What to do..............Will I ever learn.................

I was awakened this morning by a misdialed call at 4:30.........which basically meant I wouldn't get back to sleep. Over the past four decades in the photographic business I have made some really solid photographic friends. Full time pros that make their living as photographers. Every now and then I'll have a friend ask me what kind of camera would I recommend for them....they just want to have a good camera to take some good pictures. Obviously the camera is what makes the difference in their minds. Occasionally I will make a recommendation and leave it at that. I had one individual years ago  that I made a camera recommendation to and before I knew it he had invested in a full color processing system with a printer and roll processor. He put the word out that he was going to put me out of business by producing his own portraits. Needless to say I never had anything to do with him again and he soon went broke and sold the processor for scrap. I had a teacher call me up and ask what kind of lights should she get just to play around with. I said nothing but got word that she had bought a cheap pair of "hot lights" to use in the studio she was setting up. She was going to also put me out of business. That didn't work either.

I recently had a friend ask me for advice on a camera and I gave it to him as he was a sportsman and wanted to take animal and nature shots. I relented and made a recommendation. Then came the questions on lenses. We talked about it and he bought one or two. Another question about a wide angle lens..............he wants to shoot some interior and exterior shots of some apartments and houses his son either owns or is trying to sell. I need to give myself a swift kick in the seat of the pants.

I would think that being friends he would recommend my services to his son because I helped him with the "nature camera". What he doesn't understand is how greatly offended I am that he thinks my services would either not be worth what I would want to charge or HE COULD DO IT WITH THE SAME RESULTS !!!! After all he has a "pro" camera and a case of lenses. That really says more than I want to talk about. Needless to say he is off my radar.

This attitude comes from being in the business, having the experience, the degrees, and business knowledge to deliver an excellent product at a very reasonable price. With the advent of the digital revolution the market has been flooded with individuals that are looking to be the photo heros. They know just enough to be "dangerous" and not a clue as to what they are doing. I had an insurance agent that asked for camera advice 10 years ago and I gave him some. I went in to pay my premium six months later and he was telling me that he had picked up an extra three hundred dollars shooting a wedding the past weekend. I changed agencies. Although I wasn't shooting wedding anymore, I won't support a crossover like that from someone I do business with. The same goes with friends. Either you're on the boat, and doing it full time, or your not. If you're not....leave the photography gigs to the pros. I love my job...

Following numbers....

I'm confused which to most people that know me comes as no surprise, let me explain. Over the last three weeks my blog has skyrocketed through the web with an amazing numbers of views. Before this month I was getting three to four hundred views a month which I thought was amazing. HOWEVER..over the last three weeks I've had over seven thousand views and the number is climbing. I don't know why this has happened. Believe me I am not complaining...just dumbstruck and confused. Why did it happen and what thoughts am I generating in my readership ? I have had a base of followers numbering the total of eight as of the first of the month but that has almost doubled in three weeks to thirteen. Do my viewers like the imagery, the writing, WHAT ???

I appreciate the readership more than I can say because I love the photographs I produce. The writing has been fun and has kept me on my toes in the vocabulary area of life. Another question I have is that with over a total number of 34,000 views of the blog which, with the increasing number of views each day,...why only the 8 followers ? I'm really confused...........but.......I think that life may be more fun that way. A new year is coming let's look forward to it together.
I appreciate your readership and 2017 is going to be a gas !

Coming back from Victoria Canada...

Having been to Alaska and through the straits with the ice, walrus, and cold, I went up to the top of the ship just to check it out. From that point I was able to get a shot of what I would call the "Vastness" of the sea. I can't image living in such an environment yet many generations of people have done so. The cold slices through you and it doesn't take long to appreciate the challenges of the environment. If you highlight the image it will enlarge for better viewing.

It's almost Christmas and I expect to be pretty engaged with family here in Tulsa. Remember what Christmas is all about, and I hope we all make it through the holiday in good shape.
Be sure to leave Santa a couple of cookies.....be safe....

The Sigma Nu prints...

I got word from the designer I'm working with that the prints I furnished for the Oklahoma University's Sigma Nu new house won't be hung until sometime in February of next year-2017. There are a total of 14 prints that will decorate the house, all of them dealing with imagery taken here in Oklahoma. Six are architectural images and the rest are segments of graffiti that I caught on a train's boxcars parked at the Tulsa terminal. I'll get you all images as soon as I can. They will look fabulous I'm sure.

Penguins on the loose with one imposter.....

Several years ago the Tulsa Zoo wanted to raise money to put in a penguin exhibit in the zoo. To raise money for the effort they sold fiberglass Penguins and held a contest with different artists expressing themselves using the penguins as their canvas base. The results were fabulous and the birds sprung up all over town where they still remain in front of businesses and different public locations.

While out shooting for myself I came across a second hand shop that had made their own penguin. I spoke with the owner and he just said that he would have loved to buy a "real" penguin but it was out of his reach. Sooooooo........he made his own. A great piece of work with a penguin sporting a guilty look. I just couldn't leave it at that......soooooo.........my end result...

Electric ..............

Going through some files this morning I came across this image of Jimmy Hendricks gravesite.

We were in Washington several years ago and found Jimmy's final resting place. When he made his debut in 1969/70 at the Monterrey Pop Festival he rewrote the musical landscape. I bought his first album "Electric Ladyland" and almost wore it out. I still cam remember a couple of the single songs from it and they pop up in my mind out of nowhere in most instances. "Crosstown Traffic", and "All along the Watchtower", spring up more often than not. Just a passing thought......

One amazing realization I've noticed concerning Marketing...

I hadn't thought of this factor in years but with the proliferation of people owning digital cameras, an assumption is sometimes made that "I can take the picture myself, because I have a camera". I can't tell you how many times I have heard from accounts the admission that they made the mistake of doing it themselves. Granted they got a "picture" but it didn't tell the story they were looking for. Either the lighting was bad, the color off, the cropping was wrong, or it just didn't LOOK professional.

After 44 years of producing strong imagery for clients I realize that I can't photograph for everyone. My clients want the best, strongest, really great imagery telling the story of their products and services. They want to be winners in the game of merchandising, not "also rans". This is one reason I love my job, I work with people and companies that know what they offer their clients and want to display those items in the BEST Light.

In 1972 when I started the company I had no idea where it would take me, but I have traveled throughout the U.S. and to many countries. I have worked with and met truly amazing people. I have seen deep poverty and the struggle for existence to lavish estates and opulent living. Historical locations to new beginnings and history in the making. Really great photography helped lead the way. I hope this statement isn't taken  as bragging, I try to deliver only the best imagery I can, backed by 4 decades of experience. I'm the luckiest guy in the world having such a great job.

Wowie Zowieeeeee !!!!!!!

I really don't know why or how this is happening, but last month I had over 3800 views on my blog. I find that extremely amazing and I do appreciate your viewership. I love my job.....this is just amazing.

Marketing...........

It may seem as though it is a strange time of year to be marketing commercial photography with the holidays and all, but it is the "set up" time to get new potential clients, as well as my past clients, ready for the new year working with me. It is starting to be the time of year that scheduling compilation of Annual Reports, introduction of new products, and a "clean slate" begins for many commercial business I work with.

I really enjoy this time of year for that very reason. Last years endeavors are done and may be reviewed as to their successes and/or failures. The tweeking starts now for the marketing year of 2017. It's like a breath of fresh air coming down from the marketing mountains. I am personally delivering to new, as well as old accounts, a DVD of some images from around the world that I have photographed on assignment, some commercial images of products, as well as videos of some machines in action, to help illustrate the capabilities I have available to my accounts.

The reception has been good, and as I deliver the packages I get a card from the contact of the business so I may have a follow up letter in the mail by next week. If I can receive a ten percent reply of the people I contact it will be an overwhelming success. From past experience I know that although I may not immediately hear from the majority of the contacts I make, they will know of me, my abilities, and have the ability to contact me in the future. You ALWAYS need to look to the future.

A successful shoot in Arkansas Sunday...

Back when my studio was in Carthage it was easy to know almost everyone. The town was 11,000 occupants and it was as though one Carthaginian died and a new one was born. Sort of a revolving door so to speak. However.....occasionally someone would move to town. The older I got the more I understood as to the "whys" but in those days I just guessed the new comers just made one too many lefts. I had been traveling a lot with commercial jobs and had eaten in my share of mid-town deli's across the U.S. I never dreamed one would show up in town. I was in Galbraiths paint getting some painting supplies for a new background and someone, I can't remember who, asked me if I had been the new Deli ? Looking all knowing I just said " what deli ?"...... It was run by some guy who had just moved his family to town and had been in the newspaper business. As a prerequisite to relocating in Carthage, there is an untold law that everyone in town will know more about you within hours of you setting foot within the city limits than you know yourself.....which can lead to some fabrication, exaggeration, and mucho speculation. I decided to check it out.

Turning right as I left the door, sounds tricky doesn't it......I saw the new sign that left no question as to the location of the store. On a white sign with black letters boldly stood the name. THE DELI
I walked in and there was a guy with a beard, about my size, a bit older wearing an apron. I introduced myself and he told me that he was Tom Candela. We shot the breeze for a minute or too and I welcomed him to town as I was scoping out all the deli meats behind the counter. A total list of sandwiches hung on the wall and I though I had died and gone to heaven. Hot Damn...I must be in Chicago.

As fate would have it Tom and his family bought a home one house away from my Moms and as the years progressed we became good friends. Their son Tony, aka "Young Anthony" became an audio whiz kid and after becoming a regional Sales manager for one of the largest Stereo companies in the nation left them and started his own company which makes custom and speciality electrical wiring kits for the automotive industry. Their daughter Allison is married and has a great family with a son who at thirteen is starting to tower over me and will soon be over 6 feet. Tom and his wife Corrine expanded the Deli to a much larger building on the square, and then after a number of very successful years, sold the deli and mover to Dallas. We kept in touch and visited once or twice, then Tom and Corrine moved closer to us locating in Bella Vista Arkansas.

We were there last Sunday celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and had a really great time.
In the late 70's our family owned a townhouse there so I was familiar with the place. However I wasn't prepared for the gigantic expansion that has taken place throughout the area. Commercially it is hopping and residentially is "The Great Expansion", primarily due to the location of Walmart and poultry producers home offices. It is absolutely incredible. As I say in Facebook concerning my Blog....Check it out....