Confluence

One of the definitions of confluence is "a flowing together". I really feel like that is what has been happening in my photography lately. Mostly through the PMPA I've been contacting more photographers who are willing to help out a total newbie and give me the direction that would take years of my own stumbling around to figure out.

Unknown to him, the start of my season of confluence began with some blog posts by Zack Arias. Zack is a commercial photographer in Atlanta that is very talented and has a great blog! A recent blog entry asks how many of us are "standing on the dock" wondering how to launch out into this sea of uncertainty called professional photography. Then Zack hits us with Dope Soap & Hope, another from-the-heart entry that really feels like God saying, "what's your excuse?".

So, feeling like I've been given the challenge to actually do something rather than just soak in information, I attend the November PMPA meeting where Ron LeBlanc stands up and says that he needs an assistant for their Pictures with Santa booth at an upcoming event. As soon as the meeting was over I jumped up and nearly tackled Ron letting him know that I'm interested. Ron and Kate, being the gracious folks they are agreed to let me help them for the event.

Then I read Zack's A Call To Action and find out about the Help Portrait project. A little research shows that there is a Portland group that is organizing an event. Still buzzing from the Dope Soap & Hope example, I jump into the Help Portrait project offering to help how ever I can.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I had the great pleasure to assist Ron and Kate with their "Pictures with Santa" booth at the huge Christmas Bazaar inside the Portland Expo Center. This was a 6 day event that spanned two weekends. For a first-year effort things went really well. We had a great team and a fantastic Santa. After the first weekend I decided to purchase a complete green screen setup with cool lights and event level software. Now I'm stepping off the dock into waters who's depth are unknown to me, but with the confidence that God won't let me drown.

Now I can offer to use the green screen setup and software to provide a "photo booth" at the Help Portrait event in Portland. We all had a great time and were able to give pictures to over 40 families on Saturday! Elee Yang helped me out with our photo booth that gave every family a picture to take with them from the event. The other very talented photographers will be getting their images printed this week and will be delivering them.

So, now I'm wet, having jumped off the dock and have a vague idea of where I'm going. Times like this tend to be emotional. If you look for the negative, they will be stressful and frightening. If you look ahead with a positive expectation they can be exhilarating! I'm choosing to go with the latter.


It looks like there are some prospects for events coming up early next year. I'm working on my branding and business details now as I get ready for the new year. I promise that I'll have more information soon!