I Passed the written test! Now for the images!

I got back from a trip to Manassas, VA to find that I have passed the written section of the Certified Professional Photographer exam.  Yea!!

Now I have to submit 20 images for the full certification.  Anybody want to be photographed?  The next 18 people who contact me to be photographed, I will not charge the sitting fee if you mention this blog.

More work to do.

And lots more marketing.

Memories in Photographs

I was sitting yesterday with my oldest son, Marshall and my laptop was open and went to the screensaver function.  Marshall started making comments about the family photos on my screensaver, about how his brothers have changed and remembering the family times when they were younger. Now they are all grown and gone, and I sit looking at my beautiful wife (as she works on her laptop).

I am, first of all, thankful for the family that I have been blessed with and our years together.  I am also thankful for the memories and the photographs that bring those memories to the forefront of our minds.  But I thought of something else.  I once told someone that I would not be doing them any favor if I let them put their photograph on their computer - which would someday crash and end up in a pile of garbage.  So, my thought for the day is: save your photos on your computer and enjoy them today, but back them up on a DVD or some other external memory because your computer will not last forever.

The older the memory, the sweeter they are to remember.  Save the images of your memory.

A few of my favorite images from the Leadership Summit.

I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite images from the Leadership Summit that I am photographing.  I must admit that I love these images more because of my affection and friendship with the people in the photographs, but the lighting is good also.

News, determination and hope

I am sorry that I have not blogged in a while.  I was photographing a Leadership Conference yesterday and today and am encouraged to make some changes in my life.  And maybe a blog is part of the changes that need to be made.

One of the speakers was Seth Goden who talks about the changes in our culture and how it effects everything in our lives.  If you are interested in his ideas and blogs, see sethsblog.com or google "Seth Godon".

One of the other speakers that impressed me was Leonard Schlessinger and his call for action when everything is uncertain.  Can today's world, with the economy and all the changes be called anything but uncertain?  A book that you could look up is Action Trumps Everything.  I am looking forward to reading the book.

I guess if there is anything we need now, in today's world and in my world, it is probably leadership.  I feel a paucity of leadership on many levels - from the Federal Government (that is acting more like two war-lord groups fighting over turf) down to the organizations that I work with on a daily basis.  Maybe it is time for all of us, as Seth would assert, to arise and take our place as leaders in the world.

So, challenge me if you don't see a new blog for a while - or if you don't hear about other blogs being tested. Maybe a blog on how to take better photographs. Maybe a blog on being a ditch digger (I'll let you wonder about that one for a while.)