A little inspiration

So as most of you know, I was blessed to make it 21 years on this planet as of last Thursday. In celebration, I took most of the day off. After finishing my 9:30AM Marketing class I decided to go find a nice shade tree and read a little of David Duchemin's book entitled "Vision Mongers" the book is all about "making a life and a living in photography". I began jotting down a few notes while I was reading, when all of a sudden David asked, "What do you want to shoot?" and "Why do you want to shoot it?". Pretty simple questions right? Thats what I thought. But boy oh boy was I wrong. The following, is my answer to what I thought were two simple questions.

This is completely unedited and 100% off the cuff. I am simply typing my thoughts. Ideas may seem to be jumbled and the essay may not flow, but thats the beauty of it. I was just writing. Writing from inspiration.
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What do I want to shoot?/Why do I want to shoot it?


    I want to shoot high budget weddings. I want to shoot the bride as she is having her made up done. I want to shoot the groom drinkin' a cold one to relax before the ceremony. I want to shoot their eager and excited (while sometimes nervous) faces as they walk down the isle and exchange their vows. I want to shoot that first kiss as a married couple, and tat first dance as they ooze with their passion for one another. I want to capture those moods and expressions that last only a fraction of a second, in order to freeze it for eternity.

Why? Because I feel there is no other way to have that level of ecstasy and happiness than to be capturing that split second and giving the couple that image that they can look back on for the rest of their lives to remind them of the love that originally brought them together.

I want to do this, because I love it. Sure the money is a nice encouragement. But the joy I get while looking at the LCD screen on the back of my camera while the batteries in my flash are recycling is unmatched to anything I have ever done before.

As I was shooting the cover of the Raining Ami CD this pas weekend the model kept chuckling as I would take a shot and afterwards glance at the LCD screen and just smile. Smile at the image I created. That is why I want to do it.

Looking through the viewfinder, I can remember seeing myself smile in the reflection of the LCD while laughing hysterically at the lame joke I told to lighten the model's mood. That is why I want to be a photographer.

As I sit here outside of the business building at Kennesaw under a nice shade tree waiting for lunch. I'm reading "Vision Mongers" and it begged the question, "Why?". I had always thought about why, but never this in-depth.

It was in my Marketing class, where I was simultaneously reading about target  marketings both in "Vision Mongers" and on the projection screen, that it hit me. I do it because I enjoy it. Most students sit absent minded while the professor lectures, but I was sitting there thinking about how I can incorporate this lecture, and this book into my business. I is that, and the fact that I left class and continued reading about target markets and marketing techniques that I knew why I wanted to do it.

I hardly take notes in class where I am required to do it. Yet im sitting here taking notes and writing a NOVEL in my free time for crying out loud! Not because I have to, but because I WANT to, because I want to succeed.

I know this was a ramble that started out as why I wanted to shoot weddings, but it turned into something much different. Something much more. And I am completely ok with that. And I have that same attitude with my future in photography. I have a vision of where I want to be. No, I haven't written down specifically that vision, but I have a vision of where I want to be and what I want to accomplish. But if for some reason it turns out differently, much like this "novel", as long as I am following my passion, I say "so be it" and I am looking forward to "riding that wave". Its going to be tough, but my passion will overcome obstacles. No matter how high. (And I'm quite short)

- Michael Knowlton
www.michael-knowlton.com
michael@michael-knowlton.com
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The view from where I wrote this

Raining Ami CD Cover shoot!

This weekend I was presented with the amazing opportunity to work with Raining Ami to shoot the cover of their new CD they are launching. They are an absolutely amazing band and I see huge things from them in the future. Leslie Beaudion and I worked together with Raining Ami to create what will hopefully be a very unique CD cover. It looked like we might get rained out, but the rain held out just long enough and those dark clouds proved to add quite an interesting mood to the photos. I think they came out great!



For more info on the band you can go to: Raining Ami

That is all for now, its late and I am ready for some sleep!!

When one just isn't enough...

In my previous post I mentioned how there were about 50 other photos I wanted to showcase. Well, being the President, the Vice Prez, the CEO, and the Sole Proprietor of MK Photography I made the executive decision that I would share a few more.

Enjoy!

Brian and Tammy's Wedding

A few weeks ago I shot 2nd at my first wedding and absolutely fell in love. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with Chris again and shoot second for him at another beautiful wedding this weekend. Tammy and Brian were both wonderful to work with and had a beautiful ceremony. You couldn't have asked for better weather for the wedding, though shooting in the bright mid-day sun was a bit challenging at times. I was able to apply some of the things I learned while shooting my first wedding a few weeks ago and also learned something new. I picked 12 images, and it was incredibly tough. There are about 50 more that I would like to show but the dozen images will have to do for now.

I'm extremely excited for the next wedding!

Family Vacay to OBX

Now that summer has pretty much come to an end (as far as a student is concerned) and life is back to a routine, my family figured, what better time for a vacation? It didn't hurt some relatives rented a house in North Carolina's beautiful outer banks. So after rushing home from class, we loaded up the family station wagon as my grandparents would say and embarked on the 10 hour drive from Atlanta. The drive was about 9 hours too long, but none of that mattered once we arrived. The weather was nice, the breeze was just right, and the smell of the salt water air could turn any sour mood to sweet instantly.

We decided to take some family photos +1 on Saturday night just as the sun was setting on the inner bay. We thought about the generic beach pictures, but here on the east coast, the sun sets on the wrong side! So we chose the local boat ramp as our destination of choice. It's late, and i'm tired and burnt. So I only edited two of the many pictures my tripod(ed) D40 took. Enjoy!

Feedback is always welcome!

First Wedding!!!

Wedding photography was one of those things I told myself both as a creative individual and a self-respecting photographer that I would NEVER do. But boy oh boy was I glad I tried it!

I shot my first wedding this weekend, and it was an absolute blast. I had the great pleasure of shooting Lindsey and Zack's wedding behind fellow photographer Chris Walters. A few months prior I contacted Chris inquiring about the possibility of shooting second behind him at an upcoming wedding. After a few emails back and forth and sharing a coffee at Starbucks it was a done deal. I had a wonderful time shooting Lindsey and Zack's beautiful wedding and I learned a TON! I learned more in 6 hours than I would have going to various workshops (Although I'm not dissing workshops).

I've been bit by the wedding bug, and I never thought I would hear myself say that. I always had a preconceived notion that wedding photographers are those photographers with no creativity and just take a glorified snap-shot. But that has changed completely. Now that I've started shooting weddings I want to learn as much as I possibly can. I've been obsessed with learning about wedding photography and have been reading and watching anything I can get my grubby little hands on.

A side note. I've got some projects coming up that I am excited about. Hopefully something with street photography, a band, and some videos!

On to what you all care about. The photos!

It was INCREDIBLY hard to just choose 10 photos for the blog. But to see more. Check out my Flickr or my Facebook fan page!

Inspiration

Well I'm really excited about life today. I just got done with an extensive 2 day workshop with the boys over at Lighten up and shoot.com, and I came out of the workshop feeling more inspired than ever before. It was a 2 day workshop but Mikey and Andy are just two regular joes Gringo's that are currently living in Columbia, we met up on Friday night to share some artistic ideas at Dugans. Ok ok, we really just wanted to talk over a beer. Things started to get interested when talk of the Clairmont Lounge came up, I thankfully bailed before things got bad. HAHA.

It was a great weekend, there was a great mix of photographers, and not just from the Atlanta area. We were graced with photographers from Florida, Abalama, Haha, and even a photographer from Boston. The level of skill at the workshop was incredible. There were some amazingly talented photographers. I learned a ton from Mikey and Andy, but I even learned a thing or two from the fellow photographers.

I've struggled to call myself a photographer, I never thought I would, but after this weekend, I am confident to say that I am a photographer. I'll let the pre-fix of professional or amateur up to the readers.

I came out of the workshop with a TON of images that I am going to use in my personal portfolio. The boys covered more than just lighting techniques, they talked about the business side of the photography industry and it really got me to thinking about just what type of photography I want to shoot. I've been thinking long and hard and while weddings and senior portraits are great. I think my calling is in the arena of high-fashion and commercial advertising. I'm not against senior portraits or weddings, nor do I think I am better than photographers that specialize in that area. I just love the type of shooting associated with high-fashion and commercial advertising.

A couple months ago if you had told me I would be pursuing a career in the photography industry I would've told you that you were crazy. But oh how time can change a person. I'm incredibly excited about the future and the possibilities that could present themselves to me due to photography. I mean heck, I'm already getting to travel to Salvador, Brazil for 10 days. I might just have to get a connecting flight in Columbia to visit the boys of Lightenupandshoot.com!

Exciting things are happening, its a bit overwhelming a times, I'm reading as much as I can about the business side of the industry and trying to contact as many people as I can about shooting some material.
Who knows, maybe you'll see my work when you visit the Atlanta Beat's website one day, or a marketing brochure for the Loews Hotel chain.

Exciting things are in the works and I can't wait for things to take off. More than they already have!

If you are interested in having some photos made please don't hesitate to contact me at michaelknowltonphotography@gmail.com. I am incredibly excited about the future and would love to work with you. Whoever you are.

But, on to some of the photos from this weekends shoot with the boys of lightenupandshoot.com

We had 4 amazing models, without them, my photos would just be bland images of some interesting backdrops. My hat is off to the models!