Who Shot Cha?.... Sunny Winters Shoots

Sunny Winters has been snapping away diligently. Charmed by life happenings, his career draws closer into realization. A Nikon camera and reflector are his “weapons of choice”. Sunny is an avid traveler who shoots everywhere he touches. Growing up in Brooklyn, he was fortunate to have been motivated by the local yet, internationally known, Jamel Shabazz. “Over the years, he was just Shabazz to me. I have watched him interact with all types of different people in different places and the outcome would always be beautiful,” he said. When I first met Sunny, he looked nothing like his Facebook photos. He had already cut his locks and his bop was so, extra, “Brooklyn goes hard” it didn’t seem like the same down to earth, innovator that I’d anticipated. “I had surgery on my foot a couple of days ago,” he said. So, it turned out to be his limp that I initially took for a bop.

We continued kicking it up Snediker Avenue to a “Brooklyn zooish” background scene. Beautiful green leaves spilled down swaying vines over a lengthy sheet of accordion perforated, stainless steel fence. If it’s gonna represent me, it must represent hip-hop. The graffiti tags decorated the backdrop appropriately to suite ‘theSasAppeal’. The fusion of elements characterized an earthy person from the concrete jungle of New York City and Sunny must have more than an eye, he’s figured me out. “I am spiritual, not religious,” Sunny offered as he shot me wearing my sunglasses. “Should I take these off?” I asked. “No, the sun will blind you,” he said as he called for “Shrimp” to hold the reflector up where he needed it to go. After every twenty shots or so, he would let me look at them on the camera.

Sunny has developed his own globally accessible portfolio. The archives on his websites, theSunnyWinters.tumblr.com and facebook.com/SunnyWintersphotography host a variety of pictures from around the world. Most are edited into black and white images that give off rich antique impressions from the most casual of shots to the most urban. “Photography is my chance to make history,” he said. Making millions is a part of the goal, but the main objective is for Sunny’s stamps to shine on through. Certain places at particular moments in a subject’s existence will serve as a nostalgic delight. From the passing of those very instances to the everlasting settings of sun, there will be a memory to visit and revisit; through the eyes of Sunny Winters. Everyday, he rises to capture our today’s for captivating the future of their tomorrow’s.  

This photo shoot was the first of my anticipated many to come. These images of myself provided me with the evidence that photography is not quite the same as merely taking a picture. The expert quality of these photos distinguishes Sunny a gifted professional. It was comfortable, pressure free and natural. When I saw the same shots that Sunny had taken and shown me on his Nikon, I ran home to review on my computer. As much as I loved the photography, I was disappointed in my clothing selection. Sunny said, “that’s why I prefer to shoot nude, clothes can be such a distraction.” Although, he has sold numerous shots to hip-hop weekly and other media, he exclusively works for McMIREPORT.com. The “collective of life how he sees it”, is sponsored by Sunny Winters. This brand name that he seasons with is said to be the “alter-ego” business part of Taj T. However, when it comes to question his devotion to ambitious creations and wholehearted quality, the photographs speak for themselves. Whether he’s taking pictures of nude women down in New York City subways or of  homeless families on the streets of the “favelas” in Rio de Janiero, he’s concentrating.  

There are two things that Sunny is most critical about when his eye is to the window; light and symmetry. “I think natural light really looks good on our skin,” he says. The subjects are charged somewhere inside the lens where all Sunny’s appeals manifest. He says, “I want someone to look at my pictures and feel fulfilled by the collaborative effort I brought about to capture whatever it was. People can feel when you take what you think other people want you to see.” Aside from Jamel Shabazz’s photography inspiring his talent, generally, people and places are what keep him intrigued. He has a keen appreciation for any differences that can be attributed from all sorts of expression. Image is important to him, and he sees it as “a powerful tool,” as written on his webpage.  He appreciates everything that’s creative. When it comes to other photographers work, Sunny believes that what separates talented professionals from the measly “pic flicker”, is being able to tap into what the person may have been thinking, feeling or seeing when the shot was taken. His philosophy runs deeper.

Sunny’s sister, Nadiah says, “he’s not a Rasta, he’s a hippie. He began growing locks with the birth of his daughter Sa’rai, 9 years ago. In Miami, he had his own catering business and worked as a chef, for 9 years. Ironically, that was when he became a vegetarian in attempts to instill more discipline for growth of mind, body, and spirit. He also has a twelve year old son named Marcell. Koko, his wife is a creative designer who specializes in fashion. As she is working on launching her own clothing line, Sunny helps assist her in every suitable manner. Together, they have traveled to places like Cuba, Mexico and Brazil where Koko assists Sunny with his shoots. “It was a blizzard this Christmas Eve, at like 2 o’clock in the morning when spontaneously the woman called me saying that she was ready. We met at Sterling Street on the 2 line. I was only working with a 3 minute time frame. When the coast was clear she dropped her overcoat and went completely nude; and I started snapping away. Meanwhile, Koko was on the lookout at the top of the subway staircase… We pulled it off,” he said.