MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE AND WHY BRIAN MCKNIGHT IS DUMB TO ME

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone by! So much has happened in this short amount of time and I can’t believe 2010 is right around the corner! Here is what was on my mind the moment I woke up this morning:

In Brian McKnight’s song, “You’re Like a Dream Come True,” he lists 5 very important steps to make a certain person fall in love with him. As these steps lingered and danced around in my mind, I quickly realized one thing: This song is crap. Step one simply says that this person he is after is like a dream come true. That is not a step! There is no action to take! Let us move on to step two: Just wanna be with you. Again, not a step. Not something you DO. He could have simply said, “Spend time with you” and I would have let that one go. 3. Girl it’s plain to see that you’re the only one for me. Wow, three strikes McKnight. You’re officially failblog worthy in my book. And if it couldn’t get any worse step 4 states that you repeat steps 1 through 3, which we have already determined are not steps at all. The only one that tells us to do something is step 5 and all it says is, “Make you fall in love with me.” That’s a completely blanket statement and steps 1-4 certainly don’t elaborate on any of them. And then as if to take the entire chorus, hold it in his hands and destroy and crush it like Chris Farley’s “sale” in Tommy Boy, he says that if his work is ever done, simply start back at one. I’m speechless. How did this song ever become a hit!? Anyways, that is what I woke up to. Now that I have gotten out of my head and had a cup of coffee, I am good to go. It’s Christmas eve, the day before my absolute favorite day of the year. It’s also my Dads birthday, Happy Birthday Dad! Today is a day to slow down, spend time with family, and maybe open a present when nobody is looking. We will see.

DAILY EXPOSURE – SANTA BARBARA BOAT HOUSE

I took this image while passing through Santa Barbara on the way to San Luis Obispo in California. One of my all time favorite photographers is Chris Orwig who resides and teaches in Santa Barbara at the Brook’s Institute of Photography. He is an amazing teacher and I have learned a LOT of what I know in Photoshop and Lightroom from this guy. His lessons are available at Lynda.com so check them out if you want to learn. Anyways, I had to stop by because he always talks about how beautiful it is. And he was right! If I could afford it in any way, I would be there in a second. This boat house is just one of hundreds of pictures I took that day. The Santa Barbara Pier is just breathtaking. So much beauty, I could have spent all day walking around. I processed this photo as a single RAW HDR image. As long as you have the RAW file, you can still make HDR’s without having to take three different exposures. Enjoy! And anyone reading, leave a comment stating your number one Christmas wish!

A NEW BEGINNING

So I have been getting a lot of heat lately about not updating my blog enough. These past 6 months have been an incredibly interesting and testing time in my life. 6 months ago I was a full time personal banker at Bank of America Corporation. I was very successful in my position there, always hit my numbers and over the course of a few years, built up a very dedicated group of clients. But something big was missing: Freedom! With only 3 weeks of vacation a year, and 40+ hours a week every week I couldn’t possibly make this photography business work. So over the next few months I started working my tail off at getting to a professional level of work with my photography. I was blessed to have the help of a great photographer, Monyeen Black. I met her in California at a wedding for my wife’s cousin and she couldn’t have been more helpful. She stayed in touch, critiqued my work with brutal honesty (the best kind), suggested reading material, lenses etc. Monyeen, if you read this, thank you so much for all of your help along the way. Your generosity was inspiring!

With the help and support of friends and family, and especially my amazing and beautiful wife Kristin, I began immersing myself into the art of photography. I bought books, talked to other photographers, took hundreds of hours of training online in photoshop and lightroom, and developed a very intimate knowledge of how to make high quality, memorable, inspiring images. The greatest thing is that I will never be done! I haven’t arrived yet, and photographers know we never will. The industry is ever changing, new forms are being invented often, and there is always room to get better and learn new things. My goal is always be a beginner at heart. The moment we don’t allow ourselves to learn new things is the moment our work becomes obsolete.

The reason I’m writing this is to announce that as of this week, I am a full time photographer! This is my main business now! My primary source of income for my wife and I! God has blessed this process the entire way. He opened and closed the doors that led me to where I am now. He has left me in awe over the things He has done to make this possible. Thank you to everyone who has helped along the way! Primarily my incredible wife, Kristin. Babe, you have been a constant source of support for me and I cannot describe in words how much I love you! You inspire me, you challenge me, you stand by me, and you trust me. There is not another person in this world that I could love as much as I love you, and not another person in this world that would put up with me! You are my better half, my best friend and I couldn’t be more blessed than to have you by my side

My clients are amazing and I love that in photography I can develop such amazing relationships with the people I work with. You guys are everything to me, and there is no better way to help me than to tell others about me! Help me get the word out! If you would like more information on my work, please check my portfolio by clicking here. This next year is going to be very interesting and I can’t wait to see what it has in store! Again, help me by telling others I’m here! There are a lot of photographers out there and it takes time to build up a constant stream of customers. I can’t do it without you! Follow me on twitter (@jamesdbrandon) for updates along the way. God bless and have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

I am going to make a promise to everyone. I will do everything I can to update my blog at least once a day. Sometimes I will fail, if I’m out of town or can’t make it to a computer. But at the very worst I will update it 3-4 times a week. Primarily, I will have a daily picture, these will mostly be travel pictures, images I have done extensive work on or pictures of my daily life. This will keep me taking pictures and taking them often. But I will also post multiple pictures anytime I shoot a wedding, a family, etc. So check the blog, check it often, and so I know people are reading it, leave comments! Tell me what you like about the images I share with you! I put a lot of work into these photos and the greatest thing I can get is feedback on them! So, here is todays photo, enjoy!

DAILY PHOTO – LAGUNA BEACH HOUSE