I recently was blessed to attend a lecture/talk she did in Atlanta called “THE FIX“.   And I came away even more inspired, more motivated and more thankful that I work in an industry where there are so many talented & awesome people.  I was able to connect with photographers from Atlanta, Jacksonville, Alabama and North Carolina, just to name a few places.  The people I met were all so AMAZING and my heart was filled with a lot of great energy & excitement for 2012.  I was so re-energized that I left Atlanta at 11 pm and drove 4.5 hours home . . . SMILING & excited the whole way.  Simply put, it was Good Times~!

Here are a few photos I took AND before you scroll down, please know that ALL the images I took were off my iPhone 4S.  I was so super excited about seeing some friends in Athens and seeing Jasmine, JD & the group in Atlanta that I walked out of my house without a few things.  One thing left behind was my camera . . . YIKES~!!!!  Among other things, I misplaced my license & all my credit cards and sat through dinner with friends wondering how spastic I really was. My friend & I made a trip to Target so I could buy a few things and then other things had to be compromised, like my camera. (smile) But Apple didn’t fail me, my little iPhone took some rather great pics in low light.  Besides, it was just really about having the memory documented for myself.  I am sure all those girls with the professional camera’s were laughing inside at me and my iPhone, but I was improvising and nothing could upset the high I was on that night.

Jasmine Star “The Fix” was an absolutely wonderful night and I am excited about all the new friends I made . . .

The Fix was held at “The Foundry at Puritan Mill” in Atlanta and the place was beautiful.  Jasmine has her own style of setting up the stage for each show.  Very creative.  Very cool.

Ashley Goodwin, an amazing photographer from Hawaii, is on the tour assisting.  She had a wonderful Q&A session with Jasmine.

Me and the talented, beautiful & super amazing, Jasmine Star . . . (photo courtesy of Ashley, taken with . . . that’s right, My iPhone!!!)

Here are a few photos taken by volunteers at The Fix (with professional cameras . . . ha ha).  As you can see in the first photo, I was probably the ONLY person to arrive this EARLY.  I wasn’t sure about the Atlanta traffic and I didn’t want to be late, so I opted to be early.  Luckily I wasn’t turned away and I got to grab a front row seat.  Yay Yay Yay!  Look at me smiling to myself with happiness.  I kinda felt like a dork arriving so early, but everyone made me feel welcomed~!

This is my friend and an AMAZING photographer, Michelle : Michelle White Photography.  We originally met in 2009 at The Workshop by Jasmine Star in California.  We’ve remained friends and sharing another J* experience with her made my heart happy.  Michelle is simply fabulous~!

This is me talking with JD, Jasmine’s husband and business partner.  He is absolutely one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met.  His passion for photography and sharing makes him as cool as Jasmine.  Together they’ve built a strong business and gained respect from everyone in the industry. Together they continue to share, care and inspire on the roller coaster of fun they’ve created . . .

And this is a last photo of Michelle.  Making friends in the industry and supporting each other was something that Jasmine talked about in depth at The Fix.  I was happy to be living the philosophy as I sat by my friend & colleague.

I want to always make sure I help anyone who comes to me, so if you are reading this and we are not friends yet . . . well, please find me on facebook (personal) / facebook (photography) , or on twitter or email me.  I am always happy to grab a cup of coffee and talk photography or life or pets, I mean “fur babies” . . .

Steven Paul Jobs : February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011

 ”The only way to do great work is to LOVE what YOU do” – Steve Jobs

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Apple’s website quoted  . . . “Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor.

Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

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I’ve never been shy about my obsession with APPLE or my love for Steve Jobs.  He is one of the best people I’ve “never” met.  He has made my life happier (much happier), more enjoyable, more connected and most importantly he has made my business more successful~!  Whether it was simply his ability to inspire me or the fact that I own way too many Apple products, he has affected me personally & professionally.  He changed the way I connected years ago and inspired me to push myself, to dream big & do what I love.  If you haven’t seen his memorable Commencement Speech at Stanford University, you should most definitely take the time to watch it : Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Speech

Steve Jobs has repeatedly said that “you should never lose faith . . . AND that in life you’ve got to find what you love to do because your work will fill a large part of your life”.  One very important thing that Steve Jobs said is . . .  “The only way to do great work is to LOVE what YOU do”~!  This statement inspired me and was very influential in my life 4 1/2 years ago when I decided to pursue my love of photography.  When talking about all his great (& many) successes, he repeatedly gives credit to the fact that he has always done what he “loved”. This inspired me and was a huge part of my career decision and my current professional path.  I haven’t talked much about my failures in life, I keep them private. However, I felt this was a good time to open up because failures are what push us to our successes.  I went to a well known and respected college, “SCAD : The University for Creative Careers” and graduated with honors.  I worked full-time & put myself through 4 years of hard classes, long hours of study, insane hours in the computer lab & barely 4 hours of sleep a night. (My friends & family can vouch for the lack of sleep . . . ha.ha.) Anyways, I graduated proudly . . . proudly and with honors.  However, my degree as a 3D Computer Artist & Animator didn’t seem to feed my passion.  I tried making it work and even moved to a new city in hopes of checking out a more “animation friendly” environment.  BUT . . . “I wasn’t happy” and I felt like I had completely failed after graduation.  It seemed that my friends & classmates were all enjoying successful lives in the industry.  I watched as many went on to do GREAT things with 3D Modeling/Animation.  And me, well . . . “I wasn’t happy”.  I felt like a failure, a smart & educated failure, but still a failure.  I looked at myself with disappointment and thought I fell short of what I thought I should be achieving.  I don’t exactly remember when the Steve Jobs quote about following our dreams re-entered my life, only because I was always a huge fan of his after my years at SCAD.  But at some point, his words resurfaced and resonated with me!  It was then I found myself looking for a new life journey doing something that I loved.  It was also then that I realized that my college degree & the knowledge I had gained was ONLY pointing me in the direction of getting a job.  It was not about being “passionate” about my life or the work I would do and at this point I felt devastated.  I needed to find something that made me smile, something I loved to do, something that would excite me and so my search began.  Very soon, I found my path and my journey began in Professional Photography.  And now I am very PASSIONATE about my work and it is this PASSION that truly drives me today . . . AND “I am happy” ~!

Steve Jobs – Find what “YOU LOVE”~!

Steve Jobs - “THINK DIFFERENT . . .”  This will definitely be my driving force for 2012~!  I’ve always felt a little different with my ideas and my life goals seem a little out of the norm.  I plan to use this “difference” to push myself, my business and even my personal life beyond what I imagined.  I hope to “think different” in all aspects of my life and hopefully find a vision for 2012 that will make a positive impact on myself and others~!  If you knew Steve Jobs, you know he would always PUSH the limits~!  He has made a profound impact on the world and the way we interact others, the way we use our phones, our computers, the way we acquire & listen to music, etc. etc. etc.  He was a GENIUS with his “different thinking”.  We should all strive to be this great~!

Another famous Steve Jobs quote : “the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work . . . The only way to do great work is to LOVE what YOU do.  If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking and don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.  And like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.  So keep looking . . . DON”T SETTLE~!” 

Another amazing quote by Steve Jobs : “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today . . . if the answer is NO for too many days in a row, then he knew he needed to change something”.  He said remembering that you are going to die will help you make the big choices in life.  ”What is truly important?  All external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrasment or failure . . . these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.  Remembering that you are going to die . . . is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.  You are already naked, there is no reason NOT to follow your heart.”

His words are  easy to understand.  His beliefs are simple & clear.  His advice is something that each of us can acquire with determination.  Believe in yourself.  Believe in your dreams.  Where YOU go and what YOU do is completely up to YOU~!  Reach for the stars and never let failure or other people hold you back.

Steve Jobs was a perfectionist . . . I am smiling because I too am a perfectionist.  This is something I’ve often thought has hindered my professional progress.  Time to time, I take deep breaths and tell myself “You don’t have to be a perfectionist all the time~!!!!” But, the voices in my head does not change the fact that being a perfectionist is in my DNA.  I’m happy that the genius, Steve jobs, is well known for being a perfectionist.  I think I will continue to pursue excellence.

Steve Jobs inspired me to do something I love.  I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY.  I love everything about the creative process.  I even love the craziness that consumes the business side of it.  No matter what life brings, I welcome it all with open arms and a big smile because I LOVE what I do.  Photography . . . the cameras, the technology, social media, the various equipment upgrades, the clients, the colleagues, the branding, the marketing, the accolades & critiques, the daily research, the constant changing & evolving industry, the legal aspects, etc. etc. etc. and most importantly the PHOTOGRAPHS . . . the beautiful photographs that move us each in different emotional ways!  It all makes up a huge part of WHO I AM and WHAT I LOVE~!

I wish I had more wisdom, more advice and more inspiring words of my own to share, but I’d like to close out with a few quotes from one AMAZING man who I believe truly made OUR world a much better place. May his vision live on with APPLE~!

Steve Jobs - “No one wants to die.  Death is a destination we all share.  Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life” . 

Steve Jobs – “Have the courage to follow your heart & intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become . . . everything else is secondary.”

“Stay Hungry . . . Stay Foolish”  – The Whole Earth Catalog was a publication started in the late 60′s.  Their last & final publication in the mid-70′s had a photograph of an early morning country road and a quote “Stay Hungry . . . Stay Foolish”.  It was re-quoted by Steve Jobs at the Stanford Commencement Speech.

RIP : Steve Jobs 1955-2011 : And thank you for inspiring ME to follow my dreams and do what I love~! 

Today was one of those days.  I sat at my computer editing, while running the latest creativeLIVE broadcast on my ipad next to me.  I called it multi-tasking. The editing was a bit slow because I found myself taking a ton of notes, but it was worth it.  Today’s speaker & teacher was a super fabulous photographer from North Carolina, named Tamara Lackey.  I’ve been friends with her on facebook for awhile, so it was nice to finally see & hear her, even if it was via the internet.  She is a photographer, a mom and a super extraordinary business woman.  If you would like to read more about her, visit her site here : Tamara Lackey Photography.  She is highly respected within the photographer industry, so to be able to gain some knowledge from her was a true blessing.  And it was all FREE through creativeLIVE.   Thank You Tamara for giving of yourself, your knowledge & your experience to help others.

Here are a few screen shots I took of the live broadcast.

There is a lot of work, people & equipment needed to provide these free live workshops.  creativeLIVE is sponsored by one of my favorite places to buy camera gear & other photography equipment, B&H Photo.  Thanks B&H~!

To finish off the amazing day, Tamara had a skype session with the well-known photographer, Matthew Jordan Smith.  His photography is as impressive as his client list, which carries some very well known celebrity names.  Matthew is well-respected and admired among the photography community.  In the interview he was genuine and truly inspiring.

Tamara was kind to share some quotes during her presentation.  One quote that really stuck with me is shown below.  I think everyone at some point in their life has a fear of failure.  This quote really puts a different perspective on how you look at failure and how it may be the very reason you do succeed.  I printed this already and put on my desk as a reminder.

Any photographers interested in buying the two day course (which is very reasonable for 2 full days of Tamara’s knowledge) can visit creativeLIVE for more info (www.creativelive.com).  Or you can watch part two on Saturday Sept 10.

I am so happy I work in an industry comprised of such TALENTED & AMAZING people~!

I always welcome any opportunity to educate myself further or be inspired by another photographer.  Both these things happened earlier today.   I was blessed to be able to attend a workshop in Savannah given by a very knowledgeable & successful photographer/teacher/instructor/artistic & just a very cool guy . . .  Mr Jared Platt.  He travels internationally teaching workshops and lecturing to professional photographers, amateur photographers, hobbyists, enthusiasts and others. Jared was in Savannah sharing his love for photography and giving one of his “Lightroom Workflow Workshops“.  For over 8 hours, he thoroughly covered Adobe’s Lightroom software inside & out, while keeping the class fun for everyone.  He shared how to integrate a faster photography editing/post-processing workflow by using this Adobe software.  Although I’ve been using Lightroom for about a year now, I was excited to refresh my brain and pack some more information in it.   There is always a part of my brain that thrives to learn more and yes, I learned a bunch of new stuff today.   Jared’s workflow techniques will most definitely benefit me & my business in the future.

And I liked him even more when he pulled out his MacBook Pro.

This will give you an idea of the amazing amount of information he shares at his workshop.  Just look at the board behind him showing an overview of what he would be covering.  It looks like something you would see in a Quantum Physics class, although Jared made things much easier to understand than Quantum Physics.

This photo is simply to show off the Rooster art in the background that was made out of glitter and sparkles.  Glitter & Sparkles?  YES . . . and it made me smile. Jared however is not smiling at the Glittery Rooster, I think he was smiling at some images he shared of his wife & little girl.

For any photographer who knows how insane editing can get, you will appreciate Jared’s rules to using Lightroom effectively and efficiently in your business.  I highly recommend that photographers who struggle with editing and time management check out his workshop : www.jaredplattworkshops.com!

Thanks Jared for coming to Savannah and sharing your knowledge.