In my next tattoo book, I won't just be featuring champion tattoo artists but also a number of exciting photographers. With this image featuring one of Americana's finest, Myke Chambers, photographed by Jaime Ibarra, it's a perfect union of the two.

Both Myke and Jaime have pasts that read like a novel co-written by Hemingway and Bukowski: Jaime surviving three military plane crashes, Myke hopping freight trains as a homeless 15 year old...their stories are as compelling as their art. Read Myke's on his site and Jaime's on his Deviant Art page.

While Myke introduced me formally to Jaime's work, I've seen his photographs of the tattooed online, everywhere from Flickr to Tumblr to Facebook, but sadly without attribution, so when this connection was made, I had an Aha-moment and had to share it with y'all.

The more popular tattoo image is the one below of his tattoo artist Hayley Lakeman and her husband. See another beautiful portrait of the couple here.

Jaime's images are distinct, with photography forums discussing his signature look, which is best exemplified on the "retouche" pages of his online portfolio. Here's how Jaime describes it:

My 'style' is the visual amalgamation of over 15 years in Graphic Design, 25 years of composing & performing music, many years spent traveling around the planet, a lifetime of over-romanticizing things, insomnia, an inexplicable ability to hear what colours would sound like if they could sing (Synaesthesia, anyone?), an unfaltering fascination with humans, and an obsessive need to create.

To learn his photo-enhancing techniques, Jaime also offers online and in-person tutorials. A DVD is also in the works. For portrait/art photography as well as commercial and editorial, hit Jaime up via IbarraPhoto.com. His home base is Austin, but like Myke, much of his life is on the road.

[Jaime Ibarra photo above of Lauren Calaway.]