Photography and Friendships

One of Russell Grace's stunning infrared images

It's Sunday morning and as usual, once the sun comes up whatever sleep I still need is put on the back-burner. Whatever happened to those days when I was younger and could easily sleep until noon? 

As I sat down to write Sunday Morning Reflections, next to my computer were three small prints (one of them above) from our friends Russell and Angela Grace. They were gifts that came with the return of my Hasselblad X-Pan I loaned Russell.  At that time I shared a post about their fine art business and Russell's infrared photography.

So, that got me thinking about a statement I've shared over and over again:

"The best part of this industry has nothing to do with photography,
but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft!"

This week was pretty remarkable when it came to kicking off new friendships and sustaining old ones.

• Jenn Smith, from AIBP, shared a remarkable post on building trust with boudoir clients, but the best part of the post was getting to know Jenn through the behind the scenes phone and IM conversations on Facebook. Plus, I was introduced to Jenn, thanks to Erin Zahradka, found of AIBP and another artist who's become a terrific friend over the years.
  
• My long time buddy Brian Malloy chased me down. He's always watching my back. One of his images just won some incredible recognition ($5000) in the Naples Art Association exhibition! I know it's sappy, but when friends get the recognition they deserve, you can't help but feel proud!
  

Brian Malloy's winning image

• My good buddy, Matthew Jordan Smith, who was just here at the house two weekends ago, finally made it home to Japan after being on the road for a few months with a very successful workshop tour. Thanks to the Internet, the world is a smaller place and twice this week I caught up to him on Facebook IM's. And, it gets sappy again when I feel a certain relief for friends who finally get home safe and sound.
• Then there's Brad Walsh, who I can't remember how or where we met. A round of IM's and a phone call to talk about the fact he's given his resignation and is about to go full time into photography got me living vicariously through his dream of building his business.
• Suzette Allen shared a terrific guest post on my weekly series for Photodex. She always comes through and this week shared eight short videos about creative ways to capture summer experiences. The fun of working with Suzette isn't just about her expertise as the "Queen of Hybrid," but the friendship I have with her and her husband Jon, and that pulls in another group of good friends along with Tom Curley and Panasonic's Luminary team.
• Steve Rosenbaum and I go back to my very first days at Hassselblad thirty years ago!  This week we caught up for one of our marathon conversations about the industry. He's also 1/2 of the story about my incompetence when it comes to social media and the perfect way to bring today's post to a close.
  

I was on my way home from a board meeting at a non-profit I'm active with here in Sarasota. I was listening to Classic Rock and the Steve Miller Band was on. I heard the lyrics, "...I really love your peaches, want to shake your tree!" Well, being the crazy fun-loving husband I am, I texted those words to my wife, Sheila, letting her know I was on my way home. Well, the response came from Steve, "I'm not sure you meant this for me!"  My last text to Steve was in my phone's history right next to Sheila's. Oops!

This blog post is too small a window to list everybody who had an impact on my life this week, but the snipets above represent what I cherish most about our industry, the friendships. Friendships are the foundation of, as sappy as it might sound, why I feel so blessed to have this career.

I might work solo out of my home office, but thanks to the Internet and the phone, my days are filled with great friends, new ideas and one adventure after another.  And on that note - it's time to wish everyone my traditional eleven-second make it a great Sunday hug. If you're tuning in late, according to an article I read years ago, hugs lasting eleven seconds are therapeutic - so make them longer and enjoy them!

Most important of all - let those special friends in your life know how important they are to you. Life is too short to not share the love you have for them.

Happy Sunday everybody and thanks for being in my life!

Family isn't always blood.
It's the people in your life who want you in theirs;
the ones who accept you for who you are.
The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you, no matter what.
Author Unknown