The Secret of Time

There is something magical about photography. I have always been fascinated by photographs and I never understood why. I knew it had something to do with the fact that I couldn’t fathom how it all worked, but there was something much more to it.

I was around 12 years old when my sister invited me to tag along while her boyfriend shot pictures of a sunset at one of the many lakes in Orlando. I went along and was wide eyed at the whole experience. He set up his camera on a tripod and let me look through the view finder. I remember being surprised at how cool things looked through the camera. He was shooting slides. I just couldn’t understand why anyone would do that. Pictures are easy to get and they are bigger!

Several days after the fascinating experience something happened that I think altered the course of my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but as I look back I can clearly see it. He showed me the slides and I was blown away by how the shots were so much more beautiful than the actual scene was that day. Then my sister’s boyfriend made a decision that seemed like nothing to him I am sure, but it meant so much to me. He gave me a slide of the sunset.

I can’t explain it, but I felt like I had something very valuable in my hand. I use to look at it in fascination. How could a moment in time be on this little square in my hand? How could that work? This exact moment will never happen again, but I have it in my hand. It was like I could see into the past. I don’t know why photographs printed on paper never had this same impact on me. Maybe because they were snapshots, but this was more. There was magic in this little square. I held something powerful. I held time.

Tick tock tick tock. You will never get that time back. Time truly is the most valuable resource that you have. Money and physical wealth can be replenished, but time is gone forever. Tick tock tick tock.

A woman will never be as young as she is now. As a photographer you hold that immortality in your hand. She will always be young in the image you just shot. Come back in 10 or 20 years and meet her again. She will have more experience and more years behind her. She will have a different kind of beauty, just as beautiful, but different. Now look at that image that you shot. There it is – unchanged. There SHE is – unchanged. She will be that way for as long as that film, or as long as those pixels exist. She is forever young.

Photography is something to love, but somewhere inside hold a place for a certain reverence for it. In some ways it is one of the most god-like things that a human can do, perhaps second only to creating a new life. There is nothing more powerful than that, but you do have the ability to stop time. You can make a perfect moment last forever and you have the ability to offer someone a tiny piece of immortality with a simple click of the shutter.

Shooting is getting easier and easier with the advent of digital photography and photographers get lazier and lazier as a result. Please challenge yourself to capture images worthy of the immortality you hold in your hand. That little noise that your camera makes seems insignificant, but it is a piece of eternity happening in your hand.

Tick tock tick tock. Click.

Not A”muse”d

Since the first drop of paint dripped from a brush or the first spot of clay dried on a sculptor’s hand, the muse has been a part of our world. I am sure that some cave drawings can be found where the artist tended to use the same subject repeatedly because that subject provided inspiration.

What is a muse? A muse is the source of an artist’s inspiration. An artist often falls in love with their muse because they are so deeply moved by that subject. What I want to discuss is what part of the artist is deeply moved by a muse.

I have come across many photographers that seemingly fall head over heels for so many of the models that they work with. They gush about how the latest model is just so stunning and unbelievable. They are perfect in so many ways. “You just won’t believe how perfect.”

Really?

Most of the time that model is deeply moving a part of that photographer, but it is rarely the seat of creativity that is stimulated. A muse is not merely a source of physical arousal. A muse stirs within an artist something new and something far deeper than anything found in their trousers. A new world of images and visions flood the photographer’s creative heart when a muse is encountered. Muses are not something you run into often. I think THAT is the ultimate judge of whether you have found a muse. Do your images of that model make both you and others reevaluate your talent?

I can only name a few models that have honestly truly moved me to new heights of creativity. I can think of many models that had truly stunning beauty, but only a few that changed my talent simply by working with them. It isn’t easy to find a true muse. You tend to stumble into one and might not even recognize how special that subject is immediately. You might think, “Wow!” but you might not understand how your photography has changed right off the bat. It may take a second shoot where again you and others all see a marked, clear and obvious difference in your images. Your muse won’t just move you. Your muse will move others through your creativity.

I have been shooting for around twenty two years. If I were to count on my fingers the number of true muses that I have had in my life I would be left with one hand uncounted and a good part of the other hand also unused.

Long for a muse. They are special and they change your creative life. If you are familiar with my portfolio and can picture certain images, think about why those images come to mind. How many different models are there in those images?

It is clear to me that the most powerful creative tool you will ever have at your disposal is not a camera, a location or lighting. These things are all critical to great images. A true muse has no equal. When you do find that special muse you have found the reason that you shoot. You have come across inspiration and something that moves you into a new visual world. It can’t be faked, planned, manufactured or purchased. You can spend your life trying to emulate what you found in a particular muse and that is a wonderful part of photography, but when all is said and done value the special gift of a muse. Enjoy the new creative world where you can adventure. Nurture that relationship and glean from it every drop of creativity that you can.

Don’t think that falling for every model is the same thing. Aim higher. A muse is so much more.

Livin’ the Dream

I’m sitting on my boat in the Caribbean, listening to waves gently lap against the side as the yacht softly creaks. The sun is gently beating down on a perfect day. It isn’t too hot–it isn’t too cold. Charlize Theron hands me a cool drink and gently leans forward to …

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP

I smack the alarm clock, only to come to the realization that my cat is licking my face and telling me ”It’s time for breakfast!” Yuck! I wipe my cheek clean of cat drool and force my eyes open. Another day in Atlanta.

This is the curse of dreams: waking up. Reality. The dream world is gone, and daily life takes over. At first glance, this may seem to have nothing to do with photography; but believe me–it certainly does. I meet so many photographers who desperately dream of shooting full-time. They say it is their dream. They treat it as a dream, as well.

The truly successful photographers are not dreamers–they are visionaries. They have a vision, and they set out to make it happen. That vision becomes a part their everyday reality. There is no waking up. It isn’t something that is set aside until the realities of fleshing out daily life are through. Making this vision become a reality is as much a part of their everyday life as their “day job.” They don’t wait for the day job to finish and then start dreaming again, only to once again face “wake-up time.”
The ultimate test in finding out if you are a dreamer or a visionary is this: What are you doing to make it a reality? Taking pictures has very little to do with making shooting full-time your reality. What are you doing to contact potential clients? What are you doing to get published? What are you doing besides talking about plans or dreams? How are you fleshing it out?

I have met so many dreamers through my workshops. They tell me how they want to be a fashion photographer or glamour photographer. They tell me how much they love photography and how it is so much a part of them. That passion is wonderful and inspiring. The love of capturing a beautiful image is something not everyone truly understands.

Think about it. You are photographing a beautiful model. She is moving gracefully, and you are really on top of your game that day. Everything is going right. Her makeup is perfect. Her attitude is great. The wardrobe matches the perfect environment. The light is magnificent. Dead on! The shoot concludes.

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP

Now what?