First experience shooting 35 mm and I'M SOLD!

Today as I was working and hanging with the kids, my inbox alerted me that one of my best friends, Wes had written a new blog post. This is cool for several reasons. To see what I mean you will simply have to go check it out for yourself, HERE. He is much better at writing regularly and at writing in general. It reminded me, I haven't written all week. While I love sharing my work with you, I also love expressing my thought's and such just as much. I have said it in the past, but for me, writing is also a release and therapeutic in nature. I have been rambling about my new fascination with shooting film, and this week when I received my scans from The DarkRoom Lab that took on a whole new meaning for me. I was so damn excited to see if my cameras were actually working, but to see those images that I cant flip through on the back of my camera. They were all brand new to me once more, and man that is a lot of fun. They are also tangible, as my negatives are being mailed back to me now. They also required little, if any work in post-processing after getting them. Are they perfect? Only in the way they make me feel, and how they let me relive those small moments in our life together. Because isn't that what we as photographers are supposed to be doing? We provide this for everyone else, so it was refreshing to be on the receiving end of an online gallery. Even though I took every shot, it was still amazing to get. I felt like I had finally found a meaning and purpose. So I am going to run with it. I'm going to shoot lots more film. I am also offering prints of past work and specific prints of my film work. It needs to be held, admired and displayed. Ok so in keeping this short, all images below were shot on 35mm film, with my Minolta Dynax 5 ( thank you Robin Collins ) and processed at The DarkRoom. The black and white is either Kodak tri-x 400 or Ilford HP5, and the color shots are Fujifilm Superia 400.  If you are interested in prints, there is a new tab located on the top of my home page.

 

As always, I am grateful you stopped by. I always appreciate comments and suggestions. So until the next one, #filmsnotdead 

I challenge you in this weeks VLOG

This week I take on a bit of a touchy subject.  Its a little longer than I had anticipated and as usual I stumble and laugh at myself, but hope you can do the same.  Please participate in the challenge, share you IG account on my Youtube Channel and I will follow you and search the hashtag we are using, #onelensandgo

Here is #2

Creativity and why you should bring yours to your session!In

In this VLOG I discuss how bringing your own version of creativity to your session and how that is beneficial. Since I'm trying this new format I would love to hear thoughts about what you like or dislike about this VLOG vs my old blog. Lets go-

I truly appreciate you stopping by here and listening to me even when I couldn't find my thoughts lol. I am not above laughing at myself obviously. Here is the link to Katy's Blog as promised for you adventurous people, HERE

J

To all of my photographer friends: Should we ever shoot for free?

This topic is widely discussed in the photography community and although my ideas may not be earth shattering - I still feel they are worth sharing - so here we go.

As a photographer, we ultimately want to create something we are genuinely proud of. This reaches from our images captured, the business we create, to the brand we cultivate. We dream of working in bigger cities, larger platforms, or maybe just in a larger capacity, meaning booking more in our current market. While none of these are lacking their own unique qualities, the end goal is the same: to be successful. So I would challenge you to first describe what that is for you? What do you see when you think SUCCESS?  Write it down.

Once you have jotted your definition of that, please comment your notes below so we can all share in your goal. Then - how does shooting for free, or not, play into that success? It may not. It may not help book that corporate contract you're chasing or that wedding that you've been marketing to for weeks, but it may benefit in ways that are more meaningful in the big picture.

Ok, so shooting for free clearly won't put Benjamins in your savings account and there is zero guarantee that it will lead to those elusive Benjamins ever, but what if I told you that's ok?! Its ok if something you're truly dedicated to doesn't afford you the new equipment you're drooling over (on Amazon, B&H, or Adorama). Because what if the rewards are so much more than a tangible objective?

I know what you're thinking- "I need to make money to succeed as a business" and yes, that is true, but what if you dove into something you are truly passionate about and saw it to completion? The feeling of doing something for someone else is a wonderful experience to have. If anyone has ever bought your coffee in the drive thru before you got to the window, I bet you smiled. I bet that feeling was a pleasant feeling. We as photographers have the opportunity, responsibility even, to capture moments in time. Moments to record of joy, sadness, surprise, love, etc. No one makes us passionate about our craft, we are drawn to it for our own personal reasons. So in the end, you can do whatever you want.  You can donate your time and skill anyway you prefer. I love volunteering at our Church anytime they need another photographer to capture events, or just the typical Sunday morning service. I dream of taking a missions trip with my Church and doing just that. Capturing the need of others in a way that someone else would be lead to do more, be more than they are.  I also love having my camera with me when out in public and strive to capture moments and objects I see that catch my eye or that make up the world around us -- you never know when those images are going to change in meaning or value.  Imagine after 9/11 having been able to log into your computer and see images that you'd captured of the city in years past while you were just enjoying your world around you while walking the city...we, as photographers, have the privilege of snapping and archiving the wonderful things around us, but if you only wait to do so once you've been hired or told what to do, you miss this opportunity.

Now, am I talking about hired pro bono work here too?  Maybe, sometimes yes.  You don't have to simply give your time away to some event if you choose not to, however. There are lots of benefits to choosing to do free work for yourself (so much creative freedom!) -- You could also start a photo project that means something - a project that speaks directly to you. By doing so, you may challenge others to do the same, or share a story that helps someone who really needed to hear that particular story. One of my absolute favorite photographers is Ryan Muirhead. His work is hauntingly captivating, but his approach is as well. I'll never forget the video he posted where he is sitting in the floor with his subject and so engaged that when he realized he had the shot he couldn't pass up, he couldn't take his eyes off of her long enough to even reach for his camera and found himself blindly reaching for it. He wanted to capture exactly what he was seeing, that moment, that expression, that emotion and I want that almost-hypnotized-experience.

I'm challenging myself to create for myself as well as others. I challenge you to do the same. Life is far too fragile and far too fleeting to not make today different than yesterday was. Maybe for yourself, your clients, or someone that stumbles upon your work some day.

Working for free may pay more than we are capable of calculating when we open our eyes to the possibilities of it. 
JG