Let's get cynical, cynical...

If you NEED a camera upgrade (read: buying a new camera before the old one is dead) to take your business to the next level, I have some cooking pots to make you a better cook and a special hammer that makes great houses as well. Before continuing, let's note that we all get pissed when someone says, "Wow! Your camera takes really nice pictures!" but for some reason we don't recognize that we are being told by the industry (and believing enough to spend money!) that we can't take nice pictures without a new camera. Listen up.

A brief history of the camera can be found at Wikipedia. It's a pretty good read - you should check it out. I'll sum it up: we've come a long way, baby. The biggest challenges faced by photographers - understanding the mechanisms, developing the chemistry, figuring out how to add light (magnesium powder in a trough - BRILLIANT!) and to make permanent prints and how to make moving pictures and... that's pretty much all ancient history. When affordable DSLR cameras first started hitting the shelves a little over a decade ago, they were a whopping 4MP. Nikon's top of the line DSLR with a $5000 price tag stayed there right up until 2007, and those 4MP images were used to print in fashion magazines and on giant billboards and canvases and even 4x6's for scrapbooking. It's interesting to note that by that time, Canon had already made the jump to 16MP. 2009 and 2010 saw the introduction of HD video being added to DSLR cameras, with even entry-level DSLRs at 14MP or more, and it's safe to say that we had already far surpassed what was ever available in the days of film both in terms of ease of use (using a knob to change ISO instead of having to use a knob to reel in half a roll of ISO100, mark the canister with how many frames were used so you could reload it later, then pop in and reel out the half-used roll of ISO400 was a HUGE breakthrough) AND quality/resolution (from what I've read, I believe a film image shot in large format on ISO50 would be a lower resolution than a digital image shot at ISO50 on a 22MP 1.5x crop sensor camera.)

When industry forerunner Canon (the company who pushed hardest to saturate the market when they introduced the first DSLR for under $1000 with their "now everyone can shoot like a pro" campaign) I'm sure they hoped for but couldn't have imagined the sheer quantity of fledgling photographers who would embrace this philosophy, heading out in droves to pick up their entry-level DSLR and shoot, shoot, shoot! But of course, with all these newbs around they had to keep upping the ante and creating bigger and better and more technologically advanced (and expensive) cameras for the eternal pissing contest that often reduces industry insiders to labelling people as "pro" or "not pro" based on their equipment.

I have to - I must - reiterate for the thousandth time that it is NOT about the camera, it never has been, and never will be. Now. I would be a liar if I said I didn't drool over some of the new features that have come out since I bought a second camera and my older one became a back-up (I'm not up to filmmaking technology on either of my ancient beasts yet) but I can't justify spending right now, not when the equipment I have has served me so well and is not falling apart or malfunctioning or carrying a weird odour that makes it repulsive to hold up to my face and use. I refuse to fall victim to the marketing machines behind the new camera culture who every year come up with some new fandangled thing that really doesn't add anything to my craft, but certainly adds to their profit margin.

What does this have to do with pots and hammers? Here's what:

Logically, if you can't take your photography to the next level with the camera you have, you are not ready for an upgrade because an upgraded camera isn't going to make you a better photographer anymore than buying a new pot will make you a better cook or getting a state of the art hammer will make you capable of building a house. Your crappy images will just be high-resolution debt-bearing crappy images. And if you are the type who is susceptible to the BS that some so-called "pros" are throwing around when they look down their nose and say, "THAT's what you're shooting with?" the only advice I have is for you to learn this phrase: "Yeah, and...?" The FUN part will be listening to them spew off the marketing spiel posted on the manufacturer's website making it the best and only choice for real pros. ~insert eye rolling and gagging noises here~ They will ice the cake by letting you know it's what you need to remain competitive in the industry (one that the manufacturers incidentally themselves set the standards for) so we always have a reason to feel insecure because we are judged for our proverbial cooking pot instead of the food we created. ~insert heavy sigh here~

The real question isn't if new equipment has benefits - sure it does, of course it does - but what is the motivation behind developing all this new technology? So the camera manufacturers can make money. First they sell you a camera that is good for several hundred thousand shutter clicks (I am personally over 200,000 on both of my fully functioning and problem-free cameras) but of course if the camera isn't breaking (that would hurt business, selling cameras that die too fast) and you've already bought all the lenses you want and/or need, HOW on EARTH can they get you to spend again? Well, by changing the rules of the game so you have to upgrade, change platforms, and spend more money, of course. They sell the idea that a bigger better camera with ~insert features here~ will propel you to the next level of photography and earn you not only more money but the respect, perhaps even the envy of your peers. Using megapixels and programmable whatchamacallits and the addition of an X and a new number to the previous model they will distract you from the fact that unless your camera is busted you probably don't need a new camera. And then they will do it to you all over again the next year so that you're always left wanting, waiting, watching for what you don't have. I believe this process diminishes our value as talented photographers, making our credibility dependent on the equipment we own and turning our cameras into accessories that go out of style like last year's shoes.

What you NEED is a camera body that works. Invest in good glass, buy glass that you LOVE. Learn, learn, learn, then learn some more. Network. Hang out with fellow enthusiasts and artists and hobbyists. Play. Explore. Become a master at your craft so that any camera you get handed is one you can work like a true blue die hard camera-totin' rock star. A camera is just a tool, and while nice tools are nice to have, they don't (and shouldn't) define me as a professional much less as an artist. In my view, a photographer will be able to create beautiful images with whatever camera they happen to have in hand. When a camera wears out or breaks or dies, there is a NEED to buy a new one, so have fun shopping (I'm hoping mine doesn't die for a bit as Pentax hasn't announced its next model yet!) but if your camera ain't done for, you might want to consider if you've simply fallen victim to keeping up with the Joneses mentality by overlooking that whole, "My camera doesn't take nice pictures, I do!" thing.

Here's something to consider, too, if you've upgraded in the past and felt like you had a quantum leap in your career because of it. Over time, your skills are bound to improve. With experience and education, regardless of what camera you're using, you're going to grow as an artist. As you gain more confidence and develop a style, your pictures get better and better. As a direct result of your hard work, learning, and diligence, you have become a better photographer, but if you upgrade your camera once a year, it's entirely possible that you are attributing this improvement to the camera instead of yourself. Because we all know that a nice camera doesn't take nice pictures, right? We expect our clients to respect that, so it's high time we learn to embrace it too and stop allowing ourselves to be made to feel inadequate by both the industry and our peers.

Of course getting a new camera is exciting. New toys are always fun. Our desire to scroll in closer and closer with computers, closer than we could ever have magnified a standard negative or print, is addictive and a little unhealthy. When designers and magazine editors who print magazines to a standard 8.5 x 11 format, who might print a billboard or large ad on the side of a bus where we will never be inspecting with a magnifying glass for clarity, who might post a couple of low- to medium-resolution images on the web start dictating that RAW files must be sized 12MB or greater, it means that the industry standard for a "professional" photographer has been set by whichever company is making the cameras with the biggest sensors. While on one hand this might eliminate a few hacks who seriously don't know how to use their camera yet, I can name at least 5 people who shoot on 16MP or smaller cameras who would automatically be out of a job because unless they are taking a picture of something with a lot of information to be recorded, there is no way digitally possible to provide a RAW headshot of one guy on a white backdrop that meets that criteria without buying what we've been sold. I, for one, am not buying it.

Maybe I'm just being cynical, but I think if you owned the coolest most expensive hammer on the planet, I would personally be more impressed if you still managed to hammer together a mansion when you got handed a last season's peep-toe high heel to use.

the winter of our wedding discontent

It's been a while since I opened up a can of worms here, and I figure I'm long overdue. So here it is, and here we go. Pardon me for being so honest and blunt - it's something that seems to have gone out of style.

For many years now there has been an ongoing battle between brides and photographers. Disgruntled, stressed, upset, and feeling misunderstood, both have, over the years, taken to blogs, forums, and craiglist to voice their frustration. Why can't we all just get along?

On the one hand we see photographers writing posts explaining their prices by making detailed accounts of all the equipment they own, in some cases equipment that they don't even own or use anymore. They cite things like business licenses and give laundry lists of all the things they spend time and money on like gas, packaging, internet, and conference fees. They talk about paying taxes. They call this disclosure of expenditures "educating brides" which is really a fancy way of saying, "I feel like I have to justify my price!"

Some prefer using something that I can only liken to bullying. They alternate between bullying other photographers and bullying brides. If they are trying to squeeze out the competition they might do so by promoting their particular style of shooting and photography as being the right or correct quality a bride should look for - two or three ~insert brand name and model~ camera bodies, a throng of staff to carry and set up lighting equipment, particular types of posing and post-processing that of course highlights how the pictures will look if they shoot your wedding; at the other end of the spectrum, some promote a more organic hippy stance by stating that a true, passionate photographer needs little and actually shoots with their heart and shows up alone with their trusty camera in hand, thereby offering intimacy and consistency that could not otherwise be obtained by the intrusion of multiple shooters and eliminating the wasted time required to set up portable lighting systems. Horse crap, all of it.

When educating brides, some photographers will suggest things like cherished memories being put at risk and generations of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren being denied the pleasure of enjoying photographs. They tell you that you get what you pay for, implying that paying less than (approximately what they charge) is irresponsible. They frighten stressed out brides into worrying that someone under qualified will not take a picture of the unique handmade Etsy pen with humanely acquired flamingo feathers that coordinates perfectly with their bridesmaids' earrings and the groom's shoelaces and their precious pen (that they actually keep in the same box as the guestbook right beside the wedding album you created) will be forever forgotten if they don't hire the right photographer. Yes, a person dropping the price of a car on a wedding wants a detailed pictorial spread of their wedding, but that doesn't mean they should be scared of failing to provide adequate images for their offspring.

In response to hearing that they are being irresponsible, uneducated cheapskates, brides get angry, and rightfully so. Yes, some might not understand why wedding photography is so expensive, and others might genuinely not care. Some might only take into consideration hard costs plus one day of work and add that up in their head to way less than what most photographers, even newbs on their first wedding, can afford to work for without actually losing money. They feel like (or have been told by planners/friends/family) they should haggle for a discount like they did with the linen company and the bartenders. Wedding sites feature has-been brides giving will-be brides tips based on their limited experience (really, most of us plan one, maybe two weddings if we screw one up if we're not on the Liz Taylor wedding plan) within their limited circle, which leads above all to some pretty serious misunderstandings and unrealistic expectations. Try and remember that when brides start looking at the bill for even a simple wedding for under 100 people, their heads are spinning and their bank account is taking as much of a hit as yours is when you upgrade your camera body.

It longs to be stated that brides and photographers need to be aware of the economic environment they are in. If you live in a time or place that is financially stable chances are good you will be charging/paying higher prices than living in a time and place where unemployment rates are high and the real estate market has bottomed out. Understanding this basic principle might allow both sides to understand how photographers in one area seem pretty affordable while others seem to be able to make money hand over fist, and why it might flip flop the next year.

A photographer who wants to target high-end clients isn't likely to recruit them by placing free ads in Kijiji any more than a bride on a shoestring budget is likely to be able afford someone who is so renowned they have an entire line of camera doodads named after them. Competition gets more and more fierce the higher up the totem pole you want to go - you are vying for more dollars from fewer clients - and the lower-priced photographers might not charge as much as you but are making as much or more money because they have their pricing in the right range to attract clients. There' a fine balance we must each find along that spectrum where we feel we are being paid "enough" with a clear understanding that "enough" is relative and therefore not the same for everyone. ***This of course excludes people who conscientiously underprice themselves in an attempt to undercut the competition, which does as much damage to that photographer's future success as it does to other photographers' immediate success.***

The outcome of all this is that brides accuse wedding photographers of being crooks and wedding photographers accuse brides of being stupid, neither of which is representative of anything more than sheer frustration and stress.

Let's take a step back and look at this from both sides so we can seek first to understand.

First, photographers, let's remember that your bride has to pay for her venue, her dress, her favours, her bridesmaid gifts, her wedding commissioner, her food, and her flowers. She doesn't care what you spent on your primes, your taxes, or your annual camera cleaning fees any more than you care about how much her napkin rental and pedicure cost. In whole or in parts, it costs a lot of time and money to put on a wedding just like it costs a lot of time and money to build up your business. So quit bringing that up - it's an ineffectual argument which sounds more like a pissing contest than a practical argument.

Second, nobody has the same taste in photography. I like Ansel Adams images but would not want him shooting my wedding. I love the style of images created by Lisette Model and Dorothea Lange but I'm pretty sure their stark approach appeals to few. (Yes, I picked non-wedding photographers on purpose.) The point is, there's no accounting for taste, so putting it out there that checking to see if post-processed images feature creamy, flawless skin or implying that people who choose to shoot natural and available light over strobes are "unprofessional" is attacking your couples' personal taste as much as other photographers' styles. There's no need to go there.

Third, trying to guilt potential clients into thinking their entire day will be ruined if they don't spend enough on their photographer is just plain mean. Brides are stressed enough as it is. Casually tossing out things like how much they will regret not spending more on their photographer causes unnecessary panic. For starters, not everyone gives a damn about their pictures - as much as we like to tell ourselves that we are the bomb, entrusted documentarians of history and chosen recorders of fleeting moments (and yes, I tell myself this all the time) really, some people are totally not. into. pictures. Hard to believe, but it's true. On the wedding day, some people are much more concerned with making sure they can afford to serve an amazing meal and have an open bar than have artsy pictures of them and their new spouse necking under a bridge that their grandkids will probably point at and laugh saying, "What was with your tacky dresses back then and what's with the bridge - wasn't there a nice flower garden nearby?"

I think it's absolutely reasonable and necessary when promoting the value of our skilled services on the wedding day to point out that hiring a photographer who specializes in documenting the day and all its details is a sound investment, but saying that not spending top dollar on a photographer will damage their own and their family's ability for possibly generations to come to properly commemorate one single day in what is ideally a decades-long relationship filled with love, laughter, births, graduations, travel, and an entire mosaic of other shared experiences that normal couples might encounter in addition to (or in spite of) the wedding itself is... ridiculous. It's a high-pressure sales tactic that (yes) works, and if you wan't to use it, go for it, but don't get mad at brides who choose to go elsewhere and claim they are stupid or uneducated - accept that you aren't the right photographer for everyone and move on.

At the end of the day, I feel like this subtle (and not so subtle) kind of bullying and fear-mongering are inconsiderate of both your peers and a brides' aesthetic or personal preferences and financial considerations. They are marketing tactics that will work sometimes, but not always. It's not the most dramatic or flashy thing, but if we stick with stating facts like, "This is my style and I am like this and my prices are as follows," brides will make their decisions accordingly. Putting it in expert *I* context like, "I would look for this and that and if you don't hire me you're great grandchildren will need therapy," still doesn't change the fact that you're putting yourself in the spotlight by making sure you cast a shadow of fear, doubt or disrespect elsewhere. In short, it should be more than enough to toot your own horn and highlight what's great about you and your style and your services, and leave comparisons to the rest of the industry out of it.

Brides, when it comes to hiring a wedding photographer, there are (really) only 4 things to consider. This should translate not just to your wedding photographer but your planner, caterer, and florist, too. If you want the most from your wedding vendors, making your first question if we offer discounts, telling us why you refuse to pay more than $X, or publicly bashing our profession on our Facebook Fan page is probably a sure way to ensure that when you come a-calling, we will all find ourselves suddenly busy on your wedding date. Whining about how much your wedding already cost and asking us to cut you a deal will be met with us rolling our eyes - we are businesses and have no more sympathy for you based on how expensive your hair piece was any more than you care about how much our last professional development workshop cost. Here's how it should go down for you so you aren't bankrupt, disappointed, expecting miracles, or getting unnecessarily angry:

What kind of pictures do you NEED? While most of us photographer types like to try and shoot something a little different every now and again, if you need professional headshots for your real estate company, asking someone who specializes in risqué stripper posters might not get you very far. Therefore, taking the time to find someone who actually does wedding photography regularly as part of their services is a huge step in the right direction. If someone with a solid portfolio of nothing but peacefully sleeping newborns and cute kittens with lolz captions wants to break into the wedding photography biz or your sweet but slightly unreliable Cousin Sue offers to do it for free with the brand new camera she has asked for her birthday and will receive the week before your wedding, be aware of the potential risk you are taking towards not getting the pictures you want OR need.

What kind of pictures do you WANT? Photographers have very different styles not only of shooting but of post-processing (Photoshopping.) Your number one defence against getting pictures you don't like is to look at the photographer's portfolio - the whole thing, from babies and models to grasshoppers and flowers. Whether you prefer casual, romantic, natural light pictures or glossy, posed, polished glam shots, weird angles and funky lenses with heavy textures and trendy colourations or simple, classic portraiture, there is a photographer out there who does that. Find one whose style you like and you are much more likely to be pleased with the results than if you send us the portfolios of 5 other photographers you admire and ask us to shoot like them. (That actually makes us feel bad and unhappy, by the way - please don't do that...) If a person has only strobe-lit in-studio shots of babies or images of gerbera daisies on their table which sits beside a north-facing window in their portfolio, it's prudent to assume they might not have much if any experience shooting high-glitz weddings in full sunlight or pulling off usable images in a dimly-lit church. And. If their entire portfolio is full of jaw-dropping wedding images, you should expect to pay a price that reflects that, which leads us to:

How much are you WILLING to/CAN you afford? If you love the style and talent of a top photographer, then you must be ready, willing, and able to spend top dollar for the years of training, skill development, and experience that have gotten them where they are - don't haggle them on their price or badmouth them as crooks or whack jobs. They've built up to their price by providing superior products and services and shouldn't have to justify or explain to you why they charge so much. Be happy for their success and don't take it like a personal insult or intentional gouging. If you only have $1000 to spend, chances are good that someone who has a minimum investment of $5000 for their starter package will not be willing or able to accommodate your budget. If you REALLY want them, you *might* ask them if they will shoot just your formals for that price, and if the answer is no, don't get mad... keep looking. Now. If you are looking for savings and choose to give a newcomer a chance, that's awesome - we all start somewhere and are truly grateful for those opportunities. But in that same token, you need to be aware that you may or may not get consistent or professional results and products. Someone might cut corners by using discount vendors or provide inferior products to pad their profit margin if they are undercharging and/or may not have all their business licences and insurance in place if they are just starting out. This might be why you are getting such a great deal but as more and more venues both in North America and abroad require proof of both it's something you need to at least be aware of, because it affects you even if it's just Cousin Sue or Uncle Bob doing you a favour.

Regardless of what your budget is though, the biggest thing is to make sure you check out your photographer's portfolio (refer to previous point) so you have a crystal clear idea of what you are signing up for and have realistic expectations. Some brides (1% of the population so I hear) have no ceiling as to what they can spend, but really, most do. If your pictures are really important to you or you want bragging rights to having a celeb shoot your big day, then you should probably reconsider your lobster. If you just want some pictures to scrapbook and prefer to be able to pay for your bridesmaids' dresses, then you can't expect to afford just any photographer. Simple as that. As a side note: Often you get what you pay for, but if you luck out and get a great deal AND get amazing pictures, chances are that your photographer won't stay at that price so be sure to tell your friends how awesome they were not how cheap they were ;)

Is your photographer someone you LIKE? If you call and they are rude on the phone, if their website reads like a telephone book, if they don't respond to your questions in a timely and efficient manner, or if they seem too eager to take you on as a client and BFF, then you may need to start back at Step 1. Whether your pictures are wonderful or horrible, a photographer will likely be with you for the entire day and you will always remember them and the experiences you shared with them as much as the day itself when you look at the pictures. If you sense a lack of professionalism, see a personality clash coming on, or feel uneasiness with them for any reason whatsoever, keep looking or your ability to enjoy your pictures will be tainted regardless of how much or how little you spend.

Check it out...

www.ThePhotographerStudio.ca

Open house 10am - 7pm January 2, 2012

Exclusive Grand Opening Party January 7, 2012 8pm (by invitation only)

Tours by appointment.

Come in. We are open.

Happy New Year!!!

So many things, so little time!

I have to admit, I feel terrible for leaving this blog untouched for so long. I promise, I will have LOTS of exciting things to post in January, but for now, two pieces of news:

1.) We FINALLY have hard copy tickets. Please send a message via Facebook to Tammy Deren to pick up tickets in Spruce Grove/Stony Plain, Hope Walls to pick up tickets at the U of A campus, or Trina Lewis to pick up tickets in North Edmonton. Additional points of sale will be added soon, or you may reserve your tickets for pick-up at the door by email transferring $20/ticket to thephotographerstudio.ca@gmail.com. All proceeds are in support of www.littlewarriors.ca. Join the FB event herehttps://www.facebook.com/events/164931663602714/ for breaking news, announcements, and interesting local articles and visithttps://www.facebook.com/MissRepresentationCampaign to keep up to date on international news.

2.) We are IN the Studio renovating out little butts off!!! I am SO excited to share pictures... soon, very soon... in the meantime, visit www.ThePhotographerStudio.ca for rates, updates, and upcoming social events ;) And Mum's the word... but I'm leaking it here first that our official Open House is January 2nd, 2012, and our exclusive, invitation-only opening night bash will be on January 7th, 2012. Wanna know how to get in? visit www.ThePhotographerStudio.ca or send me an email to h dot walls at shaw dot ca!

Edmonton Screening of Miss Representation

Edmonton Screening of Miss Representation

The Photographer Studio is pleased to be hosting the first Alberta Screening of Miss Representation on February 5th, 2012 at 2:00pm at the Princess Theatre on Whyte Ave. Tickets $20, all proceeds in support of charity, panel discussion to follow. Invited guests to be announced on December 1st, 2012.

View the Miss Representation trailer here

Join the FB event for news and details here

Fly the Coop at The Photographer Studio

It's no secret I am on semi-permanent sabbatical/retirement/down-time/whatever you want to call it. And I'm not a superstitious person - I believe in serendipity, not fate - but of course as soon as you clear up your schedule, it makes space for other things to happen.

Many years ago, I started a "company" called TICdesign. It was a fictional company that was written up as a business that I could use for most of my college assignments back in 1995. As I wrote more and more assignments about TICdesign, the more I liked the theoretical company, and after finishing my program, went ahead and kind of half-heartedly started it up with a dream of one day having a home for my silly company. The "TIC" part was "The Independent Cooperative" and the mission statement was something like "Empowering visual artists to live and prosper via supported creativity."

It was, on the surface, a very utopian and romanticized starving artist colony for me and my painterly friends. But not too long after college, I picked up my first SLR camera, and the rest as they say is history. From time to time I would resurrect the company for the odd creative venture (like sewing kids' clothes or volunteering on boards or doing graphic design work) but TICdesign became a faded remnant of the past as I embraced the world of digital photography, falling victim to the same trappings that most of us will and forgetting, however briefly, what I wanted to be when I grow up: Creative.

When I hung up my camera, I finally had time to listen, and to participate in without actually experiencing what many of my peers - especially my females-with-families peers - continued to struggle with, day in and day out, posing that eternal question, "How do I find BALANCE?" The same issues came up, again and again, in photography forums, at network meetings, and on people's Facebook walls. The fact was, though, that I'd never been far enough removed to really hear what they were saying...

Enter my dear friend Tammy. Tammy is, by nature, one of the most infuriating people I know. She is funny, cheerful, and perpetually optimistic. Pair that with her indelible need to be loyal to a fault, and bull-headed to boot, and you have something like a whirling dervish you can't but don't really want to get away from anyways. When she first picked up a camera about half a decade or so ago and said, "I'm going to be a photographer! It's what I always wanted to be when I grew up!" we just kind of sat back and watched her go. There was no stopping Tammy from reaching her goals - her dedication, infectious enthusiasm, and talent paid off and she now boasts a successful wedding and portrait company from her home called "Smiley Eyes Photography."

So one late night while we were chatting a couple of months back, we returned to the same conversation we've had a few times about needing a space, a place away from our houses, a place we can share with our photographer friends, a space for shooting when the weather craps out, but knowing that neither of us, with our other commitments, could make use of the space enough to justify the expense. But she says she is officially ready to move on to bigger and better things, and I want a permanent home to teach from. Then all of the sudden, the ball was rolling and we're filling in business development permits and registering the partnership and buying domain names and...

And as we are going through this process, we are receiving affirmation from the photography community at large that we were on the right track.

"Does anyone know where there's a studio space for rent?"

"Is there a workshop being offered anywhere on ~insert topic here~?"

"I wish I had someplace to go to get away from my house and just work without interruptions..."

"I need to talk to real people."

And as of the official announcement yesterday, it became official. It is our pleasure to present to you our joint venture, The Photographer Studio: where local photographers click. It is a studio, learning, and networking centre whose focus is meeting the needs of photographers in our community. From a properly outfitted and fully functional studio to carefully selected guest speakers and custom-designed workshops, The Photographer Studio (when it grows up) will be a creative hub with flexible hours for photographers who don't necessarily want or need a full-time studio, and for those who generally can't attend many professional development classes or network meetings due to conflicts with family, work, and other commitments.

Fly the Coop is one of the major components of The Photographer Studio. Some of us are able to pursue our photography careers unencumbered by commitments that make full-time operation of a studio impractical, and while we can't alleviate your commitments, we can provide the flexibility and consistency needed to accommodate the hectic schedules of work-at-home photographers who feel that a studio/office space would benefit themselves and their businesses. Beyond a studio/office space, it is geared towards community involvement, both within the group as well as in the photographer community at large, to engender a solid support network within which we will push ourselves creatively, build up our own businesses, and then share that success and passion with those around us. Fly the Coop is, I think, what my silly old college project TICdesign wanted to be when it grew up.

Please, go check out Fly the Coop here and watch in the next few weeks for the official unveiling of The Photographer Studio's website here. Looking forward to seeing you at the Studio.

muchLOVE,

Hope

Big Fat News

I have something to share with everyone. Watch around 8:00 p.m. for something wonderful :)

Call for Models

Needed: models of all shapes, sizes, ages, colours, and quantities for special project.  Serious inquiries only to h dot walls at shaw dot ca with "The White Underwear Project" in the subject line.

pictureLOVE: my inner magpie

I'm taking my passion for photography in a whole new direction.

I remember the day I got my first camera. I was 8, and it was under the Christmas tree. I actually cried happy tears when I opened the box containing a used Kodak Instamatic, and I took to it like a fish to water, squirming with delight at all the pictures I could take... my family, the things I love, the places I visited... I longed for an SLR before I even knew what one was - my ultimate dream was to own one of those scary-looking cameras that would let me make things blurry in the background. I shot anything and everything that caught my eye - I was a magpie with a recording instrument.

I remember the day I got my got my first SLR. It was a Pentax K1000 I bought off an old guy at the flea market who gave me the best advice I ever got about operating a camera: learn to understand light. I lived with that thing, and learned every possible thing I could, mostly by trial and error, and within months had amassed a collection of lenses, filters, and other peripherals that put a serious dent in my pocketbook. But, I got pretty good - good enough to get asked to take pictures of other people - and so I started taking a few pictures here and there for other people, charging just enough to cover my expenses. It became the hobby that paid for itself.

I remember the day I got my first DSLR. It was a Pentax D*ist, and I took a picture of my Dad with it at sunset, a picture that would be used later that same year for his funeral. I was reluctant to make the shift from film - I was pretty hardcore about film being superior, which it still was back then. Within a year, though, the first DSLR cameras started appearing on the market that exceeded anything even a large format film camera would be capable of, surpassing in leaps and bounds the picture quality of scanned negatives, and sounding off the official end of the film industry. I had to take pictures for more and more people to support my habit and before I knew it, I was over my head.

~~~

Fast forward a few more years and I can tell you all about the beautiful bokeh my 200mm f2.8 makes and how it sucks they don't make a tilt-shift for the Pentax and there was a glitch that made the Nikon 50mm f1.8 not work on the D60, but I can't quite seem to remember what it was like to walk around with a camera and be a magpie with a recording instrument.

In the past 3 years I've hung up my camera twice, swearing it was becoming too much of a beast, and failing miserably both times - meeting new people plus reconnecting with families a few times a year as their families grew plus the earning potential plus the circle of fellow camera geeks plus the desire to complete my collection of lenses... far too enticing. And yet I always felt like there was something tugging me in another direction, because there are so many things about this industry that just don't sit right. I became more and more angry about the cattiness, the competitiveness, the greed, the inconsistencies... People complaining about the market being saturated, people charging obscene amounts of money, people trying to justify price fixing, people trying to scare people into thinking that social services was going to take their child away from them and their kids would get beat up in school if they didn't get "real" professional pictures done (read: not a department store, a peer, a colleague, or any other competitor who might actually be able to do the same job: take a picture. News Flash - I started taking pictures when I was 8, which is nothing compared to my daughter who's been shooting since she was 3 - who are YOU to say she's a bad risk?) I won't get deep into the administrative headaches - business licenses, taxes, external hard-drives, regularly upgraded software and hardware... it's all very time consuming.

~~~

On April 14th, 2011, a beautiful 16 year old young woman was killed in a car accident. This young woman was someone I had been very close to - her Mom and I went through our first pregnancies together and our children practically grew up as siblings until junior high hit. Now, I could blame the onset of adolescence for our families growing apart, but frankly, that isn't true. Around the same time our first-borns hit puberty, I dove into the photography thing, her Mom dove into her own business, and we just plain got ourselves too busy to have time together, usually relying on illness or tragedy as our only excuse to get together.

At her funeral there were stacks and stacks of pictures. We flipped through them and reminisced about all the times we had gotten together, which usually wasn't a good time until someone was injured - stitches, broken bones, bee stings, sunburns, rugburns, sprained backs, frostbite, and even a trip to emerg with a monkey bite... never a dull moment. And I wanted to ask, "What happened to us?" But the answer was pretty obvious - we got all busy being grown up and buying cars and running businesses and not remembering what it was like feeling connected to one another because we were too occupied...

~~~

It's no secret that I've been disenchanted for quite some time now. The lies I've told myself about this - they're all as plain to me now as the nose on my face. I have no regrets, but officially, as of today, I'm "retiring" so I can take my passion for photography in a whole new direction: backwards. To the time when my camera was an extension of my body and all I needed to do was wait for juicy moments to shoot one the many facets of my amazingly boring, completely perfect little life - my family, my friends, my dogs, my feet, my garden... Back to being a magpie. Back to being me: mom, wife, gardener, shoe fetishist, and sometimes photographer. I understand light: Light shone through those many amazingly boring, completely perfect facets makes my life sparkle. I. Am. Magpie. So, without further ado

~~~

I QUIT.

~~~

Join me right here over the coming months as I explore several different visual themes, as well as reclaim my love for writing, and indulge a few long-forgotten past-times. I have several commitments to fulfill, but even more fun and entertaining projects coming up that feed my soul and appease my magpie-ness. Thanks for the good times. See you on the flip side!

Why I Relay...

I have so much to write.  And so much to share.  And I've been procrastinating because it's never easy to write the Relay for Life posts.  ~sigh~

Once upon a time I met this crazy lady named Tammy, who introduced me to some of her amazing friends, and even though I was an idiot and tried to break up with her once she wouldn't let me and even though she probably regrets it sometimes, I am forever grateful for her friendship, support, and positive outlook on life - I think if you looked up "effervescent" in the dictionary her picture might be beside it.  She's a photographer now, too.  But anyways.  One of the ladies in our group of friends received the news that her sister had cancer and within a few weeks she had passed away.  There was a discussion about buying her flowers, but flowers die, too, and so we decided to start a team at the Relay for Life in honour of her sister. We Relayed for a couple of years, and of course, I took a crapload of pictures, which I started giving to the Relay people.



My Dad came out to the Relay to visit us.  Every year for as long as I can remember, my Dad raised money and shaved his head in honour of my cousin John, who lost a foot to cancer when he was still a kid, and he was so proud of us for doing the Relay - it meant as much to him as it did us.  He and my stepmom showed up at some obscene hour of the night with coffee and tunafish sandwiches with dill pickles and cheese cut up in them.  My father died of a heart attack shortly after our second Relay, and I knew in my heart that I would be doing it for a very long time.  My kids look forward to it every year, too - it's become a part of their lives as much as mine.

In the third year, my Auntie lost her battle with cancer and a friend of mine's 6 year old son was diagnosed with cancer.  Stacie felt that the Ride to Conquer Cancer was more in the spirit of her sister, and she has since gone off to run a hugely successful team called the Melan Heads, and around the same time it was asked if I would be willing to formally organize a group of photographers to take team photos.  I started bringing my workshoppers to the Relay with me, and that was the official birth of Team Clickin' Cancer's Butt.

In the 4th year, my best friend's Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  In the 5th year, my Uncle was diagnosed with prostate cancer and my best friend's Mom was declared cancer free.  They are both holding strong but I was reminded that life is fragile, and cancer is never far away, which was sent to me like a punch in the face this year several times over.  In this, our 6th year, a different Uncle lost his lengthy battle with cancer.  A very talented former member of Team Clickin' Cancer's Butt began slaying her own dragon: breast cancer.  A very dear friend and colleague of mine's father was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  And a workshopper of mine asked me to do some urgent family portraits, because this ugly beast has already stolen a member of their family and haunts them still.

While it would be nice to say we've eradicated cancer and are all retiring, that simply isn't the case.  But I'm pleased, in a bittersweet sort of way, to say we've started a trend - photographers across Canada have started bringing their cameras with them and donating their images back to the Canadian Cancer Society.  Former Team Clickin' Cancer's Butt members have even gone on to start their own teams in their own towns, and we're slowly pulling ourselves together as a network.

As a photographer, I feel that what I do is both priceless and invaluable.  I am invited to some pretty pivotal moments in people's lives - births, weddings, graduations, and other important milestones - as well as asked to document an annual progression of families as they grow and change.  The pictures we have after our loved ones leave, whether it's off to college, a new job in a different city, a military assignment overseas, or because they pass away, the value of the photographs that we have become magnified.

So for those of you who don't know much about it, there are several parts to the Relay for Life.  It's more than just a bunch of crazy people who come out, rain, shine, or snow (and sometimes in ballet slippers) to walk a track for 12 hours...

The Celebrate ceremony is the first part of the event, during which people who are winning their battle with cancer have the opportunity to provide inspiration and hope.

The second part is the Remember ceremony, during which caregivers, family, and friends light luminaries lining the track in honour of those who have lost or continue to fight their battle with cancer.

The third part is the Fight Back ceremony, during which we acknowledge cancer still doesn't have a cure, and make a pledge to not give up hope.

Imagine, if you will, the following scenarios.  A woman is declared cancer free after undergoing something called the Whipple procedure, followed by one kidney and two heart transplants to manage the damage the chemotherapy, meds, and subsequent immunodeficiency infections did to her system.  After 3 years cancer free, the cancer returns and she now sits on death row, preparing to leave behind her husband, 7 children, and 3 stepchildren.  A young family expecting their second child is robbed of a father because a backache that turns out to be cancer.  A 25 year old woman goes to the doctor for what she thinks is a vicious case of bronchitis and goes home with only one lung.  A grandfather of 6 dies just days before the birth of grandbaby number 7.

How much do you think a person's photographs together with their loved ones are worth to them?

Priceless.  Invaluable.

These are not hypothetical stories.  They are in fact stories of people I know. Real people who participate in the Relay for Life.  There are so many more - each one as heartbreaking, inspiring, and bittersweet as the next - and during the Relay, THESE are the people we are photographing.  Survivors, fighters, caregivers, children, parents, friends... each and every one of their lives irrevocably changed by cancer, which long after you've been declared cancer free or your loved one has died sticks to your shoe like the smell of dog shit long after the shit's been wiped off.  It's so easy, when cancer is someone else's problem, to ignore the stench.  And then it comes close, close, closer, and takes one of yours and it becomes personal.  Very Personally.  And those of us who now take it Very Personally convene at the Relay for Life, to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back.

We're not heroes - we're just photographers - but the stories we hear, the images of those moments that are so bittersweet, the experiences we share throughout the course of one evening a year knit the fabric of our lives together.  Looking back, I doubt any one of us can imagine what a profound effect this event has, and continues to have, on our lives.  And so year after year, we show up, cameras in hand, to record it, because it's what we do.

Above is my friend and esteemed colleague Christine Hopaluk at the 2011 Leduc Relay for Life.  Some members of the Edmonton Team Clickin' Cancer's Butt totally crashed it, snow and all, to support her team.  I'd like you all to check out her story here.

Sadly, it's a story you're entering in the middle - this family's fight is ongoing - but like the folks we meet on the track, the stories we swap connect us to one another.

Please visit the zoomphoto site to view and purchase images from the 2011 Edmonton Relay for Life (all proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Society) and consider registering your own team next year here.

All images in this post are copyrighted to the Canadian Cancer Society.

This year's photographers on Team Clickin' Cancer's Butt:

Ali & Sahar
Angie
Deanna
Hayley
Heather
Helena
Jennifer
Kaylee
Laura Jane
Me... you're already here :)
Tinsa
Trina & Sons

  

  

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune--without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

~Emily Dickinson