Skip to content

Subscriber Art: Don + Kristen

David Sherry
3 min read

Hey All,

Sometimes members send me their art, their new project, their story, where they are stuck... It's a gift to receive and an honor to respond.

I wanted to share two recent items with you.

I'mamazed by the members of this community. You're independent, and unafraid to question how things have always been done. But you're also generous, deep, and, contrary to much of what's out there, not trying too hard to be something you're not.

That's rare, thank you.

xx David

Before I Let You Go -Kirsten Wreggitt

This book is about connecting.

It's about saying everything you wanted to say but you couldn't bring yourself to do face to face.

This week I received a book in the mail from aCC member. It's a collection of stories from a mother to her 22-year-old son.

Each story is written as lessons for him at a different age, titled "Before I Let You Go."

It's beautiful, and about the most honest book I've ever read.

"I want to tell my son who I really am, beyond being his mother. I want to save him somemistakesand sorrows. I want to help him relate to himself and to women in a different way. I want him to find more peace and love in his life, sooner than I did. And I know that other moms (and dads) want these things for their kids too."

We divide generations. What makes one generation different than the previous? Do we really have a different demeanor, a different outlook on life? We're living in the same world, but we aren't perceiving it the same.

And how a son sees his mother, how a mother sees her son.
Are they living in the same story?

They can't be. They each have their own lives.So how do you communicate?
How do you build the bridge so that one may understand one another?

We all wish to connect more with our children or parents than we have. But after years of patterns, it's hard to know where to start.

Sometimes communicating is easier through ourart,or in a different context.

Which is why you may immortalize your wisdom in writing, instead of through speech, which washes away and can always be misheard.

With writing, you can return to it, read it again and glean new meaning and new understanding.

Put me on a podcast and I'm in the flow and I can open up and be vulnerable. Ditto for writing.But, try and have a difficult conversation about fears of mine face to face... and I can't seem to find the eloquence.

And we all want to share our stories.

There's an Author Coach I'm working with right now namedhttp://coachazul.com/. He's taught me that writing a book is a once in a lifetime experience. That there are gem's inside of everyone's stories, and if you can find them it can give your life new meaning.

And like giving advice, most times you'rereally just telling yourself,out loud, what you need to hear atthe face of your friend who's asking.

So some novels are advice to yourself.

Others help you say what you couldn't.

Some become your friend. They show you new textures, and you can read them again and again. You see yourself in them.

Can we open ourselves up to the ones we love?
Can we open ourselves up to strangers?

It still feels so hard to give others the magnifying glass. To see who we really are.

So this book isa mother giving her son the glass and saying this is what you've got, this is who I am, and this is what I've learned.

This is what it means to be brave.

Sharing ourselves with the world, with the one shot we have at this life.

https://www.amazon.ca/Before-Let-You-Go-Stories
"Before I Let You Go: Stories for my Grown Son"(Amazon)

__________________

Lighting Essentials, What I've Learned So Far. Don Giannatti

Don's writing is direct and impactful, and his wisdom is reflective and personal.You'll get insight into the nuance of being a professional photographer...
--

To: David
Re: Best, (Your Name..)

Hi David.

I have been a photographer for over forty years now, and appreciate so much your approach to creating stock images that don't suck.

I have written a number of books, but this one is my newest one, and I am giving it away to select people who I think may enjoy it. Being a photographer is something that involves my whole life.

The book is all stuff I have learned along the way as being a photographer - and a solo creative - and an individual.

Please feel free to pass it along to anyone you wish.

– Don
--

http://www.lighting-essentials.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/What-Ive-Learned-So-Far.pdf


"Now to be sure there are many other ways to self-sabotage your career"

1. Buy too much gear and make too few images.
2. Focus on technique instead of connection.
3. Make images “just like that other photographer....”
4. Intently work on making images “they” want to see.
5. Party.
6. Chemistry... you know what I’m talking about.
7. Forget to bill- yeah, it happens.
8. Forget that April 15 is coming up faster than you think.
9. Cheat clients, assistants, vendors.
10. Have rates far below the local standard.

Reader Post