Success could be under our noses.

I had an interesting email today from an attendee to one of my workshops. She remembered me talking about how telling stories with your images can be very powerful and instrumental in connecting with your clients, adding deeper value to the images, and ultimately giving them good reason to add them to their personal collections! She admitted that she didn't think she could do that and the thought of it made her a little uncomfortable. Recently, however, she had a client come and sit with her and after looking through the work she told her how she "loved how she told stories in her images." She realized she had been telling stories, but didn't even look at it that way!

For her, it is now a simple matter of learning to express, in words, what she saw and captured. I think our words can bring deeper meaning to our images and it really helps solidify the story for those who maybe "don't get it" right up front. Often there are hidden stories behind the images that really need to be told - then the image makes so much more sense or has more intimate value.

Think about this: when you look at an image in a magazine or book, aren't you compelled to look at the caption to find out more? I have actually played a game with myself, trying to look through photo books and not read the captions. It's hard! I really feel like I'm missing out on something and once I do read the caption I like the image even more!

How are you captioning your images? Do you have captions and stories on your website, blog? Do you tell the stories behind the images when you show them in albums and slide shows in your studio?

This image was taken in Italy, just outside the grand gates surrounding the Boboli Gardens in Florence . I was sitting on the steps, enjoying the setting sun and I noticed this elder man, distinguishably dressed, yet obviously alone and worn through the years. He shuffled his feet through the pigeons, and stopped facing the wall - seeming to reflect on the fact the he was "Once A King". The crowned lion behind him sent the message to me immediately and it has become one of my personal favorites.

I hope that you will join me on one of my Italy workshops in the future too! It is a life-changing experience.

Click the map to enlarge. The Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy

iPhone panorama photos from Italy

On our Italy trip, I purchased a new iPhone 3Gs. I love it! The camera is much better - with a new autofocus system and the video is down right acceptable! It's faster overall too. Lot's of little tweaks. One of my favorite apps for any iPhone is Pano. With it you take as many photos as you want and it automatically stitches them together. It's really easy and a ton of fun! It works best on farther away subjects where the edges of the scene are less prone to distort when you pan from shot to shot. As you know, when subjects are closer, the distortion with a semi-wide lens becomes very apparent. Even so, when I played with it in very close quarters (like in the sunflower field) the seams were noticeable, but still it created a great image that gives a better feel for what being in that environment felt like. This is why I like the panos.

On this trip, I tried to look at things a bit different than on past trips. I typically would use my 70-200mm lens quite a bit. I do love that lens. I brought it with me, as usual, but I rarely used it. Most images I took were with my 12-24mm or the 50mm f1.4. Oh, and the iPhone :-) I also used my Lensbaby and my video cameras. I wanted to force myself to look at things a little different. This was our 5th trip to Italy and it's still just as beautiful as ever.

I'll post images from my regular camera later today or tomorrow, but here's the iPhone panos. Click the image below to see the gallery of others.

Click the image to see the gallery of other iPhone panos

I'm back from Italy!

Wow, that was a journey. it's great to be back - as much as I loved being with good friends, Max & Cristiana, in Italy and sharing the experience with my kids (for the first time). We certainly take certain things for granted. Take driving safely, for one. I guess it's all a matter of perspective and what you're used to, but I can never get over how they drive there, regardless of how many times I visit and drive amongst them myself. Everybody rides your bumper like they're being chased by a dinosaur or something. They also MUST pass you...no matter how fast you are going, where you are, how narrow the road, or how much further they have to go. Age is no barrier: grandparent, great grandparent, child, infant, whatever. They have all taken an oath at birth to attempt to pass each other using whatever vehicle (or on foot) is at their disposal in the moment. I know it's all a matter of perspective, and I kept reminding myself of that, it's normal for them and they don't mean any disrespect to each other by doing it. But I'm still baffled. I took deep breaths and just R-E-L-A-X-E-D and let them ride and pass.

I started to think how our cultural expectations and history can completely blind us to the truth sometimes. It really became a profound thought for me...all stemming from this driving thing. Here's what I mean. While driving in the U.S., I get really MAD when people tailgate me. I think most of us do. It's unsafe and irritating, right? Yet in Italy, it's completely normal. Nobody gets mad, and they just expect it. So, let's say you're driving in Italy, and this guys on your tail, and you get out at a stop light and start yelling at him. You have every right to...he's being a jerk, right?! Well, he has no idea why you're mad and just thinks, "wow, Americans are such jerks!" (except he thinks it in Italiano). What's happening here? Both of us COMPLETELY believe we're right, and both are upset about imaginary intentions of the other that caused the anger.

This is profound, to me, because if each were to stop and explain why they were angry, AND the other listened actively, neither could be angry anymore! There would simply be no grounds for anger because the intents of the offense were not real. When I remind myself that Italians just tailgate and pass - that's the way they grew up, and they aren't trying to be rude, I can no longer be offended or upset. That road rage feeling inside just dissapates. It just goes away. What if everyone, everywhere, took the time to consider the other side completely before they got mad. Friends, lovers, spouses, parents, kids, teachers, different races, community leaders, world leaders, and galactic decision makers. What would happen? How much conflict in this world is the result of our own misperceptions and resistence to simply listening?

Ah, enough of the philosophising, the trip was awesome and I loved all the wonderful Italians we met and shared marvelous meals with. I can't wait to go back next spring!