Strange day today. Good and bad things happened. I skipped the gym because of back pain this morning. That’s never happened before. Usually I would go and try to work through the pain, which would just prolong it. Maybe I’m getting smarter? I dunno. Anyway, I went to my morning apppointment to discover that the woman I was supposed to meet there had forgotten about it. Fortunately there were people with keys that let me in to do my job so it wasn’t a total waste.
In the afternoon, Laura dropped by and we had some green tea. I was wired on the tea after she left, and it left me feeling very scattered and more than a bit hyper. There was a lot of business paperwork and stuff to be done. I hope I didn’t forget to do anything… 😐 After the caffeine high came the inevitable crash. I felt like toast. All I wanted to do was lie on the couch and sleep it off. I wonder if caffeine is going to affect me like this for the rest of my life?
Anyway, I didn’t have time to lie around. I got to the Staircase Theatre for the advanced improv workshop. This week’s workshop was great. We basically hammered out about two hours of open scenes, with a concentration on relationship. This is comfortable ground for me. I felt very powerful tonight. The only way I can explain it is that I felt like I could do no wrong. Technically in improv, this is always true, but in reality, it doesn’t work like that. So, it was a good feeling. I challenged myself to let most of my characters spew Tarantino-esque dialogue and formed strong bonds with my scene partners. I think the scenes that I did tonight are among my best ever.
After the workshop was a timing rehearsal for next week’s Santa Survivor show. The rehearsal was boring but necessary. The Survivor format is not a favorite among improvisors because it runs contrary to improv thought: we’re supposed to work as a team, supporting each other instead of scheming to vote each other off stage. I feel slightly uncomfortable with the show, but it will be good to be performing again.
We went to a restaurant afterwards and I found myself sitting with friends who were asking each other who was the “best photographer for headshots.” My name didn’t come up. Turns out it’s David Leyes in Toronto. Now I could feel insulted by this. I could even feel hurt. Ok, yeah, I was hurt. These people know me and my what I’m trying to do with my life, but also know that David Leyes has the approval of casting directors in Toronto. Therefore, they’re willing to pay $500 for a David Leyes photo shoot just to get that extra edge. I wasn’t even considered. If I can’t even earn the trust of my friends, then I’m clearly not close to where I need to be. All this means to me is that I have a lot of work to do. It’s not about making great photos. It’s about knowing the right people and making the right connections, just like in any other field. As they say, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
Your back concerns me, so I’m going to bother you about it later 😛 but I am glad you didn’t go to the gym and make it worse. I have to wonder a couple of things… one, if you’re allergic to caffeine or two, the effect is so harsh because of the extremely rare times you consume it.
I would have paid to see your improv last night, you sounded so revved up when I spoke to you 🙂 Would have been awesome to see you so on the mark :nod:
Survivor style seems appropriate for.. survivor 🙂 So I can see the aprehension.
Alright I had to go look this guy up..
I’ve looked at his site and his work.. and I took half an hour before continuing this response because my initial response to him was pretty negative but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a defense mechanism and was truly my impression of his work. To be honest I don’t have one, it’s boring for the most part, some shots are ok, there’s certainly some important aspects missing in each picture. Regardless, you already know my feelings about you as a photographer and it gets ridiculously mushy for me to continue to heap boatloads of praise upon you but I will agree that it’s time to embrace some of the business aspect. You are a marketable product with incredible potential for success and a reasonbly large resource in Hamilton not to mention the relatively untapped Toronto and surrounding Niagara region. I should have put on my suit before this but I will counter your ‘It’s who you know’ I buy that to a point.. they’ll open doors but it’s what you know that will stop the door from closing back in your face and you sir, know a lot. You know how to capture a moment, a personality, an emotion, a soul, in such a way that is unique to you. That’s what sets you apart from the rest and that’s the driving force behind getting you more exposure.
I’d love to talk more about this if you can’t tell 😛 If you’re looking to break out more in this area, I have a few contacts you may be interested in meeting :hug:
ouch!
actually that sounds a lot like one of those people who bitch about some artists being just “popular” on dA. oh, wait, you’re one of them :rofl:
yeeaa i’ll go now :lick:
all this means is that there’s a whole lot of space for you to develop! you see the road now walk it 🙂
WOW … I can’t believe they didn’t even consider you … That hurts. I know that feeling to a certain extent … happened to me twice this year. Perhaps it rolled a bit faster off my back because I don’t care for the business aspect of the ‘photography job’ … but jeese … not even a mention of your name?! …. UGH.
With regard to ‘what’ and ‘who’ you know … well, you will have a significant advantage over other photographers I think. You strive to learn more, to improve your art/craft/etc. Others rely primarily on their contacts and do nothing but shoot snaps … Once you get all those ‘contacts’ I’m sure your business will fly … and you willl not allow it to become stagnant.
So ya … perhaps some thinking or more schmoozing is required … but your good at that too. Don’t rush it. You ‘seem’ to be doing very well from my standpoint … baby steps.
thanks guys. i’m working on it. 🙂