This is some of the leadership for Roswell Fire Department in front of their brand new ladder truck. [NIKON Z 9, 14-24mm f/2.8G, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 250, 1/200, ƒ/6.3, (35mm = 14)]

First, I am not a Volunteer Fireman. I do not have those skills or knowledge.

I do have my photography/video skills to donate. I think everyone needs to find something to be involved in as a way that they give back to society. Volunteering some of my time and photography skills is one of those things I do.

My wife is the chaplain for the Fire Department. I have been showing up at events and taking photos to support my wife and the Roswell Fire Department since 2017. My first event was Roswell Fire Department’s Ole Timers’ Dinner, where they have sponsors in the community who put on the event.

I have watched as leadership has changed, and the Fire Department is changing from part-time firefighters who have full-time jobs in neighboring communities going to move to full-time staff. We have been lucky that no significant disasters like a tornado, flood, or hurricane have created a crisis for our community and those around us. If that happened, we wouldn’t have enough firefighters since their priority would be their full-time jobs.

I have done many different group photos.

When Dorie had her installation service, Fire Trucks drove by and even blasted their sirens for Dorie. They have done similar drive-bys for others in our community for different milestones in our people’s lives.

We are part of the family of firefighters, for sure.

That is what happens with the organizations that you decide to volunteer your time and talents in your community. They help you connect and extend your family. This is how we serve one another.

Here are some photos I have taken lately for the Roswell Fire Department.

Find your place to serve your community. Find your place to connect and find community.

Communication skills are one of the core issues for those with Asperger’s syndrome.

Given these difficulties with language, one might predict that individuals with Asperger’s syndrome are likely to struggle in composing written text. Current research suggests that writing is difficult for individuals with Asperger’s syndrome.

I struggled with writing and specifically grammar. I need a good copy editor.

Early in my life, I was tested and was believed to be on the autism spectrum. Since this was in the 1970s and high functioning, they didn’t do anything about it.

It wasn’t during my time studying social work at East Carolina University, but rather when my sister was doing her masters in social work there that she thought I might have autism.

This was in the late 1990s that I started to research and read more and more about Asperger’s Syndrome. I felt like this described many of my struggles in life.

Grammarly advertising popped up on my social media feed in the past couple of weeks.

I tried the free version, which was doing a much better job of helping catch my grammar mistakes than Microsoft word or any other software had done up to now.

I decided to try the paid version. The first thing I started to do with it was to revisit all my blog posts. I knew they could use some help. I couldn’t justify paying someone to copy-edit every blog post, even if that would have been best.

I have rewritten four years of blog posts, plus a few more popular posts from way back.

As long as you have an internet connection, the software works great. I have it helping with my social media posts as well.

This may be one of the best software programs I have come across.

While I can do an OK job of communicating, I needed a copy editor to help polish my writing. I now have that in Grammarly.

If you can get people to see themselves in the story you put forward, you have engaged them in the story.

This skill isn’t about you. This is about something great storytellers possess.

The great storytellers are bridge builders.

Bridge builders are people who create relationships that cut across the lines of conflict. No matter their occupation, anyone can help forge ties across borders, cultures, religions, etc. Bridge builders help establish relationships, improve communication, and build trust between conflicting people and groups.

Communicators know how to pull you into the story using words and visuals. Some photos, phrases, or sentences give details to round out the story.

Capturing people doing what others do around the world is something that connects across borders, cultures, religions, etc. One place I think people connect quickly in the kitchen.

Children playing is another way we connect. I like to get on the ground and be at eye-level with the kids. It puts the audience on that same level. The audience becomes their height. For adults, it is like transporting them back to childhood.

Parents love to show off their children and love it when someone [the photographer] is showing appreciation for their children and their bond with them.

Whenever I am in a hospital, I look for moments where care is being lovingly given, but you can still sense the pain the patient is struggling to get well.

Since this isn’t the audience’s story, they see elements in the story that they can relate to. Maybe like these tents at a grand opening of the first Chick-fil-A in Seattle, Washington. They relate to the excitement of camping. The story has introduced some new twists to the way they go camping. Instead of in the woods, this is in a city’s parking lot.

Those who have helped pull the stories out of people understand why you may have spent lots of time gathering the content; distilling this into something digestible and engaging is where the bridge building takes place.

Photography is used in training for corporations. Companies have learned that step-by-step instructions with visuals help improve compliance.

Now, these photo shoots are so detailed oriented.

Even my clients know how stale this can be when teaching procedures. These photos are so important. These photos teach how to put on and take off PPE so that major problems are avoided.

Teams of writers, producers, camera crews, and compliance officers are present at these video & photo shoots.

These videos and printed materials are used in workshops teaching teams how to prevent contamination.

To make the workshops a little more fun, we look for ways to introduce some excitement.

During my latest photo shoot, the models were also those who did the training. They wanted to capture some of them doing different Ninja poses in their presentations. Both of the models were athletic. One played sports like basketball, and the other was a dancer. This made the action photos possible.

One of the models had studied biology in college and had wanted to be a teacher. She was helping us refine the photos needed for the project because she had to teach these steps herself and wanted the images to help her clients. After we shot a few products, I told her that she was doing the teaching she had wanted to do early on. The difference was that she was teaching adults and not children.

Those teachers that made learning fun were the ones doing like these trainers and introducing their Ninja moves to make the subject a little more fun.

With various media competing for people’s attention, teachers who employ acting techniques have a better chance of engaging their audience.

One person on a project doesn’t always do creativity. In this case, it was a mixture.

I have more than 40+ years of shooting sports. Getting peak moments is core to a great sports photo. Shooting basketball, I shot using strobes. This meant I only could shoot one shot and then wait three to four seconds before I could click the shutter again. The strobes needed to recycle and be ready to fire again.

Freezing people in the air is about anticipation.

While clients hire me to shoot something as simple as a detailed photo in a training program, they get all my experience on the job. So, when we want to do something spur of the moment, I bring all those years of experience to the idea.

Creativity takes everyone to execute to make what we dream about a reality.

Do you remember your teachers when you were younger pointing out to you or someone else, “If you can’t find something nice, then don’t say anything at all?”

There are other variations of decorum we have been taught, and sadly, many adults need to be reminded.

Just the other day, I heard a wife giving her husband talking.

“Were your comments necessary? Did they uplift anyone? If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything. Did you hear me?”

The person who attempts to ‘one up‘ you in a conversation is a person who needs admiration and adoration from you and your other listeners. They will use this tactic to show others that they know more than you, which is demeaning.

Don’t respond. Just listen and watch. In time to come, people will want to interact with you only because you have been gracious all the while to let this narcissist have their way.

You don’t need to spar with PIGS. You are a high-value, gracious person. You are not the same as that desperado who constantly needs attention and admiration.

What’s Their Problem Not Yours

Don’t ever be the person who thinks you can say whatever you want and not care how it impacts others.

The hardest thing to do sometimes is not to comment. You may have a bright mind and intellectual capacity beyond many people, but be very careful, or you can become condescending.

How often do people ask for your opinion as compared to how often you offer it without people asking?

We are all just the same as when we were kids. We want to have fun together. We all love to learn.

Squirrel moment

The squirrel moment is when you suddenly start talking or thinking about an entirely new subject or pursuing a somewhat related or irrelevant course while neglecting the main issue.

In most communication, a person moves from point A to point B. If how they communicate doesn’t change the audience following them from point A to point B, then any comment by another person is a “Squirrel Moment.”

If someone is telling people about a great restaurant and where it is located, adding a comment that it is a great restaurant, but they are closed on Monday so going any other day is helpful. You are adding to the conversation.

Negative

However, jumping into the conversation to say it isn’t an excellent restaurant is a way of just putting down the other person’s comments.

With A Client – It Can Wait

The most challenging conversations I deal with where I cannot just walk away are with customers and prospects.

Before I can get a job, most of the time, I must put in a bid on that job. I find that clients are often not interested in discussing a project, and you cannot just give people a bottom line price without managing those expectations of what they are getting for that price.

My work isn’t a commodity in most situations where the lowest price always gets the job.

My product is very customized, so the price is often difficult to compare to another creative.

Finding your creativity is a journey. It also isn’t a linear journey. It is more cyclical where you get bursts of new content that are often followed by a time of searching.

Our lives are not a trajectory that continues to build on past experiences leading us up a large stairway.
Creativity is more about doing something new and different. Most ideation isn’t born in a vacuum. We draw from our environment, experiences, and others our new ideas.

While early in our career, we are inspired by others and will copy their work until we learn the skills necessary to reproduce that style. During that process, we slowly put our spin on that skill set. We try putting our spin on the other’s art and create something new.

No longer linear trajectory

While we grow in some form of a trajectory that shows progress, we often revisit the process of taking what exists around us and copying it, then modifying it to find our way of expressing something in our hearts, minds, and soul.

When you have those breakthrough moments and people notice, you are often copied by other creatives for the same reason you copied others to develop something new.

Actions to take

The key to the creative process is to ensure you add yeast to the ingredients. This is where you cause fermentation and leavening. Fermentation is the process of breaking down the components.

Let’s say you notice a photographer’s work and want to try and duplicate it. You take the time to study the work.

What lens did they use? How did they light it? What are they doing in the post process to get that look?

Innovate

Leavening is when you are modifying or transforming it for something better.

That is how you become a leader or expert as a creative.

Now, if you are copying other artists’ work and never creating something new, you are just being led. You are not creative. You are a commodity.

Those needing a nice headshot will call you. As long as you are priced like most others in the marketplace, you will be getting work.

Others who recognize creativity and are looking for someone to help them take their brand to the next level will not look to you. You are the vanilla in the creative field.

While trying to always come up with something new is good to keep yourself interested in your work, remember that this helps you create your niche.

More Than A Product

What is just as important to realize is that creativity isn’t limited to your product [photos]. How you treat people is something that shows just as much creativity. The more you WOW people with your service you also separate yourself from the crowd.

Study brands that are known for their service. Copy them and then put your spin on them and do something that adds more to creating a unique experience for your clients.

Thinking you have arrived are being led by others in the industry. Recognizing clients are leaving them is essential. Copying other brands to keep clients is a short-term solution. Other creatives are not seeking them out or copying them. They are selling their product and pricing.

Leaders in the creative field are always looking for a way to improve or at least do something new and different.

Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water!

What I notice about the big brands is they have the signature products they continue to produce that keep their clients happy. Then they have new products. Often these are limited-time offers. These are the things that keep things fresh and exciting for your clients. They may try some of these, but they let your clients know you are constantly innovating.

Be a leader – Embrace change!

89% of shoppers stay loyal to brands that share their values

Your message is likely very sales-heavy if you’re focused on simply selling a product and not building a brand. Consumers are constantly being sold to. Instead of focusing on what you can get from them, brand-building allows you to focus on what you can give, and after you’ve built a foundation of trust with your audience, they will be more likely to hit “Buy Now” on your next offer.

Selling products in the short term may be a necessary goal to launch your business, but branding can set up your business for success in the long term.

Selling stuff you no longer need on eBay to get some cash should look a lot different than how your business sells its products or services.

Steve Jobs’s impact on Apple was continually pushing products back to his team for simplifying and design. He went for the clean back of the MacBook Pro. Something that most in the industry were not paying attention to that kind of detail that customers didn’t see when using. Jobs knew better.

Build your brand, and don’t just succumb to Good Enough for your marketing.

[NIKON Z 6, VR Zoom 24-105mm f/4G IF-ED, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 100, 1/320, ƒ/4, (35mm = 24)]

The lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi, an elegant weapon of a more civilized age.

Flash is the lightsaber tool of photographers

The Jedi used the Lightsaber as a weapon. It made them even more powerful.

The photographer uses lights [flash & constant light source] to make them more powerful.

For the original Star Wars film, the film prop hilts were constructed by John Stears from old Graflex press camera flash battery packs and other pieces of hardware.

Without a flash, a photo often misses that “WOW” factor.

Add flash, and now the color and the people “POP.”

While silhouettes are often powerful by themselves, I could reveal the subjects by adding flash.

Learn How

I teach this in workshops that colleges, photography programs, camera clubs, & individuals hire me to demonstrate and then coach them to do it themselves with my supervision.

Here you can see the photography workshop participants watching and learning.

Contact me to do a workshop for your group or you individually.

Laughing Gull at Ocean Isle Beach, NC [NIKON Z 9, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8G + TC-2001, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 500, 1/4000, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 600)]

When you buy a new camera, there are many situations in that you can shoot with minimal understanding of your new camera.

I believe headshots are super easy for a new camera. Setting the camera to manual and sync speed is minimal to get great results. With the Z9 and having the eye-tracking activated, it does great. This is because there is only one set of eyes to track, and focusing is quite simple.

More Eyes

Now with football in a stadium, there are many eyes to track. This is where the camera gets confused as to what you want in focus.

Now taking the camera out of the box and going off to a sporting event for a job is just crazy. This is such a complex subject to get into focus without understanding all the camera settings. So much so that Nikon has a unique instruction manual for just sports.

Acknowledge the Complexity

It gets very complicated and quicker. Just look at this chart alone.

With so many dials and choices, you must understand what they all do before shooting a critical job.

Today’s top-end cameras take much time to master all the controls.

I am unsure which has more controls, the Nikon Z9 or a Boeing 747. Pilots will train in a flight simulator before actually flying the Boeing 747. The primary purpose of a flight simulator is to help the pilot to achieve, test and maintain proficiency in handling airplane operations without involving any risk to property or lives and at a much lower cost than training in the air.

How long does it take to become a 747 pilot?

Becoming an airline pilot takes two years to gain the required 1,500 hours of flight time.

One of the major problems with many buying the Nikon Z9 is they have minimal experience with photography in general.

	Total Hours Required
Private Pilot License	40 Hours
Commercial Pilot Certificate	250 Hours
Airline Transport Pilot Certificate	1,500 Hours

Those are hours flying and don’t include all the ground school for each certificate.

Manuals & Community Groups Don’t Substitute for Hands On

On Nikon Z9 community groups online, I am seeing people asking questions that are more basic than just the knowledge of the specificity of the Nikon Z9. You have got to spend a lot of time learning all the menus, and the reference manual is the best way to do that. The second thing you have to do is test out what each of those settings does and take some photos changing those settings, so you understand what that setting does to help you in a given situation.

One of the best ways to get those hours under the belt is by practicing with all subjects and situations. You cannot practice enough.

This past week while on vacation at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, I used the time to play and, most importantly, become more aware of some of the controls on my Nikon Z9.

One of the most challenging things about photographing birds was keeping the bird in flight in the frame. My brother-in-law tried my Nikon Z9, and his first comment was how difficult it was to track the birds.

While playing/practicing with the Nikon Z9, I did the same thing with my Drones. I flew my DJI Air 2S.

My new Nikon Z9 can do way more than I have understood. I am practicing with different situations so that when I have a client that needs something that my camera will do, I need to have the correct settings to maximize the camera’s ability. You can also screw up most all the photos if not in suitable locations.

I will be shooting the Roswell Alive After Five on Canton Street this week. This is where I am also practicing. The last time I did this, I shot with two prime lenses. I shot with the Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 Art and the Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8.

I loved shooting shallow depth-of-field to force you to look at what I wanted to be the subject in the photo.

Procedural Memory

Procedural memory, also called implicit memory, is a type of long-term memory involved in performing different actions and skills. Essentially, it is the memory of how to do certain things. Riding a bike, tying your shoes, and cooking an omelet without a recipe are all procedural memories.

Tips To Master Your Nikon Z9

• Download the Nikon Z9 Reference Manual
• Watch YouTube Videos – Go to YouTube and put in the search term for “Nikon Z9.”
• Watch YouTube Specialty Videos – Put in “Nikon Z9” and “Specialty,” ie. “Bird Photography”
• Set aside time in the day to go and shoot practice situations
• Evaluate your shoot. I recommend using Nikon’s NX Studio. The advantage is this can let you see where you were focusing and help you understand user error
• Rinse & Repeat – Continual Repetition will help you know when you need to change the camera settings and which settings to use in any situation

Remember, one size doesn’t fit all. The camera is highly customizable for you to do things no one thought possible, but you must have the camera setup for that subject and situation.

This year we did the family photo up on the walkway to the beach. This was easier for my parents to navigate than on the beach.

Here is the basic setup for this photo.

Now I also took a family photo with my drone this year. The wind blew so much that we didn’t get one shot, with everyone looking great. We did get many pictures without the drone.

Now getting a moment with little children takes a village. They were done after a couple of shots, but we needed them for different groupings.

“Patience grasshopper”

– Kung Fu

I believe that recording real moments is what we cherish years later. Of course, I am thinking about how we can get a better photo with everyone looking their best. I suggested the oldest cousin sit in front of one of the younger ones to make them feel special. IT WORKED!!!

I then took my lights onto the beach for those who wanted photos on the beach.

Again I had some help from the rest of the family. They held the lights so the wind didn’t blow or damage them.

By the way, I shot the photos on a tripod in case I needed to combine multiple photos to get the best expressions.

This last photo combines a couple of photos to get the best expressions.

Many of us went back to the movie theater this past weekend and watched “Top Gun: Maverick.” Tom Cruise brings Maverick back to the big screen.

Maverick has a rogue pilot’s attitude to life. It takes the death of Goose for Maverick [first movie] to look back on his actions with anything resembling a critical eye, as the young pilot is initially a reckless, feckless recruit who couldn’t care less about the lives he endangers and the potential damage he could do himself.

Our culture teaches us we are to take calculated risks. However, Maverick tells Rooster, “Don’t think, just do.”

“Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”

– Zig Ziglar

Without spoiling the movie, Maverick takes us on a journey where he is willing to push his limits. The greatest lesson Maverick teaches is the importance of believing you can do something.

One of the film’s central themes is, “It’s not the plane; it’s the pilot.”  Maverick added, “What is achievable comes to the pilot in the box.” 

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.

– Norman Vincent Peale

Creatives Need To Embrace Fear

Fear can be healthy. It is programmed into your nervous system and gives you the survival instincts you need to keep yourself safe from danger. Worry is unhealthy when it makes you more cautious than you need to be to stay safe and when it prevents you from doing things you would otherwise enjoy.

I watch many freelancers who have a hard time surviving in this industry. They overthink. They suffer from Analysis Paralysis. Analysis Paralysis is an inability to decide due to over-thinking a problem. An individual or a group can have too much data. The result is endless wrangling over the upsides and downsides of each option and an inability to pick one.

You Must Fail to Succeed

Failure is not a step backward; it’s an excellent stepping stone to success. 

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”

– Winston Churchill

What’s the worst thing that could happen?

It’s good to ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that can happen?” in any given situation. You might be spurred into action if the worst thing is not that bad. If the worst thing that can happen is terrible, then it might cause you to sit this one out and stay on the sidelines because the possible downside is so awful, even if the chance of it happening is minimal. It’s better to err on caution than on the side of catastrophe.

Aron Ralston went rock climbing alone and got his hand pinned against a rock wall by a boulder that moved while climbing down it. He didn’t tell anyone he was going hiking so no one would look for him. He was stuck there for five days. He then realized that although he couldn’t move or break the boulder that trapped him, he could escape the boulder by cutting off his trapped arm with the small, dull knife he had. So that’s what he did. He cut off his arm to survive—quite a story.

Had Ralston asked himself, “What’s the worst thing that can happen to me while hiking alone?” before going alone, he probably would have told someone where he was going in case he got in a situation where he needed help.

Mitigate the Risks

Take the time to develop a game plan to grow your business. Dream Big! The only thing you need to do is plan out the actions that you will need to take to implement your vision.

Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” If you can lose money to implement the plan, be willing to lose that money. Consider it a way to test your idea out. It is you doing research.

“Why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.”

– J.K. Rowling

I love how Thomas Edison looked at what many would call failure. He tried over and over to invent the light bulb. He probably failed more than most. It took over 10,000 failures to find the suitable material to make it work. Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

What is the difference between most successful freelancers vs. those who had to leave the industry? Confucius said, “Our greatest glory is never failing, but rising every time we fail.”

Those who get back on the bicycle after falling are the ones who learn how to ride a bike.

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure.”

– Abraham Lincoln

When parents of today’s seniors had their senior photos taken, they were shot on film and not digital as today.

For our family, we all had senior photos made in the style of the day, but the number of images you took was much less than we do today.

Today it is much easier to take hundreds of photos so that we can get a variety of images and the best expressions.

Kids who seemed confident throughout childhood may struggle to maintain self-assurance during the teen years. For many, adolescence is a time filled with self-doubt, a questionable body image, and insecurity.

Feeling self-conscious about your appearance is normal. How most of us are photographed throughout our lives doesn’t help. You see, most of the time, when a photograph is taken, that is it. One photo is taken, and maybe a second where everyone is acting goofy. What are the chances that moment was your best?

Look for a Seasoned Professional Photographer

Most all professional photographers can get a well-exposed and sharp photo. When you look for a photographer, pay attention to the people’s expressions in the pictures. Pay a lot of attention to the eyes.

Look for a variety of expressions. You can tell if they are genuine expressions.

Some photographers are great with their personalities but don’t bring out their subjects’ personalities. Sometimes the best photographers are quiet and listen more than they talk. That is because they are looking for real connections.

Some of the best people photographers I know had degrees in psychology, social work, and counseling professions. They studied body language. Other photographers without that formal education have spent a lifetime studying people. They have gone to workshops and studied with seasoned professionals to perfect their people and photographic skills.

Tips for Your Senior

Have FUN!!!!! Act up! Be Goofy!

After 40 years of working in photography, I can tell you that those willing to take the risk and look ridiculous and take risks are those with the best images I have ever made.

I started taking portraits in college. I found that those who would work with me and take direction always got the best expressions.

My Brochure and Prices for Senior Photos