Creative Outdoor Photography Workshop in Girdwood Alaska, July 15-17, 2011

Posted on January 31, 2011 by deyoungphoto

This summer I will be teaching another workshop for the Alaska Society of Outdoor and Nature Photographers. Thanks to our good friend and fellow photographer Cathy Hart, this will be my third workshop for the club. The workshop is July 15-17 and will be based out of Girdwood. You can get all the details when dates and places are finalized off the ASONP website. The theme will be creative outdoor photography geared toward intermediate and advanced photographers. I will be teaching an updated version of the workshop I did in 2008 at Hatcher Pass.

Today’s offerings of portable and lightweight lighting tools are amazingly useful for many outdoor subjects including landscapes, travel and adventure. Many photographers like going on adventure trips such as sea kayaking, river raft journeys and mountain trekking. I will discuss techniques and tips for greatly improving adventure and travel photography. This type of photography often takes place where compelling landscape imagery is also possible and I will be discussing to effectively do both. Other topics covered will include how to get the most out of your RAW images in Lightroom processing, advanced digital shooting techniques and, time permitting, the business side of outdoor photography. Cathy asked me to write a piece for the newsletter. So I thought I would describe an assignment where I applied principles I’ve taught in workshops to an actual job and post it here on my blog. (See “How Following Three Basic Photography Principles led to a Successful Assignment” under Photography on location.)

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How Following Three Basic Photography Principles led to a Successful Assignment

Posted on January 31, 2011 by deyoungphoto

As a working professional who has taught a few workshops with plans to teach more, I try to do is make sure that I practice what I preach. Some of the things I try to emphasize in a workshop aren’t just things that sound profound but are fundamentals that are used regularly, work well and lead to good photography. So I thought I’d write about an assignment I received last spring that put some basic principles I’ve taught in workshops to the test.

The assignment was from a good client who wanted me to produce to a catalog cover with a Christmas holiday theme. The shot was essentially a landscape that involved a human element. The theme would be a cozy cabin decorated with holiday lights in a gorgeous mountain setting with a fresh snow look. The ideal lighting would be dawn or dusk where the lights of the cabin would balance with the ambient light. This was not that unusual except it was the middle of March, winter was waning, Christmas decorations were in the attic, and the client needed it soon with a limited budget. Without a big travel budget the client was fortunate that I could do this in my home region. Knowing the local area reduced location-scouting fees since I could do that myself and not outsource it. The Southern Rockies would be clad in snow for a few more months but getting that fresh winter wonderland look would be a longshot and getting any decorations we didn’t have especially at stores in a rural area would be challenging.

Cabin with holiday lights nestled in ponderosa pines beneath the Sneffels Range, San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Shot on assignment for a catalog.

As I hung up the phone, a mild panic set in thinking about how I was going to pull this off in the next week. Time to step back and think about why they hired me. I believe they trusted me to deliver their visual message regardless of what challenges I would face. Location shoots call for problem solving – a critical skill for photographic success especially when many environmental elements would be beyond my control. My production plan was based on among other things three basic tried and true principles that I’ve emphasized in my workshops.

The first principle is recognizing that 80% of the success of the shot occurs before you take the camera out of the bag. In fact I think it is closer to 90% in many cases. Our problem solving would begin here as the biggest challenge was finding a suitable cabin that lined up with great San Juan Mountain scenery. Since this was a commercial shoot that involved decorating and lighting and securing permission and a property release, this meant simply driving around and shooting something pretty we found from the road was not feasible. Many hours were spent that week doing Internet searches, contacting lodges, b &b’s, real estate agents and a production company to locate a suitable location that would be affordable. Fortunately, Lauri’s diligent research paid off. Time to make a mad dash to the chosen location.

The second principle involved taking advantage of what was already in place. This principle is demonstrating you can make compelling imagery close to home before traveling to places far away. Become an expert in photographing your “backyard.” Learn the geography, seasons, lighting patterns, and keep notes on interesting locations. (There is an excellent article about shooting close to home in the February, 2011 issue of Digital Photo by Mark Edward Harris.) I admit it is hard sometimes but I always try not to become jaded at my familiar surroundings. The “I’ve seen this a thousand times” and “been there, done that” attitudes do not serve your creative vision well at all. The client was paying in part for my local area expertise and I was not about to let them down.

The third principle was knowing how to use artificial lighting. Lighting skills aren’t just for portraits and interior photography. Learning to creatively mix natural and artificial light sources is applicable even to landscape subjects. In a less than ideal sunset or sunrise, creative lighting skills can save the day. In this instance, the cabin had rather dark wood and was somewhat nestled in a tall stand of ponderosa pines. The light from the decorations and interior lights simply wasn’t enough to make the cabin “pop” from its surroundings. Fortunately a little used mono-light that packed more power than a hot shoe flash with a portable battery pack saved the day. We used RadioPopper slaves that gave me the freedom to place lights in hidden places and fire them from a fairly long distance. For this shoot the lights were hidden behind the front porch and fired wirelessly over a hundred feet away in winter conditions.

Lauri DeYoung building a snowman during some assignment downtime to be photographed at dusk. San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Snowman bearing gift shot as stock after a catalog assignment shoot at the same location.

The total time committed for this shoot roughly broke down to: countless hours on the internet and communicating by email and phone, 10 hours travel time, 4 hours scavenger hunting, 3 hours setting up (including Lauri building a great snowman) and one hour taking things down and packing the truck. Shoot time for the client was about an hour. Our host let us stay and shoot other things which we did the next morning.

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Don’t Give Your Work Away to Get Established

Posted on November 23, 2010 by deyoungphoto

It happened twice in the past month. I was contacted by 2 European photo magazines who wanted to feature my work. One from the UK expected me to spend office time writing narrative about “what’s in my bag”, produce a series of photos of what I carry, AND send a selection of location images that they would feature. When I asked what they offered for compensation the response was, you guessed it, nothing. Well not nothing. They offered “great exposure” for me and “credit.”

I tried to pose some usual rational questions being careful not to be sarcastic or condescending (unlike this blog post) explaining my time is valuable like his and I’m looking for some sort of win-win deal. The photo editor never answered. I’m sure he moved on looking to exploit the next photographer wanting “exposure” in this downed economy. My question is: What is a compelling reason for giving your work to a for-profit magazine that charges for subscriptions, advertising and has a paid photo editor? Anyone?

Let’s look at a couple of the usual demeaning offers by these low rent publications that want free content from artists. “You’ll get full credit” Yippee! Anytime you get an editorial use, you should get full credit regardless of what you are paid. C’mon! Do you really think big cheese photo editor from “Major Magazine” is going to see your credit in “Bottom Feeder” magazine and call you to license an image or offer an assignment? Suppose they ask you, “Hey, saw a great shot of yours in “Bottom Feeder”. Say, how much did they pay you for that? Nothing. Well great then! In that case we can only offer you 2k for a ¼ page.”

How about getting “great exposure”? You are a photographer being featured in a magazine for photographers. What is this exposure going to do for you? Are other photographers going to buy your prints? Again, will you get that career fostering call from “Major Magazine”? The truth is editors who offer “exposure” are really offering nothing of real value. There are a couple of exceptions I believe. If you are a workshop leader and the publication gives you an ad for your workshops in lieu of cash then that is a potential win-win and the exposure is worthwhile since you are reaching a targeted audience of photographers. Similarly, if you are being featured in a trade pub that goes to real ART BUYERS then the exposure potentially has some real value.

I also hear of photographers who fall into the trap of having to give their work away to get established. Get established as what? A photographer who is willing to give work away? Does anyone know of a new restaurant that served food for free for a week, or month until they became “established?”

Your photography has value and so does your time – just like the person on the other end. Don’t give your work away to get established. Bartering and horse trading are fine in some circumstances as long as you are getting something tangible of real value.

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Heat with the Sun… It Really Works!

Posted on November 22, 2010 by deyoungphoto

The first real bite of winter settled in to Northern New Mexico for the past week or so. Last week lows were in the single digits to low teens and highs were in the 30’s and 40’s. Looks like Thanksgiving will be chilly with possibly the first sub-zero lows of the season. By most American standards these temperatures mean some heating is required to keep your home comfortable. The low in the house so far since this cold snap has been 67. The house heats into the 70’s during the day. These interior temperatures at face value are not particularly remarkable since most people under normal circumstances would keep their homes in that temperature range. In fact, in our Alaska homes where we had to run heat almost year round, we kept our thermostat at 62 most of the time. What makes these temps in our home remarkable is the fact that we have no heating system. Specifically, we have no traditional furnace powered by electric or fossil fuels.

Passive solar design – when done right – has almost no user involvement or moving parts and the house just keeps itself warm. The design is pretty basic. The low winter sun heats the house through south facing windows much the same as it would heat your car interior. Thermal mass inside the house (concrete, flagstone, adobe walls, etc.) stores the heat. A well insulated shell and roof and thermal blinds over the windows that you close at night keep it from escaping at night. We do get cloudy spells and once in a while, usually in late winter/spring, the house gets cool enough to use the wood stove. Last winter was a little colder than average and we burned less than half cord of wood to heat an 1100 square foot area. The same super insulation and interior thermal mass keeps wood stove heat going long after the fire is out.

Michael DeYoung photo of a strawbale passive solar home in New Mexico

Winter scene of a strawbale home near Taos, New Mexico with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east.

This is a change that can make a real difference and have real impact on the amount of fossil fuels used for space heat. It boggles my mind why local and even state wide building codes don’t require new construction to incorporate passive solar designs. Sure it cost more up front but the savings in energy over the long term will dwarf the initial up front increase of passive solar design and pay for itself many times over. Sadly, even in progressive Northern New Mexico county local building codes do not require new homes or buildings to meet any substantial passive solar design principles. Passive solar design is really just simple and sensible science and shouldn’t be part of an ideological or political debate, but sadly it is.

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Capturing a Fleeting Moment at 32,000 Feet…Always Keep Your Camera Ready.

Posted on November 22, 2010 by deyoungphoto

The last time this happened it was 1988. I was on a flight from Great Falls, Montana to Seattle. Shortly into the flight I was stunned by a commanding view of the Chinese Wall of the continental divide in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Being a budding photographer back then with my Pentax K1000 and 50mm lens I tried in vein to capture the awesome scene below where in the previous summer Lauri and I spent 8 days backpacking. That was the last time I tried photographing from a commercial flight.

Fast forward 22 years. After an exhausting 8 day tourism assignment in Nome, Alaska we were on a mid afternoon flight back to Anchorage. Nothing unusual. I fly a lot but in the past 10 years I try as hard as I can to get aisle seats because of my size and the shrinking of leg room that has occurred over the years on all domestic airlines. And like the majority of air travelers I’ve become absorbed in some sort of virtual world or just try to rest when I fly. Something was different about this day. It started off as a typical Alaska flight. Low clouds, gloom and doom were present on take off. Topping off at 32k it was the typical bright and sunny with a carpet of solid white cloud below. The plane was about half full which is very unusual for any summer flight to or from or within Alaska. Start editing the shoot. Get out the laptop and iPod and get to it.

Michael DeYoung arial photo of Mt. McKinley from Alaska Airlines flight

Mt. McKinley above the clouds shot out the window of a commercial Alaska Airlines Flight.

About an hour into the flight I glance out the port side window as I gasped for air at the surreal scene below. The crown of North America and her younger brother, Mt. Foraker, towered like a guardian angel above the cellular cumulus clouds, the lesser Alaska Range peaks and the broad Susitna Valley headwaters bathed in late summer light. The summits were a mere 12 thousand feet below and perfectly side lit and positioned for a decent shot. With plenty of room to slide over to the window seat, I quickly grabbed the 1Ds with 24-105mm and plastered it flat against the new window and got probably a once in 20 year shot. Not satisfied with just the intense blue high altitude I pulled out a little used filter, the Singh Ray blue/gold polarizer. I know that the uv filter in the plane window will mess with the colors but like Wow! Now I got something! Had to tone it down a little. OK, so I’ve been photographing Denali for 20 years even doing some clear air winter aerials from military aircraft but I’ve never seen it like this, from above, towering above these beautiful cumulus clouds.

Michael DeYoung photo of Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker from 32,000 feet.

Mt. McKinley and Mt. Foraker of the Alaska Range above cumulus clouds over the northern Susitna Valley. Phogographed from an Alaska Airlines flight from Nome to Anchorage in late July. Shot with a blue/gold polarizing filter

Thanks to dumb luck where I was able to keep my lens flat against a clean almost scratchless window I got some decent images that are sharp enough for a full page print. Once again even after shooting 5,000 images in the past week, I was thankful that I kept my camera at the ready for a fleeting moment such as this.

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I Lost an Assignment to a Local Client for Lack of Communication … on the Client’s Part.

Posted on November 11, 2010 by deyoungphoto

Why am I posting this?  I’ll admit up front that this post may seem like me whining about a job I wanted but didn’t get.  Fine.   I’m really doing it to share information about assignment pricing possibly  breaking a taboo.  There’s an abundance of resources for stock pricing, but when it comes to assignment pricing, information seems vague and scarce by comparison and revealing creative fees still seems somewhat taboo.  Thankfully, on ASMP’s site in the member’s forum there is a Paperwork Share where some shooters have actually shown what they charged a client for a particular shoot.  Here is a story of a recent  assignment I didn’t get and the frustration of limited communications with the potential client.

Some background info first.  We’ve been trying to foster a relationship with a local resort for a couple of years.   The client avoided direct communication or any desire to meet in person even though she liked our work and thought our lifestyle imagery in particular would be a good fit for a new campaign if a project came up.   Several voice mails from us were only answered with emails.   This is a resort that markets itself as an “upscale” destination.   Usually, the underlying message of any upscale place is that they are worth paying more for.  However, when it comes to acquiring imagery for marketing this resort subscribes to the exact opposite message:  “How cheap can we get it?”  “What is your day rate” is their main concern.   After a renovation project, the client finally contacts me and asks me to bid on an assignment.   Initially, they don’t provide any information just the typical first question:  “what is your day rate?” and “can we do a partial trade?”   I try to explain how I use creative fees based on how the client uses the images.  Before submitting my estimate I ask for a shot list so I can determine the scope of the project.  It was an ambitious list, perhaps 50 shots that comprised a mix of exterior architectural shots in dawn or dusk light, interior and exterior spa type shots with and without talent,  and of lifestyle and recreation shots in the surrounding area.  Many of them required some kind of lighting set up and directing of talent.   I had questions about the shot list, what resources they would provide and their creative priorities.  The questions were nothing out of the ordinary.  So I leave unanswered voice mails.  Only email responses that don’t really address the questions.  I never had a client not willing to discuss details of an assignment on the phone or in person.   This was a first for me and should have been a red flag.  I was taken back at first by the avoidance of live communication but pushed on really thinking it would be good to do some local assignments.

Client wanted basically “all rights”-  not ownership but unlimited marketing use of an unlimited number of selects with no term limit.   This seems to be the norm these days and goes against all the principles suggested by most and sadly I usually hear things along the lines of:  “the other photographers we’ve used have no problem granting us all rights.”   OK, I know this is a local client and I can’t command what I think to be normal corporate rates.  And I still had unanswered questions about the shot list.  All I could do was take a stab at how long I thought it would take and go from there.  So my estimate and COVER letter indicated completing the list would take 3 days.  I stated that I was willing to only shoot part of the list if they wanted to go that route.   I also clearly indicated that I was quoting two options.  I first quoted for all the rights they were asking for on the whole list.  It was about $9,500 creative fee including expenses except for talent and styling. I offered a more economical alternative.  If they were willing to limit use to 5 years (and explained by that time styles would have changed to warrant a new shoot anyway) and only do a one year exclusive (many of the lifestyle and recreation shots would have made decent stock) I reduced the total fee to about $6000.

I was fortunate that I at least got some feedback, via email of course, about the winning bid.  I was rather shocked at the reply.  The client apparently did not read my cover letter nor the estimate very carefully.   Instead of comparing the two creative fees and perhaps choosing the more economical option, the client added the two and thought I was quoting  $15,000 for a one-day shoot!    Apparently, the winning shooter came in much less than even my less expensive option.  They claimed they didn’t know I was bidding on the whole list.  They also indicated the winning shooter  said the shoot could be done in a day and if it took more than that the rate for the second day would be even less.  Because my estimate and cover letter were completely misunderstood (which could have easily been cleared up in a short phone call), I was dismissed as a contender.

I still feel $6000 for 5 year all marketing rights of multiple selects for a major local resort was more than a fair creative fee.  I also didn’t feel I should have made a concession for a partial trade.  Sadly, explaining how trade for product and services doesn’t translate toward credit on your mortgage usually falls on deaf ears.

The biggest lesson was to never bid on a job with someone who is unwilling to talk to you about the specifics of the job they asked you to bid on!   Am I slow?  Can a pro with even 2 assistants do 50 lifestyle scenarios in a day, half of which require some lighting set up?

Do I feel good about sticking to my principles?  Mostly yes.  I failed to sell my value to the client.   I’m not sure I really had a fair chance to do that.

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How to Create Fall Photography in Zion National Park

Posted on November 10, 2010 by deyoungphoto

My favorite autumn location is usually “the last place I shot” which for fall colors is Zion National Park. Shooting here in early November evokes feelings of having saved the best for last as the peak of autumn colors occurs after the aspens have fully shed and snow is flying in the high country. Fall photography in Zion is no secret. Just drive over the Canyon Junction Bridge during the last week of October into the first week of November late in the day and you will usually see dozens of landscape photographers lined up on the bridge trying to capture a cliché shot of the Virgin River below the Watchman. You won’t find me there. I will search out my own favorite places for adventure and landscape photography. I will share a few of these locations below.

Terry Thompson (High Mesa Productions) photographing sunrise at Canyon Overlook

Photo 1 - Sunrise at Canyon Overlook in Zion National Park

There are three things that draw me to Zion in fall. First is the Virgin River. Water is my favorite landscape subject. I love the blue green hues of the Virgin in low water and its complimentary contrast to the warm sandstone cliffs. Opportunities abound for capturing reflections of fall colors on the water’s surface. Second is the canyon or bigtooth maples that are abundant here. Cottonwoods are nice too but the maples are the star tree for me as they turn yellow, orange and red. I love getting into groves of them when their colorful leaves on the ground mix with lichen colored sandstone and green grasses that create a colorful tapestry. The main attraction though is the signature light of the Southwest, warm reflected light. This is the light that creates the ethereal glow famously seen in many slot canyon photos and in images of the Narrows. Sunlit vertical sandstone walls can “bounce” reflected light onto nearby shaded trees and shaded sandstone walls.

This scenario abounds in Zion both on a small and large scale. The best example of reflected light on a large scale is evident right from the Temple of Sinewava parking lot. Go there in mid-day and look toward the river into the sun. The enormous parabolic sunlit wall behind you as you are facing the river reflects an amazing amount of light on the shaded side of the Pulpit. You just need to train your eyes to look for this reflected warm soft light. It makes for many photo opportunities during mid-day when sunlight is too harsh for panoramic style landscape images. The key to shooting subjects in reflected light is to completely eliminate any sunlit surface or open sky in your frame.

So where will you find me on a typical day of digital landscape photography in Zion? For sunrise I prefer the East end. If you start at the entrance gate you can see the low angle morning light hitting Checkerboard Mesa and other high buttes as you travel west toward Zion Canyon. If you don’t mind a short hike at dawn, try Canyon Overlook (photo 1) and watch the sun light up the West Temple. For a hardier sunrise shoot, try hiking out to Northgate Peaks off Kolob Terrace Road for a sunrise panoramic. After the sun washes out about an hour after sunrise I begin looking for tighter landscapes with reflected light. Walk in upper Pine Creek or any side drainage off East End road and you will find maples and sandstone patterns in reflected light. In mid-day, I really like the Riverside Walk. This mile plus paved trail has many river access points and usually lots of maples and again it is easy to find shaded reflected light (photo 2).

Canyon maples below the north face of Angel’s Landing along the Virgin River

Photo 2a - Canyon maples below Angel's Landing

Gold leaves reflecting in the Virgin River along Riverside Walk in Zion National Park

Photo 2b -Gold leaves reflecting in the Virgin River

On a separate day, hike the Narrows up to “Wall Street” making sure you are there in late morning to mid-day. The Narrows is just fantastic for unlimited reflected light photography even if you miss the peak of fall colors. Be sure to stop by Zion Adventure Company for a complete orientation, hiking guide and river hiking outfitting if needed. For sunset, especially after a clearing storm I like to head out of the park to get a bigger sky and more of a pulled back view. My favorite place is to head toward Grafton. There are several points en route to Grafton to photograph the golden cottonwoods along the Virgin and last rays of light, alpenglow and even colorful clouds on Mount Kinesava (photo 3), Bridge Mountain and the East Temple and other prominent points in the park.

Cottonwood trees below Mt. Kinesava at sunset along Grafton Road

Photo 3 - Cottonwood trees below Mt. Kinesava

There are also many other good vantage points if you head up toward Eagle Craggs or Smisthsonian Butte. Just remember wherever you go, finding and waiting for good light, using a tripod and other solid photographic technique will result in better photos than just having a super duper pro camera with many megapixels.

Photo Captions.

Zion fall photo 1: Photographer Terry Thompson (High Mesa Productions) from Taos, New Mexico, photographing sunrise from Canyon Overlook. Shot with Canon 1Ds, Mark 3, 24-105, Terry lit with a 580 EX II fired wirelessly with ½ cut CTO gel and Honl 1/8 grid.

Zion fall photo 2a: Canyon maples below the north face of Angel’s Landing along the Virgin River. Canon 1Ds, Mark 3, 17-40 lens, polarizer

Zion fall photo 2b: Gold leaves reflecting in the Virgin River along Riverside Walk. Canon 1Ds, Mark 3, 70-200 lens with polarizer

Zion fall photo 3: Cottonwood trees below Mt. Kinesava at sunset along Grafton Road. Canon 1Ds, Mark 3, 24-105 lens, 3 stop graduated neutral density filter

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Latest adventure promotion

Posted on October 23, 2010 by deyoungphoto

Here is a preview of my next print promotion and eblast due out next week. This is a double sided card. Haven’t decided which side to go with for the eblast.

Here is the story behind the images. We were on location in Kennicott and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as part of a lengthy summer assignment for the Alaska State Vacation Planner. After shooting for several days including a hike on the Root Glacier the day before, I decided to shoot some fun stuff this day. A knowledgeable guide and photography enthusiast with St. Elias Alpine Guides took Lauri and I under the Root Glacier into some fantastic ice caves. The most dangerous part of the shoot was the steep and loose approach and dealing with my claustrophobia. The ice caves reminded me of slot canyons in the southwest. They are hidden gems whose intimate beauty is not readily seen from a distance. Like slot canyons, the caves under the Root proved to be an excellent place to shoot in the middle of the day with maximum light illuminating the underside. What a great place to use the Radio Poppers. The poppers are a great little system for firing speedlites wirelessly in TTL without relying on the line of sight of the infrared triggers. And honestly, the Canon ST-E2 transmitter system fails miserably outdoors especially in harsh cold wet environs such as under untold tons of ice! The Radio Poppers have not worked flawlessly in harsh field conditions either, however, their performance is far better than just the Canon system alone. So in a small bag, we were able to carry about $2000 in lighting gear and achieve amazing results. In both shots we are using 2 580 EX 2’s with Honl gels and one of my favorite lightweight light shaping tools, the Honl 1/8 grid.

Lauri did a great job as a “mobile light stand” (a phrase coined by Joe McNally, whom I learned a lot from about location lighting with small strobes.) So TTL light fired from 100 feet away behind a wall of ice in a cold damp cave. Presto! Gotta love it.

In the closer shot the trick was to warmly light Jacob without light spilling over to the surrounding ice. This one was a bit trickier than the more distant shot and required moving around several times. The CTO gel does a great job of warming the skin so it pops out of the deep glacier blue background. In both instances, my standard technique is to use manual exposure. I get a background ambient exposure first and generally let the TTL do it’s thing using flash exposure comp to get the strobe lighting where I want it.

I was a little apprehensive about being under a glacier even though we were never more than 100 feet from the entrance. I’m glad we didn’t become a potential archeological find 10,000 years from now.

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Another “I want to hire you” scam

Posted on October 23, 2010 by deyoungphoto

I received this email today.

“My name is xxx, I am a freelance modeling agent working for the xxx Comp. I am agent in recruiting models, Make Up artist and Hair stylist for the upcoming 2010 Magazine edition. I need a photographer in your city to work with which i came across your profile while surfing the internet and i feel you will be good enough to work with. I presently have good offer for you. I want you to know if you are interested in working with us in this End of the year upcoming edition of xxx Magazine. You stand a chance of making reasonable $700 in a day work from your studio or any studio around you and even a noticeable fame. Let me know if you are interested in this offer and I would give you further details.

Get back to me as soon as you can.”

Well I can’t get to the keyboard quick enough! Too bad I am busy cutting my fingernails. Where do these people come from? It is great to know that after being in business for 18 years and having a long list of international credits that some obscure talent scout in Texas thinks I’m “good enough” to work with”. Helluva compliment, aye? And finally a chance at “noticeable fame.” Wow! Can I think about retiring early now?

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