell her some lame ass sad story so that she feels guilty and then do what you ask.  You pretend to care about her but when she really needs you, you get so angry because she disrupted your plans.
 
Also I think the friend being used also has a bad habit of not standing up for herself. Any coin can flip two ways so she is just as guilty. I am not condemning anyone who has a bad habit, we all have them. Bad habits are also not easy to break, you break one you get a new one. It is called the circle of life.
 
Then again it is only us standing in front of a mirror with a conscience judging ourselves, making promises to ourselves to better the situation. Just until the next time we do something bad again. Sometimes being bad feels so good at the time that we lose perspective of who we really are and what we really want.
 
I say let's not judge, but let's not be used either. Be open-minded and open hearted, that way you can see something for what it really is. Let's just try and break one habit that will benefit us better, the habit of using people like we want to. Let's stop pretending we care when we don't, let's stop people from using us for what they want. Live your life, your way with your rules.
 
Do not live the way people expect you too, love who they want you to love, jump when they want you to jump. Be your own person and stand your ground. That way you won't fall for just any bullshit.
 
No matter who we are, we can't judge but we can have open eyes about any situation. Your bad habits don't care if you are okay or not but when you look into the mirror you know the only truest person in your life is the one reflecting back in the mirror.
 
 
Written by Mart