I did a Sr. Port session the other night. I had hoped to do alot of outside stuff too but it was just raining like crazy. I suggested we reschedule but they wanted to go ahead with them. We actually did a few shots in the rain too but I like the studio stuff best.

Anyway, Jackie is a super sweet girl and it was fun to get to know her and her mom!

This has been a pretty big week for Ashton! Tuesday was Orientation at Kindergarten (I seriously cried like a baby. It was very hard for me to send him off to school and still contemplating alternative ways to educate.) I actually heard a great quote from John Wimber "I don't mind education so long as it doesn't get in the way of learning!" This can be very true when a child doesn't learn affectively in a traditional "education" model. Ashton is definitely a artist who reflects much of me, my parents say he's EXACTLY like I was at that age. (artistic, talkative, creative and managing, he's always orchestrating something and getting others to help him fulfill his plans.) Anyway, we'll see where that goes. I have so many thoughts on this, but I'll save it for some other time.

On Wed. we did a daddy date and went crawdad hunting for hours in the river! What an amazing time. Ashton kept saying to me "Dad, this is soooo fun. I'm so glad we did this!" I even blitzed on an important conference call as a result of not having my watch or phone with me in the river. It was absolutely worth it and they were incredibly gracious in understanding.

Then the first and second day of kindergarten and a lost tooth! Enjoy the pix above they are of the first morning of school and the lost tooth. The last pic it's hard to tell but he's holding his tooth on a string.

I'm so blessed.

Karsyn is on her way in less than 2 weeks! Keep us in your prayers.

WOW! That's about all I can say! Wow!

We just finished the first ever Davis Photography, Davis Tools Seminar!

It was titled "Summer Revival Seminar" and that it did! I can't tell you how fun it was to hang with some amazing people and grow and learn together as we discovered and shared knowledge on lighting, capture, editing/workflow, album design, (a favorite of the attendees,cause my wife rocks!) business sense, marketing and cause marketing and more! It was awesome!

I'm gonna post a little show it web show later that incorporates all the images from attendees and all! Also, I'll post links to their websites!

Thank you Mike Lotz for all your help! You rock! Also, thanks to Rob from Encore! And thank you all who supported our event by giving some great hook up pricing on some cool products! Bludomain, Show it Web, theknot, Me Ra Koh and our very own ActionRunner!

Also, a big thank you to our amazing models Devon and Rachel and Elliot! You guys were amazing!

Last but not least, thank you to all who attended! I'll be posting links and our group shot soon!

God bless you all,

Jim and Lara

We are so excited to do our up coming seminar!

So far we have attendees from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and . . .

Congratulations to Linda Turnbough for winning bragging rights for the farthest traveled so far for the Summer Revival Seminar on August 27th and 28th.

She's coming from Texas!

3 Seats are still open! If your serious about taking your images and business to the next level or even just getting started in the business of photography (especially weddings) then you will certainly have spent your money well.

A little over two years ago Lara and I, along with our friends Greg and Jennifer Gibbs and Gary and Karina Sammons and with the help of Mike Colon, David Jay and many generous donors, started an organization called Thirst Relief International. Our mission "Together saving lives and changing the world." How, by providing LONG term pure water solutions to those around the world that are dying simply because they lack access to clean water. WATER is one of the most abundant natural resource available to man, yet over 1.1 BILLION lack access to it. Often it's running in abundance right outside their door in a contaminated river, or it's 30 feet below their feet in an underground spring. However, without the proper tools to access and or purify this water these people are sick and dying. Nearly 25 MILLION deaths ANNUALLY are attributed to water borne diseases. So, why do I write this today? To call others to action! Inspire and say that WE can all make a difference if we simply care and are willing to help make a difference in this world. Since it's inception Thirst Relief Internatinalover has proivded 20,000 people with access to clean water, this from just a simple idea that is helping to change the world.

Two years ago it was a handful of friends giving of time, money and energy to start a revolutionary water project, now it's a network of children, professionals, churches, businesses, individuals and our field laborers that continues to grow and make a difference around the world. How can you get involved?

CLICK HERE to watch an awesome video by Nickleback that will inspire you to find someway to get involved in making a difference in the world!

Click HERE to see the promo video for my upcoming seminar! REGISTER HERE!

So my buddy from Lotz Photography asked me if I wanted to go downtown and do a bridal shoot that he could video and make a promo piece from for us for the Summer Revival Seminar! Of course I said "Absolutely! Let's do it!" So he provide the true married couple and all of us (lara, me, mike, kim, ashley and cody) headed downtown!

We had such a great time!

Here are some of my favorites from our time together.

Enjoy!

I'll be demonstrating the editing techniques that I did to this image at the seminar!

http://www.davistools.com/

I'm finally doing it! I've had so many people contacting me asking for training opportunities and if I would mind helping them get started in a photography business that I decided to do a seminar. This seminar will be for both working professionals that want to take their business and images to the next level as well as a bonus session that will focus on a quick start guide to starting a wedding photogaphy business.

It's gonna be great!

Click HERE to learn more.

Here are a couple more shots from the studio portion of my shoot with Brit and Andrew. I am so loving doing more studio work now that the old carriage house studio is almost complete!

I just had the privilege of shooting engagement pix for Brit and Andy! What a great couple! I am really excited to shoot their wedding! should be a great time!

Here's a shot to enjoy.

God bless you guys. I enjoyed getting to know you guys.

Today I had the privilege of doing some studio work for Dan "Beard" Banks. He's a great voiceover guy and you can see his site HERE. Crazy thing is, is that his wife Georgia was my 4th grade teacher! Awesome couple!

I liked this one.

My son Ashton came in the other day and said "Dad, look I drew a Thirst Relief International picture. It's you, taking a water filter to a little boy."

I love having a dream job like photography that allows me to be more philanthropic than just entrepreneurial.

I'm so excited to spend the next few days on vacation enjoying my family and God!

Enjoy the pic. (I added the logo of course.)

Click HEREhttp://www.prophotoshow.net/blog/2007/05/26/pps-31-pro-photo-roundtable-talking-tech/#comment-524 to listen to the Pro Photo Show round table talk.

Around the 27 min. mark you'll hear Gavin Seim the Host of the show brag on ActionRunner 2.0!

Pretty cool.

In the last 9 weeks I've shot 7 weddings!

Why am I not stressed trying to get them edited before we leave for vacaion?

Because if I don't have any major technical problems etc. I'll have them all edited an ftp'd to pictage within the next 10 days. Granted I've already edited 3 of them but with the speed of ActionRunner editing is a breeze. I spend more time selecting my pix and provide my clients with more better pix as a result. It's so smooth.

Here is a screen shot similar to what the new 2.0 for PC version will look like. I'm hoping it's available online in the next 30 days or less.

God bless,

Jim

What are you afraid of?

Sure some are afraid of spooky stuff, dying, failure etc. but most of all, what really cripples us is the fear of others. What they think of us, what they might say, if they'll accept us or reject us.

In the entire history of the world there has never been, nor will ever be anyone that has reached their FULL potential while still holding onto the "fear of man" or what others think about them.

As I'm putting together my thoughts for a possible photo seminar I'm compelled to face this reality.

We will NEVER be all that we are created to be as photographers or anything else in life if we live by our fears and what others think of us!

WOW, WHAT A WAKE UP!

I don't believe for a minute that the "good old" days didn't have flaws and there are always ways we can improve upon what we have. And I don't think that the Bible or Christianity should be forced upon students etc. We live in a multi cultural and diverse society. But we have gone to an extreme by completely trying to eliminate any trace of God and morality from our school systems. I think the following below really puts it in a concise pattern and clear thought flow that makes alot of sense.

Enjoy. Jim

____________________________

Dear God:

Why didn't you save the school children at ?. .

Moses Lake , Washington 2/2/96 Bethel , Alaska 2/19/97Pearl , Mississippi 10/1/97 West Paducah , Kentucky 12/1/97Stamp, Arkansas 12/15/97Jonesboro , Arkansas 3/24/98 Edinboro , Pennsylvania 4/24/98Fayetteville , Tennessee 5/19/98 Springfield , Oregon 5/21/98 Richmond , Virginia 6/15/98
Littleton , Colorado 4/20/99 Taber , Alberta , Canada 5/28/99 Conyers , Georgia 5/20/99 Deming , New Mexico 11/19/99 Fort Gibson , Oklahoma 12/6/99 Santee , California 3/ 5/01 andEl Cajon , California 3/22/01

Pennsylvania 2006

Virginia Tech College 2007

Sincerely,
Concerned Student
-----------------------------------------------------
Reply:
Dear Concerned Student:
I am not allowed in schools.
Sincerely,
God
------------ ----------------------------------------------
How did this get started?...
-----------------
Let's see,I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools.
And we said, OK..
------------------
Then, someone said you better not read the Bible in school,the Bible that says "thou shalt not kill,thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbors as yourself,"
And we said, OK...
- -------------- --
Dr. Benjamin Spock saidwe shouldn't spank our children when they misbehaved because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem.
And we said,an expert should know what he's talking aboutso we won't spank them anymore..
------------------
Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators saidno faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued.
And we accepted their reasoning...
------------------
Then someone said,let's let our daughters have abortions if they want,and they won't even have to tell their parents.
And we said, that's a grand idea..
------------------
Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway,let's give our sons all the condoms they want, so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school.
And we said, that's another great idea...
------------------
Then some of our top elected officials saidit doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs.
And we said,it doesn't matter what anybody, including the President, does in private as long as we have jobs and the economy is good....
------------------
And someone else took that appreciation a step furtherand published pictures of nude children and then stepped further still by making them available on the Internet.
And we said, everyone's entitled to free speech....
------------------
And the entertainment industry said,let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex...And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes...
And we said,it's just entertainment and it has no adverse effect and nobody takes it seriously anyway,so go right ahead.
------------------
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, classmates or even themselves.------------------
Undoubtedly, if we thought about it long and hard enough, we could figure it out.I'm sure it has a great deal to do with...

"WE REAP WHAT WE SOW,"

On May 30th, Scott and Jenny Shine will be taking off on a 5000 mile self supported tandem bike trek!

There journey is twofold:

1. Raise awareness regarding the world water crisis.

2. Raise funds to help save lives and change the world.

3. (secretly Scott say's there is a third "get out of my cubical :)

There journey will take them from Washington state across the northern border of the US and Canada, down into Michigan and south from there until the loop back up to somewhere in Utah.

This incredible journey is unbelievable and we commend Scott and Jenny for their efforts in this journey they are about to begin!

Scott and Jenny will be riding, camping, cooking, riding, camping, cooking, maybe stopping by the Oprah show if that works out, did I mention riding? Anyway, they are doing the hard part!

All we need to do is help them by:

1. Raising awareness ourselves via your blogs, friends, churches, networks etc.

2. Sponsoring Scott and Jenny on a per mile basis.

You can lear more about their journey at www.teamhydrate.net

100% of all their procedes go directly to Thirst Relief International and you actually make the donation at our site www.thirstrelief.org

If your wondering why your reading about this on your photographer's blog it's cause I serve as the volunteer President of Thirst Relief International

Introducing . . .

Thirst Relief Bottled Water!!!

If you or anyone you know wants to order some water for your business, church, event or home please contact Greg Gibbs at greggibbs@thirstrelief.org. All of the procedes that come from the sale of this water directly benefits Thirst Relief International.

We also sell it as a wholesaler to larger businesses or distributors (ie. gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, you name it!)

Here is some cool buzz about our business and what technology we use!

Check it out by clicking HERE!

The ALL NEW ActionRunner 2.0 is now available for Mac OS10 and CS2 operators.

Soon to follow will be CS3 and CS versions. Also, PC will follow sometime in the next 4-5 months we hope. Until then you can still purchase 1.0 for PC which I personally use for my own images. 1.0 has the same actions, just a less friendly user interface.

Here is a screen shot of 2.0




This software is so simple:

You use whatever file browser you like, select the action you want, drag as many images at a time as you want onto the action icon and then click on GO! Each image is opened, action applied, saved and closed. And you can add up to 120 of your own actions in the custom tabs, virtually any action you have can be included in the automation power of actionrunner.

It's really incredible and you can get a free trial version at www.davistools.com.

Here is a comment from Photographer Heather Kallhoff in SD who just purchased 2.0:

"ok, I'M LOVIN IT!! YOU ROCK . . . YOU ARE THE BEST . . . YOU ARE MY HERO . . . I THINK I'M IN LOVE!"

check out her work at www.kallhoffportrait.com

Click Here to see our cover story in Studio Photography!

12 Photographers are selected each year to be on the cover of this national photo pub and we were one of them!

What a privilege!

This isn't the actual cover, it's just a mock up, but the march 2007 cover is gonna be all over WPPI and mailed out in the next couple days or so.

I just took these pix of my sister-in-law sarah. Which one do you like the best?

All three are the same pic, just different actions run on them.

Her and her husband Nathan came over and helped us organize and get rid of junk in our garage. What an amazing feeling! My garage is like the best room in the house now!

Thanks guys.

Jim

I've been playing in my new studio that we converted from an old carriage house/garage on the back of our property! I love the available light that comes thru the big doors. Anyway, it's fun here's a test shot of my little guy, aka "Woody" from toy story.

Congratulations to Jen Kroll for being the highest bidder and winning 90 minutes with Lara and I at WPPI for a mentoring session! She'll also receive a free copy of ActionRunner too!

Only problem is, aren't we supposed to mentor the one who pays? She rocks! I'm sure we'll have some questions too! Can't wait to meet Jen!

Also, if your interested in a little bit of the online drama that happened last night check out www.thirstrelief.blogspot.com and see my post! We brought in over $25,000.00 dollars through the WPPI Mentor Benefit Auction!!! But it wasn't without some excitement! (crashing servers, maximum user overload errors, anti-sniping features on the auction site that made it so that you couldn't win unless you really were willing to bid the most, just like a real auction.)

Anyway, I was up til 3:00 a.m. dealing with the drama and excitement of the auction and then I was up at 5 a.m. in order to be downtown and ready for a photo shoot with Coach Tony Dungy (2007 Super Bowl Champs) Coach Jim Tressell, go Bucks! and Archie Griffin! I love being the photographer for the Columbus Gathering as it provides really incredible opportunities to hear incredible speakers and take some pix of awesome people! Check out this photo of all the guys praying together before Coach Dungy speaks!

We really are a lot nicer than we look here in this shot, but it's what I have. Anyway, this year at WPPI Lara and I will be offering a 90 minute mentoring session. We'll take our highest bidder out for a meal, it will be one-on-one or I guess 2-on-one or 2, just depends on if a spouse attends. Before we meet we'll take the time to evaluate your portfolio and website and consider any questions you might have. Share openly about our lives, our business, about Thirst Relief, how we juggle the responsibilities of family life, business, running a non-profit, how our faith plays a role in all this etc. Pretty much whatever you want to talk about we'll be happy to do it. Be warned though, this could be dangerous! Last year the girl we mentored was sobbing! By the end of our time she was smiling again and hugging us. We were actually able to uncover a deep sense of guilt over charging "too much" for her services etc. and it was this guilt that was keeping her from taking her business to the next level where she could reach her fuller potential. Anyway, we spoke truth to her, prayed for her and she left changed! It was awesome! We left changed and never dreamed a photo mentor session could be so powerful. We recently received a nice big box of gourmet candies with a special note of thanks for how we affected her life and she went on to tell us about how much her business has changed for the better and more!

So, not to lay out too much expectation or make anyone afraid, but if you would like to take advantage of this opportunity we'd love to do it! Plus 100% of all the procedes go directly to benefit Thirst Relief International! It's an online auction so go HERE if you'd like to bid. Plus we'll also demonstrate our editing tool ActionRunner and giving a free copy to the highest bidder. There is only one day left to the auction so check it out if your interested.

Also, be on the lookout for who is on the cover of Studio Photography this month when it's realeased!!

I just had to share this very quickly, it's an all-time classic!

For those who don't know, Lara and I are expecting our 3rd child! We are very excited, however when Lara conceives she is typically VERY sick from about week 8-20 and is bedridden most of the time or she ends up hospitalized from dehydratoin due to excessive vomitting. It's pretty rough, so right now everything is on me and with the support of some friends and family I am taking care of Lara, the boys, the business and still operating as president of Thirst Relief International. (this is volunteer, my real job is a passionate wedding photographer! And my thirst staff does more of the day to day than I do!)

Anyway, so a nurse came to our home yesterday (since our insurance finally agreed to pay for a zophran pump, cause you know we only pay nearly $1000 a month for our health insurance.) So, she came to show Lara and I how to hook up this pump/IV type thing that pumps regular doses of this anti-nausea medication called zophran. Anyway, I'm sitting there watching the nurse show us how to do it (so that lara isn't vomitting all day) and Brayden my 3 year old comes over and say's "Daddy, hold me my stomache hurts. Will you rub it?" I said sure honey and held him as I listened carefully, a few moments later he HURLS on my chest!!!!! I was a bit in shock as I was covered in vomit and I ran to the bathroom carrying him to get him over the toilet where he proceeds to emmit the rest of his lunch!

Funny thing is I wouldn't trade the last 6 weeks of misery for much less than a million $ maybe :) but for real, it's been amazing how God has used it in me to see how little so much of what I strive for matters. In the end if I love my family, my God and serve each of them faithfully life is GREAT! In that I can serve my clients with excellence as I am serving God but as almost anyone with a family and carreer or any other passion can relate to it's easy to drop the ball on the most important things while seeking to maintain your own "shtuff". I heard a line the other day in a song, it goes "You put me here for a reason, How can I further Your Kingdom when I so caught up in mine?" Often my own little kingdom gets in the way, it's like James Cameron (you know the guy that directed the totally inaccurate show that claimed they found Jesus' bones?) when he won the oscar for Titanic he jumped up and down saying "I'm the king of the world!" NO, not even close, just a good director with some seriously great talent that doesn't mean a hill of beans to most of the people that me and my staff at Thirst Relief labor daily for to save their lives and most of the rest of the world. (sorry for the run on.)

Anyway, it was just too funny. And literally I was laughing as I held my little guy over the toilet and watched him chucking it all right there! I wasn't laughing at him, I was laughing at the fact that just earlier that day in church I was standing there worshipping God with my hands raised high and I said to God in my heart, "Thank you for helping me to learn obedience and perseverance in the midst of suffering, just like you did." I kinda thought to myself as I stood there "I got it, I got what HE wants me to get in this trying time, now it will be over soon." Then almost in humor I go home and get a chest full of vomit!!! It was so funny.

Over the past 5 weeks I've had some seriously hard times (hard for my comfy sheltered world) and at times have failed at being a kind and patient father and loving, compassionate husband, but in the end God is using it all to draw me to Himself and set my heart in line with His will, not mine!

Thank you Jesus!

And thank you to all who have prayed, called (probably w/out a return call) and have brought a meal or played with the boys!

WPPI 2007 Thirst Benefit Mentor Auction


Who: You and generous and talented industry leaders who are donating their time, wisdom, experience and excellence in the form of 1-90 minute mentoring sessions.

The List in Alphabetical Order:
Becker
Charles and Jennifer Maring
Chenin and Doug Boutwell
Chris LaLonde
Dane Sanders
David Beckstead
David Jay
Davina Fear
Denis Reggie
DQ Studios
Gary Fong
Gene Higa
Huy from f8 Studio
Jeff Jochum
Jefferson Todd
Jeffrey and Julia Woods
Jerry Ghionis
Jessica Claire
Jim and Lara Davis-Hicks
Joe Photo
John at Imagemakr.com
John Michael Cooper
Joy and Garrett Nudd
LaCour's Rachel and Andrew
Laura Novak
Liana Lehman
Marcus Bell
Matt Antonino
Me Ra Koh
Michele Celentano
Mike Colon
Mike Larson
Nathan and Amber Holritz
Parker Pfister
Pepper Nix
Ryan Joseph
Stephen and Jen Bebb
Vanessa Hall from Wildberry Studio+Design
Vicki Taufer
Yervant

What: The 2nd Annual WPPI Thirst Benefit Mentor Auction is happening this week! Each of the Mentors listed above has donated 1-90 minute mentor session to the highest online bidder. 100% of all proceeds will go directly to providing pure water for those who need it most via Thirst Relief International.

When: The Auction will be live March 1st-March 8th at midnight PST.

Why: Because over 1 billion people lack access to safe, clean water and nearly 2.5 million children die annually as a result. For $5 we can provide a lifetime of safe, clean water to one person in need! Click here to learn how.

HOW????: Follow these instructions in detail to place your online bid!

1. Click the link below (thanks to fotoverite.com for the free online auction)
2. Once you arrive at fotoverite.com click on the Thirst Relief Logo and register for the auction.
5. You'll then see all the different names and auctions you can bid on. Follow the intuitive online bidding format provided.

BID ON YOUR FAVORITE MENTOR NOW!! By clicking HERE.

Note: If you win the auction you will be required to make your payment online via credit card at www.thirstrelief.org within 24 hours of winning. If you do not make your payment you will forfeit your session and the second highest bidder will be the winner. Please do not bid if you are not prepared to donate online within 24 hours of winning the auction.

I created a new action today! It's kind of a cross between a vintage look and a color infrared. I call it Colortage. It will be bundled in the User Friendly V.2.0 of ActionRunner. The GUI for ActionRunner 2.0 is so smooth and seemless, user friendly and dummy proof! It's gonna be rockin!

However, while I've been able to get alot of work done today since my parents are in town Lara has had a horrible day. Please pray for her health. I can't stand to see her like this. Why pregnancy affects some like this and not others is a mystery.

God bless,

jim

so my last post was on friday, lara's best day was saturday.

could it be a prayerful connection?

let's do an experiment.

if you know anyone that is a praying, miracle believing believer ask them to pray for Lara to be freed from the extreme nausea she experiences in pregnancy.

right now she is completely bedridden and vomits multiple times a day. saturday she experienced some freedom and actually got showered, dressed and out of the house for a few hours. it was amazing to have her back among us! the next day, she was back to normal.

so, that said, she is in need of some prayer! please pass this request on to others and i'll report back on how she is doing!

thank you.

Life Comes At You Fast!!

Though we do have our coats on since it was only 56 degrees and windy, it was sure nice compared to what we came home to! Frozen pipes in our kitchen (our house was built in 1875 and has poor insulation under our floors in the kitchen) anyway it's been anywhere from -7 to 20 degrees but not above that for like 2 weeks now! Lara is also really sick with the first trimester of our 3rd child! So, from 56 to -7, to a sick and bedridden momma and some needy boys with a thriving business and helping to run www.thirstrelief.org I am kinda busy!

I'll take all the prayers I can get! God bless you all.

Here is the snow outside my back door!

I don't know if this is from who it say's it is but I must say I think it's pretty accurate and a real masterpiece.

Enjoy.

AN EXPLANATION OF TAX CUTS.........................
Sometimes politicians, journalists and others exclaim; "It's just a tax
cut for the rich!" and it is just accepted to be fact, without
questioning it. But what does that really mean? Just in case you are
not completely clear on this issue, the following might help.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that
every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to
$100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something
like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the
arrangement, until on day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce
the cost of your daily beer by $20."Drinks for the ten now cost just
$80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so
the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men; the paying customers? How could they
divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted
that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would
each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's
bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the
amounts each should pay.
And so:
The first four men (the poorest) would still pay nothing.
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The
sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings). The seventh now pay $5
instead of $7 (28%savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25%
savings). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings). The tenth
now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four
continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men
began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the
$20,"declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got
$10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar,
too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back
when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the
tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers
without him.
But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something
important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even
half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how
our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most
benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being
wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might
start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, PhD
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

This picture represents our growing family. Count how many snowmen there are!

I've read that Ancient Celtic Warriors used to strip down naked and paint their bodies before heading to war! This must be the Irish coming out in my boys!

Today is Brayden's 3rd Birthday. He definitely has a warrior spirit. Sometimes it wears me out, I am just praying that I can help to direct it in the right direction.

Happy Birthday Brayden, your daddy and mommy love you soooooooo much!

Every year now at WPPI we are doing a Thirst Relief Benefit Mentor Auction. Big name photogs like Mike Colon, David Jay, Dane Sanders and many others sign up to be mentors for a 45 minute session. All the procedes go directly to benefit Thirst Relief International!

Super cool news is that Denis Reggie known as "the father of wedding photojournalism" is on board as a mentor! I am blown away at the continued amazing responses that we get in support of Thirst Relief International!

Thank you Denis and the entire photo community!

Just as I was writing this I received word that [b]ecker and jessica claire are both in too!

This weekend's slidshow from the wedding. click here

So this weekend I shot this really great couples wedding, Jennifer and Jason. But, as wedding time often is running late we were running out of daylight fast and on top of that it was raining! So we had to get really creative. I saw this old horse barn at the venue and thought, that'd be a great shot, but no light???? hmmm, I don't want a fake look of just flash, even bounced or filtered wouldn't give me the look I was going for, so I asked Mike Lotz of Lotz Photography who was shooting with me to pull my truck up and shine the lights in the barn at an angle, this is what I got! If you could see what it looked like with the naked eye you'd be amazed at how this shot turned out! When I showed them on my D2x lcd they couldn't believe it! I was very pleased. I'm gonna make a soft box for my headlights, no joke.

God bless guys! Have a great time in Canada on your honeymoon, I hope you get the snow you were praying for!

all i can say is "what happened to my bucks?" that was not the same team i cheered on all year!

wow, i'm in shock.

i will give credit to Troy Smith right after the game he said "There is a whole lot more to life than football, this kinda stuff forces you to grow up."

wow, he didn't blame the line, or lack of line, he just recognized it's a sport and he better build his life on more than just how well he plays it.

i'm sick at the loss but i wish i was more sick at what is happening every day across the globe with injustices that are too sick to mention here. know what i mean?

Scrooge/Grinch or next to Santa/Elf like???

Which one are YOU? I'd love to hear what best describes you this time of year and why?

I can be a bit of a Scrooge cause I hate buying gifts for folks that already have everything already! I think that consumerism christmas has almost completely wiped out the real meaning of Christmas, but I do love the concept of giving, it's just hard cause so many folks need so much more than us and yet we give to eachother. Don't get me wrong, I love giving a gift to folks that need it or if it's something really cool that they don't have but I'd rather go in with my family and buy a car or something crazy for a family in need or do international effort stuff like fund an entire well $5k in Zambia with Thirst or something.

So what are you? I'd love to hear!

Also, I have a super cool photog seminar idea, it will only accomodate like 3 photogs max per session but it will be super cool! Shoot me an email info@davistools.com if your interested in learning more.

Being the President of non-profit www.thirstrelief.org is like being a kid during Christmas time! I never know how much year end giving we'll see come in and it's so exciting to see them when they arrive! It's been so fun to see Mike Colon, Gary Fong, Jeffrey and Julia Woods and many others getting involved and generously!

Life is good, business is good, kids are great, marriage is rockin! I like when life feels like it does right now, but I know that whether it feels good or not God is good!

I'm thankful for the gift of Jesus this Christmas and for all of you too!

God bless, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What a "Weekend to Remember"!!!

For real, I must say this past weekend was by far the very best investment I've made into my marriage. What an incredibly amazing experience! I can't say enough.

Whether your engaged to be married, into it a few years, on the rocks, doing great or are celebrating your golden anniversary this conference is a winner!

I was so impressed I want to go back next year. They have them all over the country and in some really cool locations too! WOW!!!!

Jose Alvarez and Karl and Junanne Clauson were the speakers and they rocked!

I just can't believe how great it was! I know you can also listen to some of Karl's other messages at www.changepointalaska.com what a gifted speaker and a man full of the life of God!

Weekend To Remember

Lara and I are headed off to this really incredible weekend marriage conference. I'm super exctied about it. They say "If you don't agree that this is the best money you've ever spent toward your marriage we'll refund your money." With this type of a guarantee plus the recommendation of some friends who have been to it we figured we couldn't pass it up!

Marriage is such an amazing gift and such an incredible responsibility! I had a friend who said "You know, I started thinking, "I'm getting this walk with Jesus down pretty good, I'm doing pretty good in life and just being a better person. . . . then, I got married and realized what an absolute jerk I still was. Then I got the marriage part down a good bit and started feeling good about me again . . . then I had kids and . . ."

You get the point. Anyway, I'm excited to learn how to be the best husband I can be!

God bless you all!

P.S. Thanks Mom and Dad for staying with the kids!

I just received an email from a sister-in-law of a couple we shot like 4 years ago. She had a print that was somehow damaged and wanted to order a new one. It's times like these that I am so glad to be a Pictage partner! Using a pro lab like Pictage allows me to simply go online, select the event I want to rerelease and click "release" and it's done. Now the customer can simply go online, reorder the pic and I don't have to dig up old back up cd's, make the print, mail the print etc. for what would be nearly no profit when it's all done. Plus by releasing the event online again it might just generate a few more sales etc. as I added a discount purchase price for the next two months! If you've not used Pictage or have heard negative things in the past about them, just know that the CEO Jason Keifer recently sent out a letter addressing the 4 most common complaints about their services and he described in detail their efforts to improve in these areas. I'm proud to be in partnership with such a great company! And since I've had no sponsorship from Pictage (though I wish I was) I say this with no other motive than simply turning others onto a great service that really reduces the stress in my life and allows to focus on running my business, not just maintain it.