Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Hey everybody! I'm up here...in the clouds. That's where I've been for the past month and a half after finding out my work was being featured on the cover and three spreads inside of Rangefinder Magazine. I know right?! I appreciate all the support I've gotten so far, it's simply been AMAZING! Just want to take this opportunity to thank some great people!I wanna thank some great people at Rangefinder...Jessica, who wrote the "Fully Lit" article on me. #AWESOME http://digitalmag.rangefinderonline.com/rangefinder/july-august_2014#pg56Jacqueline, the great lady in charge who saw value in what I do.Jason, Mike and Jodi, the WPPI folks who brought my name up when they didn't really have to....and to the entire team from graphics and layout to print to administration. YOU ALL ROCK! I also want to thank the great people at Millers. (TOO MANY TO NAME INDIVIDUALLY) Without these people, nobody would know who I am. I know that's hard to believe with my Big Mouth, but its the truth! I've met and had the pleasure of getting to know people from both the Pittsburg, KS and Coumbia, MS labs. We've had great times at conferences and trade shows and they have given me the honor to speak at the Miller's booth. It has been a blast! I am proud to call Miller's my professional imaging lab. Below is a picture of a float mounted "Vivid Aluminum Metal" they just surprised me ...
Detroit is affectionately known as "THE 313"(area code of course), and a few of us took some time to say "Happy 313th Birthday Detroit!". July 24, 2014 marked the city's landmark day that hosted many events going on around town. Even though Detroit has had its share of obstacles to overcome, it or should I say "we" still have a great deal we're fighting for and a great legacy to leave behind. I am proud to call myself a Detroiter and everywhere I go to speak, I wear my Detroit Tigers hat and tell my story of how I was born, raised and still live in the city of Detroit. We are a city that innovated manufacturing for the world, we are the reason the world drives cars and... we are the home of the Motown Sound! This city has changed the course of music not only in this nation, but the world!It may be a clichéd statement but it is very much true...If you can make it in Detroit, you can make it anywhere. Truth is people in this city have a resilience that I haven't seen anywhere else. We are strong spirited people with a resolve to overcome and NEVER QUIT! We took a photographic bus tour of Detroit on its 313th birthday to learn, highlight and honor the history and thriving infrastructure of our city and we had a blast! Take a look at some of the photographs taken and enjoy!Remember, Detroit is still here! And we are coming back! #ROCKTHAT ...
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Well Shawn...what makes you say that?Fact is your image whether it's on a business card, your website, facebook, twitter, foursquare or any other social media or media platform gets a ton more mileage and views than you will ever get walking through your 24 hour day and showing everyone you come in contact with your beautiful face. :)Just on Facebook alone Google now estimates that about 590 million unique users on are requesting a staggering 840 billion pages every month, excluding application pages, which translates to 1,423 pages per user per month. That means 38.5% of the users on the Internet are using Facebook in some way. The average user visits Facebook 41 times per month, which gives the site 24 billion visits per month.So what does all of this mean for my new or existing Business, Start-up or Venture?Believe it or not, perception of who you are and how you conduct business as a professional is perceived from the images people see of you regardless of whether they've met you are not. (i.e Headshots, Photos, Logos, websites, business cards)Personally speaking, I would not have even gotten phone calls from some of my top clients if the imagery they saw on my website, social media sites and google searches were'nt first class. And believe me, anyone seriously considering doing business with you WILL SEARCH YOU OUT! Most companies said they were 75% sure of ...
Had a great time at Imaging USA this year. The annual photography conference which hosts up to 10,000 pro and enthusiast photographers from around the globe, took place in Phoenix, AZ January 12-14 at the beautiful Phoenix Conference Center.I was honored to be able to speak and do a "live" shoot on Miller's Professional Imaging stage this year...IT WAS AWESOME! I taught on "Cutting Edge HS Senior Portraiture: From consult to final output" and "Thinking Outside the Box". And Brandon Heiss and the team at Westcott provided the innovative continuous lighting system called ICELIGHTS. And for the latest and greatest in the tech world and the utmost in Adobe education and training, please check out Terry White's Tech Blog! Really want to thank him for helping the live shoot take place. This dude rocks and I'm honored he's a friend. Thanks T! I have to say, for any photographer looking to take their craft to the next level, meet new people, learn great and amazing techniques, refine your skillset, and learn from the best in the game, I would highly recommend going to Imaging USA and conferences like it. This experience over the past few years have caused me to really refine my brand and ability. I have started more worthwhile business relationships than I ever have doing this on my own and not attending these conferences. I will now be attending WPPI in Las Vegas this year ...
The more I live, the more I realize that this life doesn't belong to me. To some people that may sound really weird, but it's the truth. I realize now more than ever that there are those that paved a way and laid a foundation before me so I can walk on something solid. My life is made up of accomplishments built on foundations that other people laid. Wow, what a thought! How dare I take credit for anything I've done. There have been men slain, women working four and five jobs just to barely make it while raising families, communities have marched and stood in the face of oppression, demanded education when it was vehemently denied and died holding on to a resolve that life will be better for forth coming generations...All holding on to one great galvanizing factor. GOD! In all of the history that I read of people overcoming great ordeals and standing when they should had given up long ago, was their belief in the Great GOD Almighty who had assigned them to stand in the face of wrong and was on their side. A God that built a people for endurance so in the end they could show that there certainly is a God that really exist.In today's generation, we give up so quickly and there is such a lack of resolve. People don't fight like they used to for marriages and children and families and relationships and businesses. My belief is this... If the belief in God got my ancestors through ...