Embracing Failure or Creative Blocks and Moving Forward

Hi all!

The title of this weeks blog may seem a little depressing or pessimistic, but it is quite the opposite! Every professional and especially creatives go through a slump or a creative funk, and I'm no different. Hitting one of these slumps can often give you a feeling of failure if things aren't always going the way you want. This can also lead you to question your own confidence.

Now, I'll preface by stating that I don't feel I've "failed" in any particular way, and I'm certainly not aware of any dissatisfied clients, but I have felt that in the last week or 2 I may have hit a lull creatively. Of course I'm always looking to improve upon myself personally, professionally, monetarily, and creatively so I decided to research and read a ton of articles about "creative ruts" as well as "creative blocks" and ways to snap out of them.

I found a great article here: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/07/12/7-ways-to-get-out-of-a-creative-rut/ from psych central.com and gave it a quick read. #6 Celebrate your failures there is a great quote that you can read from author Ray Bradbury who also coincidentally has another great quote I've heard many times, "Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down." 1. Create space and 3. Change something small also were helpful in motivating me to take a small step back and make a few minor changes.

Needless to say I decided to step away from the computer & cell phone for a while yesterday. I went to chop firewood for our weekend bonfires and boy did it help clear my head! During this time of contemplation I already came up with a couple new ideas and different ways of shooting that I'm excited to implement on several photographic shoots that are scheduled over the course of the next few weeks. There were many ideas that popped into my head that will hopefully allow me to pursue my ultimate goal of creating unique photography that differs from anyone else's. I'm excited to share some of these plans and also share the final photos with you in the near future.

Until next time, stay positive and always embrace failures...they can lead to growth!

As always comments, questions, suggestions, and critiques are welcome!

New Realty Images Updated on the Website

Hi everyone,

The blog this week will be short and sweet. For those that have asked about, texted, commented, or have read last weeks blog...YES, I am thoroughly enjoying the new truck and am still shocked by the whole scheme that went down last week!

I spent this week doing some digital photo editing jobs and updating the website a little. I've added a few new images from some more recent real estate jobs and removed a few older ones in the Architecture/Real Estate section of the site. Real Estate work has been pretty good this year overall and is also something I enjoy very much so I wanted to share some new photos for my website viewers and especially for the real estate agents that may be reading. If you or someone you know is a local real estate agent(s) and they'd like to know more about how professional photography can increase their clients' interest and ultimately their sales, please have them contact me to discuss more. 

As always comments, questions, suggestions, and critiques are always welcome! 

Crazy Week Topped Off By A Crazy Surprise

Happy weekend everyone,

This week is a little different than most blogs. Along with a realty job, some editing, and a few others this week, I had a bombshell surprise dropped on me that I was totally unaware of. Rarely do I share many personal stories on the blog (I try to keep it MOSTLY professional) but this one was a total shocker to me!

For about a month my awesome girlfriend, Noele, had been planning a surprise purchase for me and I was hit with it on Thursday. My "family vehicle" Honda Pilot had been racking up some high mileage over the years and I've been looking into a few used pickups good to haul camera equipment to jobs, take the quads places, pack vacation gear, or just supplies for around the house. After some bogus story about wrecking her car and needing picked up at the dealer, I was presented with this GMC Sierra and was completely floored when I arrived! Reluctantly, I accepted, but only after a series of my typical headstrong squabbles making her prove and reassure me of our financial stability first. 

The truck had 25 miles on it and is the 1st vehicle I've ever had that was brand new. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge GM fan having previously owned a Corvette, Camaro, and multiple trucks in the past. This truck is absolutely suited for me and (yes, some reading this may think its a bit strange) everything about it matches my personality and disposition. I can now cruise to a wedding, meeting, or photo shoot in style, or else traverse rugged terrains to a great fishing hole, remote photo destination, or quad trail.  

Of course, upon leaving the dealer the camera was out and clicking cycles away feverishly. For the photography friends that may be reading this, I tried my hand at a little High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography with it to better highlight the details. One of the images I also converted to a metallic looking black & white. I loved how they turned out and wanted to share. I'm a lucky man! 

As always comments, questions, suggestions, and critiques are welcome. Have a great week! 

          

Turning Back to Spring this Week

Happy Friday all,

Fall is here and the Western PA area is starting to feel like it a little bit. It hasn't been too bad thus far, but you can definitely feel a slight chill in the air and the leaves are beginning their transition. With that, I decided to focus this weeks blog on a few shots I snapped during the late spring and early summer to get our minds off of the upcoming cold weather.

This first image is a late afternoon shot of a farm landscape near Bedford, PA. My son and I were returning from our annual Red Sox baseball trip from a game in Baltimore on Memorial Day and we stopped off quickly to snap a few photos (he was also captivated by the windmills in the distance so he made me stop there too.) I loved the way that the late day sunlight played off of the silos and surrounding fields in both the foreground and background. The shapes created within the farm buildings and telephone wires, along with the rolling curvature of the distant hillsides all brought a nice touch of visual elements to the photo also. Anyone that knows me should also know that I have an affinity for our disappearing farmlands as well.

The next set of photos I took randomly during the spring and summer. I've always enjoyed Alfred Stieglitzs' Equivalents series from the 1920's and 30's, (if you are unaware of his work, check it out!) and figured I'd take a crack at my own "cloudscapes." The main reason I was attracted to these scenes was not because of the form within the clouds, but more of the deep rich colors and tones of the sky. 

As always comments, questions, suggestions, and critiques are welcome! Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!    

    

A Few Things I've Been Up To

Happy Saturday everyone,

This will be a rather short blog this week, but I'll give readers an idea of a few things I've been up to recently.

It's been a little hectic the past 2 weeks. Last week, and into the beginning of this week, I finalized images for the Heather Habura Studios event for them that I shot a few weeks ago. On Friday of last week I had the pleasure of photographing a Westinghouse and United Way event in Wilkinsburg in which employees helped to beautify a local high school, and also gave a wonderful career panel discussion to students. I also worked feverishly to best present my 10-minute Keynote Presentation to my BNI Circle of Gold chapter this past Wednesday at Rivertowne Pourhouse in Monroeville. Members and guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, so I'm guessing it hit its mark. 

Another large chunk of time was dedicated to a special LinkedIn discount that my partner, Eric Pensenstadler of Video Horizons LLC and I are offering to real estate professionals. Eric has just completed his certification training to fly his drone commercially. This can help to give realtors a unique view of their properties for aerial photo or video tours they can offer to potential clientele. We are also offering a 15% photo/video package discount for local realtors willing to try us out for their properties! Realtors that I am connected to via Linkedin can expect a message from me in the next few days. Check my LinkedIn page to learn more. Also, I will be helping Eric out with video in a few short hours for a wedding. This will be my first "video only" wedding gig and I'm looking forward to it. Have a great weekend, all! 

As always comments, questions, suggestions, and critiques are welcome on the Drakulic Photography blogs!     

Toiling Around the House This Week

Happy Friday everyone,

The title for this blog kind of sums up this week for me. If you look at the definition of "Toil," it can mean 1 of 2 things, "1. working extremely hard..." or "2. moving slowly or with difficulty." Admittedly, BOTH have been the summary of my week. 

One of the beautiful things about owning your own business (also one of the downfalls) and being a photographer, is that you spend many, many, hours working from home doing editing and other business duties such as replying to emails, archiving photos, research, paying bills, blog posts, etc. I look at it mostly positively though because I get to spend a lot of time taking care of my son and handling other personal things. However, it IS easy to "take a break" and get sidetracked by the other stuff.

With 3 separate jobs on the table to finish, I've spent a good portion of the week craned against the computer screen editing the jobs that I need to get finalized for my clients. I've also found myself dilly dallying (definition 2) a little too much. No worries though, I'll still have my jobs completed ahead of schedule and as creative as possible! With that being said, I have still managed to shoot a little iPhone photography around the house that I have shared below. The images were taken as I "toiled" around the house but I'll leave it up to you to decide which definition they fall under, ha ha!

As always, comments, questions, and critiques are always welcome!  

This Weeks in My Photography Business

Hi everyone,

Anyone reading this that knows me, even a little, knows that I'm sort of obsessed with photography. It's what I absolutely love to do for a profession, and it doesn't really matter what kind of photography it is, I'm ALWAYS trying to learn more to better myself. Whether its portraiture, wedding, product, food, fashion, documentary, abstract, or landscape photography I want to try and dabble in all of it. This week I also had a chance to try something new...a television commercial. 

In the past week, I had the pleasure of photographing the 2nd Annual Showcase Pageant and Charity Event for Heather Habura Studio, and shooting still portraits and sunrooms for a television commercial for Pro Home & Sunroom! Although both events were a huge amount of work, they were both a blast to shoot! I want to thank Rick Edwards of Pro Home & Sunroom and Heather Habura both for the business and the honor of allowing me to be a part of your important projects.

Both events also allowed me the privilege of working closely with my good friend Eric Pensenstadler of Video Horizons LLC and seeing the magic he creates through his videography and see how a commercial/web videos are created. Parts of the commercial and customer testimonial interviews took us much longer than anticipated but it will all be worth it in the end. Eric's such a perfectionist...I admire that.

Attached to this weeks blog are a few images I shot from the Pro Home & Sunroom commercial and the 2nd Annual Showcase and Charity Event. Have a great week everyone. As always, comments, questions, and/or suggestions are always welcome!