Peeling

I managed to get home from Cuba without scorching all of the skin off of my face, arms, and neck, but 2 long days at the Sun & Fun air show this week in Lakeland, FL, finally did me in and began the long, snake-like process of peeling. The air show was a lot of fun, but logistically challenging and not really that much up my alley photographically. Over the past few years I've grown ever more curious how some editors come to the conclusion that I'm a good pick for assignments including skills I don't really have in my tool box.

We need a white seamless portrait on location... hmm, call Loomis. We need to shoot air-to-air beauty shots of ultra lightweight planes at an air show... yep, Loomis is our man! We need to photograph some thug rapper guy... see if that white guy, Loomis, is available. I love a challenge and have done pretty well on most of these left-field-jobs, so its been really fun, but the old joke "jack of all trades..." has never been that far out of my mind. In all fairness, Sun & Fun (which I shot for Popular Mechanics... directly as a result of my NYC trip!) was supposed to include more "reportage" of the air show itself but due to how difficult it was to get up in the air with some of the planes (too windy) I never had much time to poke around.

Last week I received a survey in my inbox from a photography student somewhere abroad who was doing research on different careers. It was just a polite request to respond to a list of questions, and I had a few minutes so I was happy to oblige. That is until I started reading the list. It wasn't so much that they were bad questions or inappropriate, but the format and type made me angry. They were all very technical and practical... what kinds of equipment, what kind of schooling, what are 4 duties you perform in each day's work, etc. In short I didn't see my job within this survey at all. The kicker was the last prompt... "what do you enjoy about your job?"

What is wrong with school that questions like that aren't first on the list? Especially surveys on creative fields! If that had been the first question, if the survey had been aimed at exploring passion and drive, then it would have been worth the effort. But as it was, I really don't think that photography is a worthwhile choice for a career unless there is a whole love of love involved, and even if I'm wrong a kid who loves photography doesn't need a survey to find it, or me for a little advice.

Last week Judy and I finally got the apartment (and my business) back online after almost 2 months away. I'm not a Comcast fan, but I damn near hugged the technician when he came to the door for installation. Consequently, there will hopefully be a bit more posting going on at DwaDM... including the premier of a couple of new features that I'm stealing from my colleagues. Stay tuned.

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