How Other
Artists Have Effectively
Created Change
It’s almost like I don’t have a choice about it. I mean
I have just got to have a camera and shoot. I don’t know
why, but I’ve just got to make photographs. I am wired that way.
—Mark Alberhasky
Validation is the final step in Transitional Analysis. It is the last stop, where we do more than take a look back on our journey. It is also the platform from which we judge how well we perceived our challenge, how well we accomplished our tasks—and we also review what we have learned not to do again. Validation is the proof that the struggle was worth all the hard work. In the Validation stage, we get to bring home the prize and share it with those who matter to us.
The following three people are extraordinary in many ways. That is to say, they have gone beyond their own obstacles and met the challenge of change squarely. They may not be big names in the pantheon of photographers (yet), but I am confident their stories will give you the encouragement to embrace your passion, to plan for a meaningful future, and to persevere by never losing sight of your goals. They are all people I have had a chance to meet and talk with, and who have reshaped their lives into something more fulfilling than what they had experienced before—something better suited to their aspirations. I believe their stories validate the principles that I have discussed in this book. I must note here that I am including outtakes of their interviews in the original dialogue form with the same or similar questions I initially asked of the other interviewees in this book. There are similarities among all these unique artists, and their remarks may strike a chord in you and provide a note of inspiration in you as they have in me.
I met Gail Mooney about five years ago at PhotoPlus Expo in New York after a lecture I presented. She felt there was a project she wanted to do, but that she wasn’t sure how to go about it. You could see she had a passion for the subject and she needed some direction and encouragement. But the subtle fire that was in her heart came through as she talked about learning new tools for image capturing and how she wanted to apply them to a special project. The project she focused her energy on was concerned with the blues musicians of the Mississippi Delta, who were getting on in years. Somebody needed to capture their stories of love, and labor, and loss, and grace before it was too late. We stayed in touch, and I watched as she used her personal energies and the resources from the Blue Earth Alliance (www.blueearth.org), an organization that provides grants to photographers who “educate the public about threatened cultures, endangered environments, and other social concerns.” Here is her interview:
Gail Mooney: Juke Joint, Merigold, MS
Gail Mooney: Sam Carr
You may remember that back in chapter 2, I mentioned a photographer who, despite the fact that he was making very good money as a car shooter, was feeling there was something lacking in his life because he was gone for such long times on location shoots that he had missed out on a significant portion of his son’s first year. The shooter I was referring to is my friend Todd Johnson, and although I have met many people who have expressed similar concerns, Todd’s resolution has been uniquely his own and very inspiring.
I met Todd back in 1992 when he volunteered to be a photography mentor to the group of Los Angeles inner-city kids in a nonprofit program I helped start. He volunteered to teach photography to at-risk young people, and he brought a kind of enthusiasm and hope to the program that caught my attention. I could tell he was not some flash-in-the-pan do-gooder with a guilty conscience. There was something about him that told me he was a man of commitment, and I am happy I have not lost track of him since those troubled days in Los Angeles after the riots. I remember when he called me a few years ago and we talked about his concerns about how his career was progressing. Todd, as you will see, is serious about business, but more serious about his way of life and being true to his values. Here is a portion of an interview I had with him:
Todd Johnson: Harley-Davidson ad
Todd Johnson: Little Church
So now you see what I meant when I said that Todd has always been serious, committed, and true to his values. By the way, for the last two years Todd was the recipient of the International Photography Awards/Lucie Awards with the first place for wedding photography. Like I said, when Todd makes his mind up, he’s committed.
The last interview I am including in this chapter is another great story of change and perseverance. I first met Mark Alberhasky at the PhotoPlus Expo in New York, probably two or three years ago. I had just finished giving a lecture and he and I talked about his proposed career change. At the time he had been a physician for about twenty years and he wanted to become a professional photographer. Like you, I said, “What?” But he had an excitement in his eyes that underscored his enthusiasm. This was not just some doctor with an expensive new camera. This was a man who had always wanted to become a photographer, and he was intent—no, insistent—on finding out what he needed to do to become a professional. As you will see, I didn’t have to prompt him with too many questions once he began this interview:
Mark Alberhasky: Dark Guardians
Mark Alberhasky: In the Key of Bird
Well, if you can’t get inspired by that, I don’t know what it will take. Gail brought us the gift of passion; Todd the gift of values; and Mark the gift of enthusiasm. And, by the way, the people behind the scenarios I described in chapter 2 (the one who wanted to “accelerate her career”; the one who wanted to move to a more stimulating environment; the one who wanted to leave his job of many years because it had changed; and the one of the lady who had an aching in her heart to be creative) have also taken great steps toward more meaningful careers. Something they all have in common is that when they eventually defined their goals they did not allow anything to get in their way and this chapter has just provided you with the validation that it can be done.
