Sunday Morning Reflections - Watching Each Other's Backs

Maybe I can't stop the downpour, but I will always join you for a walk in the rain.
Dr. Sukhrag Dhillon

by Skip Cohen

It's Sunday morning, and most of the time, l write for my own heart, and with luck, the topics are usually something you can relate to. Most of you are imaging artists, and you'll often take a break from working for a client and capture an image just for you. For example, Bobbi Lane, through the pandemic, started capturing closeups of flowers from her garden. Chamira Young started mixing different medias with still images and watercolor techniques.  

For me, Sunday mornings are therapeutic and allow me to share whatever's bouncing around in my head or heart - I've been thinking a lot about our industry. While the world outside imaging thinks we're a massive community, the reality is we're relatively small. According to most of the numbers I've seen over the years, there are around 200,000 people in the US who are professional photographers. However, I believe it's closer to 500,000 if you count anyone who made $100 or more selling something under the imaging umbrella.

Photographers talk all the time about watching each other's backs, and over the past couple of weeks, there have been a whole bunch of people who watched mine. But what got me going is Will Cadena, who definitely walks the talk.  I called him the other day, thinking about his skillset and a project I was working on for Platypod. He wasn't in, and I never left a message. Yet, a couple of hours later, he called me just to see what I needed.

And there it is - my point this morning. I love this industry and the people who are committed to making it better, helping each other, and, yes, watching each other's backs. The pandemic had a substantially negative impact on every artist, but at the same time, it forced us to find new solutions and find more ways to keep in touch. 

I used to know that 3-5 times a year, I'd be at a convention or conference somewhere in the US. I'd be in touch with old friends and make new ones. Covid took that away, yet in so many ways, I'm more in touch with good friends today than I ever was in the past. We're all watching each other's backs, and thanks to the phone, Facebook, and email, we've got more people looking out for us than ever before!

So, to Will, and dozens of friends who keep in touch, thank you. They're two tiny words that carry with them so much heart, commitment, and appreciation. Hopefully, the last year and a half have been the toughest and most challenging we'll ever experience, but we got through it together.

Now, I keep thinking about IUSA in January and the opportunity for time to refocus and get back to the career path we all chose in a remarkable industry. Early in the pandemic, on a podcast, I was asked, "What do you miss the most?" My answer? "Bumping into friends, literally!"

Wishing everybody a day to simply keep in touch with friends. Go for those eleven-second hugs with the people most important in your life and make it a day of memories and smiles. Today's heartfelt moments will become tomorrow's Throwback Thursday stories to savor.

Happy Sunday...and oh yeah, thanks for watching my back! 

Best friends are people who make your problems their problems,
just so you don't have to go through them alone.
Unknown Author