Brian, yes, 8 or 9 years ago you showed me how to shoot 15 sets a day and gave me a few clients, I was grateful and have always remained so. That got me through some tough times although it was short lived because I had bigger plans for the kind of work that I wanted to do. I've thanked you many times over the years for this so it's very interesting that you'd bring this up now.
Remember just a few years ago when you decided to be a writer for tv/movies and you stopped shooting and sold all of your photo equipment? You nearly lost everything and almost got put out on the street, remember that? Was I there to help you though that? Of course. You asked to rent some of my gear and use my assistants, which I gladly agreed to in an effort to help you get back on your feet. Interesting how you make our friendship sound like it was a one-way street. This is classic Brian thinking, you are always a victim.
Ever since I've known you…you've whined about how nobody respected you as a photographer and you thought that they should because you've paid your dues. I respected you greatly years ago because you had the same passion that I had for producing high-quality work. But at some point you lost the fire and decided to be a writer. When you figured out that you were going to starve as a writer, you quickly got back to shooting and made it clear that you have no interest in being a great shooter, making money was your only interest. You can't expect people to have great respect for you as a photographer if your only interest is making money and not making great photography. People can tell if you have a passion for shooting. They can tell when you put your heart & soul into your work and they can tell if producing great work is important to you. You can't brag about your many many years of experience, your abundance of photography knowledge & skills and then back that up by posting amateur pictures featuring skanks, and expect people to have an abundance of respect for you as a photographer.
No, I don't shoot every day like you do... but this is my choice. I've made a decision to work with a select number of clients that actually allow me to experiment, test new ideas and grow as a photographer. This is important to me. If I wanted to be like you and just shoot for the money, I could lower my quality, lower my fees and shoot more often. That's not what I want to do.
I know you'd just love to get into a pissing match with me but my days of pissing with haters here have been over for quite some time. I just find it much easier and much more professional to just add these kinds of people to my ignore list and go on about my life. You can continue to whine, complain and play the victim card if you wish….I'm done here.
