Thoughts on life and photography

From Abraham Hicks:

"We make too much of all of this.

Life is supposed to be fun.

Lighten up.

Find more humor in more things.

But most of all, do not be so hard on yourself about where you are in relationship to where you want to be.

Make peace with where you are.

Play down anything negative and play up anything positive.

We would like to leave you with this very clear knowing that we hold.

"You are just a few laughs away from letting a lot of good stuff in.

You are just a few kisses away from letting a whole lot of good stuff in.

You are just a little bit of relief away from letting a whole lot of good stuff in.

It's really worth dealing with how you feel.

Your well-being depends on it." 

You’ve just got to start playing this game a little different than you’ve been playing it.”

In my humble opinion, the above could not be more applicable to living the photographic life.

Document the things that are meaningful to you and do it in a beautiful way

From documentary photographer Ivan Chow:

“Sometimes you just have to have a blind faith in the work that you’re doing. It’s natural to have doubts and it’s very easy to turn these doubts into valid excuses to quit. Don’t. Stick with it. Be persistent and things will work out. So document the things that are meaningful to you and do it in a beautiful way. Go tell some stories with your photos.”

I cannot think of more concise and to the point encouragement for a photographer to take refuge in during those times along the journey when the going gets to be difficult and draining - as it inevitably does from time to time.

When things get difficult and you are discouraged, when thoughts of giving up on photography start to gnaw around the corners of your consciousness - Don’t. Stick with it. Be persistent and things will work out.

One photograph a day

I have been thinking about prospective photo projects lately, and the one photograph a day project has a certain allure.

Jim Brandenburg - the National Geographic photographer who created the stunning images found in his master work titled Brother Wolf - took up the one image per day challenge. The result was some of his finest imagery made in the North Woods of Minnesota.

The uplands of southern Indiana would be a worthy location to carry out such a project. My Leica Q2 would be an excellent choice for such an undertaking. Perhaps this will be my next endeavor.

Great Images are not made in "the middle"

Great images are not made by playing safe, by following “the rules of photography.”

Great images are made at the edges, not in the middle. They are made by pushing the envelope - by pushing exposure, shutter speed and ISO to their limits - by pushing them right to the edge of when they blow up in your face.

Great images are made by knowing “the rules of photography” and knowing when to cast them aside. Great images are made by knowing the rule of thirds and having the insight to know when to push it to the side, to regard it as the guideline of thirds. Great images are made by knowing how to work the edges of exposure and composition.

I do not claim to make “great images,” whatever that may be. I claim to do okay with my cameras every now and then, and once in a great while to be blessed and fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time with the right lens attached and to select the right ISO, aperture, shutter speed, subject, framing and the right millisecond in which to press the shutter release button.

Those moments are the moments that we image makers live for.

A time for Black and White

Summer is winding down and autumn colors will be arriving before long. Autumn in southern Indiana is a great time for photographers. Brown County State Park and many other locations will offer us the beauty that only this time of year holds.

I am thinking past autumn leaves and colors, though. I am thinking about the coming winter and its lack of color. This may be prime time for a new black and white project - possibly a one lens, one camera project.

The constraints inherent in the one camera, one lens ethos brings with it limitations, but it also brings a challenge - to adapt your approach to the subject matter at hand. To innovate in how you select and frame your subjects.

Late autumn and winter is a time of dormancy in nature but it can also be a time of growth for the photographer. With limitations come possibilities.

First Friday exhibit at Lotus Firebay gallery space

In collaboration with the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, I would like to extend an invitation to one and all to attend an exhibit of my images from previous Lotus World Music & Arts Festival concerts.

The exhibit will be held at the Firebay gallery space of Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, 105 South Rogers Street, Bloomington, IN on Friday, August 5th.

This will be a pop up exhibit which will be available for viewing from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 5th only.

Leica M cameras - do it yourself rangefinder adjustment

For those who photograph with the Leica M system, learning to adjust the rangefinder mechanism is pretty much a must have skill.

The rangefinder of the Leica M cameras - film or digital - can be knocked out of alignment if the camera is dropped or impacts into a hard surface with enough force. Not every drop or impact results in a misaligned rangefinder, though; sometimes you will get lucky and dodge the bullet.

If the rangefinder is knocked out of alignment, it will become immediately obvious. You will not be able to align the double image in the viewfinder as you normally can when focusing the lens. Leica repair centers can realign the rangefinder for you, for a fee - and you will be without your camera for a while. There has got to be a better way - and fortunately, there is.

What if this happens when you are in the middle of a photographic trip, expedition or workshop? You will need to be able to adjust the rangefinder mechanism yourself because otherwise you will not be able to accurately focus.

Do it yourself rangefinder adjustment is a relatively simple skill to learn, as is shown in the following video:

Fix Your OWN Leica! (EASY!) | Leica M3 Rangefinder Calibration + M2, M6, M4-P

Street Photography is Universal

Of all the different kinds of image making that a photographer can undertake, street photography is the universal genre.

Can’t travel to the exotic destination of your dreams? Go to your nearest town and do some street photography. If there are people there, you can do street photography. You can make images of people doing what people do - everyday activities such as walking, running, walking their dog, riding their bikes, eating lunch at a sidewalk cafe, window shopping, visiting a park, doing Yoga, Tai Chi or just reading a book.

If there are people around, you can do street photography. There is always something to photograph because people are always doing something. If you look deeply enough, you can find something of interest in the supposedly mundane goings on of everyday life.

I got started in street photography because I wanted to be able to make photographs more often than just when I’m traveling or on vacation. You can’t photograph once or twice a year for a week and expect to get better as a photographer. That is what initially drew me into this genre of photography - the desire to make more photographs more often, and in the process to improve my photography.

If you want to get better as a photographer, street photography is one of the very best training grounds; why is that? Because it’s difficult. It’s challenging. You have no control over your subject matter and you have to learn how to anticipate and to nail the shot at just the right instant - “the decisive moment” as Henri Cartier-Bresson called it. If you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone, overcome your nervousness and photograph strangers on the street, you will improve and grow as a photographer.

It takes time to improve, but if you keep at it, your compositional skills and your images will slowly improve as you hone your visual skills, your perception and your photographic eye. Transforming your photography takes time - but it is time well spent if you are committed to image making.

Photograph everything you can think to photograph

Ernst Haas: “There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.”

What was Ernst Haas saying? I think he was saying that we need to learn to look deeper in pursuit of subject matter. There is always something to photograph, no matter where we are - even at home or in our home town, where everything is “boring” and we have “seen it all before.”

Photographing the subject(s) you have at hand is a good practice to get into. We can find things to photograph, if we look long enough. Photographing something every day is a good thing.

Not every photograph has to be a masterpiece. Not every photograph must be made to add to an ongoing project or to help build a body of work. Sometimes it’s nice to just take your camera out and snack on visual tidbits you find along the way.

And believe it or not, that’s okay (note to self - are your eyes seeing this as your fingers type it??)

Photography and Life after COVID-19

The restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic along with the isolation and lockdowns are at long last starting to subside. This has been a monumentally trying time for our world and our nation as well as for photographers.

It’s not easy to do street photography when the streets are devoid of people. The travel restrictions have been needed but have made documenting Buddhist monasteries and monks in Mongolia impossible. Out of a need to protect the resident monks, our local Buddhist monastery - the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, IN - was closed to the public and currently remains closed.

As the nation cautiously begins to open up again, I am both pleased and grateful to once again be able to exhibit along with other artists in the FLAVA Fresh exhibit series. Many thanks go out to D. Del Reverda-Jennings for her hard work in making this exhibit series possible.

The first exhibit is on display at the Arts Garden in Circle Center Mall in downtown Indianapolis. This exhibit will be open to the public beginning June 29th and will remain on display until August 29th of this year.

There are two more exhibits pending in the 2021 FLAVA Fresh exhibit series. Stay tuned for more information.

Can you still buy a film camera?

Someone recently asked me if it’s still possible to buy traditional film cameras. The answer is a resounding yes.

There are always a huge number of film cameras for sale on Ebay. Many camera retailers have extensive used equipment departments that have a wide ranging selection of used film cameras for sale. Take a look at these online retailers to see their used film camera offerings:

Products | Camera West

Jack's Camera Shop - Used Department

Used Cameras and Used Camera Equipment For Sale

Used Film Camera Store Online

There are even a limited number of new film cameras being produced and offered for sale - in 35mm, Nikon and Leica offer new cameras; Horseman and Linhof have new 120/220 medium format cameras in the market. Arca-Swiss, Linhof, Toyo and Wista have large format view cameras for sale.

The death of film photography has been enormously exaggerated. Over a hundred different kinds of roll film - mainly 35mm and 120 format - are still being made and sold as are many kinds of cut sheet film for large format view cameras.

I’ll never forget the first time someone told me that film photography would soon be dead and that no one would be able to buy film, let alone chemicals to develop it in and paper to print on. It was the summer of 1997.

Here we are 22 years later and film based photography is alive and well. It’s not the only kind of photography like it was back in the early to mid 1980s but it is far from dead.

Am I too old to learn photography?

Someone online recently asked me, “Is 28 too old to learn photography?” My answer was “No - not at all. Why? Because a person never, ever truly ‘finishes’ learning photography.”

I’m 62 and I am still learning photography; I dabbled in photography as a teenager, got away from photography as a young adult, then experienced a resurgence of interest and got serious about photography 26 years ago. Photography is a lifelong quest and learning experience.

If you truly love photography, it will morph into a lifestyle; see Sam Abell: The Photographic Life: Sam Abell, Leah Bendavid-Val: 9780847824960: Amazon.com: Books

28 may be too late to become the next LeBron James but photography does not require the strength, endurance and physical profile that becoming an MVP in the NBA requires. Becoming a successful and skilled photographer does require commitment, time, effort and the ability to work through disappointment and frustration, but anyone who has reasonably good vision, the ability to think creatively and makes up their mind to become a successful photographer can do it.

One of the most important things to never forget is this: Being a “successful” photographer is not defined by how much money you make using your camera.

Everyone has their own ideas about what constitutes success. As for me personally -

Success in photography is defined by:

1.) How much enjoyment, relaxation, satisfaction, accomplishment, fulfillment and purpose does photography bring into my life? And -

2.) How much enjoyment, satisfaction, beauty, relevance and meaning does my photography bring into the lives of others? And -

3.) Does my photography serve a higher purpose by helping others and/or making the world a better place in some way - even if only in a small way?

For those who truly love photography, it’s about way more than sweaty pieces of paper with engravings of dead U.S. presidents on the front.

Thoughts and reflections on Street Photography

I like doing street photography - a lot. It is a kind of photography that a person can do very easily and at any hour of the day or night - and you can do it 24/7/365. All you have to do is go to the nearest town and there is your shooting environment.

There is no need to spend a ton of money flying to some far away destination; you can find street photography subject matter in your home town. Accessibility of your subject matter, along with the frequent, consistent making of images will help you advance as a photographer in terms of learning photographic skills and in terms of honing your photographic eye and style.

Street photography is one of the hardest kinds of photography to do well - it takes a good amount of practice. You must learn to anticipate the decisive moment and be able to see what is about to happen in a street scene before it happens. It is a challenge, but rising to the challenge will bring your photography a windfall of unexpected benefits.

That is what makes street photography a great pursuit: Anytime you shoot photos with people in them, there will be a fair amount of overlap between your street photography skill set and the skills required to make top quality images in documentary, editorial, reportage, event, travel and wedding photography. Any time you photograph people, your images will be at a higher level if you engage in street photography on a regular basis.

It can be stressful to go out and photograph strangers, but if you can discipline yourself to feel the fear and do it anyway, the fear will quickly evaporate. Even after 12+ years of doing street photography, I sometimes still get a case of nerves when going out to shoot on the street. The solution? I simply refuse to let fear stop me. After I shoot for a few minutes, the fear fades away and I am in the right mindset for doing street photography.

Sometimes people won’t want to be photographed, and that’s okay. Just nod in agreement, smile and move on. Yes, I have been complained at by people when I am doing street photography - but that happens very rarely.

One way to minimize verbal confrontations is to learn to be as unobtrusive as possible; learn to operate in stealth mode. The less you are seen by your subjects, the better your street photographs will be. The intention of street photography is to capture the unguarded moment, when your subject is being himself or herself - to be the unobserved observer who neither influences or intervenes. “A velvet hand, a hawk’s eye - these we should all have,” said Henri Cartier-Bresson, the master of both who is without equal as a connoisseur of the decisive moment.

I would estimate that for every one day that someone has complained at me for making a photo of them on the street, I have gone out and shot easily 250 days where no one complained. Being complained at once for every 250 days of street photography is a very small price to pay for the benefits that street photography will bring to your photographic endeavors. As for being yelled at, that is even more rare. In over twelve years of doing street photography, I have been yelled at or verbally harassed less than five times total.

Doing street photography in the U.S. is really not that big of a deal - everybody photographs everybody all the time these days. If you will be traveling internationally, it can be different.

Do your research before you go to another culture or nation to do street photography so you will know what to expect. People in some cultures welcome being photographed; people in other cultures can be resistant to being photographed by outsiders.

Do your due diligence before you travel so that you will know what the locals expect - and by all means, honor their wishes and their cultural norms.

Digital photography and sensor size

Creating digital images that are of a very high level of image quality is about much more than just the megapixel count of the camera used. A DSLR camera, a digital rangefinder or a mirrorless camera give the photographer many more creative options than a phone camera does. Interchangeable lenses is a huge advantage that DSLR, rangefinders and mirrorless cameras offer.

Some people don’t want to carry around the weight and bulk of a DSLR and a couple of big, heavy zoom lenses. Fujifilm offers many options that are smaller, lighter and much more capable than a phone camera, as do other camera makers. The Fujifilm X100F and X Pro 3 which will soon be released come to mind. These cameras have 24mp APS-C size sensors and truly excellent lenses and are well worth taking a look at if you are interested in small, light cameras that have some serious capabilities, as does Leica. The Leica Q2 comes to mind; it may well be “the ultimate travel camera,” if there is such a thing. With a 47mp sensor, ISO 50,000 capability, weather sealing and a stunning 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens, it is the highest level of expression of the one camera, one lens ethos (the Q2 does require a serious financial commitment, though. Excellence is never to be had on the cheap).

24mp does not sound like a lot compared to 42mp, but the image making ability of this size sensor is significant. My camera has a 24mp sensor and is fully capable of making exhibit quality prints at 16x24 and 24x36 inch sizes. Those sizes are large enough for fine art gallery exhibits; I could probably print larger than 24x36 inches, but I don’t see a need to do so at present. If I can’t get my point across at those sizes, the limitation lies in my photographic vision or style, not in the size of the print.

A person can make a 60x90 inch print that still has no visual impact and is lifeless in its appearance. Huge sensors and huge print sizes cannot take an image that is crude, ill conceived and has no message or story and make something good out of it.

An important consideration in making prints that are of the highest possible image quality is the skill level of the person doing the post processing and the skill level of the printer.

When looking at making a camera investment, consider the whole package, including lens options, high ISO capability, reliability, flash options, size, weight, camera maker reputation, camera maker repair capability and other factors.

My message is this: Don’t fixate on sensor size; there is so much more to creating arresting images than a big sensor. 90% of it lies in the skill, experience, training, ability and insight of the photographer. A truly great photographer can take pretty much any camera and make outstanding images with it.

Technology cannot make a poor photographer into a superstar. Creating truly excellent images is about the photographer, not the camera.

High Quality Camera Bags

The other day someone asked on an online forum asked, ”What are the best luxury leather and canvas camera bags for your photo kit?”

Here’s my take on that question: If you want the best and are prepared to pay for it, contact Harry Benz and have him design and make a camera bag for you. other works — Harry Benz Harry’s camera straps and bags are 100% hand stitched and made of the finest leather that he can lay hands on. His work is as close to perfection as a human is capable of producing.

Another option would be the bags made in France by Fogg: specialist bags from fogg|fogg hand made bags|fogg bags|fogg quality bags|laptop bags|fogg camera bags Fogg makes some truly beautiful camera bags; all are hand made by two people (Bee & Nigel) who have been in business together since 1986, so they must be doing something right. Their “Last Waltz” is such a thing of beauty and is my favorite in their lineup.

Another high end camera bag maker is Oberwerth Oberwerth - their bags seem to be pretty well on the same level as Fogg camera bags. Oberwerth bags can be purchased in the U.S. from B&H Photo in New York and Leica Store Miami.

Bleu de Chauffe of France offers two satchel type camera bags and also has many other messenger type bags and rucksacks that would serve well as camera bags, although they do not have padded inserts. Men's bags | Men's camera bag & Accessories I BLEU DE CHAUFFE

Made in Seattle, Filson bags emanate a distinct Indiana Jones vibe. Their Medium Field Bag makes a truly excellent and nearly indestructible messenger style camera bag: Medium Rugged Twill Field Bag Their Rucksack Rugged Twill Rucksack makes a fantastic day pack for camera gear, although it does not have a padded insert. In field use, I have found this to be a minor issue, as there are camera bag inserts that will fit the Filson Rucksack and Medium Field Bag: Billingham Pro Hadley Insert (Olive)

Made in the UK, Billingham bags have been the bag of choice for many working pros for decades. They offer a truly great balance of durability, weather resistance, craftsmanship, beauty and camera protection: Billingham Bags - Camera, Laptop & Travel Bags - Made in England B&H Photo is a major retailer for Billingham and stocks an almost endless array of Billingham bags in numerous colors.

I have used Billingham and Filson bags for 15+ years and have found them to be bombproof - I cannot recommend Billingham and Filson too highly. Be sure to take a look at the Billingham Hadley Pro, which is very nearly the ultimate all-around camera satchel style bag: Billingham Hadley Pro Shoulder Bag (Khaki Canvas & Tan Leather)

For the love of The Game

Number 23 - Michael Jordan - was and is the greatest basketball player the world has ever known. He will likely never be surpassed in his greatness. How did he get to be the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)? His contracts always included a “love of the game” clause. It gave him the right to do whatever he saw as necessary to hone and improve his basketball skills during the off season.

Back in the time frame when Michael dominated the NBA hardwood, general managers of NBA teams tried to prevent players under contract to them from playing in summer leagues and from playing pick up games with other NBA players; the fear was that an athlete could suffer an injury during these unauthorized games that could derail their season or even end their NBA career.

Michael always had his “love of the game” clause (at least up until the 1990s when the NBA collective bargaining agreement came on the scene) that allowed him to circumvent the restrictions that his team managers tried to enforce. He knew full well that he could not simply not play basketball for months on end and have any realistic hope of improving his game; this is something that some team managers did not grasp.

Every off season, Michael would inevitably return to his alma mater - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - to hone his skill set. He would play in the pick up games with and against other NBA greats of his era that he and Jerry Krause who was general manager of the Chicago Bulls butted heads over so often. Michael took the heat from his boss and took on the calculated risks that came with informal off season games. He sacrificed and worked obsessively to improve - for the love of the game.

As photographers, what do we do for the love of the game of photography? What risks do we take? What sacrifices do we make in order to improve? Do we understand that we need to photograph regularly and consistently in order to hone our skill set and improve? do we work obsessively behind the scenes to get better at making images?

Do we make creating new images and just doing a walkabout with our camera for some relaxed shooting two of our highest priorities? Do we remember and honor Dorothea Lange’s admonition that “One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind?”

On photographing strangers

People always ask how photographers go about asking total strangers for permission to make photographs of them. It’s really pretty simple: Just be friendly and polite, that’s all.

Talk to them a little before asking. This will help break the ice and help them to relax. When you ask, compliment them on their appearance - something along the lines of “you look really great today - I’d love to make a couple of photographs of you. Would that be okay?” Be sincere, don’t just make crap up. People will know when you are just patronizing them to get what you want.

If they ask what you want to do with the photos, be honest with them. If you might enter their photo in a contest or exhibit it, tell them so. If you are shooting just to hone your skills, tell them that, too.

Give them your card with your contact information (you do have a card, right??) and offer to email them a copy of the photo after you have processed it, and be sure to follow through on that if they email you and ask for a copy.

Being friendly and sincere with your prospective subjects goes a long way.

How can I begin to market my photography?

A couple of days ago, someone online asked me “How can I begin to market my photography?” Here is my response to this question:

There are several things you need to do, such as -

1: You need a website showcasing your photography. Websites are fairly easy to build and maintain by yourself these days - I use Squarespace for mine.

2: Next, get a physical portfolio of your images made. Edit your work - get a second and a third set of eyes on your work to help with editing. Get your work edited down to your 20 best images and have them printed. My physical portfolio consists of 20 images printed at 10x15 inches in size, that are shown to gallery curators by using a black portfolio box. This is more effective than using an album because gallery curators can lay your prints out on a large table and move them around to see which images group best together and what the most effective sequence of images for an exhibit would be. As for the size - 10x15 inches - they are large enough to make a good visual impact and since I shoot with a full frame 35mm camera, I can use the whole image area without cropping. When you make your prints, make sure that all images are the same size and shape. A standardized presentation of your images unifies your work and creates a more cohesive body of work. Some photographers will mix color images with black and white images, but it is my feeling that a photographer should commit to one or the other for a given body of work or a given portfolio. This narrows the focus of your portfolio or body of work and says to the gallery curator that you have a vision for this work and that your vision is well developed and well focused.

3: Next, get some cards printed. By “cards,” I do not mean normal 2x3 inch business cards. I have 5x7 inch cards printed on card stock that I give to potential clients, gallery curators and other contacts. On the front side is a full bleed (edge to edge) printing of one of my best horizontally oriented images with a small logo that has my company name. On the back side, the left half of the card is a vertically oriented image. The right half of the card is white, with my name and contact information printed on it with my website URL and the orange ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) logo, of which I am a member (more on professional memberships in a moment).

The 5x7 inch size of my cards gives them more impact and gives me an opportunity to put two of my images in the hands of gallery curators. The 5x7 inch size also has much more visual impact than a tiny 2x3 inch card, and the larger size card is much less likely to get lost in the sea of paperwork on a gallery curator’s desk. It is less likely to get lost in a coat pocket, purse or in their appointment book.

4: Being a member of a professional photographer’s organization such as American Society of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers of America, American Photographic Artists, National Press Photographers Association or American Society of Picture Professionals will give you a certain degree of credibility and legitimacy in the eyes of gallery owners and curators and will help you get a foot in the door, provided you are presenting a strong portfolio.

5: Before you approach galleries or attempt to sell your prints in storefronts or other places you may get an opportunity to display them, you need to have a well thought out price structure. Of course, pricing your work is one of the most difficult parts of exhibiting and selling your work, but it is also one of the most important parts. If you price your prints too low, people will not take your work seriously. If you price it too high for a given market, you won’t sell many if any prints. Pricing is a balancing act where you work to hit the sweet spot where people respect your work and buy it and you make a little money from each sale.

What works for me is this: I take the direct cost of having a print made (professional printing, matting and framing) and multiply that number by a factor of 3.5; if a print costs me $100 to have made, I price it at $350 (as your experience level, the quality of your work and your following grows, you can increase this pricing factor to 3.6, 3.7, 4.0, etc.). The gallery will get 50% of that, leaving me with $175. The printer and framer has already taken $100 of the $350, which leaves me with a net profit of $75. That $75 goes back in to making more prints, and on April 15th of each year, I pay taxes on that $75. This is not a get rich quick scheme by any stretch of the imagination.

You also have to take in to account local economic factors in pricing your work. A print that you can sell for $1000 in Chicago, New York or San Francisco would need to be priced lower (perhaps at $650) in Cincinnati, Grand Rapids or Indianapolis. This means that you need to be selective regarding which markets you exhibit your work in. Each sale should produce a positive cash flow rather than being a break even sale or worse yet, a negative cash flow sale.

6: You also have to have infinite patience. You have to define “success” as being able to show your work in exhibits (either group shows or solo exhibits) and by the occasional print sales that you have. To expect to sell prints every time you exhibit your work and to expect every gallery you approach to welcome your work with open arms is not realistic and will quickly lead to frustration, loss of motivation, disenchantment and bitterness. This will lead to giving up on photography, which you once loved. I have seen it happen way too many times to photographers who want or expect too much, too soon. This thing has to be a labor of love, not a turn a quick profit thing. It’s a marathon, not a sprint race. You have to be infinitely patient and take the long view.

7: You want to be selective about where you exhibit your prints. Exhibit only in clean, upscale professionally operated galleries and other venues that attract families and upscale, professional clientele. I have gracefully declined opportunities to exhibit my work more than once due to the appearance and condition of a gallery or venue. If a gallery is run down at the heels, scruffy, not well maintained or just plain dirty inside or out, it will reflect poorly on both you and your work. People will surmise a negative impression of you nd your work; this may be a form of stereotyping or making a sweeping generalization, but it will happen nonetheless.

8: You have to drum up your courage and just do it. Pound the bricks, knock on doors, ask for appointments, show your portfolio, ask for exhibit opportunities and roll with the punches.

9: Last of all and most importantly - whatever else you do, don’t ever give up.

Why do photographers charge so much?

Many people ask the question, “Why do photographers charge so much for just pushing the button on a camera??” I will attempt to address that question.

People who complain about being charged $5000-6000 to shoot a wedding, event or to do a commercial shoot would do well to bear two facts in mind: 1.) Every hour the photographer spends creating photographs results in another 1.5–2 hours of behind the scenes work he/she must do or pay someone else to do, and 2.) out of that $5000-6000 he/she charges to photograph a wedding, event or commercial shoot, the first thing that happens is this: Federal, state and local taxes will eat up 50% of it.

Now the photographer is down to $2500-3000 for that shoot, and that’s BEFORE he/she subtracts out the multitude of costs involved in keeping the doors open in a photography business.

One example is the $1000+ per year for equipment and liability insurance that photographers must have. Then there’s rent and utilities for the studio space. Then there’s advertising and promotion costs. Then there’s equipment rental for the gear that they need to do their job but do not own outright.

Then there’s the cost of paying a photographer’s assistant and a second shooter - and a third and possibly fourth shooter for a very large wedding - and an accountant and an office administrator. Those people don’t work for free.

One photographer can create good coverage for a wedding that has somewhere around 125–150 guests. A huge wedding with 600–700 (or more) guests is going to require at minimum two more photographers to provide adequate photographic coverage. There is only so much that one photographer can do on his/her own.

Guess what - those photographers have to get paid, too. Turns out they don’t get free groceries, utilities, gasoline, auto maintenance and camera gear, either.

Then there’s the replacement cost of lost/stolen/damaged or destroyed equipment that does not rise to the level of filing an insurance claim - that is an out of pocket cost. If the lost/stolen/damaged or destroyed equipment does reach the cost threshold that justifies filing an insurance claim, there’s the $500 deductible that has to be paid on the claim. After that, the photographer can look forward to his/her equipment insurance premium going up anywhere from 50% to 100% or maybe even more.

We haven’t even taken a look at the investment the photographer has made in photography equipment, or the years they have spent honing their craft. It’s a given that a wedding photographer - the primary shooter, at least - will show up to photograph a wedding with easily $10,000–20,000 or more worth of camera gear. This is equipment that they have paid for out of their own pocket just to be able to shoot your wedding or event.

There’s also probably another $20,000–30,000 worth of equipment back at the studio that they have had to invest in just to be properly equipped to do professional level work. Computer systems with multiple terabytes of image storage, backup systems, lighting and large format inkjet printers are all very costly - and are also must have items for a professional photographer who runs their own photography studio.

For all the uninformed and nonthinking people who think wedding, event and commercial photographers are “stealing them blind” by charging $5000-6000 to photograph a wedding, commercial shoot or event, the truth is that if 15–17% of that $5000-6000 fee actually goes into the photographer’s own personal checking account, he/she considers themselves to have had a good day.

I would encourage people to stop and think about this: Photographers are not billionaire robber barons who are chauffeured around in $450,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII motorcars which are paid for by children who toil away for 16 hours a day in hot, filthy factories for twenty cents an hour.

At the end of the day, photographers are working men and women who struggle to make it like the vast majority of middle class people in America do.

Breaking trail

Photography is a little like backpacking - sometimes it will take you off trail and into untraveled terrain.

When your photography leads you there, by all means follow it; off trail is where things get interesting. It is where your photographic interests, style and vision will grow and evolve. It is where you will grow and evolve as a as an image maker and as a person.

I took my first faltering steps into the world of photography when I was 13. As I approach my 62nd birthday, I can now see that photography has taken me to places that I never would have imagined - places like Erdene Zuu monastery and Gandan monastery in Mongolia.

Photography has led me to meet people that I would have otherwise never met - people like National geographic photographers Jim Brandenburg and Steve Raymer, Magnum photographer Constantine Manos, Martha’s Vineyard photographic artist Alison Shaw, Swiss photographer Oliver Klink, my dear Mongolian friend Onolmaa Tervit and her nephew Badaa who was my driver, translator and guide in Mongolia - and Ven. Arjia Rinpoche.

These are but a few of the people who have left their indelible influence on my life and my growth as both a photographer and as a person. I have come to meet and know them all because I signed up for a photography class where I learned to develop black and white film. The impact on my life that photography and the people I have met and forged relationships with as a result of the class I took when I was 13 cannot be overstated.

Photography will take you into unexpected places, unknown places, wondrous places if you are willing to follow it where it leads you - if you are willing to break trail, to forge your own path. Based on my own experience, I cannot recommend breaking trail too highly.