Photographic rewards come in many flavors. You\u2019ve got contests, that\u2019s pretty cool. Who hasn\u2019t had one or more of their family members tell you that you should go pro. That\u2019s rewarding. There is getting your photographs published in a magazine, getting your own book and of course there is the sale of a print for a handsome price. That\u2019s just downright sweet. Topping this is that moment when you think you\u2019ve made that great click and then when you\u2019re looking at your images later, you know you\u2019ve made that great click. Now we\u2019re talkin rewards. But I think there is one even greater that comes from photography for many of us fortunate shooters.<\/p>\n
[swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/DPA2AT61089.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf]<\/p>\n
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Do you ever feel that you\u2019ve got everything backwards and perhaps you\u2019re looking at the world upside down? Not so much as the world as a whole, just the photographic world. For example, have you heard this silly competition thing between Nikon and Canon owners? Or how about Mac and Windows? While there are some great jokes for one side or the other, what gets me is when folks actually take it all really seriously, like the future of the planet depends on determining which is best. And it seems like just yesterday there was the pixel race, who\u2019s got the most. Glad that\u2019s cooled down so now we can debate who has the best high ISO. Now there\u2019s a debate that keeps you on the edge of your seat!<\/p>\n
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One of my all time favorites that come up almost yearly for the last 30 years I\u2019ve been involved in the sport, is the question, \u201cDo I buy the current model or wait for the next, best body that surely is coming?\u201d One of our best selling images still to this day, was taken with a D1 body, an image with a little noise, not super dupper tack sharp but yet, the light, color and gesture just keep it selling and selling. Even with that knowledge, I\u2019m always one of the first to jump on new technology just because\u2026because history has proven for us it\u2019s a wise business move. But this doesn\u2019t bring the greatest reward in photography I think.<\/p>\n
Photography is a struggle, at least it has been for me. I\u2019m talking the whole package, from the content creating to the image selling to maintaining\u00a0business . It\u2019s a struggle. In the beginning I remember bad times when selling a lens was the only way to pay bills. I remember passing on projects because there simply was no capitol to fund it. I painfully remember those projects I didn\u2019t do to my best ability for lack of knowledge. Yet even with those struggles, somehow, we managed to keep moving forward. There isn\u2019t a day that Sharon & I don\u2019t wake up and look at our home and pinch ourselves knowing that photography paid for it. Even this to me isn\u2019t close to the greatest reward photography has to offer.<\/p>\n
[swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/DPA2AT61264.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf]<\/p>\n
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Since our oldest son Brent was two weeks old and Jake at two days old, they have been out there with me when I was shooting. Brent\u2019s first word, seriously, was Nikon (he had a damaged FM-2 he played with as a kid). When we went camping, speaking engagement, a party, a conference, or nearly any social function, photography was somehow involved. And so it has been for 22 years. Today was an example of exactly what I\u2019m talking about. Working on a new project, Sharon, Jake, Brent & myself spent the day flying in WWII warbird T6 Texans. The air to air photography was amazing and I was incredibly fortunate again to be working with our youngest son Jake. You can see him being ninja shooter, a little bit of forehead peaking over his camera as he photographs the plane I\u2019m in. And as you can see, I\u2019m photographing him photographing me (or he\u2019s photographing me photographing him).<\/p>\n
Then after our morning flight, we landed and Brent & Sharon went up and flew and Jake and I photographed their flight. Afterwards we all got back together and went to a hamburger BBQ in the hanger with other pilots on the field and talked planes. Stories from WWII, Korea & Vietnam as well as \u201cramp rumors\u201d filled the air. It was just a helluva day!<\/p>\n
[swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/DPA2AT61232.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf]<\/p>\n
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And now we\u2019re getting to what I think if the greatest reward photography has to offer. And that\u2019s permitting us to follow our passion and share it with others. This can be done in many ways and all day long. I\u2019m so fortunate that I have a great family who not only have supported my craziness for all these years, but actually participate in it. And what\u2019s still amazes me that the one type of photography that gets us all out together and incredibly excited is not wildlife, landscape, skiing or fly fishing photography but is aviation photography. Anything that brings and keeps a family together is a good thing. I\u2019ve seen photography work its magic on other families and I\u2019m so glad its part of ours.<\/p>\n
In our family, Dad gets away with nothing and this is particularly true with photography. I have a house of very qualified critics who have no hesitation telling me their opinion of my images (I wonder where they got that from, must have been Sharon). It\u2019s a reality check I relish because their comments are not just based on technical or artistic merits, but also how Dad\u2019s photography should be felt. That\u2019s when the world all turns upright again and I experience photography\u2019s greatest reward. Forget everything else and just open your lens, shutter and your heart and let the light in and then share it. You too will experience photograph\u2019s greatest reward!<\/p>\n
[swf]http:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/swf_imgs\/DPA2AT60658.swf, 585, 444 [\/swf]<\/p>\n
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Photos captured by D3s, 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Photographic rewards come in many flavors. You\u2019ve got contests, that\u2019s pretty cool. Who hasn\u2019t had one or more of their family members tell you that you should go pro. That\u2019s rewarding. There is getting your photographs published in a magazine, get your own book and of course there is the sale of a print for a handsome price. That\u2019s just downright sweet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-11627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-whats-new"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Podcast.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&quality=100&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Podcast\/B08JJQC1GR?ref=a_pd_item-n_c0_bc&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=EEDMYHQM3DZ05FPRTHMJ","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2fRA9VaVfSdQMKf1ipxr0tipxr0t","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/moose-podcast\/id1107405746","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/moose-podcast","embedCode":"
UpRighting the World with Photography’s Greatest Reward<\/a><\/blockquote>