Interests:Photography, the business of photography, snow skiing Expertise:Making friends. Putting people at ease. Creative problem solving. Occupation:Husband, Dad, Photographer, So Industry:Life
Last year and again this year my church, Presbyterian Church of Seffner (Florida), youth group sponsored Souper Bowl of Caring. Starting in 1990 youth groups from churches around the country have been organizing congregational outings to play football on NFL Superbowl Sunday. The purpose of the events have been to touch lives and teach youth to fight hunger and poverty in their local communities. The 2007 effort was led by over 14,000 organizations and generated over $8 million for charities across the country and world.
This year our youth motivated and mobilized our congregation to sign up 4 teams of enthusiastic, albeit in some cases aging, players. Even more agreed to come out to watch, cheer, and laugh with those playing. The requested price of admission was 10 canned goods and/or $10 per player or spectator. Last year was a success but this year was a HUGE success. We are a small congregation but through the desire to follow Jesus's teachings we raised $1,345 and collected 946 canned goods to be distributed to our local food bank charities!!!
AS OF THIS DATE, $10,411,640 HAS BEEN COLLECTED FOR 2008!!!
Once again we had an absolute BLAST together! Here are a few of the hundreds of pictures I took on this Sunday.
I'm trying out this new video program so I though I would use one of my engagement couples. Here is Melissa & Jake again. Let me know what you think of this new slideshow. This is just a quick 30 sec. short.
This week I am using the other side of my brain and working in Seattle with my business consulting hat on. In addition to being a photographer I am also a business consultant. For the past 10 years I have been traveling weekly Monday thru Thursday to client sites. My primary focus has been to evaluate their business processes and implement software solutions for their financial system challenges. In the past these have been long-term assignments which allowed me to meet and make friends with local photographers. I have been working primarily from home for the past year but prior to that I worked for a client in Manhattan for 5 years. Of course NYC is an experience in and of itself but while working there I met photographers that have had a HUGE impact on my photography.
To anyone reading this I highly recommend networking and trying to meet as many photographers in your area as possible. You can do this in your hometown or the town next to yours or if like me and you travel to other states altogether, look up and contact a photographer. Try to meet for lunch or coffee and discuss your businesses. If you have the opportunity, ask to shoot second for an upcoming wedding or to assist with a portrait shoot. Do it just to help out a colleague, no compensation expected. You will be rewared with experience and friendship that goes WAY beyond compensation anyway.
While in Manhattan I contacted Jason Groupp. All I wanted to do was to tag along for a shoot and see how he did things. I offered to carry his bags and promissed to stay out of the way. What happened? Jason said, "Sure, man, hey I have a wedding coming up, you want to shoot?" Oh jeeze, he didn't know me from Adam. Here I am, some guy from Florida working in NYC, cold calls a well known Manhattan photographer asking to hang around and the next thing I know I'm shooting a wedding in the Cloisters. One thing lead to another and I was attending Pictage User Group meetings and meeting even more photographers. I made many friends like Carlos Andres Varela, Josh and Shari Silk, and Roberto Falck. All of these friends were extremely welcoming and quick to share information. The point is to meet other photographers in your area. We are stronger as as colleagues than competition.
Since I am on the road consulting (vs. on the road shooting a gig) I don't have my Macbook Pro. Consequently, I don't have PS or my actions to properly post process. Here is an image of Mt. Rainer taken from the conference room where we were working today. It's from my point and shoot so forgive the quality.
Saturday my wife, Nancy, and I decided to take a day trip over to Tarpon Springs to roam around the shops and see the sponge docks. The community was first settled in 1882 and was named for the Tarpon, a fish that is found in abundance off the coast. Many Greek immigrants came there after the turn of the century to continue their traditional trade of sponge diving. The waters in this area of the Gulf of Mexico produce a major percentage of the natural sponges sold in the united states.
The Mediterranean heritage brought to the community by the sponge divers is thriving. There are a lot of fabulous restaurants, antique shops and bakeries. This is a working sponge fleet port and the sponge boats docked there add a flair to the area.
Nancy and I wandered from shop to shop, had wine and appetizers in one restaurant, lunch in another and dessert in a third. A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. When we go places that are somewhat touristy we like to explore off the beaten path. This was no exception. We found a really great local bakery that had a steady flow of locals buying breads and their other baked goods. They made the absolute best almond cookies!! Naturally, I had to wait around until the next batch came out of the oven just so I could get them while they were warm. In a couple of the buildings next to the bakery the local men had gathered and were playing cards. This was a salty crew, let me tell ya.
If you are local to the Tampa area, you need go over there once in a while and spend the day. If you are traveling to the west-central Florida area, I recommend a visit. Here are a few of the pictures:
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