Volunteers Needed

Hello.

I'm going to be starting a new weekly "Image Critique" feature here on my blog. If you are interested in having an image featured AND critiqued, please email it to me
by Clicking Here and please put "Image Critique" in the header. Also include any pertinent information that you can and your thoughts behind the image if there is one. Submitting a photo means that you agree to have it discussed and will not start weeping. Discussion and opposing viewpoints and opinions will be encouraged so that this feature can become a learning tool for everyone.

Make sure that submitted images are 72 dpi and 1000 pixels in it's longest dimension for review. A smaller 500 pixel version will be posted in the blog, with proper credit and a link back to your own site if you wish. If you wish it to link back, make sure you tell me in your email.

Every image will not be selected. I will try to select images that will make for interesting discussion and have teachable points. Everyone that does submit an image will get an email back acknowledging their submission and whether or not it has been selected to go into the queue.

This feature will eventually make it's way into the new quarterly photography magazine that I am going to begin publishing in the summer of 2009.

Thank you.

Thanks for a great Opening Night!

Thanks to everyone that showed up at Gallery 4 for the latest Opening Night Reception of my work this year. It was a hot and steamy evening, and that just made the very cold adult beverages taste all the better.

I'd also like to thank the owner of Gallery 4, Klia Ververidis Xanthopoulos, for having me and my work in her gallery.

This show will run through July 31st, so if you have a chance to make it by, come take a look. I'm taking August off from the exhibit schedule but will be back hanging on walls again in September.

New Exhibit and Reception Invitation

Today's Top 10 List for Success....

You want to be a photographer? Pay attention.....

1. Be passionate or get rid of your camera. You can't do this (or anything else usually) half hearted. You have to love what you are doing because it isn't easy. There will be plenty of times when you will want to take up plumbing because you see some weird stuff out there. If you are passionate about photography, it won't matter what anyone else is doing. Do your own thing.

2. Be flexible, but not too flexible. Be willing to try new things. New compositions, new themes, new ideas, but retain the standards that make you who you are.

3. Be positive. Nobody wants to deal with somebody that is constantly moping around. You should be enthusiastic about what you are doing. it should give you satisfaction. If you aren't, or it doesn't, please refer back to #1.

4. Make those around you look good. Be professional and humble. Make your clients look good. If everyone you affiliate with business wise looks good, eventually, people will figure out the common denominator.

5. Be loyal. Nothing is harder to repair than a reputation. You don't want a reputation as a photographer that uses and abandons clients and employers.

6. Work hard. This should go without saying, but what you get out of this is directly proportional to two things; your talent, and how hard you work.

7. Be proactive. Play the ball, don't let the ball play you. Don't wait until there is a problem and just react to it. Anticipate the problem and head it off. Pay attention to what is going on around you. Keep your head on a swivel. (Is that enough sporting metaphors?)

8. Embrace change. Change happens. Sticking your head in the sand doesn't help. Believe me, I know this to be true. I tried to ignore digital photography and kept telling myself it was a fad that would fade away. It isn't and it won't. It's here to stay folks and film photography is pretty much already a niche business, and it's going to get more and more rare as the cost of silver drives up the cost of film and papers.

9. Speak up. Have opinions, and don't be afraid to be wrong. Engage in conversation about your craft. This is where some of the greatest ideas and self discovery is made.

10. Have fun. If it isn't fun, you aren't doing it right. If you truly love what you are doing, it isn't work.