In Direct Response

This will be my first direct response blog ever done, but I think it is for a great cause. I read a blog this morning, and it was an exceptional blog, but I felt that on this one issue, I can shed light that very few others cannot. This wonderful young woman was dwelling on the universe, love, and when enough is enough. Let me explain my take on this.

You can look up at the heavens and tell the universe what you would like, or demand something, or ask just for the bare essentials, but all that doesn't matter a wit. The universe is just that, the universe. It is you that makes your own path. Visualization techniques do not work either. By the time you have finished planning and visualizing that which you want, and sending out that necessary information to the heavens and the universe, you train, plane, automobile or boat might have already left without you.

I used to believe in these techniques.....if you build it, they will come, if you think it, it will be....I think, so therefore I am, stuff like that, until one fateful moment. Now, love itself can be fickle, but love still has to adhere to it's own set of laws, which are the laws of everything else. The answer to the universal question of why we are here, what is our purpose.....it's the same answer as the question of love, or life, or dedication. We are HERE because we want to be. We LOVE because we want to love, we show loyalty and dedication because we want to. There is no special equation to figure out, no magic brew to take.

So what made me have this cynical mindset? Well, it is not cynical at all. It was learned, very quickly, burned into my mind through fire, betrayal and pain. Also through compassion, caring and FATE. Yes, I said it, that intangible substance that we always here about. A set of circumstances that were never under our control from the beginning that ultimately defines who and what we are. I learned this one FATEFUL morning in June of 2003 while hovering over an Iraqi town in a Blackhawk helicopter. Nothing says fate louder than turning your head to the right and looking straight into the eye of a person who has a rocket propelled grenade aimed at you. Nothing says fate louder than the knowledge that he is also seeing you. Everything becomes clear in that one moment, and you want nothing more than to hold on to it, not because it may very well be your last, who cares, but because finally, you just GET IT!

But the moment doesn't last, it can't last. Fate dictates that we move on to the next scene, the next clip, whether you are ready for it or not. I watch him smile, see his finger twitch, see the backblast as the round is fired, but all I can think about is all the things I had gotten right or wrong. Not like your life flashes before your eyes,more like answers.Love is not something that is given, or earned, though we say it is. Respect is the same way. They are all rolled up in that first impression. When you first meet someone, or read a story, or see a picture, you love it, you hate it, you respect it, you do and feel something before moving on to the next page in your life, no matter how brief.

Now I am sure that there are those of you who have your doubts, and that is understandable, because everyone has to find their way to their own truths, in their own way. Me, I found my way to these truths the hard way, falling out of the sky in a destroyed blackhawk. But I FOUND them, regardless. Was I unhappy, heck yeah, who wouldn't be, I was in for the ride of my life whether I wanted it or not, I thought that the universe didn't care in the end, because I was about to become a memory to those in my universe, but once again, I was shown differently. I had made plans, and those plans didn't involve being around any longer than 3 more seconds, but SURPRISE, I walked out of that incident none the worst for the wear. Was it the grand scheme of the universe, maybe. I would like to attribute it to the pilots ability to fly like no one else could. I walked away from the wreck, turned around, and told myself that from that point on, I don't believe in luck, I make my own destiny.

At Ft. Campbell, Ky, we have a motto, Rendevous with Destiny. We all have it. We have a destiny with love, with heartache, with physical pain, great pictures, awesome friends, good food, superb drinks, and LIFE. So don't worry about what is to come. What is to come is going to come, depending on how you live your life today, this very instant. Get up from your computer, put down your phone, hug a friend, kiss a loved one, pet a dog, smell a flower, but do SOMETHING! Take charge of what is yours and run with it. Find that someone you would love to be with and go for it, no matter what heartache might come from it. When you are happy, people notice, when you are hurting, someone will notice that too, and from that pain may come wonderful friendships, great loves, or someone turning their back on you, but who cares, this is YOUR universe, you control it. No more asking for what you want, no more begging, just do it. If you fail, oh well, but I guarantee you, through your failure, you WILL find something else worth while.

I told my wife a few days ago, dreams don't die, they never die, they just morph into something else.  But they are still YOUR DREAMS. If you make it, they will come? Nah, If you make it.....YOU'VE MADE IT.


Geezum, I gotta start limiting my word count here.

What I've learned since Bambi Cantrell

I've been thinking about doing this blog for some time now, but never knew how to begin, or if I was even ready to tackle it, but I figure I'll never be ready to do it, so why wait. I have always thought of myself as a photographer since my wife gave me her old Sony a350....when I got her another camera that is. Man I loved that camera, and I still do actually. If I had to go back to that camera again, it really wouldn't phase me. Anyway, as I said, I thought I could take good pictures, and there was one point when I thought I took excellent pictures. But see, the thing is, one great picture out off 100 doesn't make you excellent, it makes you lucky, with no reason to brag. Nowadays I can pull off 5 or 6 great shots, until I go back and look at them again, and they all look like trash. It will never be good enough.

I never looked at other photographers and envied their work, or got all giddy about meeting someone. I didn't even know other photographers in my areas names. Donna could spout them off like a machine gun, I just shrugged them off. See, I refused to put anyone up on a pedestal. I thought that they weren't any better than me, I could do whatever they could, and I can, but I will get to that in a few. So one day Donna gets all in a rave about some CreativeLive thing, this online classes, with Bambi Cantrell. My first thought was, anyone named Bambi I definitely wasn't going to put too much stock in, and watching something online for hours wasn't going to help me. Let me tell you, I was so wrong that I will say right now, I owe Bambi an apology just THINKING something like that. I mean, WOW, who was I kidding. Well, I didn't watch the first day at all. Come day 2, I was straightening Donna's hair in front of the computer where she could watch it, and I was mesmerized. I remember the first thing I saw was a pan over of John asking a question, not sure what it was, that doesn't matter, but he caught my eye. He actually asked a question, and she answered it. Bang, there it is. Nothing so great you say, but to me, that moment changed everything. It wasn't just someone spouting off about how great she was, it was someone trying to help someone else learn something. I stood there watching that video feed until my feet hurt, my arms were tired, and her hair was straightened.

Now it gets interesting.....I kept seeing Twitter messages flying around, and I thought, hey, if I actually used my Twitter account, then I will be heading in the right direction, so I did. Then I started looking around at people to follow, but not to learn, but to find followers of my own. See, I thought that would make me good too. Then I figured, wait, I'm going around this the wrong way. Instead of following a certain person, I will find a photographer, then go to their list and see who they follow, then see who that person follows, then follow that person. I thought that if someone is great already, and THEY have people who they think are great, then I will be right up there too. But once again the unexpected happened. I stopped caring about who was following who because I started reading blogs and watching videos, anything that I could to learn everything I could about photography. The greatest thing that I learned was that I didn't know ANYTHING. Sure, I knew what an fstop was, I knew about shutter speed, all that good stuff, but I didn't know how they all came together fluidly.

And then, in one moment, everything came together for me, and it is due to a few select people that I am going to name right now because they need naming. First is my wife. Had it not had been for her, I never would have started on this crazy, awesome ride. She pushes me, asks me questions, keeps me on the right path. Bambi Cantrell I appreciate for opening my eyes to what I thought I knew. Until her I was walking in the dark. John for asking that question, along with Annemie Tonken because she asked questions that I would have loved to ask. I definitely cannot forget Susan and Kenna from BehindtheLive. I can't say anything else but that they are completely awesome and an inspiration to me. The last 2 I will mention together because they are both possibly the greatest photographic catalysts in my life currently. On is Andy and Mikey of Lightenupshoot and Casie of RebelBellePhoto. I do not even know where to start for either one of them. I joined Andy and Mikey's website and entered a picture in a contest, my first contest ever, and lost, but who cares about that, seriously. The huge thing for me was that I had an issue, and I emailed Lightenupshoot, but I didn't really think I would get an answer back. I was answered, promptly, and the problem was fixed. Since then I have talked to them on a few occasions and every time has been a learning experience for me.

I recently spent the greatest $15 bucks of my life when I bought their V-Book. If you haven't gotten a copy for yourself then you are insane and I am telling you now to get one. It is on my phone, so I can always refer to it. It is a source of inspiration to me, and also reminds me that anything is possible. Now Casie......seriously, you crack me up. I read your tweets before and thought you were very upbeat, a bit more than everyone else in our community. Then I read a blog of yours about your sister and it hit me hard. I didn't have a family member pass, it was my closest friend when I was in the Army. After he got back home and out of the Army, he moved back to Orlando, actually I think it was Sanford? Anyway, he had some personal demons and he took his own life in 2006. Yet you were still just as upbeat. Then I started following her other blogs, checked out some pictures, which are awesome ya'll, seriously. And let me tell you, when it comes to Mini Coopers, this girl is hilarious.

Anyway, there is just something about these people I have named, and others that I have not named, that make what we do worth a lot more than the money we get or the places we are at. We see what others don't through the lens of a camera, and I think that seeing makes us who and what we are. We create our own cages in life, but when I grab my camera, everything goes away for a time, and it's just joy in what I do. I love being in a community of people who share the same love and joy that I do. I'm glad I have married someone with this same joy, because honestly, I don't think I could do without it anymore. We are starting to plan an extended trip within the next 18 to 24 months, and I hope to meet all of you, and anyone else we can find, along the way. The only cage I am going to allow for myself is going to be when my gas runs out, then I will just take a picture of an RV on the side of the road.

Photography, Pro or No?

So I'm sitting there going through tweets on my phone that I have missed for some odd reason or another, who knows? Not me. So I come across a tweet from @megapixiephoto and I read it. It was a blog about going pro v. going amateur. Reading this blog has actually changed the way I see things about myself and photography, personally at least. Thanks Megapixiephoto, my hats off to you.

So, here it is, Shane's epiphany. I asked myself what I was, a professional photographer or an amateur photographer, and my answer was, of course I'm a professional photographer. That's what I am, that's what I do. I take money from clients, I do this as a full time job, what more is there. I move on from the blog and go about my day. BUT....little by little, a thought starts creeping up on me. Am I a professional photographer? Says who? There are so many definitions from different people about what a pro is, what an amateur is, I used to get mindboggled. But here is where the epiphany comes in. My mind broadens for that brief second and things start creeping in. How do you know if you are putting out quality pictures. How DO you know if you are good. I believe the answer is, it isn't what you believe, it is what your peers and your clients believe.

Your best, most favorite picture could be mediocre put side by side with someone else's picture. So because of that, when do you know if you are a professional photographer or not? For me, it was when I was showing someone a picture I had taken, and she first asked if it was something that I took. When I said yes, she then made the statement that she wished she could be a professional photographer like me. I was floored. Here I was, standing there, just radiating pride that someone thought that I was good enough to inspire a wish to be something that I was trying to attain.

Now, no one ever questions whether I am a professional photographer anymore, and everyone who asks me to capture their treasured moments expects me to BE a professional photographer, both in the business sense and in the professionalism of HOW we take our pictures, how we set them at ease, how we handle the parents, boyfriends, spouses and children, and even the occasional pet. I still get goosebumps whenever someone looks at a picture that I took and has a wow moment.

I live for capturing moments. I would love nothing else but to have a camera held up to my eye 24/7. I love being paid for doing the thing that I am crazy about. But every bit as good as I think I am, or want to be, or could be one day, I would have nothing if it weren't for the clients that I have or the peers who make me better at what I do. So what if I only were to work part time at this. What if I were only to make $100.00 a month taking pictures, when that client comes to me asking for my services, to them I am a professional photographer, and in the end, that is all that matters.