Working Artist's Duty

1:47am on New Year's Day. Still feels likes New Years Eve to me, I haven’t gone to bed yet. Elizabeth and I spent our New Year's Eve shooting a wedding. I finished importing my last wedding of the year, currently backing up to external hard drive while drinking a glass of Chianti Classico wine as I type this. Hope your holiday was a great one!

I have been writing and reading during my blog hiatus, felt good just to write. In this next year this blog will take on more of a diary style of writing to its format. No more “How-To” posts. Format is an odd word to use when blogging but I am going to use it.

Thinking about shutting off the comment option to this blog to keep my focus on generating a body of work and not to be influenced by what others think….not that I get many comments either way… It feels like the purity of creating and uploading for the sake of doing it should be enough. Not sure yet what, if anything, I will do.

For the past two years I have been community building, better yet, trying to community build in the photo community in Pittsburgh. I no longer will focus on that anymore. To my disappointment it seems more/most people (not all) are interested in opening a businesses than enjoying/learning the process of creating photographs. That's not a bad thing, unless the knowledge is being used to jump in with both feet while neglecting the process of gaining experience, being ethical to the professional community around you and the clients you are about to serve...which seemed to be the case.

Why? It could have been me; there is a good chance that I delivered the wrong message. So let me put it straight: Create something new, daily. Enjoy the creative process. If you have a passion to understand the craft of photography by all means go for it. It’s a great life.

With that said, teaching, consulting and workshops will continue but the open door policy that I have embraced will be no more.

Let me offer two apologies: one to the people with passion and effort who have a love for the creative process,. And two: to the established photo community at large, I meant no harm. I am sorry for the culture that arose.

Let me end with some good news…

I deeply believe that it is the working artist's duty to mentor and help the next generation of up and coming artist. I promise that I will figure out a way to help those who are truly passionate about there craft.

Do the least amount of harm possible and be aware of the harm that you cause.

Be Back 1.1.11

Its been a great year. Thanks for reading.

Night Photography & Workshops

Up at 5:30am, feeling awake…not sure why. Went to bed at 1am. I did drink my body weight in coffee yesterday morning, maybe that had something to do with it?

Will be going out tomorrow night to do some city-night photography. I love the light and the extreme dark of the winter sky in Pittsburgh, an odd juxtaposition that only happens in the cold. Not a fan of freezing, but a fan of the results and the experience of shooting. The cold weather brings stillness to the city streets, few choose to battle the cold.

For this outing I will be changing myself to shoot night photography in a different way. Typically I perch myself atop one of the city overlooks and shoot long exposures, f/22 ISO 100 & 30seconds is my sweet spot for night compositions. Tomorrow I will be going hand-held shooting wide open with a fast ISO for the conditions. Not sure what will happen, if anything, but I will be leaving the tripod at home (that in itself will be change enough for me).

I will be teaching my last workshop of the year tonight. Next series of workshops will not start until late January. The HOW TO EVERYTHING workshop is back for only one date this year. You can book (HERE) if interested.

Looking for some good novels to read, any recommendations are welcomed.

Life, Updates & Random Stuff

New Photography Workshop Book HERE

Weather is cold, brisk winds; snow flurries fill the nighttime skies. I haven’t had to shovel the driveway yet. Will see what the morning brings me.

Finished two book by Douglas Rushkoff this week, “Life Inc.” & “Program or be Programmed”. These two books are a good ending to a year of reading about digital culture & digital commerce. The best book by far was “You Are Not a Gadget” by Jaron Lanier (I read it twice. It was that good). If you work or create in the digital realm, I highly recommend Lanier's book.

This time of year it is appropriate to write about reflections of the past year or resolutions of the year to come, but I just do not feel like sharing it at this time. Been journaling about what I have learned and experience this year. This year has been about flux, growth, new directions and a return to basics.

What I would like to share is that meditation and journaling are the two best tools that I know of to help spur creativity.

I will be modifying my copyright next year. Will be sticking with Creative Commons, just tightening the usage/flexibility of the licensing of my work.

Until then if you like the photo above feel to download it (HERE).

Moment

Current Reading: Life Inc. By Douglas Rushkoff
Current Music: Bright Size Life by Pat Metheny
Mood:Existential
Smells: Courvoisier
Sounds: Heater
Temperature: 19 degrees
Thoughts: Picture quality or quality of picture????

Feedback ~ Critique Me

Art or accident? Which do you think?

Common Photo-Biz Mistakes

***** Special Note: This will most likely be one of my last "how-to" posts on the photo biz topic. For awhile I felt myself moving in the guru direction which I do not feel that I am a good fit for. I hope you find this article helpful, it has helped me along my journey. ******


The artist’s job is to create, grow, earn and keep their audience (a.k.a. the client.) This is why so many photography businesses fail within their first 2 – 5 years of being open. No audience.

Common nonsense mistakes that photographers make:

1. SEO is marketing.
2. Websites and blogs are enough.
3. Traditional media (mass or targeted) work in a digital world.

SEO, websites and blogs are the minimum tools that you need to manage your digital-find-ability. SEO, websites and blogs are mandatory and important, but they are not marketing.

Five years ago when the transition from brick and mortar studios to online studios was happening SEO, websites and blogs were the best transitional tools a person could possibly use.

Today SEO, websites and blogs are only as effective as a listing in the yellow pages, a marquee storefront sign and the unlocking of your front door for business.

It’s mandatory, it's important, but it is not marketing...it is only letting Google know that you are open for business.

What works in digital commerce/culture?
1. Photography communicates better than anything else…share it.
2. You are either transparent or obscure in today’s photography market.
3. You must sculpt a photo-biz to suit your own personal intentions and life. (This is what "authentic" is)
4. Attention-grabbing media works. Go out and earn your audience, daily.
5. If you believe in your photographs then get them in the hands (or screens) of your audience.

I ended a blog post last week with a quote by Douglas Rushkoff. It feels like a perfect ending to this post.

“As many small business owners soon learned, going online often costs them their last real competitive advantage against conglomerates; the human relationship and connections they enjoyed in the real world.”

Pittsburgh Wedding Photographers

Rant on Social Media

Social media has become way too corporate and commercialized for me to employ as a trustworthy tool.

Is social media transparent or media-hyped for big biz? Is there any part of “social” left or is it all just “media”?

I cannot watch a commercial or buy a product without being asked to follow them (insert company name here) to become a follower (insert cult reference here). I do not want to follow a product or company. I want to learn something new, daily, from a person.

I am Twittered out, Facebooked over. The oddest (most enjoyable) hypocritical thing is that this rant will automatically be fed by RSS to Facebook and somebody will most likely share this link on Twitter.

Disclaimer of the hypocritical writer alert:

I like Facebook & Twitter… I used and will use them for my photography biz and personal connection. (Friend me, please?...we could get coffee together)

Let me end this rant with a quote by Douglas Rushkoff.

“As many small business owners soon learned, going online often costs them their last real competitive advantage against conglomerates; the human relationship and connections they enjoyed in the real world.”

Going out for a cup of coffee….

Bye.

Washington D.C.

Spent some time in Washington D.C. over the Thanksgiving weekend. Traveling during a holiday weekend was easier than I expected.

Went down D.C. to do some night photography of the city. The art portfolio of our website has not been updated in awhile. In the last year I have been traveling much more than previous years but I have not taken photos of the cities that I have been in. In this upcoming year a stronger focus on creating photos for art portfolio is a goal.

While in D.C. we ate at an Ethiopian restaurant. It was my first time enjoying the cuisine. We ate a plate of sautéed vegetables served on a sheet of bread named “Injera”. Injera is made from the teff flour and it is a crepe thin bread that you use to scoop up the food. No utensils are used for the meal, only your hands and Injera bread.

Good cuisine, new experience and bad wine. We selected a bottle of wine that the grapes came from Ethiopia and bottled in California, not good, at all.

The photography did not turn out as I hoped. The photos will not make it to the website but I have shared a previous photos (HERE) on the blog and the photo above I like but it's not art portfolio worthy.

The weather was windy, extremely. My tripod, which is heavy, was shaking in the wind. It was the first time my tripod could not stand up to the elements.

Photo of the Week ~ Light Up Night 2010

Why Be Needy?

I read the book “Etiquette of Freedom” and watched the companioned movie “The Practice of the Wild”. The topic was of Gary Snyder's works and life.

Snyder has been a strong influence on my view about understanding the space that you live in. Be it the soil under your feet, the street you live on or the woods that you hike through, understanding your surroundings and your impact on the environment is important.

This current work is a conversation between Snyder and Jim Harrison (an American author known for his poetry, fiction and essays). The conversation ranges from landscapes, Zen, poetry, human studies and reincarnation.

Snyder calls reincarnation a “charming metaphor”. I like his choice of words in describing the un-describable. For me I think of reincarnation as a romantic notion, getting to be all things at some point in our journey.

My favorite quote from the book is:

“So, why be needy? Why be looking for new experiences? Instead, let’s settle in and see what we can really think about now….we have already been every possible form already. So why be needy.” - Snyder

What I take away from the passage is – stop seeking and start noticing what is happening all around you. Do not search out new experiences, but take the time to notice all the things that are already arising within and all around you. That means that we can start living moments to their fullest.

That’s what enlightenment just might be...

Photo of the Week ~ Ambient Art

Moment

Current Reading: The Mind’s Eye by Oliver Sacks
Current Music: Everybody Loves Happy a Ending by Tears for Fears
Mood: Under the weather, not feeling well mood..
Smells: Coffee
Sounds: Quite house
Temperature: Light snow, 30 degrees
Thoughts: Life is random chaos with simplistic moments of perfection arising every moment.

Moment

Current Reading: Life Inc. By Douglas Rushkoff
Current Music: Bright Size Life by Pat Metheny
Mood:Existential
Smells: Courvoisier
Sounds: Heater
Temperature: 19 degrees
Thoughts: Picture quality or quality of picture????

The Conversation

The Conversation

I have been avoiding having a conversation with myself about photography and my place in it. This is going to be a rather long post with a mix of rants and a release of things I need to say.

As a photographer I want to share and learn from others. Although creating a photo is a singular experience that cannot be shared with others, this is where my struggle starts.

Throughout my creative life I have been toting around a guitar, a camera and a journal, neither tool being more important than the other. This is how I like to work. Photography has been the most financially rewarding but it has been equal to music and writing in my artistic endeavors.

For a long time I have thought of myself as a working artist not limited to a single title or tool (which I still do).

I have been drawn to the conversation between musicians and writers. In my experience musicians and writers have a collective-collaborating-brothers-in-arms attitude. In photography that community familiarity has been missing for me.

Two musicians can sit across a room and create a single piece of music. Two writers can share in dialogues creating a single narrative; two painters can create a single mural. In photography we cannot share in creating an exposure. This creates a limitation to the tool and a gift to the process: one photographer, one exposure, and one singular creation.

In photography the best we can do is share ideas, tips and help to critique, which we do…sometimes. There is plenty of information being shared on the Internet. The web 2.0 open-source culture has created a mountain of re-worked, re-hashed and re-mixed ideas. Tweets, Facebook updates and how-to-articles (of which I have contributed plenty) have over four hundred million results when entering a Google search for the term “photographer”.

But there is no conversation; it is reactive, lacking the collective – collaborating process.

All too often in my last couple of years of teaching (Photo 101) people keep asking me for a map: a how-to-list on how to create a photo. There is no map...only understanding your tools, light and your own personal journey behind the camera.

This is where I have fallen short as a teacher: properly explaining the “what” and the “when” of becoming a photographer.

The understanding of how to use your camera in Manual, or how creating a photograph with the proper exposure does not make you a photographer any more than knowing how to use a hammer and saw does not make you a carpenter.

But photography is not a collective-collaborating experience. So when is it ok to consider yourself a photographer, and not just a person who owns a camera? There is no one correct answer to that question but there are some strong guidelines that I would recommend.

You might be considered a photographer…
~When you find that you are taking 10,000 or more photos a year.
~When you can create the image that you want to see, not the image your camera gives to you.
~ When you can problem solve in any light condition, effortlessly
~ When you no longer feel “If I only had that piece of equipment my photos would be better.”

When to go pro?
~ When you understand photography is not a profession, it’s a craft. Profession entails a great deal more.
~ When you can be honest with yourself and ethical to your clientele about your skill and experience level.
~When you are no longer surprised when you take a good, it is expected.
~When you are 100% accountable and know that you can deliver great photos, daily.
~When your surrounding professional photography community accepts you as a peer, not a hack.

I understand everything I just said is completely subjective and every point can be refuted. But that is the point; if you find that you need to define or explain why you’re a photographer, than you’re not.

No amount of equipment, technology, or Google research can make you a photographer. The only way to become a good photographer is by daily practice with purpose and effort, that and only that will develop you into a photographer.

I believe deeply in the power of creativity but this is where I have also fallen short in my teaching.

I have taught people how to use their camera (minimally at that, remember it’s just photo 101) and some have taken that to mean that they can now consider them selves pro. I do not wish to cut off anybody’s dream of becoming a photographer but I do want to plead to you to make the jump slowly, with caution and respect.

I do urge you to take photos, create something new daily because you love the process of creating and because you love the feel of the camera in your hands. Because you cannot imagine yourself not taking photos because you feel regret when you leave the house without your camera in hand, when your dreams and nightmares are about photography.

Photography is a limitless lifetime journey, enjoy the process, take great photos and share them.

With the fear of sounding like a grumpy old photographer myself, have this conversation with yourself.

Be ethical to the craft of photography. A photo is not a collective-collaborating process, know thy self….

Washington D.C.

Time Off

Happy Thanksgiving, see you next week.

Peace ~ John

Pittsburgh PA, Light Up Night 2010

You can see additional photos (HERE)

Moment

Current Reading: You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier
Current Music: Winter of Mixed Drinks by Frightened Rabbit
Mood: Awake, finally
Smells: Coffee
Sounds: My dog pacing
Temperature: Currently 37 degrees
Thoughts: To take a simple and somewhat minimalist approach to life.

Ramdom Thoughts

The second day in a row that I had a bad night's sleep, feeling quite groggy and numb as I write this.

Last night there was a windstorm that woke not only us but also the house. The wind was so powerful that it set off the alarm in the house, twice. The odd thing was our reaction to turn off the alarm before making sure the house was not broken into. Simple lesson learned; give the house a walk through for burglars before turning off the alarm.

The morning sky was dark gray with moving clouds. The last of the leaves have fallen from the trees marking an end to the autumn season and the birth of winter for me.

Spent the last couple of days thinking about the digital-connectedness of my life (a love-hate relationship). I miss conversations with actual real people. My days are filled up with responses to emails, tweets, and facebook, but very little conversations.

I made the decision to redesign my blog to a simple and somewhat minimalist style. The purpose is to keep my focus on the format to be a “working portfolio”. A place for me to document my projects and keep a diary of my thoughts.

Last night our “Create | Connect | Grow” meet-up had a nice turn out with good conversation, which confirmed my feeling for the need of more conversation and less responding.

Going for a walk…

Photo of the Week

This Week ~ Updates

Tuesday ~ Create | Connect | Grow (info HERE)
Thursday ~ Photo Workshop in McKeesport
Friday ~ Photo-Walk

Others Stuff….

So thrilled to announce that Elizabeth and I finally nailed down a date for our HOW TO EVERYTHING: PHOTOGRAPHY workshop!

If you would like to have the mysteries of the photo-universe revealed (well…most of them at least ) then this is for you! See below for further info.

TO REGISTER FOLLOW THIS LINK!
http://craig-photography.com/workshop/howtophoto/

Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer

New Project

“Creativity is only art if it’s shared.”

That sentence is the corner stone to a new project that I am starting.

The project is based on the subject of managing your photography life & biz. If I write this correctly you will come to think of your personal life and professional life to be married into one fluid life, which I call “Deliberate Living”.

My current working titles are “PHOTONOMICS”, “ART*LOGIKE” . Not sure which title I like yet. Any thoughts are welcomed.

Too often running a photography business feels like doing homework, rather than the work you were meant to do.

Does this sound like you? “I just need to get this thing done (return e-mails) before moving on to the next thing that needs done (updating social media) so I can get to my fun work: the creative stuff that I want to do.”

There are too many jobs within jobs that all need equal attention to keep the business moving forward.

What if you could do one thing deliberately with many positive outcomes?

It’s a business first, even if your business is to create art. That is a hard thing to say out loud for the majority of us who work in photography.

Art and commerce have a long-standing love affair with each other that is not going to go away, especially in this digital culture.

****************

Curious? So What do you think?

As always, share your thoughts with me....

Dates & Links

Next ~ Create | Connect | Grow

When: November 16
Topic: Marketing, SEO & Attracting Clients
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Where: 502 W. North Ave. Pgh 15212

open to all…

Next Photo Walk
November 19 ~ Photo Walk / Light Up Night
Where: West End Overlook
Time: 8pm (time subject to change)

open to all...

Links
SEO tips (HERE)
More SEO (HERE) be sure to watch the video.
EVENT page (HERE) for workshops.
Pittsburgh Boudoir Photography | Valentine’s Day Boudoir Special | Elizabeth Craig Intimates (HERE)

Moment

Current Reading: The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking
Current Music: Call of Love by Peter Kater
Mood: Busy, out of breath
Smells: Eggs & Toast
Sounds: Coffee brewing, percolating
Temperature: 32 degrees
Thoughts: You can either be a partial or a wave or just a wave or just a partial….trippy

1,000 Free Photos ~ Day 5 (Last Day)

~ My goal is simple: to give away 1,000 free photos in 5 days.

~Everyday this week I will post a new photo to get me closer to my goal.

~ All the photos are copyrighted under a creative commons to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work (wish I hope you do).

~ You can share or do anything you wish with these photos.

~ Please share these photos freely, post them on your blog, facebook, twitter, e-mail or hang a large print in your home (that is my wish).

Download full resolution photos (HERE)
Download screen saver size (HERE)

1,000 Free Photos ~ Day 4

~ My goal is simple: to give away 1,000 free photos in 5 days.

~Everyday this week I will post a new photo to get me closer to my goal.

~ All the photos are copyrighted under a creative commons to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work (wish I hope you do).

~ You can share or do anything you wish with these photos.

~ Please share these photos freely, post them on your blog, facebook, twitter, e-mail or hang a large print in your home (that is my wish).

Download full resolution photos (HERE)
Download screen saver size (HERE)

1,000 Free Photos ~ Day 3

~ My goal is simple: to give away 1,000 free photos in 5 days.

~Everyday this week I will post a new photo to get me closer to my goal.

~ All the photos are copyrighted under a creative commons to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work (wish I hope you do).

~ You can share or do anything you wish with these photos.

~ Please share these photos freely, post them on your blog, facebook, twitter, e-mail or hang a large print in your home (that is my wish).

Download full resolution photos (HERE)
Download screen saver size (HERE)

1,000 Free Photos ~ Day 2

~ My goal is simple: to give away 1,000 free photos in 5 days.

~Everyday this week I will post a new photo to get me closer to my goal.

~ All the photos are copyrighted under a creative commons to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work (wish I hope you do).

~ You can share or do anything you wish with these photos.

~ Please share these photos freely, post them on your blog, facebook, twitter, e-mail or hang a large print in your home (that is my wish).

Download full resolution photos (HERE)
Download screen saver size (HERE)

1,000 Free Photos

~ My goal is simple: to give away 1,000 free photos in 5 days.

~Everyday this week I will post a new photo to get me closer to my goal.

~ All the photos are copyrighted under a creative commons to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work (wish I hope you do).

~ You can share or do anything you wish with these photos (except sell them).

~ Please share these photos freely, post them on your blog, facebook, twitter, e-mail or hang a large print in your home (that is my wish).

Download full resolution photos (HERE)
Download screen saver size (HERE)

Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer

A Walk in the Woods ~ Time Off

Going for a long walk in the woods. See you next week.

Check out the editorial photography of Pittsburgh's own Annie O'Neill (The work is amazing)

The Last Photo

I went to a funeral last Friday: my cousin, 46 years old. Sad, very sad. In the viewing room the family set up a collage of photos throughout his life. In the bottom right hand corner was a photo of my Great Grandmother. I have never before seen a photo of her and I had also never heard her name spoken out loud. There it was, the photo of the person who gave birth to my Grandfather. If not for her in this world I would not be standing in this funeral home.

This photo got me thinking about the last time a photo will be shown of you. Is this your last death? When will the memory of you fade away to the point that nobody puts out a photo of you anymore?

Moments

Current Reading: What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly
Current Music: A Reality Tour Live by David Bowie
Mood: Building an empire
Smells: Soap
Sounds: Typing keys & Bowie
Temperature: 58 degrees
Thoughts: Cleaning out Lightroom feels good!!!!

Chinese Tea Ceremony

This was a cool shoot....

How Do You Get To Be Known?

I have been involved in lots of SEO conversations lately. I find the topic to be boring & interesting??? I come from the marketing philosophy of earn your audience.

Below is the list of "The How & Why” of my blog.

Be interesting, very interesting.

Be a constant creator, daily.

Know whom you are creating for.

Know why you are creating (for yourself, for reaction, as a resource…understand the why of what you do).

It’s a short list, but true. I love creating content, daily. I hope you enjoy it.

So what about you? How do you get to be known?

Photo of the Week

Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

The Camera is not Imporant!

To take a photograph the least important thing that you need is a camera.

I’m not sure if I have written about this here before, but it's true. The camera is not as important as you think. In all truth it is the last thing you need to take a photograph.

Seeing is the most important thing followed by light.

If you are looking for a compositional map on “how-to” create a photograph here it is.

Sight, light and thought. The mysteries of the photo universe have just been revealed to you.

A photograph is what you want it to be. No manual, no book, no teacher (including me) can tell you how to compose a photograph.

I am finding this hard for people to understand. There is no map in photography. Only a journey.

Bad photographs create great photographs…take bad photos, lots of them. Enjoy the process. You will get better, much better.

Currently I am daydreaming about a photo that I will take in approximately three weeks when the fall colors are just right. Will it work out? Probably not.

The weather has to be right, the sky has to be right I have to be free to shoot that night...so many thing could make this shot never happen. But I dream about what I may create. I see the colors, I see the reflections in the skyline, I see the trees, I see the framing, I see how my eye will travel into the subject matter.

In essence the photograph is taken, I am just waiting for the right moment to press down on the shutter.

P.S.
I had a great night of photo conversation and a couple of beers….Compositional process is a good thing.

Photo of the Week

All photography & artwork on this site is licensed under a creative commons licensing: Please feel free to use and distribute the photography & artwork in accordance with the licensing

Create Connect & Grow

Hi all there will be no Create Connect & Grow meet up this month.

The next meet up will be:

November 16 ~ Create | Connect | Grow
FREE Q&A / Networking 7pm - 9pm
Where: 502 W. North Ave. Pgh 15212

Updates & Links

We updated our Craig Photography logo, you can check it out (HERE)

I will be writing an article for the "Pictage Blog" twice a month. You can read it(HERE)

Elizabeth has written a post for "Pittsburgh Wedding Blog" you can read it (HERE)

Pittsburgh Boudoir Photography: Guest Post

Hola Photog peeps! Elizabeth Craig here giving a shout out to myself. ;-)




Now offering holiday specials. Contact me for more information and don’t forget to visit my site. And be sure to visit Wedding Wire’s blog, Wedding Aces! Jody Wimer, owner of Jody’s Pantry Catering, posted a collage of mine today along with a fun article about boudoir photography. ;-) Thanks Jody! You can visit Jody at her website or her Facebook page!

Photo of the Week

Unnoticeable ~ Short Story

I always awake at dawn. Looking over at my alarm clock and think, why bother to set it? Make the bed, let the dog out, open the fridge, grab the coffee and repeat everyday. This is my morning ritual. Oh yeah forgot; check e-mail, read web while coffee is brewing.

I work from home and this gives me liberties that few others have, such as working in boxers and optional showering. I can go days without seeing or talking to anyone, especially talking. I do get out. I like to walk. I like to sit in coffeehouses and write. This makes me feel like I am the last of the beatnik generation of writers. Getting all Kerouac-O-Wacky rambling on about the unnoticeable-ness of my life and how odd it is to be self-aware of my own unnoticeable-ness, well…that just makes me feel special.

It has been seven days since the last time I left the house. My days have been a fog of writing, photography and practicing the guitar. No special goal in mind. I am lucky enough that I have enough money in the bank and no schedule to answer to. So, I go into hermit mode from time to time.

The weather has changed; autumn has arrived and with that came my nightmares. Never found out why but when summer leaves and autumn arrives I get nightmares; vicious, crazy, scary nightmares of people who only look like living silhouettes and shadows.

I think this is why I awake at dawn. As soon as the night leaves, my body needs the light to free itself from the terrors that nighttime brings on.

I do what I can to keep the nightmares under control. I drink Scotch, lots and lots of Scotch whisky. God bless the distilleries of Scotland for single malt. For reasons unknown to me only Scotch can help; it is not a savior, but it helps. I think it is the slight coma that too much scotch can bring on. Red wine enhances the nightmares; beer does nothing to help and chamomile tea just pisses off the demons in my head.

Day eight, need to get out of the house. I smell from the past seven days of stale air that I sat in. Need food, make myself a tomato sandwich. Toast the bread grab the last tomato from my garden, add some fresh basil, and smear on red pepper hummus. Wash the meal down with a dark beer. It’s ok to have beer with breakfast when you are accountable to no one. Need a days worth of supplies before heading out the door. Grab my journal, laptop, two pens (deliberately leave my phone at home) and toss in a bag of cashews. Tennis shoes on, fleece pullover on and out the door on a forty-five minute walk to Uptown coffee where I can be all-judgmental-of–society while drinking black coffee.

The air is wet and I can see my breath as I walk up the hill to Bower Road. The neighborhood is quiet. Day-job-people, thank God I don’t have one of those. Surprised more people don’t go cubical than postal….I guess we all lead our own life of 9 to 5 repetition. Lucky for me pants are optional in my life of repetition.

Turn the corner at Saint Clair Hospital and I watch a bus let out.

Black silhouette shadows of people get off the bus. My heart stops, I lose my breath. I stand frozen as the black silhouette shadows move past me. Heat - they give off heat, like standing next to a coal furnace and the noise is unbearable; it is as if ten thousand conversations are happening all at the same time.

The bus pulls away and I am alone on the street. I catch my breath and panic at the same time. I sit on the curb. I question…Am I awake? This is a dream, it must be a dream? I am awake, f-ing awake, cars are moving, birds are chirping. Look left then right; no black silhouette shadows. This must be the onset of schizophrenia. Maybe I am a better writer than I thought. Pull it together, get up and walk.

I make it to the coffeehouse all the while questioning the onset of my crazy mind disease. My heart never slows back down. Scotch. I need scotch. Walk in the coffeehouse; no one is looking up. I go directly into the bathroom and splash water on my face. Looking into the mirror I cannot see my reflection, only a black silhouette shadow of myself. I can see everything else reflecting in the mirror. The sink, toilet, green wallpaper, the photo on the walls, but not me. It’s like looking at a photo of yourself where someone has rubbed black ink over the image. As I move, the black silhouette shadow moves; as I splash more water on my face so does the black silhouette shadow. As I turn and move so does the black silhouette shadow.

This is not real. I open the bathroom door.

The coffeehouse is filled with black silhouette shadows drinking coffee and having conversation, reading books, typing on laptops, having conversations…all this is real. I can see the books, laptops, coffee cups; I can see movement in everything. I can hear the voices, too many voices…

I am cold, so cold. I black out.

I awake later, no idea how long I was out. Nobody came to help me. I lay on the floor balled-up right out side the bathroom door in the fetal position.

My vision comes back into focus slowly. Head hurts and my mouth is dry. Looking down I notice that I can see my hands, I can see my feet, I touch my face and feel the whiskers on my chin. Rub my hands through my hair, I am alive…I am alive. I get up and go back into the bathroom, take a deep breath and look in the mirror…black silhouette shadow. The room is in the reflection but I cannot see my own face. I can look down and see my hands but only the smoke fog of my reflection can been seen in the mirror.

Leave the bathroom for a second time and walk into the coffeehouse.

The coffeehouse is empty. The black silhouette shadows are gone. I am alone.

The smells of fresh coffee and baked goods are in the air. I help myself to a blueberry muffin from behind the counter; poor a cup of coffee and sit down with a Wall Street Journal newspaper that was left sitting on the bar. Look at the date on the top of the paper: October 5th 2010. The headline reads “New CEO at Twitter”, “Stocks slump and Obama Scales Back on Legislative Plans”. This is too mediocre of a day for this to be a dream.

Take a bite of the muffin and think to myself that this is the best damn muffin I ever had. With onset of mental disease comes the blessing of clarity. I giggle out loud; a pure Zen moment during the onset of schizophrenia. The coffee is burnt.

I grab the fork on the table and stab my left forearm; blood comes out, definitely not a dream. Grab the old napkins left on the table to stop the blood.

This is a genuine experience. Odd but genuine. I can see my body, just not in the mirror.

Life is happening outside this coffeehouse, but inside I sit alone.

Alien abductions? I have been reading “The Transmigration of Timothy Archer” by Philip K. Dick. Nightmares, scotch and reading way too much Philip K. Dick could bring on my mental break.

I was recently researching government secret human experimentation, could I have stumbled onto something? Could this be a cover up by bringing on madness so I don’t go public? Probably not since I have no findings past Google conspiracy search on “human radiation experiments conducted by the U.S. government.”

I never did learn what brought on my nightmares or the black-silhouette-shadow-people of my dreams. All I do know is that they come to life every autumn and leave in the springtime.

In between wakening life of the day and haunting nightmare of the dark…

I am unnoticeable….

Moment

Current Reading: Ghost Tree by Bill Deasy
Current Music: A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles
Mood: Good, very good
Smells: Coffee & books
Sounds: Hum of a heater
Temperature: 55 degrees
Thoughts: Writing next e-book, working title "Create, Connect & Grow"

Feedback ~ Critique Me

Let me hear it....

Barefoot & Half Naked

The weather has changed in Pittsburgh. Autumn has arrived, the nights are cold, the mornings are misty and damp and the light is late to wake up. Seasonal changes in Pittsburgh are not brought in by the calendar as much as it is brought in by a dramatic storm.

Couple days ago we lost power in our home; first time in four years in our new home. A microburst storm blew through our community ripping down trees and power lines. The storm took only about twenty minutes to end summer and bring in autumn.

During the storm I was driving home from the store. I watched a tree fall across the road in front of me blocking the roadway. An older man and I get out of our cars and start trying to pull a tree out of the road during the middle of the storm; two strangers meeting in the street.

This is when I realized how happy my life is…

I am standing in this street with no shoes on and no shirt on. Why? Because moments before I was running out of the grocery store to my car and I got soaked, completely drench. The temperature dropped from high eighties to low sixties. I was freezing. So I took off my shirt, ripped off my shoes (5 fingers are not good in a rain storm, at all) turned up the heat and drive home in the storm. One of the things that I hate about driving in a storm is that you cannot enjoy music in your car no matter how loud you turn it up.

Loud music, even louder storm and then a crashing tree in front of me; the odd thing was there was no sound. It was like watching a scary movie when they play classical music in the middle of a crazy Freddy Krueger scene. I watched the tree fall, roots ripped out of the soil. No sound, eerie…

Next the old man and I struggle with the tree with no luck. Then he notices the barefoot half naked man working alongside of him.

This moment was one of those moments of clarity. Like one of those moments at the last ten minutes of any TV mystery show. The camera pans in on the lead character, s/he looks up at the sky and at that moment you know that they have the answer (typical scenes like these have classical music playing during the epiphany…just an fyi).

As this man is staring at me half naked and barefoot I tell him I’m in my work clothes. He laughs, we struggle with the tree, and he says to me in his drenched suit, "Wish I had a job like yours."

I am free.

Photography provides me with a life of work on my on terms (most days).

Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

How to Avoid Social Media Homework

Tips on how-to-avoid social media as homework…

One of the things I am finding interesting lately is how professional photographers view social media in terms of marketing, community building and growing their businesses.

It seems that the old-time, established photographers (35 yrs and older…sorry to whoever I just offended...deepest apologies) look at social media as another thing added to the ever-expanding To-Do-list. While the younger generation (Gen-Y) looks at social media as the only thing to do.

Digital-life-business-culture is here, support it, do not avoid it. (But there is no need to be overwhelmed by it either.)

Part 1: Social media is not something added to your workload…it's a tool to cut your workload in half.

This is why social medial is a tool & not homework. It is one of the few (if not only) business tools that allows to you accomplish many things with one action (a.k.a. timesaver)

I have yet to meet one photographer who misses the brick and mortar studio. The overhead itself has created many studios to fail. With the brick and mortar studio gone so is the traditional marketing and advertising that used to work.

Majority of photographers do not want to market or advertise; they want to create great photographs

Then do that, let photography be your marketing and advertising.

In the brick and mortar studio days we had storefront sidewalks. Nobody understood the value of those sidewalks until they went away.

What did the sidewalk provide that is lost in today’s digital-storefront?

Walk-by traffic
Drive-by traffic
Community
Storefront windows
Neighboring businesses
Conversation

Reasons why to think of social media as a tool

Findability
Shows that you are authentic
Conversation starter

The #1 reason is…Social media, if used correctly, will cut through the clutter of adverting and marketing that you don’t want to do anyway.

Part 2 - How-to-tips on social media as a tool

Create, Connect & Grow - Do one thing with multiple outcomes.

Create something new, and share it – This is the formula to success: “create & share”. Those who work constantly work, well...constantly. And those who do not constantly work go out of business, forever.

Deliver it, ship it, constantly – Show up for work, daily. There is no longer a brick and mortar store or a sidewalk to let people know that you showed up today. Social media gives you the opportunity to unlock your store, turn on the lights and flip over the Open for Business sign on your door front.

Decommoditize – you’re the only thing that cannot be copied. People buy from people they know. Let them know about YOU!

Learn to love “Feeds” “RSS” & “Ping.fm” (be sure to click on the hyper links if these words mean nothing to you)

Set the rules you want – You now have the tools to build whatever future you want, enjoy.

Build your portfolio and grow your business with the same actions…and its FREE.

I'd like to hear from you. So what do you think?

Time Off

Need a break from my own thoughts...see you next week. Enjoy the disconnect!

Photo of the Week

Walk, Education & Links

Took a great walk with this couple above, this shoot was fun....

This week starts my season of photography education; this time as the teacher. The classes that I will instruct on are the basic “How To” class.

They will be held at various libraries throughout Pittsburgh. The best part is that they are free, yep free. If you have been following this blog throughout the years then you will know how much I love the library, (1st time readers – I love the library). It’s a place you go when you’re in need of knowledge, and it’s free.

Who is this class for?

In your gut you want to be a photographer. Or maybe you just want to learn how to use that expensive camera you just bought but you’re not sure who to ask. You have a great eye for composition but you just need some guidance, an advisor to help YOU fulfill your dreams. Make the jump from thinking, daydreaming and create great photographs…

Check out the “Event Page” at the top of the page for dates, locations & times.

P.S.

Pictage blog published one of my "How To" posts. You can read it (HERE)

Next “Photo Walk” will be on Light Up night, November 19th.

Tonight come out and listen to Vincent Pugliese give a talk on
The “How” & “Why” on the art of seeing.

Moment

Current Reading: The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guilebeau
Current Music: Lost in America by Gathering Field
Mood: Excited
Smells: Clean House
Sounds: MSNBC., background noise
Temperature: 73 degrees & sunny
Thought: This is the start of the education season, as the teacher....

Ramdom

Scene from last night...
An interesting read by Patrick Renyolds "The Path of Laziness"
Have a good weekend!

Next Tuesday Night

Create | Connect | Grow w/ Vincent Pugliese

When: September 21
Topic: The “How” & “Why” on the art of seeing: with Vincent Pugliese
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Where: 502 W. North Ave. Pgh 15212

Bio: Vincent Pugliese

Super Bowl XXXV (Ravens-Giants)
Super Bowl XXXVII (Rams-Patriots)
Photojournalist for New York Newsday
The Associated Press in New York
National Hockey League
World Wrestling Federation (can you believe that!?)
The Courier & Press in Evansville, Indiana
Wedding Photography (with his lovely & more talented wife Elizabeth)

Degree in Visual Communication, Ohio University

Website - http://elizabethvincentphotography.com/
Blog - http://elizabethvincentphotography.com/blog/

Open to all, Please RSVP

Nine Years Ago...

Today's date 9.11.10, city of Washington D.C., local time 6:47 am

I open the curtains to my hotel room that overlooks the city at dawn. Sitting in a chair drinking coffee I watch the city slowly come to life. A garbage truck picking up, a lady walking her dog, homeless person sleeping covered in newspapers in the park, window blinds starting to open in the Brownstone apartments letting the morning light in. Here I sit, I watch.

Nine years ago this city was under attack by a terrorist threat.

What am I doing here? Vacationing with my wife.

My day starts out with a long walk to a French patisserie; I did not know that words like "patisserie" even existed. LePain Quotidien patisserie, sounds French…isn’t that cool…in I-wish-I-could-pronounce-it sort of way. The menu reads organic ingredients, sustainable farming, and baked fresh everyday starting at 3am.

Next, this beautiful Ethiopian waitress with a poetic voice asks “Coffee for two?” “Yes, black please”. My wife orders a latté, I think the French invented the latte, not sure, sounds French.

Music by Vivaldi, four seasons plays over the house speakers, Vivaldi was Italian. I had my photograph taken outside the church he wrote the four seasons in. Beautiful selection music for this café.

Couples seated at their small table with their large coffee cups reading the paper together. Actually leaning into one anther reading the front page of the paper together. Who does that? This is something you only see in movies. Honey lets get up and do the crossword puzzle together. Here in D.C. people share the morning paper in cozy little nooks in quaint French cafés. It’s nice. I suck at the crossword.

Nine years ago this city was under attack by a terrorist threat.

Three days off due to the fact that nobody wants to get married on the anniversary of 9/11. "Anniversary" is an odd word to use for this occasion. No disrespect to those who do, but for me the word anniversary is saved for days of celebration. 9/11 is a day of remembrance.

Day of remembrance is what has brought me to write this.

I did not remember.

I am not in D.C. to pay respect or feel the loss that so many did on that day nine years ago. I am on vacation.

My wife and I randomly picked this city as a short getaway with the little time off we had. Four hour drive, a city neither one of us have been to since our elementary years. What harm? Take a nice drive down route 68 south, have a couple of good meals enjoy the shopping, have a couple of good drinks (J Paul's in Georgetown, good) take a long walk around the capital. Tried to get a tomato out of Michelle Obama's garden (this is not a good idea, do not even joke about this) Tax dollars do fund the garden, that's all I am saying. If you want to get a fresh presidential tomato, handcuffs should not be needed.

After LePain Quotidien, after the tomato fiasco we walked. The city is quiet, clean and green, very green. Trees line every sidewalk; it’s a beautiful sight. The trees provide shade which helps keep the noise down from the roadways. D.C. blended urban development with current eco-thinking, let Mother Nature provide as only she can. Even the hotel we were staying in gave me a seventy dollar discount because we drive a Prius. That felt good. Somewhere I think that somehow Al Gore and I are now closer to each other…

Nine years ago this city was under attack by a terrorist threat.

Nine years ago this city was spared of death, not of loss. The Twin Towers went down in New York City, Pentagon was attacked and a the fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C.

There were no survivors from any of the flights.

Alone in a Crowded Room

People seem to be more lonely than not, have you noticed that?

How lonesome we can feel seated in a crowded room? Take away our phones and we become lost and lonely.

How could so much connectedness leave us disconnected from each other? Life exists precisely one foot in front of our faces. The exact distance that we hold our phone from our face.

Things I noticed seated in a crowd room:
- Silence
- Bad posture (Chiropractors must love this)
- Void of noticing people walking into the room.
- Nothing was growing in this room. No conversation, no writing, no thoughts, only viewing.

In this crowed room I was disconnected do to my own connectivity...

Things I noticed seated in the playground:
- A pregnant mother reading on her phone as her son plays in the distance.
- A father (not me) asking his daughter to go play as he types a text.
- A line of four other parents with their faces planted in the small screen. (seemed more like a seen out of a Tim Burton movie)
- For myself, I typed this on a note pad app on my phone while my daughter played on the jungle gym.

I am no longer feeling the need to be connected. I think by disconnecting I will communicate better to who is in front of me.

I would like to hear from you….

Do you consider yourself to be present in the moment?

Photo of the Week

All photography & artwork on this site is licensed under a creative commons licensing: Please feel free to use and distribute the photography & artwork in accordance with the licensing

Moment – Expanded Edition

Current Reading:
Art & Fear by Bayles and Orlando ~ Good book, its about facing the resistant of our inner voice when creating. This is the third book that I have read about “resistant” makes me want to write about the “release” vs. “resistant” when creating.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert ~ Loved it. There I said it. I am a heterosexual male who loved reading this book. Now, somebody turn up the Lady Gaga music.

Tribal Leadership by a whole bunch of people, follow the hyperlink if you are interested. Good book if you are into community building and bring the best out of others.

Oscar Wilde a Life in Letters by Merlin Holland ~ Just started reading this book, very good so far.

Current Music:
Elizabeth rock’en the ipod mixs

Mood: NFL game day…..its a mood.

Smells: Tomatoes

Sounds: My four year old dancing and bouncing throughout out house.

Temperature: 63 degrees

Thoughts: Is it wrong to tie a four year old to a chair as I watch football? If so somebody please get me a good lawyer.

Create | Connect | Grow w/ Vincent Pugliese

When: September 21
Topic: The “How” & “Why” on the art of seeing: with Vincent Pugliese
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Where: 502 W. North Ave. Pgh 15212

Bio: Vincent Pugliese

Super Bowl XXXV (Ravens-Giants)
Super Bowl XXXVII (Rams-Patriots)
Photojournalist for New York Newsday
The Associated Press in New York
National Hockey League
World Wrestling Federation (can you believe that!?)
The Courier & Press in Evansville, Indiana
Wedding Photography (with his lovely & more talented wife Elizabeth)

Degree in Visual Communication, Ohio University

Website - http://elizabethvincentphotography.com/
Blog - http://elizabethvincentphotography.com/blog/

Open to all, Please RSVP

Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

I think she is trying to communicate something...... this was a funniest moment ever!

Photo of the Week ~ Ambient Art

Pittsburgh Wedding Photography

Modus Operandi

Jonathan Fields, blogger, author, and serial entrepreneur, recently wrote a blog post titled “What’s Your Creative Modus Operandi?” For us non-Latin speaking, Modus Operandi translated in English is Method of Operating.

I get this question a good deal during conversation, “How do I set up my space/self to create?” Jonathan listed 18 things to think about when creating or preparing your space/self. Here are my thoughts on the “how of why” of what I do.

Clothes – When writing at home I wear old t-shirts no socks, pants optional.

Sound – Instrumental music when writing. Loud rock music when editing photos.

Light – Natural, natural, natural light as much as possible. At nighttime I prefer the glow of the screen with no additional ambient light

Location - Home office for typing , for journal writing I like the library and a few select coffee houses in the area, especially if I am in a creative-non-fiction mood of writing. Then I definitely go out of house.

Directionality – At home facing a clean white wall, out of house I try to find a corner seat that faces a window to the street but also which gives me a good view of what is happening inside.

Time of Day – Dawn & dusk for both writing and photography.

Routine/Spontaneity – Both. I keep a journal with me at all times, almost.

Long periods or short bursts – Short busts of capturing an idea and long periods of over-thinking, editing and usually going back to the short burst and publishing that as is, with typos corrected by my wife.

Carry something to capture ideas on the fly? - Yep, journal and voice recorder app on my phone.

Squeaky Clean or Squalor – Clean is good, clean work space is great!

Clean or dirty - Clean

Solo or surrounded - Solo for both writing and photography (personal work)

Digital or analogue – Both

What fuels you? – Miso soup this week

Leaded or unleaded? – Half caf, half decaf. Thinking about becoming a tea drinker.

Breaks – Sure, yep, why not… I play guitar or go for a walk. Something to rest the mind and the eyes. Fresh air helps a lot also.

Mindset practices that fuel creation – Showering, driving, eves-dropping, yep, I am a stealer of ideas but only the good ones, hopefully.

Movement practices that fuel creation – Yoga and walks in the woods...I know that sounds contrite but its true.

What's your "Modus Operandi?" I would love to know....

Thanks for reading...