Overrated.

Obstacles in our paths.  That’s what both of these words represent to me.

One is the quest for making your own mark in the world.  The thing that sets you apart.  The idea or vision that every artist truly attempts even if they search for it in the works of the masters of the past.  This can take more than a lifetime.

One is the idea that once we “make it” someone, somewhere, has the ability to completely denounce our hard work and possibly end our career (even before it’s really began).  The art world is brutal and fickle.  It can be maddening to entrench yourself in this arena and even more maddening to find yourself a spectacle instead of a gladiator.

Over it.  That’s how I have to be when these thoughts creep into me.  I have to strive past the idea that true originality is unattainable.  I have to suppress the fear that someone out there, without any control of my own, can “make or break” my career.

Own it.  I own it.  I own my art.  I own my path.  I own my career.

Related posts:

1. The Difficulty of Making Art
2. The eye’s have it

1. I love art.  No really.  I LOVE art.  I love how art can take people to a whole other place and how art can bring people into themselves.  I love how it’s transformative and how it’s timeless even when it can be timely or tired.
2. I love how photography limits what I can create.  It keeps me from being able to completely manipulate a scene while forcing me to find angles and use equipment to tell the story or spread the idea.
3. I have a really bad memory.
4. I write things down so I don’t forget them.
5. I photograph people, places, and things so I don’t forget them.
6. I’m genuinely scared that someday I’ll forget too much.  I’ll forget why I do what I do.  I’ll forget who I am.  I’ll forget why I love the things in my life that I love.  It scares the shit out of me.
7. I can be highly emotional.
8. Movies, books, and art have a big influence in my life.  They make me feel.  They help me relax and they fire me up.  They inspire me to be a better human.
9. I’m scared my kids will grow up in a world without culture.
10. I listen to music almost all day long.
11. I dance when no one is looking.
12. Sometimes I sing in the shower.
13. I hate reality TV.  I really do believe that it’s ever growing popularity will trigger the downfall of our society.  Or something like that.
14. I wish I never had creative blocks.  But sometimes I’m thankful for those breaks.  It gives me time to reflect.  Even if I’m reflecting on how much my creative blocks suck.
15. I secretly (okay not so secretly) want my kids to grow up to be creatives even though I know how hard it can be both personally and professionally.
16. I think technology is pretty freakin’ awesome.
17. I believe in humanity and progress.
18. Even when I’m scared for our future I’m optimistic about it because I see so much passion in the art that comes out of the young.
19. I want to create the kind of art that makes people stop and think or feel.  Even if it’s only for a split second in their hectic lives.
20. Sometimes a great piece of art can literally take my breath away.
21. The idea of working at a desk for someone else, for the rest of my life, for something I don’t believe in, is almost worse than the idea of spending the rest of my life in prison.  If I didn’t have a family it would probably be equal.
22. I’m compelled to make art because it’s what I believe in.
23. I am one of those people who never stopped believing that art can change the world.
24. I believe that great art is supposed to make you think…
25. Did I mention that I love art?

Related posts:

1. Everyone Hates Your Art!

I think most of the people in my life worry about the same problem.  Not so much “over-reflection” on their part.  No, rather, I think most of my loved ones and close friends worry about the deep places I go to during these times of reflection.

They worry about my over-reflection.

I suppose that’s why I refer to it as “over-reflection” rather than simply “reflection”.

This also happens to be the reason I don’t take pain medications anymore.

I’ve been tired, sore, groggy, busy, bored, uninspired…physical therapy sessions will do that.  At least this is temporary.  At least I’m not facing surgery again.

An old injury flairs up and I become almost worthless.  At least I caught up a little on my Hulu and Netflix?

Back to work!

Related posts:

1. Back to work

As a portrait and wedding photographer I would have a vision, often worked out between myself and the client, and everything creative would be done in an effort to bring to life that vision.  Most of the time I was very successful in guiding the craft.  But there were many times where I would produce wonderful photographs that went outside said vision and the clients would sometimes buy those and sometimes wouldn’t.

I took it too personally I think.

It’s always been a flaw of mine when it comes to my artwork.

I think that’s why I HAD to get away from doing portraits and weddings.  It was too personal for me.

Okay, there are other reasons why I got away from working for clients.  My back problems make me unreliable and the thought of having to call a potential client and tell her that I can’t shoot her wedding in a couple of days because my back went out would kill me.  It never happened, but the possibility was always there and it lingered in my mind every time I would wake up sore or stiff or in so much pain that I’m seeing spots.

Back problems aside, I think I would have become miserable if I had continued down that path.

I crave the process much more than the product.

I’m not a map follower by nature.  Not when it comes to nurturing my creative instincts.  Having a plan, a goal, a vision doesn’t make me a better artist.  It made me a better portrait photographer, and a better business person, but not a better artist.

When I work on photography for process I have freedom.  I can go anywhere.  The possibilities are endless.

I can follow whatever instincts and insights that hit me.

I can listen to my internal voices and let the magic capture me.

I think there’s a basic human nature to explore and to experiment.  To find the unknown.

When I look at my kiddos I marvel at how free they are in the works they create.  They have no barriers.  There are no parameters that they have to work within.

Right now they are playing at my mother’s house getting all dirty and creative with sidewalk chalk.  It’s a fantastic world they live in where the sky is truly the limit.

As children we’re taught so much.  How to read.  How to write.  How to behave in society.  How to study.  How to learn.

So much structure.

While structure is good for learning how to behave in society, it does so much harm to our inherent creativity.

I think that’s why so many people who have “returned to art” struggle with the process.  They look at is a structured path or look for some road map to follow.

The road maps are good for the business side, but for me, at least, I have to ignore the structure and toss out the map.

I need to feel like I have the freedom to create artwork that is without boundaries (unless I specify them as exercise).

I’m insanely jealous of my beautiful children.  They inspire me to be more free with my work.  And aside from their unfiltered and boundless love, that inspiration is the greatest gift they could give me.

Related posts:

1. Creative Genius
2. The eye’s have it
3. Own It

As a painter I had the ability to create any atmosphere I wanted with whatever tools and techniques were at my disposal.

That’s taken away from photographers when you think of the photograph in it’s purest form.

This isn’t to say that “pure photography” is the end all be all.  I do enjoy looking at digitally manipulated, as well as dark room manipulated, works from stellar artists.

I’m not a photojournalist.

But I think it’s the challenge of working within those limitations that draws me to photography as an art form.  Perhaps that’s why I’ve moved away from pixel punishing in the past few years.

Related posts:

1. Do You Remember?
2. Do We See What We See?
3. Charity As A Marketing Strategy For Artists

That’s a great question.  One that I ask myself often during the editing process.

“What the hell was I thinking?!”

Here’s what I should be thinking every time I work on my craft:

• Does this work provoke? and should it?
• How does it make me feel?
• Does it make me think?
• Do I understand?

I certainly don’t always succeed in creating thought provoking and awe inspiring works.  But that doesn’t stop me from trying.

Related posts:

1. The Difficulty of Making Art
2. Asking Too Much

That’s something I’ve struggled with; as an artist, an individual, a husband, and a father.

But why is that important?  What makes this “acceptance” so important to me (or to you for that matter)?

The myth

There’s a myth about art and artists that’s been floating around forever.  Art takes talent.  Talent?  Like some mystical insight into the world that is only bestowed upon a few lucky/unlucky individuals.

The truth

Art really only requires a focused learning of acceptance of oneself.  That’s it.  Nothing magical about that at all.  Not really anyway.  It’s discipline, hard work, and perseverance that makes someone an artist.

And these traits are either nurtured or condemned by those who would surround an artist in their daily lives.  The most important influencer, of course, is the artist him/herself.

We are all ordinary.

And while I’d like to think of myself as extraordinary the simple truth is that I’m not.

I may be unique.  I have a unique set of characteristics and traits that allow/force me to work in the art realm.  These traits, while seen as weaknesses or strengths (pick your poison), are really just a different set of traits than anyone else but no more special/better/worse.

There is a trait, inherent in my persona, that forces me to try every attempt to overcome obstacles.  This trait doesn’t allow me to think in terms that I’m doing the best right now at any given particular task.  I’m forced to look back at past projects and contemplate what I did right and wrong all while simultaneously looking forward to the next task at hand.  How can I use the knowledge and skills gained to better overcome the next hurdle/task/project?  While this sounds like a very positive trait the truth is that it can paralyze me just as easily.

The act of making art somehow engages a profoundly accurate feedback loop of information about what I intended to accomplish and what I actually accomplished.  I either don’t meet my own expectations or I exceed them.  Meet them?  I’ve given up on that I think.  Or I’m lying to myself.

It’s the process

That’s really what making art is about right?  The process.

Here’s something to think about.  Everyone cares about the product.  The finished work.  The print.  Everyone, that is, except the artist.

To me what really matters, I mean when I’m not trying to make a buck off this “talent”, is the process.  Sometimes I sell work sometimes I don’t.  That doesn’t stop me from creating.  Nor should it.  All along, the more I contemplate this, I realize that it was always about the process.

What am I learning about myself through this process of creating?  That’s what’s really important.

I’m finally getting to a point where I can confidently say I don’t care what anyone thinks about my finished work.

Self delusion or self defense?

Perhaps it’s easier this way?

The real questions

If I’m only making art for myself does that somehow equate the finished art to the finished self?  The flawed art to the flawed self?  The successful art to the successful self?  What about when I’m not making art?  Does that mean, somehow, that when there is no process of creating art there is no self?

Related posts:

1. The Difficulty of Making Art
2. Artist Interview
3. Process VS Product

I’ve recently done a guest post on attracting better feedback for your photos, an appearance on a podcast discussing facebook privacy and how photographers should proceed with caution, and an interview on a tech sales company blog.

Nice!

This should all lead to more exposure around the Internet and will really help things pick up for my online gallery as well as my photography tutorials website.

I’ve got a ton of editing and archiving that I need to do with my photography and I’m starting to find that some of my “miscellaneous” works are falling into organic categories and perhaps even some smaller or self contained works.

One of the things I need to focus on is taking more pictures (and actually editing them).  I really need to get back in the habit of taking some photographs daily again.  This starts today.  No time like the present!

Related posts:

1. Hey Artists, Find A New Media!

I wanted to expand on some of my frustrations with facebook.

Bait and Switch

I remember when I first signed up for facebook.  I used my real name and put tons of private information in all of the fields in hopes that some of my old classmates would be able to find and contact me.  Many of them did.  In fact, I was able to make contact with hundreds of old friends, family, and classmates (from college and high school).  In making these contacts I, like almost everyone else in the world, was under the impression that our information was mostly private in the sandbox that facebook presented to us.

What many people did not realize, and admittedly I didn’t understand until too late, was that in order for facebook to properly monetize their website they would have to open up more and more of their information to advitsers and search engines.  Duh!

This, seemingly, would put facebook in a morally sticky situation.  Leave the website private–just like it was sold to it’s extremely large user base–or open it up to advertisers?

If it’s hard to comprehend exactly how much change has occurred over time at facebook with their privacy policies this visualization should drop your jaw!

Certainly, with all of the bad PR that facebook has received as of late, facebook chose the latter option.  Facebook users vowed to delete their accounts and many digerati led the way in this movement.  Big names like Leo Laporte, Matte Cutts, and Cory Doctorow all deleted their accounts or made them inactive because they believe that their influence, as public figures in the tech industry, encourage people to sign up for facebook and unknowingly share their private information.  It’s really hard for me not to agree.  In fact, at this point, it’s really hard for me not to delete my account.

Who should be concerned?

I suppose that’s the real question here isn’t it?  I mean, many people have obviously said (by NOT deleting their facebook accounts) that they don’t really care about these privacy issues.  Should they care?

Teachers and professors should.  They could lose their jobs by posting things that were once thought to be held private and segregated from students and other faculty.

People who rent may not want to post party pics for fear of getting evicted.

Oh yeah…and anyone bored at work could get fired for saying so.

To be fair many people who have lost their jobs or faced public scrutiny over facebook postings can often times only blame themselves.  They should have had a better understanding of who can and can’t read their facebook profiles.  But when the facebook’s privacy policy is longer than the constitution of the United States perhaps everyone should be concerned!

The real problem?

The problem with quitting facebook is that it’s really useful for keeping up with friends and family and it’s easy to use.  Add the fact that 10s of millions of people sign up for facebook every month and you’ve got quite a dilemma.

I want to see pictures of my sister’s little one.  I like that I can keep in touch with some of my old buddies seamlessly as they post updates about their lives.  I actually care when my buddy who lives in Las Vegas (whom I only get to see about once a year) posts that he’s bummed or excited or whatever.  How about my other lifelong friends that are scattered across Texas and the rest of the United States?  I like to keep up with their lives too.  This, by the way, is coming from that aspect of myself as a digital consumer.   Not the part of me that is a digital content creator.

If you’re a social media persona, of any kind, it’s really hard to leave that many eyeballs on the table.  Sharing your digital content online is easy and it spreads fairly well on facebook if it hits the right audience.  You can manage fan pages and utilize plugins on your websites and blogs to reach millions of users.  You can help control the brand that you’ve built.

You may be wondering if there really is life after facebook after all of that.  That’s a question only you can answer and one that I’m currently pondering.

I think now is the time for a new and open platform to come and dethrone facebook.  I’d love for something like Diaspora or OneSocialWeb to become viable alternatives to facebook.  I think we’ll see many developers and investors tackle this area of potential and someone will climb to the top.

WordPress is one of the leading blogging platforms on the planet because it’s open and customizable.  Why shouldn’t our social networking platforms be as well?

None of this is new BTW!

The writing has been on the wall for quite some time.  Facebook doesn’t care about your privacy.  There have been concerns with facebook’s privacy and policy changes with every “innovation” or “new feature” that they implement.

Here are some examples:

The Next Facebook Privacy Scandal (Jan 2008)

Facebook Privacy Concerns: An Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg (Jan 2010)

Facebook Platform Privacy (Oct 2007)

Facebook’s New Privacy Changes: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Dec 2009)

Facebook: All Your Stuff is Ours, Even If You Quit (Feb 2009)

There’s a pattern here.  Change policy or settings, upset tons of users, apologize, rinse and repeat.

Even Zuckerberg’s recent op-ed in the Washington post needed revising in order for the truth to come out.

What CAN you do?

I suppose you have 4 options.

1. You can ignore it all and continue to use facebook in the fashion you have grown accustomed to using the service.  Most facebook users will fall into this category out of sheer ignorance.
2. You can make your facebook profile as absolutely private as you can.
3. You can only use facebook with the thinking that it is a public service and that anything can and will be used against you in the court of public scrutiny.
4. You can delete your account.

If you, for whatever reason, decide you’d like to quite facebook you are NOT alone.  May 31 has been deemed Quit Facebook Day and thousands have signed up.

I guess I’m giving myself until that day to decide what I’m going to do with my facebook profile.  I’m already at option 3 but looking closely at option 4.

I don’t think that quitting facebook is the answer for everyone.  Even if I did, it would be delusional to think I could somehow entice 500 million users to do so.  We need alternatives.

Remember when MySpace was huge?

I have a feeling that we’ll be asking that same question in 10 years about facebook.  Could be sooner, I suppose, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Related posts:

1. Facebook Squares Off With The Newspaper Industry
2. Out With The Old…
3. Reaching

The first is a black and white photograph titled ”Wisdom is the Light of Day“ and is available as a 13″x10.8″ on archival photo metallic inkjet paper. 

The light of the day was playing in the tree limbs.  I used a Lensbaby Composer on my Canon DSLR and experimented with various levels of “blurriness”.  Choosing the metallic finish paper for this print came from reviewing the new metallic paper from Red River Paper.  I found that the photographs “blurriness” and abstractness was enhanced with the sharpness and contrast of the paper.

This abstract photograph, ”the shape of things” available as a 13″x12.5″ on archival photo metallic paper, was taken around the same time as the first.  Using the same techniques and tools I further explore how light, shadow, and form help the viewer explore the shape of things without too much constraint on the subject (even when the subject is clearly stated).  The photo metallic paper was also chosen for this fine art print and plays splendidly with the natural muted color tones that were inherent in the image capturing process.  There are green/gold colors whose vibrancy is enhanced by the texture (or lack thereof) with this paper choice.

Related posts:

1. Defining Fine Art Photography: Introverted