Scene From a Backyard Party — Part 1
A backyard BBQ, somewhere in Kamloops, on a warm weekend evening…
Long-Time Acquaintance (LTA): Hey! Long time no see… So, what have you been up to these days?
Me: I‘ve been busy, building up my business…
LTA: Oh yeah? What do you do?
Me: So… you know how it is hard sometimes for people to find the words to say how they feel about the people and things they care about?
LTA:… Um. Yeah, okay?
Me: I give people the ability to express themselves through photography.
LTA: Wow! That sounds cool. How…?
Me: OK … suppose you want your family to know you love them. We can say it, of course, but we never do, or at least never as often as we should. What better way to show it than by putting a 40x30 inch portrait of your family on your wall? That act is meaningful, and will tell your family and everyone else who sees it how you feel in ways that go way deeper than words. And they will see it every day…
LTA: That’s very cool. I hadn’t thought about pictures that way…
Me: Well, you know the old saying about images being worth a thousand words… It’s an old saying for a reason.
LTA: So true. My dad took a lot of pics of our family, and my mom put them in albums. Now my wife grabs family selfies on her iPhone and puts them on Facebook. Then I really never see them again. I still like looking through my parent’s family albums though.
Me: That’s pretty common, I think. People don’t think about photography the same way anymore. We all have cameras in our pockets with 10,000 selfies on them. But we stopped putting images in albums and on our walls, and those digital pics just fade away…
LTA: So you don’t give people digital files?
Me: Nope. People really don’t know what to do with them. They post them on Facebook, for sure, but that’s about it. At most, they might get a couple of 8x10s printed from Wal-Mart, but the odds those pics get seen again are pretty slim. I prefer to work with people to create tangible art with real impact. The kind of stuff that gets passed down to your kids…
LTA: That sounds expensive.
Me: Well, it’s an investment, for sure. It’s not for everyone. But for those who see the value, it’s kinda priceless, really…
LTA: So, are you any good at taking pictures?
Me: Yeah, I think so…! Why don’t we find some time to talk more? I can show you my portfolio and the kinds of artwork I create… You can see what you think.
LTA: Alright, that sounds cool. Should I bring my wife?
Me: 100 per cent! Let’s pick a time next week we can all meet in person…
(To be continued …)