Before we jump into Jerod’s post, I wanted to write a quick note about “Connections.”  This is something Jerod and I have discuss at length and something I’m happy to see he decided to write about.  Why?  Simply put, the gap between those trying to promote themselves only and those trying to truly connect seems to be growing larger.  The big picture here should be that Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc have given us an amazing capacity to connect with  people and that we should try to utilize those capacities.  If we lose sight of the people, we are truly missing the point.  The photography industry is filled with great people.  I love connecting – it’s probably the most rewarding part of this job.  Jerod’s post is an amazing illustration of the importance, need, and real satisfaction of connecting with people.

First off, I’d like to thank Brian for letting me spend a bit of time with you! It’s always encouraging when the community (industry) you work in offers up great minds, great experiences, and great people, and Brian’s one of them.  Do yourself a favor and follow him at @bhirschyphoto.

In fact, what I really want to talk about here are those connections we make as people working in a creative world. For roughly seven years, I’ve been able to work in the photography industry and be a part of some fairly unique experiences that were in some part due to making connections. I’m not talking about the connections that the corporate, straight-laced, Networking 101, met-you-at-the-company’s-picnic-heard-you-had-a-job-available types of connections. I’m talking about the connections you make with others in a community (industry, if you will) of similar participants that continually and encouragingly convince you that you’re on the right path. Connections like the one that I made with Brian Hirschy in a barbecue joint just north of Austin, Texas—a connection that’s kept us in touch as photographers and friends for a couple years now.

There’s no good way of describing what these types of connections feel like, but you know it when you’ve made one. At the end of my undergraduate at Texas Tech University, I was heavily considering going to law school. I was already shooting a little at that point, but nothing too serious. I decided to take a two-week field course in color photography, and the connection I made with that small group of people in the Edge-of-the-World, Texas, and the experience we had while shooting the surrounding rivers, wildlife, and desert ocotillo, drove home my urge to work behind a camera. I decided against law school.