I started photography a long time ago. Longer than many of you, and not as long as some of you, but it was back when motor drives cost $5K, and we only printed black and white. On Fiber.
Much of what I learned then has sustained me for decades, and I loved every moment of the process. It was expensive and took a lot of time and was both exhilarating and brutal all at once. There was a good deal of a sense of accomplishment.
When I first set out, I had only two troughs for gunpowder flashes…
OK – it wasn’t that long ago, but my bag held a Nikon F2 (brand new on the market), a 43-86MM lens (quite possibly the worst lens Nikon ever made) and a 200MM f4 Nikkor (which rocked).
That was it. No wide angle, no zooms, no flash even.
I was on a climb. A mission to learn. Everything was a fascination for me.
I shot Kodachrome because of the incredible sharpness of it. Getting the little yellow boxes was like Disneyland every couple of days.
Until the discovery that half or more of the shots didn’t come out nearly as good as I thought they were going to be.
Stupid Kodak.
But somewhere along the line the boxes started containing a lot more ‘good’ ones than bad ones. Now it came down to content.
A plateau.
My bag got a bit heavier with the addition of a Gossen Luna Pro (birthday gift from dad), a 35MM f2 Nikkor and a tripod.
Climbing. Building.
Eventually my next plateau emerged. A 1400 SQ FT studio in a cool part of town that I could call my own and hang my own stuff. It was a great studio for me for6 years. I built a kitchen, and a small cyc. It had an airconditioned dark room and a nice storage area for the gear. Lots and lots of gear. Local ads became regional ads and they introduced me to national ads.
Heady days. Shooting nearly every day, only working a half day at a time (that’s 12 hours… ) and more.
Another plateau reached. Restlessness sets in and scope is raised to next target.
Bigass studio, with a 42FT cyc, full kitchen, 3 enlarger darkroom. These things came with staff, and a secretary studio manager and two full time assistants.
Plateau. One that can suck you in to want to camp there, and hang out there without any additional challenges. It becomes comfortable.
And comfortable is dangerous. It can lead to complacency and an overall eroding of the work. It becomes mundane, and mediocre and that leads to trivializing the whole thing.
We hung around that plateau for a decade or so. Shooting everything that came in the door. Garage door openers on Monday, food on Tues/Wed, tires on Thursday, a couple of beauty shots on Friday. Heady and fun and draining and I wouldn’t trade those days for anything.
But like all plateaus… eventually you spot another mountain and want to climb it as well.
My design skills took me into a small on the side design business that grew to the 3rd largest ad agency in Arizona billing millions of dollars. Dot-Bomb and 911 did us in, and I looked for another climb.
I always do.
I taught photography workshops and was voted one of the best Photography Workshop Teachers in the world by a readers poll on PDN late last year.
Both humbling and scary… how does one follow that?
I feel like I have been on a plateau here for quite a while. My design business is doing well, and I love my clients. The photography and photography education is rolling along. I love it, and I do it very well.
In the past year and a half I have written 3 books (over 130,000 words in those alone, as well as longasswinded tomes that I occasionally write on here.
I guess I am a writer now too.
That is a lot of stuff… and something got lost in the whirlwind.
My photography. While I was teaching, I was focused on that so much that I forgot to climb my work. I forgot to keep pushing myself. I was so busy pushing others, and creating challenges for others, that I didn’t push myself to grow.
Fixing that.
The teaching doesn’t have to suffer, in fact nothing has to suffer. (Well, it has been about 2 years since I watched any regular TV with any kind of ‘schedule’. I miss “The Closer” and “Burn Notice” but find time late in the evening to watch them on HULU once in a while.)
I am working toward a new portfolio… one that is closer to my sensibilities, my style, my vision. It is hard work, but it is rewarding work. More will be revealed in coming weeks and months. Back to roots with a vision that contains those roots and some new aesthetic as well.
And my photography is not the only thing that is changing to new levels.
Writing is more important to me now than ever before.
I am adding video for this blog – watch for it – coming soon.
I promise not to get all upset at internet idiots who have no clue… no, wait… I can’t promise that. That would be silly.
So here is my plan.
Spend one hour a day writing. Every day. Weekends too.
Spend at least one day a week shooting for me… personal projects, creative, portraits or even found objects.
Create a few products that will be of use to a lot of folks. Working on two at the moment.
Get out and meet more people. All over the region there are interesting and cool people doing stuff that is off the chart. I am going to meet them and find out what is going on in their world.
Simplify. My world has always been a bit chaotic. I think I like it that way, but lately it is way out of control. Simplification is the word of the month here at the Wizwow Compound. Cutting out some of the social media fat and adding more to the social media discourse.
And I want more dialog with the followers of this blog. I want to know you and provide the content you want. Essentials for Photographers is a project borne of love of the medium, and the people who create it.
So I have a metaphorical backpack on and my hiking stick in hand. I am going to climb some more… the way is still in the mist, but it is better than here. I just know it.
Have a great and productive day.
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