How does your photography reflect your vision?

It's been a while since I last added to my supposedly weekly blog, and I must apologize for my tardiness. My life, it seems, as resembled more of a roller-coaster these past couple of months, than a growing, dynamic journey where I can see where I've been, where I've come from and have an idea of where I'm going to. I've been questioning the meaning and purpose of my life and of course, the moment you start comparing yourself to friends, it's not long before you nose-dive into the muck and mire of depression.

My life may not be headlined in National Geographic images or coffee table books, but I food on my table, friends who I value and treasure, 3 incredible children who I'm proud of, a 78-year old mother who keeps me in her prayers (thanks Mom!) on-again/off-again siblings who I hear from occasionally, and given the distance we live from one another, that falls into the category of miracles.

This past week I got an email giving me advance notice about another E-book that photographer and author David DuChemin was releasing. This one is called, The Vision Driven Photographer, Notes on Discovering & Refining Your Vision.

While I love Dave's body of work, his international experiences, what I value most is his from-the-heart writing. In many ways, it's almost as though he and I are sitting down having a drink in his or my living room as he talks about how I can get in touch with my inner self again instead of moping about just how pitiful life is. In other words, this E-book (can be downloaded HERE) is food for the soul.

Dave says that vision matters because

...it is the place we begin, and the road we travel, on the way to our goal - creating compelling photographs that express something we've no other means of expression but through the frame...Learning to discover, and then express, our vision will make better photographs through a more fulfilling creative process.

He establishes the difference between vision, style and technique before giving us concrete examples, suggestions and exercises that will help to tap into or develop our vision. What I find most interesting about this E-book is that while it speaks directly to the photographer, it applies just as well to the watercolour artist as it does to the animator as it does to someone struggling in their marriage. Even though quoted out of context, the words from the Old Testament poet, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." (Proverbs 29:18a), remain valid.

I could highly encourage you to purchase and download a copy from of this E-book from pixelatedimage.com and read it at your leisure. It is a $5 investment that you won't regret making. Furthermore, promotional code DRIVEN4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of The Vision Driven Photographer for only $4 OR use the code DRIVEN20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes start at 1:00am PST, November 24th, 2010 and expire at 11:59pm PST November 28th, 2010.

One final note, some of you know that I am leading an 11-day safari to Botswana next June. Yesterday I got notice that one seat is now available. If you are interested, or know anyone who is, please contact me. The cost, without airfare to Johannesburg, is close to $3000, a steal especially when everything is included. You will have two professional photographers, one of which is also a wildlife expert, on board to help you master your camera and capture incredible images.

Happy Thanksgiving!

On Your Own? Think Again!

It's easy to think that we are sometimes that only person who has a certain world view or is struggling to define concepts, or battling to make ends meet in this rather lack-lustre economy.  Yes, you can talk to friends and family about your life and the struggles you have on a daily basis, the disagreements you have with your bank or credit card company, but there is nothing quite like connecting with colleagues who are in the same boat as you are.

A couple of weeks ago I booked a flight up to Omaha, Nebraska on the urging of Ann Monteith an incredible photographer and past president of PPA to attend a workshop hosted in the town of Norfolk, Nebraska.  I wasn't sure what to expect at the workshop. I knew that I would have to be bullied and glared at by cold-hearted security personnel with room temperature IQs at the airports, have to squeeze into aeroplane seats designed to fit 5-year olds and endure the two hour flight to Omaha on teeny packet of pretzels with the possibility that some 3-month old kid would be screaming his/her lungs out the entire journey. While the latter didn't happen, the plane was delayed for over an hour.  I wonder if this is a sign of things to come with the merger of United and Continental?

I arrived at Omaha, picked up my car rental (a PT cruiser which handles the way it was designed - awkwardly) and drove into the green hills of Nebraska carpeted with fields of green corn. After a 2 hour journey, I found the hotel, checked in, rushed down for the "Welcome" cocktail hour (the older I get, the more cocktail hours I need!) and introduced myself to a few stragglers and made out way to the restaurant for dinner.  What a treat.  At table I sat with Bruce and Josh Hudson, a father and son team at Hudson Portrait Design. What an incredible team they make and they set me on fire with their stories of hurdles they had to overcome and tales success.  This was a sign of things to come. For two days, I "workshopped" and networked with 35 other photographers who insisted that even though the economic climate sucks, failure in business is not an option. After all, what else can a photographer do? Work for some cold-hearted jack-ass boss whose ongoing mood swings need to be controlled with bi-polar medication?  I think not!

The energy was intense. The workshops helped us design our goals, put systems in place for the next two quarters, overcome issues, tweak some ideas and plan for success. The evening were spent sharing our stories around a glass of wine, beer or scotch. The third day of activities was tightly scheduled as we met with graphic designers, web designers and marketing specialists back to back and who helped translate our ideas and dreams into marketing reality. At 5 PM we parted and I headed back to Omaha, NE and checked into a Holiday Inn (thanks to Priceline.com) at a good price.

 I spent the Thursday morning relaxing over a late breakfast and then made my way to the airport. I was so anxious to get home, that I boarded the wrong plane! How was I supposed to know that the plane I was seated on was going to La Guardia, NY instead of Houston, TX?  I mean, there I was comfortably seated in my teeny aisle seat, and the doors were about to close but one person had a ticket but because some people had switched seats, he had no place to sit. The gate official came up front and made an announcement for me to come to the front of the plane with all my belongings.  What?  Why was I being kicked off? I went up front without my stuff, and asked what was going on. The gate official asked if I had all my belongings with me.  Of course I didnt!  I wanted to know what was going on before they kicked me off. That's when I learnt that I was on the wrong flight.  Ooops!  I was a little flushed and apologized profusely. The gate official said it was their fault because they should've caught it. I exited the plane with my bags and ensconced in the waiting area once again waiting for the correct flight! Anyway, after a dull flight with well-behaved passengers, I was glad to get back to Houston.

It's easy for us to sometimes wallow in the fact that we're on our own and to underscore our aloneness by taking online classes or read books and manuals in isolation.  This experience taught me how important it is to get out there, to mix with others,  to share ideas, to listen to others and to surround yourself with people who know the taste of success and are happy to help you in your quest for success. The poet John Donne put it this way in his Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind...

Expanding your network

When most people hear the phrase, "Expanding your network", many think of friending people on Facebook. I have come to the conclusion that one's network is far wider and far more powerful than a list of names on Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn.

This past Monday, I had to take Charley, my brindle-coloured French Standard Poodle, to see the vet. The only times that one visits medical/veterinary people is if you or your pet is sick or you need a refill on a prescription and the doctor/vet needs to re-evaluate your condition before letting you pop more pills.

I took Charley in because he constantly shook his head as if something was stuck in his ear. I looked inside, didn't see anything, but certainly smelled the tell-tale odour of an ear infection. I arrived at the vet around 10 AM, and the place was packed out with dogs (and cats) of all shapes, sizes and breeds. Some were pretty aggressive and others were just the cutest things you can imagine. I typically, tend to keep to myself, not wanting to intrude into others' space, but the marketing class I attended this past weekend taught me that every encounter with another person is an opportunity not only to make friends, but to expand your network and to grow your business. While this isn't a new concept to me, it is one that decided to embrace with a certain amount of fear and trepidation. I can work a crowd of 30+ people without batting an eyelid, but chatting and becoming friends with random strangers, is another matter entirely.

The woman to my right had a sweet dog who had been neutered the week before, but his stitches had come out. The poor thing had a helmet around it's head that was meant to prevent it from getting to the stitches, but apparently it hadn't worked. I made small talk with the dog's owner, but she clearly didn't want to talk and her body language demonstrated it. You can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. A woman with the cutest baby came in with her Mom and dog and sat down next to me and she started chatting almost immediately. We totally hit it off.  I learned that her husband is an opera singer who loves singing Wagner (he needs headshots), their baby was a mere 2 months old (needs beautiful photographs) and they want to have a family portrait taken.

I had my iPhone with me and showed her a few photos that I keep on there and she loved them, but it would've been better if I had a bigger screen like my iPad.  Consequently, I now carry business cards and my iPad wherever I go. I gave her a card and invited her to contact me (need to be more pro-active and get her information so that "I" can contact the other party) right as Charley's name was called to see the vet.

What did I learn? Just because one person says "no" doesn't mean that everyone says "no". People have so many things going on in their heads, at work and at home that they may not be in the right place to be receptive. Consequently, don't sweat the small stuff and move on. Building your network isn't "friending" someone, but it is "being a friend" to another person and genuinely showing interest in their lives. If an opportunity comes to talk about what you have to offer, that's great, but if not, that is also fine because we shared our humanity together.

Lighting with Zack Arias

Wow, what a weekend I've had! I've had so much information that it almost feels as though I've been run over by a truck. At the same time, I have gained so much knowledge that I can't wait to share it with you.

Permission to use the image above given by (c) Wilfredo Valle.


In a previous blog I mentioned that the folks at CreativeLive are helping people all over the world improve their photography skills at no cost! Yup. You heard right. All you need is a decent internet connection and a desire to learn and you have a front seat from some of the best in the world such as David DuChemin, Zack Arias, Chase Jarvis, John Greengo and many more.

This past weekend, Zack Arias with a team of over 30 people, taught lighting for 3 days, starting Friday and going through to Sunday. Talk about a marathon session! He pulled out almost every piece of equipment that anyone could ever desire to own or want to use and demonstrated how it different from other types of lighting that he used. All these images and more will be posted up on his blog (www.zarias.com) in the coming weeks.

Permission to use the image above given by (c) Zack Arias.

There is no way that I can ever begin to summarize what Zack taught, but I managed to find a tentative schedule of topics for the weekend on his blog:


Friday

• My personal philosophy of having a studio space
• Considerations for getting a space of your own or turning a space you have into a studio space.
• The basics of exposure when using flash in studio. We will be using hotshoe flashes and strobes.
• Working with multiple lights and working with different lighting ratios
• Using a light meter and how to figure it out on the fly without a meter
• Overview of the modifiers we will be using over the weekend. Those include: Straight flash, Umbrellas, Softboxes, Octabanks, Beauty dish, Ring flash, Grids, Flags/Silks/Reflectors, DIY modifiers
• Q&A

Saturday

• The many uses of white seamless. I’ll be walking you through the entire process of shooting on a white seamless and getting the most out of one simple background
• Post production on the white seamless
• Q&A
• (lunch break somewhere between 1pm and 2pm.)
• Building a set. It will already be in place. I’ll just talk about the basic modular set pieces that went into making it.
• Grip equipment. How to put stuff together and do stuff with that stuff.
• Slowly moving away from the seamless and onto other background choices. IE: Fabric/Walls/Sets
• Working with subjects. Interaction and Posing. (I’ve had a lot of questions about this so I’m spending a lot of time on it.)
• Musicians. Duo and Trio. Group shots plus individuals. White seamless and other backgrounds + a simple set.
• Q&A

Sunday

• Quick recap of previous day and previous information about exposure. Not going to spend a lot of time on this but just a quick recap for those just joining.
• If I don’t cover the grip equipment on Saturday I’ll most likely do that Sunday morning.
• Art Direction! I will be pulling people from the live audience and giving them assignments to see what problems they run into and guide them through the process.
• More shooting. Different modifiers. Improv.
• Q&A
• (lunch break somewhere between 1pm and 2pm.)
• Working with a four piece band.
• Individuals and group shot.
• More shooting. Whatever we decide to do making sure I’ve used all the modifiers from the list above.
• Q&A

The good news is that YOU can (actually, you NEED to) buy this marathon lighting class from CreativeLive. It's a mere $129 for 25+ hours of a lighting workshop. So, instead of buying crappy equipment that you're going to have to replace in a 6 months, or struggling to get the "look" you wanted and then beating yourself up cuz your lighting sucks, just do yourself a favour and buy the download. It will be money well spent!  While you're at it, sign up to get notified of upcoming classes.

Thanks to Zack for an incredible weekend and for permission to use one of his images (the model on set with foot on apple box) in this blog. My thanks also go to Wilfredo Valle (www.wilfredovalle.com) who submitted a video entry and was able to attend the entire weekend at no cost (I hate the word free as it reminds me of a used car salesman!) and who has also given me permission to his image of Zack teaching the class.

That's it for another week! Have a great week.

John

Frustrated? Uninspired? Feel like a hack?

There are days when I wonder whether or not I am a photographer, whether anyone cares about my work, whether I care about my work. I wonder why I am uninspired, when the dawn will break and the dark night of doubt will end.

If you have ever felt this way, or perhaps feel this way today, watch this amazing video: