10 Things to get yourself out of a Slump !

Everyone gets into a "slump" every now in then. You know... when all your creative juices just seem to dry up and everything you shoot seems to look and feel the same old, same old.

Well here are 10 things you can do to get yourself out of that "slump".

1. Don't touch your camera for a period of time. Then after a while pick it up. You might find yourself hungry to create.
2. Chose 1 Prime Lens and spend a week or month just shooting everything with that lens. Or Relearn how to see by using that one prime lens, and photograph one common subject for a good month. And build yourself a good body of work.
3. Go WIDE ! Get yourself a Wide angle lens like a 35mm or 24mm or 15mm and go out shooting with that. Might have you seeing life alot differently.
4. Start a Project. Sometimes as photographers we are so busy doing "CLIENT" stuff that we have very little time for "ME" stuff. So plan and start a project. One that will take a good year to complete.
5. Take a vacation. Go on a cruise and travel the world. Packages are cheap right now and usually comes with all inclusive food and lodging.
6. Read some new and inspiring books.
7. Read some new Photographer Blogs
8. Move to a different country for a good while to get a change of pace and life.
9. Got to see an EPIC MOVIE ! As you watch, observe the lighting and camera angles. Gain some ideas through it. (movies like: Last Samuri or Pride and Prejudice)
10. Attend a PHOTOGRAPHIC Workshop. There are a ton of great workshops out there that are being taught by some truly inspiring photographers. Take some time out and sow into yourself by attending one. You will be surprised at how it may inspire you.

Happy Growing.

Rockie

Furniture Fit for Photographers from IKEA

So if you have been following my Tweets, recently I have been remodeling my office space at home. One of the many things I needed was a much better shelving unit to contain my new work flow, books and general stuff.

So I went to IKEA and found this great little unit called the "Expedit - book case"

These shelves are so great because they come in this med size of 8 Cubes or a smaller size of just 4 cubes. They're deep enough to stack Cd's and DVD's and yet tall enough that you can easily fit books and magazines upright in them. The best part about them is the flexibility it gives you in designing your workflow. you can have them horizontal or vertical and they can be stack ontop of each other to build a much bigger unit.

For me I purchased 1 of the 8 cube units and then 2 of the 4 cube units and then just stacking them.

Then to top this off I purchased these handy tote boxes and the double drawer insert for the Cubes to store my archieval DVD's, client orders, and stationary stuff.

These units where easy to build, looks great and best part was it all came in under $400.00 for everything.

So if you are looking to remodel your office/workspace to improve your workflow and working atmosphere. Check this things out at IKEA.

Cheers,

Rockie

When A Life Ends Too Short (In memory of Angela Fisher)

Many of you follow me on Facebook and on Twitter and saw a posting I made a while back about me "feeling quite heavy that even bubble tea can't comfort me". Thank you all so much for messaging me and checking in on me. The following is the back ground story to why I was so "heavy".

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Many of you know I still work with kids. About 5 years ago I did a special Mother's Day Calendar for the parents in my child care facility. Something simple but also something I knew would make a simple calendar look stunning. My goal was to help the parents see their kids for who they really are. How their love and support has been the major influence in the development of thier child. Parents most times live their life 1 day at a time and miss out on the real growth of their child at times not any fault of theirs, because life can get busy can't it ?

One of the families that came to participate was a mother/daughter, Angela and Heather.

At that time Heather was about Grade 4 in our facility. Always had a great time with these two. Like most of the kids, I had the joy of watching them grow up before my eyes. Then about a year later Heather was old enough to move on and take care of herself. From time to time I would still bump in to Heather and see her mother Angela and chat about how they are doing.

S0 you can imagine the surprise when I was told just a short few weeks ago, that Angela had suddenly passed away.

Apparently Angela and Heather were summering up in the interior of B.C. and one afternoon Angela, while in the passenger side of the car, driving with her friend (Thankfully Heather was not in the car at that moment.) when an on coming car from the other lane swerved into their car and stuck them head on. Angela passed away immediately.

I have to confess that I sure have a soft heart for kids and when I heard this, how my heart just ached and my thoughts drifted to Heather. The sudden reality came now with Heather needing to live the rest of her grown up life without her mom .... really really hit me hard.

This sudden event in time really brought all things in a bit of perspective for me. Sometimes I think we really have hard issues in life and then something like this comes along and you realize that it really isn't all that bad.

LESSONS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

Lesson #1

• One of the many lessons I learned from this tragedy is just how privileged we are to capture moments in time for our clients. Moments that become both timeless and true treasures that no monetary value can ever be placed on it. Just think about it. If your house was going to burn down, what would you grab ? Or what do you treasure the most when a loved one near you passes away ?

I implore all who are photographers, take your career and passion as a professional photographer seriously with the sole desire to do the very best for your clients right at that moment. Live to tell their story.

Lesson #2

• If you have not done a family session for your very own family in a long time, then get your ass going a get your family out n the fresh air and hire a fellow photographer to photograph your family. You will not regret it. I promise you.

Thanks for reading along with me. I know this was a long one but one worth writing.

You all truly inspire me with your friendship, love and passion to capture true memories.

With Love,

Rockie

The Coolest Wedding I have ever seen....

So who among you who shoot weddings would not have wanted this wedding to photography ?

I almost wish every client was like this .... but then how would still images ever do justice to it ?

I guess that is where the 5Dmk2 comes in handy !!!

Rockie

SuperHeroes Rise in Tough Times

Just caught this article from Cnn.com on how the love or fancination with "Super Heroes" is on the rise once again.

It seems in the past when times where tough because of economics, people turned to "Super Heroes" for hope and inspiration. It seems that more than 70 years ago during the depression and beginnings of World War II, that such heroes as Superman, Batman, Wonder Women and Captain America became Legends. And it seems that it is again coming back.With the Success of Batman and Ironman recently, other Hero movies have been scheduled for production such as Captain America, Avengers, and Thor.

Guest Curator Jerry Robinson was quoted as saying ... ""I think heroes are back. I think you can almost chart it. The times are not so good -- we're looking for heroes."

So here are my thoughts for the end of the week.

1. Who are your "Heroes" right now whom are bringing you Hope and Inspiration ?
2. How might the public looking for "heroes" translate to something special with your career or business ?

Post up your Comments. I would love to hear What you all have to say.

Rockie

10 Things you could do better today

Chris Brogen posted this a while back. I love it. Why? Because it is short and sweet and straight to the point.

When life gets busy for us, really we have only have 2 options.

1. Stay status quo
2. Make changes and better our life

(more on this in my next post about HABITS)

So have a look at the list below that Chris posted. Are there at least 1 that you can focus on in the coming next moth to better your life and your busines ?

Rockie

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10 Things You Could Do Better Today

1. Improve your response time to requests.
2. Improve the brevity and simplicity of your email correspondence.
3. Connect with five new people and seven existing colleagues or friends each day.
4. Inspect your business process cycle from start to finish for improvements.
5. Rethink your approach to helping others succeed.
6. Increase the amount of times you connect others together to build new relationships.
7. Resolve three pieces of unfinished business, no matter how painful.
8. Live closer to your goals and your main points of focus, and less by reaction.
9. Take time to thank the people who make your life possible.
10. Rest and unplug.

How Are You Feeling ??? !!!

Not sure about you, but as I am winding into our Christmas season I am finding myself absolutely busy ! So much so, I am not even sure I am getting much sleep as of late.

I guess that is just a part of life hey ?

Well, what ever you maybe doing, I pray that you are getting more sleep than I and you are having fun each day !

I will get back to posting up some New images and things I am reading that you may find interesting, shortly.

Blessings and Rock On !

Rockie