{"id":380,"date":"2015-02-06T02:51:25","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T02:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/?p=380"},"modified":"2015-02-06T02:51:25","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T02:51:25","slug":"mr-black-ice-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/mr-black-ice-bell\/","title":{"rendered":"Mr. Black-Ice Bell….."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"chris<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: Ashley E.<\/p>\n

In life\u00a0most of us repeat the same cycle; we go to sleep on Sunday night dreading Monday morning, then we wait anxiously for Wednesday to come because we know it means there\u00a0are only 2 days left until the weekend. The weekend flies by and we\u2019re back to another Monday. It\u2019s a never ending cycle. The majority of us work 40 hours or more a week\u00a0at a job that overworks and underpays us and we have absolutely no passion for what we do. Most of us get so comfortable in our jobs that we become stuck.\u00a0 When you become stuck you will look around and realize that 2 years have turned into 20 years and you\u2019re still in the exact same spot.<\/p>\n

One of my biggest inspirations for not settling in life and for going after my dreams and aspirations came from a friend who I met a couple of years ago at a modeling audition in Jackson, MS. With only a high school diploma, my friend has become a poet, an author, and an accomplished professional photographer. He has worked with many talented people such as Janelle Monae, Russell Simmons, and Lloyd Banks.\u00a0 Some people call him \u201cMr. Bell\u201d and\u00a0others call him \u201cChristopher\u201d or \u201cChris,\u201d but now he also goes by\u00a0\u201cBlack-Ice Bell.\u201d\u00a0 It was actually a name given to him as a joke because\u00a0people could recognize his work before\u00a0they recognized him. There are hardly any pictures of him online so many people don\u2019t know the face behind his work.\u00a0 Black ice is a substance that is transparent; it\u2019s practically invisible, but you can feel its presence and know it\u2019s there. You may not see Mr. Bell, but you will definitely feel his presence by his work. Since he tends to be a very low key guy who lets his work speak for him, I wanted people to get to know the artist behind the work.<\/p>\n

Check out the interview I did with him below.<\/p>\n

Ashley G:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The first time I met you was back in 2007; I think at that time you were just starting off in photography. You were doing photo shoots out of your bedroom in Jackson, MS, LOL…\u00a0Do you remember those days?<\/p>\n

BlackIce<\/strong>: LOL. I can never forget! I was shooting in a townhouse in Pebble Creek Apts. I had three other roommates. Due to lack of space, the studio was in the living room, and I slept in that room also. Crazy times. lol.<\/p>\n

Ashley G: \u00a0<\/strong>You\u2019re originally from Decatur, Georgia. What brought you to Mississippi?<\/p>\n

BlackIce:\u00a0<\/strong>Well, I have Mississippi roots. I was born in Greenville, MS, but raised in Decatur, GA. In 2006 my soul became restless. I knew a change was coming but wasn\u2019t sure what it was. A couple of old friends from Jackson were driving down I-55 and saw a huge billboard that said Christopher Bell (I think he was an insurance agent), so they thought of me and gave me a call. Less than two months later, I was their roommate and started the photography company.<\/p>\n

Ashley G: \u00a0<\/strong>You also have a military background. How long were you in the service, and how did you get into photography?<\/p>\n

BlackIce:\u00a0<\/strong>Whew… dark times. I was active duty Air Force briefly for two years from 2000-2002. Even then I knew I wanted to do something creative with my life and work for myself. At the time, I was just a poet working on my first book. Photography was strictly a casual hobby that I didn\u2019t take more seriously until after military service. I met my mentor, Michael Alvins, and he pretty much put me in the photography game. He taught me everything from the\u00a0basics in studio photography to working with clients. He was unselfish in sharing his knowledge with me, and I appreciate him for that. I always say that he\u2019s your favorite photographer\u2019s favorite photographer. He has helped and worked with a lot of photographers in the industry over the years. He\u2019s more than a mentor; he\u2019s a big brother to me. Thanks to him, I\u2019m the beast I am now.<\/p>\n

\"jm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ashley G<\/strong>:\u00a0 You\u2019ve published several books and you also have a free online magazine called\u00a0INSPIRE Magazine<\/span>. I read INSPIRE<\/span>\u00a0faithfully. \u00a0I love the photos, artwork, poetry and short stories. When was the first\u00a0magazine\u00a0published, and what made you decide to start a magazine?<\/p>\n

BlackIce:<\/strong>\u00a0 I published the first\u00a0INSPIRE Magazine<\/span>\u00a0in July 2010, right before I moved back to Atlanta. In Jackson, I spent a LOT of time in the bookstore. Every time I went to the African-American section, all I saw were books of erotica and thug-life stories. I\u2019m not knocking them because I believe we all got a little freak in us and it is real in the streets, but at the same time, we are more than that as well. Same thing with black publications, it was mostly either gossip magazines or the video-vixen type material on the shelves.\u00a0Black Enterprise<\/span>\u00a0has great content, but\u00a0aesthetically I think it\u00a0is boring to read. So I created\u00a0INSPIRE Magazine<\/span>\u00a0to blend beautiful images with the great content to create a unique reading experience. \u00a0There are many people involved in each issue, and I am grateful for that.<\/p>\n

Ashley G: \u00a0<\/strong>You talk a lot about faith and spirituality; do these 2 components play a role in your work?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

BlackIce<\/strong>: Absolutely. Everyone, including me,\u00a0is far from perfect, but I do read and study the Word daily. I accomplished a lot in the past ten years with little to no resources, and no one can take credit for that. That\u2019s all God. My whole career has been done from either my living room or my bedroom with little to no money. I\u00a0only have a high school diploma,\u00a0and I still get it done and make it happen. It is definitely God-given. At the same time, God is a God of Freewill. We have to make decisions and take certain actions to achieve what He wants for us. And a lot of times, it is not easy. Faith without action leads to nothing.<\/p>\n

Ashley G:\u00a0<\/strong>Do you have any advice for any aspiring photographers?<\/p>\n

BlackIce:\u00a0<\/strong>Yes, study your craft. I also worked closely with fellow photographer, Mic Fontaine, for a while in Mississippi.\u00a0 I remember when he said,\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s a big difference between a great photographer and a great photography business.\u201d I think that\u2019s real. You can be the best photographer in the world, but\u00a0you can only go so far if you don\u2019t know how to monetize your business or know how to work with people. There\u2019s so much advice I could give, but I think that\u2019s a great start.<\/p>\n

Ashley G:\u00a0<\/strong>You talk a lot about following your dreams; how important do you think it is for people to chase their dreams?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

BlackIce<\/strong>: I personally feel like if you\u2019re not following your dreams, why are you living? God wakes us up every morning for a reason, not to just take up space. Everyone has a purpose that could benefit this world in some way, whether it\u2019s huge or small.<\/p>\n

Black Ice\u2019s career has really taken off. The 25th<\/sup> issue of Inspire Magazine<\/em> was released last month and he has many new projects in the works. You can catch a few features from The Double Scoop in upcoming issues of the magazine. If you want to know more about Black Ice and his work you can connect with him at the sites below
\nhttp:\/\/instagram.com\/inspiremagatl<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.inspiremagatl.com\/about-inspire\/<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/atlinspired<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Ashley E. In life\u00a0most of us repeat the same cycle; we go to sleep on Sunday night dreading Monday morning, then we wait anxiously for Wednesday to come because we know it means there\u00a0are only 2 days left until the weekend. The weekend flies by and we\u2019re back to another Monday. It\u2019s a never … Continue reading “Mr. Black-Ice Bell…..”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[79,118,150,205,223,247,266,285,388,517],"class_list":["post-380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-spotlight","tag-artist-spotlight","tag-blackice-bell","tag-chris-bell","tag-dreamers","tag-feature-friday","tag-grinder","tag-inspire-magazine","tag-journalist","tag-photographer","tag-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedoublescoop2.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}