It was a sad, quiet ride. Many of the country streets were so devoid of the usual farmers driving by. There were dozens of homes that were damaged beyond repair, and some structures completely swept away.

It’s stunning to think of other places where flooding came in fast, with little warning, and in much greater quantities and speeds. The damage done here was enough – much more is truly unimaginable.

Here is a photo of a truck topper submerged in white sands in the middle of a Nebraska cornfield.

And I FINALLY stopped to take the photo.  The sky was blue, and the sun was decent enough for this shot.  I think I’ll still try again with a cooler sky – but for now I think it’s decent.

This is another fully manual mode shot – everything done by hand on the Pentax K-5.  Manual focusing is trickier than I thought – and for this shot (f/2), the critical plane of focus is pretty narrow.  Since I wanted the gas pump in focus and the building blurry, I had to be pretty accurate.  I took three shots – and this one was the one in focus (I focus bracketed).

My problem has always been inaction – I’d sit and wait for a new idea to arrive before I grabbed a camera.  Or I’d hunt for ideas aimlessly on Flickr or a myriad of other websites only to then feel hopelessly inadequate and without a future.

So instead I’m just going to figure out what I’m taking photos of as I go.

The following photo is the result of me just getting outside and exploring.  It’s only a few miles away from where I live, behind a neighborhood.  I love the way the path is overgrown and desolate, but the street light makes it appear as if the city meant for it to be a street or something at one point.  Did planning just stop here?

Either way, I like the shot, and I’ll keep this location stored in the map of my head for a possible place for an interesting shoot in the future.

This.

This is what I’m talking about in my last post about chasing my dream and doing things I love.

I loved the shoot and the idea that inspired it (to create a story with a film-grain-like effect).  And I absolutely love this image.

I took the time to think up the idea, and then just made it happen.  I called the models, set up the times, and had a final output in mind as I shot, and we worked together to achieve what I wanted.

This… I’m going to do more project-based photography, and I’m going to post my progress here.

Awesomeness.

I like them – but they are mostly just talk.  It’s actually pretty rare to put those talks into action – although we have in the past.

One of the conversations I’ve been having recently is the idea that I might quit teaching and do photography full time.  This caused a general family panic as we were faced with the possibility of losing my benefits and having a go of things on our own… and the fact that I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do with photography.

… but today I do.

No – I’m not quitting teaching.  Maybe someday, but I have some unfinished business in the teaching world involving lots of raging against the machine stuff.

However – I am going to take my photography much more seriously, and I’m going to make more money doing it.

Here is my plan:

1.  Take a camera with me pretty much everywhere I go.  And remember to use it.  Often.

2.  Take photos of things I love – things I find beautiful in the world – things I want to share.   I believe that what I do has value, and others will too.

3.  Post more photography to this blog and connect more with people.

4.  Spend time with family.  Be happy.

- And… that’s it.  Not a big deal, right?

Trust me – this is a big deal.  I’ve been researching things somewhat obsessively for the past three or four weeks (years actually…).  I’ve read thousands of words about the business of photography, and I have a pretty good grasp of what it takes to succeed at photography when you’re not in total love with what you do: total devotion to the business.

… and I’ve also found that photographers who truly love what they do, and believe in themselves, and take steps to make money also succeed – and they seem like much happier people.  And for them what does it take?  Total devotion to photography – the vision – the mission – the dream.

And so that’s going to be me.

I love photography and the unexpected gifts it has brought into my life, such as how I now notice the way light dances, how shadows shift and can help tell a story, and the satisfying sound of the shutter click as it captures a never-going-to-happen-again moment.  I love creating a photo that, beyond all the lighting and composition and technical aspects  - has a soul.

And so I’m going to spend more time doing what I love and I’m simply going to make good things happen because of it.

I can do that.

This photo isn't perfect - but it has a soul.

Always follow it.