Reflection............

September.  A time for review and a restart for many of us.  A transition to a new season.  A transition to a new school year.  A transition for our lives.

In our world, there are so many differences amongst people, yet so many similarities that we seem to forget in the heat of the moment.  As I walked our city's annual Labor Day parade yesterday, I was struck by the many people that were all along the route and although just looking at someone's exterior, one may see differences........I kept on focusing on how much we all had in common.  We were all going through some transitions and as well, preparations for what lay ahead.

Reflect on who we are, what we believe in, what we stand for and what we can all do together.  We can do so much if we just support each other and work together.  This is a transition that I would like many of us to consider..........respect others and recognize our similarities, rather than seeing the many differences.

http://www.rascona.com

Taboo conversations.............

Mental health. 

It's an issue that no one really likes to speak about, but we all are dealing with issues to some extent.  The pressures of our daily lives.  The triggers that can set us off.  The highs and lows and all the range that is in between.  I wish that I knew how to handle it all.  We all wish that we knew the right way to deal with everything that gets thrown at us, but we don't.  We all try and "act" like we have it together because if we didn't act like it, then people would actually know the real truth.

Mental Health. 

We all need support. 

We all need people to listen.  

We all need to not be fearful to ask for help and to be heard.

This is a small taste of a project that Rodney Rascona worked on.  Powerful.

www.rascona.com

It's not about me. It's about us.

It really doesn't matter if we are siblings or family.  To me, there always has seemed to be a responsibility to help each other and overall, mankind.  We all have struggles, we all have needs.  Some needs are greater than others.  Some days provide more challenge than others.  Yet, with each of those challenges and obstacles - we need to persevere.  We persevere by helping and lending a hand to those in need.

I believe that is one reason I like what I get to do for work.  Maybe that sounds odd, but I like to help a group come together for a purpose and make things work.  I like being a part of the fabric or glue.  It's not about me.  It's about us.  Different people that come together for a purpose.

Today is Giving Tuesday.  I really like the premiss of today.  It makes people think and hopefully act, although I really would like all to remember that giving each day can make all of us better and can make our world a little better.  So, hopefully you give to something today and as well, start a trend and think of someone else each day.  What a beautiful concept - working together.

So - think about it.  It's really not just about one, it's about all of us.

www.rascona.com

Full of Hope..........

Each day, there seems to be a new challenge that we face, yet I realize more and more - my challenges are so minimal compared to others.  The last few years - Rodney's photography has been laser sharp, focused on human beings, their struggles, their lives and each person's hope for a brighter future.  Today and each day, I try to appreciate the blessings in my life and to focus on being full of hope.  Positive.  Looking for solutions.

Grateful for my life and those that surround me, in work, in life.

www.rascona.com

Letting in all happen........or making it look that way

Do you remember the days of just letting it all go and enjoying the moment, not a care in the world?  Some days, don't you wish for it?  Okay - most days I wish for it, but then I remember - I'm a planner, a producer, an organizer.  In this role - we make it happen for others and make it look "easy".   And so that's how shoots happen that look flawless. 

These young girls were great on set and embodied all the fun that Summer can hold.  So, casting was spot on.  The crew was all that we wanted and so much more.  Styling and propping hit the mark - exactly - and the location, that worked too.  Boom, it all happened and the marks were hit.  Success.

It's all the little pieces that need to come into play, boxes that need to be checked off with care.  Crossing the T's and dotting the I's.

Seamless.

And that's what we do.

www.heathrobbins.com

Blessed.......

Each day - we are blessed by just being able to wake up, put our feet on the ground, look up to the sky and know the beauty of the world around us.

This innocent little boy starts his day in prayer.  In his best school shirt. Eager for the day ahead and yet not knowing what lies outside his immediate realm.  This shot by Rodney Rascona in Ethiopia, for Food for the Hungry - shows how we should take a moment to really consider how fortunate many of us are.  Say a little prayer of thanks.  We deal with many trials and tribulations, but many pale in comparison to his day with his HIV positive mother who are supported through loving volunteers for medicine and food.

We are blessed.

www.rascona.com

Get out there...........

There is just something special about the Summer.  A time to get out there and enjoy all that we have around us.  Yes, of course - we all have to work, but we certainly need to take time to have fun too.  It's all part of life.  Work hard, play hard.

This pic is a little mix of both working and playing.  Eric - as many of you know is a very capable shooter, stills and fishing and a lot lot in between.  He has a passion for the outside and often charters boats taking people out to enjoy fishing and then not only is he the Captain, but he's a documenter of the experience.  He knows the angles, he captures the experience and the emotions.

What a great way to combine passions........work hard, play hard and enjoy life!

www.erickulin.com

www.sanpshotcharters.net

Hope ~ I speak for the trees..........

A sign of Summer, dare I say?  I'm hopeful.

Not hopeful for dandelions, but hopeful for days outside.  Days for shooting on locations locally and making some awesome things happen for clients where we don't necessarily need to travel.  Yes, of course, there will be plenty of days in the studio, that's a given......but days outside, anywhere are wonderful to me.  I feel blessed to be a part of this big blue marble.

Our WORLD is beautiful.  I love the beauty of nature and here we are, challenging our society to have the WORLD do it without the USA's support.  Well, that will not be me.  I stand and speak for the trees.........Unless someone like YOU cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not.  ~  The Lorax.

So - enjoy our world and please, have a voice..........we always seem to find it to use in our industry anyway.  Now is the time.  Celebrate and save our beautiful world.

www.erickulin.com

Haitians.........beautiful humans, like you and me.

Rodney Rascona has spent a lot of time in Haiti - focusing on the people.  What a rich country, in tradition, in family, yet by far - the most destitute country in the Americas.  Nearly 60 percent of Haitians live on less than $2.42 per day........could you live on that little?

Currently, our Homeland Security Secretary is considering the expulsion en masse of some 50,000 Haitians that are now living legally in the United Stated.  Think about that.  This land of 10.4 million that is still reeling from the huge earthquake in 2010, the ongoing cholera epidemic and an incredibly devastating hurricane that swept the island only last Fall, may need to deal with a huge influx of humans that it will not be able to handle.

Rodney covers these humanitarian issues.  He covers them on the ground, where they live day in and day out.  Gets to know the people and shows the reality, the truth and beauty of who they are......exactly like you and me.

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

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

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

Holidays are coming! Can you get it done???

Why of course we can get it done!

Even though I love the holidays, there is a certain inherent pressure, mostly due to myself, but sometimes due to outside sources.  

How long is your list of "things to do?"  I am sure - pretty long.

Work, family, personal, kids, needs, wants and wishes.........it swirls all around you - each "area" needing just a little bit of your time.  That all adds up!

This assignment which was executed a while ago and was a SWIRL!  Funny, because when Holiday work is shooting in July - there still is that build up of pressure and I think some of that simply is like the needs of our business.  Hurry up, get it done, make sure it is perfect, find a good deal and it has to be on time!

This project was just that.  Quick, great quality, cost efficient and checked all of the boxes.  These are exactly the projects that we love to do.  Creative and needed.

Give us a ring........we can make it happen!

www.erickulin.com

BE BOLD.

Be BOLD.

If you are going to be, make sure your voice is heard.  At least that is what I have always believed in.  Make a statement and be strong, not bullish - but let people know who you are and what you are all about.  I mean, what's the point, otherwise.

Have the confidence to be you.

Empowered.

Strong.

Powerful images that shout, look at me.

www.erickulin.com