Notes from the Field

I just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know that graphic design and photography courses, taught by me, have started back up at UNR.

The schedule for the classes can be found on the sidebar of my blog or at the following link.

While these classes are run by UNR, they are not held at the main campus, so you don’t need to deal with the downtown traffic. Classes are held at the Redfield Campus south of town, near Galena High School.

We teach all the Adobe applications as well as DSLR and point and shoot digital camera classes. I look forward to seeing new students in class as well as catching back up with previous students.

I have read a ton of books, and blogs, gone to many seminars and workshops. So much information and good advice has been passed down to me from instructors and other photographers. But one piece of advice has been more useful than all of the information combined. To be a better photographer; you need to put yourself in front of more interesting things or people. It really is that simple. There are many variations of this advice, like you need to become a more interesting person to become a better photographer, but the idea is still the same. If you shoot interesting things, people or places, your work will standout. You are not going to standout and do great work shooting the girl next door in the local park, on a regular basis.

Over four years ago, after coming back from a workshop, I started searching for more interesting things and people to photograph. Now if you live in LA, New York City, or any other major city, you have no trouble finding interesting. Hell, interesting just finds you in most cities. But I live in a smaller town, with less people, and that can make it tougher to find interesting. That does not mean you cannot find anything interesting to shoot, in fact, you will find very interesting people and things all over, it just takes a bit more work, but you will learn more search for subject rather than just tripping over something in the big city.

Derby Girls as a chain gang. Just a little slice of heaven

My personal quest lead me to a simple headline on a local events web site, “Women’s Roller Derby”. The idea was like pure sugar to a small child, I was bouncing off of the walls. I contacted the team to inquire if I could photograph the upcoming match, technically called a bout. The team was very excited to have a photograher at the bout and it has been a great relationship ever since. I went from being a photographer at the bouts, to taking team photos, to becoming the team photographer. While I have worked with amazing people on other projects, I can say that no other thing has improved my skills and mentality as photographer as being so lucky to be the photographer for the team.
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I am not the type of person to make New Year’s resolutions. I have trouble, like most, holding myself to those resolutions. But in the last part of 2009, into the beginning of 2010, I decided that I needed to make a change to my approach to my photography.

While I do get paid to do video and photo work during the day at the mother ship. (What I call the day job to those new readers.) I was having trouble working on my own photography in my off hours. I would try to work on personal projects, and have them fall through, talent fail to show, or just have a general lack of drive to spend my own time doing something, that I was doing from 9-5 during the week. I needed to focus on my work.

The lovely Krissy!

Many photography friends and colleges suggested doing a personal project, or a 365 series through Flickr. But I know from past experiences that my ADD would keep me from completing these projects. All one needs to do is see how spotty my posting to this blog is, for proof of this theory.
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Sorry to have been such a flake on the blog lately. Life got pretty weird at the mother ship (the day job) in the last few months and it has completely taken the wind out of me. I have no idea if it is the start of something good, or the continuation of a very slow boil, to which, in the end, I find I am a lobster in a pot.

While I have neglected the blog, I have not neglected my personal and free lance work, and I am very excited to show you all, i.e. my parents and two other people who read this, what I have been up to.

First, and maybe the most recent is that the blog past its first anniversary last month. Not really a milestone in my opinion, but it ties into what happen just a few weeks ago.

If you hit the back button on the blog enough times, you will see I started the blog right about the same time I journeyed down to Paso Robles to help my friend, fellow Canonista, and mad man Syl Arena, for the start of his workshop series. His first instructor was Joe McNally, and it was my pleasure to assist him during the workshop. You can catch up here, here and here if you are new to the whole story.

A month ago, a similar situation presented itself. I heard that Joe would be in my neck of the woods, in the fine capital of California, Sacramento. He was in town to teach for the Kelby Seminars, and I wanted to catch up again. I was very fortunate that Joe not only said yes, but let me be second assistant for the day.
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Before I get going on my post, my first in a long time, I do want to warn you up front, this post has nothing to do with photography, nothing at all. No hidden messages here, no deep thoughts about passion. Maybe if I post more than once a quarter, I may have a post on photography soon.

April 15th is probably not the most loved dates in the states; many are running to the post office at the last minute to mail their taxes, or worse, writing a check to the government. But for many other Americans, this day is much more important than taxes, it is about struggle, equality and the strive to become one nation after years of pain and suffering.

Confused? Taxes and equality? Well, my fellow Americans, April 15th is not only the day your taxes are due, but it is also the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball in 1947, as a Brooklyn Dodger.

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