i shoot things

For the IndieInk Photo Battle (#IIPhoto) this week, Shauntelle challenged me with “unexpected” and I challenged Scarlett Rose with “death.”

Twenty years old. That’s how old my son Brian was when he passed on February 24th. I remember my last moment with him. He was lying in the hospital in a coma and I asked him if he would open his eyes for me, but no luck. I knew it was his time. I didn’t know if it was a matter of minutes, hours or a few days but I knew it was coming–and it did. The next day he was gone. The glioblastoma multiforme brain tumors had won.

This morning while taking my shower a song by Nicki Minaj comes on the radio titled, “Moment 4 Life”. I was already thinking about Superman (that was his nickname) and missing him, when the words of the song struck me…

“I fly with the stars in the sky
I am no longer trying to survive
I believe that life is a prize
But to live doesn’t mean you’re alive…”

I cried. I cried because I remembered how much living Brian did in his 20-years and how I feel he was robbed of everything else he would accomplish. He was an unstoppable force. That’s how he got the name Superman. Whatever he wanted to do, he found a way to do it. Even after his paralysis kicked in, he didn’t let that stop him. He swam, he played basketball, he worked in his music studio (he wanted to be a music producer) and he did a two-week summer program that got him accepted to the Art Institute of Atlanta on scholarship–he was Superman.

Even though he knew he only had a short time left he NEVER felt sorry for himself, never felt regret, never mentioned “why me” and always made everyone around him laugh and smile.

Brian taught me a lot the last two years. He taught me the meanings of true strength and courage. He also taught me to be alive, not just to live. I love my Superman and I miss him, but I know he’s flying without his cape right now.

Thank you Brian for being my son and for being an inspiration to everyone that had the pleasure of knowing you.

“I wish that I could have this moment for life
‘Cause in this moment I just feel so alive…”

OK, so one of the things I like to do is help share as much technical knowledge about photography as I can, especially to folks new to the art. I’ve decided to host a few classes on getting the most from your digital camera on a the website Yamisee. The course is one hour long and I’m holding two sessions, January 14th and January 24th. I’ve designed the sessions to cover the most common problems people seem to have with getting good images. We’ll talk about white balance, proper focusing techniques, preventing blur and how ISO, aperture and shutter speed affect an image. Anyone that’s interested in attending can sign up here. There is a fee for the course, but I’m sure it will be worth the money.

Having recently launched my professional photography career I read a lot of information written by other photographers. I read in order to learn what to do and what not to do in this industry. A lot of what I hear frightens the shit out of me and sometimes I wonder if I’m an idiot for launching a career in this economy. The constant discussions around the listserv “water cooler” focus on three topics–how much business everyone continues to lose, how new photographers suck because they can’t shoot and lower the standards of “good photography” and how the Devil and his minions run most companies.

With all these negative vibes sometimes I have to step back and take a deep breath. Yeah, the economy sucks, yeah photographers keep losing business and yeah a lot of companies try to take advantage of you, but you know what? I don’t care! Does that mean I’m a starry-eyed dreamer? Maybe it does. But money is NOT my sole motivating factor for being a photographer. Of course I want to get paid and get paid well for my work. But it’s NOT my sole motivating factor. I shoot out of passion. I shoot because it’s cathartic. I shoot because I need to shoot. I would shoot even if this pavement I’m on leads nowhere. Being able to do what I love is something 99.9% of the population NEVER gets to do. Getting paid to do what I love is a tremendous bonus and blessing.

Why did you want to get into this business? Was your sole motivation to make money? Or did the money come as the icing on the cake? What happened to that motivation? Would you redo your career if you knew it would end up in its current state? Would you redo it if you knew that in 10-years you would have to struggle to make a living? If you answer no, then that’s too bad. If you answer yes, then I have much R-E-S-P-E-C-T for you because you still love the craft in spite of it all. I follow two photographers that keep me motivated–Brad Feinknopf and Paul Bartholomew. I have great respect for these men because to me they epitomize the successful commercial photographer.

So what am I going to do? Well, I’m going to keep striving to build my business. I’m going to keep shooting despite today’s tough economy and I’m going to keep chasing that damn pavement. Why? My career remains about my love for creating great images and as long as I stay passionate about my craft the financial rewards will keep coming.

In the Academy Award™ winning movie “No Country for Old Men”, Tommy Lee Jones’ character Sheriff Ed Tom Bell recounts a story of the old time sheriff’s in Texas, some of whom never wore a gun. Part of his dialogue says, “You can’t help but compare yourself against the old-timers. Can’t help but wonder how theyd’ve operated these times.” He makes this statement because the criminal activity of his time (1980) was so much more perverse then that of the old-timers.

Ok, so what does any of that have to do with photography? Well, the title of the movie made me think that there remains no country for old ideas in the photography industry. Everyone admits the industry has changed and things just cannot function the way they once did. The industry will not go backwards. It’s just like the nature of today’s criminal activity. It forces law enforcement officers to carry a weapon in order to survive. The nature of photography and other associated industries forces photographers to change methodologies.

A little background about me. I’m a formally trained photographer but photography wasn’t always my vocation. I worked in the supply chain industry for many years as a subject matter expert in process improvement, forecasting and inventory management. I traveled around analyzing, designing and implementing process improvements for many of the world’s largest companies.

One consistent trait each of these companies had was the ability to change as progress dictated. Each company wanted to know if and how the newest technology could make them leaner and more efficient and if it could help them reduce cost and make them more profitable. But it wasn’t just about technology; it was about adapting to the new ways consumers purchased and used their products and services. If consumers were purchasing more through the Internet, then companies weren’t trying to force them to purchase in store, simply because that’s how it had always been. They wanted to tailor their supply chains to give the consumer the best online shopping experience possible. Sometimes this involved closing one or two large warehouses and opening multiple smaller warehouses across the country.

Why would a company spend time and money redesigning processes and systems that originally took months, sometimes years to reap an ROI? Because in order to still make money the company had to let go of its old ideas on how things worked and adopt the new realities of how things worked. Sound familiar?

I read the professional photography listserv postings and I wonder how many photographers still don’t carry a gun? Clients are different than they were 20-years ago. Today’s companies have a different generation of leadership. A generation that grew up thinking almost everything can be had for free or close to free. They have a different concept of “value” and rarely does that concept include the photographer that was once the top guy in his field.

Today’s photographer must arm himself with the required tools to compete in a vastly different environment. You have to understand how companies want to use your images, not how you want them to use your images. You have to realize that most of the ADs and CDs you work with grew up getting stuff for free on the Internet. Some of that attitude continues in their professional lives.

Old ideas have nothing to do with age, but they have everything to do with mindset. Instead of thinking that every new thing that comes along has the sole purpose of making the professional photographer extinct, change your mindset. Think about how you can use these new technologies and new ways of doing business to leap out of the creative and business boundaries you’ve built around yourself.

The market will not go backwards, ideas will not slow down and technology changes rapidly. There are two ways you can handle these things—adapt or become extinct.