Member of the Month
Trash the Dress and Live Your Life:
Introducing Julia Bailey

By Susi Lawson

"I used to think my intense empathy was a curse, but in photography, it has become my gift." --Julia Bailey

"I always had this desire to create and express myself," says Julia Bailey. "It was actually painful to watch a play or see a performance as I always felt compelled to run up on stage and belt out a song, dance, act--anything!" Although young Julia was sure she wanted to do something creative, she was not sure where her place was in the world, and with no encouragement or guidance she often felt lost. In her teen years, Julia rebelled, experimenting with drugs and shaving her head punk rock style; it seemed as if her life was directionless. But Julia had an epiphany during a boring family reunion in Texas that provided the much-needed direction for her; she picked up her mother's 35mm camera and started shooting away. Julia's mother had never before offered any words of encouragement, but even she could not contain her excitement when she picked up the prints and exclaimed, "My God Julia, this is what you need to be! You need to be a photographer!" Julia says she always knew she had it--an appreciation for the beauty of the world around her--and that her soul yearned to express and share it with others.
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Studio of the Month

The New Storyteller:
Catherine Hall's Image Narration Blends Sound and Imagery

By Margaret Lane

"Digital technology is changing the way we preserve our memories. Today's photographers can tell stories and illustrate events in more depth than ever before," explains photographer Catherine Hall. Hall--a pioneering artist who is developing what she calls "Image Narration"--is owner and founder of an eponymous studio. Catherine Hall Studios specializes in both editorial and wedding photography. Her wedding coverage allows her to serve the upper echelons of bicoastal society, predominantly the New York metropolitan area and San Francisco Bay Area residents.

"At the moment, I position Image Narration as a special added product that complements my in-place photography and album offering," says Hall. With her new way of storytelling, Hall has quickly grown a following among a white glove clientele, even though she's been selective in how and to whom she markets. "Image Narration is a newer concept that brings to life the sight, sounds and emotions of a special time." She adds, "The market is heading in this convergence/multimedia direction and I think it's just a matter of time before many more photographers will embrace the additional tools and make them their own. Technology is giving us so many more options."
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In Studio & On Screen
Two Myths of Metering: A Film User's Guide

By Ctein

Myth #1: Photographers Can Measure Film Speeds Accurately

The ways in which photographers obsess about their exposures are frequently unhealthy, often unproductive, and occasionally downright incorrect. Precise exposure is your goal: Work toward being able to keep that slop to a minimum so that your results are predictable.

Precision, though, is not the same as absolute accuracy. Whenever I hear photographers comparing their exposures on the 1/3-stop level, I wonder if they're assuming (incorrectly) that everything operates so accurately that they can talk meaningfully about such small exposure differences. Have you ever thought about how many places errors can creep into your exposures?
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Business Landscape
Are Your Children Ready to Run the Family Business?

By Phillip M. Perry

When you retire will your business prosper under your children's management? Maybe not. According to the Boston-based Family Firm Institute, only one of three family businesses survives transition to the second generation. Business owners commonly make a number of fatal mistakes when attempting to pass the entrepreneurial torch. Just what are they? From 12 leading family business consultants, here are the most common errors to avoid:
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Member News
Important News for WPPI Members

• WPPI 2009: Save the Dates!
  February 12th and 13th: Plus Classes
  February 14th: Business Institute and All About Schools program
  February 14th and 15th: 16 x 20 Print and Album Competition judging
  February 15th: Opening Platform programs and a surprise Welcome Party!
  February 16th-18th: Our biggest Trade Show! Platform and MasterClasses!
  February 19th: Closing Program
  
  
• This July, Michelle Celentano will travel to Uganda with Hope 4 Kids International (H4KI), an organization devoted to bringing hope and care to children through health, dignity, joy and love. By bringing medical supplies to hospitals, care packages to orphanages and aid to rural communities, they will help the nation with construction and renovation projects.
  
  
• Images you have printed for your clients can get damaged through UV fading, household mishaps and natural disasters such as fire, floods and earthquakes. Clients may also need reprints or resizing years after the event because of moving, redecorating, divorce, grown-up children wanting their own copies, and newer products or technologies in which they would like to use a pristine copy of the original image. Cofounder of Your Images Forever Connie Zimmerlich shares her service solution. "Your Images Forever was born from my own personal experience. Married 28 years, our wedding photographs have faded and we would love to replace them. Unable to reach our photographer, I thought it would have been a great service if the photographer had kept in touch with us through the years."
  
  
• The Santa Fe Photographic Workshops is honored to offer an exciting promotion to all WPPI members. The Workshops would like to offer 15 percent off any Digital Lab workshop that takes place between May 1 and September 1, 2008. Call the workshops at (505) 983-1400 to register. Please state you are a WPPI member and your discount will be applied.
  
  
• May is the first ever Landscape & Wildlife issue of Rangefinder! In addition to the remarkable images, see how the photographers featured within all share an extraordinary passion for their craft, sacrificing fame, financial success and even well being to capture the images they love. See www.rangefindermag.com for more.
  
  
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WPPI Wrap-up
WPPI 2008's Chicken Soup for the Photographer's Soul

By CharMaine Beleele

It was midway through the WPPI Convention 2008 and I was in the seminar zone. Clutching my notebook in one hand, and balancing my laptop and camera in the other, I rushed breathlessly toward the next presentation. Suddenly, I heard a voice boom, "Hey, hey, that's the chicken soul girl! Hey, Miz chicken soul, yeah! I'll quote to you later!" Later, the comment made me think. Undoubtedly the passerby photographer was referring to my annual "Chicken Soup for the Photographer's Soul" article. This was the eighth year of my traditional wrap-up story of the WPPI Convention's photographic flavors and trends. Actually, eight years ago, I really was a "chicken" soul, very afraid of my new photographic profession. I lost the fear when I attended WPPI for the first time. I found the wonders of professional photographic prints, practical lessons and amazing inspiration from mentors and friends. Perhaps this article will cause you to realize the amazing benefits of the teaching, networking and inspiration that are part of WPPI conventions and that result in a shared experience I named "Chicken Soup for the Photographer's Soul." The quote that sums up WPPI 2008 comes from Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen: "Good teachers help students believe in themselves with a glimpse of what they might become. They go the extra mile to make learning fun and meaningful, and they inspire students to dream and broaden their horizons. Teachers have the power to change lives."
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