How to Succeed in Photography

This quote was given to a group of us by Al Weber. I suspect he wrote it but it is by author "Quoteman" 

"Be well-read. Be curious about everything. Look at art constantly. Figure out who you are. Never advise others about success in photography. Whenever you encounter a rule, break it just to see what happens. Don't be a jerk. Pick subjects you are obsessed with. Chase them endlessly. Do what you say you'll do. Surprise yourself at least once a day. Keep secrets. Confuse art with life. Work ceaselessly. Be aware that work does not happen through inspirations, work happens through work. Memorize the words of artist Chuck Close: "I always say that inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work." --Quoteman

Nik Collection for Lightroom Users, Aug 9 - Sep 20, 2017, Wed 1-4PM

This class is advertised for Lightroom users but the Nik plugin works the same way in Photoshop. We will explore each one of the Nik Collections and get creative with images. color Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, Dfine. Come and spend the end of summer and the beginning of fall in this creative class and have some fun while learning. The fee is $150. Register online at paused.org or call a human at 831-646-6580. See you there. Barbara

Saint Junipero Serra: The Spiritual Journey, June 16 - Sep 30, 2017, Mission San Juan Bautista

Criag Alan Huber has worked for 7 years to photograph the 21 Missions in Alta California founded by Saint Junipero Serra. We attended the reception in the San Juan Bautista Mission Museum on July 1st, the feast day of Junipero Serra. The exhibit runs through September 30, 2017. This is the first art exhibit at the San Juan Bautista Mission. 

I encourage all of you who care about California history and the role the missions played in the development of our entwined cultures to take the time to come and see this wonderful exhibit. Craig took a great deal of time and personal effort to photograph each mission. The project also includes a book that encompasses the history of the project and the key images in the portfolio. A very sensitive and well crafted exhibit of silver and platinum prints. 

Our own Al Weber was the inspiration that started Craig on his journey. Al Weber held 3 mission workshops at Mission San Antonio, Mission San Miguel and Mission Soledad that precipitated in a portfolio for each mission of the workshop participants images. The spirit of this effort  inspired Craig to keep going and it culminated in the project. 

We met some wonderful people at the reception and Suzy Weber was able to attend with her son Robert and spouse Sarah. It was a lovely sunny day in San Juan Bautista with a moderate temperature of 68 degrees. A wonderful break from the June gloom that has enveloped Monterey for the past few days. We met up with some friends we had not seen for awhile which added to the celebratory atmosphere. 

Website: www.veritasenditions

Craig Alan Huber will be our guest speaker at Rendezvous this year and talk about this project and his process in choosing a project and the focus required to see it through to the end. We celebrate Craig's success and look forward to his next adventure. 

Fear of Change

One of the most common things I encounter as a teacher is the fear of failure or fear of change. 

We know that change can be good for us. Examples might be weight loss, quitting bad habits, developing good habits that give us better health. 

The amazing thing is we fail at change over and over. We prove to ourselves over and over that change is something to fear because we had a bad experience. 

Why? We fear change. This fear leads to procrastination and lack of commitment to a goal, regardless of whether or not it will lead to positive outcomes. 

Once you acknowledge your fear of change, you can take positive steps to overcome them. 

Common themes in fear of change: 

Fear of Failure
Why bother. Its is a waste of time and effort. Most of the time the root of this fear is your pride. We don't want to look bad in front of others so we don't try. This leads to failure to commit time and energy to the creative process of life. 

Fear of Pain, Discomfort, Effort
This one is probably the one I see the most often in the arts. People avoid effort and then grouse about why they are not progressing with their skill level. Wonderful, talented people avoid effort because they fear the pain and discomfort of failure. 

Fear of Success
This one has a grain of truth to it when you consider the what-ifs of success. What if I succeed and then I have to put out? Most of the time people fear having attention drawn to them if they are successful the pressure of having to produce and add to your success. This one makes a lot of us feel like a deer in headlights. 

Fear of Criticism
Fear of what others will think of you or your work. This one is so common among artists or people who have inherent talent but have heard from kindergarten that art is a waste of time and besides you should stick to what you know best. So many good, talented people bench themselves because of this debilitating fear. 

Fear of New
This put people in a box. How many times have you admired someone who tries new things? Yet, you say, I really admire that person but I would never do that OR I would not be good at that OR I am going to stay in my safe place so I don't have to feel the fear and absolute joy of experiencing something new.

Fear feels real but most of it is mental and can be overcome. Look inside yourself and ask why am I afraid to do that? Try one small thing at a time and celebrate the victories, no matter how small. 

Full Confession about 1 Item in my own life. I was afraid of going from film to digital. I can still hear my voice of doubt and fear as the technology world marched  relentlessly forward, wiping out the film world I knew. I remember so vividly thinking I could never grasp the digital camera and it myriad of functions. Film was all I knew for the previous 30 plus years. My partner and I had perfected our craft and knew it intimately. 

I can still smell the fear when people asked about digital and what we thought about it. I remember the paralyzing self doubt and the fear of how new it was. It definitely put me in a box. I was afraid of failure, criticism and the new. How about that for being stuck!

I worked my way out of it by observing how others dealt with it, studying the articles written about digital cameras, trying it out in small ways before making a full leap. I think the first foray into digital was scanning our transparencies and getting a digital file from what we had just photographed for a client. Our clients had fear also. They really didn't understand this new digital world. It fell to us as vendors to be able to explain to our clients what they needed to know and reassure them that everything would be ok. We gave them film and a digital file scanned from the transparency or film for their needs. Ironic in a way. Teaching what we needed to know. 

The next step was actually using a digital camera. We acquired a Canon 10D anchored a digital assistant to learn. This is the same as taking online courses, or a course at your local Adult School. We were able to learn as we worked. This gave us more skills and confidence to overcome the fear of failure. Since our livelihood depended upon this, you can believe we were motivated. Gradually, we knew more and more and our skills began to parallel our skill in the film world. It took time, effort and overcoming the fear of failure.

Embrace the Patina

Youghal Angel by Barbara Moon

All of my life I have been drawn to the last stages of life, whether it was roses drying, fall leaves, rust, discarded items, well used items, the past.....cemeteries, and now I find that I have joined the cycle of the slow process we all face of the gradual beautification of a life lived......embrace the patina, accept the beauty of rust, create a place where these things have meaning instead of fear, love your fall and winter. It is your story, be the good storyteller of your life and cherish what you leave behind as your patina.