This #FollowFriday is dedicated to a man who stays the course. While others crumble under the pressure of conformity, He chooses to stay true to himself at all costs. He has the strength of character to BE who he wants to be, to DO what he wants to do, and SPEAK of whatever the hell he wants to speak of. From his website, his soapbox on twitter, his DegoCast podcasts, and through his tenured Tuesday night radio program on WSIA.FM, he shares his passion for comic books, Rocky movies, wrestling, family, foul language, scotch whiskey, women, and good Hip-Hop music.

If you do not know who I speak of yet, I suggest you take your head out of the sand…

His name is Emilio Sparks. He is the Future!

Follow any of the links in this post for a taste of what I’m talking about.

Better yet, just Download the album FOR FREE… “Kicks, Chicks and Porno Flicks“

See more of my work here! —> Click This!!

I must take some time to thank Ben Johnson and Rob Bailey from the Staten Island Advance. Without your continued support of the local creative communities, much of these artistic efforts might go publicly unrecognized and more-so, unpublished. Your efforts are appreciated, not just by me, for the fact that you give local readers geographically relevant stories worth reading. I know for a FACT, that AWE has given many Staten Islanders something to be proud of; a reminder that despite pop-cultural opinion, there are intelligent, articulate, open-minded, creative residents of this rock we live on. You both play important roles in exposing the efforts of those that exceed the chains of our stereotypes. And for that I thank you.

“With veritable terabytes of digital images featuring the people and spaces creating and housing art in Shaolin, Shane is one of the Island’s busiest and best documentarians. His work also helps put the borough’s burgeoning “new” arts movement on the map.

“My work reflects where I come from by proxy,” says Shane. “I rep Staten Island hard, and I’m happy to say that my portfolio is 90 percent local artists.”

“The best part about working with local artists or bands is that they’re hungry,” says the new Castleton Corners resident, who recently moved from his apartment near Stapleton’s The Cup so he could live alone for a change. “You’re giving them something they will definitely use, and you can learn from the interaction.”

Anyone who knows the sinewy, long-haired ball of energy can probably vouch for his ability to coerce or cajole his subjects into posing, precariously or not, in harmony with his own vision. And while not everything he shoots is gold, Shane seems to have some important attributes as a photographer: An insatiable appetite for using his camera, a fearlessness in getting the shots he wants and maybe, most of all, a love for his own surroundings.

To read the full article, click here: Meet Mike Shane

© 2009 Mike Shane Photography