Graduates out there…..CONGRATULATIONS. So many possibilities are ahead of you. Just like elementary school to middle school or high school to college, you go from the top of the food chain to the bottom. Welcome to the real world!…a.k.a. the jungle! Thought I would put together a few things I have held on to over the years, may they help you in your new chapter of your journey my friends!

Lyrics to the above video

David Calhoun, CEO of The Nielsen Co., spoke of five critical components of career success:

• 1. Keep learning throughout life Globalism means the world is changing so fast that no one can rest on what they already know.
• 2. Never compromise your integrity A decade of corporate scandal has laid bare temptations that can shred a career.
• 3. Listen to internal signals that you are becoming bored Boredom leads to stagnation or a know-it-all attitude that will destroy you. “Stay paranoid about the currency of your knowledge,” Calhoun advised.
• 4. Be willing to take on the tough jobs Only by continually challenging yourself can you stay motivated. “Difficult situations bring real purpose and resolve to our decision making,” Calhoun said. “Don’t avoid them; ask for them.”
• 5. Build a global perspective The world is shrinking at a fast pace. Employees who understand foreign cultures will have the most opportunity.

These aren’t new themes. But they merit attention now. Calhoun especially emphasized the first two points. He said:

“Learning is the single greatest source of competitive differentiation in the business world and the single most important ingredient to a successful career and fulfilling life. … Making that commitment to lifelong learning … requires enormous personal resolve, a big dose of self-awareness, and a comprehensive view of self. … Whether it be intellectual pursuits, spiritual, technical, athletic or moral, resolve to grow.”

Many of you may have seen this but in my humble opinion it is priceless.

STAY HUNGRY STAY FOOLISH

All of my Love and best wishes for all of you, graduating or not, at any stage of life.

Braun

Photographer’s are reliant on few things. We don’t need an office, break room, or even a water cooler. BUT you take away access to power from us and watch us squirm like a wall street firm on a bad day. If you’re shooting in a studio you have no worries at all. Plenty of plugs around right?! But if we go out shooting, scouting, digital back up etc…. we need a little help. WAHHH LA! Here are 3 great gear solutions for photographers that shoot on location for everything from portraits to advertising . We’ll start small and go big.

1. Mophie PowerStation. This little thing is as big as an iphone and will charge your phone, ipad, or whatever with a USB an impressive amount. While I was in NYC this week (for the first time ever) I had my phone open constantly looking at maps and taking photos. I also had an app that was tracking-recording my location through GPS, which SIGNIFICANTLY drains the batt.  So it was great having this thing to charge up my phone in my pocket.  It will also charge up a GoPro camera too. They also make iPhone cases but I’d rather have a device that can charge multiple devices.

2. The HyperJuice 100.  I took this bad boy to Africa with me since I wasn’t sure of the power availability and man was I glad I did. Shooting 30-60gb of photos a day and then backing them up at night on a laptop to 2 different drives required a bit of juice. This thing handled it like a champ! The 100 is about the biggest size you want to carry around with all your gear (including a laptop) on your back. It ain’t lite but it’s worth it.  I also use it to power the laptop while I’m tethering in the field. Def worth the investment! There are bigger models just in case you want to really torture your assistants…or if you are going back backing far far away for more than a day.

3. AlienBee’s Vagabon ii – Now as soon as I started writing this I looked up the Vagabond ii on the site and it’s being discontinued and replaced by a few other Vagabond models. I’m sure they are lighter and better.  But all I have is my experience with the Vagabond ii’s. These were my first battery packs for lights and I love them. I have 3 and they have powered strobes, christmas lights, fans, hair dryers, laptops etc etc etc. Great cheap solution for photographers for sure. HEAVY, absolutely, but not horribly. I’ve put them in a back pack and had an assistant follow me around with a light on a stand all over the city. Worked great. They also have clips to wrap around light stands, the weigh comes in handy on a windy day! Even when I’m shooting with Profoto’s, which has their own power system, I will bring one of these just in case there is power needed by something.

I’m going to blog about this little contraption from heaven very soon.

Here ya go. All three have saved my bacon more than once for sure and are all now a part of my travel gear.

HAVE FUN!

Braun

Sometimes I work with a big crew and sometimes I work alone. I enjoy both immensely.  Being a guitar player since I was 16 this was such a treat. My favorite…the Gold Top Les Paul. Never been a huge fan of something that flashy but it photographed so well I fell in love with it.

For this shoot I wanted something very minimal, dark, sexy. The kind of scene of a guitar laying on some rock star’s bed sheets. As you can see this is a super simple set up anybody can do with just a large softbox.

Gear used

• Canon 5d mk ii
• Canon 24-70 2.8L
• Canon 100 2.8L macro ii
• 1 Profoto d1 head
• Large Softbox
• Pocket Wizard triggers
• Adobe Lightroom 3
• Nik Color Efex Pro 2
• Nik Viveza 2

NOTE*  TURN OFF THE LIGHTS! You want it as dark as possible to reduce reflections and increase light fall off.

Go out and play.  Let it rock.

Braun

STRONG language.   REAL TALK from Katt Williams on life & haters.  If you are offended by “cuss” words then this video might be too much for your little ears.  BUTTTT If you don’t mind them, or can LOOK PAST THEM the wisdom in these videos are so valuable. Too valuable not to post them because of a few words. This world is tough and those that pretend it’s all skittles and sunshine are ignorant. Pay attention

Keep hustlin, pushin, and moving forward. Don’t let the haters get you down.

Braun