california

<p >Size and weight are not an issue for me when I head out to accomplish a specific task. I carry an slr with a 2.8 24-70 zoom and I am well aware I am lugging it about. I have a digital pocket camera for all those times when there is not a high degee of intension or for surprise & serindepity.</p>

<p >I hike, often times in beautiful locations. The images I am able to contribute to the group collection after the event with the slr generally receive exceptional comments and are distinctive due to the speed with which I can react with this set up, the relatively fast wide end of my zoom and my experience.</p>

<p >Contributing to the group is primary but, in shooting landscapes for myself in the process, I wind up with a beautiful slide which gives me great joy.</p>

<p >For almost 40 years, I have enlarged and framed prints of my family, our experiences and put them up on the wall. It has been very satisfying and rewarding for all. My boys, now adults, have demonstrated the beauty of the vast number of great images out there grabbed by their cell phones and small point & shoot cameras and this has inspired me to carry a Canon s90 to capture all these wonderful opportunities.</p>

<p >For me, the lesson is “both please”.</p>

<p>Steve;<br>

Now, after all the above, what would you like to do? It certainly sounds as if you are developing clients and have a good start on an exciting business. I have a feeling work will continue to come your way and you will develop techniques at least adequate to please both sides of these transactions.<br>

Look, I remember an article in a popular photography magazine back in, I think, the 70's. It reported on a young man having the time of his life going out in the field and photographing landscapes . . . with a 35mm camera. He had found a company who would transfer his transparencies not through the medium of sensitized papers, but through dyes sprayed onto common papers from large print to wall size. Examples were given of institutional placement of his images in hospitals, commercial buildings and on the walls of delighted client's homes. Importantly, the article described not only how happy he was, but how his images enlivened and cheered so many who passed through these buildings. Can you imagine just giving yourself up to a process you love and having plenty of people delighted in your work?<br>

There are inevitably those who would call work like this that of a hack. But the world is not lacking in artists and individuals with extraordinary technical achievement in our field. I'm stunned and overwhelmed by the abundance of spectacular work found on this web site. If you are finding some satisfaction with your endeavor, and especially resolve yourself towards study in excellence over the coming years; if you have people who want your work right now; who especially are giving you referrals, don't miss a beat. Go for joy in your life and pass it on.</p>