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Women in the Outdoors

I just returned from the Women in the Outdoors event in the Ocala National Forest where I did Landscape Photography classes for the participants.

I didn't know what to expect when I arrived Friday but it turned out to be a very well organized event with lots of very nice people who love the outdoors. I was especially impressed with the number of Mothers and Daughters who came to spend the weekend together. The event lasts three days and as classes in archery, handguns, shotguns, canoeing, kayaking, outdoor cooking, fitness, fishing and many others and of course my landscape photography class.

The activities for after dinner Friday night included making duct tape purses, which actually turned out to be a lot of fun. I made a duct tape memory card holder since I have little use for a purse :) I never knew duct tape came in so many colors.

Saturday, I did four classes in a nice open air classroom and had time to get out and do some photography myself between classes.

This was very well organized, friendly and family oriented event and I'll definitely go back next time if they invite me. You can check out their programs by clicking here.

4 Things to ask yourself every day

If you're a freelancer your life depends on being successful at your chosen profession. If you have a "regular job" these four questions apply to you also.

It seems that all the great truths in life are simple. I've always believed that if I get up every morning and go to work, be diligent and do what I'm supposed to do I'll always be okay. True enough, but there's more to it to be successful and not just okay. After 21 years of being self employed, it comes down to four simple questions.

Here's what you need to ask yourself every day:

1) What did I do to earn money today?
2) What did I do to get more business today?
3) What did I do to improve myself today?
4) What did I do to build goodwill and friendships today?

That's it, simple. If you can give a good answer to these four questions every day you'll not only be okay, you'll prosper.

This has to be done every day except weekends and you must make yourself accountable. I recommend putting it in writing. There's something about writing that makes things more real because it makes things measurable. It's even better if you have someone else who can hold you accountable. Here are mine for today:

1) What did I do to earn money today? I got caught up on my billing.
2) What did I do to get more business today? I went on a sales call.
3) What did I do to improve myself today? I read some blogs that pertain to my industry.
4) What did I do to build goodwill and friendships today? I called some of my best evangelists just to touch base and see how they're doing.

Sure, I don't have answers for all four every day, but I try to. I know the better and more often I can answer these the better off I'll be.

The answers to these four questions = food, shelter, clothes, etc.

I wish you well in your career!

Chuck Vosburgh

How are you making sure you stay on track? Tell us in the comments below:

Photoraphy is not a crime, dumbass!

Friday night I was out shooting at the St Petersburg Shuffleboard Club with some of my closest friends and as usual, I couldn't go more than a couple hours without being hassled. It seems to be happening more frequently. Here how it went:

Some dude: "Hey, are you in charge of all these photographers?"
Me: "Um, Yeah I guess. Why do you ask?"
Some dude: Well isn't it kinda strange that there are a bunch of people around here taking pictures that I may be in and no one asked my permission?"
Me: "This is a public place and we have the permission of the management."
Some dude: "Well I don't want to be in any pictures without my permission."
Me (in my mind, not out loud): "Go home then and you won't be in any photos dumbass."
Me: "Hey we're just a bunch of photography students having a good time, alright?"
Some dude: Walks away muttering something...

It seems like people are getting more and more weird about cameras. I don't know if it's a change in our culture or if there are just more narcissistic idiots out there. This brings up the question "who can I shoot?" Here's a great resource for you on photographers rights written by a lawyer. Click here to get it.

First skateboards, now cameras. Gah!

Have you had anyone hassle you? Tell us about it in the comments:

Shooting handlebar to handlebar racing action

Saturday night, I went to see my nephew race at the local BMX track and of course, I took some photos. I'm not accustomed to shooting sports, much less sports at night, so it was a great chance to experiment and learn.

Here's what I found worked best:
I had a flash on a monopod and had my assistant (sister) hold it over the fence as close to the track as possible. The flash was set at 1/2 power and I adjusted the exposure by having her move closer or further to the spot where I wanted to shoot he riders. I know, pretty low-tech, but it works and it's easy. The camera was at ISO400, f2.8 for 1/125 sec. at 200mm. That's it, easy. Try it out and write how it works in the comments below.

What's your exit strategy?

I ask that question to people who ask me for advice on starting their creative business. It's a trick question. The response I really want is no answer at all. Here's why:

It's no secret that starting a business is hard. I've been self employed for a long time and I can tell you it stays hard, but the rewards are great. So what happens if your business falls on tough times, or worse yet, fails? How will you know when it's time to quit and go get a "real job"? Do you have a failure plan? It all boils down to guts and commitment. Here's a story to illustrate:

The story goes that when George Washington crossed the Potomac River, he ordered his men to burn the boats. He said "we're not going back". Washington knew that an easy way out undermines commitment when the going gets tough. Washington and his men were committed to win. It was the only way. Their only options were victory or death. I don't know if this is true or if it's just legend, but the point is important. Commitment takes guts.

Being self employed takes guts. It's your guts and commitment that will get you through when the going gets tough. No matter how tough it gets, you'll be tougher. Give it some thought. Are you 100% committed to your business? If you are, you are much more likely to succeed. If you aren't recommit yourself now.

You may think this sounds foolish. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying not to plan. Planning is vital to your success. Just make sure you are not spending your time on plans for failure. Put all of your effort into plans to succeed.

Make your plan, then burn the boats!

What kind of role has guts and commitment had in your business? Please share it with us in the comments.

Be right back...

I've been busy helping one of my family members who has been under the weather. I'll be back to writing in a couple of days. In the mean time, I have a lot of new images on Flickr from the Photo Walk, Lighting Class and some new digital drawings. See you shortly :)

Photo Walk
Studio Lighting
Digital Drawing

Also, new classes start next week at The Arts Center, some are full but you can check 'em out here

Chainsaw Chuck

My buddy Chainsaw Chuck stopped by my Studio Lighting Class at The Arts Center Thursday night for a few portraits. Chuck is a very talented illustrator and photographer and was more than happy to try anything we could think of.

For this image, I wanted to have a 30's kind of look and give him the look of great stature. So, in the spirit of old school lighting, I used a single bare bulb with a snoot on it. That's it.

Winner!

Congratulations to Joan Miller winner of the St Petersburg photo walk. After deliberating over 274 images, this beautiful image was chosen as the winner.

Click here to see all 274 of them.

Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk had over 8,000 photographers in nearly 300 cities around the world. There were about 70 here in St. Petersburg. Click here to see the Photo Walk site.

Scott Kelby on Being a Good Student

Scott wrote a great article about being a good student in his blog today. Check it out...

Lindsey the Substitute Model

In this week's studio lighting class our scheduled model had to cancel on short notice and Lindsey was kind enough to fill in and as usual, she was perfect. If you've followed this blog or attended any of my lighting classes, you've seen Lindsey.

This was a great opportunity to get more in depth with a basic, works-every-time lighting configuration and a little scrounging around the studio produced some nice props for us all to use.

Thanks to Lindsey and all the students for a great class!

Walk around downtown St Petersburg

Tonight I took my digital photo class for a little walk around downtown St. Petersburg and these are my three favorites. I always enjoy getting out to just shoot for fun with no expectations. I usually see some interesting things and tonight was no exception.

It's not unusual for someone to question what we're shooting, why and who we are and tonight was no exception. Usually it's a overzealous security guard, bu this time was a first for me. A homeless person wanted to know what we were shooting and even demanded proof that we weren't photographing him! I sent him on his way without allowing him to review my images as politely as possible as he threatened to call the police.

Of course all I could think of were smart-ass comments, but I kept them to myself. Everyone in my group had fun and got a good story!

More of Wendy

Here are some more images of Wendy. The settings and lighting are the same.

Color or Black and White?

Color or black and white? I say yes. Thanks to the Black and White Adjustment Layer in Photoshop CS3, you can have it both ways. The Black and White Adjustment Layer also has presets for common filters used in traditional black and white photography. In this case I used the red filter. The model is Wendy Sommers and this image was taken in my Studio Lighting class at The Arts Center in St Petersburg Florida.

So tell me what you think, color or black and white?