I guess I’m into quotes lately. Maybe it’s because of all this time I have for deep thinking. Yikes.

Don McGowan is a nature photographer, best known for his work in the Smokies. He’s also one of my ‘heros.’ He’s a deep-thinking, passionately creative photographer. Don publishes a sometimes-monthly newsletter called “A Song For The Asking,” and in his February 2009 newsletter spends a lot of time discussing principals from Eric Maisel’s Coaching the Artist Within. There are 12 skills in all, and I think I just need to get the book and read it, but it is in Don’s discussion of the second skill which he refers to as “passionately making meaning” that hit me like another brick between the eyes:

““Regardless of whether or not the universe is meaningful, of whether my odds of succeeding are long or short, of everything at both the existential level and at the practical level, I am going to intentionally make meaning.” What this amounts to is saying to yourself that you’re not going to wait on the universe to announce to you what you should do; you are going to decide, based on your own best understanding of truth and reality, how you will matter.”

Hmmm?

I got into a discussion with some of my photo buddies this past weekend about “developing a personal style” and got to thinking about it on my own. A lot of photographers (and other artists) have a recognizable, identifiable personal style, to the point where you can pick out their work among a group of images or prints. I don’t think this is something you can “do” as much as it is something that “happens.” You can’t for example put on your To Do list: “Develop personal style today” or something similar. And it doesn’t happen with a certain camera, lens or Photoshop plug in. I think it must come from hard work, from taking a lot of pictures, using whatever influences and inspiration you have in you, editing your photos into some kind of organized structure, and showing them to others.

Everyone has a personal style, but not everyone’s personal style is individual or unique enough to be recognizable. But some people’s personal style definitely stands out as their own.

(1) I went to a meeting of an artist’s group last night. Several of the painters talked about having worked from a photograph to do their paintings. I couldn’t help but think that if they would just learn to take better photographs they wouldn’t have to bother with the paint.

(2) Photographers who like to get all righteous about their work being art and say it is more dependent on their vision than their equipment always say that they get upset when someone asks them what kind of camera they have to get those nice pictures. One of the typical lines is that “painters don’t sit around talking about what kind of brush they used, or their brand of easel or what kind of palette they use….” Well, when someone (not me) showed their photography, one of the painters said “what kind of camera do you have, it must be a good one?” I was tempted but kept my mouth shut. I was a guest, after all.

(3) Most of the painters seemed to be more interested in whether the photographers would photograph their paintings, presumably for free, than they were in what kind of photographs they made.

Since I don’t know who-all reads my blog I don’t know who-all read my previous post and wondered what the who-all I was talking about. Most followers know that my day job is with a large financial institution in town. Most people also know that this is not the best of times to be working for a financial institution. Well, this past Friday I got to experience first-hand the way that financial institutions “build shareholder value” by reducing the quantity of what in better times is often referred to as “our greatest resource.” Boogers said “sayonara,” gave me a little severance package and a pat on the head and said “thanks.”

Now the good news is that, within 30 minutes of getting my notice I had applied for a position doing almost exactly the same thing for the same customers in the same market segment but with a different product serviced by an area where they are hiring. Gotta love big business – why they can’t say “we gotta give somebody up, you need somebody, let’s make a deal” is beyond me but that’s bidness. Found out today that I’ve been selected for the interview process, which means they think I’m worth talking to. Best part is that I already know the people I’ll be interviewing with and they know me, they’re great folks that I’d love to work for, and even if I have to take a cut in pay it’s still better than zero. So hopefully things will work out, maybe I end up with a little paid vacation, conveniently the week of the CNPA Annual Meeting here in Charlotte, which I was already planning to be off for. Whatever happens, we’ll be fine.

Update 3/5/09: I didn’t get the job. But we’re still going to be OK. Maybe better than OK!

The photo is something else I borrowed from William Neill. The artsy term is “Triptych” and I think that’s pretty nice so that’s what I call mine. Collection of three (hence the name) images from our recent adventure to Hilton Head.