Inspired Photo Blog

In just a few short hours, I’ll be boarding a plane with my brother bound for Kansas City, Missouri. While I’ve enjoyed most of my adult life in the Pacific Northwest, I was born and raised in the Midwest. This is where I learned my work ethic and my values, something I’m proud of to this day. There are always a myriad of emotions and memories when I return home. Why the trip you ask? My father is getting married and I’m not only the best man but the photographer as well.

One of the things I’m looking forward to the most is the world famous Kansas City barbecue. It’s hard to find decent barbecue joints around here, but in my hometown they dot the map like Starbucks. If you’ve never had Kansas City barbecue, then you’re really missing some of the best barbecue you’ll ever eat. My favorite places to lick my fingers are Arthur Bryants, Gates and Sons, Smokehouse, Oklahoma Joe’s and BB’s Lawnside BBQ. Arthur Bryant’s has seen a few of our Presidents and is a classic, Kansas City tradition. Gates and Son’s has some of the best sauce in town and there is nothing like their BBQ brisket sandwich and an ice cold beer on a hot summer day. Are you hungry yet?

Family is the most important thing in life and it’s been far too long since my father, brother and I have been together as a family. Photographing my 70 year old father’s wedding ceremony seems surreal, but it’s great to see my father happy. It helps me keep perspective about the service I provide to my clients. All of us coming together in one place at the same time is sadly a rare event. Having photographs to remember our time together…priceless.

Photographs are a touchstone for the heart. A window that takes you back in time to that particular moment with a flood of memories. Sadly, there are too many times when you look back over your life and realize how great a moment was after the fact. Realizing those moments as you live them, being present in the moment, is a real gift. Something worth doing. That is what I hope to do on this trip. Be in the moment and enjoy every minute of the time that I have with my brother and my father. I know there will be lots of laughs.

As the day begins, I’m looking forward to my journey. One of many that I hope to make this year. There will be photographs and hopefully they will tell the story for me. In the meantime, Kansas City, here I come. Right back where I started from…

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The beginning of a new year brings with it the promise of change. A chance to start over and finally get around to doing something you’ve put off far too long. Building a business and growing as an artist don’t always happen at the same time. 2006 was an opportunity to build my business and this year, I plan to focus more on growing as an artist. Hopefully, my business will continue to grow as I surround myself with clients and friends who understand and support my vision as an artist. Realizing that vision is a lifetime of growth.

Growth comes from inspiration. We are inspired by those we admire. In January, that inspiration came from visiting a gallery showing of one of my favorite portrait photographers Arnold Newman. Arnold photographed iconic legends of the 20th Century, many of his images you’ll recognize. To see these images in person, printed by the photographer himself, was inspiring. It was also a gauge of my own personal growth, to stand there and compare my vision and aesthetics to the work of this legend.

Sharing this day at the museum with me were local photographers Ted Mishima and Joni Shimabukuro. Ted and I have known each other for years and continually challenge each other as artists. Ted maintains a blog called Tabula Rasa that I encourage you to visit. What good is a photoblog without images, right?

Photographers and clients continually ask me how I get the tonality and depth in my black and white images. I’ve been thinking about this recently and I honestly feel that it’s my background in shooting and printing black and white fine art images for decades that has trained my eye to see black and white a certain way. This was validated at the Arnold Newman exhibit. Deep, dark blacks that still held detail and subtle highlights that were not blown out. This is the way I shoot and post produce my images, an aesthetic that I carry forward with digital imagery.

To you, my faithful and dedicated reader, I must apologize for taking so long to break the silence. The weeks following the holidays were much busier than I anticipated, thankfully, for it’s typically a very slow time of year. The longer I stalled writing, the harder it became to jump into that creative void. The blank slate, my very first post is truly the heart of an artist. We are our own worst enemies and many times my creative blocks come from thinking too much of the outcome instead of focusing on the process, jumping in and letting it happen.

Part of the process of being an artist is to practice your craft daily. Not everything you create will become art, it’s not supposed to be. It’s the process of creation that is important. The exploration of the blank canvas that results in finding your voice, your point of view that comes across in every image. My professionalism comes from practiced study and implementation of discipline, my art comes from letting go. For me, that is the heart of what I hope to accomplish this year.

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