Catching Up
06/03/07 10:05 AM |
Tortured Artist
Greetings from Gate C15
in Atlanta.
It has been an intense 3 or 4 months for me. There have been times when I thought this entire adventure that I am on would just come crashing down on my head. I've been a one man shop for over 3 years and my business has grown to the point that I can no longer carry the weight of it all on my own. I'm very please to announce that I now have a full time studio manager working with me. His name is Erik Dixon. Erik was my first intern and he proved to have the hustle and ambition to get the job done. I realized back in November of last year that I could not keep all of this going without help and Erik was the first person I thought of. He has proved to be invaluable since moving to Atlanta from Tulsa last month. It is an amazing feeling knowing that I'm heading out of town for 3 days and work continues in the studio.
I'm on my way to conduct a OneLight Workshop in Pittsburgh. It is going to be cold so my challenge will be keeping the OneLight running smooth indoors for the vast majority of the time. I did it in Denver so it should not be a problem. We are holding the workshop in Sewicky at a beautiful Inn there. Big thanks to Robin for doing all the leg work to make this workshop happen. It just sold out last night so it is keeping up with the trend that every OneLight fills to capacity.
Now that Erik is getting up to speed I have been able to take care of a lot of loose strings hanging around. One of them was getting the final votes counted for the 2006 music photo of the year contest. I'm proud to announce that Dear Enemy has walked away with it again this year. I received 3,659 votes for 72 artists in the contest gallery. I have got to get the voting system automated for next year's contest. I'm going to have to learn me some of that PHP or NBA or LSD or something.
What else? Oh yes.... I have to rave and rave about my new camera bag and travel set up. I am going to be doing a lot of traveling this year and I have never had a truly organized and simple way to travel with all of my gear. I have recently bought three bags. The two I am MOST excited about are the Airport Security camera bag and the Airport Check In laptop bag. Both of these are made by ThinkTank Photo. I first learned about these bags and Expo Plus in NYC last year. My number one goal at Expo was to find a new bag.
I looked at every single offering on the trade show floor and Think Tank was by far, hands down, the most thought out and well built bag any one had to offer. The $359 price tag for the Airport Security was higher than other bags but I tell you this.... It is worth every single penny. The founders of the company are working photographers and are extremely helpful when you call them up. I can not recommend their line of products enough.
The other bag I have gotten recently is a Samsonite Golf bag. It is similar to this one. I paid $99 for it at a local golf store. It came with the large padded case for golf clubs, a shoe bag, and a small duffle bag. My light stands, umbrellas, and softboxes strap securely inside the bag leaving plenty of room for clothes and other items I don't need to carry on. The beauty of putting your larger gear in a golf case is 1) airlines usually don't charge for oversized baggage if it is a golf club case and 2) you can get a great bag for $100 compared to the $300 and $400 cases made for the photo industry.
This is my first trip with my new bags and it has made my life 100% better. I uses to travel with 4 bags. 2 carry on (shoulder bags) and 2 check in. I'm now down to 3 bags. 2 carry on that fit together and roll behind me, and then one checked bag that carries my stands, modifiers, and clothes. All of it rolls smoothly from parking to check in. It is a beautiful thing I tell ya. Worth every single penny. Eerik and I shot a "What's In Your Bag" video this week for Simple Photo Life. I'll finish the editing on it when I get back from Pittsburgh.
That's a fairly decent up to date catching up on the blog here. I would appreciate your prayers and I continue to navigate some large transitions this year. It's going to be a great year of growth and learning and I can't thank Erik enough for taking the plunge and leaving family and friends behind to come help me work this field I have to work.
Cheers,
Zack
It has been an intense 3 or 4 months for me. There have been times when I thought this entire adventure that I am on would just come crashing down on my head. I've been a one man shop for over 3 years and my business has grown to the point that I can no longer carry the weight of it all on my own. I'm very please to announce that I now have a full time studio manager working with me. His name is Erik Dixon. Erik was my first intern and he proved to have the hustle and ambition to get the job done. I realized back in November of last year that I could not keep all of this going without help and Erik was the first person I thought of. He has proved to be invaluable since moving to Atlanta from Tulsa last month. It is an amazing feeling knowing that I'm heading out of town for 3 days and work continues in the studio.
I'm on my way to conduct a OneLight Workshop in Pittsburgh. It is going to be cold so my challenge will be keeping the OneLight running smooth indoors for the vast majority of the time. I did it in Denver so it should not be a problem. We are holding the workshop in Sewicky at a beautiful Inn there. Big thanks to Robin for doing all the leg work to make this workshop happen. It just sold out last night so it is keeping up with the trend that every OneLight fills to capacity.
Now that Erik is getting up to speed I have been able to take care of a lot of loose strings hanging around. One of them was getting the final votes counted for the 2006 music photo of the year contest. I'm proud to announce that Dear Enemy has walked away with it again this year. I received 3,659 votes for 72 artists in the contest gallery. I have got to get the voting system automated for next year's contest. I'm going to have to learn me some of that PHP or NBA or LSD or something.
What else? Oh yes.... I have to rave and rave about my new camera bag and travel set up. I am going to be doing a lot of traveling this year and I have never had a truly organized and simple way to travel with all of my gear. I have recently bought three bags. The two I am MOST excited about are the Airport Security camera bag and the Airport Check In laptop bag. Both of these are made by ThinkTank Photo. I first learned about these bags and Expo Plus in NYC last year. My number one goal at Expo was to find a new bag.
I looked at every single offering on the trade show floor and Think Tank was by far, hands down, the most thought out and well built bag any one had to offer. The $359 price tag for the Airport Security was higher than other bags but I tell you this.... It is worth every single penny. The founders of the company are working photographers and are extremely helpful when you call them up. I can not recommend their line of products enough.
The other bag I have gotten recently is a Samsonite Golf bag. It is similar to this one. I paid $99 for it at a local golf store. It came with the large padded case for golf clubs, a shoe bag, and a small duffle bag. My light stands, umbrellas, and softboxes strap securely inside the bag leaving plenty of room for clothes and other items I don't need to carry on. The beauty of putting your larger gear in a golf case is 1) airlines usually don't charge for oversized baggage if it is a golf club case and 2) you can get a great bag for $100 compared to the $300 and $400 cases made for the photo industry.
This is my first trip with my new bags and it has made my life 100% better. I uses to travel with 4 bags. 2 carry on (shoulder bags) and 2 check in. I'm now down to 3 bags. 2 carry on that fit together and roll behind me, and then one checked bag that carries my stands, modifiers, and clothes. All of it rolls smoothly from parking to check in. It is a beautiful thing I tell ya. Worth every single penny. Eerik and I shot a "What's In Your Bag" video this week for Simple Photo Life. I'll finish the editing on it when I get back from Pittsburgh.
That's a fairly decent up to date catching up on the blog here. I would appreciate your prayers and I continue to navigate some large transitions this year. It's going to be a great year of growth and learning and I can't thank Erik enough for taking the plunge and leaving family and friends behind to come help me work this field I have to work.
Cheers,
Zack
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