Cameron Davidson

Blizzard number two started last evening. Last weekend the snow was 24″ inches deep in my front yard. (60.96 centimeters) Todays blast is expected to add at least another ten inches snow. (25.4 centimeters) Wind gusts are expected in the thirty to fifty knot range.

This morning I startled a Coopers Hawk clutching a European Starling underneath one of my bird feeders. The Starling was screaming for dear life and the Coopers spooked as I trundled through the snow to my front door. This Coopers has taken quite a few birds at my feeders along with a neighbors. Usually it is a slow moving Mourning Dove. Last fall I shot video of the unfortunate demise of a Grackle by this Coopers.

Out my office door looking toward the deck.

Looking down my street.

The holly trees that flank my front door are zealously guarded by a male Mockingbird who chases off flocks of American Robins who attempt to eat “his” holly berries. I watched him chase off close to twenty robins yesterday. As soon as they would alight, he would swoop in to defend his property.

A glimpse of normalcy.

reboot

refresh restore relax regain realign readjust remember respond reach read reality realize reap rearrange reassure

rebel rebound rebuilt rebuff rebuttal recall receive recess reckon reclaim recognize recommend reconciliation

reconsider

reconstruct record recover recuperate rectify recycle redemption reference refine reflect reform register regrets rehearse

reinforce restate rejoice rejoin reiterate rejuvenate relay release reliable relief religion relish remark remedied remove

renewed reorganize replenish report represent reprieve request research reserve resist resolute resolve resort respect

respite respond rest

reboot

Recently an assistant from my region wrote me an email asking if he could call me and discuss the possibility of working together.  He mentioned the name of a former assistant who is now shooting in Pennsylvania plus he also had aerial experience.  That was enough for me to respond and to talk to him.  I liked his phone manner and his in-depth understanding of what I shoot and how I shoot.  Actually, it surprised me a bit.  I kept his name on file and thought, yeah; I’ll give this guy a chance.

Often times I get long letters for prospective assistants that feel like they are half-resume and life story combined into a charming essay on why they want to be a fashion/Geographic/advertising/documentary/still life shooter and how much they love my work.  I am always a bit suspect about these letters because they tend to follow a formula that most likely started out as an exercise in career development for students about to graduate.   They always contain too much information and not enough genuine interest.

Two weeks ago, an assignment for a Fortune 100 annual report came up that called for an available light sunrise shoot with a very little gear.  The call time was O’dark early, as in 6:15 am.  The weather forecast called for severe clear skies and a brisk 21 degrees.  When the assignment was scheduled, I phoned the assistant and asked if he was available.  He was.  He lives an hour away and I needed to make sure he could be at my house by five in the morning.  He said no problem and arrived promptly the next morning with the appropriate cold weather clothing.  We got along great, the shoot was smooth and most importantly, we produced the images that my client needed.

A couple of days later, I received a hand written thank you card from him.  Something I rarely receive from vendors or clients.  That impressed me and I have now suggested this assistant to other photographers.

I keep the thank you notes I have received from clients and vendors.  One of the national magazines I shoot for has been on my wish list for quite a few years.  When I started shooting for them I was pleased that they were happy with my images and that was enough for me.  A few days after I turned in my match prints with files, I received a hand-written note from the Director of Photography.  That was a pleasant surprise.  A year later, I shot another story for this magazine and received a thank you note again from the Director of Photography and additionally from the Editor.  These personal touches in an increasingly digital world always stand out and I am grateful to receive them.

I try but don’t always remember to thank everyone on the shoot for a job well done.  On large projects, I often create a shoot book of behind the scenes images that I give to the client, vendors and crew.  The book is a simple gift given to everyone to as thanks and to remember those few days together.

This fall has been a bit on the crazy side.  I was on the road for the better part of two months and fell behind in my reading.  I often catch up on business books and novels while flying to assignments.  My friend Julian Calverley suggested “Let my people go surfing~ the education of a reluctant businessman” by Patogonia founder and owner Yvon Chouinard.  It is an excellent book on his life and how Patagonia conducts their business.  I just started P.M. Forni’s “The Civility Solution” along with “Baseball – A Literary Anthology” edited by Nicholas Dawidoff.

For the past week I have been trying to set-up appointments with three different companies to install a solar hot water system for my house in Alexandria. One company responded with a low-level flack after my name was given to the President of the company by a neighbor who asked him to call me directly. This was two days after not responding to my emails requests. That took $15,000.00 off of his plate.

One other company called me and the guy left a rambling message about some guy who wants a system after my friend mentioned my name to him. He even bumbled my friends name who has given him substantial business. Again, 15K off of his plate.

The third guy has made an effort, but only after being prodded by a friend to respond to my emails and phone calls. He said he was so busy that he could not keep up with all the emails. However, he has followed through and may end up winning the job.

When I get a call or an email from a client or potential client, I jump on it. I respond. Even if I am not available, I still respond and try to help the client.

This morning I had a problem with a modification to my aerialstock.com site which is hosted by the good people at PhotoShelter. (I was profiled by Photoshelter a couple of years ago but pay for my service like everyone else.) The first person I spoke with was less-than-enthusiastic about helping me solve my problem. Which is quite unusual. My experience with PhotoShelter has been exceptional. I hung up the phone and looked through my emails for the name of the person at PhotoShelter who helped me make a change this spring. Rachel Reiss is a godsend to PhotoShelter. She made the changes to the colors and fonts I needed to keep my site and archive in sync with each other. It was done quickly and without any problems. Thank you Rachel.

The key is, in a slower economy it is really important to take care of your clients and potential clients. A colleague suggested pulling my PhotoShelter account after the initial phone call this morning. I won’t do that, I am loyal to them and they are good guys. One hiccup is not a big deal in a long-term business relationship. Plus they do a very good job at providing a much needed service. I like Grover and Alan: they are stand-up guys.

Customer service counts. Attitude on the phone counts. Attention to detail is critical. My clients expect nothing less from me and I expect the same from vendors. There is a certain large car rental company that recently merged with another company lower on the food chain. They outsourced their reservations to Southeast Asia. When I had to make a change to the reservation and was greeted by a person following a script of replies to every question, I gave up. I cancelled my reservations and now deal exclusively with Avis. Avis has always been good to me so Avis is getting all of my rental car business now.

Customer service counts. When it is great, it seals the deal and creates loyalty. When it is bad, I’m gone. My first impressions of the three solar company guys is very negative. I won’t deal with two of them at all nor would I suggest them to others even though they are close to my home.

http://www.joeyl.com/blog/post-163/The-Photo-Club-my-alter-ego-is-born

Boy meets Girl. Boy carries Canon. Girl shoots with Nikon. Pretty funny,

From Rob Haggart’s post about a photo-j project about Black Friday.

http://www.pictureblackfriday.org/main.html

http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2009/11/23/picture-black-friday/

http://clientsfromhell.tumblr.com/

Canon has pulled their longtime support of the Digital Journalist site.

This is a killer, must read site for professional photo-j shooters and videographers.

This is the perfect opportunity for Nikon to help out this site and the industry. I hope they do.

Dirck Halstead,Editor and Publisher of the Digital Journalist has set-up a paypal donation site.

http://digitaljournalist.org/pledge.html

I donated to the cause this morning and hope that my readers will consider doing the same.

Photographed these Jake turkeys early this early morning while driving the Blue Ridge Parkway in Southern Virginia.

(D3, Leica 400mm f/6.8 Telyt)