I am photographing Jeff Raymond, James Dockery, and Pat Davison at our Storytellers Abroad Multimedia Workshop in the Balkans this summer.

Last night my wife and I were out to dinner with another photographer and their spouse. We had discussed how to market yourself as a photographer at events like Chamber of Commerce hosts.

Dorie, my wife, reminded our friend that you have one of the most excellent jobs for most people as a photographer. Photographers are the yard on the other side of the fence that looks greener to your neighbors.

The Grass is Always Greener …

Photographers should know that perspective can often be very deceiving, yet we, too, let our eyes look at our neighbor’s yard and think it is greener until we are standing in the yard to see all the patches.

Ecclesiastes 6

6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to the one place?

7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

Solomon’s point in his writing of Ecclesiastes is that God determines our lot in life, whether we’re rich or poor or in good health or wrong. But these things do not lead to happiness. That only comes as God grants it to us.

Jesus taught his disciples to be obedient to God.

10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:10-11

While we may work hard at keeping God’s commandments, we must also be reminded that we are human. We will screw up again and again. The good news is we are forgiven.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

John 15:10-11

The fourth class system of The Citadel is, for me, a great reminder of the idea of following orders yet always being wrong. Those who learn to follow those orders then move on to leadership places.

The excellent news about photographers appearing to have “Greener Grass” is that when you introduce yourself often, people want to know what you photograph. Where is the most exciting place you have been? Who is the most interesting person you have met?

While you may think that all the problems in your yard are horrible, remember today that you live where the grass is greener.

Prayer for today:

Dear Lord, thank you for the talents and gifts you have given me. Thank you for blessing me with being able to meet so many of your creations and get to know them, and tell their stories through my camera.

While there are so many things I could be doing today when I look around, Lord, keep me focused on your priorities. Please help me to stay true to your word and help me to keep your commandments.

While I might not understand why you have given me a burden today and a task to do that I don’t understand, please bring joy into my life that I am doing your will.

I purchased the Godox 860IIN [$199] with the radio transmitter Godox X1NT [$49.95]. I did this because I loved the Neewer TT850, which is pretty much the same flash as the TTL capabilities.

GODOX X1-N FEATURES

Godox 2.4GHz RF Radio System
Range – 100m +
Flash Modes – iTTL / M / OFF
HSS to 1/8000th
Second Curtain Sync
FEC / FEB – 1/3rd Increments (±3 Stops)
FEL (Flash Exposure Lock)
Manual Flash – 1/128 – 1/1 Output (1/3rd Increments)
Remote Flash Zoom (Auto / Manual) (Global for All Groups Only)
Group Mode – 5 Groups A / B / C / D / E (D & E Are Remote Manual Only)
32 Channels
Large LCD Display with Back Light
HSS Delay Setting – 0~19.9ms, (100us Increments)
Modeling flash
Auto Memory Function
AF Assist light (With an On/Off Switch)
Wireless Shutter Release
Micro USB Port for Firmware Upgrades
Transmitter PC Sync Port – Input & Output
Receiver 2.5mm Sync and Shutter Release Port – Output

I think the radio transmitter is what made the difference to me. First, the radio transmitter for the Neewer TT850 required me to tape it to the side of the flash, or it could get bumped off, and the channel selection was dip switches that often got bumped. You would need to use a hot glue gun to fix it from being bumped.

Now on this new Godox I bought, I can still pick a manual mode and dial in Full power to -1/128 as I did before with the Neewer system. See the remote radio photo showing you group A & C on manual and B on TTL.

Besides being able to use TTL now, I wanted to buy the flashes for High-Speed Sync up to 1/8000. This will let me shoot at ƒ/1.4 outside using flash.

Getting A Natural Fill Light Feel

I started with the flash closer and realized that even though it is TTL if you back it up just a little, you stand a better chance of not over-exposing as much.

Now what I want to do with my use of the Godox flash, or any moment, is to wink the second in to clean up the skin colors and remove some of the shadows often created from the sun being above most subjects during the central part of the day.

Now I did not adjust the exposures in Lightroom. I just wanted you to see what the camera and flash do without any help from tweaking the exposure.

Here you can see the setting on the Radio.

While E and B have some settings in manual mode, I have only one flash set on Group A. So this is the only thing that matters for my setup. If I had other flashes set to Group E and B, they would be necessary.

Now you also can have the camera under and overexpose. I usually shoot in Aperture mode, so when you under or over-expose, the camera will adjust Shutter Speed and ISO to get the proper exposure.

The downside to using TTL is that the light values change in the scene if you move the camera. The camera’s sensors are what are used to figure out the TTL proper exposure. The camera will make the scene look normal, under-exposed, or over-told, depending on your settings. However, this doesn’t mean it is what you were looking for; it is as if the camera’s sensor is interpreting the data.

This is why you can keep the flash to manual mode at the same value as long as the flash and the subject remain at the same distance.

I believe that sometimes the flash is too strong and makes the background look unnatural. Many photographers use no flash and open up until the face looks great and let the background go hot.

If I am going for the high key, over-exposing the camera and just winking that flash at -3 EV looks natural yet color correct on skin tones better than without the flash.

 

Airborne School First Jump of school

Leap of Faith

A leap of faith is believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason.

“Thinking can turn toward itself to think about itself, and skepticism can emerge. But this thinking about itself never accomplishes anything.” Søren Kierkegaard says thinking should serve by thinking something. Kierkegaard wants to stop “thinking’s self-reflection,” and that is the movement that constitutes a leap. He’s against people thinking about religion all day without ever doing anything. But he’s also against external shows and opinions about religion and favors the internal movement of faith. He says, “where Christianity wants to have inwardness, worldly Christendom wants outwardness, and where Christianity wants outwardness, worldly Christendom wants inwardness.” – Wikipedia.

I am part of a Sunday School class where we love to ask those taboo questions. These questions are often embedded in our logical thinking minds trying to work out our faith.

This one piece of scripture is one of my favorite because I can so relate to the boy’s father talking to Jesus.

Mark 9:23-25

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

Jumping out of a perfect airplane is just something I will probably never do. Watching my son jump at Fort Benning was something to behold.

As a freelancer, I continue to find, like all business owners, that I often pray to God, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Like the farmer who has planted his crop and is caught in a draught is how many freelancers feel. How will I feed my family, and what will I do?

Most farmers plant different crops in different fields; while one crop is weak, they have something. But if the weather is terrible, they can lose it all. Farmers learn to store up during those great times to weather the bad times.

This is why all accountants tell their customers to have six months of reserves saved. If something terrible happens, you have a cushion to pay all your bills for six months.

Let’s just be honest. Many of us are often having life happen, and we are looking at our bills and see the revenue stream doesn’t seem like it is there. We are doing all we can to cut down on those expenses.

If you are in this position, you are like most humans. While some may have the financial resources, they are lacking something. They, too, feel desperate for different reasons.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21

I am always looking into the future to see how it will meet the present needs. I can never really know the future like God. The hardest thing to do is to put my trust in God, who knows the lot.

God wants me to be working each day and doing something. Faith is not sitting and letting God do it all, but trusting that he is with us, walks with us, and wants the best for us.

Pray today, Dear Lord, I believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

Three different ethnic backgrounds, but all of them are friends.

As a business owner I know first hand about how important a relationship with customers is over me being right.

Certain brands have “Raving Fans” because those businesses are thinking of the customer and doing all they can to meet the needs of their customers with solutions they can provide.

One of the most challenging things I struggle with when looking out for a client’s best interests is when I know that a client will suffer because of a decision they are making.

In the 1980’s I remember my uncle, Knolan Benfield, quite clearly, discovering using a projector to show clients their family portraits.

He watched way too many people select 11×14 prints for their walls when they often needed a 40×60 to do justice to the print.

Knolan was able to help people understand that he wasn’t trying to make more money off a giant print but believed that images in a typical living room on the wall needed to be a specific size to be appreciated.

He had a watch and a clock in the room where he would project images. By having the most apparent miniature clocks, they would often squint to tell the time. Then he would point out the other clock where the size of the face was larger.

Then Knolan would project the photos on a screen. The projector lens was a zoom, so he could adjust the image size for the clients to see. Having them sit in chairs about the same distance from the walls of their house, customers would then pick the size they liked. Knolan even had frames to show with the photo once they chose the size.

A headshot could be much smaller than a large family outdoor group photo because when you make a face the size of a clock for telling time, you have a good guide that helps guide the customer.

Even with this show and tell, customers would choose smaller images when they saw the price difference. The hard costs prevented my uncle from giving them what they wanted and needed to enjoy the photo they had already invested a great deal to make.

At this point, Knolan had to choose the relationship over being right. If he pushed to show how wrong they were, the relationship would dissolve, and while they might still buy the smaller print, they wouldn’t be back for more photos.

I worked very hard taking these photos of people from around the world. I wanted you to get to know them. They are all God’s children. None of them should be treated like White supremacists do.

You cannot be profitable in business if you do not treat everyone with honor, dignity, and respect. You cannot look down on your customers. You must be able to look them in the eye.

I believe if the United States wants to survive, it must learn to act like a small business owner. They must work to embrace everyone they come in contact with.

Some great things will come from someone who puts relationships first.

One of the best things about dealing with people you disagree with is that it is pretty challenging. Being passionate about your ideas and beliefs makes it quite difficult for you to be willing to listen. I have found time and time again that I have done an abysmal job of thinking of all the ramifications of my thoughts. In the end, having someone challenge me is a good thing.

Your critical thinking cannot be selfish, or it is flawed. When grounded in fair-mindedness and intellectual integrity, it is more balanced.

When others disagree with your ideas, take it to heart and understand why they may not support an argument. This respect for others’ ideas means you are trying to see the other’s perspective. Learning to do this well doesn’t mean you will agree with them, but you can see why they have a different perspective.

This is my uncle James Stanley Leary during WWII as part of Anti-Fascists disrupting a large gathering of ethnic supremacists on Saipan.

In the past few days, Donald Trump has done much Mansplaining to the public through the media. Trump again blames ‘both sides for the Charlottesville violence, spurring outrage. Our military fought against regimes that believed in ethnic cleansing.

Throughout history, different groups have been persecuted. Very seldom are they able to stop the violence? The Indian people were not allowed to turn their crops into fabric by the British. They were beaten if they even owned a spinning wheel. It was Gandhi who used non-violence to show the world how they were being treated by the British.

Martin Luther King used peaceful protests to show how white supremacist would torture them in the streets.

I was at an event where the audience was The Honorable Maynard Jackson, Jr. He commented in a discussion that whites needed most to combat racism by standing up for their black friends.

I think he was right. Everyone needs to speak out against the injustice that is like what we saw in Charlottesville. We also need to hold our president accountable for the role of the presidency, which is to unify our nation and not divide it as his words are doing now.

We cannot allow this to happen to the United States. What happened in Germany after World War I qualified for a White Supremacist movement that caused World War II. It is hard to say how many people were killed during World War II, but estimates vary between 50 million and 80 million. Everybody agrees that it has been the deadliest war ever, wiping out around 3 percent of the world population at the time.

The Nazis were allowed to pursue winning their argument rather than building relationships.

Each year, a new class of cadets starts a new one at The Citadel. They come in, many of them being self-reliant, and many already understand the importance of community. Still, the process of the Knob year for the cadets is to integrate them into the corps of cadets.

“Do you think the Clemson students are going through this today?” I overheard some people as they watched the incoming freshman [knobs] moving into their dorms and getting oriented by the upperclassmen officers of the Cadre.

My wife, Dorie Griggs, has been writing a blog for Citadel parents since our Son was a student. He graduated in 2011. We decided to drive down to Charleston, SC, and help some of the parents as they dropped off their sons and daughters.

Each year parents of older cadets help the new parents and incoming knobs move into their rooms. This is the paying it forward they feel compelled to do after their move-in experience the first year at The Citadel.

The Citadel Family Association helps identify all these upper-class parents with blue shirts.

Before 7:00 am, parents with their cadets are lined up around the Alumni Center, where they find out which company their young cadet will be assigned to. We helped one student who flew from California and needed help getting to campus.

After their assigned company, they drive to the barracks, where the cadet goes in and meets the officers in the middle of the quadrangle, who will start the same process as all military organizations. You learn that you will be yelled at immediately and remember to follow orders.

At every station you go to, another officer gets your attention, asks you many questions, or does certain things you find out you are not doing correctly.

The good news is that each officer was in those new cadets’’ shoes just a short time ago. They remember how it felt. However, they have been through the training and understand how the process works to build a cohesive corps of cadets.

They will learn to be in step with the corps of cadets. They will learn to hear just the voice of their commanding officer. They will learn to rely on each other.

As I looked around, I watched the Cadre interacting with each other and the knobs. You see, there are friendships between them. You know the family that they have become away from their homes.

It all starts with following those instructions that seem so silly as to stand behind the piece of tape, but not too far, and lean over and sign your name.

In just 3 hours, The Citadel had moved in 825 Knobs to their bunks and had them all dressed alike in the barracks in lines, ready to begin their college career. I wonder how many other schools can quickly move that many students into their dorms. It is military precision taking place on their first day of school.

They think of everything at The Citadel. Each cadet is issued a Camelbak that they must keep complete and drink from regularly. You can watch the Cadre coming behind them in formation, squeezing the Camelbaks to be sure they have water. They are telling them to drink their water.

While in formation, cadets must make the best of their time, yet they must wait for instructions. Here, the Cadre instructed them to read their Guidon. It has the rules of the Corps of Cadets. They must be able to recite this later in their training at a moment’s notice.

The Apostle Paul talked a great deal about the importance of the Corp of Cadets. Well, he called it being a part of the body of Christ.

Here is Paul’s’ letter to the Corinthians to get them to stop bickering and not working together.

1 Corinthians 12
One Body with Many Members
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[d] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? Where would the sense of smell be if the whole body were an ear? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each of them as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,[e] yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the more incredible honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving more incredible honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

27 Now, you are the body of Christ and individual members of it. 28 God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

You cannot be a leader or a follower if you are not a part of a community.

Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you to the very end of the age.”

How will you be a part of the community of Christ this week? Who will you teach? What do you plan to learn? How will you serve?

[Nikon D3, 24-120mm, ISO 200, ƒ/11, 1/250 – Alienbees B1600 for fill flash]

This week, it is back to school for college students and other schools in Georgia. Monday morning, my drive took longer because all the school buses were picking up children to take them to their first day of school.

In many ways, this feels more like the beginning of a new year to me than New Year’s Day. There is such excitement for everyone.

It is new because so many students are going to a new place. They are moving down the hall to the next grade wing, or they are moving off to college.

For most of my career, I have been covering the back-to-school story and helping private schools and colleges with public relations and marketing materials.

We moved our daughter in last week to her college dorm. We are starting a new chapter in our lives now with our youngest off the college.

The first part of our life for 18 years is where we enroll in classes each fall, and then each spring, we are tested on what we learned. If we prove we know the new material, we move on to the next rung on the ladder. Once you rise a few rungs up the ladder, life becomes more accessible.

Almost every year is planned out for you until you graduate high school, with few options. You only need to navigate the school halls to get from one classroom to the next.

What about the rest of your life out of school? When you stop learning, you stop living. You are only letting your mind and body start to slow down and finally quit on you.

“When did you become such a know-it?” is something we have all heard, but I am asking myself this question as much as you. If we stop learning, haven’t we declared that we know everything?

Each year, maybe like now in August, pick something that you are going to learn more about. Maybe buy some books or take a class at the community college near you, but make a commitment to learn something new.

One of the best ways to learn is to travel. Go and explore, even if it is just around your own city or town. You get a lot more out of travel when you read about the places you plan to visit and study what to do in those locations.

This year I learned about the Balkans. Last year I went to Togo, West Africa, and Nicaragua to explore and learn about the people.

Whenever I pick up a book, take a class, or visit a new place, I learn something new. I also most every time, my previous knowledge is modified. You see, learning more helps us to process what we already know in a new way.

While reading a book is learning, I suggest doing something with a group of people. The relationships you form bring a great deal of joy to the process of learning.

I love to teach photography and storytelling to groups. If you have a group of friends that wants to learn how to get better photos of your friends and family, I can teach you skills to elevate your images.

If you want to tell stories for a non-profit where you volunteer, I can help teach you how to capture the story more effectively to engage an audience.

Regardless of age, be sure you are returning to school this August.

[Fuji X-E2, Fuji 18-55mm, ISO 640, ƒ/5, 1/100]

It is back to the grindstone for many this Monday. Are you excited or depressed about your day? I’ll be honest with you I am struggling. This is written for me as much as to share with you today.

If you are like me, there are parts of your faith that don’t make any sense. My problems are not with the facts within my faith about if something took place or not, but how I deal with life right now.

Maybe you are like me and believe that God created you with unique skills and gifts that you believe have been part of why you are in your present vocation or feeling led into a vocation.

The idea of vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward specific purposes and a way of life.

But maybe, like me, you have experienced the eroding of opportunities to use your gifts in the workplace. You may even have a job and find yourself unappreciated or feeling like you are not allowed to use your skills.

I know many photographers that if they are not outshooting with the camera in hand, they feel like they are not working. Freelancers often go for a long time between assignments and, during those times, feel discouraged.

After all, isn’t this why God created me to do good works?

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

Now, look at how in the past, the Jews dealt with their time in the desert when God spoke to Moses.

1-2 God spoke to Moses: “Send men to scout out the country of Canaan that I am giving to the People of Israel. Send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a tried-and-true leader in the tribe.” 

Numbers 13

What I think is interesting is that when they returned and spoke to everyone, they all were impressed with all the good they saw, and then there was a significant pause and reflection about how impossible it would be for them to take the land.

Numbers 13
26-27 They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:
27-29 “We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it.”
31-33 But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.”

If you read the entire story, you will find that 12 were sent out—one from each tribe. Only Caleb had the confidence that they could do it.

36-38 So it happened that the men Moses sent to scout out the land returned to circulate false rumors about the land causing the entire community to grumble against Moses—all these men died. Having spread false rumors of the land, they died in a plague, confronted by God. Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were left alive of the men who went to scout out the land.

After this, God wanted to wipe them out and start over; once they understood how they let down God, the people just wanted to go and take the land, but Moses stopped them. God was not with them because they were not with God. Moses told them that God wanted them to keep all the commandments God gave them. After repenting and committing to following God, were they able to take the promised land as promised?

Are you experiencing a desert experience right now in your life? Do you feel like the Jews and think God had led you from the wrong place to an even worse position? Are you currently wanting to return to a place where you, like the Jews, would be like a slave to something?

God’s timing is not like our thoughts about timing. Today we might need to do our chores and complete our responsibilities.

The one thing I love the most about Jesus was he boiled things down for my simple mind. What are we to do today?

Matthew 22:34-40
The Greatest Commandment
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In the broadest sense, as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Love is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.”

[Nikon D5, Nikon 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/4000 – Alienbees B1600, Triggered with Pocketwizards]

When I took this photo, I was doing all I could to capture the look of musical Oklahoma! in Roswell, Georgia, at a friend’s horse farm.

I didn’t get paid at all for this photo shoot. However, I put as much effort into it as I have done for any client. I wasn’t doing this for my portfolio and wasn’t motivated to do it for the school.

I love my daughter so very much that I was doing all this for her. I wanted her to have the best experience in high school theater possible.

I also didn’t do this alone. Dorie, my wife, and I have been doing this all through the years for all of our kids. Dorie assisted me that day, and we got a great banner for the photo together.

I think the best motivation for any photograph centers around love. While we can show the joy of devotion through smiles, we can also show the sorrow that comes from seeing one suffer in life.

Yesterday we took our daughter off to college, where she will major in theater with a minor in dance and get a teaching certificate. I feel like all those photos of her dance classes, orchestra performances, choral performances, and theater productions let her know we supported her love of the arts.

As one with Asperger’s Syndrome, I can tell you that Aspie’s love. We love in a different ways. I do find myself experiencing lots of emotions but will struggle more than most people on how to convey this to others. I have used photography to demonstrate to others how much I care.

Now I realize that I still need to communicate using words, but this is much more difficult for me. I continue to work on it and am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife who has helped to bring me out of my shell and taught me how to interact with others.

Without the emotion of love as my motivator, I could not produce some of my best work.

Don’t get sucked into thinking about photography as working with technology, or you will develop a GAS problem—gear Acquisition Syndrome.

Too many photographers forget that the 6 inches behind the viewfinder are more critical than the 6 inches in front. The REAL KEY is to make the camera disappear to the audience, not the photograph’s focus.

Your inspiration must start somewhere. I found mine to begin with my family. Today I am just reflecting on the time with my daughter since yesterday we turned the page. We are now in a new chapter of life with my daughter.

Maybe you feel frozen in your work. Perhaps you are depressed or experiencing anxiety.

At first, it’s normal to feel rattled, frozen, or unclear about what to do. After a while, you do what you can to change things for the better. But often, there’s not much you can change, sometimes nothing.

Still, there is always one thing you can do, no matter what.

You can always find someone to love.

Love feeds us as it flows out of us. Soothing, calming, centering, and strengthening.

I woke up this morning to screeching in our backyard. Sometimes this is the squirrels, and other times, it is the chipmunks, but today it was this Red-tailed Hawk.

Let me walk you through this photo shoot that was more about reacting to the moment than having planned to be shooting a hawk this morning.

The photo at the top was taken later when I worked on the images in Adobe Lightroom when the hawk decided to get closer to food. Our bird-feeders where squirrels and small birds hang out around our deck.

I first grabbed the closest camera and shot photos of the Red-tailed Hawk in the tree in our backyard eating a squirrel it had just caught. This was the Fuji X-E2. However, I quickly got my best camera to get this up close.

Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 Sport

I grabbed the Nikon D5 and put my Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 | S with a TC-2001 [2x converter], which gave me a 600mm ƒ/5.6 lens.

By the way, before I put the telephoto on the camera, I put a 35mm lens and then did a custom white balance using my ExpoDisc. This helped me get the most accurate color under all the leaves and trees in our backyard.

I then quickly put this in my sports settings. I did this because I just needed to pick my custom settings where I had programmed my camera for sports. Here is a blog post to walk you through it.

After shooting many photos, I realized the hawk was staying until it was finished with the meal. This gave me time to go and find a tripod because I was hand holding the camera and lens up to this point.

Then I went to the Nikon shooting menu and picked regular. This let me shoot at ISO 900 versus ISO 18000. I lowered the shutter speed from 1/4000 to 1/200.

I continued to shoot photos looking for moments where I felt like I was capturing the hawk as I wanted to portray it to you.

When it was sitting on the railing on our deck, I watched as I thought it was looking for a squirrel hiding under our gas grill.

Since I had put away the Nikon D5 and the Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 | S, I grabbed the Fuji X-E2 with the 55-200mm attached and got just a few more shots before it flew away.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 100, ƒ/1.4, 1/1000] photo by: Robin Rayne Nelson

I have taken many personality tests, all of which have me somewhere on the introvert scale. Now some have me as a borderline extrovert but never a strong socialite.

On the Myers-Briggs test, I am an INFP.

INFP personalities are true idealists, always looking for the hint of good in even the worst of people and events, searching for ways to improve things. While they may be perceived as calm, reserved, or even shy, INFPs have an inner flame and passion that can truly shine. Comprising just 4% of the population, the risk of feeling misunderstood is unfortunately high for the INFP personality type – but when they find like-minded people to spend their time with, the harmony they feel will be a fountain of joy and inspiration.

I have found that while not all of my photojournalist friends are INFPs, many are introverts.

Being a freelancer and an introvert combination can make life incredibly lonely. Friends and family support me, but having someone who can fully relate is invaluable.

My Involvement with Groups

For most of my life, I have been organizing small groups. While in high school, I loved to play chess, so I formed a club that met at my house.

Later I worked on the staff of the Southern Short Course, the oldest photojournalism conference in the country, based in North Carolina.

I also hung out with fellow photojournalists in my first job at the Hickory Daily Record.

When I went to work with Don Rutledge in Richmond, VA, with The Commission Magazine, we had people from all over the world coming in regularly to meet Don Rutledge and Joanna Pinneo. We often went to lunch and talked shop. This was one of the most rewarding times of my life where I met with people in the same career as myself each week and my passion for our work.

When I went to seminary, we started the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference, which has run for 25 years. Also, during my time in Fort Worth, TX, I was part of the Christians in Photojournalism group that met in the metro area.

I would later start a CIP group in Atlanta and then help transition this group to become FOCUS.

Yet all of these formal groups aren’t enough. I continued to join affinity groups because I spend so much of my day alone.

Start with just one person

I can tell you that I could not have survived without my close friends in the industry. Robin Nelson and I get together for coffee and discuss our story ideas.

Another close friend is Bill Bangham. We pick up from where we left off whenever we get together. So often, these conversations today are on the phone since we live in different towns.

Another good friend is Ken Touchton. Ken has given me some of the best business advice I have ever had throughout my career. Ken also challenges me all the time. When I first left a staff job and went freelance, Ken called me weekly to ask what I was doing and my plans. Then the following week, he called to hold me accountable.

Another wonderful couple is Vivian and Gary Chapman. They have been good friends through the years. I often call Gary for advice and love how transparent Gary is about his work.

The one person who taught me to have an open door policy was Don Rutledge. He was available to meet with anyone if he had the time or would make time.

Don would take me to lunch with some of the most famous and not-so-famous photographers. Every person was treated equally. Don listened and asked questions. Don also loved to tell stories about himself where he screwed up. He taught me how to laugh at myself.

I hope to communicate today through this blog that a successful photographer must be in the community. Not just to participate in some meetings planned by others, but to go out of your way to plan those events for others as well.

I highly recommend joining a Facebook online group and not just troll the posts but contribute. Post photos, ask questions, and contribute by commenting on other photographers’ posts. Create community.

Here are a few Facebook groups you might be interested in joining. Be sure you are a good fit. Don’t just try and enter every group. Join those where you genuinely are amongst your people. If you are not a photojournalist, then don’t join that group. Maybe join the Nikon or Canon group.

FOCUS – Fellowship of Communicators Uniting Socially 

Christians In Photojournalism (CIP)

Photojournalism

Christian Photographers

Sony Alphas

Nikon D5

There are many other groups to join on Facebook. The cool thing is many of these groups organize events locally for you to participate. Besides joining a group, take the time to develop those closer relationships where you go to coffee or lunch with just one person.

If you are going to see what you can get out of something, you will not get very much at all out of anything. However, if you go not just to get something but rather to give, you have a better chance of benefiting. When someone tells you of their projects, follow up and ask how their project is going. Ask to see it and offer constructive criticism if they are open to it.

By the way, the person who got me started in photography was my uncle Knolan Benfield. He worked with Don Rutledge as well, and the two of them taught me so much and made it possible for me to be where I am today.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

– Mahatma Gandhi

Working with photo assistants taught me that you must communicate clearly with them. Every photographer has a different system for doing things.

If you work with the same assistant all the time, you are at an advantage over those of us who need to hire different assistants from time to time. I am not so busy that I have a full-time photo assistant.

One of the things I did was label the lenses in my camera bags. I had been researching different labeling systems for camera lenses and tried out LenzBuddy. They make a variety of front lens caps, rear lens caps, and camera body caps.

I decided to put all the lenses into my ThinkTank Airport Security Roller Bag with the lens rear caps facing up.

I then ordered all the “Focal Length Only Custom Lens Cap – Rear,” which cost $9.95 each. The official Nikon rear lens caps cost $14.82 on Amazon.

You can put your Logo or other custom design on and off their caps.

This week, when I had my daughter as the photo assistant, this helped a great deal. “Can you get me the 35mm?” was no longer a slow process for her to pull each lens out of the bag to find the one lens I needed.

Maybe you have been digging through your bag of lenses labeled with a Sharpie on masking tape (or not at all) and realize how much this could help. I think that whenever you can present yourself in front of the client as one who thinks of all the small details, they will trust you even more with their details.