A Wonderful Surprise

Since it’s been a few weeks since I last decided to make a post (even though that one was JUST written yesterday). I have wanted to make this post for some time, because it’s exciting for me.

Since I have started down this road and and have made the headway I have, I’ve been and wanted to be - connected to a number of different memberships and organizations. One was the PPA - a great organization that truly supports and connects with their community of photographers on every level and allows them to grow and explore through numerous facets of that organization. I’m not a member of them anymore, it’s a me not them thing - I broke it off, sorry PPA. And then there is the ASMP - another fantastic group that I was a member of, and again want to get back in with (I’ll be back there someday).

There are two organizations that I am CURRENTLY members of. The first one is the AIAP. It is run by Alan Blakely of Salt Lake City, UT. Not only is he a fantastic photographer in his area of the country. He started this great organization to better catalog and make available the architectural photographers across the US! I have been a member since the beginning of the year and have been very pleased with everything that has happened because of it. Thanks Alan!

And then there’s this group of creatives. This has been the monster I have been chasing down for the last two and a half years. This is the one that I am so excited for. I tried two times before to become a member Those two times I failed. But I took the feedback I received each time and came back stronger. They were moments to continue to learn and grow. You see, at that point in my journey, I wasn’t ready for what was about to happen. I wasn’t ready to take on the challenges that would come my way, good challenges. So on the third try I got my act together made all the changes, did all the work, created the images I needed to to grow my brand and develop my skills to make the compelling case for admission. I submitted the work, waited two days to hear back (luck for me I submitted the day before they reviewed that weeks submissions), and received the email I had been longing to receive.

Not that this group is my end-all-be-all! But I felt that this was my measuring stick. This was a way for me to see where I was on my journey, to see how far I could have come, and how much further I had to go.

So because of the work. Because I decided that me, I - myself and my work were worth the effort. I am now proud to say that I am a member of one of the biggest, commercially creative, and established organizations in the US - WONDERFUL MACHINE! Since July of this year one of my goals for the year plan have been met, and since then I have continued to grow! My work has improved - not because of them directly, but because they have given direction, allowed me to focus, and been there as a support to guile me as I make decisions as to the direction and course I want to travel. As I grow it’s because of the WORK I do, and the SUPPORT they have given me. I had chosen to take on having a creative coach to push me into getting out of my comfort zone. I have been nothing but pleased with how that relationship has developed, Andrew is like my second set of eyes. He is a creative director by trade so he sees what I don’t. He gives me guidance, and allows me to discover while being there in the background. He even endures my constant email barrage of questions and feedback.

So this post is an announcement of sorts, even though the badges have been on the website since I was accepted. And a thank you to my team of support at Wonderful Machine for everyone’s hard work at making me more aware, more visible, more marketable, and more prepared to do and handle new, harder projects. And become a better photographer. Thank you Wonderful Machine!

Film and Digital Photography Coexist

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Well years ago, back when film photography was king and digital was just a twinkle in some engineers eye at Eastman/Kodak. I was introduced to photography. Simple as that, I learned, trained, developed (my skills and film), and became one with the 35 mm world. For me medium and large format photography was for the studio houses, the serious professionals! I was just a young guy learning it all. And to top it all off, it was EXPENSIVE! Again, a young guy, just out of art school.

So I took my 35 mm camera (an old Pentax), bought a second camera (the Canon Elan 7) and started on my road to wedding photography. As time moved on, so did my interests and from that I finally made the transition to digital buying my first digital camera Canon T2. Both served me well. Both taught me lessons. But it wasn’t until I made the move a few years ago into the world of Sony cameras that it really took off for me. With Sony there were so many options, so much more learning from their platforms. But in the end something was missing. Something felt unfinished, incomplete… I wanted more.

I wanted to be able to experience what I did when I shot film. But I wanted what the big guys and girls had. So last month, I know only a month ago, I made my first big purchase. I went back to film!

I understand its film, and with all of the technology out there I could have had my pick of some pretty amazing cameras from some spectacular platforms. But what I wanted they didn’t have. I wanted the romance, the richness, the consistent inconsistency of film photography. Working that much harder, taking my time to meter the light, composing the frame for the right shot, and getting only one or two chances to get it right.

Some may argue that I made a bad choice. But that’s where their opinion and mine differ. I feel that for me while technology is beautiful and amazing and almost endless, it leaves something out of the frame. It makes great images, but when the point of the task is to get as may as possible and pick the best out of 100 options (of the same thing). Then I feel that what you gain in pixels you loose in true image quality. Now I won’t be putting down and packing up my Sony anytime soon, I will be picking up my Canon FD and Mamiya RB67 a lot more.

But those are the lessons we learn through life and photography, to slow down, create and live in the moment.