Sunday, February 26th from 12pm-5pm the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce is putting on their annual Bridal Show and we’ll be a part of it! It’ll be held at the East View High School in Georgetown and there will be something like 80 different wedding professionals there to talk to about your wedding day and how they can help. There will be businesses from all the following areas: photographers, event centers, catering services, cake services, invitation services, flower services, travel services, hair & spa services, dress & tuxedo rental, music services and event planners. You’ll be able to get ideas and inspiration from all the booths, find options, select from different styles, and the best part is you’ll get to meet the people who can make your day amazing. Check out the FAQ on the show site and get a great start on your list of things to make sure and do while you are there.

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This spring I’ve been studying and preparing to take the examination that is a part of professional certification with the Professional Photographers of America (which is an organization I have been a member of since I started my career). The certification results in a title “Certified Professional Photographer” (CPP), and it designates photographers who have demonstrated a competence in their field. Back at the beginning of 2011 I made it a goal for the year to complete the process and become certified.

It’s a strange thing, “going back to school”; I do love to learn and yet the pressure of a test is just as fun as it always was…  I spent a fair bit of time reading the book Photography by London, Stone and Upton, which is fairly daunting in it’s scope and size. But, I made it through the required chapters and attended a review course as a part of my Texas School experience a few weeks back. The following day, I took the exam.

In theory, whether or not I become certified is not particularly relevant to my day to day work, but in practice it seems like it is really very helpful. It is a part of on-going education, growing myself and my abilities to contribute to the world of excellent photography. The process makes sure that all the basics are covered; from camera theory and operation to the point of a photograph, and then beyond to composition, design, business, and people. It was good to spend time looking at the gamut of photography again so I can be clear where I am weak and need to continuing growing my artistry. I came away with lots of insights.

This past weekend I finally received notice that I passed the exam! Pretty cool. Now, I’m half-way done.

The next step in certification is to create, collect and submit a series of images that will be reviewed by a panel  of industry judges to ensure that I am producing the kind of work that is worthy of the CPP designation. I will have to create 6 specific images demonstrating technical capabilities, and then submit those along with 14 images that were created specifically for paying clients. The client images must come from 16 different client jobs and situations; no two images can include the same subject. It’s going to be fun! But, I’ll have to work over the next couple of months to pull it all together to hit one of the three remaining deadlines for portfolio review this year.

I’ll bring more news as I progress!

Path to the Red

So I was thinking the other day about the question “Why do I photograph?”. I ran across a pretty cool post over on Seth Godin’s blog (which I recommend!) that seems to directly apply to me.

For me, I realized a while back that number 1 on the list just wasn’t a good enough reason for me to do things I don’t love doing, all by itself. I really think that the reasons I spend my resources and efforts and take the risks I take are on this list. The fruit of reason 1 (“for the money”) is just there to make the others possible. Reason 4 (“For the impact”) is pretty huge to me. I read over on Scott Bourne’s blog a great phrase: Photography is a time machine. Wow, that’s true. A good photograph has impact because it can never be recreated; we document something important and time moves on. Relationships change, people grow old, places change. Reason 8 (“To be appreciated”) is also big. I confess that my strong desire is to make a photograph so outstanding that my client is pleased to pay for it, rather than the other way around; I don’t like starting at the pay end of the deal and spending my efforts trying to create what people want, even if there is a dynamic tension here that pulls that direction. That pushes me away from the “cookie-cutter” kinds of work; trying to make all my photographs look the same as another photographer’s work, or worse, make them all look the same as each other. Uniqueness based around the individual being photographed, along with a solid dose of what I love, is really important to the degree that we are able to do it. So as a result of my own bent here then, it is probably obvious that Top 20 radio simply doesn’t appeal to me at all. And that bent makes items 2-8 on that list more challenging!

Today’s Austin American Statesman has an article in the Jobs Plus section on page 2 titled “Fathers who work alongside their kids add a professional layer to relationship” – and that article includes a section on imageclectic! We are so pleased to be featured. We love what we do!

We had a wonderful time on Sunday talking to brides, grooms, moms and trusted advisors or brides! It seemed like the best show we’ve ever participated in with so many people and lots of interest in great photography. It was a pleasure to meet so many people and talk about some the most important photographs a person can get.

Here is our final booth setup, taken with a real camera this time… We were very pleased with the way the oak covered the back grid wall; we kinda came up with that approach and the drawer knobs at the last minute, looking for something a little nicer than our previous setups.

The Final Booth

Well, here we are! Our booth is ready, we’re ready, the whole show is ready. It’s going to be a great Extravaganza kind of day. Come on over and say “Hi!” at the Palmer Event Center.

Just a quick post for all you wedding folks; tomorrow is the Big Day in Austin! The Austin Wedding Guide is hosting one of their famous Bridal Extravaganzas at the Palmer Event Center and we’ll be there! Come on over and check it (and us) out. We’d love to see you there. We created a slightly different booth design this time around and both Hannah and I are very pleased. We’ll both be in the booth all afternoon, so come over and say “hi”.

I’ll add a picture of our booth tomorrow.

Here is our show booth! We are so ready for the show to start and the opportunity of a great two days of meeting brides and talking about weddings. If you are getting married and haven’t been to one of these then come on down today or tomorrow to the Palmer Event Center, 12-5pm. The Austin Wedding Guide folks put on a great show; hope to see you here!

Yesterday was a wonderful time for us and the larger family; we spent time thanking God for sending Jesus, blessing each other and just being together. I treasure days like that and I hope that all of you were able to enjoy some time with God, family and friends as well. Leah and and were also blessed to be a part of a 50th wedding anniversary yesterday afternoon; I’ll post some photographs and thoughts on that later. For now, here’s a “snapshot” of the day for us:

The Clan all Together on Christmas Morning

Ok, while this is not related at all to photography, weddings, etc., it is related to family. So, I just have to pass it on. This is just about the best stuff I’ve ever tasted; I’m sure there are tons of similar recipes out there but I haven’t found em! This was given to me by a friend (hi Gary!) who got it from a friend, etc.; I have no idea where it actually comes from.

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