Chairman of the Board
Doug Peninger dpeninger@SEPPAonline.com
President
George Singleton gsingleton@SEPPAonline.com
1st Vice-President
Kevin Jiminez kjiminez@SEPPAonline.com
2nd Vice-President
Mary Fisk-Taylor mfisktaylor@SEPPAonline.com
Secretary-Treasurer
District of Columbia
Florida
Janet Boschker jboschker@SEPPAonline.com
Salon Exhibition Chair Executive Director
Delaware
Jessica Vogel jvogel@SEPPAonline.com
Georgia
*** Paula Mignagna
***Anthony Maril Joe Tessmer
*** Martin Gudz Kaye Newsome
*** Spencer Smith Jason White
Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com
S out he r n E x p o su re
Souther n Exposure magazine is an online publication of SEPPA and is published monthly. Editor V ictoria Kelly vkelly@SEPPAonline.com 919.818.0726 Ad Sales & Business Manager Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com 866.982.4856
Maryland
*** Lidia Miller Steve Clark
Mississippi/Alabama
*** Wesley Ellis Gil Brady
North Carolina
*** Bruce Williamson Janet Boschker
South Carolina
*** Patty Hallman Gregg Martin
Article & Ad Submissions 5th of every month OnLine Publication 20th of each month SEPPA 3710 North Main Street High Point, NC 27265 866.982.4856 Acceptan ce o f a d v e r t i si n g d oe s n ot c a r r y wi th i t en dor se m e n t b y t h e p ub l i sh e r. Opi n i o ns expre sse d b y Sout h e r n Exp osure o r an y o f i ts aut h or s d oe s n ot n e c e ssa r i l y refl ect t h e p osi t i on s of t h e Sou theaster n Pro fessi on a l P h ot og r a p h e r s A ssoc ia t io n . Asso ci ati on f i n a n c i a l i n f or m a t i on avai la b l e up on re q ue st .
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
*** Jeannie Forehand Barbara White
*** Jim Carpenter Robert Holman
*** Pat Dodd Brentv Kepner
*** state president SEPPA representative
Delaware
Mississippi/Alabama
District of Columbia
North Carolina
www.ppsgw.org
www.ppofnc.com
Florida
South Carolina
www.fpponline.org
www.ppofsc.com
Georgia
Tennessee
www.gppa.com
www.tnppa.com
Maryland
Virginia
www.delawarephotographers.com
www.marylandppa.com
SEPPA is a regional affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America and hosts an annual District Image Judging. To learn more about PPA, click HERE.
www.ppma.net
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West Virginia www.ppwv.org
How Photography Connects Us by David Griffin (TED talk)
As the photo director for National Geographic, David Griffin knows the power of photography to connect us to our world. In a talk filled with glorious images, he talkes about how we all use photographs to tell our stories.
Why you should listen David Griffin has one of the world’s true dream jobs: he’s the director of photography for National Geographic magazine. He works with photo editors and photographers to set the visual direction of the magazine---which in turn raises the bar for photographers around the world. Griffin offers an intriguing look into the magazine’s creative process on his blog, Editor’s Pick, where he talks about how the magazine uses its extraordinary photographs to tell compelling stories. These few minutes will change you... How Photography Connects Us
Alisa Whitley
Amy Stern
Anne Companion
Joe Campanellie
Don Gardner
Georgia Zumwalt
Jim Carpenter
Sharon Alicea
(article courtesy of Marathon Press) Congratulations to PPA Charities for its outstanding accomplishments in 2013! At the recent PPA Charities Celebration Gala at Imaging USA in Phoenix, the PPACH Trustees presented a first-time donation of $20,000 to Dando Amor, a non-profit organization providing aid to orphans, working in Ecuador and Afrca. In 2013, Dando Amor, led by PPA members Travis and Jennie Gugelman and Lori Nordstrom, opened its first Boys Home Orphanage on the outskirts of Quito, Ecuador. For more information log on to www.dandoamor.org A high point of the evening was the trustes’ presentation of a check for $100,000 to its charitable partner, Operation Smile, which was represented by Operation Smile President and Co-Founder Kathy Magee and her sister Beth Marshall, Senior Executive Advisor for Latin American and the Caribbean. This donation brings the total raised by PPA members for Operation Smile to over $700,000, an amount that has made it possible for Operation Smile’s volunteer medical staff to perform more than 2,900 life-changing surgeries for children around the world who suffer from cleft lips, cleft palettes, and other facial deformities. Marathon is the proud co-sponsor with PPA Charities of the 2013 Celebration of Smiles national fundraiser that netted over $54,000 toward the Operation Smile $100,000 donation. In 2014 Marathon is again providing support for the fundraiser in the form of the Marketing Guide and promotional prouct designs and materials. Sign Up For Celebration of Smiles Day 2014 NOW! The offiical 2014 promotional date is Saturday, April 5; however, any studios with a conflict on that date can choose any date(s) in April to conduct their promotions.
Taking part in PPACH’s Celebration of Smiles will allow you to: • Gain the personal satisfaction of standing together with like-minded professionals to make the world a better place through your art. • Establish your business as one that chooses to benefit a very appealing charity. Many well-qualified consumers prefer to do business with those who care about others. • Attract new clients and encourage repeat business from existing clients. • As a participating studio, your business name and contact information will appear on the PPA Charities consumer website: http://www.celebration of smiles.com • When you achieve a $240 donation through the promotion or through your own personal contribution, you will gain the distinction of being an “Operation Smile Studio” for the remainder of the calendar year. • For each $240 donation you make to PPA Charities on behalf of Operation Smile in 2014, you will be entered into a drawing for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to photograph an Operation Smile mission. The drawing will take place on January 31, 2015 at the annual PPA Charities Celebration event in Nashville, the evening before the start of PPA’s Imaging USA national convention (February 1-3, 2015).
Exclusive to Celebration of Smile Participants You’ll have the opportunity to: • Gain access to special offers from PPA vendors • Enter the PPA Charities Portrait Awards - open only to CoS participants • Win great prizes!
For more information or to register, log on to http://www.ppacharities.com
SEPPA is pleased to announce dates for the 2014 District Judging (March 27-29) held in conjunction with the Georgia state convention in Atlanta. Click HERE for a link to PPA.com for print rules and judging information AND...you will NOT want to miss “SEPPA SUNDAY” on March 30: • Affiliate manager meeting, 10am - 12 noon • Board of Governors meeting, 12 noon - 2pm • Leadership Training session (open to all SEPPA state leadership, faciliated by David Trust, PPA CEO) • on-site VIP reception for all sponsors/vendors attending Additional links you may find helpful: Geogia convention details Wyndham hotel registration for convention
(kree –ey-tiv-i-tee) the quality of being creative - the ability to create
By Janet Boschker, M.Photog., Cr., F-ASP
The Twelve Elements: Creativity Creativity, as one of the twelve elements, may be one of the most difficult to define. A statement that I found some time ago that sums up the concept of creativity beautifully is “Creativity in its most basic form is the search for something new…”. Years ago a young photographer said to me “I feel sure that I can master the technical side but I just don’t know if I am creative enough to make it in this business”.
we are competing against ourselves...to become the most creative photographers we can be... Many people feel that they are not creative, but in my mind we are all creative people – some just work at it harder and longer! There are many good books on the market about nurturing creativity with my
favorite being “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. The following quotes are taken from that book and are some great food for thought. • “Creativity requires activity, and this is not good news to most of us.” • “Art is not about thinking something up. It is about the opposite – getting something down.” •“Make changes, small changes, right where you are.” • “Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead.” • “Creativity occurs in the moment, and in the moment we are timeless.” • “In a creative career, thinking about the odds is a drink of emotional poison.” Basically, all these quotes speak to the fact that we become more creative by doing rather than sitting on the sidelines wishing. You may be asking yourself about now what any of this has to do with the 12 Elements of print competition? There is no doubt that we all recognize creativity in print competition when we see – it is a new concept, a new way of seeing, a new technique, something that wows us and makes us question. It’s an image that we can’t stop thinking about – and can’t help but wonder – how do people think like that? I have had those thoughts myself and wished I could think like that creative person…but do I want it badly enough to do the work that is required to get there?
Maybe I never really thought about it that way –it’s so easy to get caught up in our busy lives or brought down by all the negativity we face in our profession these days. But my point here is this: we can all become that person that presents something truly creative. IF we take the time to develop our own creativity we will come to achieve that goal. It won’t come quickly or easily, but one thing I am sure of: if we don’t take action we will never achieve our personal best. And that is what print competition is – we really are not competing against one another, we are competing against ourselves – to become the best, the most creative photographers we can be. And we will only get there by doing – so let’s do this!!!!
Y’all Need a Time-Out. Now. Go Sit in the Corner By Christine Walsh-Newton, M. Photog., Cr., CPP As I look around me at the photographic industry, I do not feel hopeful. Some days I'm downright worried. We are undergoing huge amounts of change in a short period of time. Rock solid businesses are suffering and the ability of new businesses to take hold and hang on is precarious. What used to be a technical, almost boring/geeky job, has somehow developed a sexiness that has lured many within its grasp. Suddenly being a photographer
has very little to do with photography and much to do with self-promotion and marketing. It's do or die time. I recently attended a class taught by Jerry Ghionis. He brought up the fact that anyone can learn to shoot a camera and take a decent photograph, but not everyone can be taught to have a great personality. He's right. Photography these days is part talent, part hard work and part star quality. There's a definite “cool kid” requirement easing into place that didn't exist before. It's not news to anyone that they need to adapt to the changes. If you don't think the industry has changed in the last ten years, you haven't been paying attention. Let's go ahead and assume everyone has been paying attention and most
You’re either a young gun or an old fart. Or a rock star. Or something. photographers in business are struggling with some facet of that. We all are. If you say you aren't, I think you're just not being honest. No one is all that and a bag of chips. No one. If you're at a point where you think you've arrived, we need to have a little chat about your ego.
I've noticed a growing trend in the photography industry that I find disheartening. People seem to be choosing up sides. You're either a young gun or an old fart. Or a rock star. Or something, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure I signed up to just be a photographer, but my age puts me in with the older generation and my years in business puts me in with the newer photographers and frankly, I think y'all are misbehaving a little bit and I'm not sure I want to play with any of you, anymore. In a time when our industry needs some solidarity and stability, I would expect to look at a group of professionals and see them banding together to weather this econo-pocalypse that is affecting darned near everyone. I wouldn't expect y'all to be standing around holding hands and singing “Kumbaya,” but I certainly wouldn't have expected the sneering, name-calling and public shaming that is going on. I think we all need to respect our established photographers a whole lot more than we currently do. Some of you are awesome at it. But some of you really really suck at it. Bad. And when you open your mouth I feel like apologizing to everyone because the bitterness meter just goes through the roof. Let's work on that, really. It's becoming a little bit embarrassing. I was brought up to respect my elders. And I was taught that you catch a whole lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. And I just don't understand what philosophy some of
the younger/newer photographers are operating under when they point out to the older generation their perceived faults and try to shame them into getting with the program and technology. Yeah, how's that workin' for ya? I'm really glad when fellow photographers are able to reach and teach others, yet I cringe at some of the messages being communicated. I am lucky. My state organization is filled with wonderful, knowledgeable talented photographers. Photographers that have been in business for 20 or 30 years. Photographers who only shoot in studios and some who never have. Some who teach and some who write. And some who just photograph. Whatever they're doing, they're doing it right. For them. For their business. For their market. I didn't join my affiliate to gnaw at older members about how they suck and need to change with the times. Who am I to tell someone else what to do with their business, anyway? I'm sure they're very well aware of the fact that times are changing, but some of them have been in business longer than I've been alive, so I'm going to go with a sure bet that I can learn something from them. Lots of somethings. This isn't the first time that time and technology has changed and affected the market and it won't be the last. I don't think they're in danger of becoming extinct any time soon. And if they do, well, no one put me in charge of the “I told you so” brigade, so I'm gonna keep my trap shut. Just so you don't think I've gone all soft, here's a message for the oldsters like me; lets be a little more welcoming of the
newer photographers. I'm lucky that my affiliate is attracting a fair number of younger and newer photographers. Does this tick me off? Heck no! If they've joined my affiliate, they're at least somewhat serious about doing things the correct way and getting some education. Our membership is not cheap, its purchase requires thought and reason. I'd much rather have every single one of my competitors in my affiliate than not. The end result is that it improves the level of photography out there and I'm good with that. I'm sure it's overwhelming to go to convention and see a massive number of new faces. Suck it up. Introduce yourself, find someone with a little spunk and spitfire and take them under your wing. I'd like you all to take a moment the next time you start to open your mouth and complain about another “category” of photographers. Shut it. Just shut it. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Somebody somewhere is looking to you for inspiration and leadership. Don't screw it up.
Christine is a portrait photographer and owner of Gallery C in Dover, Ohio. She is a co-author of “The Daily Book of Photography” and authors “Wootness: The Big Girl and Guy’s Guide to Starting a Photography Business.”
Visit her blog at www.wootness.net
By Victoria Kelly, Cr. Photog., CPP, F.Ph.
Got Stuff? Put It In Your Planner!
Once upon a time not too many years ago I carried a paper planner. It contained my life: reminders, scribbled notes, appointments—pretty much if anyone needed so much as my shoe size it would be filed in my notebook. I hesitate to say it was like my blankey…but in truth I would break out in a sweat if I didn’t know where the darn thing was, 24/7. Fast forward through a few Blackberry smartphones, several iterations of Windows Outlook, iPhones, Mac computers and I’ve transferred my allegiance to my iPad mini—which goes everywhere with me---and I know where it is, 24/7. I’ve become fairly adept at using iCal, Reminders and Notes…but I must tell you that occasionally I would long for my paper planner where appointments went on the right of the page, tasks and notes on the left. I kept telling myself that I shouldn’t have to look in 2 or 3 places to see what was on my calendar, check to see where I was with tasks and then look to see if I had any notes lurking about that needed me to do something because it had started as note but had an action item.
So you can imagine how excited I was to find a neat little app called “Planner Plus” in the app store. It functions JUST LIKE my Franklin Covey planner: appointments on the right, tasks and notes on the left. There are 2 versions available in the app store…one is a free version and the other is a pricey $8.99 but well worth the cost. A desktop version is also available but it’s my understanding that it does not sync with iPhones and iPads so I have not added that to my toolbox at this time. I installed Planner Plus and was delighted to see that it read my iCal and all my appointments were right where they should be. With this being the slow time of the year I didn’t have many tasks so I entered the few that I had manually. And then, just for fun, I entered a quick note. There are tabs across the top that show you day/week/month views and an extra tab for tasks. There’s even a counter on the task tab that tells me how many I have open. When I choose the option to enter an event it’s fairly robust but it does not include all the fields that are present (and that I seldom used) on iCal. I do still have the option of selecting which calendar (“Studio” or “Home”) and it creates the event with the same color coding that is in place on iCal. If I select the task tab, I see 2 columns: Incomplete and Undated. It also shows me what I have overdue and due soon. AND it even shows me completed tasks as well. (Because I am one of those people who feel a sense of accomplishment when I check
something off my list. Don’t judge me.) There’s a search tool as well—when you select the magnifying glass at the top of the page you’ll see a window for you to enter your search criteria and then choose whether you’re looking for an event, a task or a note. And it finds it! The developers have also included a sync function: calendars and events sync to iCloud and tasks and notes sync to Dropbox. In my world that means I don’t have to worry about losing anything—a definite plus for me! You might be wondering how all this works with my assistant booking appointments and such. Keep in mind that Planner Plus syncs with iCal. So when she logs into iCloud directly from HER computer any appointment she books will show up in Planner Plus and whatever I enter into PP will show up in iCal/ iCloud. I’ve moved PP into the dock on my iPad mini (see illustration) where it’s directly accessible along with all the other “important” apps that I use in the studio. You’ll want to visit www.appxy.com for all the details and then do a search for “Planner Plus” in the app store on your iPhone or iPad. Tell yourself you’re going green and saving a tree—without all that paper to carry around you’ll be whistling a happy tune.
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Be Great Without the Wait By Missy MWAC
I don't like to wait. I know, I know...I seem patient on the outside but on the inside, anything that requires waiting makes me want to jump out of my skin. I don't even make Jello because I can't endure the time it takes to set-up in the fridge. I like fast things: microwaves, induction cooktops, e-Harmony relationships and quick-drying nailpolish. Yes, I like things that propel you to the finish line of success quickly...which is why I am a (P)rofessional (P)hotographer. What do I mean? There are a huge number of Be Great Without the Wait workshops and speakers available to us, putting us on the fast track, overnight. They are so many profitable, I mean, popular Photography Rockstars out there that it would take a long time to mention them all, which means I won’t. This industry and its "leaders" now offer you the ability to take a giant leap over the mundane aspects of the photography business. Yes, for a price, they will extend their
hand to you and pull you over the deep abyss I like to call WAITING. And when you sit in their workshops and listen to them talk about all they've achieved in such a little amount of time, you realize quickly that you, too, want that Microwave Success. In fact, you almost feel ashamed that you've been in the business much longer than these "leaders" and don't have an Italian villa in Capri...or a rockin' tour bus. It's the same kind of embarrassment you feel after eating a box of doughnuts. Or 2 Bacon Sundaes at one time. And so you follow them...to greatness, realizing that waiting, and learning and paying-your-dues, and growing your business over years is for suckers. And I don't mean the delicous candy on a stick. I know what you're thinking..."Missy, what if my business doesn't grow like that? What if it takes time and I get frustrated that I must be doing something wrong because I WANT IT RIGHT NOW and it's not happening like the successful people I see speaking and touring. They have it ALL, Missy... they have it ALL, and they've only been shooting for THREE YEARS! How can this be, Missy...HOW CAN THIS BE????" It's okay...shhhhh...just settle down and realize that every one of these Microwave Success Story Rockstars are there for you, ready to mentor you to greatness with a bi-weekly Skype call or a DVD set or a tour coming to a town near you. As long as you have a credit card that isn't maxed out.
So, my fellow (p)rofessional (p)hotographers, I encourage you today to remember that Microwave Success can be yours, too-you, too, can be Great Without the Wait. And if all else fails, you can always fake it. Like, who's going to know, right? xoxo Missy
For more of Missy’s out-of-this-world view of (p)rofessional (p)hotography, visit her website at www.missymwac.com
“ The Dury’s staff consists of actual photographers... ” Ever since I bought my first item from Dury’s almost 4 years ago, I have trusted no one else with all of my equipment needs. The Dury’s staff consists of actual photographers with a vast array of technical as well as performance knowledge and they are quick to help me find the right solutions for all of my shooting needs. A few months ago, it was time for me to upgrade cameras and the staff at Dury’s showed me the new Canon 5D Mark III. Simply put, the new Canon 5D Mark III is the best camera that I have shot with to date. I now have the capability to shoot at extremely high ISO’s with little or no noise as well as up to 6 frames per second with a very quiet shutter. Not to mention, the new autofocus system works flawlessly even in the most trying situations! This camera will make even the most discerning photographer very happy as the files that come out of the camera are simply breathtaking.
Jairaj - Kevin KJImages.com
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