Stepping out of your comfort zone...............

Life is not about walking a straight line, I mean - you can.........but is that the best way to experience life?  Probably not.  

Part of being involved in this crazy, creative Industry - photography, advertising, editorial, publishing, marketing, etc - it's kind of always being ready for whatever is being thrown at you and not letting things really shake you.

So, a straight line is not normally how things work........it's more about ducking when something comes barreling at you unexpectedly, it's making a shoot work when the talent isn't exactly "into it", making a situation turn from disastrous to sensational and somehow finding a silver lining when things kind of look bleak.

Yes, this month seemed to me to be pretty bleak, but letting things stay that way really isn't an option.  I need to (and possibly you too) need to pick myself up by my boot straps and get back on the horse and not be thrown by the unexpected.  Make lemonade out of lemons......and step out of my expected comfort zone and see what is out there.

There are a bunch of people that I run into in daily life that do this all the time - you may be one of them and I feel like many of the photographers that I work with, tend to have that kind of approach to life.  Deal with it and make it work.  So don't expect to follow a straight line........jump in or jump off - find a different way of approaching things.  It MAY just be refreshing.

www.tophercox.com

A Helping Hand.

A helping hand.

We all could use one from time to time.

Many locales are being ravaged by a hurricane as I type this and on a daily basis there are needs throughout the world.  Rodney has had a chance to lend a hand on a number of projects.  Working on behalf of great clients and impactful projects, such as Global Relief, Red Dirt Road, UNF-GACC, Black Inside, Somalian Exile, The Indian Tsunami, as well as The Pink Door - Haiti.

Our hope is that in our own way - we can lend a hand and be there to help.  Projects that have teeth and that are looking for partners to tell a story, you have found a home.  Rodney can pull together a team that can provide you with the right catalyst to bring your project to fruition with heart and soul.

It will be time again to lend a helping hand and we will be there.

May we all find a way to be there to help.

www.rascona.com

What's the story?

Do you ever hang out in places - whether doing work, having a cup of coffee or just waiting for someone and you make up stories about the people you are seeing?  Maybe it is just me, but I like to think that many of us, especially in the creative end of the business - make up these incredible stories about what is going on with this person, who they are meeting, where they have been.  

Ironically, as I thought about this more and more - I realized the correlation between creative minds creating imaginary stories and photography visionaries creating stories with their images - especially still photographers.  One image needs to capture a lot of information - so that the person viewing it can see the details and get it.  I love that!  It's kind of what makes me want to do, what I do each day.  Create a story in one shot (okay - sometimes maybe a few more images than that - but you know what I mean).

So, here's an image.  Joshua shot it......there is a story behind it.

What's the story you think it should tell?

www.joshuaweinfeld.com

Happy New Year???

It's the last hurrah of Summer, Labor Day weekend!  Hard to believe that the Summer has come and is almost gone.  How did that happen?  Each year - I always think that this is, once again, a time of rebirth.........enjoying the past and jumping full-fledged into a new year.

So, Happy New Year!

Okay - may seem odd to some of you, but many of us aren't beholden to the calendar year - but think of our year by "school year" or "sports season."  So here we are,......beginning again.

I love this time of the year - thinking about all of the fun things to come work wise and being able to make more plans to see my Industry friends who will be in the office, creatively planning things.......collaboration, here we come!

Heath recently had a chance to plan some fun while capturing some awesome Summer fun. 

Lucky Guy!

www.heathrobbins.com

Hope For Haiti: The Pink Door Photographs

EXHIBIT by Rodney Rascona

Location: Big Buoy  1-5 Poland Street, London  W1F 8PR

Opening:  July 27th, 7pm

As the work being displayed is from 2010, it's of great interest to have a voice to share the current condition within Haiti. It's important to Rodney that the photographs continue, since their creation in 2010, continue to educate, inspire and to keep challenges within Haiti - front of mind. This body of images have proven to have the power to be a catalyst for dialogue, to help give life to tired messages, especially as this collection has never been seen in London before.

So in this spirit, we wish to extend an invitation to you, to join us for a short while, to enjoy the collection and one image makers experience 6 weeks post earthquake in Jacmel.  We'd be willing to make the imagery potentially available for other shows, to help increase greater understanding within the international population in which we live in support of press, marketing and communications aspirations.

If you have the opportunity to be at the opening in person, please take the the chance, if not - these images are available online for your personal viewing.

www.rascona.com

Something new...........

Ah, putting together a new book.  It takes SO long and is very hard to do.  I'm sure many of you creatives know exactly what I am talking about when I say that.  Lots of long hours struggling to make choices and edits - yet when it is done and people get to look at it and you share your work, it is all worth it.

I was thrilled to meet with Joshua a few weeks ago when I was out in Los Angeles.  It was more of a culmination of many back and forth emails, skype visits and phone calls - resulting in a fantastic book and some pretty incredible imagery.  Some of it I was familiar with and some was entirely new and exciting work that sends a chill up your spine.

Can't wait to share and can not wait to meet many of you in person because BOY does it look good.  Congrats Joshua!

Want to see the work?  Give me a call.

www.joshuaweinfeld.com

Basic to Beautiful

Annoying, yet beautiful too.

Crazy how the world runs sometimes, huh?  Our world and our industry are always seeming to test us, putting something in front of us and we need to figure out the why.  Why is something the way it is?  What is its purpose?  How is it really making a positive impact?

Basically, I have come down to the thought that there are many things in our lives that will try us.  Yet, perseverance in discovery is key.  So, something that initially may not seem beneficial, seems so basic - can offer so much.  Take the time to really understand the why.

Photography can seem very basic, yet there is so much that can be offered by each person, each eye, each approach and each relationship that can offer so much more than originally meets the eye.  A study of the basic can provide so much more.  The group of people that I choose to work with are all like that........we offer the basic and so much more.  More quality, more preparation, more support, more collaboration and more relationships..........we want each project to finish with everyone thinking about what's next.  Peeling away the expected and finding out there is so much more.

Thank you to each and everyone that steps into our lives..........we're looking forward to each day, what's known and what's here AND for what's next!

www.erickulin.com

A Day to Celebrate!!!

  

So, many people would say, a day to celebrate, why??  Well, my response is, why not?

Shouldn't every day be a little bit of a celebration?

There is a Creative Director that I met years ago, when I first moved up to Boston.  I didn't get to work with him very long, but he was one of those people that you just liked.  He was capable, pleasant, had fun and seemed to be the life of the party.  Move forward years and put some distance between my old agency job and this guy, who now works out in the Midwest.  Facebook, yes - that horrible thing called social media, brought us back together.  He posts things that truly help me focus on being a better person.  I welcome his comments and quotes.  He always makes me stop & think and to celebrate each and every day.

His recent post, "Sometimes it's okay if the only thing you did today was breathe" made me stop and say......he's right!  Celebrate today and yesterday and tomorrow, when it comes.......for each day is a gift.  Thank you, Scott O'Leary.

Celebrate today and breathe.

Eat Well. Live Happy.

www.heathrobbins.com

What's for dinner?

So, what's on deck for dinner?  Something yummy?  Better be.

That's a question that is on everyone's mind each and every day.  Similarly, as Heath is working on our projects each day - he's thinking, "Hmmmmm, how can I make this food look some mouthwatering that you gotta have it right now?"  

It's all about the appetite appeal - the YUM FACTOR!

Heath's studio drives to give each and every client exactly what they want and hopefully just that little bit more, to make everyone exceptionally pleased.  We don't ever want you needing more, we want to give it to you!  And we'll deliver, not to your house though.  Ha!

Eat well.  Live happy.

www.heathrobbins.com

Joshua............LIVE

Yep.  It's LIVE.

We are excited because Joshua has spent a ton of time pulling together a new site.  It calls for a few minutes of your time and yes, may be partial, but I SO think it is worth it.

Grab a coffee or your favorite libation and peruse.  Fun stuff and an adventure at every turn.  It's pretty much just like Joshua.  Fun. Driven. Passionate. Adventurer.

If you have some feedback.  We're all ears.

www.joshuaweinfeld.com

Black Inside ~ RASCONA

For years, Rodney Rascona, has devoted a large amount of his time and creative efforts documenting and supporting the United Nations Foundation and other NGO's.  His film, BLACK INSIDE, will be screening at the 4th Global Conference on Women's Health and Well-being.  Quite an honor, for the veteran photographer and director.

We wanted to celebrate this screening and invite you to get involved in support of improvement of women's health and wellness issues.

www.rascona.com

blackinside-thefilm.com

It's all in the Details.

What a majestic shot!  So many subtleties happening everywhere you look.

Ironic to see this right at this moment in time, as so much of our life seems a bit of a blur.  Yet if we take a moment and really study the details, there is so much more to it.  Don't you think?  I believe that is one of the reasons that I love being a part of the creative process because for all of the hurry up and rush - that often happens, there is a HUGE amount of beauty, just need to peel open the onion and check out the layers.

Creativity is really keeping your mind open, pushing the boundaries, seeing things in a different way, taking risks, checking out all options and sometimes thinking out of the box.  We all could use a little bit more of this in our every day life.  Details are massively important - not just broad sweeping thoughts and approaches.  We need depth and texture, insight and communications, friendship and support.

Joshua and many of the photographers that I work with, strive each day for expanding the boundaries.  Thinking out of the box.  Finding the details and highlighting them appropriately.  Working collaboratively and communicating all along the way.  I am lucky - what a great group of people to work with each and every day.  It's all in the details!

www.joshuaweinfeld.com

It goes on.

With so much going on in the world, I feel like I am constantly trying to make sense of it all.  Many times, I can't make all of the pieces come together to "make sense."

Recently, I had a quote that popped up that actually spoke to me:

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life:  it goes on." ~ Robert Frost

It spoke to me because I realized that everything does NOT make sense.  It happens.  I need to adjust and move forward as positively as I can.  So, as I approach each day, each work assignment, each issue - I try and take it one step at a time.  Don't get overwhelmed and make more of something than is needed.  Take in that moment and make it count.

Each issue needs appropriate attention.  Each project that we work on, that is our focus.  Give time to make it the best it can be and don't over think it.  It will all fall in place.

It goes on.

www.tophercox.com

Are you in or are you out?

Aren't we always looking to be included?  I don't know a lot of people that truly are "okay" if something is going on and they are not included.  It's like Civil Rights - we are all to be afforded the same rights - no matter what.  That's pretty powerful.

We are ALL supposed to be welcomed and included.

Nature is one place that are all welcome.  In some cases, it is harder to jump in and be involved if one is dealing with a disability, yet there are ways to work around or conquer that obstacle.  Life is filled with obstacles.  Photography is filled with challenges.  Each day normally presents a certain amount of trials and it is all in how you handle working through those situations that determine the outcome.

The outcome, if approached correctly, can be fantastic.  Include all voices and perspective.  Think if it's been a collaborative process and if the answer is yes - you probably have a winner product on hand.  Pure satisfaction and teamwork.   Success!!

Joshua strives for a collaborative process with all of his jobs - he's one of the team to make it happen.  We'd love to be teammates with you on your next project.

www.joshuaweinfeld.com

On the horizon........

It's a new year.  A fresh start.  Time to begin again.  Reset.

As cliche as it may be - there is something about a restart being given to you every 365 days that is amazing.  To me, it's kind of like a kick in the tush.  A reminder.  Go forth, do what you love and love what you do.  Yes, we all need to make money to help raise our families, keep a house over our head, but we also need to feed our soul.

I enter this year, grateful for all I have - my health, my family, my friends.  All of you.

We are here to help you achieve whatever it is that you want to do.  Not sure what is on the horizon, but I certainly love being on the look out, guessing and putting myself out there to make it happen.

Now go.  Who knows what's coming!

www.joshuaweinfeld.com