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!