a busy couple of days

The last couple of days and the next couple of days were / are gonna be hectic.

I woke up around 4am on Wednesday morning to quickly pack my bags and get to Sharjah airport,
definitely not my favorite place. I was hoping to grab a bite to eat, but no chance. I had a selection of
Iranian food, kebabs, chicken Shahish ( something like that ) and Asian noodles. nothing that really appeals to me for my breakfast menu. All i wanted was a croissant or some fruit. i ended up drinking a lime mint smoothie.

The flight was pretty painless. 45 min of flying on Arabian Air. I did visit the book store before my flight and bought one of Richard Branson's new books " Screw It , Lets do It " . Its an awesome motivation book for people that wanna get out there and try new things and give there careers an extra push in the right direction.

We arrived in Muscat at 10 am with a chilly temperature of 38 degrees Celsius. We were scheduled to start shooting one of the governments member's daughters wedding at 8pm that night. A royal wedding.
So I threw on my bikini and hit the pool. it was to hot to tan so i ended up ordering a milkshake at the local beach restaurant and sat in the pool for 2 hours before heading back to my hotel room for lunch.
At around 3.30 pm we got a call from the bride demanding we come to her hotel immediately , not in 20 min , but right now. 20 minutes was definitely not possible for me to shower, do makeup and get dressed and get my equipment ready. So i was roughly 35 min. We all arrived at her private luxury hotel villa
only to receive instructions that we were not needed now , but we should come back in 2 hours.
So we all went back to our hotel to wait until 6pm.

I arrived at 6pm and started building a studio within the lounge.
 My job as wedding photographer is to shoot fashion and portrait shots before the wedding starts, and then another photographer takes over the social photography side as soon as the bride enters the hall.

i headed back to my apartment for a movie and room service. I was at the airport once again nice and early to fly back to Dubai. its a pity we didn't get more time in Muscat as i heard its a really beautiful place. Next time we'll make a road trip out of it, and spend the weekend there

This is where i stayed - a truly beautiful 5 star hotel with a kick-ass pool and awesome service! - http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/muscat/barraljissahresort/rooms

My gorgeous Fiancee picked me up at the airport .  I jumped into my car only to be surprised with a little Tigger teddy bear . He went straight back to work after fetching me and i headed straight to my favorite bookstore Kinokuniya - the biggest book store in the world
http://ansam518.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/kinokuniya-dubai-mall/

Seeing i have just become obsessed with buying books , i thought i would satisfy my craving and buy a few books. i walked out with 4 books and plan to go back next week for a further shopping session.

Here's what i bought -
Notes on Directing by Frank Hauser and Russel Reich
Things I have Learn't - Stefan Sagmeister
Quentin Tarantino - The cinema of cool
Peter Biskind - Down and Dirty Pictures

Definitely an awesome collection for anyone interested in film and design.

Shortly after heading home i was once again surprised by Mark with a bunch of Sunflowers and a pack of good old South African pork ribs from honeydew. Now that's what i call a perfect night !

Right now i'm rushing off to another shoot which should be done around 11 pm tonight!!

Fun times

I recently had a meeting at Bareface offices with Mohammed Abedin the co-founder of Mega.
Abedin is a local artist who has given birth to a 3D blank canvas. The doll doesn’t look like much – it stands 20cms high, is uniformly white and utterly featureless but for a slight bump where the nose is supposed to be. Abedin, 22, is a self-described “urban artist,” a term that’s hard to pin down but which encompasses stuff like graffiti, stickers and pavement stencils. He is the co-founder, along with his partner Prathibha Edirisuriya, of the arts collaborative Foo Dog, which has been around since 2008.

Abedin currently works in finance but has always had a love for the arts. The Mega was inspired by a recent trip to tokyo. he is busy working on a huge art exhibition which will be held in May at DIFC.     He said “The whole point is to promote urban art here, then move across the Arab region, then maybe go a bit further with international artists. This is just a huge dream for me. It’s crazy.”

So i have decided to take part in this exhibition. Firstly i am joining as a photographer. He has chosen a small group of awesome photographers to take part in this massive project. Each photographer will receive a white blank Mega, the photographer will shoot 8-10 photographs where the Mega is starring as the model in the shots, the imahes will be exhibited and sold at the exhibition at DIFC. where he is expecting a possible 5000 - 10 000 people on the opening night.


I have then also decided to take part in this event as an artist. I will be receiving another white blank Mega that i can abuse and create art with. I heard that some artist are creating suits or specific outfits for the little resin future man. i have a few really technical arty ideas. I know what i wanna do so its time i pull out the wires and pliars and get cracking.

Me and my partner are working on a short edgy video that will feature the Mega. The video will be projected onto the big screen  on the opening exhibition night.


in a few days we will be receiving our mega's. Cant wait. i think this will be an unforgettable project.


For more info on Foo-Dog's Mega visit www.foo-dog.com

Not just another day

There is nothing more talked about than " The Weather in Dubai.

Today i woke up with the sound of thunder and rain. Actually at 5am this morning I woke
up with a call from my Fiancee telling me "ITS RAINING " . He is shooting a TV commercial
by the autodrome for a Cyprenese Bank. So he's been awake since 4am. Then at 6 am I got a call from my brother telling me " ITS RAINING " .  Rain in Dubai is a very very rare occurance. If usually only lasts for 2 -  hours if we lucky. When it rains in Dubai people turn off there music to listen to the rain, we rush to our local petrol station to pick up a latte, we stare out the window inquisitive to see the droplets hitting the puddles on the floor.  This Winter it rained about 5 times , and each time it rained cats and dogs.

Dubai is clearly not set up for rain , in terms of drainage and experience etc The last time we had hectic rains , i was at my computer retouching when i felt water by my toes. Within 2 mins my entire apartment was flooded ! i was running around like a mad woman outside my apartment expecting my computers to blow up like in the movies . Lucky nothing as dramatic as that, except that my big teddy bear absorb all the water and has never been the same . Driving in Dubai during the rain is also a big no no.
I recall the radio informing us that there had been 400 accidents in Dubai from 6 am to 8 am due to the rain. Alot of people dont even know where there windscreen wipers are .

Then again in Summer . Without a doubt the first thing anybody will say to you when you meet
them is " wow its fucking hot today " . These weather conversations have even become pickup lines for men. Yeah go ask the blonde girl with the big boobs what the temperature is today. Its become a bit cheesy but it does work , cause i love talking about the weather, and so does everybody else during summer

Summer .... what does that mean ? here are a few words to describe Summer  in Dubai
Swamp ass, melted cheese, hard to breath , no going outside, free sauna, Constant smell of other peoples sweat and sea water becomes thick soup water.  Yip Dubai sucks in the summer, thank god it only lasts for 4 months !

Lucky me , Im actually out of Dubai for the entire summer from June until 1st November.

Have a look at the behind the scenes video of my fashion editorial for M Mag

M Mag fashion editorial - click on the link to downlaod the video

The Emirates Woman Red Dress Charity Shoot - April 2010

I shot this editorial for Emirates Woman about 1 Month ago. We were very fortunate to work with such an amazing model that could do all the correct positions that were needed to make the dresses look extra beautiful. These dresses will be auctioned for thousands and thousands of Dirhams and all proceeds will be going to various charities around Dubai. I have just recently done another shoot for Emirates Woman Red Heart Charity where i have shot the awesome Emirates Woman team all dressed with T-shirts designed by Mohammed Al Sultan of House of Glamo. check out there website http://www.houseofglamo.com/

This editorial will be printed in about 2 weeks, So i will upload the shots as soon as

The Emirates Woman Red Dress Charity Shoot - April 2010

Big Plans for Candy Kennedy

So once again i have decided to start writing a blog .

Its like Déjà vu ... i sit down with a cup of coffee and start writing , then within 2-3 days i have

so much work that i stop writing and about 2 months later i remember to write again !

It almost seems like my exercise routine !

But this time it's different. I have alot of very exciting things i need to write about .

Firstly in almost 2 months i will be flying to Cape Town, South Africa .. my hometown. 

There will also be around 450 000 foreigners heading to Cape Town round about the same time as me , but for a different reason, the 2010 Soccer World Cup ... definitely something im not interested in. Probably because South Africa's soccer team Bafana Bafana sucks ass and the fact that Iceland beat them in a match the other day has alot to say about there skills and ability. Maybe if i was living in Italy, England or France I would be a bigger fan.

Im heading to Cape Town to photograph my first 2 portrait books. Unfortunately at this moment i cant discuss exactly what im shooting, as we all know how people like to steal ideas. But all i can say is that its gonna blow your mind, as much as its blown mine. South Africa being one of the most beautiful countries, is also the most violent country in the world, this is definitely gonna be a dangerous but extremely exciting and fulfilling project. i have been told by some that I'm mad , crazy or just plain stupid and others have told me that im adventurous and creative and that may well be the 5 best ways to descibe me.

Quoted from a crime statistics and tourist safety report " According to the Foreign Policy's September 2008 Murder Capitol Report, Cape Town is #2 murder capitol of the world. Homicides usually take place in suburban townships rather than in the more upscale urban areas where tourists visit. According to the South African Police Service, most of the Cape Town area’s violent crimes happen between people who know one another..." 

The next 2 months are gonna be hectic with PR planning , organizing book launches, planning the finer details of the project, location permits, sponsorship and protection ;)

Im am planning to exhibit my best shots from my book in various cities around the world such as  Cape Town, Johannesburg, Paris, London, New York, L.A and Dubai

This project has given me a whole new perspective to my life  , and I really dont know why i havent thought of doing this before.

In about 1 month i will be explaining exactly what im shooting and not only will i keep you up-to-date on my experiences but we will be filming the entire experience and posting short video clips on a weekly basis so you can see us getting down and dirty in Cape Town my mothercity.

candy x x x