I was invited by a fellow photographer, Bryan Cole, to tag along and be a second shooter for a photoshoot he was doing this past weekend.  By second shooter, I mean a behind-the-scenes photographer and if time permits, I would be able to get a shot or two in for myself.

It was fun as I’m constantly the primary shooter and never really had anyone shoot a behind-the-scenes footage of me.  So being able to step back and view everything that’s happening on a photoshoot was a very interesting point of view.

We didn’t have any lights or gobos or reflectors with us…just our cameras and the sun, and the sun was burning bright that day.  We were shooting from 1pm to 3pm, where the sun was straight up casting harsh shadows…but it was perfect lighting for shooting in the shade.

I took a bit of a hiatus there to re-evaluate with what I want to do with my photography and where I want to take it (as a business, as a hobby). The answer didn’t hit me until I was a second shooter for a photo shoot this past weekend. I haven’t done a photo shoot in a while and forgotten what it was like to be spontaneously creative and working with the model and lights to make that creative image in my mind a reality.

Although I was a second shooter, I was able to take a few of my own shots. It was invigorating to say the least. The knowledge I have learned from my photography classes and previous photo shoots all started to come back to me and with it came the imagination, the creativity of new shots and different angles, seeing the final image in my mind’s eye sent me on a euphoric high. I was hooked again.

And so, I’m back..with more determination, insights, and clarity in where/how I want to move forward with my photography. I am going to use the rest of this month to put things down on paper, strategize for the upcoming year, and set my lofty goals. I am excited for next year like never been before.

Well, I didn’t make it to the finals of the RedBull Illume Photo Contest but am proud to say that I was a semi-finalist.  My photo was among the 250 chosen out of 22,764 photos submitted!  Hmmm, there may be something to this photography thing after all.

This, I’d have to say, was very exciting even though I didn’t make it to the finals.  I looked at the finalists’ and winner’s photos and they all deserve to be there…fantastic photos!  Congrats to them!

I gotta say that I am now more determined, not only to win a contest, but to shoot at a higher creative standard.  These finalists’ and winner’s photos have all inspired and motivated me.  Time to get crackin’!

Here was my entry that got me into the semi-finals:

If you’re here to find out how to make money with your photography, then I’m here to tell you that photography is not for you and you are doing it all for the wrong reasons.  I’ve been getting pretty annoyed lately with all these blog posts about how to make money doing this and doing that.  With the advent of cheaper dSLR’s, people are now thinking that they can make quick money by becoming a photographer…how hard can it be right?  Aim, focus, push the button.  Bring it into photoshop, touch up here and there, and presto…money in the bank.

Photography is NOT about money.  Photography is NOT about prosperity.  Photography is NOT about wealth.  Photography is NOT about being that famous photographer.

I’ll tell you what photography is…it’s about the passion in capturing life in that fraction of a second on film (Yes, I said film…I’ll get to that in a bit).  Life is constantly moving and changing around us and photography captures the art of and within it.  It is a medium that expresses joy, pain, excitement, fear, disappointment, love, gratitude, disgust, beauty, flaws, imperfections.  It can tell us a story or make a quick statement.  It can ask a question.  It can answer a question.

If you take a look back at the photographs of the great masters, you’ll see how through their pictures how they were all in love with life.  From Henri Cartier Bresson to Ansel Adams to Alfred Stieglitz to Richard Avedon.  Look at those pictures…but don’t just look, see.  And don’t just see, feel.

Now, I mentioned film because if it wasn’t for film, I don’t think I would have appreciated photography for what it actually is.  Taking pictures on film, developing the negative, developing the actual print…the motions you go through to get that one shot turns photography into an artform.  This artform is being lost with the advent of inexpensive dSLR’s and software programs like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture.  Sure, you can argue that this is not being lost, but more like it’s evolving.  And I agree, but you can’t have it evolving if you don’t have the foundation and/or understanding of what photography actually is.  At the very core, it is simple.  Photography is light…how we see light and how we record light on film or digitally.  Philosophically, photography is life…why we are taking photos and of what.  This is what I believe.

Stop looking for the money in photography, and start enjoying photography for what it is and for what it teaches you about life.

I just found out that my photos were featured in this month’s Smart Business Magazine.  I got the cover as well as a double page spread and a quarter spread.

I’ve been doing a lot of photography for Oversee.net, one of which were corporate headshots of the CEO, Jeff Kupietzky.  To my surprise, I just found out that those photos were featured in this month’s Smart Business Magazine.  I got the cover as well as a double page spread and a 1/3 spread.  Very exciting stuff!

If you would like to read the article, it is available online at Smart Business’ website.