Yesterday was  a sad day for both of us as we came a significant step closer to our building coming down. We received notification that the Historic Places Trust was getting sign-off on full demolition.

As probable as that always was, it shook us up to be told so by the people who were trying to save it.

We came back from a trip into the city to find an incredibly generous gift from a local resident, and then last night somebody gave us a very significant donation. Their timing was astounding. It was as if they knew.

We have had many generous heartfelt gifts, wishes, and help from so many amazing people. We don't know how to thank you all.

We cannot express enough, our thanks for everything that has taken away the harshness of the impact of the Earthquakes.

Thank you everybody.

Johannes Jo and Ida

I know that in essence I get to recount a story for a couple.  This story is personal and meaningful.  It is not laden with special effects. It is a personal truth, possibly glamorised, but still a truth and definitely personal.

I came across this, which is part of a collection of short videos about a photographer/teacher, Dave LaBelle,  who puts it all into perspective.

Dave LaBelle | The Lesson from Francis Gardler on Vimeo.

There are a whole series of these and they are all worth a look ... he never even seems to mention the word wedding.

Cheers

Johannes

Last year we went to a conference and one of the speakers was Kate Bezar.

She spoke passionately about a dream she had of starting a magazine like no other. She wanted to create a publication about real people doing real things real well.

She also believed that stories were created to to be shared. From this dream was born Dumbo Feather, pass it on, not a magazine and not a book but a 'mook'

Today's mail brought us the latest copy and in it was a story by Kate that started with this quote "In 1938 Cyril Connely, an English intellectual writer,and literary critic wrote "There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall" ..

This a great beginning to an astute observation on the impact of parenting on creativity.

What I am shamelessly saying is that its a great publication well worth the subscription.

Back to the Dumbo Feather ... the thing that you believe in. This is an important idea.

In some ways as a photographer we can become the Dumbo Feather for our clients.

If they believe in what we do then they themselves can achieve so much

I was talking with four different colleagues about spending 18 hours photographing for one wedding and each of them said 'yeah, I had one bigger than that.'

They could have said 'thats a long time' or 'you must be buggered' ... but no, it was always that 'theirs was bigger'.

Is it the competitive nature of our industry that compells photographers to have a few fishing stories at the ready, or is it some universal principle?

Just a question.

When I feel no connection with the bride and groom ... it makes what I do into a job. A job that I am good at, but something is missing.
I believe I have their trust and I am able to do a fabulous set of pics for them but if I know very little about them (... what makes them laugh, what makes them cry, how they see themselves, what they love about the way they look and the things that they don't like, are they afraid of heights, do they like architecture/vast landscapes/  ... all of these things ... ) then the thing that is most important, the connection, is not there.
I want to know what they love about each other and I want to watch them interacting when they feel they are not under public scrutiny. I would prefer not to be the complete stranger with a camera.

By doing this I earn permission to partake in their intimate moments. I earn permission to record their emotions.

And together we can do great things.

I have also written about this here, in my role as a Queensberry advocate, in two parts The Strangers part 1 and The Strangers part 2

It gets out of hand!

Then you might ask what does it matter.
The 'matter ' comes with the bestowing of value through the artistic label.
So then it is that art is about money ... but as soon as it is about money it is no longer art!

Confused ... I am .... almost

There used to be a cool video clip here from the Creature Comfort Series ... unfortunately it disappeared for now ... but while it was up we enjoyed it

Yes I know it's a chicken

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

I have several answers 

To share my recent work in an immediate way.

To have a voice

To start a conversation

To get stuff out of my head ... 

Maybe I am proud of something.

Sometimes I want to show people how to do stuff.

But then what?

It goes up on a site ... the curious look, the stalkers look, the involved look, and sometimes the lost look (by accident), I think some of my family also look.

Thank you for looking.

But once it is 'up' ... what then?! .... the hope that maybe the brave also looked.  The brave that might write a comment.  A comment of opinion maybe. Are we doing the right things? What should I do more of? Less of? Do you disagree? or agree.

Maybe the comment is the beginning of a conversation.

But this is the problem ... nobody really wants to be first ... and then maybe wrong .... or outspoken ... well really the problem is being first  .... because who says what is wrong ... or right! 

I say make a comment ... start a conversation with me ... be excited about being the first.

Cheers

Johannes

Jo Grams (my wife) is 20 weeks into the project and doing fabulously.

We have declared our space  a no horror story zone.

How is it that everybody has a story about 'the things that go wrong' that they feel compelled to share?

Our friends have been good about not giving advice, or more precisely not trying to tell us that they know best!

But its weird that all of a sudden the world is full of opinions.

For this moment we have decided to have just one child.  But we are coming under the scorn of some for not yet planning the second.  Hell, we want to know if we can cope with the first before we consider the next.  Yet here we are having to justify taking one step at a time.

Can you imagine the outcry!  I recognise the developmental and social expertise gained by having children in the company of other children. But what I struggle with is the need to make that decision now.  Our child will not grow up in isolation.  That is the important thing.

Everything will change ..... This I believe to be true.  It is part of the Chaos theory.   How it will change will be determined by a million different things.  About 989,000 of those things will be out of our control.  So we will embrace the changes and move with them.

Is it just us, or is this a normal force of human nature?

How do you filter out the great information from the opinions?