One of the reasons that I got in to photography was because I'm not a very good artist. When I was younger I tried to draw self-portraits and they turned out fairly good, but I never really got the hang of it. There was too much to learn and all of the drawing that you had to do to get really good was discouraging to me to say the least. There is so much to learn in any field of art that it can be extremely difficult to master and I thought that photography would be a little easier because all you do is point the camera and shoot, right?

I don't suppose that everyone guessed that I was wrong on that assumption.
(Okay so EVERYONE did).

There is a lot of tricks to taking pictures that I have learned over the years. Auto-focus cameras are a gift and a big pain in the ass all at the same time. Focus on your subject and take the picture. . . only to find that your camera focused on some obscure object that was supposed to be in the background. Oh the perfect shots that weren't so perfect when the film was developed. . .

Color balance. Those two words are enough to make the amateur photographer say to hell with everything. First thing tomorrow this camera is going up on ebay 'cause I quit!!!

The list goes on.

So why do it? Why pull your hair out trying to find the perfect shot with the perfect light with the perfect model? Why go out of your way?

Your answers will be different than mine. There's a thousand different answers from a thousand different people. Here are my reasons:

I love making people look good. By that I mean showing them that their "flaws" only make them unique not ugly. I have never pointed my camera at an ugly person just "flawed" people. All of the people who have ever posed for me had some defect of one kind or another. . . Self-inflicted criticism that they think that everyone notices (this mole... that wrinkle) but no one does. The people who notice things like that are usually people that most would not associate with. The man who tells his wife that she's fat usually has two flaws:1. insensitivity 2. A fat ass of his own. . .

I genuinely care about the people that I photograph. Some people I've known for a long time and some I've just met. Most of these people trust their own digital camera for snapshots but they come to me to be photographed because I'll do the best that I can to make beauty more beautiful. I want people to feel good about themselves and 50 years from now I want my picture to be the one in an antique (by then- remember it's 50 years from now) frame hanging on Grandma's wall. I want them to remember the day that picture was taken and remember what life was like when not everyone had high speed internet.

I hate budget $29 photo places that sell canned portraits to people. I know that anyone can think of at least one place that does this (I can think of several but I won't mention any names because of libel). I'll shoot everyday for free if it means I can run those places out of business. When I see the pictures from those places hanging on people's walls, I want to tear them down (the pictures, people, not the walls).

For me, photography is less about the picture and more about the person. It's not about the bending of light to conform to the inverse image on a CMOS sensor, but more about capturing the heart of the person in front of the lens.
I NEED to make people see themselves how others see them, because if I don't do that then I've failed. They might like the picture (or say they do) but unless they are wowed then I want to reshoot and shoot again until I get it right. It is the greatest gift that I can give to someone. Most people take compliments poorly. Our society has taught people that we must always improve ourselves so that we're never happy with who we are because we are never good enough. We cannot take praise.

So show them. It's not enough to tell someone that they're beautiful because these are so much like the comments that come from back-seat Romeo's who will say whatever needs to be said to get what they want. SHOW THEM. Show them what you see, and what other people see so that they can say that they trully do look good. They are gorgeous because they see it with their own eyes.

That is the ultimate measure of success. If we as artists can do something to make people happy then we have an obligation to do it.

Man, it's been over a year since I wrote last. Long time. Been doing a little work for the local folks around here and I've been trying like crazy to get people to model for me. . . without seeming like a pervert with an expensive camera.

I would only offer this piece of advice: perseverance. Things always seem their worst right before they get better.

Good luck everyone.

I would like eveyone interested to know that I'm not new to this site but because I've just become a member that I'm having a little difficulty trying to get around. . .

so. . . if I don't reply right away it isn't that I don't care, but more likely (to quote Leslie) "like a blind man at an orgy- I was going to have to feel my way around. . . " I'm still trying to figure things out.

I'll submit some of my work as soon as I can get releases from some of those whose pictures I have taken. I took them with the understanding that I wasn't going to share them, and I can't rightfully submit them without permission (it'd violate our trusts and well. . . that's just wrong )

So please be patient with me. I'm still learning the site.

For those of you on my favorites list. I loved your pictures because they caught my eye. . . I kept them because they didn't let go. . .