Jackson Photographers Meetup

A few images from a recent get together in Jackson, Mississippi. All images shot on Fuji Neopan 1600 with the Leica M6 TTL

Inspiration and Being a Creative

I've been thinking of making this post for a while now but just haven't gotten around to it. I think inspiration/emotion is the greatest fuel for a creative individual and not necessarily "photographically" inspirational stuff either. While I am a photographer and love to see a moving, emotional, or powerful image, what really is intriguing to me is what caused that photographer to take the image. What types of thought processes do creative individuals take in order to arrive at the image, product, or design they land on? What is the (me included) motivation to get out a make/do something creative?

On a daily basis I flood myself with things that inspire me to be creative and push myself. Whether that is reading the latest blog post from Seth Godin, watching Chase Jarvis on set or giving a talk about being a creative, or browsing work by my favorite artists (painters, musicians, photograhers etc...) In a world where everything has an influence on you and your art, what are you doing to feed this?

There are may different methods of which you can accumulate or gather inspirational media. From clipping magazine pages and storing them in binders (You can see HERE what Bryan of A Bryan Photo does, and you should also check out the photographers he lists at the bottom of the post), to cutting and posting on an inspiration wall or "Vision Board" (Nick Onken does this, check it his post about it HERE), or you can do something similar to what I do, which is use a program called Evernote. I devour magazines and print images as well, however spending so much time online and with the over abundance of really amazing work out there I find this to be a great solution. Evernote allows me to clip and store or simply save URLS to work that I find inspirational while also allowing me to leave specific notes about that link.

Anway, long story short, as a creative you should always be striving to improve on your art. Find things that motivate, drive, and inspire you. Like I mentioned earlier, that doesn't necessarily have to be related to your specific niche. Stay inspired and never settle for ordinary.

The images below are just an example of how I use Evernote to clip and store inspirational media.

Somethings Different :) (*Hint look up*)

Alright, so I'm sure if you're a photographer you've probably heard of David Jay and some of the amazing Showit products.  When starting my own website I decided to go with the Showit Sites.  It was a very quick and easy way for me to get a website up and running.  What I didn't realize at the time was the unbelievable custimization that was possible with the software.  

Since launching my original site I've been working here and there on a new redesigned website (very sleek, simple, and straight to the point).  The fact that someone who has NO knowledge on code or building a website can sit down and build a site from scratch in no time is a true testament to Showit Sites ease of use.  

If you've been to my blog before you know I had this boring ole blog header that I made in photoshop (ugly to say the least!).  Well I had heard about an upcoming update that would allow you to create a blog header whithin Showit.  I'm super pumped to say that the update is out and I was able to get rid of the old blog header.  Now mind you, I made this new blog header from a blank page in literally 30 minutes or so.  Crazy!  It's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than the last!

Anyway, thanks DJ for an amazing piece of software!

Random Post

Man has it been an incredibly busy past couple of weeks.  Several shoots and some personal work as well.  I'm so glad to say that the semester is finally coming to an end as well!

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How awesome was Thanksgiving!  I absolutely love this time of the year, great food, hanging out with family, and great weather :)  I hope that everyone had a great time and took some time to reflect on the things they are truly thankful for.

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Some other news is that I'm in the process of finishing up my second website a Showit Site at that :)  I absolutely love the power in this program!  This site will be dedicate to lifestyle and commercial work.  Hopefully this will be launched after the first of the year.  I'll leave you with a few screen shots of the site in the works as well as a few shots from Thanksgiving break.  

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Hope everyone has an awesome week!

Vendor Spotlight: Flowers by the Bunch!

Monti King is the owner of a local floral shop here in Starkville, Mississippi.  She can do floral arrangements for just about any event, including weddings :)  I stopped by on Saturday to get some head shots for her and she just happened to be working on a few arrangements for an upcoming wedding.  I grabbed a few pics of the arrangements she had done and they turned out gorgeous!  

Checkout her website with all her info HERE

Vendor Spotlight: Elegant Occasions

I'd like everyone to meet Meg Jones! Meg is a local event coordinator that specializes in weddings, parties, and corporate events.  Elegant Occasions is based out of Starkville, Mississippi so if you're ever in need of a coordinator make sure you hit Meg up!  Please checkout her website and blog for all the info, both are linked below.

 

Be sure and check out her website and blog.

Elegant Occasions 

Elegant Occasions Journal

*Vendor Spotlight is a new feature to my blog.  It's a way for me to give back to local industry.  If you're in the Starkville, Mississippi area shoot me an e-mail, I'd love to chat!

Fast Track Photographer: Want a copy???

I truly believe that one of the greatest gifts you can give someone is a book. Last night at the Free to Succeed tour in Atlanta I gave away a few books and I truly hope that those people enjoy them!

I just read Dane Sanders' new book Fast Track Photographer and it's amazing! If you are a photographer who owns/runs your own business or are even considering the notion you have to read the book.

To hold true to what I've been saying, if you're a photographer and you have not read the book, comment or shoot me an e-mail and you might just win yourself a copy. Just tell me why you are wanting to read the book and what you hope to accomplish from reading it, it's that simple!

Chase Jarvis Vid

So I was browsing a blog I visit on a regular basis and came across a presentation that Chase Jarvis gave for Photoshelter. The vid is sorta long but definately worth the watch. So anyway, check it out!

Chase Jarvis Blog

[b] School Private Beta Launch Vid

So I posted a fun [b] vid the other day but wanted to post this one as well. I really think that the [b] school is going to change the way photogs connect with each other and open the door with endless possibilities! I can't wait to check it out :)

the [b]school blog

For those of you who haven't seen what [b]ecker is doing with his [b]school you should really check it out.  The site if filled with TONS of info and videos and is really fun.  So anyway, go check it out it's definitely worth it.

the [b]school blog

Oh and here's a fun little video they posted today.  I believe it's the first with an embed code so I thought I'd throw it up with my post.  

Thanks [b] for all your doing for the photographic community!

The Portrait House

I'm pretty excited about this and wanted to put it up on the blog. From now on a portion of EVERY portrait and lifestyle session will go to The Portrait House.  The money from The Portrait House goes to Habitat for Humanity to help build homes I look forward to participating in this project and think this is a wonderful gift.  

So anyway, I just wanted to put this up so that you know when you book a session part of that is going to help out an awesome cause!

Checkout the Portrait House blog HERE.

New Site Is Up and Running!!!!

I'm so excited and happy to say that my new Showit Site is up and running. Feel free to go check it out!  Okay, so nothing more to this post than that :)

Click here!!

Showit Sites Preview!

Below are a couple screenshots of my Showit Site I'm working on.  The first two are an all out custom effort and the last is one of the awesome provided templates with alittle tweaking by me :)

I'm loving this design and it may be what I end up using....

Awesome product DJ this rocks!

Get more info here about Showit Sites

Before & After

So after I posted last night's day 13 I worked on the photo a little more. After working on it I was looking at the original image and decided to do a before and after post to show what can be achieved with a little extra love in photoshop and lightroom.

Original Image

Image with some photoshop love

A few alternate photos with more lightroom love




I'm not sure which fix I really like best.  These were all fairly simple and quick fixes that gave a dull photo a little more pop

*More of this beautiful bully can be seen HERE

Gear Review-Crumpler the six million dollar home

I got this bag for Christmas and now that I've been using it for quite some time I thought I'd give a little review.  As an everyday carry bag I think it works great.  I can easily carry two lenses spare batteries and one flash comfortably within the main compartment.  There is one outer pocket that contains a mesh liner with velcro closure.  This is a great little pocket to put notes or cash in as there is really no way it is coming out.

Overall the construction of the bag is great and it is really a comfortable bag to carry all day.  The bag is very sturdy and feels like it is made to last.  I used this bag exclusively when I traveled to the Dominican Republic and it performed flawlessly.  I would say that my only drawback to the bag is that if you are needing to get into the bag often during a shoot I find it a hassle to have to keep messing with the velcro.  The velcro closure on the front is very strong and not easily undone.  While this is a good thing most of the time, there are those times when it's a hassle.  I think a velcro patch over the bags front velcro would work just fine to eliminate this problem during a shoot.

This is a great bag and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who needs an everyday minimal camera bag.