OoOoOoooH! Shiny!

….and shoot!

Mega Awesome Photographer Zack Arias always makes me jealous when I see his crew go out and attack a GOYA* project.  They get a mission and should they choose to accept said mission, they get to shoot and do some creative stuff.  I always loved the idea of incorporating a group of like minded people who really want to just be creative, especially if their day job is of the creative sucking kind.  So, I started asking around. surprisingly, a lot of people loved the idea and we will be featuring the results right here on Holy Buck, Fatman!  If you’re interested in joining up as  model, MUA, Photographer or Photoshopper–let me know!

I’ve been scarce lately and it’s due to the editing of our dream.  The Dream isn’t over by any means, it’s just that in the real world, real bills have to be paid and dreams don’t really pay them.  There is a long term goal and it will be fulfilled. Right now, the need to make money now is becoming more and more of a priority.

It really sucks that  the artist, who need a mixture of talent and education to create the things that people see and interact with in every day life are often tossed aside as an afterthought in business. Want ads all over are asking artists to create logos, images, websites and even product designs for pennies–most even want artist to cough up these things for trade, which usually means free. While trade is often good for a student, it doesn’t work too well for a professional who needs the cash to fulfill the commitment we all make to society–carry your share of the burden of life. (although we seem to carry a larger share as middle and lower middle class citizens.)

I know one thing–I love to take pictures. I’m starting to get over my fear of Photoshop and liking my results I get when I mess around with different settings. For instance, here is a pic I took in the Philippines in 2008:

Cool, Huh? Almost looks..unreal. I’ll tell you this: It was barely edited. All i did was bump up the saturation of the blues to bring out a washed out sky. I do remember the sky looking bluer than blue while I was over there. Well–ok, NOT in a heavily polluted area.

Here is another:

I love the yellow. Again, a little tweeking just to bring out the colors. when I look at any given magazine, I am looking at saturated colors. No biggie….

So..I will have to get a job to pay the bills. I won’t get to screw around with Photoshop every day–but I won’t abandon this–not like I did in the last decade. I am an artist…no matter what I *think* I have to be to be accepted. Nawww…..i’ll stick with the artist and strive to get paid for it.

yeah, I know, I know!  It’s not like I *don’t* have time, either.Well, honestly—I don’t.

First and foremost—The nice people who hired me as a subcontractor for their Photography business decided they didn’t need the help after all. Doesn’t matter—I’m off on my own now with the confidence that I can do things myself–better. Much better. A door opened and I walked through. I like being creative. It suits me better than some stuffy office job.

One thing that I can’t quite understand is the unwillingness of people to pay for photographic services. I think a lot of people have the mindset that they can buy themselves a DSLR, shoot some pictures, take it to Ritz (or–well—someplace now that Ritz is Chp 11) enlarge and VOILA! instant art.

No. and if you think you can—stop reading right here.

Taking pictures that are visually pleasing as well as prompt conversation takes time, planning and a lot of creativity. Photography has rules—That’s what I learned in school (nearly 12 years ago when film was still King)  but rules are alos meant to be BROKEN. It’s the folks who are thinking outside of the box that are gaining steam in an environment that breeds frugality.  This process takes some thought. Creative thought. The shoot, the processing (yes, digital pictures still have to be processed–just not with checmicals) retouching, then creative applications. When we’re done–then you have a peice of Art.  It’s worth more than 8 bucks an hour. Trust me–it’s intensive.

People buy art all the time for their homes. They spend thousands at places like Willams Sonomoa and Pottery Barn for wall art that will make their home visually pleasing. Why not pay for someone to create something personal that will have a deeper effect then some picture from a homegoods shop?

I’ve recently gained a new perspective.  Losing my job hasn’t been the end of the world for me, in fact–it’s been quite the opposite. I am now venturing down a path I believe I was always meant to go. I put it on hold to do what others thought I should do and quite honestly, it really got me no where. Now that I’m no longer living in that world, I can’t even believe I wanted to be a part of it. I was never valued as a hard worker–I was just a cog in the machine, a person to pawn off the short comings of others, a less valued human.

Looking back, I spent the better part of the Bush Administration within the fishbowl of DC. Inside the beltway things are so vastly different it’s easy to get sucked into a world that promises pots of gold for every hard working person if you just–keep trying.  Keep trying, they would say.  Dazzle me—work long hours, commute miles and miles–work hard and yee shall be rewarded.

So– lets take a look at the current economic crisis. We have a bunch of over educated individuals who have made some decisions based on their education and guess what? They FAILED. They failed miserably!!!  I may not have a degree in economics, math or business, but I know the basics:  taking risky bets to make a quick buck will almost always lead to disaster. Overextending ones self on credit isn’t financially sound. Only buy what you can afford.  Seems easy enough, I just don’t understand why the “best and brightest” didn’t take these basics into consideration? Yet, the best and brightest—despite their failings won’t have to join the rest of us in the unemployment line. When we–the little people screw up, we get fired. When *THEY* screw up–someone laughs, lights up a cigar and says, shit, well that didn’t work. Lets fire a bunch of people so we can keep our pay & bonuses. 750,000$ to some asshole who writes a “woe is me, I didn’t do this” letter and I’m supposed to feel sorry for him? His regular take home pay is probably more than i will ever see in my life time and I’m supposed to feel sorry?!?!?!

Do I believe they don’t give a shit about what they secretaries, underlings, interns and people who empty the trash cans every night? Do I believe they care about the people who race to the office every day via train, bus or car to make certain that these guys dont have to type letters, make phone calls or set up meetings? No, They really don’t care. I know–because I have been one of them.  a pat on the back, a “good job” can only go so far. After working hard—a pat on the back isn’t worth shit if you need to pay your mortgage or your educational loans or even stay in college. Shut up and pay me! Give me a raise! I waited for five years for a raise. I got fired instead. Why? because they wanted to increase their bonuses.  Mister Fatman was passed over for a promotion because some greedy asshole doesn’t want him to leave his department–so he toils away at his job in an effort to make whomever gets the numbers look good.

I know now that good, honest work is no longer rewarded. Fuck ups, major screw ups and other disasters are rewarded if a few people got rich at the expense of others. If you are an underling–well–your good hard work is appreciated but not rewarded. Screw up and your fired.  Honestly–I think a vast majority of us can do a much better job running these companies for much less money. Obscene amounts of money one will not know what to do with isn’t practical—desired, yes–but will you be happy? Really?

I worked for a rather rich man who traveled a lot. I was always jealous because these rich guys got to run off to countries all over the world. I said, “I wish I had that”  and he said, “But you have a husband and a family–” The Rich man had money, but I had more–Much more.

I’ve decided to be my own boss. No one will ever tell me I’m not good enough any more.  I am as good as someone else wants to pay for–and someone will like what I am selling and buy it. No one will tell me I’m late, bad or stupid. If I screw up–well–it’s my own ass. I’m much more apt to NOT screwing up now. I care about my work and know that it benefits me directly—not some asshole who really has no idea what it’s like to worry about where his next meal is coming from.  I aim to not be obscenely rich—but to be comfortable–able to pay my bills with a little left over for a few cool vacations, gifts and things to remind me that my hard work is worth every penny.  Isn’t that what we all want?

Actually working up to my dream job is quite interesting.  I went on my first assistant shoot with the boss man and found that it is a lot of hard work, which I kinda knew, but didn’t expect. He gave me sound advice, handed me the camera a few times and encouraged me to snap a few shots. I was a bit overwhelmed, so I shyed away a bit. (me, right?!?!?! hahahaha!) Luckily, the bride and groom were easy going, receptive and fun. They gave way to some nice artistic shots and let the boss man work his magic. Afterwards, he told me to Practice, Practice, Practice on moving models, taking shots of people and getting used to darker settings.

It got me thinking about developing my own portfolio. I have a fantastic print portfolio that landed me in a  few good schools on their merit alone. My  recent online portfolio is pretty nice, I had some opportunities to shoot in places I never thought I would.  However, it’s time to start thinking about my style again.  I worked minimally with models and advice was given to start developing my style using subjects/models—preferably wearing, well—a wedding gown.  I would love to start taking shots of men and women in some wedding clothes to start developing my own style and selling my work to my mentors.  But WHERE??? And I started to think about  wreck the dress–or Trash the dress, whichever.

Some more freethinking brides see wreck the dress as a way to get those photos they really wanted. On the wedding day, you’re bogged down with the ceremony, family, friends and guests who are marvelling at your beauty and celebrating your love.  After that, The dress is packed away in a sealed bag/box and placed in the attic with the hopes that the daughter of the bride might love it enough to wear it. I’d say, unless it’s a classic, timeless style, that rarely, if ever happens. (Well—Okay. I wore my Mom’s dress which was also my Grandmothers—See the original “Father of the Bride” for the style of it. See? Timeless!)  So…Wreck/Trash the dress was born.

The concept isn’t actually “Wrecking” or Trashing…Unless the bride REALLY wants to. It’s more of a shoot in unusual places, or in unusual situations for artistic purposes. Unless the bride exclusively wants to WRECK her dress–it’s more of a huge step away from traditional shots.  These are usually done post wedding, honeymoon–even a few years later–perhaps as a way to put the dress back on, or in the case of those whose marriages didn’t work out–to really torch the damn thing !  As always, the bride/groom will come up with what they want and they convey their vision to the photographers, who, with some suggestions will run with it.  Some photographers have run even further, including the bridesmaids as well. The concept doesn’t belong to just one person, but you can really get some great shots. I think this is where I may go—at least it will be part of my style.

Just have to find some brides/women willing to go an extra step. Anyone want to go out on a limb and put their dress back on??!?!!?!?!