Humble.

" It seems to me, sorry seems to be the hardest word. "

-Elton John  

For the past several months, my wife and I have been challenged; I knew when we took on this role of football league photographers that it was going to be an adventure, but I never thought in my wildest dreams it was going to be this difficult. I owe a number of apologies to my wife, kids, and the parents and players we photographed. I was over my head and I found out what it’s like to drown. It’s not a lot of fun in case you are considering it.

It all started out well…things were very smooth at the first photo shoot. Then we photographed another team a month later and if it could go wrong, it did. The photographers I had hired were late, parents were not happy to wait, and the pictures came out lousy. Luckily we were able to correct many of them, but they still are not up to the personal standards I set.  That was day 1. The next day, since it was a two-day shoot, the magic returned. But I knew in the back of my mind I had bitten off way more than I could chew.

So here we are. We have heard from parents who said these were some of the worst photos they have seen---and now I am doing re-takes. Funny, the retakes are really good pictures and the parents are now saying “Thank you.”  This is not redemption---it’s embarrassment.

Whereas I thought I had hit rock bottom, and maybe I have and maybe have not, I now have 2- 3 new projects, that like a fool, I have taken on. Why did I do it? Because I needed to redeem myself---if for no one else, for me. I actually thought about hanging up my Nikon and calling it a day but have decided against it.  Now I am  much more selective of what I will photograph and if I am not comfortable with it, I won’t do it. Period.

Photography is my love, my passion, a gift that was given to me by someone very special, my wife Susan.  The project I am looking forward to most is one I am actually nervous about because I know how important it is. About a week or so ago I was asked if I would be interested in photographing a play that will be occurring at our local school. Since I have done this before, I said, “Yes.”

I then received a note from a woman who at that point in time I had not met, but I photographed her daughter at the last performance. She was very nice and asked if I would make sure to take photos of her daughter again. I said, “Sure.” Then she asked if we took family photos? I said “Yes.”  I didn’t hear back from her for a couple of days and when she wrote back it stopped me in my tracks. She said, “I am looking for a photographer with a sense of humor”…okay, I think I have one…and that “she has breast cancer.” I assume it is really not going well. I wrote back and said, “I would be honored to take photographs of you and your family.” Now you know why I am nervous---these could be the last photos ever taken of her, or the beginning of a new life for her where she will be able to look back and say, “I made it and look at me now.”

I hope it’s the latter more than you can believe.

The photo above is of my daughter Sophie; it was taken when we went apple picking a few weeks ago---I went to take a photo of a barn and she wanted to come with me. Once she was there she was bored and I said, “You can sit over there on the wagon” She said, “Really?" with a real excitement in her voice.

The photos I went to take turned out to be snapshots, then I saw her sitting there on the wagon and I knew I had the photo I was looking for; I felt the magic again. I am no magician, I have a passion---and for those who I let down, one day I hope to make you much happier. For the past 3 months, I have truly let myself down---I will do everything to never let this happen again.

Thanks for stopping by.