Ansel Adams on "Creativity"

"I cannot command the creative impulse on demand. I never know precisely what I'll photograph. I go out into the world and hope I will come across something that imperatively interests me. I am addicted to the found object. I have no doubt that I will continue making photographs till my last breath."


I wholeheartedly agree - do you?

Building Your Business

How do you build your business, whether it be photography or anything else?

It's just a matter of "getting your name out there" and marketing your product! Easier said then done, as I continually find out. One of my mentors, John Shaw, once said that when you're in the field shooting, you're spending money, and when you're in the office working, you're making money. I've tried to take that to heart.

Networking is probably more useful in pulling in business than anything. But most people don't understand what networking really means. It's not approaching a group handing out your business cards and going around to everyone saying "buy my product - buy my product". You need to work on establishing relationships with people, learning their needs and offering value to them. I try to freely share things I've learned - even with my competitors. Hopefully, by adding value to the community at large, it will "pay back" eventually. Almost every job I've been offered is one in which I've established a relationship with the buyer.

Then there's that whole social media marketing thing. SMM marketing guru, Kevin Knebl, says that people tend to do business with those they "know, like and trust". While he feels that SMM may be just a momentary fad, he believes strongly that if you simply follow the teachings of Dale Carnegie, in "How to Win Friends & Influence People" (which I'm reading now), you'll outperform the majority of business people in whatever field you're in.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Picture of the Day - 7/10/2011

(R-L) (Daughter) Linda & (Husband) Robb Parsons and Robb's cousin, Darin - Just after completing a two-day bike ride called the Double Triple Bypass - a 100+ mile ride over three major mountain passes (each way). The ride started in Evergreen, ending in Avon (just past Vail) the first day. The second day was the reverse. Of course, there was rain and hail both ways. Sheila and I were able to get pictures of both Robb and Linda during the break stations along the route. I'm sure I would have given up halfway up the first pass! Settings: ISO 800, shutter 1/80th second at an aperture of f7.1.

Picture of the Day - 7/9/2011

Baby Mountain Goats, Mt. Evans, CO - Just west of Denver, you'll find the Mt. Evans Highway (CO-103) - the highest paved road in the U.S. climbing to over 14,000 feet in elevation. At the end of this road, herds of mountain goats generally hang out - sometimes right in the main parking lot at the top. They are somewhat habituated to humans, so it's possible to get close-up photos of them without the very large lenses generally used for wildlife photography. We were photographing them for quite a while and near the middle of the day, I saw these two newborns playing on the rocky overhang. I couldn't resist taking several shots. I used my 100-400mm lens (at 400mm) to frame the scene. Settings: ISO 200, shutter 1/1000th second at an aperture of f8.