Significant Site Changes
If you’ve dropped by this website recently, you may notice there are some changes taking place. The entire outline of what this site does and represents has been turned on it’s ear. The direction and purpose has changed.
For a number of years I have been struggling to find a direction for the life in photography I live. That life is a collection of travel, photography, family, work and so forth.
Some years back a friend to me, national photographer and author Gene Ho treated me to lunch. During a conversation about how I should pursue further my photography he suggested that it remain something I do because I can, not because I have to.
Familiar with the fact that I am in the flower business, he stated that were he in my position, he would stick to the flower business as a means by which to “pay the rent” and do photography for nothing more than the love of photography.
I have tried to heed that advice as best I can.
Another friend of many years, a film maker, drone pilot, and musician, Justin Baker, during a conversation we had some 4 years back suggested that he thought it would be awesome to build a Youtube channel to produce videos that would serve a dual purpose. Build a photography following where I can show people how to do various photography related tasks while at the same time provide some life advice.
A Dying Business
To further confound matters, my Uncle, Gary Sage is someone I seek the counsel of semi regularly. He and his wife, my Aunt Pam run an outrageously successful company headquartered in Grand Rapids MI. He gave me some “sage” advice recently on this as well.
Over past few years there have been a number of significant ups and downs in the flower business. Both with my family up north in Michigan and their operations; a dying legacy my grandfather started in 1941, and with my own operations here in Florida.
As I discussed all the flower shop matters with him “should I do this?” “should I do that?” his words were “Rob, you are called to much greater and much higher than the flower business”. He sees me as the character Sean Penn plays in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. An adventure photographer capable of getting shots that most cannot.
My heart has wanted to, for years, continue the legacy that my grandfather started; making us currently a 4 generation family of florists. Unfortunately my family has done a miserable job of organizing any kind of transition or a “passing of the torch”. There will be none. With my children all moving on in their own lives, the Anthony family of florists is likely destined to die off in the near future.
The Idol of Significance
My life has been wrought with various challenges and obstacles. Surely I could share with the world how I have dealt with them. And in so doing, maybe it would help someone.
I feel while the above counsel in the above instances are spot on, the attempt to deploy these has been a miserable failure.
In the sermon yesterday at Discovery Church Orlando, our lead pastor, Don Cousins gave a compelling message about the various idols in our lives.
One thing I took away from it was I really struggle with a desire to be “significant”. I want to be acknowledged. I want to be noteworthy.
I enjoy, very much (probably far too much if I heard the message correctly) the accolades I receive whenever I’ve been given the opportunity to speak in front of large groups. I seem to have a gift in this regard. Whenever I speak it would seem that people are entertained and even dare I say encouraged.
I like giving that to humanity. I also like the “Words of Affirmation” to use a “Love Language” term.
In spite of doing all the things one is “supposed” to do, the Youtube channel has been a life sucking failure.
I have a difficult time understanding how to market what I am doing here and how to best present it all.
So Why the Changes?
I want a place that my photography and adventures through life can be documented. In a digital world, we have a lot of resources to share our work. Far more so than in printed form related to photographic accomplishments.
I don’t participate in Instagram or Facebook. I utterly hate what the parent company stands for and believe it’s a cancer in our society. Regardless of the justification for it’s use, I simply cannot get myself convinced that I should participate.
I am then left with very few places to share the work I produce when I have the time to do so.
I also am trying to build a professional drone services business. Initially, I was going to build it into the content of this site. However, this created more of a mess and more confusion for me. So a few weeks back I totally stripped this site of drone content and moved it over to a site exclusive to that alone. It’s called Rob The Drone Guy.
This frees me up to let this site develop and grow as simply a personal site. One in which I share my various adventures, photography and a few thoughts here and there.
F.O.C.U.S.
In talking this over with a few people, including Joelle, my wife, she excitedly brought to me this FOCUS concept one morning. It rang with a brilliance and accuracy toward what I’d like to be able to do through this site and it’s content better than anything I had been able to concoct over the years.
Faith
Obedience
Courageousness
Unrelenting
Selflessness
All of these are appropriate topics on which I can speak. The adventures I have been on have put each of these applications in my own life into action.
Many of the photographs I have achieved and the places to which I have been in the past years have required significant levels of testing toward each of these words.
Shots Like This Continue to drive home for me the majestic power of God Almighty. They help me remain FOCUSed.
The various life difficulties and struggles I have walked through have also required them to be applied in massive ways.
How appropriate then the word Focus be employed to not only give us a template from which I can now speak and teach but link it directly to one of the key elements of outstanding photography. The accuracy and application of Focus.
Thank You for Reading
As time progresses there will still be significant levels of photography related content here. That will be most of it in fact. However, this new directional push will give me the right platform from which to interweave my thoughts and perhaps a lesson I may have learned. I then can share said lesson with you.
I am glad you are part of this journey with me. I hope you enjoy the future content. I hope that you are inspired through the photography you see and the stories you read to embrace a life that challenges you and causes you to become better. In fact, become the best you are capable of.
That’s the idea.
Thanks for being here.
Until next time,
rob out
