Perhaps I should have said learned and re-learned. I am hard headed, and some of the things I know still need a refresher course every once in a while… ya know.

This will be my second to last post of 2010. The last post will be on New Year’s Eve. I am taking next week to work on the stuff that we start doing January 3, 2011. In the middle of the week, I am shooting a wedding (yeah… a wedding) for my wonderful friend Christina, who is featured a lot on the LE site. She was one of my first workshop models and is a delightful friend. And that, gentle reader, is the only thing that would get me to shoot a wedding.

This has been a very interesting year for me, as it has most assuredly been for you. I have re-started my design/ad agency, written a book for a major publisher, traveled a lot for the workshops, met some amazingly talented students from Seattle to West Palm Beach, and was able to squeeze some personal shooting in with the client stuff. I love traveling all over this great land and meeting new people just adds to the fun.

I also had a terrible incident when the blog went down, a terrible early summer for business, and a terrible disappointment in someone I had trusted for a long time. But, hey, these things work themselves out.

I thought about a year’s end post that would be about the business, or stuff to buy, or a ‘feel good’ wrap-up, but decided to simply list some of the things I learned this year. There will be a mix of stuff I like, stuff I want to know more about, stuff I am less than enamored with and maybe some stuff that will get you thinking about what you will be doing differently next year.

BTW, this free teleseminar will be just the ticket to get you motivated to move it along this next year. Selina has put together a wonderful set of guests with more information than you can imagine.

This is not a “New Year’s Resolution List” – I gave up on those things a long time ago. But, anyway, here we go after the jump.

Stuff I Learned About Photography:

1. It’s damned hard to explain something in an hierarchical order when there really isn’t one.

As I wrote the book, I tried to break down what I think about when I go to make a photograph. What is running through my mind… and if there is any order to it.

There really isn’t.

Photography has become second nature to me in so many ways… kinda like breathing or driving. So many things to think about and some of them happen simultaneously. I see something in front of me, I then see it as an image in my head and begin to use the tools to make it… and that means hundreds of decisions. Made in split seconds.

I have been asked questions about why I am using a particular lens, or why I put the light there instead of here? And there are reasons, but they are so interconnected that when I try to put them into an order, it can become a bit overly reasoned. And it isn’t supposed to be.

You will read more about this on the blog next year. I want to discuss it with several other photographers and you will be along for the discussions.

2. It is still as fun for me today as it was the first time I lifted that Voigtlander my dad gave me. Photography is part of me, and I cannot imagine not making photographs. I do it because I have to. Period.

3. There is no way to please everyone with anything you do… especially in photography. I will expend no more energy trying to please this constituent or that group. I make my images my way… and some people love them. And others don’t. I guess that will never change.

4. There are photographers who are serious about the work and those who aren’t. I need to spend more time with those in the former category and less with those in the latter. Enough said.

A Portrait in Iowa

5. Photography isn’t dying, but it sure as hell is changing. If you are not careful, the sands of time will catch you flat-footed and you will die artistically. Change is all around, finding how photography fits into it will be challenging – and fun. I need more ‘change’ in my work… and that will be my next artistic challenge.

6. Never shoot anyone without getting at least an editorial release. While the laws requiring a release for editorial use have not changed (you do not need one) the publishers are tired of having to fight off the suits. They win, but it costs them every time. For that, I have “Easy Release” – and it is on my iPhone, iTouch, Android Phone, and iPad. I also have a bound little book of them in my camera bag(s) and both Profoto kit bags. Trust me, it will become more important if you ever decide to do a book… heh.

7. I truly miss shooting still life. I used to do a heck of a lot of still life with my trusty view cameras. I will be doing more this year, for sure. There is something relaxing and almost Zen like when working in the studio with my music (Sinatra, Snow Patrol, Chopin, Coltrane) blasting away. Just me, a thing, and light. 😉

8. No matter how hard I try, I cannot make pictures I don’t feel. Emotion is such a part of the image making process. When I lose sight of that and go for a the current fad, the images become something else. I will continue to experiment and play, but in the end it is the simple, emotionally alive portrait that I strive for.

9. Photography is not a sport. It isn’t a sidelines endeavor. It doesn’t fit well into a contest/winner/loser thing. It is something that one engages in within one’s own world. Sure we need helpers to bring it to fruition, and a great team is a great team. But when I see photographers engaged in some sort of ‘winner take all’ sporting thingy… I just get a little uneasy. Not freaked out, just a little uneasy. Freaked out would be me ever participating in something like that.

Want to get better at photography? Engage it. Live it. Eat and drink it. Be the photographic process. Every year I end the workshops with a special, long workshop in Florida, and take some extra time there for me. From the time Billy Kidd (Disney, Orlando) and I get together at his condo, we talk about photography. From what lenses are new to deep philosophical discussions on the nature of portraiture, or where advertising is headed. And we shoot. We have friends that usually join us from all over the country.

It is immersion. It is exhausting. It is wonderful.

Beauty Products from an annual report shoot: from the archives.

Things I Learned About Writing:

1. I enjoy the hell out of it. I really do. I love to write and find myself thinking of topics nearly everywhere.

2. Writer’s block is a real monster. It can be the most terrifying thing in the world… an empty page and a head full of ideas but no starting point. I hate that. Lately I have spent a good amount of time at some wonderful blogs about writing like “Men with Pens”, “Write to Done” and “ProBlogger”. If you are writing a lot, they are good resources.

3. Writing with a disciplined plan can result in a 40,000 word manuscript a lot faster than you think. Don’t try to write anything from start to finish. Try to write one or two pages a day… more if the muse is dancin’ in your head. But don’t push it out… let it flow out by not focusing on the enormity of the final, but the simplicity of the incremental.

4. I love Dragon Software. I really do. I didn’t use it on the book I just finished, but for some of the things coming up next year… it is awesome.

5. Moleskin Journals Rock! I now carry one everywhere to make sketches, scribbles (believe me, my writing is nearly indecipherable) and designs. I will never be without one. I even got an iPad case that has a Moleskin journal in it. Then I take the best of the ideas, type them into my iPad and send them to my email. I use Muji Notebook and Notably for that.

6. Up is the most incredible word. Look it up, if you are up to it, and find out what’s up with it. Up till now, I hadn’t thought up many things to say about it, but it is up to me to be up instead of down when I write, so instead of blowing up, I will just up the ante and move up to number 7. After all, it is up to me and I have taken up so much of your time. I will now shut up and you can move on.

Writing, like much of everything we do, takes practice. And discipline. And perseverance. I once read where Stephen King writes 4 hours a day every day. Not that he keeps what he writes, he just writes. I wish I could make photographs 4 hours a day, every day.

Things I Learned About Gear:

1. I am a big light guy. I have a ton of speedlights, and I really, really do see a place for them. I teach with them, and I teach others how to use them effectively. I grab them when the shots are small or there is an abundance of soft, wonderful ambient. The new cameras with wonderfully smooth higher ISO’s make them attractive. Hey, I’m an old guy, so carrying a small bag with a bunch of lights is very, very tempting.

Wall Street, New York - with an iPhone Camera

But I miss the precision of the bigger lights. I miss the modifiers that work with a real parabolic reflector. I love the way I can sculpt the light when I can move the lights back and still get the f-stop I need. I love the softness of a big umbrella or softbox outside in bright AZ light.

I will continue to use the little guys for the quick shots, but for most of my strobe work I will be using more juice for more control.

Because of the nature of the workshops, I will continue to work with the smaller lights, as so many of my students use them. I want the students at the workshop to be able to use the stuff we teach them, so we teach to their gear, not truckloads of gear they could never afford. A practical versus “Ain’t I Cool” type of workshop. It was decided a long time ago that I am not cool, so I go with practical.

2. Gear doesn’t last forever. My wonderful old 20-35MM L is no longer focusing at wide open (f2.8). It does fine at 5.6 and deeper, but it back focuses at the wider apertures. Sigh. I love that lens, but will be going to market for a replacement next month. I have a special place for the old guy… a little shelf of honor. That lens has put hundreds of thousands of dollars into my little family over the past 20 years. He gets to retire while still working. Not bad, old friend… not bad at all.

3. I am beyond tired of hearing I have to have this or have to have that to make images. Yes, there are some things I must have… but they are fewer than the marketing guys want you to believe. (Double problem is that I am a marketing person too. What is that old saying about bullshitting a bullshitter… yeah. Don’t.) I think about 18-20 MP is all I need – ever – to make the shots I want to make. The mega-pixel war is over. At some point it just gets stupid.

4. I am going (nearly) all primes. Back in the day I was a prime shooter. Those of you who have attended the workshop know how lens crazy I was back then. Hey, when you have a fast 21MM Nikkor and a fast 20MM Nikkor, you are getting a little over the deep end… ya know. My arsenal will be:

• 16-35MM L
• 50MM 1.4
• 100MM 2.8 Macro
• 135MM f2.0L
• 200MM f2.8L
• 300MM f4

I may throw one of these 85MM 1.4‘s in the mix as well. I shot with one a few months ago and was really impressed. And at $300 or so bucks, not bad at all. BTW, I hear it is pretty easy to hook up an auto focus assist so the Canon beeps when it is in focus on the dots. I don’t know that for a fact, but I have been told.

Isabel

5. I need more C-Stands. Damn those things are handy on location. Rock solid and very stable. I haven’t ever bought into the idea that photography was about convenience. When I read on some forum that someone wants to be as light and quick as possible, I realize they are not doing the kind of work I am doing. I also think they are somewhat misguided… it isn’t about how much gear you do or do not carry… it is about the photograph you intend to make.

Things I Learned About Life:

1. It makes no sense to worry about what others are doing. I keep needing to re-learn this one. I hate that I do, but I have to relearn it again.

The Shoes of Jarvis

2. No matter how prepared for whatever you are preparing for, life has a way of getting smack dab in the middle of it. I started the book just after my daughter had knee surgery for a skating injury. Just as I was finishing my book, my wife had emergency shoulder surgery (the other shoulder… first one was earlier in the year). Man, that threw a monkey wrench into my schedule. She is fine now, and we got through it. We always do. (An aside for those who are thinking that health insurance is too expensive – and it is – imagine where my family would be today without it. Four unexpected joint surgeries this year. We would be bankrupt. It is not worth the gamble. Our deductible is fairly high, but it won’t put us into the poor house.)

But it altered my plans… and I am still recovering from the changes. What is that thing Lennon said ” Life is what happens while you are making other plans…” Yeah, that is something I think about a lot.

3. Life is way too short to worry about the people who don’t care about you. Whether it is a twitter contact or someone you meet in business, if they are not interested in you, nothing you can do can make it worthwhile for you. Life is also way too short to not care about people. No matter what you do or where you are, there are people who need someone to care about them. (And no, saying you care as you sit in your mansion doesn’t really cut it, you know.)

Do something for someone. Mentoring has brought me a lot of friendship and joy this past few years. I plan on continuing it. Teach, share, grow and nurture… should be on everyone’s Remember the Milk list.

Tree Roots in Greenville, SC

4. No matter what happens to you, how you choose to deal with it reveals a lot of one’s character.

Crap happens. To all of us.

It is whether you choose to respond or react to the event that will show everyone who you are. If you are reacting to a medicine, that isn’t so great. If you are responding to a medicine, that is much better.

Responding to the things that happen – whether on a shoot or in life – means that the changes required will be forthcoming. Responding is growth. Responding is hard. Responding takes effort and engagement.

Reacting is simply doing something from no base. Flying off the handle, yelling and demeaning those around you is a symptom of a reaction. It is usually not a good thing. At all.

Respond, don’t react when things go south.
Respond, don’t react when people disappoint.
Respond, don’t react when problems seem most difficult.

It is something I am working on, and will continue to work on.

5. Comfort is something we all seek, and as soon as we find it, we either get complacent or uncomfortable from the comfort. Complacency can lead photographers with fat paychecks to start mailing it in. Complacency can be the chief destroyer of the artist. It can be a terrible thing, even as the comfort one sought for so long was achieved.

I’ve seen it happen. The jobs get bigger and more lucrative and the personal shooting goes away. The ‘testing’ and the hard work that got them there starts to be put away, and the “good life” takes over. Eventually there is someone who is hungrier and willing to work harder and the ‘comfortable’ guy has to start scrapping again. Fine when you are 30, tough when you are 57. Keep that in mind.

I want a happy medium… enough comfort to sleep at night, but enough itch to keep striving. It is that striving that makes us better. Sitting our fat asses in fat chairs watching CNN on a 90″ tube makes us complacent. I think it makes us stupid as well.

Well, that is about it for this post, and nearly to the end of the year. It has been a wonderful opportunity to have you all come to my site and read what I write. I am honored to have a nice group of people here.

Next year will see changes in the workshops, the blog, and my business… so stick around, have a wonderful Holiday. Merry Christmas to you and yours, and see you on New Year’s Eve for the final post of the year. I Tweet a bit, and the Workshops for next year are posted at Learn to Light.