Boozie McBoozerson......

I've never had a problem drinking. Alcohol and I have a long history. We always seemed to get along and we have had countless forgotten memories I'm sure. Constantly asking what the other did the night before. I rarely drink alone. I don't like being hungover. Drinking during the week has never been anything much more than a sorted fling from time to time. I can count on one hand the amount of instances I thought I truly needed to quit drinking. Sure there were always the countless regretful hungover pledges to cease from here to eternity all inebriant potions. But who really sticks to those promises anyway? 

No, this time was different. I think it was a feeling of loss of focus that I never felt before. A feeling of being off track. It all culminated one night with a feeling of completely being off my game I've never felt before. Where I had long gone past the top of the bell curve where amount of alcohol consumed is at the peak of having a kick ass time. I was on the other side, the down-slide, where the continued consumption leads to a deteriorating sense of being yourself and increasing feeling of just being an ass. So the next day I made a promise to myself to make a conscious effort at doing away with drinking for awhile. 

Now, 31 sober days later, I finally feel myself getting back to the determined purpose I lost sight of for a bit this past fall. A feeling at being entirely back in control. Perhaps this is just what was needed. A break, a vacation from that life. I will never correlate the fact that I've been doing very well with a lot of things in my life lately with the fact I have not been drinking. I don't believe lack of one day a week night out with drinks could really have that great of an impact. But I'm sure feeling great and things couldn't be much better personally and in my business.

Now I am not saying I will never have another drink again. I'm only human and I do like to have a good time with a cold beer. I'm not stupid and God willing I will have a long and plentiful life. But, for now, I am enjoying the brief, productive, and head clearing break from my old friend Boozie McBoozerson....


"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there." ~Charles Bukowski

A Reminder....

At times I'm reminded that success isn't obtained by standing from afar, gazing at seemingly insurmountable challenges, but more so by taking them on and definitively kicking their ass........

Pushing Your Limits......

I'm a terrible blogger.... I'm the first to admit it.... I just get distracted easily..... Things come up.... a flood, locusts, Fender ate my blog, it wasn't my fault. However, during the time I don't get to this blog, every photographer in the internets world seems to find a way to tell me I need to be blogging more. Like, HOW do they know I'M NOT? So I guess I'm starting to catch up a bit.

Recently, I have found myself busier then ever. A situation arose that I thought I could share with you. It really isn't a surprise to most people that even when you are at your worst, you are capable of things you may have never thought you could do. You may only feel that way because you have never done them before or have other things going on which is life.

A new client came to me at the end of the summer with some work for their trade magazine. Great! That's something I have never done before. It would be a great experience and the compensation was very appealing. I knew it was going to be a lot of work but hey, that's what I'm in this for.

As the day approached for the first day of shooting I began to feel incredibly overwhelmed. I did do some preparation so I had a basic game plan but having never done anything like it before, I still had my apprehensions. I've studied my ass off with all the information on this type of shooting I could possibly find. But, I began to think, not how can I do this but will I do this well. What could possibly go wrong? Will I have to fight for each shot?

The morning came, myself and my assistant got to the location. Moved all the equipment in. Starting setting up and.... BAM first hurdle..... right out of the box. We didn't have model releases ready to go for every person that was going to be in the day long shoot. My fault. I did have model releases in the game plan but did not know who would be in the shots really and figured we would do that after the shots were taken. Thinking back, that was a stupid idea. So I quickly contacted my client and discussed what we needed in releases. We drew up a release right there and began to shoot. Lesson learned.

I honestly thought this day was going to be an uphill battle all the way. If there is one thing I've learned it's some people hate to have their photo taken. But as we started shooting I found that everyone was really cooperative and very patient. Maybe it was because they knew it was going to be in a magazine. But I think it's because I took the time to introduce myself and explain to them exactly what we were doing. Most people would of just jumped in front and shot away. I believe it's important to form some sort of understanding on a personal level with your subject. Make them feel at ease. That goes a long way towards getting the shots you really want.

This particular day was not all about smiles and nice portraits but standard stock type images. I definitely let my subjects know that and quite surprisingly they got it! Once I took the time to create a one on one connection with them we cruised through the whole day. It's important to develop a type of relationship with who you are shooting. Make sure they know that you are a real person and not just some robot snapping away. It is in some way a sort of seduction in an effort to gain their trust in you to create a nice image of them. Showing them you are human goes a long way.

The second day went ever better. I had put together a quick list that I was able to be more direct with and had each individual shot I needed that could be checked off as I went along. I learned a lot from this, my first major project for a publisher. Be prepared and don't let fear of the unknown prevent you from taking on new challenges in your photography. But more importantly, don't avoid challenging yourself in your personal life either. After all, both are truly who you are and you should fight at each obstacle to further instill your breath for life.

If I can pass on any advice from this opportunity it would be this. Those who fail to push themselves in to things they have never done, or fail to immerse themselves in learning everything they can in what they love to do, will be doomed to mediocrity and frustration. Take it from me, soak up all the knowledge you can from every possible avenue out there. Read, write..... and live your passion.

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." ~ Taylor Benson

Leaving Empty Space.....

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I've always been a quiet fan of empty space in photographs. Where the "subject" is just in a small space of the overall image. I say "quiet" because it "goes against the norm" and most people may not like that type of image. But it can really be quite interesting. Jeremy Cowart is a master at these types of images and of course any other type of work he does. I had the opportunity recently to work for a client that wanted shots of their radio tower. I saw this as the opportunity to try out that empty space type shot.

I'm not sure why I never shared the photo. The first time I saw it, for a brief second,  I found myself getting those butterflies as if I was the one attached to the side of that tower. If only for a brief moment, I felt more a part of a photo than I have in a long time. It caught me by surprise. It's surely not award winning but a simple photograph and it just happened to catch my eye. Not everyone will like it this type of look. But I just found it pretty interesting.