Six

We had a great time up in north Florida with my family over Christmas and back down in Miami with my older brother Ryan last night to ring in the new year. There was much celebrating and food and drink and joy and it was the end to a really wonderful year. Thanks to all who helped to make it possible, and cheers to all of you that 2008 is even better!

The new year begins my 6th year in business as a full-time freelance photographer (still a spring pup, eh), and I'm celebrating by taking a hard look at my priorities and goals and starting out with a better sense of who I am and what I want as a photographer. Planning is really in the air in our household: multiple upcoming major trips, marriage when, where, and hows, medical residency applications, potential cities to move the JLPXX show on the road, and in general huge work/life decision making going on left and right. For some all of this is incredibly scary stuff, but to me its an opportunity to create lives and careers that are both happy and rewarding.

As far as the blog goes I'm going to be starting the new year appropriately enough with a new feature focusing (again) on documentary project photography. Basically this is just a reason to dig back into the JLPFL photo book library (and kick start several leads I've been turning over) and find fresh inspiration about creating important larger bodies of work. For those who might be interested, first on the list is a favorite from several years ago that I recently have been pouring back over: Jean Gaumy's superb Pleine mer (Men at Sea).

Looking across the office at my dry erase board on the wall I see a list of big ticket items that I'm going to be tackling to begin my 6th year. Most of them are practical (eg. boring) items. Some of them are a bit more abstract. But one that is missing (though is certainly stamped into my brain) happens also to be that my friend Lisa Krantz just expressed in her first 2008 blog post: make pictures that matter!

When I think about what that resolution means, I can see that it truly frames the last five years and what I've learned about the industry and myself. I think that ultimately what happens is that you get bent into making the images that are useful to the clients you have and want to have, and lose a lot of yourself in the process. Its a natural thing to happen and I'm not ashamed about it, but starting this 6th year I don't want to simply "make pictures that matter" anymore. What I really want is to make the pictures that matter to me.

For of whole a lot of reasons there hasn't been nearly enough of the "me" in my work over these five years. Here and there it peeked through, on assignments where I had the passion or time to really try stuff. But as I expressed in my recent post about becoming a portrait photographer, I want to be in control of the single sentence that sums up my contribution to photography. And to be in control I've had to come a long way personally to get to a point where I truly care less about my clients than I do myself.

I'm not sure if some of you will get that, but its clear now that I've spent so much time deeply caring and worrying about every little need and penchant even the smallest of my clients might have that I've largely help to undermine the growth of my own vision. Clients matter, sure. But no one ever truly found their path by constantly looking outside of themselves.

Now at the beginning of the 6th year I honestly don't care if the phone will ring. If I miss calls and jobs because I'm busy working at finding my pictures, then that's just fucking how it is. If I've "gone fishing," then they are shit out of luck - better luck next time. And though on individual basis I really do respect my editors and colleagues, when I see them under the wider umbrella of "clients" I'm completely tired of their shit. It's time to do things my way and that's what matters. On with 2008!

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Comments (2)

Truly is a revelation isn't it? When one day you wake up and say - "F YOU". I'm doing it may way. And if I do it your way it's because your way is not getting in the way of my way.

It's a pain try to please everyone. Or to find that magic formula, and in the case of photographers, "vision", that will make clients run to your door. But I think by trying to find that magic vision you miss out on the opportunity to develop yours. To actually create something that you can be proud of and that you feel is truly your unique statement.

Miles Davis once said he doesn't play jazz ballads because he loves jazz ballads. He wanted badly to push forward and not rest on what he has already mastered, and what others may love. Innovative.

Keep it moving and best to you.

-Sherman

Good luck with that! (And do try not to starve if you can possibly avoid it.)

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