I'm just settling into the new office in NY, and now I have a bit more space. We created a vision wall of corkboard. (harder to mount on a wall that you even think but with Jeff Holt's help, we got it done). As I was going through my bin of tears I've pulled over the last couple years, it got me to thinking about what I was pulling, which became a great exercise.

I think this is good for every photographer to do. It really helps you discover WHAT you like to shoot. I sifted through the tears, and pulled the ones where I would loved to have shot it. This is a good indicator of what you should be shooting your tests to be, and once you start shooting you'll develop your own style which is something that takes a few years of constant shooting to find. It's a great way to hone your vision. You are what you shoot, so go and shoot it!

Yeah gotcha with this title, well not really. Just read through this really great interview by A Photo Editor with photographer rep Debroah Schwartz (dsreps.com). They touched on some really great points. This was my favorite questions/answers:

I have to say, this reinforces a lot about what I talk about all the time on MY blog. Honing your vision is what this business is all about. People hire you for your vision. Along with being personable and having a good understanding of the photography business makes you even more marketable. If you haven't read my post on the story of how I found my rep, read it here.

It's very true that even if you HAVE a rep, you have to be a hustler in this business to make it. A rep is a part of your team. You also won't get anywhere in this business without a good team of people to work with. You're only as good as your team.

The tighter you hone your visual style and get it out there in the world and show the capability of handling a big production in a thorough manner, the more marketable you become. ABS theory!

Read the full interview here. It's great!

I was reading through Chase Jarvis' latest post "Escaping Your Portfolio" and it got me to thinking. I've always been a believer of "Showing what you want to be or what you shoot", meaning that your portfolio should only consist of the things that you want to be shooting creatively. That doesn't mean we won't take paying jobs that don't relate to our portfolios, but the idea is VISION, mean your vision and how you see. This I believe is a definite MUST in our world, and as Chase puts it, a necessary evil. Your vision starts to come together after you've been shooting for a few years, and you start to hone in on your style. It takes quite a while to get just a grasp of what that is as an artist, and a process that we must all embrace. Patience is the key. (not that I've had much of it over the last few years, but it's what my mentors keep telling me.) Hiring the right people (consultants, graphic designers, reps, etc) to curate/edit and package your work is the other key. So strive for the perfect portfolio? Not necessarily. Strive to create your style/vision and continue to update your portfolio. If you are shooting all the time, your work and vision will evolve, as will your portfolio.

The point of my post is that his post did push me to think about pushing my brand beyond just "taking pictures" and into the other interests and facets that I aspire to. That's one reason I've never attached "Photography" to my name. My goal is to push my brand into as many creative ventures as I can, and that in and of itself is a process. Is directing commercials in my future goals? Yeah. In what capacity, I have no idea. I've already begun a little (see my videos/stop motions). Maybe fine art? Maybe a clothing line, a restaurant, a bar? I have many other dreams and goals that take time and process. Remember being successful at something takes a lot of hard work. (10,000 hours perhaps?) In the end, I want my brand/name to be a creative entity, not limited to just photography.

With photography, the body of work you develop over a few years will evolve and will progress, and eventually be in your Default Bag so that you can explore other opportunities. Eventually you will have the staff to free your time to work on the projects you want to.

Adding this to the pot of creative theory reminders that problem solving is what this job is all about. I love to shoot my own work as much and as often as I can, (ABS Theory). It keeps you sharp and Expands Your Default. I pulled some friends together and drove to the desert for a little spontaneous personal shoot. Sometimes you get into situations where things go wrong, unforeseen things happen, important parts of the crew are late, etc. Our job is to solve those problems and make something great despite the circumstances. This time Mother Nature threw a little twist into our little shoot. My concept was involved 300 balloons, and that didn't exactly happen. We got there and the winds were so strong it was ripping the balloons off the ribbon. So we still made it work for despite the Mother Nature's blessing of insane winds. A little more to add to the subconscious default.

See the full images story here:
http://www.nickonken.com/Stories/AndreeaAtTheMojaveSaltFlats/

Went to an art show party last night for Arielle Pytka, my friend Sacha's sister. You'll find Arielle modeling in a lot of the Roxy campaigns and many others. I enjoyed her work, especially the typography driven pieces.

My director friend Omri(who I collaborate with on a lot of projects ie: The Legend of Santi), got into a conversation with their dad, Joe Pytka who is one of the most famous commercial directors. He's directed over 5,000 commercials in his career. He had some great words of wisdom.

The thing I walked away with, is staying true to spontenaity and real moments which something. It is the element that we as humans connect with in films, and imagery. So many times, big productions get convoluted and art directed to the point where you lose spontenaity of real moments because there's not room to let them happen. It's part of the process. Authentic moments are a big part of my work, and something I want to strive to keep and try to infuse as much as possible into commerical shoots. When I shoot I like to create scenarios and let moments happen, then snap the photograph at the right moment.

The conversation was a good inspiration to keep looking for those moments.