Water, water everywhere

Now I know how Noah felt.

We came to Southern Indiana on Saturday night and it has not stopped raining here since.

 

This is not the flood waters, but many of the places I saw today  looked like this.

We went to Brown County State Park today to check on things and plans for Winona School.  It was like traveling the Inter Coastal waterway.  And, it is still raining as I write this.  I can hear it hitting the corrugated covering on the garage port. 

The real bad part is that in looking at the radar map, it is raining from here to Arkansas, so that means it will rain all day tomorrow and tomorrow night which will make things well over flood stage from here to the Ohio River.  Farm fields are under several feet of water, not only inches but feet.  It will be June before they will be able to work and plant those fields. They have no control over - rain, and flooding of the fields .

As photographers, we still have some controls even when as we are flooded, as we are now with untrained and incompetent people thinking they are photographers because they can make an image.
You can't hold them back any better than the farmer can keep the water inside the banks of the stream or river.  But, you can continue to present professional images outwardly to the public in every opportunity you can create. Even if you have to pay a location to put up images for "your potential customers to see".  Don't put them up just for the sake of  hanging some images someplace.  Make sure it is a venue that is visited by folks that ARE YOUR POSSIBLE CLIENTS.
That is not in fast food locations, or any place that is visited by average Americana.  Your customer is now the UPPER, UPPER middle class and beyond.  Think of some places.  

 Along with the professional images, an accompanied  promo sheet stating WHY these are professional images.

They are not.....FLAT, flash on camera which adds 5 lbs to every face but made with controlled lighting that flatters the subject.  It is composed in an artistic way by varying the heads proper composition by using placement of  triangles and not in a totem pole fashion.  YOU CAN Keep listing all the reasons why "This Is Portrait Done in the Proper manner.  It is called educating your customer base.

It is time we start attempting to educate our customers, and our customers friends as to WHY a professional photographer is of a High Value.  If we don't, then what John Q or Betty Q creates with the help of the modern digital technology will become even more acceptable in their minds.  Because, THEY DID IT, and pride takes over and they will become satisfied with average.

It is NOT the time to stay dorment. Speak out when you see bad photography.

It will come around.  I have seen it happening is small ways.  As they try and fail to make images as we can, they will come to learn and appeciate more what can be achieved by the true artistic photographer.

To those that can't, then they need to get the education.  And with the fact that there is many more things to learn with digital photography than with conventional film photography, we should win out in the end.  But, only if we don't throw in the towel and set back and watch the flood waters overflow our crops.

The farmer can replant, or get some crop insurance.  There is no crop insurance for our floods.

Stay dry, and keep to the higher ground,

Bruce