WPPI 2011

I think the best way to remember your blessings in those moments when life seems impossible is to write them down. Thank god I have a blog :)

Just in case you aren’t my friend on Facebook and didn’t see the billion updates I posted, I had the opportunity to go to the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (from now on referred to as WPPI) conference in Las Vegas this past week. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into, but the chance to even attend was amazing enough. These are the kinds of experiences that shape who we are and who we will be. If my week was any indication of these things, I am one lucky girl. 

I intern for a company called Songfreedom. In the photography and videography world, it is integral to be able to publish your work online. Your website is your key to advertise your work to the world. An important part of any slideshow or video is the music behind it. It can help tell the story just as much as the photos/videos do. The awesome thing about Songfreedom is that they have worked with the major record labels to make popular music available for use in these productions. I have always been ethical with the way I get music: ever since Napster was shut down when I was about 12, I realized the importance of artists getting paid for the work they put out. I’ve been an avid iTunes user ever since. I have opportunities to download music for free, but you’ll never see me taking part in that. I’d never want anything I produced to be stolen, so I can’t do that to any person who makes art (whatever that art may be). I fully believe that anyone putting a song to their creations should be in the same mindset. Give credit where credit is due. It has seemed impossible before, with only royalty free music being available, and sites like Facebook and YouTube pulling videos down left and right for copyright infringement, to publish work with music legally. 

          I am lucky to be working for a company that I believe in morally and ethically. I have truly felt that through my time at Songfreedom, their concern is the photographers and videographers. I talk up Valerie Martinez as much as I can. She not only works for Songfreedom, but she free-lances videography and photography as well. So, instead of working in a company that just adds whatever songs they can find, she researches. She sits and listens to the music and can actually see what sort of productions she could use out of it. Matt Thompson, President of Songfreedom, has worked for years to gain a relationship with the labels to make these popular, mainstream hits available for use, as well as indie artists and other music. They both care about what they do, and I am soaking every moment of it up. They have allowed me to take part in this amazing ride, and they have taught me so much that my brain could explode.

I can never thank Matt enough for allowing me to be a part of WPPI. He’s let me have some real-life work experience, which has given me a whole new perspective on what I want to do with my life. If I could spend my days working with the people I met over the course of this week, I would do it for free. Between working social media in ways that no one thought it could be worked, networking, and most important of all meeting the most amazing, creative, friendly geniuses in the photography business. I’m still in awe of the people I met and the work I saw. What a great community. When I told people I was going to Vegas, they told me how much fun I was going to have. I told them "I'm going for work and I'll be at a booth most of the time, I won't have any time for fun." Joke's on me, considering the most fulfilling parts of the trip were at the booth meeting everyone. I could have used another day at that booth. I loved every minute of it.

I’ve really been able to grasp the public relations and social media communities throughout this week and with my internship. Being able to shake hands and meet face-to-face as well as Tweet back and forth has just been eye opening to the way that social media is opening up businesses to a whole new world. Seeing something going viral first-hand, seeing people mention the company’s Twitter right after we met them, and being able to see what was going on at the conference with just a click of a hash tag has been overwhelming. I can sit in school for the next two months (May 7^th Commencement can’t come soon enough!) will never open my eyes and give me the experience the way WPPI has. I have to afford this experience to the amazing people we met along the way (Shout out to the Revolution Imaging and Design crew and 2Duce2Video J )

Sometimes I get so scatterbrained when I’m blogging, but what I am trying to say is THANK YOU. Thank you to the Songfreedom crew for allowing me to be a part of what you do, thank you to WPPI for the amazing experience, and thank you photographers for being the friendliest and most talented people out there. I have never been so excited for what my future holds. I owe the restoration of faith in my life and my career to all of you.

I am ready to get to work. May 7^th can’t come soon enough J

Here's a glimpse of WPPI 2011...

WPPI 2011 Convention and Trade Show Video Teaser from GEBBS on Vimeo.

A Dark Day, Thanks Sarah Palin

I hope as you are reading this, you realize the enormity of what I am about to say, and how hard it is for me to say it.

On this day, January 12, 2011, I agree with Sarah Palin.

I promise you that you just read that right. I’m feeling the pain as well. But I said it, published it, and now it is a fact for the world to see.

Let me start off by saying, as if those who know me don’t already know, I find Sarah Palin an the rest of her family useless, homophobic, mindless, (I can’t think of a nicer word for stupid, so think of that and insert it here), degenerate fame-whores who care nothing about politics only getting themselves in the media as much as possible. The issue of Sarah Palin to me is neither Democratic nor Republican; she doesn’t get on my nerves because of her political beliefs but because of how little she knows of her own beliefs or our country.

That said, I have to get to the part where I agree with something she’s said. I may need counseling after this.

This past Saturday, our nation added another tragic event to its history with the shooting in Arizona that left six dead and others wounded, including the supposed target Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. There are no words to describe how I feel anytime something this tragic happens. I’ve been trying to blog about it since Saturday, but I had a hard time putting the words together. I don’t know what to say in these moments because these are moments I never prepared to see. But, sadly, they happen, and it feels like it only takes mere hours before the speculation, blame, and conspiracy theories take heed.  

I can dismiss most of them because we will never really know the full story until the man who committed this heinous act of violence tells us why he did it. Trying to speculate just leads us to a whole lot of nowhere. But, the theory blaming Sarah Palin is what really caught my eye. In March of 2010, Palin showing her extreme intelligence and political know-how, posted a map on her Facebook page of vulnerable House Democrats. The map showed crosshairs over the contested Democratic districts, one of which was the target Rep. Gifford. Accompanying the map was a post by Palin, using gun rhetoric along with the map of targets in order to “take back Washington.”

Gifford responded, "The thing is, the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they've got to realize there's consequences to that action." (CNN)

On Saturday, she was targeted, and she was shot.

I get that it is easy to place the blame on Palin given the circumstances. Posting the map last year was probably the most politically irresponsible thin she has ever done, and further proof that she does not have what it takes to be the leader of our country or keep us safe. She should have known better. When die-hard republicans are even echoing that sentiment, it’s a big deal. The map should have never been published. Now, there is a focus on violent rhetoric in our news programs (Bill O’Reilly anyone?) and I couldn’t be happier. We need to get away from the name calling and the bull and get back to what I watch the news for: news.

But to blame Palin for this tragedy? Unless she had the gun in her hand and pulled the trigger, she is not to blame. She released a statement today via her Facebook page and this excerpt rings true:

“President Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election.” (CNN)

I can’t disagree with this at all. Unless the gunman says that he was pushed to try and assassinate Gifford because of Sarah Palin and this specific map, it seems like the media is again reaching for someone to blame other than the person who actually committed the crime. If it turns out that he was influenced by Palin, she deserves all of the heat that will come to her and should have the death of those six people, including a nine year old girl, forever on her conscience. But for those who have actually watched the shooter’s YouTube videos of his political rants, he was in no way shape or form a Tea Party enthusiast. He had his political thoughts, and he felt a little more strongly about them apparently than most people do.

Regardless, that man pulled the trigger (I am purposely not writing his name because I don’t care to see it). Palin did not. Nor did she tell him to. The map was in terrible taste, but she did not tell anyone to kill anyone. And while I blame her for being an idiot, I don’t blame her for the dead and the wounded from Arizona, and I won’t until the killer says that he did it because Palin told him to. If that is ever the case, I hope that she as well as all politicians realize the enormity of the words that come out of their mouths and work to change the way politics works.  

It is about time that news media gets back to the facts and steps away from the mud-slinging and the insane theories. Let the justice system do the investigation, and quit dragging both popular and unpopular public figures through the mud while you're figuring it out. 

It pains me to say this, but leave Sarah Palin alone.

Happy New Year

One of these days, I’ll stop using being busy as an excuse to neglect my poor little blog.

I can’t believe it is 2011 already. I can’t believe I’m 24. I can’t believe I’m nearing the end of my college career. When did this all happen?

While I can’t say it feels like yesterday that I was graduating high school since that was (shudder) six years ago, I still don’t feel as adult as I should. I wonder when that will start kicking in. I’ve always worked between 2 and 3 jobs since high school, so it’s not a work ethic thing per say. I’ve been growing increasingly anxious with the thought that in five months I will be graduating college, and I’m out of excuses.

It’s time to find a big girl job, it’s time to find a more permanent place of residence, it’s time to start thinking about salaries and 401(k)’s and kids and weddings and…bah I am freaking out just thinking about it. I’ve seen my friends get married, have babies, have their full time jobs in their field, and when I try to place myself in their shoes I can’t even imagine it.

I have seriously considered applying for grad school just to put this off a few more years. But, let’s be honest; I’m not getting any younger.

Did I really just say that? Can you go through a midlife crisis when you’re only 24?

The thing I try to constantly remind myself is that while I’m feeling so young and small and terrified of the real world, I’m also getting a lot accomplished. I will be the first person in my family with a Bachelor’s Degree (which only means something if, by the grace of God, I find a job after graduation). I’ve had two amazing internships that are really honing my skills so I have something to offer the companies I apply to. I have a good group of people around me who help me when I’m down, support me unconditionally, and above all make me smile. With my brother back in the state, my family has been closer, happier, and more fun. There are a lot of good things happening around me, and I need to learn not to be so terrified.

Then I realize my classes start Tuesday, and I have to start thinking about my final portfolio. I think about how fast the Fall semester flew by, then again how fast my whole SIUE experience has seemed to fly by. And I realize that before I know it I’m going to be in the Student Activity Gym waiting to walk in to my Commencement ceremony. Even though every one I’ve attended has felt long and boring, when it’s mine, it’ll fly by. Then I’m out of my student worker job, out of classes, and yet again, out of excuses.

I guess I just need to enjoy this while it lasts…