Old is just an age, not a label!

Tried something new this week on FB live and now I'm sharing it here.  So many people are out of sorts, like something in the air.  Quite a few friends find their lives, their emotions raw for a variety of reasons.  I've had some things I've been struggling with but more like birth pains.  Struggling with getting a concept born into the world like the fully formed baby with life ahead of it.

So all of that inspired a bit of a rambling, not quite a rant (and I appear to have a need for words beyond "amazing"!).  I hope it brings you a little inspiration during a difficult time or gets you fired up to keep up the fine fight!

Your Brand, Your Style...What does it say about you?

I've been thinking about style lately.  It makes a difference to have your own unique style that fits your brand, your personality, your work and allows you to accomplish your goals comfortably.  Clothes can get in the way of life and work(can't get nothing done if you're uncomfortable, no one will take you seriously if you're dressed funny).

Ona Camera bag, Vintage Pentax 645 NII film camera, Hex iPad cover,
Roper Boots, Nine West wedge pumps, Ebay Camera Scarf, Nordstrom
Tunic, Sweater & leggings, T-shirt & Sueded leggings from Target.

When I attended the Promoting Passion Conference with Brooke Shaden in October, one of the speakers, Tamara Lackey talked about saving time and creative energy by simplifying your wardrobe.  She mentioned how Steve Jobs wore the same thing everyday so as to not waste a minute thinking about something so unimportant to what he wanted to accomplish.  She lives a very busy life with lots of pots on the fire while still raising a family.  I love that she readily shares that she is still looking for an easier way to get things done and accomplish her goals.  (Put the kids to bed in their school clothes!  I wish I had thought of that when the kids were young.)

Another thing that got me thinking is helping someone choose the clothes they will wear in court. It is a very important matter, it means being heard fairly with a future in the balance.  I read up on the subject and was very surprised to find that many people don't think about that...even for a traffic ticket or divorce court.  Well maybe I'm not that surprised, have you seen what Pamela Anderson wears to court? There's some funny stuff about what people wear to court.  Obviously dress appropriately for the occasion never crossed some peoples mind.  

Although I am an old broad, I used to work in fashion off and on.  I designed clothes, I worked in retail sales management as well as a stint in Alterations at Saks Fifth Avenue.  What an education in fashion to touch a one of a kind Bill Blass double faced fabric dress!  So dressing plain and in all black is just not my thing.  I've also been small and I've been large.  I've learned that wearing all black only works when you've paid good money for your clothes.  That cheap polyester pair of pants and shirt does not look professional unless you're part of the catering staff that will probably wear the meal at the end of the night so it makes sense to be so practical.  But I'm here to tell you that all black makes no one smaller.  

I've always believed that you dress the best you can in whatever age or size you are.  As a photographer I want to dress for comfort but I want to look good doing my job as professionally as I can.  I offer a quality result and charge a pretty penny.  I don't want to spend all my profits on clothes when there are bills to pay.  I also don't want to spend all my time thinking about what to wear.  I've got to style the shoot, plan the travel, pack the equipment and props or at least make sure the assistant has gotten the packing done!  

So I chose my wardrobe for a successful year yet I made it easy on myself.It's kind of like the old line of kids clothes that were called Geranimals.  The giraffe tag shirt went with the giraffe tag pants and you could mix and match the African animals but never with the House pets. Okay, I made that last part up but you get the idea.  

This year my wardrobe is all about comfort with style.  Solid color tunic tops in quality knits like side tail t -hirts, tunic sweaters and in denim to go with comfy ponte knit and stretch denim leggings.  I love scarves and I found some fun big drape-y camera scarves that are just too fun.For consultation I can wear a not too tall wedge heel and for running in the forest or to be on my feet all day I wear a comfortable pair of good leather boots.  Finally found a black pair on sale online that I can't wait to wear!  This is my uniform for all kinds of weather in blues, tans and black.  I can dress it up with a beaded print top or gold sweater.  So easy! A pop of color brightens things up for winter accessories...knit caps, infinity scarves and those inexpensive gloves Target has to keep your hands warm that won't cost much and make a big difference!

My big splurge is a good leather camera bag or handbag.  I buy them every other year and they last forever!  Really, they do.  I buy everything on sale from Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Anthropologie and Target.  Well, I'll pay full price at Target when I really love it.  It's not like I have a ton of clothes and shoes.

My goal this year is to stick to the uniform.  I got rid of a ton of things I had for years that wore out or that I never wore.  I'm looking forward to minimizing this part of my life but still looking good.  Maybe I'll lose some weight but I'm worth it at whatever age or size I am.  So are you!

Tell me about your favorite wardrobe changes you've made recently in the comments.  Better yet, link to your favorite place to shop or your favorite style blogger/Instagram account!

Double blog posts! Double creativity! Double followers! Double the sparkle!

I seem to love learning more than doing.  But I know when you learn how to do something to be successful, you have to actually DO it!  This is a lesson this old broad knows for a fact.  Whether you are old or young, it really is the secret of successful living.  Sometimes it's the details of actually doing it in a focused way.  It's so important to learn to direct your "blows so as not to be striking the air" or you exhaust yourself and your resources getting a lot of nothing accomplished.

Today I'm cleaning and organizing my closet (am I the only one that does this before packing my suitcase?) and I logged onto www.creativelive.com to make the time count.  Where have you been all this time April Bowles-Olin?  What a great resource this class is going to be!  It's hard to spring for an online class on the eve of a long trip but it's a five week course so I can purchase it when I get back.  But then you'll be ahead of me if you get it now!  

I am pretty excited to be motivated by a class like this on the eve of a trip to find my passion!  That means that maybe, just maybe there are other people like me who find themselves all over the place with that thing they love.  I am traveling to learn from fine art photographers for the next phase of my life, to see the Appalachians and to tie up my brain's loose ends by time alone to think as I drive through places I've never seen.  Will I follow the advice I've already learned as I caught up on laundry and folded?  What about you?  Do you want to try this with me?

I promised you some sparkle.  I've been taking lots of pictures of the pretty things I use for my photography when I style a shoot.  I've rekindled a love of just a little gold and sparkle in my life.  Not too much!  Just enough to make me smile.  I hope you have a little sparkly of your very own in your life!

Details so you can find the information that will Double your Dreams!

This post is a part of the Double Your Followers blog tour to spread the word about April Bowles-Olin’s upcoming CreativeLive course. Does hearing the word ‘marketing’ make your armpits start to drip with anxiety? Are you terrified of sounding salesy or like you have the personality of a dead blowfish? If so, come join me and 2,500+ entrepreneurs who’re taking April’s latest CreativeLive course, Double Your Followers with Creative Marketing. You can RSVP and watch for FREE. Yep, free. High fives, wildflowers, wine samples. Who doesn’t love free?

24 Frames in May

I joined a group of talented photographers for a film photography challenge to shoot 24 frames of film in May.  It's lots of fun to see what I can do when there are challenges.  I shot with a Hasselblad 500 cm and an 80mm lens which is like a normal 50mm lens with a DSLR.  I'm getting ready to sell it so I thought I would take it on a goodbye tour as I travelled to Providence Rhode Island, Boston and the Palm Springs Photography Festival.  24 frames on a Hassey means shooting 2 and a half rolls of film.  I chose to use Kodak Portra 400.

These are all the shots from my 24 frames.  We visited an amazing old library in Providence.  It was a dream location for a quiet moment to contemplate and imagine all the people through the time the library has been open.  Old wood card catalogs, nooks and crannies to read in, antique chairs and small desks.  It was a lovely town and I look forward to going back.  There are a couple shots from Newport Rhode Island.  The statue and arbor.  I wish they let you take pictures inside the beautiful old mansions!  We did a very quick tour of Boston and cocktails across the bay with a view of the city was a nice end of our day.  We walked around Harvard University and listened to their marching band play.  In Palm Springs I tried to photograph as many people as I could.  I will miss my Hasselblad because it always attracts attention, lets me photograph the most reticent of subjects and allows me access because it commands respect.  Funny because nowadays you can have one for a song but they have a long history of being an expensive professional photographers tool.

All in all a good month and lots of fun!  I wish my eyesight was better.  I really don't want to get rid of this beautiful camera.  I'll be shooting lots more film in the coming month.  I love not editing!  I love thinking carefully about what I shoot and learning how to use it well.  I love showing people the backwards view in the viewfinder and talking shop with fellow photographers who admire it.  Maybe I'll try a viewfinder with a diopter and keep it after all.

Awestruck - The Palm Springs Photo Festival 2015

"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."

Isaac Newton

The memories, contacts, and keepers from the Palm Springs Photo Festival I carefully packed away for home.

Last week I had the privilege of volunteering for the Palm Springs Photography festival.  Being a volunteer had amazing perks.  I was able to attend seminars and evening symposiums from some of the greatest photographers on the planet along with experts in marketing, archiving, software and the business of photography along with hearing about the opportunity for advocacy and social change.

I arrived late.  The festival started on a Sunday but I had travel plans.  I made sure to be there for a portrait presentation on Tuesday.  Too bad jet lag got the best of me and I forgot.   But I caught the seminar by Elizabeth Sunday on funding fine art photography through a collector's circle.  When photographers pursue a fine art or documentary photography they often need to be funded in order to have the time to do their work creatively and effectively full time. The festival provides excellent instruction on funding projects and this seminar was eye opening to say the least.  It was wonderful to get to know this talented artist as well.  Her work in Africa is so beautiful and unique.  The late evening presentation was Mary Ellen Mark who has led a long career in Documentary photography.  Her work has impacted the awareness of life beyond our own circumstances.  She is an icon and a gracious photographer glad to share her knowledge.

Mark Seliger & Jeff Dunas

Wednesday was a busy day working in the transportation department.  But it meant loading up the workshops for Frank Oeckenfels, Peter Hurley, Mark Seliger and working next to Ian Ruhters wet plate class.  I felt like a stalker and like a newbie kid.  "Who's that!" then the Facebook stalk.  What amazed me was the generosity of time by the people who sat in my shuttle.  After driving Mark Seliger a few times, I was comfortable in asking him if I could copy his Oscar Photo Booth set for weddings and it was interesting to me that it was as I saw it...an imagined recreation of a turn of the century traveling portrait photographers studio.  Then to hear him speak in the evenings presentation was a real treat!  Did you know he writes and performs music playing guitar and singing?  His song used for the background of a Brad Pitt session video was so good.  (Not fawning, the video technique could have been so much better - I kept thinking what my kids could have done with it!)

Late Wednesday evening was a symposium of Emerging Artists.  Hearing how they pursued their projects, how they funded it, where it led was informative and their enthusiasm for the art form was infectious.  The opportunities they created for themselves makes you realize the possibilities and they are abundant!

Really late in the evening there was a party to meet and network with all the attendees.  There were so many wonderful photographers I met of all ages.  I had a great conversation with Mark Seliger's assistant who shared the lighting for the Vanity Fair Oscar Photo Booth.  I also met a young woman who had Mary Ellen Mark as her mentor and she was very sharing (and wore an adorable dress).  I met a photo assistant from Scotland who came for a workshop who was a hoot.  It was late but I could hardly sleep!

Thursday I drove some prominent photo industry people to the airport.  It proved to be a great opportunity to network for me.  To hear I am on the right track with my portraiture and personal projects is reaffirming and hearing that they would be available to me is too exciting for words! I managed to attend a seminar on archiving film work.  Important information to be sure.  Agency Access provided a seminar on creating a vision based portfolio by a couple of great speakers.  Young, enthusiastic and knowledgeable with a great presentation every photographer needs to know to get the best out of their work, their portfolio and their website.  I'll definitely be sharing my notes on that one! Thursdays evening events more than made up for all I missed!  

The symposium was on Advocacy Photography as an agent for change.  Hearing photojournalists who have seen war, human suffering, issues that need to be heard and the changing scene of how photographers are hired and paid for this important work.  They face danger death, see the pain of men, women and children suffering unbelievable circumstances.  Without them we would have no knowledge of the important issues that need to be heard.  I hope to share their stories in future blog posts. 

Dan Winters hoping to win big

The last speaker was Dan Winters.  I studied his portraiture in Don Giannatti's 8 week portrait class and grew to appreciate his style in depth.  He taught a workshop for the first time in 10 years at the festival.  He brought his own assistants and was generous to the festival and attendees with his time and informative in his presentation.  He expressed his joy in participating and it was noticeable as he held his tickets for the evenings raffle of a Pentax 645z  then shouted as he was one number off.  He was one seat away and scared the tar out of me!  BTW, the new Pentax is my new camera of choice.  I'll be saving for it however long it takes. Many photographers who used it as part of the festivals vendor lending program raved about the results they got. 

A big part of the festival is slideshows submitted by photographers from around the world.  The winner won a new Canon EOS 7D MKII with lens.  The slideshows are always a great event with so much talent and variety of work!

Barry Schwartz giving us the business

Friday things wrap up. I attended one last seminar by Barry Schwartz on what it takes to build a creative career.  The copyright information alone, though brief was just what I needed.  Being able to ask questions of experts in a small group is such a great feature of this festival.  It's more of a discussion than being talked at and such great speakers.

I had some of my best networking contacts taking people to the airport.  I can't share til we see how things pan out.  Really huge exciting stuff.  All I can tell you is that any photographer who wants to have the opportunity to have their work seen and be paid well for it must attend this festival.  So many of the industry people said this festival allows them time to really get to know the attendees work well and discuss their finds with each other as well as have the time to hear what the photographers they meet have to offer.  They take their time with the portfolio reviews that are available every day.  The other volunteers are talented photographers, one was also a beautiful model I look forward to working with on a project.  So many great and sharing professionals and students.  The photographer/prison guard (really!) who ran the transportation department I worked at kept us laughing and happy through the nearly 110 degree heat!  He accommodated our schedule for seminars we wanted to attend and gave us opportunities to choose who we could shuttle and meet.  I am waiting for film to see the portrait I shot of him.  

I also drove the Aussie architecture photography workshop instructor to the airport.  I learned so many things in that short ride and his profound, passionate views on photography were inspiring.  He said that he tries to instill in his students the need to see the work as a portrait emphasizing the personality of the subject whether it is a building, room or detail. This being more important that the tools or technique.

Wow.  I'm still digesting all I learned and reading my new autographed copy of Dan Winters "The Road to Seeing" and excited to be on the path!

Attend this festival if you can.  Be inspired.

Virginia