Bill Anderson Photography

Sarah Palin

2011-05-23T08:53:00.000-04:00

Late last year, I had bought my wife a copy of "Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin. She had wanted to read it and I was also semi-interested in seeing what she had to say as well. I remember when the book signing tour came through I gave serious thought to standing in line to meet her. When I made it to Borders and I saw the line, I said 'forget it'. It was four or five people wide and went on for two to three hundred yards outside of the store!

Well Kim loved the book and was an enthusiastic 'Palinite.' With Christmas coming up, I saw that Mrs. Palin had released a new book, "America By Heart". Well this is one of those 'no-brainer' gifts that I know Kim will enjoy, so I grabbed a copy. Two days later, I hear that there will be a local book signing for this one as well. I thought if I could get the book signed by Sarah Palin, my no-brainer gift would be elevated to something really special. I couldn't tell Kim what I was doing and I didn't know for sure I even would, remembering the lines from the last time. Well publicity for the book signing made it impossible for me to hide what I was going to do, but I still was very doubtful I would go through with it.

This time, the event was hosted by Meijer in Carmel, IN. When I arrived, at 3:00p, I could see no line outside of the store. Once inside, I could see an area sectioned of by very tall black curtains and a table full of books and the instructions. I had to buy a new copy of the book here and now in order to get it signed. The book signing started at 6:00p and once I bought the new book, I had to get in line and I couldn't leave the store.

Well I am used to standing in line for a long time at Meijer, but this was different and it was decision time. When I was a teenager I gave no thought to waiting three or more hours for the doors to open at a concert so we could make a mad dash for the best seats, but I wouldn't do that for a concert any more. I thought, what the hell, I've come this far. I picked up a copy of the book and headed to the checkout line.

Turns out there was a line forming inside the store. They were snaking them up and down the aisles on one side of the store. I had my iPod and a new book I could read, so I settled in at the end. People were making the best of the accommodations, sitting on the bottom shelves and chatting away. Periodically, Meijer would send someone around offering cookies and bottles of water. I would have preferred a nice lawn chair. I tried to keep to myself, but occasionally the ladies around me give me sideways looks or tried to involve me in their discussion. I decided I had better participate, since they were making an effort. Representatives from the publishing company came around to verify we had a valid copy of the book with a receipt from that day and they told us Sarah would be working from a pile of books at her side and we would be surrendering the books we were holding back to them in the signing area. Well most if the conversation turned to grumbling from then on, until the line finally started to move. I estimated that if she signed 500 books in two hours, she would have 14 seconds for each one of us. The publishing people mentioned that she likes to challenge herself to see how many she could do, so we may be pushed through faster than that! As we approached the curtained signing area, I noticed quite a few security people and local law enforcement. We are told to remove our coats and there are to be no pictures taken once inside.

Now I can see how this is working. An assistant slides a book in front of her, she locks eyes with the person approaching, reaches out her left hand to shake theirs and introduces herself as she is signing the book with her right hand. She thanks them and is on to the next person. Well here we go, I will get my turn in front of the famous signing/greeting machine and then it will be over. The lady in front of me starts to cry as she predicted she would when it was her turn. my heart suddenly starts pounding harder as I realize it is my turn. What should I do, should I try to say something clever? My mind races as I quickly consider and dismiss several approaches to this situation. Then, I lock eyes with her. My mind goes completely blank as I feel her hand reach out for mine and she says "Hi, I'm Sarah Palin." I stammer out "Hi, I'm Bill". She holds on to the moment, still looking at me and asks me what kind of work I do. I said "I'm a photographer" Unbelievably, I see her scrambling for another question to engage me! "What kind of photography do you do?" "Portraits mostly" I answer. "Yeah? Hows business?" I kind of chuckle at her persistence and I say "Not too bad, but it could be a lot better." "Ok, well it was nice meeting you!" she said. "Nice meeting you as well" I tell her. I turned and walked out, smiling from ear to ear and in complete shock. That was surreal. I felt like she wished we could go somewhere and get a cup of coffee.

I know I did.

Our Giant Is Laying Down Quietly

2010-11-29T15:13:00.011-05:00

Have you noticed the erosion? Factories are closing everywhere. In the larger cities, it might not have quite the obvious impact that it will in a smaller town, but don't kid yourself, we are circling the drain as a nation.

Take a small town of say, 57,000 people. Say that town has a large factory that employs 1,200 people all earning a decent middle-class income of $45 to $65K. Life is sweet in our little town. There is a whole infrastructure built around the existence of that plant. One that was necessary for it to survive. Stores, restaurants, hotels, services of all kinds. Banks, churches, schools and hospitals for the employees, entertainment centers of all varieties. The community serves the plant and the plant supports the community.

One day the factory says they are closing down the operation. With this decision, our little town will loose over $60 million every year from factory employees alone. All of these support businesses have to keep rolling because they are still here and with all of that activity the little town seems to have absorbed the loss of the factory, but all of the support businesses feel the loss and it starts a landslide. Soon our little town is more of a ghetto than a community. Crime rates soar as more and more people live in despair and on welfare. More of their children never complete high school and the crime rate soars again.

If we could peek around at the other side of the world, and, you know, through the big wall, we would see a nation on the rise. A huge industrial monster standing up to flex it's muscles and growl at us from across the ocean. This monster is running on steroids, because it is not restricted by pollution regulations or even quality standards. It has negligible concern for employees wages, benefits or working conditions. It is not burdened with invention, design or research and development. It's only mandate is to be cheaper, and we all cheer it on.

It seems our industrial giant has grown tired of carrying the crown and wants to retire in a recliner in front of a large screen tv. We want to cheer on China because we feel entitled to the good life, but we are too lazy to earn it. Consequently we need our good life to be easier to obtain, or more plainly - cheaper.

Award-Winning Photographer!

2010-11-10T16:36:00.008-05:00

Halloween has come around again and, as is my custom, I decided to take a photo of Stevie in his costume. This year it was a fireman.

It is not hard to pull the character out of Stevie.

Ok, no biggie, shoot it and put the camera away. The evening's festivities ensued.

The next day, there is mention of a photo contest with a fall/Halloween theme and it looks like everybody is sending in pictures of their kid in their Halloween costume. I'm thinkin' I got one in the bag of Stevie, why not participate? So I sent it in.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the contest has nothing to do with the merits of your photo, but everything to do with how many of your friends you can get to go online and "Like" it. Now it is a campaign. We rallied as many of our friends to go online on our behalf as we could. (If you responded to one of these pleas, you have my heart-felt thanks). Unfortunately, the winner had a gazillion friends mobilized for a landslide victory. We were, however, able to maintain our status in the community with a very distinguished finish at third place.

If you have ever been to our little town, you will have noticed a landmark in the form of a giant pink elephant hoisting a martini in front of the liquor store. It is in the spirit of our fabled landmark that I reveal to you my distinguished prize.

Obviously, I am going to have to address my rates in light of this accomplishment. I recommend you book your project before they go into effect! :)

I Got Sad Mac'd!

2010-08-11T14:20:00.006-04:00

Monday night, while I was at the Fair, I started having a problem with my iPhone. The Home button quit working. If you have one of these phones, you know this is like loosing your mouse on your computer. You can get in applications, but you can't get out. Tuesday morning, I was still having problems with it, so I thought I would try syncing it and that maybe it would straighten out.

Recently, I updated to the new OS4.0. I suspected that upgrade might have bugs that was causing my phone to behave erratically. While I was syncing, I noticed there was already an OS Update and iTunes was suggesting I should take it. God help me, I clicked on the button that said "Update". That, my friends, is when I fell down into the rabbit hole.

After iTunes finished updating my phone, it didn't recognize it anymore. I was given the message "iTunes has detected a phone in recovery mode. Use "Restore" to return it to normal". Understand that "Restore" wipes your phone back to factory new and removes all data. It then attempts to restore the data from a backup. I clicked on the button that says "Restore".

After the restore process was complete I get a message: "iTunes has detected a phone in recovery mode. Use "Restore" to return it to normal". After looping through this procedure two more times, I am about ready to throw up from the vertigo.

Nothing else matters when you have to rush one of your little ones off to the emergency room and I tried as best I could to obey traffic laws, but I felt woozy and my mind was reeling on all of the information I depended on this little guy to deliver on the spot whenever I needed it. The imperceptible loss started to creep into my thoughts and I fought to keep them at bay. There was something they could do. There had to be!

My first line of defense was the AT&T Store. I bought it there, so maybe they will know what to do. Things were a little slow in the store so I had the attention of three associates when I burst in through the front doors screaming for a doctor. What I actually did was approach the closest one and start to tell my story in the shortest way I could. They all get this oh-you-poor-man look on their faces and punt my case over to the guy that handles phone hardware issues. After they established I was under warranty, he was quick to turn me over to the folks at Apple. He directed me to the Apple Store in my area. They were kind enough to set an appointment for me, I think they could tell by looking at me I was in no shape to get the appointment myself. The warned me there could be like 30 people ahead of me when I get there. On a Tuesday afternoon? I scoffed, but then again, I had never been there.

It was right at 1:00p and my appointment was for 2:10p. In my haste, I had left home without my wallet and I thought I had better run home and get it. Driving home I remember I had done a load of laundry that morning, including the shorts I had worn to the Fair the night before. Did I take my wallet out of my pocket last night? I start to drive faster, fearing the worst. I run into the house, straight to the dryer door, pull it open and most of the contents of my wallet jump out and land all around my feet. Credit cards are curled, my drivers license is curled and everything that was paper in indecipherable. I rant (quickly because I don't have much time) and grab the essential items and cram them in my still damp wallet and run back to the car.

Once at the Apple Store, I am shocked to see what must be 150 people in the store. Half are scared parents like me and the rest are customers shopping. I am impressed at the number of employees though, maybe twenty. I am directed to a kid with a pink iPad to check-in. After check-in, I wait and I watched. The Apple people are all trained to be smiling, polite and very calm. For me, this was a trauma center, so I appreciated their calm. I watched as they helped people while I waited my turn.

There is a strange phenomena surrounding Apple products. They are all designed in a way that says "We only want very smart customers". Their devices only have one to three controls on them. As a consumer, when you have a problem with one of these devices, you are going to try every combination of controls you can think of to try to fix the problem yourself. You hand it to one of these smug little Apple people and they disappear with it for 30 seconds and present it back to you fully restored. They won't tell you what they did or what the problem was and you know it won't do you any good to ask.

Finally, my turn came and the girl shot to the back room with my phone and quickly returned with it saying we do indeed have an issue with that home button, so she will have to give me a new phone. I have to sign a disclaimer about all of the data I am going to loose, because I must set this device up as a new one and it cannot be restored from the backup of the old one.

I'm not sure I know the moral to this story, all I know is I have a phone again and it will take me a week to get it running like the old one did. Please don't send cards or money...I think I will be ok.

Monday Night At The Fair

2010-08-11T12:47:00.007-04:00

Got a rare opportunity to go out with Kim Monday night as we had no kids. When we were discussing what we should do, she announced "I wanna go see KISS at the fair!" I had to look at her to make sure she was serious. She wasn't sure if she was or not. I am always excited about doing something unusual, so I started the feasibility study. There were tickets available, but when you factored in Fair admission and extras, the costs got prohibitive quick. In my mind, I was already starting to taste Fair food. Kim had already dismissed the idea, since the Fair itself offered no appeal to her. "You haven't thought this through", I told her. "There are all kinds of craft exhibits!"
I convinced her to go and inside, my mouth started watering for the Fair food again.

After we got there, we were thinking about food right away (at least I was). we saw the deep-fried Twinkies and I had to try them. We split one and it was delicious! I mean, why not - Twinkie good, fried batter good, what's not to like? I couldn't see any reason to try deep-fried butter or deep-fried Pepsi, so for that I have no report.

After 'dinner' we hit nearly every exhibit hall and barn available and my feet were killing me. Even though we weren't going to see the concert, we didn't want to leave before it started. We thought maybe we could get a glimpse of the action from the side as we were heading out to our car. Well, a few other people had the same idea, but someone had figured out how to open a gate, that got us a lot closer! If you click on the picture below, you will notice Mr. Simmons um...singing on the jumbo screen on the lower right.

So we got to do the fair and see KISS after all. By the way, I have never been a fan and the show is pretty much what I expected, but it is a sideshow and what would the Fair be without one.

Nashville Trip

2010-06-28T12:52:00.023-04:00

I spent half of last week in Nashville, Tennessee. I had never spent any time there, only driving through on my way to somewhere else. I would make a point to stop somewhere to hit a drive-through to hear that sweet southern drawl from the girl taking my order (though these days, she sounds suspiciously Hispanic, just like at home). Anyway, this time, I got out of the car and walked around for a couple of days.
I allowed myself to be the googly-eyed tourist, as such, there are a few things you must do. Wednesday night, we went out honky-tonkin'. We got downtown too early for the real action (it was full daylight), so we made a semi-casual browse of 2nd Ave. and the cheesy celebrity -named gift shops. We decided to duck inside the Hard Rock.

As soon as the bartender brought us our drinks, he started to work us over. Kind of felt like being frisked at a traffic stop (not that I have any idea what that's like!). "You guys from out of town?" "Where you from?", "Would you like to be able to take those glasses home?", "Are you going to visit our gift shop?"
We realized this isn't quite what we had in mind, so we left.

We headed up Broadway and found the seedy little dives that I was looking for.

Sure enough, you could hear music pouring out into the street as you walked by. We ducked inside Robert's Western World and listened to several songs performed by a really good band, but I have forgotten the name.

Thursday, I had a few hours on my hands, so I went back downtown to take some photographs. Of course, I had to tour the Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ol' Opry.

(BTW, not one left-handed instrument in the whole place! Go ahead and cross them off your must-see list, as I have)

It took me a while to put my finger on it, but I am very impressed with Nashville. They have preserved all of the historically significant areas and they are clean and inviting. All around are gleaming high rises that belong together. There are no big eye sores on the city skyline

I Lost Something

2010-06-03T15:08:00.007-04:00

I guess you could say I am kind of obsessed with pushing myself to be better, particularly where my photography is concerned. When I am driving, I am listening to podcasts about technique either with the camera and lighting, post production or business and marketing. When I am home I make time to read books along the same lines. Since I made the switch to 100% digital photography, it has been an all consuming immersion into 'catching up' with the technology and current business practices.
Along with the new tools, my creativity has bloomed into areas that I had always wanted to do, but didn't have the resources to explore. Photography is expensive and when you are shooting film, experimentation is a days long process and every click of the shutter cost money. Progress came slow and required you to keep meticulous notes. Today's cameras take all the notes for you (if you care to read them) and the screen on the back immediately tells you if you are getting the results you want.
I find that I am lazy with photography theory now. I fall into the trap of priority programs in the camera and just manipulate the settings I need to for the effect I want. Another way of loosing your camera smarts is shooting the same thing over and over again. You know, that certain portrait set-up you always use to yield F:8 at 1/60th. You can take the lights out of the bag, eyeball their distance to subject and never consider changing the settings on your camera, because you are getting paid and you know this always works.
I recently came across an old issue of Black and White Magazine which seems to really be a catalog of print collections that galleries are hoping to sell. Well the images are stunning and interesting, mainly because they are black and white. Then I started thinking all of these amazing images were made without the benefit of a camera that was more of a 'computer with a lens' than anything else. The people that took these images had to know what they were doing.
So I am missing black and white film. There, I said it.
I performed a little experiment to rekindle the old fires of yesteryear. I can't grab a roll of black and white film and go shoot (actually, I could. You won't believe how much useless darkroom equipment I have in boxes, just in case), that would be stupid given all of the niceties I have grown accustomed to with digital, namely instant results. I put my camera in Manual Mode, which shuts off all of the computers that want to push you around. I set the camera's Picture Control to a setting that emulates contrasty black and white film, put the camera on a tripod outside and composed in the view finder. I used my light meter, a Depth of Field Calculator and used the screen to verify results and evaluate adjustments. I focused manually based on my DOF calculator's reported hyper-focal distance. No need to check focus in the bright sun light, which is impossible to do anyway. Just like in math class, I think you should have to know how to do it the long way before you are allowed to take any short-cuts.
The image above is my pick from the few I shot today. The beautiful thing about shooting in black and white is that it reduces your composition to shape, contrast and texture. It is another way to keep your creativity excited about the next corner you are going to turn. As for me, I have re-acquainted myself with some of the theory and science that I love about this medium and along the way found some of the subtle beauty that has been missing from my work for a long time.

Wind Farm

2010-05-22T17:57:00.011-04:00

Last December, I was driving north on I-65 in heavy fog and snow. Apparently, I don't get out of town very often, because shortly after passing through Lafayette, I was startled at the sight of a huge windmill lumbering around like a 747 cartwheeling out of the sky. It is like 300 feet tall and each of the three blades on it are 125 feet long. Due to the fog and snow, visibility was greatly reduced, but my awe was compounded by the distant sillouettes of many more trailing off in the distance. There must be hundreds of them or more!
I had stumbled on a huge wind farm in northern Indiana and I decided I would have to make a point, in nicer weather, to come back up here and get a better look. Now, if you live in a part of the country where these things are common, forgive me for being so fascinated. Since last December was the first time I had seen anything like this up close, it all seems like science fiction to me and something new that must be documented. I decided the ultimate would be to photograph them in the twilight as the sun is rising. Since I hate the cold, that meant waiting until May. Last week, my son Isaiah and I made the pilgrimage up north.

Headshots for the Unemployed - Redux

2010-04-23T09:42:00.002-04:00

Last fall, I did two free photo events to benefit the swelling tide of unemployed folks. I called it Headshots for the Unemployed. I provided them with a professional business portrait they could use on their social networking sites or include with their resume package. As part of the promotion for those events, I was asked to be on the Fox 59 Morning News to talk about what I was doing. As their interview wrapped up, the anchor, in a polite, joking way asked me to come back to give them a progress report. Recently, I remembered that and thought I would poll all of the participants from last fall to see how they are doing.

I was very surprised to learn that after six months, only 35% of them were working anywhere. If you are like me, you are soothed by the media reports that unemployment figures are improving by a micropercent. We go about our day, assured in our optimism that everything is working itself out.

I have no delusions that a free business portrait is part of the solution to the unemployment problem, but I do know that it can be an encouragement to the person that is going through the ordeal. When you are daily trying to whip up the courage to jump out there and sell yourself, what you tend to feel inside is all of your faults and weaknesses screaming at you that you are wasting your time and it is no use. Everyone else is a more desirable candidate, etc. Everything you can do to improve your presentation, gives you that much more confidence and desire to put it out there. I can't give everyone a new suit to wear to an interview, but I can take a great picture of them that will speak for them when their next employer is deciding who their next superstar will be.

To that end, I am going to do it again, but this time it's going to be bigger. I am going to repeat my offer of free professional business portraits to anyone that is unemployed and looking for work. No strings attached. There will be four separate events, all in a different area on four days in May.

May 3 - Greenwood Public Library 1:00pm - 4:00pm
May 10 - New Palestine (Hancock County Library, Sugar Creek Branch) 1:00pm - 4:00pm
May 17 - Fishers Public Library 1:00pm - 4:00pm
May 24 - Brownsburg Public Library 1:00pm - 4:00pm

If you or anyone you know is interested, contact me by email (preferred) or by phone to schedule a time for a portrait.

bill@billandersonphoto.com
317-414-3237

Thanks!

Race For The Cure

2010-04-18T18:19:00.012-04:00

I was able to witness something quite amazing Saturday. I participated in this year's Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure Run/Walk. I got volunteered by my wife, who, in turn, was persuaded by a mutual friend to take up the cause. I was thinking this could be fun and at the least, an opportunity to be there and take some photos, not as an observer, but as a participant.

Now I knew this was a popular cause, but I was not prepared for the number of people that were all involved, in some way. I kept saying over and over,"Would you look at all the people!"

Shortly after we started, I took a photo of the crowd ahead of us, then turned around to snap the crowd behind!

This was a really big, exciting party of sorts. While we were all glad for sunshine, I think everyone would have appreciated it being about 10 degrees warmer. Oh well, it adds to the camaraderie between total strangers. All around were cheering teams with crazy names and home made t-shirts. Some of the younger 'participants' were less enthused.

Every so often, you get close to someone that has been tragically affected by breast cancer and you feel a wave of the serious life and death struggle that is the reason for this gathering.

I can safely say we will be back next year.

Isn't Cereal Cool?

2010-02-15T13:46:00.003-05:00

Hello! I have been extremely negligent with my blog of late. These are my excuses:

1). December doesn't count. I am reduced to something similar to the walking dead and I am not responsible for any of my actions or lack of action during that time.

2). Spent all of January gearing up marketing for my new (old) portrait business Pictures of You. While I have been frantically getting the word out about Bill Anderson Photography to everyone I meet and explaining it is a commercial photography business, it never fails that someone will ask about personal portraits. I don't want to send mixed messages to anyone, so I decided the best thing to do is market two separate photography businesses. Bill Anderson Photography for all of my commercial clients and Pictures of You for my retail clients.

3). I got an iPhone for Christmas. This thing peels your attention away from everything else! Suddenly all of your conversations revolve around the new apps you have and what new apps your friends have. Some of my friends have cut me off as they don't have an iPhone and cannot bear any more demonstrations of how cool this phone is. One good thing, everybody knows I am still around due to my almost daily iPhone picture posts to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Since I had the phone, I had to get Chase Jarvis' Best Camera app so I could become a complete iPhone monkey for all of my friends.

So I'm sitting here typing out all of my excuses and guilt about not keeping the lines of communication flowing and I realize I am not the only one at fault here. Where have YOU been? Are you following my blog? Have you subscribed via the RSS feed? Are you following me on any of the social networking platforms I mentioned before? Have you ever commented on anything I have posted? Few things are as difficult as a one-sided conversation. It would be nice to hear from someone now and then.

There. I have cleared the decks and I am ready to forge ahead. Stay tuned-in and check in with me every now and then. We can all get through this together.

-Bill

As If You Don't Feel Stupid Enough...

2009-11-13T11:27:00.003-05:00

I was working in the yard yesterday, trying to wrestle a section of privacy fence into place. I lost control of it and one of the many old rusty nails in it punctured my right hand. Eesh! My eyes crossed looking at the hole right before it started bleeding. That was a big nail! Look at the hole it made! Better get inside and clean it up, maybe dump some hydrogen peroxide on it and see how I feel about it then.

So I am washing it and I give it a good splash of the ol' peroxide. I am thinking I would like it to bleed a little more, you know to get the dirty blood out. (Why do we think like that?) I decide to squeeze the pad below my thumb, where the wound is, to make it bleed some. When I squeezed it, some kind of white grissely stuff poked out! Kind of like I had popped some colossal zit on my hand. I get a paper towel to wipe it away and I dragged it out further! It was attached and part of my hand - only now it was outside instead of inside where it belonged.

That's it! I'm going to the ER. I probably need a shot for the rusty nail anyway.

After I checked myself in, the doctor comes in to take a look. "That's your fat!" he says, pointing at my hand and identifying the strange protrusion. "Thanks", I said. "Good to know I am carrying around so much that some of the guys tried to make a run for it."

He washed it and gently poked everything back where it belongs. Now it's time to close the wound. He reaches over to his little assortment of supplies and picks up a common band-aid. "No stitches?" Then he gives me this look that says "There, there, Mr. Anderson. Doctor make it all better" as he pressed the band-aid in place.

I think leaving with a band-aid is the highest form of insult from the ER. I did get the tetanus shot though. Lessons learned.

Who Will Save Us?

2009-11-01T10:48:00.003-05:00

Our little Stevie came home with a costume and couldn't wait to assume his new character. I think it suits him well.

Whew! Big Week

2009-10-28T17:22:00.003-04:00

There has been a lot of activity recently. Last week there was the appearance on Fox 59 Morning News (man, was I nervous! It was live, so there were no re-do's), then the awesome interview with Joe Konz and his blog Photo Potpourri, followed by the Headshots for the Unemployed event at the Fishers Library on Monday!

I got all of the photos posted to the website and word out to all the participants yesterday. I've got to say what a wonderful group of people they were. It was a pleasure meeting all of them and I hope to hear from them soon that they are back in action. You can check out their photos here.

Meanwhile, I have some ideas for micro-stock photography that I want to work on and start networking hard with area ad agencies.

Stay tuned,

Bill

Appearance on Fox59 Morning News

2009-10-20T08:59:00.009-04:00

In case you missed it, here is the video from my appearance yesterday on Fox 59 Morning News to promote my Headshots for the Unemployed event on Monday October 26th from 1:00p to 4:00p at the Fishers Library.

And Now For Round Two!

2009-10-13T10:34:00.003-04:00

As I have previously mentioned, last month's Headshots for the Unemployed was a great success, so now we are doing it again.

This time I will be at the Fishers Library on October 26th from 1:00p to 4:00p. As before, the event is open to anyone who is currently unemployed and looking for a job. You can drop me an email to reserve a time or even just show up.

I will take a professional business portrait of you at no charge and you will be able to go to my website the next day and download the high res file of your portrait for free. No strings attached. The picture can be used on any social networking site like Facebook or LinkedIn and you can make prints to include in your resume package.

You might ask what motivates me do a full scale professional shoot for anyone that cares to take advantage of it and then give away the resulting product. I believe the unemployment problem is not just the problem of the unemployed. It affects all of us. We all like to plunder the rewards of a fat economy. When times are lean, we then need to nurture the ground we feed on to ensure our future sustainability. (Should've warned you to put yer boots on before we wandered into that muddy field!)

In case you happen to be awake around 7:45a on Monday the 19th, I have been asked to appear on the Indianapolis Fox affiliate, WXIN 59 to discuss the upcoming Headshots for the Unemployed event. This is a first for me, so I am sure I will screw it up somehow! I would love to hear any advice anyone may have.

Headshots Followup

2009-09-22T10:50:00.001-04:00

First, I want to thank Melissa Stewart and all the nice folks at the Noblesville Library for allowing me to host my first Headshots for the Unemployed event. Everyone at the library was very accommodating and made sure I had everything I needed as well as the great location and space. I had a great turnout and everyone I met was so nice.

If you are an "employer" that complains about a lack of quality applicants to choose from, those days are over. The recent economy has forced many capable and highly qualified people out of their jobs and now they are looking for you.

If you are one of the people I met that day, keep in touch and let me know when you have secured your next position.

Remember..

2009-09-11T11:15:00.003-04:00

Headshots for the Unemployed

2009-09-08T15:27:00.005-04:00

I was thinking about reaching out to a friend that was looking for a job and offering to do a professional business portrait for them. You just know a prospective employer is going to check you out on Facebook or LinkedIn, plus I thought the photo would be a nice inclusion in their resume package. Well, before I could present my offer to them, they found a job! Then I thought, if it was a good idea for my friend, it will be a good idea for everybody else too.

On September 21st, from 1:00pm to 4:00pm I will be at the Noblesville Library, in the North Meeting Room, providing free professional business portraits to anyone that is unemployed and looking for work.

Looking for a job is a difficult business, especially with the pressures of providing for your family. I know you need encouragements, like a new suit and a great resume. Hopefully, these portraits can be another layer of confidence, or just a general assistance in helping someone land that next job.

Please pass this information on to anyone you know that might be able to benefit from this event. I am trying to reach as many people as I can. If you have any questions or would like to participate contact me at bill@billandersonphoto.com

Parables of Jesus

2009-08-22T06:59:00.013-04:00

It has been two weeks since my last post because things are picking up around here. I was asked by my friends at White River Christian Church, in Noblesville to create a set of images for a sermon series they were doing on the parables Jesus used when He was teaching. The idea was to have one image for each of the seven stories they were going to cover in as many weeks.

Now, if you are familiar with these parables, you know they are usually complex little stories that illustrated a different complex little idea. My challenge was to boil it all down to the essence of the precise point that was being made and then devise a single image that would convey that same idea. This assignment was a blast for me because I got a chance to use all of the tools in my bag. With the pressure of a looming deadline, but no direction whatsoever, I had to dig into the creative reserves and make quick decisions to keep the project moving forward. There was no time to rethink things and no committee to discuss them with. Once I decided what the image should be I went and set it up the way I saw it and that is how the image was.

Fortunately, they were delighted with them and decided to put large prints of them around on the stage to help illustrate the messages. I have to send out a big thank you to my son Isaiah for being my patient model in four of these images.

I don't believe in over-explaining art so I won't tell you why I did what I did, but I will give you the parable that each photo illustrates.

The Sower

3 Lost Things

The Talents

The Growing Seed

The Pharisee and Tax Collector

The Mustard Seed

The Wicked Tenants

I look forward to your comments and I hope you have a great week!

Oliver Winery

2009-08-07T15:29:00.004-04:00

"And now for something completely different"

For our anniversary, Kim suggested we tour Oliver Winery. My immediate reaction was "Seriously?" with doubt all over my face. Then I though about it for a minute and I realized it could be kinda cool.

We went down on a Tuesday, so there weren't a lot of people there and I was able to relax enough to really enjoy the place. We were also fortunate enough to get a tour, a feature usually reserved for the bigger weekend crowd. They took us through a portion of their facilities, enough to get the gist of what they do to make wine and a full background on the company. After the tour we went to the wine tasting room.

Now I have to tell you, before our visit to the winery, my only experience with their wine was the transparent red stuff they sell at Meijer and Walmart. That stuff is only a heartbeat away from Kool-Aid. Once in the tasting room, I was first of all surprised by all of the varieties of wine they produce. I have always heard they make such great wine, but I could never find any of it before. Anyway, I ended up being quite impressed and we went home with several bottles of amazing wine. If you can find it, I highly recommend one of their dessert wines called Maximun Port.

After a few sips of the good stuff, we ventured outside to check out their botanical garden area. This is the point where I decided I need to take some pictures. There was an incredible variety of flowers and everything had these neat little signs under it telling you what it is (even the weeds!).

Please click this link here to see the full set of images from that day.

Hamilton County Co-Op

2009-08-01T08:49:00.003-04:00

I was in Noblesville taking pictures when I noticed a huge group of grain silos just south of downtown. They seemed old and weathered, which is probably what caught my eye, that and the fact that they were so huge with intricate pipe structures. There was no way the camera wasn't coming out of my bag.

I approached the property and started taking pictures. I assumed it was abandoned, just like the Fortville Grain Company I had written a post about three weeks ago. Off to my right, I noticed a man coming toward me with a nervous smile on his face.

"The boss don't want nobody taking pictures." I had already written him off as someone passing through on his way to somewhere else. Then I realized he must work here.
"What?"
"The boss don't like people taking pictures, unless they ask him about it first. Even then he wants to be careful about who can take pictures.
One time he gave a photographer permission and come to find out they had a girl out here taking nude pictures! The only other time he allowed it was for a heavy metal band to shoot a video."
Sensing he was telling me to leave without getting the pictures I had walked over here to get, I offered to speak to the boss directly.
"Well, he's out of town right now"
I assured the guy I was only intending to walk once around the outer perimeter of the property and usually, I manage to keep my clothes on while I work.
He seemed to run out of objections and agreed to look the other way.

Standing close to these silos was like being at an Apollo rocket launch, without all of the cool smoke and fire, of course.

Check out the full set of images from that day here. As always, I look forward to your comments.

Old 238

2009-07-24T10:53:00.005-04:00

Highway 238 has been under heavy reconstruction for over two years now. For my purposes, it is the fastest way to get to Noblesville or I-69, though there are alternatives. I can remember, when I was dating my wife, that I could make it from my door to her's in 12 minutes, but that was before they tore up the road.

In the process of building the Saxony Corporate Business Park and Hamilton Town Center shopping mall some of the roads and access had to be reconfigured. As a result, there is a section of Highway 238, perhaps a mile long, that has been clipped off though it still sits there inaccessible.

Seeing that little strip of unused highway sitting there reminds me of that last scene in the original Planet Of The Apes movie. Its the scene where Charleton Heston makes it out to the beach and discovers what's left of the Statue of Liberty.

My wife and I share a house now. I guess I don't need that little piece of road anymore either. Recently, I walked it... to feel like Charleton Heston.

The full set of pictures are here. Don't forget to leave comments, I read them all.

Fortville Grain Company

2009-07-17T12:35:00.004-04:00

I have taken a new direction with my photography and I would very much like input from anyone reading this. The blog is open for comments as well as my direct email. I am going to be making posts with some of my images on a weekly basis. I would like to have a huge number of subscribers to my blog available to shoot some feedback to me as I make the posts. If you don't currently subscribe to my blog, consider this my invitation for you to do so. I would also encourage you to invite all of your friends as well. Thank you.

These images are from an abandoned structure in the middle of Fortville, Indiana. It used to be the Fortville Grain Company. You can see the full set of images here Click on the section called "Proof/Events"

I appreciate your comments.
Take Care

Professional Integrity

2009-04-23T15:18:00.005-04:00

As a photographer, I am constantly being advised by my peers to limit myself to one area of specialty. Pick one thing to do and hit it hard. Be the best and be known by what you do. Streamline your website. Focus your whole message in one direction. Be consistent.In the marketplace, however, I see a very different and disturbing trend.

In an effort to corner all of the business they can, many service oriented businesses (and what business isn't service oriented anymore) are expanding their service offerings to the point that some professions are being homogenized down to commodity offerings. You know, the Wal-Mart syndrome. Now you can go to Wal-Mart for groceries, portraits, a hair-cut, banking, tax preparation, see a doctor, auto maintenance and now some kind of eye-brow ripping place! Where will it end?

I think the answer is it won't.

Where this trend crawls me is when small businesses start adding photography to their list of services. I have been a photographer for sixteen years now. When I started out, there was a significant investment of time, equipment, process and craft. I had to buy expensive cameras, multiple lenses, lighting equipment, backdrop rigs, darkroom equipment and all of the necessary supplies to process and print images. Now I have made the switch to digital and there are new cameras to buy and then you have to learn computer image manipulation. There are still a zillion things to learn if you want to stay competitive.

Well, here I am making the new equipment investments, learning Photoshop, learning what all my new camera can do and staying current on the latest lighting trends and I see a shop open up on Main Street in the town I live in. The business is graphic design..and photography! The front window is full of portraits and there is a sparse studio set up inside. The owner is a very good designer, but just likes to do photography also. Then I look across the street (literally, right across the street) and there is a business offering tattoos, fine art gallery and photography. Nearby, in another town one business offers a hair salon, massage therapy and you guessed it, photography! All of these businesses are doing portraits. It is worth mentioning that one proprietor is providing all of the services listed for each business. I don't want to deprive anyone the opportunity to make a buck doing something that is very fulfilling, but I wonder how much they enjoy it if it is listed second or third in their list of services. How much skill and technique do they bring to the table?

So what is the harm? Live and let live. They are not likely to be as good as me and that will separate my work from what they can do and customers will seek me out over them, right?

Not necessarily.

Many people have the perception that one is as good as another and if you are charging me $200 for a portrait session and they can do the session for free or for say $15, why should I spend the extra dough for some hot shot that thinks he is worth more? Well I am here to tell you, it's not that the "hot shot" thinks he is worth more, but his cost of doing business is higher because everything is riding on his (or her) ability to bring it when the shutter falls. If you aren't blown away by your photographs and you don't invest in prints from the shoot, we can't make it up with a few extra haircuts. We have poured everything we have into an art form we feel and believe in. We know what we can do, get excited to face a new challenge and thrill to see the look on your face when you see the results. I can't believe there is as much personal suffering and achievement involved if your photographer is distracted by their other occupation's deadlines and challenges.

The same principle applies if your plumber sells real-estate on the side. When you need your plumbing fixed, you call a professional. When you need to sell your home in a tough real-estate market, you don't screw around with a part-timer. If I come to you for accounting advice, I don't want to know that you also happen to sell MonaVie on the side. I want to believe in you as a professional. Don't dilute my perception of you with sidelines, it tells me you don't believe in the thing I am trusting you with, or that you don't work hard enough at it. When people see me, I want them to know me as a photographer, not an insurance agent who also does photography. I am a photographer….and that's it. When I look at you, I am sizing up how the light plays on your face. I am walking around thinking about how I would compensate for the crappy lighting in the doctors waiting room, or in the mall, wherever. I think in the language of how I can use the equipment I have to make something spectacular out of what is available.

I am making myself stop. It feels good to finally get this bothersome topic out in the open. I welcome any comments anyone may have.

Night Out

2009-02-08T17:51:00.004-05:00

Went out for my birthday last night. Kim and I had a great dinner at Matteo's Italian Restaurant in Noblesville. Our first attempt at dinner was a trendy Italian restaurant in Indy, until they told us we would have to wait four hours for a table! We quickly decided to go north and I am glad we did. As we entered the restaurant, the hostess greeted us and immediately led us to our table, the same one we had the last time we were there almost a year ago. I don't know why we don't go there more often! The service, atmosphere and food were all great. Basically, we love that place.
As we were walking back to our car, I caught a glimpse of the moon through an alley. For my money, the alleys in downtown Noblesville are some of the more notable photographic features of the area and I couldn't resist grabbing my camera out of the car.

Snow Day!

2009-01-28T18:01:00.004-05:00

Central Indiana got pounded with 10 to 11 inches of snow last night. Obviously, schools and everything else are closed, driving is slow. After a few hours of intense shoveling in the driveway, the sun came out, everything looked beautiful and we decided to do the only responsible thing - we took the kids sledding! Apparently everybody else in town had the same idea. There were so many people there, it was like we wandered into a snow festival. In case you missed the festival, here are some of my shots from the day. To be honest, I wanted an excuse to go to the park for some photos of snowy splendor.

Remembrances and Restlessness

2009-01-27T15:46:00.007-05:00

When I was young, I would walk everywhere. I was too young to drive, but too restless to sit around. Within a one mile radius of my house, there were suburban homes in all directions, a gravel pit (we called it "fake lake") with woods and weed packed field, retail stores and industrial developments.

When you are on foot, you get a completely different sense of your surroundings then you would from a car. You can take adventurous short-cuts. You find all kinds of things. You get scared thinking that no one would ever know how to find you. You find little places most people will never know exist.

Well I might soon have to make a trip back to the old neighborhood and take a walk around.

I am feeling restless, but there is snow and I don't need to go anywhere. For consolation, I ventured outside and took a few shots.

Sweet Melissa Striking Out Breast Cancer Softball Tournament

2008-09-14T00:33:00.006-04:00

I was fortunate enough to be asked to provide photography coverage of this years event. It was a long day in the hot sun, but I met a lot of great people and I became acquainted with the great work the gang at Sweet Melissa Foundation do each year. Please visit their website and make a contribution. www.sweetmelissafoundation.org

Community Home Build 2008

2008-08-18T10:32:00.000-04:00

White River Christian Church asked me to photograph all the action at the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds last Saturday as hundreds of people came out to help build five homes for Habitat for Humanity.

Olivia and Ava Hayes - 7/24/08

2008-07-25T16:15:00.000-04:00

Anthony and Amy Hayes called to have photos of their daughters done. I wanted to let the girls run and play while I caught them being themselves.

Ethan Campbell 7/21/08

2008-07-22T16:48:00.001-04:00

Aaron and Amy Campbell hired me to take some photos of 13 month old Ethan. It took some popsicles to keep him interested, but we were able to get plenty of great images for mom and dad to choose from.

Tom and Kelly Ames Wedding 7-19-08

2008-07-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

I had an opportunity to assist Joe Brewster of Silver Lotus Photography with shooting the Tom and Kelly Ames wedding. They were a great couple to work with and the ceremony was at the picturesque Scottish Rite in Indianapolis. It was a great experience for me and a lot of fun. These are some of my shots from the event.