Marc Blackwell's Blog

Here is my 2 cents on the whole immigration subject flooding my Google Reader for the past couple weeks.  Now, I'll be the first to admit I'm not very educated on the subject, I just see what I see on Facebook and Twitter and what I hear on Nation Public Radio.  But as I see it now, this is where I stand.

If you're an ILLEGAL immigrant ... you shouldn't be in this country.  Right?  I mean - there are ways to become a LEGAL immigrant, so do that!  This is not just an United States issue, I think it should be this way wherever.  Stacey and I dreamed about going to Australia a long time ago, and to do so, we would have to apply, be accepted, and pay some fees to become Australian citizens.  Sounds fair.

So, Arizona passes this law that says if you are interacting with the police, they have the right to check your immigration status.  What's the big deal?

If I get pulled over, say, in Arizona, an officer is going to ask for what? - my identification, my driver's license.  What does this prove to the officer immediately?  That I'm a US Citizen.  If I didn't have one, boom - grounds for asking for immigration status.  If I am a LEGAL immigrant, and I've done everything I'm supposed to, and I have my papers on me, no big deal.  We have to carry our drivers license everywhere, how hard is it to carry another piece of paper that proves you are a legal immigrant?

People have been talking about how this gives officers more opportunities to discriminate against Mexicans, or people of a specific race - but we all know this happens anyway.  This really doesn't change that unfortunate factor.

The benefit of this law being passed, as I see it, will help control who is coming into this country, legally and illegally.  We don't want ILLEGAL immigrants in this country.  We will accept ANYONE in this country (at least I will, I guess I can't speak for all America), but you hafta do the work to get here.  If you don't, and a cop asks you for proof of status, and you don't have any - deportation sounds fine to me. 

Peace,
-marc

I'm going to rant a little bit.  I'm not as fired up as I could be, nor as I have been about this subject, but I just read yet ANOTHER blog post from yet ANOTHER photographer to, yet again, OTHER photographers on HOW TO BE a "professional" photographer.

I'm sick and tired of "photographers" trying to teach the rest of the world how to be photographers.  Every other photographer you find on the net these days has a blog, or a podcast, or a book on how to be a photographer.  "Here's how I do it - follow these easy steps and you will be a successful professional like myself!"  It's all a facade!  If you were or are a successful photographer you don't have time to write seminars, create online classes, and write photos for dummies books!

I'm all about helpin' out the next guy.  An amateur comes to me with questions about getting into the business, I'm more than happy to share with him what I've learned in my experience.  I understand it's important to influence new photographers correctly so the market doesn't suffer, but this is getting ridiculous.  I mean, it's like being a professional race car driver, and telling your competition what you've done to your car to make it faster.  "Here, take my clients!  And my income, and all my ideas!  For free!"  Essentially what's happening, right?  I've fallen trap to a few of these photographer's gimicks.  I understand, drive more traffic to your website and you might get a few more gigs a month.  But at what cost are you willing to get those extra couple gigs.  The cost of creating a bigger cesspool of guys with cameras?  At giving false hope that anyone and everyone can be a photographer?  At driving the market down as more and more amateurs pretend to be professionals?  You're hurting yourself as a photographer and photographers in general.

If you're working enough so that you think you can give others advice on how to works just as much, you don't have time to write a blog every day.  You just don't!  If you're on Twitter more than you're behind your camera, some thing(s) are NOT right.  If you think Facebook is the only way to market your photography, you gotta pull your head outta the south end of a north bound horse.  Photographers have an unhealthy obsession with social media and they're exploiting the beautiful world and business behind photography with it.

Wanna be a professional photographer?  Good for you.  First, don't steal my customers.  Second - work really hard!  Really dive into the art and techinique of photography.  Learn that first.  You won't succeed if your photos suck.  Then learn some business, because what everyone will tell you, some more often than others, is that you hafta run a business to be a professional photographer.  Now...before I start being hypocritical, I'm gonna end by saying this;

You're a photographer?  Great!  Now show me photos you've taken.  Write me a news-letter once a month showing me everything you're working on, take videos of your photoshoots, create photo books, post iPhone pics on Twitpic, I don't care, just be photographical!!

Peace,
-marc

The oldest versions of the Blackwells traveled from the middle of nowhere Alabama to the big city of Los Angeles, all to see the youngest version of the Blackwells.

I think my dad has been out to L.A. 4 or 5 times now!  Margaret has been out at least 3 times!  They love it out here, but we can't quiet convince them to move here.  ;)  Yet.   How great would it be?  Zoe would learn math and we'd always have a babysitter!

While they were here we all did a lot!  We saw the Santa Monica Pier and 3rd street promenade, went to the beach in Malibu, went hiking at Runyon Canyon and ate a lot of good food!  Zoe also learned how to moo (thanks grandpa!) and she's doing long division! ;)

I took a break from Facebook and Twitter for 7 days, and it was wonderful.  I don't feel like I missed a thing, or like anyone missed me!  While social networks are great, it's important to keep perspective in the real world and stay focused on what's REALLY important.  There's no need to fill your brain with useless information like your friend's friend getting a sandwich at Subway.  My brother Blake said it best "someone's hatin' that it's Monday, and someone else is lookin' forward to Friday!"  Sums it up pretty well!

We had a great time with the family, and now it's back to business!  We have very exciting news to announce to you when the time is right - we're just getting all our ducks in a row.

Hope you all are well!

Peace,
-marc

Stacey and I talk about how my #1 job is being Dad. I like to call it being a "family man" because that encompasses everything I do, father, husband, maid, etc. But you get the point, I'm a dad first. I'm a photographer for trade, but my priorities shifted when little Zo-Toes came along.

The best part of being a full time dad is the fact that you get to take naps! Some may considers this lazy, or unprecedented, or think naps are for wimps, but I disagree. (If you have kids, you know exactly what I'm talkin' bout) I learned the napping technique from the master at the whole family job thing ... my mom. And boy did she take naps. Every single day, when I went down, she went down. I assume she did the same thing w/ my brothers too. I mean, I've only got 1 kid, and I want to take naps all the time - she had 3, she must've been 3 times as tired! So I learned it from the master, and I'm glad I did. :) Cuz sometimes, when that little eating, crawling, walking, talking monster passes out, all you wanna do is cuddle up next to her and pass out too, even if it's only for a few minutes.

This all being said, right after I took a nap.

Peace,
-marc

Check out the new header, yeah? Waddya think? I'm lookin' pretty good, huh? Don't mind that gorgeous baby in my lap, look at the lighting, and photoshop work done on that image. True genius. Yeah yeah, her tutu is super cute, but look at the placement of the bottles! I know, I know, her eyes are the prettiest eyes next to her mother's, I know... but look at the saturation and additional grain on the photo - great technique!

Oh yeah, the baby is cute too. ;)

She's sleeping. So I have a second. And yes, adding a new header is blog worthy.

Peace,
-marc