I am so lucky to be alive. I could've never been born. In fact, odds were that I never should've been born. but here I am. Alive.

And everything is beautiful because of it.

think about it

INTRO/UNIMPORTANT THINGS

So this journal is titled Things Every Photographer Should Know. What are these Things? Where do I start? Where do I stop? How do I know these things?

So many questions.

First of all, I cannot stress enough the great things I have learned from zarias.com. His site is full of really good hour long critiques, where he goes over websites that have been submitted to him. He gives tip after tip to photographers who are just learning, or need a bit of a refresher.

Second of all, I don't know the answers. No one does. No matter how many classes you take, books you read, or websites you visit (yeah, even Zach Arias' ), you will never know every thing a photographer should know.

That being said, I do know somethings. There are somethings that you may have heard before, or somethings you heard a long time ago and forgot. For some of you, this will not be anything new at all. I hope all of you read this though, and can learn something from it.

Without further ado:

FEATURE STORY

Photography is a funny thing. For some of us it is no more than a way to share pictures with friends through places like facebook or myspace. For others is a way to keep memories otherwise forgotten. For some of us it is like a little beast inside of our head, that whispers into our ears.

It tells us new things to shoot, gives us more ideas. It tells us that we aren't good enough yet, that we probably never will be. It tells us we need to devote more and more time, to devote ourselves to it.

Photography can tell us things we didn't even know about ourselves. For example, I tend to take pictures that are in general more dark, maybe even depressing, even though I'm a happy guy.

Photography is always changing, and as photographers we must be very versatile in the same way. It's something that we excel at, even love. Don't be afraid to listen to the beast. Embrace it, make the changes it suggests, even if you hate it at first.

Here are some things to remember:

It's okay to hate your work. It's not okay to ever think that you don't have what it takes to be a good photographer. No one makes amazing photographs every single time they press the shutter, most of the stuff that comes out is technically worthless.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are photographers every where, at college, in schools, down the street, and especially online, at sites like this one. Feel free to ask any one for help, most of the time they would be more than glad to lend a hand. I know that whenever I get a question, whether it's technical or whatever, I take the time to answer to the best of my knowledge. It makes me feel good about myself

I know you hear this all the time, but keep on shooting. Try new things, push yourself, don't be afraid to ask for models. Think of new ideas, and follow through with them. Photography is the kind of business that whoever wants it gets it. You've gotta want it.

ENDING

That's what I can come up with now. Take it to heart! It's all good information. I'd love to hear what you have to say too, leave me a comment, tell me what's on your mind. I'd love to talk.

INTRO/IMPORTANT THINGS
I'm back!¹ I really wanted to give a feature to this lady. Lately she has been favoring my work, telling me what she things about it, even commenting in my journals its been great. So without further ado...




Go check out the rest of her gallery, it's great.

FEATURES
Time for the rest of the features, game winners... interesting people... whoever I choose²

Game Winners
#1.

#2.


Smart/Funny/Interesting People
This lady did an edit of my latest DD (thanks throughhislens!) to make it look more like a tradition "DD." quite frankly it was hilarious and totally made an excellent argument against the people who questioned it's worthiness. So I promised her a feature




DEEP THOUGHTS/LIFE STORIES/PHOTO TIPS/WHATEV
So I decided to do a 7 day self portrait project titled "mirrors."

You can see I've already started, two days down, still need one for today but it's only noon. It's actually been a lot of fun so far. Oh, if you wanna do self portraits and don't know where to start, This is a good place. It gives tips on focusing, and a few other small things too. The club that made the article is really great too, they always come out with new tips and projects for you to try out.

If you check out Zach Arias's blog you'll see he is doing a very generous christmas gift give-away. Check it out, read the rules, and please please please follow them, don't just do it yourself (you'll see what I mean after you check it out).

so when I started my self portrait project, I got home super late, at like one, and had been tired all day. I was about to hit the sack when I looked at the door in my room and thought, "That has some potential." So I unpacked my gear, I even pulled out the umbrella, and started shooting. This would've been so much more simple if I was shooting some one else, instead I had to guess at the focus and wait for the self-timer. I hadn't taken pictures for almost a month until last night, and when I picked up my camera, it felt good. I mean, an unexplainable good feeling. If I had to describe to someone what if would feel like if you could hold and touch the emotion "joy," I would tell them, "It's like when you don't use a camera for a long time, and then you pick it up without thinking and it catches you by surprise."

I felt really good.

END

¹I was never technically gone, just really lazy. Now I am back to answering comments and responding to actions and all the good things.
²Premium Membership is fun

INTRODUCTION

Happy Thanksgiving, hope you had a wonderful time with many things to be thankful for. I sure did, my brother just returned from the middle east

NEWS

I've been slacking like crazy lately! I mean, you know it's bad when you don't submit anything in a month but I'm working on it. If you have any ideas for a future shoot let me know, I'm more than glad to check them out!

I'm actually just now finishing the Nashville pics, which is kinda embarrassing to be honest

My brother and I (the one back from the middle east) decided to try out WoW together... so uh... yeah, looking forward to that kind of haha I started a Dranea (sp?) mage.

IMPORTANT THINGS

I know I owe quite a few people a Feature. Don't worry, it's coming! I don't have the time right now, just wanted to let every one know that I'm still here. If I do you owe you a feature just let me know

INTRO/IMPORTANT THINGS

Alright, I know I owe some people a feature¹, so lets get right on that!

but first I have another feature to give. Well it's more of a thanks to througHislens. He recommended a picture that ended up being my first double D, even though he probably deserves one more

So every one check out this guy's gallery, it's very good! Here are some of my favorite shots:






FEATURES

#1.


#2.


#3.


#4.


#5



TIPS/LIFE STORIES/OTHER

Go to Zach Arias' site, and watch some of his critiques. They are very long, but well worth it! Number 12, his most recent, is a great place to start. His lessons have saved my lazy bum on more then one occasion, I know they can do the same for you.

hm, life stories? Well I just got back from some bodacious night sledding, that was fun. Spent a few hours hanging out with a girl in my photo class helping her mount some prints. Nothing to special going on.

GAMES

Rules and Stuff²

1. I'll post a series of 3-5 pictues, and you get to find what all of them have in common. It may be something simple, or it may be something deep .

2. Winners get a picture or two featured here!

3. You have 24 hours from the time the entry is posted before guessing is closed.

4. You can only win twice a month ( I don't want the same people in my journal every time, sorry )






On this Particular shot, This is not the answer:
1.Only one thing is in focus

THE OFFICIAL DEEP THOUGHTS CORNER

hm... deep thoughts today... ah yes.

I thought, the person we become is not defined so much by who we are, but who our friends are.

Think about it. Argue about it³. Agree with it⁴. Just let me know.

THE END


Notes:

¹You've already scrolled past them.

²In future games I might switch up the rules, so pay attention! for example I might say, "all of these pictures could be scenes from my favorite movie" or, "one of these things is not like the other." Just keep your eyes open

³Don't do that.

⁴You'll feel better this way anyways.