Today marks the start of the annual Thirst Relief auction where some of the world’s top professional photographers auction off valuable one-on-one consultation and advice to raise money for a worthy cause. Almost two years ago I interviewed the founder of ThirstRelief, Jim Davis-Hicks. Listen to that interview again and learn how it all got started.
Also, I’m pleased to announce that I am also throwing my name into the hat. If you need help on branding, sales, marketing, social media, or if you want some help getting into filmmaking with HD DSLRs, you can bid on my services as well. Go to thirstrelief.shootq.com to see all the amazing talent giving to this cause. Special thanks to ShootQ for being a co-sponsor of the auction.
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Sorry this week’s show is late. Last Thursday and Friday I attended a terrific leadership conference called Catalyst. One of the causes supported by the organizers of the conference is the plight of orphaned children throughout the world. Some of the stories I saw moved me. So, I’m inspired to re-run an interview I did with Orange County photographer Annette Biggers of Triple Cord Photography. In this interview from June of 2008, Annette shares how she got into photography, why she gives away 90% of her income from photography, and the story behind her family’s adoption of two at-risk youth. Be inspired.
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Be sure to visit Annette’s personal cause, Heart 4 Africa, dedicated to helping orphaned children in Africa.
Last year, Marketing Essentials International president Skip Cohen, and San Diego based wedding and portrait photographer Carey Schumacher had a BBQ Smackdown contest a la “Iron Chef” to raise money for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. In this re-run of episode 51, Carey and Skip talk about the contest as well as the importance of cause marketing.
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Next week we have a brand new episode as I have a profound and engaging discussion with fine art and wedding photographer David Wittig about the future of photography. Don’t miss it!
Last year around this time I had the pleasure of having editorial photojournalist Vincent Laforet. It was during a series on “giving back” to the community and Vincent talked extensively about his work documenting the Katrina damage, as well as his amazing career. If you’re relatively new to the show, this will be a special treat.
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Next week we have comercial stock image producer and new media master Jack Hollingsworth.
Today we get to spend time with one of our photog friends to the north. Trevor Brucki of Winnipeg, Canada is a very talented photographer and savvy business person as well (he was recently featured on an episode of Becker’s B-School blog). Like last week’s guest Kevin Swan, Trevor is a guy who has had no formal photo school training, but has taken his artistic skill and combined it with a keen business sense, to be one of the most successful wedding photographers in his area. Trevor shares with us today about his thoughts on the importance of being a great people person in this business, what the economic climate is like in Canada, and he gives us a Canadian social studies lesson…kind of. (If you ever wanted to know what the political make up is like in Canada, this is the show for you). He also talks about competition, clients, and how he feels when he loses a gigvis a vis when one of his competitors does. It’s a great insight into the psyche of competition.
Most importantly, Trevor talks about IL-FOTO (an organization he started with his two biggest competitors, Joel Ross and Manuel Sousa) that is committed to the fight against breast cancer. Essentially, they join forces to offer a combined wedding package (worth $20,000 of photography) and donates the proceeds. This is a fun, insightful, and educational interview you won’t want to miss.
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Next week, we interview rising star in the world of fashion photography, and recent contestant on VH1′s “The Shot,” Piper Carter.
As I continue my trek to Atlanta, I have another re-run for you. In honor of her nuptials, this week I’m re-running the episode we did this past summer with Michele Celentano. In it we hear about her childhood in NY, how she got into photography, and she shares with us about her relationship and it’s very curious connection to her ex. You’ll love this fun and insightful interview.
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When we resume new episodes (hopefully next week), we’ll have a brand new episode with past guest and author, Dane Sanders. Stay tuned.
I continue my discussion with Kevin right where we left off, explaining how he had a female roommate while he dated his (girlfriend at the time) wife. He goes on to share about managing married life, giving back, and the one thing he wants everyone to know about him. Don’t miss it.
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Special thanks to Joshua Smith of Cinematic Bride for manning the camera as my associate producer on this episode.
In a number of past episodes, we’ve brought up the topic of using one’s artistic skills to better one’s community. The amazing photographers at LaCour, who are also the founders of management software solution ShootQ, have started a grant to give photographers an opportunity to pursue personal projects that raise public awareness about a social, environmental, or economic issue. This year’s $10,000 grant winner is Sherrlyn Borkgren. Sherrlyn’s an Oregon-based wedding, portrait, and editorial photographer with a passion for helping people. In this episode, Rachel Niesen of LaCour joins Sherryln to talk about the origins of the grant, and Sherryln’s winning application to raise public awareness of the horrific atrocities happening to women and babies in the Congo. I hope her passion to use her photography in this way may encourage you to do pursue your own cause.
WARNING: About 30 minutes are so into the interview I read a portion of Sherryln’s winning application and the details are pretty graphic. But I wanted our listeners to understand the height of the atrocities. Also, in light of last week’s controversial email, if you get squeamish at the mention of the “G” word (you know, has three letters, ends in “d”) you may want to turn the episode off about 14 minutes in. That’s when she first says that word. Then, later towards the end she shares why she feels compelled to do this kind of work, and she mentions that word again. I know some of you find it difficult to hear people talk about how their faith affects them, so I’m warning you now. 
If, however, you can stand it, I encourage you to listen on.
Next week, we speak with New York photographer and photo community party host Jason Groupp.
What started out as an innocent enough challenge, to see who could grill the better BBQ dog, turned into a major event. RangeFinder Publishing/WPPI President Skip Cohen took on wedding and portrait photographer Carey Schumacher for a battle of the sexes, a la “iron chef.” It probably won’t go down in history as big a battle as the famed 1973 dual between Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs, but it will be remembered by many as a terrific endeavor for a worthy cause. On today’s episode Carey and Skip come on to talk about the BBQ Smackdown, the worthy cause for which they duked it out on the grill (Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep), and the value of cause-marketing. But not before we get to chat it up with Carey a bit and delve into more simple topics, like “why do bad things happen to good people and what’s the point of praying for good things anyway!” This is a fun episode with an inspiring message. Enjoy!
Also, this week we’re adding a new feature to the show to spice things up a bit. Instead of the usual F-Stop Beyond theme song, for the outro music we’re going to have a new selection each week from the vast library of songs over at Triple Scoop Music. This week’s show features “My Everything” by Violaine.
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Next week, we have as guest, a master of light, Cliff Mautner, as he shares with us his thoughts on photojournalism, style, life, and photography in his “no holds barred” style.
