It's been a somewhat tough month or so it seems. It was capped off with my car blowing it's radiator literally as I rolled up to a recent shoot. Thankfully there was another vehicle we were able to ride in and I got my car to limp home after 2 pull-overs to try and cool down. Fun fun fun!
This has led to several realizations. #1, I need a new (to me) car. #2, we don't currently have the cash to buy a new car. #3, I need to accelerate my business. There's also another thought I've been having for a while now without really seeing the avenue to actualization of that idea. It would be very cool to partner up with another peer or mentor photographer in my area. I've been realizing that as much as solo work can be flexible and free, it's not ideal for getting perfect lighting, holding and adjusting modifiers (especially in the wind), and just being able to bounce ideas off of in conversation. I've checked a few places and with a few people but so far nothing has really connected. I'm still looking for anyone that might be interested in a second shooter or assistant so we'll see what turns up. It turns out that running a business solo is a pretty tough thing to do on a variety of levels and something I need to keep working on to get right. It is my first attempt of course so with all things considered, I could be in a much worse position. Right now I just feel stagnant and stuck on the business side.
The photography side I'm feeling pretty good about. There are some great images coming out of the shoots I'm doing and even interest in past work I've done. It's so cool to scout out a location, figure out what can be done with it and the tools available, and then make an image that expresses the life and beauty at that moment in time. As is the case with many who are into the arts, taking those appreciations and values into business can be a difficult task. Thankfully I'm surrounded with a number of friends and family that are full of good advice and are helping point me in the right direction on all this. Still, working with someone seems like a good idea.
The photos in the post are actually from a week or so ago when I did a little photowalk on the East side of I-35 along Lady Bird Lake. I wound up with a bit of focus on the ornithological subjects available as they were the most abundant subjects at the time. They really are works of art in their own right and a challenge to photograph well. Some were perched and steady until they noticed me raising my lens. Others, thinking they were out of reach from my 70-300mm lens, just hopped around in the tree canopy and hardly stayed still for more than 3 seconds. That was the case with the blue jay at the top. Others were amazingly stoic and stood their ground no matter how long I stood there taking their photo. That was the case with this bird below who I must have taken photos of for 5 minutes.
Austin has no shortage of yellow flowers of varying types and so of course I had to also photograph one of those that was jumping out of an otherwise uniformly green scene. The breeze was blowing stiffly in intervals and the straining and bending of this flower should come through to help communicate the very warm dry wind that was there. As hot as the day was there, the tall trees lining the shores (I really need to look up the names of these plants and animals) gave wonderful shade as well as contributed a graceful aesthetic with fern-like leaves and branches that swayed with the wind. The way those trees diffuse light and provide a rich soft green light really is peaceful. I really wish we had one of decent size in our yard!
As I mentioned, this past week has been very focused on marriage, and that brings me to a thought that the confluence of all the happenings instigated. Why doesn't every couple get anniversary portraits? Considering how so much emphasis is put on the wedding day and how it's only the beginning of what is designed to be a lifelong journey, doesn't it make sense to make a big deal out of every year you beat the odds and national averages? It is an accomplishment to keep loving someone year after year while getting to know the person in more and more unfiltered detail. You've made it through merging housekeeping differences, financial decisions, general misunderstandings, emotional events and swings, and more. They're still there, you're still there, and you still love each other. What's not to celebrate and memorialize when you find someone who's agreed to put up with you come hell or high water? Don't lie, you know you're a handful too!
