Catch it before it's gone!

Life flies by minute by minute and whether we see it as special or not, it is. Although not necessarily evident now it eventually helps to see a snapshot of who you were at a previous time. It can help you show and tell others the story of your life as well as remind yourself of who you were.

This all comes up, in part, because of a trip my wife and I made to a high school track meet to watch a friend's daughter compete. While watching (and of course photographing), I was reminded of my own experiences in junior high track, albeit brief. The thing is, although they were brief, they did happen. Having photographs of those achievements of just being there and competing are worth remembering. That's one thing I love doing, capturing real moments in people's lives (or their surroundings) for posterity and their own reflections. Once an opportunity has passed, it may not come back, certainly youth does not. :)

So get photos made of you to remember what you've been blessed to experience, if a photo is worth a thousand words, think of all the journal time you can skip! Of course it's good to write too, I don't mean to minimize its importance, but photos are a wonderful way to supplement words in a truly unique manner.

With that all being said, give me a call or shoot me an email if you'd like my assistance in making some photos you can look back on and smile! I'd love to talk to you and see what we can work out, we just need time and a place and I can come to you or meet you at any number of locations around town.

Senior portraits are perhaps something that is coming down to the wire and I have packages for you set up. You could be a young professional or couple too! This time of year is just about perfect for outdoor shots without too much heat so don't delay, and I'll be looking forward to hearing from you!

It is more...

‎"Being a photographer is much more than carrying a camera in a bag. Creating a good photograph demands more than technique and skill. Good photographs require that we use our mind and our heart. If we want to make pictures that cause change, we must be the first ones changed by the pictures that we make." -Chris Orwig (Quoted in a post by Radiant Squares)

It seems quite true, what Orwig said about being a photographer. Seeing what I've seen has changed me and I, in turn, want to share that perspective with others. The change being spoken of isn't necessarily big. It could be something as simple as appreciating a flower on the side of the road that was previously passed by. It could be just looking up at the sky more often to appreciate the painting of clouds, light, stars, or planets above. It could just be the change that happens when you look at someone and see a bit of character or even just a quality you hadn't before. That changes you. Sometimes it may even be a matter of seeing a photo of yourself and being able to analyze what others see in you. All these things can instigate change, and that's what a good photographer will offer.

I try to be a good photographer. Of course there is always a curve of learning to make the equipment and circumstance conform to an accurate and evocative capture of a particular moment. Even so, moments will often be powerful enough to register on film or sensor regardless of photographic perfection. It helps to have the right skill and tool bag to increase the odds though!

 

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East Austin

As I mentioned in the previous post, a week ago I met with Geoff at Progress Coffee and, understandably, got inspired to take a walk around the area afterwards. Specifically I was trying to head home and had to stop when I saw this rockin' Caddy parked along one of the streets. They just don't make 'em like this any more... probably cause they can't even touch 30mpg unless it's rolling down a mountain. 

In any case, I took the opportunity to play with more fulling manual settings and focusing. It is very freeing artistically to not rely on auto focus because you can pay more attention to the framing rather than repositioning and locking focus. Of course this is something that is much more fun when there is time to try several angles and focus points just in case my eyesight betrayed me the first time.

All I know is that I love being able to wander around and find things like this. Geoff is fantastic about that sort of thing with his clients and has some amazing shots as a result.

This all starts me thinking about East Austin and how it's brightly painted buildings and character are a real treat. In suburbia with landscaping being the predominant method of differentiation from your neighbors in terms of colors and style, it can often get a little boring to look at. This does help highlight the skies and people that might be bright spots but it's nice to have variety.

How do I start?

It's been an interesting year or so trying to start and run my own business. Full of trials and sparks of potential, it is a challenge that has been long dreamed of, albeit in much more vague detail.

This past 14 days has been especially fun with meetings and assignments. There have been hiccups but overall, it's been very rewarding.

A returning client, ShowBox in Houston, recruited me to come cover one of their client's open house events. At the end of that week I got to cover an event at Austin's Zilker Park for a young lady battling a rare and daunting form of brain cancer. Later that afternoon, celebrating another friend's return home after having brain surgery (also cancer), I fell into an impromptu portrait session that yielded some images I'm pretty proud of.

Meeting with other photographers has been amazing as well. I was able to meet up with Geoff Duncan at a very cool place in East Austin (called Progress Coffee) and then  Lori Luza at Kerbey Lane Cafe. They both do great work and we had some very good conversation about the business.

It's been a struggle trying to wrap my mind and will around getting this thing off the ground. There are so many things to consider, priorities needing to be established, budgets to devise and adhere to, prices to set and stick to, distribution methods, equipment, presentation... and the list goes on.  Thankfully over the past year I've also had friends and family like Ray Detwiler and Jason Arcemont, not to mention my lovely wife, who have also been giving tips and assessments that have been very helpful, even though some things haven't been implemented just yet.

Suffice it to say, I've got a lot to think about at the moment! There are little but important things like facebook "likes" that are nice encouragements throughout the day. Also having friends support me at the opening party for my showing at fab'rik austin was a huge lift, thank you Ben & Emily for your purchase! Just a few hours ago I got another nice lift as my online storefront just got it's first order! Of course getting taped by old and new friends for possible assignments is awesome as well. Thank you Brooke for letting me in on Madeleine's food fight!

Then there's the music aspect of the arts in "arts & photography" where there have been opportunities popping up for my djembe and cajon playing, not to mention a possible gig for Memorial Day weekend. It's all pretty exciting!

So yes, there's a lot going on and it's looking to be full of fun and good times. I'll keep you posted!