Thirst Relief International . . .

Grow as a photographer while saving lives!

I'm participating in the 2010 ThirstRelief Mentor Auction. Our mission is to save lives by tapping into the incredible talent and generosity of the photo industry.

Did you know that every 15 seconds someone dies of a waterborne illness? That's 5760 people every day! You can help. Bid on a mentoring session with your favorite photographer!
100% of the proceeds directly benefit Thirst Relief. Add to that the incredible wisdom and talent that is being shared in the one-on-one mentor sessions and you have better and more successful photographers! It's truly a win win for everyone involved!

I am extremely humbled and excited to be asked to participate in this auction. If you are a photographer reading this, please consider taking a look at the Thirst Relief website and bidding on a mentoring session with one of the many talented photographers helping out. If you aren't a photographer, but believe in saving lives and helping make this world a better place, please forward this information to anyone you may know that might be interested.

I thank you all in advance.

Included with my auction:

This mentorship includes a seat in our upcoming Rebirth retreat. Four days of emersion in creative thought and community, with access to lots of film and digital cameras and processes including (but not limited to) wetplate, holga, polaroid, and alternative digital techniques (both printing and image capture). All you have to do is get to Mississippi. The rest is covered. http://www.rebirthworkshops.com

To bid on my auction, visit thirstrelief.shootq.com!

Pictage Ask & Learn

I'm really excited (and a bit nervous!) to be asked to do Pictage's "Ask and Learn" event tonight from 6 -8 PM CST. For those not familiar, this is simply an activity on the Pictage forums where photographers from all over the world will have a chance to pick my brain a bit. (Hopefully there is something worth picking!) We'll be talking mostly about a presentation I made last fall in Los Angeles entitled, "Inspire Yourself, Inspire Your Clients -leveraging personal projects to enhance your brand".

The main goal for this presentation was to encourage photographers to reach outside the comfort level of portrait and weddings, and do some personal work just for the sake of doing it. In the process, they'll hopefully become better photographers, find a unique voice, and do some good things for others along the way.

So if you're a Pictage member, I'd love to visit with you tonight. If you're not, well, you can certainly email me if you'd like and I'll help any way I can.

You can find more information from my presentation by clicking the link below, or by copying and pasting it into your browser's address field.

http://www.wiljax.com/partnercon08

And finally, here's a quick little video intro I did while out in LA, and below that is about a half hour podcast where we discuss a little more about this topic.




click below to hear the podcast

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Pictage PartnerCon Presentation

I've gotten a few emails this week asking for the link to the materials form my presentation at PartnerCon a week or so ago.

I thought I'd post it here. If you have any questions or comments let me know. I;d love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks again to all who attended.


The link:

http://www.wiljax.com/partnercon08



~wj

"scary" isn't so bad after all . . .

I did something scary this week. I stood in front of a room full of people and did my best to keep them from throwing things at me.

But I get ahead of myself. Let me digress just a bit.

This has been one hell of a year. So many ups and downs for both me and Jamie (especially Jamie). We have felt every emotion possible. And we've grown because of it. It was during one afternoon that was extremely trying, that I decided it was time to get better at just that . . .TRYING. And that's not always easy.

Trying requires that we extend ourselves. That we do things we're not used to doing. That we put ourselves out there for ridicule, embarrassment, criticism, and . . . . growth. Quite often it's fear that keeps us from doing new things, and I was determined to look eye to eye with that fear and see if I could beat it.

So when I found out that Pictage was accepting abstracts for presenters at it's annual LA Partner Conference, I submitted one. I figured it was a pretty long shot for me to be selected, but hey, at least I was trying, right? Well, they did pick me, I was stunned, and I spent the better part of two months thinking, fretting, writing, rehearsing, sweating, working, practicing, trashing, accepting, and yes, trying.

And on Tuesday I marched down the aisle to the little podium where I was to give my presentation. I stood in front of some of the best photographers in the world. I recognized so many of them right away. I just knew they would call my bluff at any minute, and I wanted quite badly to just run out of that room and never come back. Who the hell am I ? What the hell am I doing sharing my thoughts with this group?

And that, of course, is the point. I got through my presentation. I tackled my fear. And I found out just a little bit more about who I am.

So thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who came to hear me speak. It really was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I hope you gained at least some small nugget of information that can help you down the line. Thank you to all of the wonderful folks at Pictage for giving me a chance to do this. Thank you to all of the wonderful photographers that I met, and friends that I made, for inspiring me to continue to push myself to become the best photographer -- and best ME -- I can be.

And thank you Jamie, for listening patiently while I whined about not being able to do this. You were right.

All I needed to do was try.


To all of you. Go try. Do something new. Do something you've always thought about, but were scared to attempt. Make time. Don't wait for it.

It's a pretty good feeling when you do it.



~wj

continuing to learn . . . .

I spent a few days recently in Asheville, North Carolina with two of my great photographer friends, Corey McNabb and Amber Holritz at their most recent McWorkshop. I was only able to attend two days out of the five day event, but they were well worth it. You never stop learning, and my trip was a great example of that.

This week wasn't all about photography (though I learned so many great things that I can't wait to implement), it was about taking a step when you're a bit hesitant to do so, being active rather than passive, and making an effort to connect with others.

I laughed more in two days than I have in quite some time. I learned a lot about myself, my photography, and my friends. And made several new ones. Thanks for letting me hang out guys, I had a blast and learned more than you probably realize.

If any of you readers get a chance, go check out some of these great photographers that were at the workshop with me:

Jessica Campbell
Laurie Johnson
Jessica Powell
Jill Schwarzkopf
Mariah Smith
Chris Young
Maureen Swanson

And finally, a few images I created while I was there:


~wj

PartnerCon

I'm quite honored and humbled to be asked to speak at this year's Pictage Partner Conference to be held in Los Angeles September 9th and 10th. Most of you photographers are probably quite familiar with what this is, but for those of you who aren't, PartnerCon is an annual conference held by Pictage where many of the worlds best portrait and weddings photographers come for education and creative fellowship. It's called Partner Conference, as most of the attendees work directly with Pictage who provides our online hosting and printing services, among other things.

My presentation will address the importance of photographers developing their personal work. I'll talk a little about how to continue to explore our own photographic visions, and how to work that in to your portrait and wedding business. My goal is to make things both informative and inspirational.

If you're planning on attending PartnerCon and would like to know a little bit more about what I'll be discussing, feel free to drop me an email. I'll be happy to tell you more of the specifics. You can see the complete schedule of presenters HERE.

In the next few weeks I'll be adding a little more information about this. For those of you attending, I'm really looking forward to meeting all of you. It should be a fun and inspiring two days.

Take care and keep exploring.

~wj

OSP NOLA

Part of my trip last week was spent in New Orleans. I met several other photographers in the French Quarter and we spent three days listening to great speakers and roaming the streets. We had several great models assisting us, and boy were they ever patient with us! I can't imagine how tough it must be to model in the first place, much less in the middle of Bourbon Street with 10 photographers yelling different directions at you. Thanks to all of our models for all of their hard work.

On Monday night we had a night shoot in the French Quarter, and Tuesday we went across the river to a cemetery in Algiers. Here are a few images from those shoots.

Harry Potter. . . perhaps?

Well, actually this is my nephew Wayne. For the last week I've been on a whirlwind tour through south Mississippi, culminating with a three-day stay in New Orleans for some workshops, client meetings, and "brain-picking" along with several other great photographers. (I'll post more about all that very soon)

So on my way back north, as I slowly head home (I'll be back on Sunday after a few more appointments and meetings) I stopped today in McComb for a portrait session (the Sanders. . . .more to come) and a chance to spend some time with my sister and her family. Nights like this are one of the benefits to my job, and I am grateful for them.

My nephew Wayne is one of the most intense, most brilliant children I know. He is 10, carries a book with him everywhere (and I mean everywhere), and has written more stories in his 10 years than I'll write in a lifetime. He is his father's child (brother-in-law Charles is a brilliant writer himself).

Tonight, he was reading away and I couldn't resist snapping a few photos before he went to bed.

Delta Arts Alliance

The Delta Arts Alliance is one of the most exciting new things to happen in the Delta in a long time. After years of hard work, patience, and faith in the mission, it looks like this project is off the ground for good. The renovation of the old Ellis Theater in Cleveland is well underway, and even without a strong home base, this group has worked tirelessly to provide art education in over 20 our public schools. The state cut funding for arts education a few years back, and if it weren't for the work of groups such as the Delta Arts Alliance, the youth of the Delta would nt have such a valuable part of education.