Ajani Charles | Random
This is the personal blog of Ajani Charles.
The a j a n i photography: digital image solutions website and blog are available for viewing at http://www.ajani.ca.
This blog features information pertaining to the photographic assignments and projects of Ajani Charles and also features content regarding the arts, entertainment, philosophy, sociology, psychology, biology, history, engineering, health, and fitness.
Unless specified otherwise, all photographs and/or videos by Ajani Charles of a j a n i photography: digital image solutions that are featured as part of this blog will be watermarked with the a j a n i photography: digital image solutions logo -- the Digital Ananse.
All other images and videos are the intellectual, and consequently the legal property of other individuals, organizations, businesses, corporations and/or shareholders.
References to content that is not exclusive to a j a n i photography: digital image solutions has also been included throughout this particular blog.
Ajani Charles is a published digital photographer, journalist, filmmaker and educator based in Toronto -- the Canadian city famed for its cultural diversity and the creative dynamism of its artistic community.
A graduate of the nationally acclaimed Claude Watson Arts Program, Ajani also apprenticed at the Toronto School of Art, the Art Gallery of Ontario and at 235 Films. The mentoring and rigorous training he received at these institutions fertilized his natural talent, shaping him into a versatile and always evolving artist who is well versed in portrait, editorial, glamour, fashion, documentary, product/advertising, architectural, landscape and fine art photography.
For Ajani the camera is a medium for self-expression and photography the ideal art form for capturing the ineffable beauty of people, objects, and landscapes. Though his images bear the distinctive stamp of his unique regard and sensibility, his work evidences an eclectic panoply of influences which includes Markus Klinko and Indrani, Jill Greenberg, Yousuf Karsh, Ansel Adams, Alexander Rodchenko, Richard Avedon, André Kertesz, David LaChapelle, Steven Spielberg, Hype Williams, Zack Snyder, Martin Scorsese, Craig Goodwill, Annie Leibovitz, and Jamel Shabazz.
Ajani is also the founder and executive director of The Young Visionaries – a Toronto-based photography and cinematography program for youth. What’s more, his work has been displayed at the Skills Canada Photographic Skills Competition where he was awarded a medal for the technical polish of his images as a teenager. His photographs have also been exhibited in such venues as the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art, The New Era Flagship Store and the Koffler Gallery among others. In addition, Ajani has gained considerable notoriety in the Greater Toronto Area through his first photographic documentary, “Project T Dot” -- a visual chronicle of the city's Hip-Hop culture and community in its entirety through a wide-ranging collection of intimate and dramatic black and white photographs. In production since 2007, “Project T Dot” is currently scheduled for a late 2012 release date.
Ajani counts among his many and varied clients H&M, Canadian Newswire Group, The Torstar Corporation, The Hudson’s Bay Company, Universal Music Group, ICON Digital Productions, Christian Dior, RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Fashion Cares, York University, Holt Renfrew, Gridcast Media, The Manifesto, The Urban Music Association of Canada, Habitat For Humanity, Burger King, SBC Media, SOCAN, HipHopCanada, Thompson Hotels, Think Contra, PKG and N4E1.
