The Plight of Photography

 

Art Model, Keisha

Everyone has their own reasons for getting into photography, some of which may be far different from my own. I didn't do photography to make a buck. I didn't jump into it because a bunch of other people were doing it. Everybody has their own reasons. For me, I was first curious at a time where much of photography was not as wide-spread or readily shared. I didn't know anyone doing photography. I didn't see anyone doing photography. My hometown didn't have a camera store and I had never heard of a camera club. Nonetheless, there were concepts I didn't understand and much of it had to do with the speed of the lens. I had no clue what the numbers on the front of the lens meant. To me, a 55-200mm Zoom lens sounded badass. F4.5-6.3 STM must have meant something about it's special capability. It was certainly better than an 18-55mm. But the 75-300mm must be even better, as bigger numbers most often suggest! Right? [Wrong.]

And how do they get the blurry backgrounds? I tried and tried to take a shot like that and all I did was get an out of focus image. Maybe the images were two shots blended into one... with the subject in focus, but the background out of focus. Also, why can't I zoom out enough to get everything in the same frame? I knew it was possible because I'd seen wide-angle photos before. But what did it take to get shots like that? My friend took a photo of a ferris wheel at a fair in Germany, back when we both served in Delta Company 3/8 INF in Mainz. It looked like the thing must have been spinning out of control and was about to fly off it's foundation! 

Art Model, Keisha

"What the hell? This can't be real! How did you do that?" I asked. There were no digital cameras at the time and no Photoshop. This was all film.

"I just dropped my shutter," Coleman said. "Just slowed it down." And then he took his photos and walked away.

Curiosity is what inspired me, initially. But I also new those instant cameras were not going to do the work for me. My friend, Private First Class Coleman, spent a few hundred dollars on his DSLR camera. I could NOT even imagine spending more than $50 on a camera without my family telling me I'd lost all sense of priorities. 

"Photography has never been so popular, but it's getting destroyed. There have never been so many photographs taken, but photography is dying." 

~ Antonio Olmos, quoted from an article written by Stuart Jeffries for The Guardian, 13 December 2013

Nudes furthered my interest in photography. I poured myself into it and with inspirations such as Edward Weston, Jerry Ulesmann, Harry Callahan, Sally Mann, and Spencer Tunick, I was hooked. I was an art model posing for colleges and local art clubs. Being a fashion model and an art model for over a decade also gave me a unique vantage from the model perspective. After 6 year into amateur photography and running photo groups, I finally went pro and built a business out of it.

Art Model, Keisha

Today, I still shoot. Or at least I'm ready to begin again since my shoulder is getting stronger. However, I don't do it hustling the same way I did before. I still have to get my grind in, but it's just different. But much has changed in recent years. Especially since Covid, photo seems to have taken a side-step. Not an evolution per se, as it has always done in the past. Since the beginning, photography has elevated mainly through technology. Since it's early beginnings, photography has evolved over time with innovation and feature improvements, such as auto-metering (exposure), autofocus, shooting full production video, and today, cameras can tell the difference between a subject matter, such as a person or a bird and make sure the eyes are in focus.

But they've also evolved to give us different perspectives. Skateboarders and adventurists popularized Action Cameras. They showed us what could be done when you strap a camera to a skateboard or to your helmet as you parachuted off a bridge and took us underwater! Drones made Arial Photography something everyone could do and changed the nature of motion pictures since they no longer required helicopters to do the same job. 

But cell phones put a camera in EVERYBODY's pocket. This might be where things changed and took photography in an entirely different direction. If that is for the better or detriment of photography... it depends on who you ask, perhaps. Digital Photography has been the real difference maker. It was the Pandora's Box in practically every sense of the analogy. I listened to the "old guys" in the camera store on Saturday mornings talk about how photography is dying. You'd read about it in photography forums. I argued that they said the same thing when Polaroid came out. And again when digital got popular.

Art Model, Keisha

Maybe it's just that now, I've reached that age and become one of the "old guys" leering at the future of photography as my guys did back in the day, but damn if those guys weren't right! So I'm going to do a series of posts, likely three in particular that deal with issues I see that might be detrimental to the game... or at least to the game, as I know it! Am I saying photography is dead? Well, I haven't said that yet. It's definitely experiencing a metamorphosis, though. People has written about the Death of Photography since Autofocus became a feature, but it really kicked off during the dawn of digital. The advent of Cell Phones started the conversation all over again just as we'd calmed the "Down with Digital" guys down. Now we have Artificial Intelligence and we have to start this conversation all over again. Certain genres of photography have been killed, for sure. You don't see people making a killing career of stock photography anymore. 

What are my feelings on this? I confess, I've turned into one of the old guys at the camera show looking for doom on the horizon. Photography is being taken for granted and I think it's getting disrespected. But I can't ask it to slow down. No one can. This new thing has it's own gravity and it doesn't need anyone to nurture or love it. It has a new identity. I'll cover this in future possts.

Why We Don't Show Everything

Art Model, Leslie

This question first struck me several years ago. I think it was adding a new hard drive or doing something with my backup drives and came to realize how much art nude work I have that has never seen the light of day... or maybe the light of a backlit LCD screen, as it were. I've shot so many models doing maybe 30 to 70 edits per shoot and less than 15 to 20 of those ever been exhibited, get seen on my blog, website, or social media. I may not ever get exhibited in my art... for whatever reason.

Additionally, the model/client may not see EVERYTHING I shoot. They WILL, however, see everything I edit, even future edits, if I go back over them months or years down the road. But there is also much of that work that won't make it to the public arena for a myriad of reasons. I'll edit a shot. The model/client will get a copy, certainly. But there will be several that look good, but not make the cut.

Art Model, Leslie

The thought hasn't really passed my mind so much in recent history since I have been on my travels. I closed down my studio in November 2017 and sold or gave away everything. It came forefront to my mind again recently when I recently read an article where a photographer willed his assistant all his work and negatives. She talked about having so much of his work that he never printed, exhibited, or showed anyone. I'll have to find that article again and do a blog post on it. For the life of me, I can't recall the photographer. 

But anyway, I can relate to that. I am not a photographer who takes a million pics and then let the client go through them all and pick out what they want to keep. I've never done it. I can understand accepting that concept in a studio environment. Or maybe in sessions where you have a particular shot list and you have to hit a certain look. In all my work and time in studio, I get a general idea of what the client wants and I shoot with that in mind. The more specific the better. Other times I am the one with the photo concept. And we're speaking strictly in terms of photographing people. This won't be the same with product photography or interior design/architecture photography. I've done those too. 

Art Model, Leslie

High Volume Sessions

When the mood is right and the light is bright, therein lies the magic. I'm not talking romance... rather synergy! Sometimes you get with a model and y'all just click. She'll get into a pose that you have in your mind, JUST before you ask for it! Or better yet, hers is better! Maybe there is an atmospheric phenomenon that feels like God has ordained and blessed that collaboration. Or sometimes, it's just the opposite, but it works in your favor anyway. 

It's hard to put the camera down, in moments like that. You'll both lose track of time and the hours have clicked away unbeknownst to either of you. You notice it getting dark, but it's adding drama and mystery to your photo session so you keep shooting. Before you know it, you're 2000 photos in on what should have been a 300-shot photo session. I shoot, on average, about 100 shots an hour. I know other photogs who will triple or quadruple that. But that's generally my work rate. All those images will not get edited! Ain't no photog got time for that! You take the best of them and roll!

Art Model, Leslie

Duplicates

I'll often shoot like a sniper. One shot. One kill. But even doing that, I may get a few variations of the same shot with slight adjustments on the pose, lighting, point of focus, or depth of field. And then amongst those, I'll pick one or two. Every single look won't make the cut. Duplicates might be good for a revisit later on with a new edit, inconsistent with the main body of work where it stands on its own.

Bad Shots/Experimental Shots

Believe it or not, sometimes my exposure is off. It happens! Or sometimes the model's eyes are closed. It could be that I just want to try something and will add in a prop, take the shot, and then realize it looks stupid. No problem. I'll take the shot the correct way. The rest can just take up space on my hard drive. I RARELY delete anything. I do! But once it makes it onto my computer, it usually stays. I have less problem deleting a bad shot in camera. Particularly if I need to save space on the card. In some cases, I've been known to revisit bad shots and play with them. See what can happen. Maybe after a few years, I get a new editing tool that makes that bad shot a potentially good one.

Professional Pride/Self-Respect

In more cases than not, if you're hiring me or collaborating with me, it's because you like my style of shooting and want to be a part of it. I like my reputation as a professional and as an artist, I simply don't ever want a bad shot to see the light of the public eye. I take pride in my work and I want it hanging on the walls for people to admire, judge, critique, or even make fun of. But it begins with me! If I don't like it, I can't let it out. Because once I put it out there for the world to see, it's going to be judged. And as long as I can remain true to myself, then I let judgements fall where they may. I can accept that and learn from it. But I don't want to put out bad work when I know better. 

Art Model, Leslie

What Makes International Travel So Tough?

 

Art Model @Kayci.Lee Twitter Copyright 2018 Terrell Neasley

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

I get asked often about why I travel, what its like, and when I'll come home. I'm amazed at how mysterious so many people think this is. In fact, international travel is no different from when you start a new job, enroll in a new school, or vacation someplace new. It could be that your significant other takes you camping for the first time and you spend your first night eating by campfire and sleeping in the woods. You do it. You get used to it. And after a while, it becomes life. 

But then again, I forget my hypocrisy because I used to be the exact same way. All the excuses I've heard are some of the same things I once said... I can't speak the language. Its too expensive. I have kids or a job that won't let me take the time off. I had the same mentality, but eventually, the right circumstances happen or when certain people cross your path, change is inevitable. 

German Art Model traveling through out Central and South America

The military set the ball in motion, for me. My first duty assignment was in Germany. I hail from Texas where being 200 miles or more from home was a rarity and most of those times when I exceeded 200 miles, I was still in Texas! I turned 20 in Germany. It was a wake-up call and was the first thing or event in my life that let me know I wasn't in Texas any more. During my off-duty time, I traveled around Europe. Eventually, other duty assignments took me to more places and I learned to enjoy the deployments ad frequent reassignments.

Towards the end of my military career, I settled in the city of my last duty station in Tennessee which is where my kids call home. I traveled to Lake Tahoe with a girlfriend who travels domestically often. I learned that it's not as expensive as I had been lead to believe to arrange flights, hotels, and car rentals, if you do it wisely. The advent of online booking options really aided me in those efforts. And yet, I let myself get bogged down in work and making money. 

Through some hiking associations, I met a fellow traveler, who took off on her own to Southeast Asia for two months one summer. I couldn't wait till she got back to talk to her about her trip. It was at this point that I realized a few things. Excuses were just that...excuses. I had already been through enough life experiences to realize I wouldn't end this life wishing I'd made more money for my employer. I was on the road WITH that same friend the following summer to Guatemala and Belize. There was one thing in particular that I had to change in my life in order to make these things happen.

Art Model @Kayci.Lee Twitter Copyright 2018 Terrell Neasley

Priorities

Yes. Prioritizing travel was all it took, really. Just make the decision to go. Go anywhere! But don't be deluded. You ain't going anywhere until you get a passport and book an international flight. All the plans you make... all the good intentions, and mean-wells do you absolutely no good until you GET THAT PASSPORT and buy a TICKET! Plan a trip that is several months away to give yourself some time to make the arrangements. Central America has been the perfect proving grounds. For one, its close. Two, its cheap. Three, it eliminates any and every excuse you might have to NOT travel. As many times as you've flown across the US for the holidays or other family events, you'll pay less in many cases flying internationally to the Central America. 

So what, you can't speak the language. That's fine. Learn some key things like social greetings, numbers, and how to ask where something is. My Spanish is getting better. But for my first time, I didn't remember much of anything outside of counting to twenty-nine in Español. Don't be scared of that. I'd wager that 80% of all the travelers I meet do not speak the native language. However, answer honestly. What are your priorities? Is it getting the new iPhone or a better gaming system. Or maybe trying to find a way to keep those $500 a month car payments current. Or its probably more important to have your Starbucks in the morning. You will find a way to spend your money on what is important. If you cared about traveling, odds are that's what you would be doing. 

Art Model @Kayci.Lee Twitter Copyright 2018 Terrell Neasley

"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million."

~ Walt Streightiff

So you got kids

Children playing in Belize ©2012 Terrell Neasley

Yeah, my kids are grown. Is that an advantage? I won't lie. Yes it is. However... So what?? Bring the kids!! Why not raise 'em on a good wholesome diet of culture variety? You can't tell me how this would be a bad thing unless you are planning a trip to Syria. More likely than not, your kids will also become travelers. Why? Because they'll be used to it and will ALREADY have passports. Many people stay put because they have never applied for a passport. I see kids on the road with their families all the time. Many get raised on sailboats with parents who circumnavigate the world. You know who I meet on the road from other countries traveling by themselves? 18 to 23 year old kids doing extended travel for a few months before they get locked down in jobs and careers. Do you think your 18 year old is ready to cross the Pacific on their own? Well they would be if you took them traveling and let them see how it's done one or two times before they eventually leave the nest.

Is it the job?

This is probably a tough one. But then I gotta ask. How important is traveling to you? If your job doesn't understand your need to be off more than a week a year, then...damn. I don't want to tell you you need to find a new job. YOU need to tell you that you need to find a new job. America is one of the few countries that still don't understand the value of time off and burn-out prevention. Traveling or not, a well-rounded lifestyle is more beneficial to your health and longevity. Expense reports are not. But honestly, who can tell you to change careers. I follow travel blogs all the time and often hear about husbands/wives, or single people quitting their jobs to follow their hearts. I know we can't be stupid. But whatever you make your priority, you'll find a way to do that.

All I'm saying is this: There are options out there if you look. Plenty of them. But none of them will do you a bit of good until you make the call to prioritize travel with your money and your time. You can do this. Go meet some new people and experience the hospitality of your neighbors. Thank me later.

Locals in Antigua, Guatemala ©2014 Terrell Neasley

10 Tips on Photographer's Block Part 2/3

 

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.” — Pablo Picasso

Now that you have given close and careful consideration to the Four previously posted Realization Points, let's get into some of those actual tips on dealing with Photographer's Block. There are a myriad of different taskings you can assign yourself. I have written more than a hundred just for the explicit purpose of speaking or writing on this before. But I want to challenge you just a wee bit differently here in this post. The goal isn't so much to just give you all the answers and have you mimic programmed robots that execute commands. The objective is two-fold, but they run together. I want to prime your pumps, so to speak, and get you into the habit of thinking. In the majority of these examples I give, it still leaves open room for your input, creativity, and values that are important to you. Here are the first FIVE, I'll challenge you with in this post. You can let these digest a bit before I do the last FIVE later on.

Tip #1 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: 

Volunteer

One of the best cures for dealing with your own troubles is to help someone else out of theirs. Find a "Give Back" project and open yourself to it as much as you dare to. I won't tell you what to do and it doesn't even have to be in a photographic capacity. Volunteer somewhere that you feel is meaningful and that you know you can make a contribution. The specifics don't matter so much. Photography doesn't matter that much either. The reward should be purely intrinsic and your intentions completely altruistic. Start there and spend some time in this endeavor. When you are ready, pick up the camera and consider documenting this cause, but only when you begin to see the story in it.

I've spoken regularly about my efforts to help out NowILayMeDownToSleep.org which offers remembrance photography services primarily for little babies that don't make it long after birth. These are professional portraits done that mark a child's time on this planet much better than a birth/death certificate can do. Its likely the only portraits that will ever be done. I reached my limit with this program after about 5 years. Trust me. Its good to know your limitations. Now this is a give-back program that already involves a camera. However, there have been several more causes that I've taken up whereby I brought the camera in later. Search yourself and look for opportunities to give back.

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #2 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: 

Act like there is no block

Yes, it sounds crazy, but think about it for a minute. First, staying positive about the situation is the absolute best thing you can do for yourself. Second, conducting yourself and your affairs as if there IS NO block is the ultimate in self affirmations that will help you actually BELIEVE there is no block. But lets take those two points of fact out of the picture for a minute. The third reason is that you can easily FORGET that you are blocked by allowing yourself some distractions. When you take the pressure off, you can bring in some much needed reprieve by catching a movie or spending some time with someone important to you. Before you know it, you're not blocked. See? Not so crazy.

"When I am stuck … I just search for excitement, but not too hard. It is when I find myself playing more than trying that I find my way out of a block." - Aris Moore

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #3 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: 

Get Desperate

Right. I know what you're going to say. This sounds like the opposite of Tip #2. Well, that's chiefly because it is. These are no systematic tips that you are supposed to methodically utilize one right after the other. If only one of these tips helps you, then that's all you need. Getting desperate is a trick I used to play on myself during my military days. When a task seemed insurmountable, but absolutely had to get done, I'd change the stakes. Which is to say that I'd imagine much more dire consequences if I failed at my mission. Failure became an unacceptable option simply because the mission perspective changed. I'd do the same thing in high school. I may have an assignment due for which I procrastinated till the last minute. Getting my ass whooped by my mom became the unacceptable option that made me desperate enough to put something on some paper and get an assignment turned in. You'd be much surprised to learn that many of my final grades on last minute projects where over a B. So if you have to, Get Desperate!

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #4 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: 

Get a mentor

As self-promoting as this may be, you need somebody like me. I'm an ass-kicker. I'm going to be in your face and I will hold you accountable. That's not to say I go all out drill sergeant on you, but think of me like that big brother that honestly cares about your success and well-being. Because, I do. Finding a mentor like that is priceless. Well, let me not say priceless, because I do sometimes have quite a specific price. But once you got me, you got me. I've had several students that have paid me to teach them photography in my week long one-on-one courses. Its a rare thing to never hear back from them again and some have become very close to me. I'll get a call back from any one of them asking about advice and counsel and it doesn't have to even be photo related. Get a mentor like me.

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Tip #5 on Dealing with Photographer's Block: 

Get some gear

I worked at B&C Camera in Las Vegas on an on-call basis...maybe a day or two a week. They have a Rental department that is absolutely exceptional. It's been a while since I had worked there and there have been a plethora of new additions in all sorts of cameras, lenses, LED lighting, audio and video equipment, action cameras, you name it.

You can reserve Sony's FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens which is perfect for those outdoor sporting gigs, the Canon EOS C200 EF Cinema Camera for great video production, or a million different items in the Canon, Nikon, Sony, line-up. And there's plenty of  the latest Tamron and Sigma lenses to even mention. I'm not even saying you have to go out and buy your own gear. Just go online and reserve it, then pick it up at the store. Wanna play with a Nikon Tilt-Shift lens? Reserve it. Go get it. And see what it looks like. Then see what you can do with it! Get some gear!!

Art Model, Covenant ©2017 Terrell Neasley

10 Tips on Photographer's Block Part I/3

 

Art Model, Merrie ©2017 Terrell Neasley

"When I am stuck … I just search for excitement, but not too hard. It is when I find myself playing more than trying that I find my way out of a block." 

— Aris Moore

The pandemic has been tough on a lot of photographers, including myself. As a mentor, friend, instructor, and counselor, I often get calls asking for help, inspiration, and advice. I try to oblige in any way I can, and that's usually by first dealing with the attitude about the problem via a change of perspective and or perception about what's actually going on. I've noticed a few common origins to many people on creative or artistic mental blocks. So here are a few realizations you need to come to terms with before any tips can be meaningful. So I start with these FOUR Realization Points as they will be the focus of Part I of this 3-part blog series. Bear with me, as it might get a lil' bit preachy.

REALIZATION POINT #1: Its okay to put the camera down for a while.

There is no rule that says you absolutely have to ALWAYS be shooting. Life happens. Sometimes you may need a little bit of self healing before your creative outlets can manifest its work in your own self expressions. To pressure yourself when you are not ready internally only exasperates the issue. That'll feed negatively on itself. Its so much liberating to put the camera down and rest your mind, your soul, and your body. Get your center back.

Art Model, Merrie ©2017 Terrell Neasley

For me, the camera helps me find my center. If that is the case for you as well, then I definitely invite you to pursue that option. However, my warning still stands. If you bring in the camera but also bring in the pressure...you'll ruin yourself on photography.

REALIZATION POINT #2: Get it out of your mind that everything need to be perfect.

This is another one that is so stifling that no wonder you are artistically constipated. Not everything is going to be perfect. You want to do your best with any endeavor you pursue, sure. But ofttimes, that perfect project comes up from an imperfect idea, that done well becomes more akin to perfection. There are times when I honestly had no idea that something would turn out the way it eventually did. I've shot something that I wasn't so pleased with only to see a client lose themselves in it and call it, "perfect".

Art Model, Merrie ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Your goal should be to just go shoot and do the best you can in that moment. Drop back to fundamentals if you have to and begin anew. Try to understand and find out what or where the blocks come from and make adjustments. You might be looking for the next perfect concept because you've spent too much damn time looking at other people's art and end up comparing yourself too harshly on it. Stop comparing yourself to someone else. I can promise you, your work will develop faster and more freely when you rid yourself of the unrealistic burden of comparison. Just be you. Open yourself to your own world and your own calling. You'll find your ambitions will gnaw a hole inside you and your need for self expression will attempt to fill that cavity. But if comparison is the soil in which you sew your seed, you waste yourself.

Art Model, Justine ©2017 Terrell Neasley

REALIZATION POINT #3: Nothing says you have to do this alone.

In so many ways, I'm definitely a loner. However in those moments of photographic blocks, seeking help is a winning proposition. Check out the most miserable times in your life and see if one of your habits is to hermit yourself in your special room and shy away from people who "don't understand you". Okay, well I respect that. But if you want to get out of those doldrums, you're going to have to ask for some help. This may not be direct requests to someone. It could be indirectly by joining a photo group, taking a class, or finding a mentor. Hell, BE a Mentor! Okay, I'm getting into some of my actual tips to be covered in a following blog post, but you get my point.

Original ideas don't have to come to you in a dream. Talk to people. Better yet, LISTEN to people. Here their stories and challenge yourself to interpret them photographically. These aren't epiphanies that drop like an apple of inspiration onto your head. The opportunities are swirling around you like leaves in the wind. Just be still. Listen. Let the stories come to you.

Art Model, Justine ©2017 Terrell Neasley

REALIZATION POINT #4: Don't worry about the money.

Granted. This is a hard one. Especially when you need to be about making that money! However, in terms of getting over photographer's block, the money issue comes into play when there is a lack of resources. You begin to believe that you can't come up with the perfect idea, like Mr. Pro-tographer down the street, because you don't have the resources, access, connections, or camera gear, like he/she does. Listen to me. If you spend your time looking over someone else's shoulder and using that comparison as the measuring stick to gauge your own ability, you're in a sad place. Stop doing that to yourself.

Conceptualizing a good project begins in the mind, and not with the camera in your hand (or the lack there of). Yes, there are projects that require resources and in some cases, a lot of money. But we're talking about just getting past the block. When you get the creative nectar flowing, the ingenuity kicks in that open up doors and possibilities. You'll begin to see how to work a budget or form partnerships and trades to get it done. Don't let money be the driving force though. Have your reasons, but don't let money be the primary impetus. When you aren't making money, then what? What do you do? Stop shooting...No! You improvise and figure out how to work with a Canon 60D that you can borrow from your neighbor's high school kid. Either way, you go get to work. And by the way... I profess to be no master at any of this. Its a progression.

Art Model, Justine ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Naked and Silly

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, ©2016 Terrell Neasley

“It's okay to be absurd, ridiculous, and downright irrational at times; silliness is sweet syrup that helps us swallow the bitter pills of life.”

― Richelle E. Goodrich

I'm in a mood, I guess. I could use a little bit of silliness. Maybe you can, too. I've been here in Vietnam for 20 months. Lockdowns have just been curtailed and things are beginning to get back to normal again... at least here in Hanoi in the north of Vietnam. To the south, Ho Chi Minh City is getting better, but they were the worst hit with Covid-19. 

Let me just say that Vietnam has managed this pandemic in exemplary fashion. The Delta variant came along at the end of May and changed everything. For more than a year, Vietnam held covid in check. Delta was another story. We went from about 3,300 total cases at the beginning of July to 850,000 today. In hardly 3 months deaths went from 35 to 21,000. Y'all can say what you want, but I'm watching the measures they take to curtail this virus and their response to this pandemic been extraordinary, compared to most places in the world. It took 3 months but they even got control of Delta. Vaccines finally began rolling out and numbers have plummeted. Good government and good citizens working together and the rest of the world should take notes. 

Art Model, Leslie ©2013 Terrell Neasley

Now, back to my topic...

As things lessen up here, it's hard not to think about going home. As I said, it's already been 20 months. However, this is something I already anticipated. I expected to be gone two years on this leg of my trip. What I didn't expect was being in the same place. Had I stuck to my original plans, I'd be in Australia now, getting ready to make my way to the Islands of the South Pacific. namely Fiji, Tonga, French Polynesia, and The Cook Islands. Quite possibly, my pining for new gear is a result of previous mental programming. I had anticipated upgrading my gear at the two year mark after returning to the US again! 

Now, that's not likely to happen, just yet, but my subconscious obviously doesn't know that. And the camera I want is not even out yet. I'm pretty sure, I'm sticking with Sony gear. I currently rock the Sony a7RII. The Sony a7RV should be out sooner or later and I'm already certain I want it. It had BETTER have a fully articulating rear LCD screen! I don't know if the thing will be 100MP or not. It could be 61MP, like the a7RIV. 

Art Model, Panda © 2011 Terrell Neasley

As I have mentioned before, I have to upgrade both my cameras if I do this. I refuse to carry two different battery types and all the newer systems have Sony's larger batteries (NP-FZ100) in them. My current second camera is the a6500. I love having a crop system to complement my main full-frame body. I've done that for years, every since I was with Canon with my Canon 5DMkII and the 7D. Therefore, I'll have to option to upgrade my crop to the latest one... whatever that will be by the time I get back. Likely a6700.

OR, I could go full-frame for the second camera which in this case, it would be the a7SIII, (which already has a fully-articulating rear LCD screen). Choices, choices. Both those cameras will be about $3500 each. Dang! I'm inclined to have the crop system due to the fact that it gives my lenses some added range. They get magnified by a factor of 1.5 times. That's a great complement, to me. In doing so, I'll have to get a slew of extra batteries, but the each camera uses the same one. In addition to that, I'll need all new, fresh memory cards. Either way, Sony a7SIII or a6700... which also isn't even out yet.

Art Model, Justine ©2015  Terrell Neasley

What else, beyond that? Oh yeah... one more thing. I gotta have that Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD. I've been shooting prime lense during this whole trip. Now I think I MUST have some range in my arsenal. Currently, I shoot with a 35mm and a 55. That's it. I left my 90mm Macro stateside. I sold my Sigma 24 1.4 and picked up the Tamron 35 2.8 macro. I lost speed, but regained macro capability. But this new Tamron is right up my alley in terms of range. It's not huge, but it's also giving me 150mm at f/2.8. On a crop sensor, that 150 turns into a 225mm, (still at 2.8)!

Whenever I do return to the US, I won't be there long. I'm still on this mission! I may return to Vietnam again or continue on where ever they'll let me come visit. Cambodia, Thailand... it all depends on several factors. But if I get my way... dang. I'm gonna come right back here. I'm not done with Vietnam!

Art Model, Chloe Ann ©2017 Terrell Neasley

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, ©2018 Terrell Neasley

Use a New Location to Help You Regain the Passion!

 

Interesting Locations - Art Model, Susan

Sometimes you just have to get off your ass and go. I'm still harping on the "Regaining the Passion" that I started earlier with  "Why You Should Shoot for Yourself More Often". I followed that with an article on Flash and then again with Ambient Light as some easy alternatives to help you blow on those embers that could ignite your photo passions again. LOCATION is what I wanna cover at the moment. Why? Cuz its easy. You simply get your ass up out of the house and go someplace with the explicit and direct intent to photograph something.

Urban
Sometimes people will tell you to start in your own backyard. Nah. Not good enough. You are still too comfortable in your own house, yard, or neighborhood. I don't see that as "blowing on any embers". To fan the flame, you have to go beyond, but you still need a place to start. Downtown is okay as a beginning point if you like. I lived 12 years or so in Las Vegas, so downtown is the Las Vegas Strip. Or so you might believe! Actually, downtown is FREMONT STREET! It's a little different but yet similar to the Strip. A different kind of folk walk those streets and a many of characters will present themselves for your photographic pleasure.

But there are still other urban areas in Vegas and you have them where you live too. Well, unless you're living out in the sticks, in which case you might have a further drive than most. Street Photography can be the thing you need to rejuvenate and get a fresh start in photo again. Look up some examples of popular street photo work. Not to necessarily copy or emulate, but rather to just see what the possibilities are. Walk around first before you even pull your camera out. Observe. Listen. Smell. See the potential scenes that lie before you. In the Army, as we'd begin our patrols, we would stop a few hundred meters in, take a knee and become familiar with the sights, sound, and smells, of the environment we were about to immerse ourselves in. We called it SLLS, or sills. It's the same thing here. In this case, it can help you see and anticipate events that might be developing and thus better prepare you to capture that decisive moment. This can make the difference between THAT shot and JUST ANY OLD shot.

You can pick a theme to help you focus and look for something. Shooting the homeless has been very popular, but I find that to be a tough one sometimes, personally. Photography fundamentals and principles still apply. Look for and utilize shadows, repetitious and geometric shapes, reflections (in windows or puddles), or maybe practice a theme of minimalism. You can also change your perspective a little. Everything doesn't have to be done from an eye level! Get down! I mean it. Get low to the ground and see the world how a dog might view it. Or change it up and shoot from above and get a bird's eye view of things. Just do something differently or unexpected, so things don't get predictable or boring. You may do photo for yourself, but you still want others to see it. Show them something fresh.

Art Model, Mary 

Out and About in Nature

I can dig some urban, but now we're getting into my scene! The woods! The desert! The mountains! As well as the BEACH! Natural surroundings appeal to me most. Especially spots where I have to get off the beaten path a bit. Over the last three years, my ongoing travels have taken me through Central/South America and now Vietnam. Seeing new things in God's creation can heat up the coldest of passions and make it blaze. I've been to spots that make you want to put down the camera and just keep that vision all to yourself. If you can, bring a friend along whose company you enjoy OR somebody who knows the area and can be a guide of sorts. It's not always fun to get lost ( though sometimes it can be!). I can't tell you how many people I've taken out into the boonies... who have lived nearby all their lives... and yet had never previously seen the beauties that Red Rock has to offer. Or Lake Mead, Valley of Fire, or either of the hot springs near Hoover Dam at Goldstrike and Arizona. All these areas are within a hour of Las Vegas.

Art Model, Mary

You'll have to find out what appeals to you in these natural settings. For me, I can say a good, unique landscape vista is what I find most captivating. On the other hand, you may be more interested in the wildlife or birds. Photographing big horn sheep will be vastly different than photographing hummingbirds or egrets, mainly in the lens choices. You'll need some telephoto action, but you don't have to have as fast of a lens as you might with hummingbirds. Flowers are highly popular to shoot. Again, lens choices come into play. If you like to shoot a field of wildflowers, a normal zoom or better yet a wide-angle lens would work. However if you're wanting to get close enough to depict the petals and stamen of the Angel Trumpet flower, then a macro lens is your best business. You may also need to be on a tripod in many cases using a remote switch/cable release.

Go Out at Night

Art Model, Anne

Whatever you do when you are out in nature, do it again only this time, after dark! Venture out to the same place and see what adventurous landscape shots you can find. If you have a model, try some unique lighting and poses with the stars in the background. Okay, so it's a bit more work. You'll need a tripod and likely a source of light, but that can be a torch, headlamp, or the moon! An 8-second exposure will give you good illumination on a decent full moon. You'll need longer if all you have are stars. But still... that can equate to some excellent landscape work. Practice your Milky Way shots, or maybe time-lapses. 

Art Model, Covenant

Make sure you consider the area you visit. Safety first! Have a friend with you or at least let someone know where you are going. Try camping in a state or national park near you. I didn't grow up visiting many national parks, but I did explore the woods around my house as well as some much further away. Read up on the area you wish to visit and educate yourself about the fauna and flora that could pose a danger. Be conscious of the weather! Avoid areas and seasons that are prone to flash floods. Carry the appropriate gear, water, and food you need to keep you warm, dry, safe, and comfortable.

Book a Flight

Art Model, Trixie

You're not gonna do photo without spending money. So either come to terms with that notion or take up treasure hunting with a metal detector on the beach. Some people find that very soothing and quite rewarding. Ain't no shame in that. Photo may not be the thing for you. Me...? I just want you to be happy. Get a camera, take some pics. If you find that it's not for you, take up dance lessons. But my purpose is to holla at you about photo, so that's what I'm about. It's all about choices and what you choose to prioritize. You can make getting that new car stereo for $600 your priority if you so choose. You can also get a new wide-angle lens for your crop-sensor camera for even less than that. 

Granted, you have to do this with a pandemic in mind, so do what's best for you. Book at trip to El Salvador for that same $600, and forgo the car stereo. I'm not asking you to go somewhere you can drive to. I want you to book a flight somewhere at that you've never been, preferably out of the country and do it specifically to shoot photos! Get a passport and go! If you can't leave the country, pick a spot within YOUR country that you've never been to that is 100% unlike where you are now. Fly there with the resolved intent of shooting. Whichever will be the more rewarding experience... that's what I want you to go for. Now get to it. You can do this.

Art Model, Emma

Photographers! Are You Doing What You Love?

 

Art Model, @Athena.Demos (IG), ©2019 Terrell Neasley

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.” 

― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

I've been in this game for a while now, being serious about photography since 2005. At any given time, it's easy to get bored, burned out, or just simply tired of a profession, industry, or business of any sort. Its normal. Things can stagnate at any time. Monotony often sets in and you have to look for a little change in routine or maybe take a break to step away from your profession. In the Armed Services, we were all encouraged to take LEAVE time to blow off steam. Getting burned out could cause lapses in inspections of equipment or result in attention to detail issues.

I can't say this has been the case with me in photography. I am just as excited about it now as when I saw my first print come to life as it sat in a fresh batch of Kodak D-76 developer. And that was something in and of itself that you just couldn't get tired of. It was like magic. After careful exposure, and burning and dodging in a darkroom, a blank sheet of Ilford Fiber-based Variable Contrast Multigrade IV paper, suddenly came to live with the image you previously captured on film. I'll confess, though. I had my doubts when I switched to digital in 2007. I was a film purist because I felt digital took out the craftsmanship in which I made that print with my hands, manipulating light and shadow to make the final print. Photoshop seemed too much bits and bytes, and not enough of a man-made feel. I got over that the more I realized, its not so much the hands, but more the mind that creates and manipulates the light and shadow.

Art Model, @Athena.Demos (IG), ©2019 Terrell Neasley

I can't say its like this for every photographer you meet. I have met quite a few who's camera is more of a job than a creative outlet. They work, earn money, and that's it. No personal projects, just take the money and put the camera down till its time to earn money again. I don't begrudge them. That's their choice. As for me, I think I am still in love with photography for a few reasons, and you can do this, too!

1. Shoot What You Love

I shoot what I like to shoot. You gotta pay me a lot of money to make me shoot something I don't really want to shoot. I learned that when I first arrived to Vegas and acquired my first gig. It was for a furniture business in the World Market Center in Vegas for showroom ads. Shooting a white couch under 3 different kinds of light on the showcase floor sucked.  Granted, I still didn't know near as much as I do now, but I did it for the money. HATED IT! I learned that early on and it was a blessing. Shoot what you love.

2. Study Your Ass Off

I have an inherent desire to be good at whatever I spend the most time in. I study my ass off in most anything I want to know about. But for something I absolutely love, my study habits kick into overdrive. Its not always in a desire to be better. Most times, its because I have something on my brain that I want to create and have to learn how to do it. So I am in a constant state of learning to improve and hone my craft. Additionally, I don't stay on the same thing for too long. One day my thing may be landscape. Another day, its portraits. And then I want to kick it up and do extended exposure. 

The better you get, the more people you attract. I get other photographers who ask me questions about settings or maybe how to shoot something. I hated not being able to answer questions! If I didn't know, I'd soon find out. What's that thick black line that goes all the way across the bottom of your picture? Its a result of using a shutter speed high than the sync speed of your camera when using flash. How do I know that? I didn't want to be afraid of using artificial light, so I studied flash. So study your ass off.

Art Model, @Athena.Demos (IG), ©2019 Terrell Neasley

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” 

― W.B. Yeats

3. Don't Become an Island

I associate with a other photographers and learn from mentors. I started the very first Meetup.com photography group in Las Vegas. It was the Las Vegas Art Models Group mainly for helping photographers learn to work with the nude model as well as helping nude models get hired by photographers. I co-founded a more mainstream photography group, the Las Vegas Photographic Society made for photographers to help them network and grow their craft. Over the years, I developed a good reputation from sharing my knowledge, but also from increasing my knowledge with mentors, workshops, and online experts. So don't become an island.

4. Don't Limit Yourself to the Gear You Know and Learn From Other Great Talent

I started working in a camera shop. B&C Camera, owned by my good friend and accomplished photographer Joe Dumic. He bought this camera shop when every other one was failing. He turned it around and this store not only survives, but thrives. He's enjoying his third evolution of the store. Joe has helped me immensely in my own business operations. However working in a camera store gave me the ability to tap into a knowledge base you won't find anywhere else. I was there only two days a week, but I got to learn about every new camera system that came out. 

Technology is changing all the time. Most industries can't say that. A hammer hasn't changed much since its invention. Devices capturing still images or video, and all the accessories that complement are improved every day. I tried out many of those new systems and got help from the best gurus from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Leica, and also GoPro, DJI, and Zhiyun-Tech. Anther great aspect is the customers I meet. I had to stay on my toes to help those beginner photographers get the right camera, fix their problems, and learn about studio gear and lighting set-ups. But I also meet professional people coming in to get gear as well. So don't limit your universe to just the gear you know. And surround yourself with and learn from other great talent.

Art Model, @Athena.Demos (IG), ©2019 Terrell Neasley

5. Learn to Play and Don't Be Afraid to Fail

I like to experiment and take chances. I know that every endeavor I take won't pan out. I'm okay with that. Sometimes I lose money. Sometimes, all my efforts are wasted; but are they really? Every time I do something that doesn't go as planned, its really a learning experience. I learn how to be wiser with my selections on who I deal with and how to prepare better. I don't mind small mistakes. And catching them early keeps the big ones at bay. Please don't take for granted someone's patience with you! So learn to play and don't be afraid to fail.

I could list several more, but this post is getting long. To add a few more, persistence despite rough times, doing your own personal projects, constantly looking at other great work, teaching photography, and traveling would be additional elements that definitely aid in my ability to stay locked in on photo. In all these years, photo has never been a dried up concept for me. And you know...another great motivator is that if you're good enough, people will pay you to keep doing what you do. Amazing, isn't it?