Canson booth – PhotoPlus Expo 2011
Tomorrow I am heading to southern France as an invited guest of Canson Infinity for their “Customer Appreciation Days” yearly event. Basically they invite their best customers from around the globe to join them in a week long educational conference where they learn about all of their newest products (mostly fine art papers and canvas’) and how best to use them. As an official evangelist, my role is to talk about why I use Canson papers for my own work, my fine art printing workflow, and my landscape photography in general. I’ll also be taking many photos of the event, and Canson will be using these for promotion and web use.
While I’m taking my full gear bag with me, I’ll be using my Pansonic GH2 with a Lumix 20mm f/1.7 panacake lens for the event photos. I haven’t used this camera much for still photos (using it mostly for video), so this will give me a chance to put the camera to work, and also dive into the new Lightroom 4 beta.
I’m deeply honored for this opportunity, and also really excited about traveling to France for the first time. I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have to shoot some landscapes, but I’ll keep you updated here with photos and updates. I’ll be there for 10 days so hopefully I’ll find time to sneak away into nature!
The Path, Hudson Valley
I received the following email recently and thought I would share it and some thoughts that occurred to me after reading it…
I am an artist living in Ireland but originally from the Hudson Valley. I was wondering if it would be possible for me to use one of your photographs as a reference photo for a painting I would like to do. I would of course credit you and ad a link to your site as well. Could you let me know if this would be possible. Your photos are amazing! You are a true artist, Thank You…
First, I was deeply honored and humbled that she would want to use one of my images as inspiration for her art, and of course I said yes. But more importantly it reinforced the idea that technology has connected the world in an unprecedented and fantastic way that can serve as inspiration and benefit to us all. Sure there are the negative aspects to any powerful technology, but never in any other time would someone half way around the world be able to find me, connect with me and my work, and then share the results. I’ll share the final piece here when it’s done.
There is also something to be said for sharing and generosity in this age of limitless connections, via social media, the internet, Skype, etc. Your voice and vision is as valid as anyone else’s, your personal experiences unique and worth sharing if you truly have something to say. While it may seem at times that people worry most about privacy issues, there is also the ability and potential to share your vision and creativity in a way that allows the message to truly dictate the exposure. In days past, that was never the case, and your voice would be overpowered by the status quo.
I used to think that I was born too late, but now I know I am living in the most incredible times ever. My ability to live the life I want is directly related to taking advantage of all the possibilities available today. I started out 8 years knowing practically nothing about landscape photography, but I knew I had a very deep connection to nature, and I was committed to doing whatever it took within my ethical boundaries.
Don’t get frustrated or overwhelmed, look at the possibilities and grab them as tight as you can – there has never been a better time to achieve whatever goals you have.
Do you agree or disagree? What is holding you back from your dreams? Leave your comment below!
I subscribe to and read many blogs, but one of my favorites is Pro Nature Photographer, a great resource on the business of nature photography. I recently wrote a guest post for them about how and why I self publish a yearly calendar. For those of you interested in doing the same, or just curious about the the process, check out the article for some ideas and tips.
If you enjoy the article, leave a comment – it’s a great blog and resource I highly recommend reading on a regular basis!
