About you Designs

I recently was part of a discussion regarding photography ethics.  It’s interesting to see the views and the differences in those views in direct correlation to the level of experience of the photographer.  The less the experience, the less understood about how things are done in the photography world, especially the professional photography world.

For instance…if someone has hired a professional photographer to photograph an event, then, that photographer is the official photographer.  No one, no matter what level of experience they have, should interfere, interject, or change what the photographer is doing or attempting to do.  By interfering, you are actually interfering with that photographer’s agreed upon contract.  Tisk tisk tisk.  Whether the photographer is a beginner or a 20 year pro, they have a contract to full fill in their own manner and way. What y0u may thing of as helping out, may actually be hindering the photographer and distracting the subjects.  You can be throwing important time frames off, preventing the photographer from achieving the desired shots, distracting people when they need to focus on the photographer.  If you are asked to watch for a bride’s dress or keep an eye on her necklace, that’s one thing, but you should never interfere with the photographer.  This includes changing the photographer’s set up of people, the photographer’s lights, props, etc.  HANDS OFF is basically what needs to be done.

Another thing that is disrespectful of not just the photographer, but also of the clients, is to photograph over the photographer’s shoulder.  Again, you are distracting people.  I can’t count the number of images that would be perfect … except for someone in the image is looking at someone else’s camera instead of mine.  And NEVER step in front of the photographer.  NEVER.

Basically, common sense and respect for another’s profession is the key.  How would you like to be treated?  Would you want to work hard to get something done and complete and perfect and have someone else swoop in and steal it from you?  Same thing.

And things like right clicking, etc.  That is copyright theft.  In the US, images are copyright protected from the moment the shutter is pushed.  It doesn’t have to say “COPYRIGHT PROTECTED” across it to be protected.  In essence, do not steal another’s images.  That is wrong.  What if you had a great barrel saddle, and I just took it out of your trailer?  Or, your Grandmother gave you her wedding ring and someone just decided they wanted it and too it.  To a photographer, that is the same thing.  Theft.

Remember, respect goes a long ways towards fostering a great future relationship!

Michelle

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I’m entering!  Why don’t you!

Michelle

I’m not the type of person to suddenly develop a dream.  Usually, it takes time for me to develop the thought.  It starts small, a little idea, then blooms and evolves.  It grows and blossems.  But today…

Today…I suddenly had the thought that I NEED to ride a beautiful horse on a beautiful exotic beach somewhere.  Mind you, I don’t live the type of life that has exotic beaches.  Lots of beautiful horses, but they are working cattle or babysitting kids.  No beaches exist in my life.  In fact, the last time I saw a beach was so many years ago when I was deployed overseas to Italy.  And that visit was amazing, but all to brief to really enjoy it.  And…there were no beautiful horses.  Just lots of very hairy men.

But this little day dream I had just won’t go on the back burner today.  It’s right there in the fron t of my thoughts.  What type of horse?  What color?  What beach?  How fine is the sand?  What time of day is it?  Early morning?  Sunset?  Both?  Do we just ride in the sand or venture into the water?  Are we alone or is there a beach full of people?  A beach full of horses?

What a beautiful thought.  Honestly, I doubt this dream will ever come into reality for me.  But it’s a lovely day dream to dream.

Michelle

He must be listening to me a little bit.

I worked with Whistler again last night and he continues to pick up everything so fast that I should have taught him so long ago.  But that’s alright.  I’ve loving every moment of this peace I find when working with him.

And then, a neighbor called at about 9:30.  He has this colt, about 4 months old, who is starting to get a little out of hand.  Never been handled.  Can we come over and help get a halter on him?

Sure.

With two men to muscle some panels around for me to narrow a pen further and further so he could not harm himself or me, I worked him into a halter and gave him his first lessons on life, leading, and the future.  Personally, I think he really enjoyed the scratching.

It was so good for my heart.  It was so … basic.

Michelle

I have to say that live on the ranch is not all glorious fun and work.  There are more difficult issues to deal with as a grown, independant adult woman marrying into a family who is quite differant than herself.  I grew up surrounded by horses on my father’s ranch.  We all understood each other, and, dispite the fact that we bred, raised and trained horses for various purposes, it was well understood that each of us had our own dreams, goals, and desires.

My blog has always been centered around the work and positive side of our ranching life.  But things can get tense as well.

I married a man who’s entire family has one purpose and one purpose only.  Cattle.  That’s it.  With me came the horses…one half of my life’s dreams and goals.  Much to the dismay of some members of the family.  With me came the words…”Ummm…No….I’m photographing that day” and “Uuuummm…No…I have a rodeo to shoot this day.”  I think some of the family went into shock.  Some had definitely never been told that word before.  I guess, it’s in their nature, just as it’s in my nature to say “No, I am busy with….”  Now keep in mind, at this point in my life, I am NOT competing, although every rodeo, there is a large part of me that wants to be in the arena on a horse.  I am there photographing, working, capturing some of the most amazing rides in the rodeo world.

Don’t get me wrong.  I LOVE the cows.  I do.  I love our ranch.  But I don’t own any of it.  I help out all winter long and honestly, don’t receive a word of thanks.  I get darn right cold to the point where I feel like I’m never going to feel my toes again and that my fingers are never going to flex in a fluid smooth manner again.  I do help out some during the summer months, but my weekends and evenings are usually dedicated to MY career.  The one that pays my bills.  And, I guess that some people have an issue with the fact that I’m a career woman, even though a good portion of that career is completed in my home environment.   I work a lot of  very late nights because, I do put a lot of time in on tractors, and cows, even though it’s not thought to be nearly enough.

Basically, there is some head butting going on.  Sometimes, it’s not a pretty sight.  But, I am who I am.  And, I will not give up my dreams, goals, and hard fought for hard work because someone who doesn’t want to understand me or my choice in careers thinks I should.  There is a certain lack of respect for me and what is dear to me and who I am.  And, some people have found themselves caught in the middle.  Eventually, they are going to have to make a decision to either back me up, or go the other way with it.  But eventually, it’s going to have to happen.

Things here are very very very very very busy and crazy now.  I’m about a week and a half behind in office work alone and am only typing this because I’m waiting on some images to load so I can work flow them.  I have another Cowboy Christmas weekend coming up this 4th of July weekend which will put me further behind.  And, today, apparently, my husband is starting to hay.  I’m not fond of haying.  Equipment tends to break and I am not a mechanic.  Not by a long shot.  And I feel horrible when I’m driving something that breaks down.  What did I do to cause it?  What could I have done differantly?  And how much is it going to cost to fix it?  I hate those questions.

I also can’t help but feel that I am just working to put a paycheck in someone else’s pocket.  Seriously.  I don’t get an annual vacation.  I don’t get a paycheck.  I don’t even get a thank you.  It’s just supposed to be what I am supposed to do.  Well, I don’t function that way at all.  Guess what?  I WANT a vacation.  I WANT a thank you.  Yes, I want a “Thanks for working your ass off all day in the 100 degree heat on that broken down swather in the middle of nowhere.”

I guess I’m selfish.

Michelle

Do you find it ironic on what makes the news, nowadays?  There are wars going on in this world, starving children, corrupt politicians, drouts, floods, hurricanes, disease, sickness, homelessness.  The list goes on and on.

And, WHAT is making every moment of today’s news?  The death of an individual who had everything and pissed it all away.  Sorry folks, but that IS what he did.  The $$…the fame…EVERYTHING this man did “publically” was done simply for publicity.  He was a surgical experiment gone wrong.   HOW could a person with the kind of $$ he had LOOSE everything?  SPEND everything?

He started out as a child performer.  A great one at that.  I’ll give him that.  And the abuse reports, etc came out.  And he used them as a crutch.  We all reach a point in our life…at least in this country…where there are positive influences…whether it be through the people we see and become friends with, what we see on tv, what we choose to read…where we can all make an informed CHOICE on how we live our lives.  We don’t have to CHOOSE to wallow in our individual pasts.  We don’t have to CHOOSE to allow the wrongs from our pasts to predict our behavior in the future.

We reach a point where we make a choice.  Live well, or live badly.  He chose to live badly.  Through his suspect behaviors, through his spending, through the extreme and unnecessary physical transformations that left him more of a carnival show than a man.

Seriously.  Don’t you wonder what he would look like if he had CHOSEN to be who he was meant to be rather than what a surgeon’s knife made him?

Don’t you wonder?  I’ll bet he would have been a handsome attractive man.  Instead…he became…an anomaly.

How sad.

Let’s focus on the real world folks, not the made up neverland of a person who could be who God meant him to be.

What a complete waste of a life.

Michelle

This is nothing short of a crazy time frame in our year. Between the kids, cows, the horses, the photography, the fencing, the haying, about a zillion wedding and rodeo images to edit and upload, and all that my husband has going on, blogging time is few and far between. Today, I have to haul minerals to cows, check a pasture fence that we have not going around once yet this year, find out what is wrong with another fence line, feed corn, switch pens for the horses, get all of my things checked, rechecked, charged, and rechecked and loaded to head down to the North Dakota High School Finals this year where I am the Official Photographer for the event. That’s just the short list of the things at the fore front of my to-do-list today. And oh yes, I have a shoot tonight at 8:30. Thankfully, it’s hear on the ranch!

So, it’ll be a few more days before I blog faithfully again, but I hope you’ll check back and I think it’ll be worth the wait! I have so much floating around to blog about right now, but not the time frame to do it! Well, I’ve gotta go run a fence line! Have a great day!

Michelle