Category: Personal Stories

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Still Photographers and the New Media Landscape

I’ve been around long enough to know that nothing lasts forever. I’ve experienced the up and down cycles of business and life in general and can tell you that nothing ever stays the same. Having an understanding and acceptance of that gives me the freedom to look around corners for opportunities red cameraand think outside the confines of my box. What I’m seeing is a growing demand for mixed media storytelling content from communications and marketing people to fill a plethora of needs –social media campaigns, TV spots, online pre-roll ads, and print ads.

Last September while attending the Next Video Conference and Expo in Pasadena, CA a light bulb went off after seeing a presentation given by Max Kaiser, Founder/Director of Hand Crank Films called Make Content That Resonates and Multi-Purpose. It was eye opening. Max explained how he demonstrates to clients the value of creating content that not only resonates with an audience but can also be multi-purposed and fill their other visual needs – including provide still images from his frame grabs. He said because he shoots 6K – he is able to produce high quality still images.  I could see that still photographers aren’t just competing with other still photographers any more, they’re competing with guys like Max and small production companies that are providing solutions to all their visual needs.

There’s no reason still photographers can’t provide mixed media for their clients’ visual needs, but they need to scale the way they think about their business and their role and become more of a visual assets producer. Most photographers are producers anyway, so why not provide more services to a client and keep them in house – in your house.

I think sometimes it seems easier to give ourselves reasons not to do something but change is going to happen regardless if you embrace it or not.

Some things to keep in mind:

Video is not a business model – It’s a medium and one that is well suited for storytelling.

There is a demand for mixed media. Video is not new. But these days it’s easier, faster and cheaper to distribute, stream and watch motion content online – anytime -anywhere. Our phones and other mobile devices are our “go to” platforms for news, shopping and even entertainment. Position your brand and business to fit with today’s communication needs.

Make content that resonates and multi-purpose it. Video + Stills + Sound = Storytelling messaging. Content should be well-planned, scripted with high production values and should feel authentic. Create from your own point of view and identify the niches and needs in the marketplace that fit with your vision and style. Demonstrate value to a client by providing solutions to more of their visual needs.

 

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Goodbye 2014 – Not Sorry to See You Go

Another year gets ticked off the books tonight. Personally, I’ll be happy to sign off on 2014. it’s been a year of extreme peaks and valleys but also a year of personal growth. Despite the challenges, I’ve come through this year a better person – certainly more humble.

I’ve never been a big fan of making New Year’s resolutions. If I’m going to commit to making a behavior change, I know that I have to want to make that change. If I’m not mentally ready and willing to commit on News Years Day, then I’m doomed to fail. But, I do like to look back at the old year, reflect on lessons learned and close the door on the unnecessary garbage in my life.

Lessons learned in 2014Open door

  • It’s none of my business what others think of me. I cannot control what others think or say about me. But I can control how I let it affect me. This year was challenging but I found that when I didn’t allow the gossip and back talk to cloud my perspective, I became a better person. Let go of the petty drama that others try to suck you into.
  • Trust my gut – Whenever I am in a difficult situation and everything seems to be in chaos I take a moment, calm my mind and listen to my inner voice. It’s always there but it’s difficult to shut out the noise and clutter and tune into it. When I do, it never steers me wrong. I actually learned this lesson early in my life and it served me quite well in 2014.
  • Find hope – Finding a glimmer of hope saved me on some of my darkest days. I’m an optimist by nature but a few of life’s punches hit me hard this year. Finding that bit of hope got me through it.
  • Let go of the past – Sometimes, you have to let go. It could be a relationship, a job or a lifestyle pattern that just isn’t beneficial any longer. It’s tough to change especially when habits are so deeply entrenched they’ve become part of your identity. When you begin to see clearly the areas of resistance in your life, you need to decide whether you will stay on that path or take an alternative route and pursue something better.
  • Have gratitude – There are so many things I am grateful for in my life. It’s far better to focus on them than to dwell on what I don’t have. That’s tough to do in a consumer society but it leads to true happiness. We are all in charge of our own happiness.

“What use is the moon

If you don’t have the night

What use is a windmill

With no Quixote left who’ll fight”

Jackson Browne, Walls and Doors

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“Try to have a little more control”

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately purging – getting rid of a lot of stuff I don’t need any longer. I came across a portfolio of architectural drawings that I had made during my days as an architectural student at Syracuse University. Stuck inside the portfolio were graded copies of the drawings with remarks from the professor. The comments were consistent and repeatedly pointed out Gail's college architural renderingsmy lack of “control”.

“Try to have a little more control!”

“Without control of lines and line quality, solution is lost!”

Back then I used a rapidograph (technical pen) for rendering these drawings. Unlike a lot of my fellow architectural students, I had very little training in the way of art classes before coming to Syracuse and my skills as an artist were terrible. Drawing fine straight lines with a rapidograph was my downfall. The ink would blotch or would seep under the ruler or triangle that I was using and my drawing would usually end up being a big mess.

I think my lack of “control” as an artist ultimately turned me away from pursuing architecture as a career. Instead, I changed my path and pursued a career in photography. Today, architectural students use CAD for their drawings and I would imagine that perfecting one’s skill with a rapidograph is no longer a requirement.

I wonder if things would have been different as far as the path I chose, if I had the tools available to me, that we have today? It’s an interesting question to ponder, but ultimately I don’t think I was well suited for a career in architecture and it went beyond the fact that I had poor drafting skills. I was a “big picture” thinker and not focused on the details.

Fundamentally, I haven’t changed. I’m still a big picture thinker. I am able to clearly visualize, my creation or project as a “whole” and know usually know what I need to do to achieve that end, but in determination to finish, I sometimes overlook the details. I’ve trained myself over the years, to not be in such a rush to complete something, that I compromise the quality. I’ve also accepted the person I am – what I’m good at and what I’m not so good at and found that I’ve produced my most gratifying work in collaboration with others.

I will always be a big picture thinker – the bigger the idea and the more possibilities – the more I love it. I have learned to have more control, but I still love to color outside the lines and push the boundaries.

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Taking the High Road

Have you ever had a colleague or competitor try to marginalize you or bad mouth you view from trainin an effort to discredit you for his or her own personal gain? I’ve had it happen to me a few times and the one thing I’ve learned is that ultimately this type of negative behavior does more harm to the person who’s doing the “trash talking” more than the person on the receiving end.

At one point in my career I found myself competing with the same person on almost every job I was bidding on. I heard about it one day from the potential client who had put out the bid. Apparently, my colleague thought that if they discredited me, they would get the job. But it doesn’t work that way. What people don’t realize is that even though they may be successful in knocking out their competition, that doesn’t mean that they will get the job. What usually happens is they don’t and they end up making themselves look bad.

If this should happen to you in any areas of your life, here are some ways to deal with it:

  • Ignore them and let their negative behavior roll off your shoulders. I tell myself that it’s not my business what other’s think of me. It’s usually a reflection of their own anger and anger is a manifestation of their fears.
  • Misery loves company so negative people only get the ear of other negative people. This is not a crowd I want to belong to because sooner or later these folks will turn on each other. I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times.
  • I remind myself that someone doesn’t have to lose for me to win. That keeps me focused on what I’m doing instead of what everyone else is doing. As Mark Twain once said, “Comparison is the death of joy”.
  • Focus on who you are and what you are all about. Stay true to yourself and put your energy into telling the story you are here to tell. There is only one you. Maximize your potential and minimize the external petty bullshit in your life.
  • Be optimistic. Take down the walls and replace them with windows. Find other kindred spirits and join forces with them to inspire and motivate others. Pay no attention to the detractors who only want to control and destroy. Karma will take care of them – it always does.

I live in a very small town. In the recent election, we had a hotly contested seat for the board of education. One candidate ran a very negative campaign, focusing on discrediting his opponent who was better qualified for the job. I thought for sure the guy doing all the trash talking would win, but he didn’t. I guess I underestimated the citizens of my town. They chose the right candidate, the one who took the high road,  and karma prevailed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Word to Photographers

The bottom is getting crowded.

I read Seth Godin’s blog daily. He’s usually concise and right on target. His blog today, “clawing your way to the bottom” really hit home as far as what professional photographers are up against.

I used to make a lot of money 9th hole on combined golf course and air field, Arthur County, Nshooting stock – that is before the consolidation of agencies and the commoditization of stock. While it’s understandable why that happened when the world went “digital”, the prices and value of images has dropped so far that an “average” stock shooter can no longer make a living shooting stock.

I’m grateful that I never relied solely on stock photography to make a living. However, commissioned photography has not escaped the race to the bottom as far as photographers pricing themselves out of business. There’s only so low one can go on their fees. It’s a short fix to nowhere.

The solution is there for anyone who is willing to do the work – that is, make the effort to stay at the top of your game. Focus on the big picture. Be curious. Don’t panic. Stay away from trends., Focus on the story – not on the gear. Tell them a story. Live life because if you don’t – your work will show it.

 

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Embrace the Word “Yes”

One should never start Open dooroff with an apology, so I won’t apologize for not posting on my blog. I have learned that rather than focusing on things that can’t be undone, it’s far better to focus on the things that I can do, going forward. The mind is a powerful tool. It can either defeat me or guide me in directions that I may not think are possible, if I have the capacity to embrace the word “yes” and be open and committed to possibilities.

My life consists of a series of choices. Most are small choices that I make on a daily basis like “what should I wear?” or “what should I prioritize for my business today?” Should I get that new promo out, write a new post for my blog, start looking at footage from a film that I’ve just started production on, or pay the bills? All these things are important, but not everything can be a priority, so choices need to be made.

I am keenly aware that all of the choices that I make throughout my day ultimately determine my future. But it’s easy to forget that and instead get caught up in a series of daily actions that really don’t lead anywhere. When I find myself spending more and more days without direction, I know I need a reset. I need to shift my thinking and start paying attention to some of my larger ideas, instead of dismissing them because it’s easier to tell myself “no” and give in to my resistance.

I suppose you could say I’ve been on hiatus at least in terms of writing for my blog. The truth is, I have been sidetracked by other things that I’ve had to make my priorities. But, I am also going through a “reset” period and shifting my thinking and paying attention to my ideas that aren’t going away. I,m embracing those ideas now and starting to break them down into actions. The tough part is staying focused on those actions and making them priorities on a daily basis. But when I do, I’m saying “yes” to possibilities and directing the future I want.

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What Changed in Professional Photography and Why I’m Grateful

In a word – digital. The digital revolution has been a game changer, and not just for professional photographers, but just about anyone and everyone who has been in the “workforce” for more than 10 years.

When a “change” is so profound that it creates a cultural shift, as digital has in the way we do business and communicate with one another, we can’t ignore it. It’s pretty tough to be, as Joe Walsh says “I’m an analog man in a digital world”. It may seem like the “digital revolution” happened over night, but in fact it started many decades ago. Technology’s pace has risen exponentially over the last decade and will continue to escalate, thrusting change upon us. I think what we are experiencing now, is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Tom and I have been spending time recently “purging” ourselves of all the things we’ve accumulated over the last 3 + decades that we really don’t need any longer. One of our biggest tasks has been to cull through hundreds of thousands of analog images – from 35mm “chromes” to 4×5 transparences as well as B&W and color negatives. It’s a daunting task and it’s super easy to get sidetracked down memory lane. But, we are steadily making progress sifting through the analog archives – digitizing anything worthy – Old transparenciesand tossing the rest.

When we first began our careers in still photography, we used to toss our assignment rejects (chromes) into big wire trash bins, like the ones you’d see on NYC sidewalks. Back then, photographers had to pretty much “nail” their exposures or the images got thrown away. Those were the days before auto focus cameras and many images also got tossed because they were out of focus. These bins filled up a long time ago, but for whatever reason we held onto them. So, now we are asking ourselves – should we take a 2nd look or just haul the bins of images out to the trash?

No doubt, we’ll just trash the images, but we did take a look at a few of them and I could see in an instant how our profession has changed for good. The technological skills that a professional photographer needed to learn and master just 10-15 years ago, have been replaced by highly advanced gear and software, making just about anyone able to shoot a reasonably good image, and call themselves a photographer. And whether we like it or not – that’s our competition.

In looking back, I realized that the single one thing that has kept me in business all these years, is that I never put technology first. Rather, I always focused on the “idea”. Nowadays, people call it “vision”, but regardless, the idea always came first and then figure out how to use technology to execute it. Funny thing is a lot of my ideas were ahead of the times, in terms of the possibility of making them happen – but that has changed. It seems like anything is possible now. I am grateful for the perspective I’ve gained over the many years that I’ve been in this business. One thing is for certain, change is a constant and I look forward to a future where I can make more of my ideas and dreams come true.

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Expect the Unexpected – The Photographic Journey

My husband and I have been partners in marriage and in business for over 35 years. We have collected a lot of memories together over those years and because we are both photographers and filmmakers, we have recorded many of those moments.

_MG_6235GailMichener
Gail Mooney with James Michener. Chesapeake Bay, MD

I’ve been sifting through our analog archive of photographic prints and “chromes” lately in the process of purging other “stuff” in my life, that I no longer need. It is amazing how much stuff one can accumulate over the years. We have never been “consumers” in the typical sense. I’m almost embarrassed to say that we don’t even have a flat screen TV in our home – we do in our office, which is part of our home – but not in our living area. But we have somehow accumulated lots of folk art from a lifetime of travels, lots of photographic gear and hundreds of thousands of images.

As I continue to look through a lifetime of images, I occasionally pull a couple of photos out of the archive and share them on Facebook on “throw back Thursday”. What stands out to me in looking through a lifetime of photographs is that my husband and I have had an incredible journey together. I don’t think either one of us could have begun to imagine some of the experiences we have shared, when we first started out – I know I didn’t.

I’ll share one image and story with you. Tom and I had an assignment for Travel & Leisure to shoot a story on the Chesapeake and we had arranged to photograph Michener for the article. The day of the shoot, I brought my dog-eared paperback copy of Michener’s “Caravans”, that he had written in 1951. I had carried that paperback in my backpack for a year when I circled the globe the first time. I was told by some that I shouldn’t hand a paperback to Michener to sign – but I did anyway. He was touched, because he knew how important the book had been to me on my journey.

I remind myself daily to enjoy each day that I am given and to never underestimate what may be around the next corner. Expect the unexpected.

 

 

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Another Year Gone By

When I was a kid, my year would begin and end around the school calendar – essentially September to June. Summertime was a delightful escape CoupleBicycleNZfrom the rituals of academia with lots of time to sleep late and do other things – or simply just do nothing.

I’ve been out of school a long time, but my annual calendar still seems to revolve around the “academic” year, with summers still spent relaxing and playing. As I enter into yet another year on this planet as my birthday approaches next week, I realize just how important it is to take time to simply relax and play. As a creative being, it is not only important to “play“– it is critical.

As I look back on the many years that have ticked by, I am profoundly grateful for the many blessings and people in my life who have made it a life well lived. My memory fails me at times but what I do consistently recall are all the little moments of laughter and levity. I have not amassed a fortune, but I have been very comfortable and never left wanting. But I realize that I have had a rich life indeed and the best times have always included experiences near and far with people who have entered into my life – sometimes for a moment – sometimes for the long haul.

I suppose you could say that my spirit has never aged and it is still as playful as it has always been. When I’m at my most creative, my spirit is shining through. It’s not hampered by self-doubts, fear or uncertainty. My spirit is forever curious and is always exploring. Rather than being fearful of what’s around the next corner, I am excited at the prospects of opening myself up to new ideas, places and people. It’s all those experiences and relationships that make up a life worth living.

So, as I face the start of another year, I look back at the smiles and laughs as well as the tears that I have encountered on my journey and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

 

 

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Golden Days – a Life in Photography

I’ve been sifting through a lifetime of images over the last few weeks, in a myriad of formats – prints, transparencies and digital files. Gail Mooney - early 1980's - New York CityWhat started out as a simple quest: to find photos of my daughter Erin at various ages in her life, for a bridal shower “game”, quickly turned into a major,  yet wonderful distraction.  I was looking through the visual archive of my life – my husband/ partner’s life – Erin’s life and all the family and friends that made up a lifetime.

In the “old days” it was more of a working chore to take photos of casual gatherings.  You needed to bring a camera, a flash and  lenses with you (not to mention film), to be able to document various life events.  Now, with cameras with us at all times in our phones, we are able to capture and share the moments of our lives, easily and all the time.  Sometimes, it almost seems like we are more intent on capturing and sharing our “moments” than we are just living those moments.

I can tell you that experiencing something through the lens of my camera is a totally different experience than just “being in the moment” for me. There have been times when I’ve been intensely photographing something, when I didn’t really feel like I was experiencing “the moment”.  I was shooting “the moment” but I wasn’t part of it.

My camera(s) have been a major part of my life.  They have provided me access to my dreams and still do.  As I looked through the decades of images, it was like reading chapters in a book, each unique yet connected and integral to my life’s journey.

As I thought about my journey, I realized that if I had one big “take away” – my curiosity for life is what drove me. There was always something I wanted to try or do or learn about – and so, I did.  That usually put me in a position where I moved forward, rather than be left behind.  I was lucky because it was organic to my nature.  I was smart and maybe a little brave because I listened to myself.

My passion nowadays is to photograph and film others’ stories as my continued curiosity leads me to another chapter in my life.

Enjoy and savor every one of life’s moments – they go by in the blink of an eye.

“With my maps and my faith in the distance – Moving farther on”     Jackson Browne