The Anticipation Begins…

Anticipation, excitement, energy. What is it about travel that heightens the senses? In a few hours I leave for my next big assignment. For me it will be a new country, a new culture and likely completely new experiences. The unknown pushes me outside of my comfort zone and rekindles my passion for exploration and creative endeavors. Just thinking about the trip makes my heart beat a little faster and my mind real at the possibilities. Anticipation builds for the experiences I am about to encounter. Scenes start playing out in my mind, and I start to pre-visualize the images I might come home with.

I believe pre-visualization and planning are fundamental in making things a reality. Without vision, thought, time and effort how can you expect to succeed? You cannot go into something blind without an idea. This is so important beyond just making great photography. Sure–it is critical towards making great images a reality. However, it is also imperative as a way of living.  How can you create a life or achieve a goal without first knowing where it is you want to go?

So, how do we do this? How does one pre-visualize while remaining open and flexible without losing sight of their original idea? Once the anticipation of a shoot turns into an unanticipated reality, do we abandon our original ideas? Or do we allow reality to help shape and morph our thoughts and ideas into something new — something better than we ever could have imagined? Are the unforeseen moments welcome friends or shunned enemies?

Personally I cherish the unknown and revel in the adversity that affects life. I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason and have their place and purpose. For me, getting outside the box pushes, expands and moves my creative soul. Whenever I travel to some place unfamiliar and face new experiences, I am forced out of my comfort zone into a whole new world or way of thinking. Is it always a comfortable process–not necessarily, but I welcome it because that is where the growth takes place and the milestones are met. So it is with an open mind that I head out today. But my most valuable tool will not be the equipment I take or even sketches of possible shots in my bag. The anticipation of what’s to come and the flexibility with which I meet it–that is what I know from experience will make all the difference.

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Portfolio Development – Indoor Gym Climbing

A couple of weeks ago I took the opportunity to work on another group of images I have had in my head for some time–artificially lit indoor gym climbing. Thanks to the help of a couple of strong athletes, my assistant, Tony, and Jeff, one of the owners of Momentum Climbing Gym, I was able to create some images that were a bit outside the realm of what I normally shoot.

Like the swim shoot described in a post back in early April, I wanted to use small Nikon SB-800 off camera flashes to light the climbers. For this shoot they were more than powerful enough to over power the ambient light which allowed me to create the drama I was after.

For both of the action shots in this post post I used 3 SB-800s. One flash was held on a boom pole to act as the primary light on the subject while the other two speed lights were used to illuminate parts of the bouldering cave or wall. In the image at the top of the post I kept all three speedlights as close to the wall as possible to help define the muscles and strength of the climber.

If you are a climber in the Salt Lake Valley and are looking for a place to train consider checking out Momentum. Their facilities are top notch.

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Blog Roll

Pretty much every morning I’m not out on a shoot, I make the long trek to my office (about 10 steps from our kitchen) with my cup of coffee in hand, sit down at my computer, and commence my daily reading of my favorite blogs. I’ve grown to really love this part of my day; it’s a chance to connect with the photo community in a different way, gain new insights, and keep up on the buzz of my profession. Plus it’s a good excuse to linger with my java and put other, less fun tasks off for a few minutes. Since I love when I stumble upon new finds, I thought I would post links to the blogs I read on a regular basis. Some are personal favorites; others are inspirational or educational, but I think all are worth checking out.

• A Photo Editor
  
• ASMP’s Strictly Business
  
• Chase Jarvis
  
• Heather Morton Art Buyer
  
• Joe McNally
  
• PDN Pulse
  
• Photo Business News & Forum
  
• Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider
  
• Seth Godin’s Blog
  
• Wall Street Journal Daily Pics

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