Personal Work

Always make time for personal work.
-Cliff Lester, Photographer & Teacher

Taxes are a sore subject.

I shall never use profanity, except in discussing house rent and taxes.
-Mark Twain

George Bernard Shaw

My way of joking is to tell the truth. It is the funniest joke in the world.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.

Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.

The minority is sometimes right; the majority always wrong.

He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

-George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize winner in 1925.

Reading

"Reading deverts the mind too much of creative persuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls in lazy habits of thinking."

Albert Einstein, Visionary.

Limitations

"The only limitations on life are the ones you put on yourself."
Dexter, the one armed kick boxer

And the Ants shall conquer the Elephants

I was talking to a friend the other day about tough times, and he said, "and the ants shall conquer the elephants..."
When the big picture or goal gets us down, remember that it takes all the little challenges to work together to tackle that huge problem. Don't let the "elephant" stop you. If you use your talents to help someone out, your skills and efforts help in a way that might be hard for someone else. Usually, your efforts get rewarded.
Lend a hand to your fellow ants, and conquer that elephant.

Disney. It all came from an idea... of a mouse.

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

If you can dream it, you can do it.

All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.

Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national resource - the minds of our children.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.

Laughter is America's most important export.

Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language."

-Walt Disney

I was at downtown Disney at ESPN Zone, eating a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and playing some basketball, and I saw another quote from Walt Disney.
"Inspire. Imagine. Dream."

Then I got thinking...
I see it the other way.
Dream. Innovate. Inspire.

Dream of the mouse. Innovate or create the mouse. Inspire others of the mouse.

Disney words applied to my work:
Dream of the photos. Innovate the photos in my own way. Inspire others of the photos.

I never really thought about dreaming, innovating, and inspiring before. I just wake up everyday and do my thing. Just be Joey.

Then I got thinking...
As simple as Disney's idea's were, they are an excellent foundation for any business and branding. It is the simple ideas & practices used for the foundation of companies that lead to greatness. Details are always being fine tuning, but company mission statements are important to relay to clients & associates. Mission statments also reflect in your personality. I would imagine Disney was Disney, all of the time.
Disney never considered himself a genius, but his idea's and philosophies are on the same level as Einstein. (No Joke. Except Disney's ideas never destroyed cities.)

Disney, Einstein, and myself are dyslexic. And I see similar patters that break molds that information and ideas dyslexic's bring to the table.

Dream. Innovate. Inspire.
I am definately in dream mode. I think about pictures and photos ALL of the time. Not just mine, but every image I see. I dream about my passion, photography. I am in reconstruction mode for building my wedding business. I constantly innovate new ways to refine my work, and quite honestly, I have a lot of fresh creative edge and ideas to offer to my clients. I don't know how or who I inspire, but as of now, I would hope to inspire people to get out of their element and travel (cities, restaurants, museums, parks, scenery & greenery) go places, and see things you would not see in your everyday life.

Joe Photo visited Cypress College to speak to the Career Photography Class

Joe Photo was asked to speak at Cypress College's Photo Career class. Joe knows I am one of those life long students that can never seem to graduate college, and he called me up to let me know he was giving a presentation at my school.

Joe unveiled a new logo, too.


This guy is one awesome photo veteran that has a lot of solid gold nuggets of information in the wedding photography business.
Joe's book reccomendation for the class:E-Myth Mastery
He also likes monopoly, but good luck beating him.

"Every wedding is always different. People, places, plans & details, weather, preferences... My photography is blending traditional & different styles, with weddings, fashion, landscape, architecture, fine art, & journalism.

Blessed are the flexible.

Sometimes you never know who is watching. Always look nice. Appearance is key.

Success in your business is from doing all the small things, daily. If you let the small things go, you will lose sight of the big things.

Does time drag on while you work?
Follow your passion. Do what you love. Time will fly by and you will have fun working.

Confidence, especially in your fee.

Listen to what the clients have to say."

Thanksgiving

The observance of Thanksgiving Day--as a function--has become general of late years. The Thankfulness is not so general. This is natural. Two-thirds of the nation have always had hard luck and a hard time during the year, and this has a calming effect upon their enthusiasm.

-Mark Twain

The thought of Thanksgiving has got me down this year. When I read this quote by Mark Twain, it cheered me up a bit. It has been a tough year, and I just want to eat and skip the thankful part.
And I am serious about eating pie first.

Nick's Last 6 months Slideshow

Life Anew

O ye people, be ye healed
life anew I bring unto ye
o ye people, be ye healed
life anew I bring unto ye
through the Father over all do I thus
life anew I bring unto ye.

-Good Eagle. Dakota Sioux holy man.

Don't sweat the small stuff...

Don't sweat the small stuff -- not even the big stuff. At the end of the day, none of it matters but your own joy, your own spiritual journey that you go on, God, your loved ones, your friends, your animals. These are the things you've got to cherish and love and embrace.

Christina Applegate. Actress. Breast cancer fighter.

MOVE!

The beauty of bicycle riding is that one day you will see a big mountain and climb it. You will never be the same.
Move your legs and you will move your mind...

Larry Witham, An American in Cannes, France

90 years for the fight of freedom.

Today is Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday. Last weekend I read the
Time Magazine Article. There were some things he said that really stuck with me.

Courage is not the absence of fear — it's inspiring others to move beyond it

Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport

Appearances matter — and remember to smile

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.[9]

Sometimes, in our generation and as Americans, we really forget the true meaning of freedom, and instead complain about the injust way politics and taxes are run in our country. Take some time to think about how some other countries ARE STILL STRUGGLING for basic civil liberties, such as freedom and the right to vote. We can really learn a lot from other countries and their leaders view of life, and to be grateful of the freedoms we have today. Nelson Mandela was in prison for over 25 years because he fought for civil liberties and for his people.

I don't hear George W. Bush saying he would die for his country and for freedom...

Letters from the International Superhero, Devin Carberry

I get a letter from my friend Devin once in a while about his travels. He sort of gets around the world. I have a very mild case of wanderlust compared to Devin, but my case of jealousy is pretty strong. And in my opinion, he is the modern version of Jack Kerouac. When I met Devin in New Orleans, he was practicing acrobatics. Now he is living the dream in Buenos Aires. I think I might have a portrait assignment to do in Argentina soon...
So for my support of travels, cool letters, and random blogging, here is a random letter from Devin in Argentina.


Que onda, querida gente?
It's been three weeks since I arrived in Buenos Aires. What follows are notes on Argentine living and the debacle that is my life.

Note 1: The first night here we went out to dinner at eleven (any earlier and there is no one in the joint) and I got a steak stuffed with bacon, ham, and carmelized onions. My vegan friend, Mary, got a salad that was lettuce and only lettuce. Serves her right. Then we went to a club across the street featuring fat draq queens dressed like bumblebees and breakdancers (these are a few of my favorite things). Everyone was ridiculously, ridiculously good looking. It's like the attractive elite of the world decided to relocate to B.A.--I'm kind of bitter that I didn't get the memo until now. The men are super aggressive, machista d-bags who like to grab at and unduly whisper into the ears of women (I think they whisper the yin yang twins "wait'll ya see my..."). As a result, I've been teaching Mary how to Judo chop and puke on command.

Note 2: Everyday there are protests. If you haven't read, Argentina's farmers are on strike. It's difficult to discern what the hell is really happening since people protest the government, then the government pays protesters to protest the protesters, and sometimes people barricade streets with burning tires and no one seems to know why. The media is allegedly critical of the government, but there is graffiti everywhere condemning the media for just the opposite. Either way, domestic and international protests always make front page news, which is refreshing coming from the U.S. where international protests of millions of people receive two paragraph coverage on page B28. What is for certain is that prices here suck because inflation is out of control and everyone seems worried that another crash may be nigh.

Note 3: Circus school is for winners. I've been training in circus two to four hours a day. The vocabulary is beyond me sometimes, so I watch and copy...it gets tricky, though, when I'm basing in partner acrobatics and there is no one big enough to demonstrate. one woman, dominique, has taken a liking to me and escorts me around the school asking if anyone wants to take my hand in marriage. then i do handstands or juggle to avoid the awkwardness that ensues. monday i start trapeze class.

Note 4: MC Hammer pants are cool for women. Mullets are cool for men. Everything is drab--grey, black, and blue. Canadian tuxedos are popular. Hip Hop is still street. And Argentines can't dance...an anomoly in Latin America.

Note 5: Ten minutes after Mary turned 25, her dress lit on fire whilst standing next to the fireplace. We tackled her to the ground and put out the fire, but not before she recieved second and third degree burns on her ass. Yours truly has had the unique pleasure of dressing said ass with gauze and aloe vera every day.

Note 6: We went to a Naked Tango show and only saw one boob.

Note 7: I have the vocabulary of a sixth grader, so my humor has become even more slapstick and outlandish than normal. Yesterday in Spanish class, I told a story about unicorns, rainbows, slaves, Batman, monkey butlers, and Marilyn Monroe.

Note 8: I live in an apartment with a Goth named Graham who is studying Norwiegan, French, Portuguese, Spanish, violin, and figure drawing. Nate who secretly has terrets syndrom and his dog, Manu, who i walk everyday. A Brazilian/American couple that sleeps till 4pm and is up to something. Through the kitchen is an old school printing press and studio space for three crazy fifty-something Argentine painters. Our living room is their gallery space.

Note 10: AMER-I-CA, FUCK YAH! For the fourth, my roommate threw a party for her English students and brought four beer bongs as indispensible icons of American partying. Never would I have though it cool or funny to watch people beer bong, but wathcing Argentineans discover the beer bong made me a little weepy. We sang Karaoke and danced till 8am.

Note 9: If you want to contact me: I live at Avenida Juan De Garay 223, Dtpo. 1, Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina CP 1154. My phone number is 011-15-6683-6646. I'm not sure if you have to dial a country code in addition to that number.

Note 10: In August, I will be travelling around Brazil. If you know anyone I can stay with or should hang with or any places to go, let me know.

Love, Devin

Big Kid Quotes

"The soul is healed by being with children."
-Dostoevsky

"Outings are so much more fun when we can savor them through children's eyes."
-Lawana Blackwell

Quote from a "World Traveler"

"I tell you, there is no place like home. I have traveled around the whole world and there is really no reason to leave Southern California."
-Phil Liberatore

If Southern California is the greatest place in the whole world, why travel the to all the the corners of the Earth? I am writing this post before I leave, so I will have time to really answer this question when I get back.

Happy Tax Day

In this world, the only things certain in life are
Death and Taxes.

Ben Franklin

Silver and Gold

If you find someone,
someone to have and someone to hold
Don't trade them up for silver
Don't trade them for the gold.

Tom Waits. Musician, Weirdo

Mission

"... Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence."

-Morning Dove. Salish Indian Tribe

Time

"If you spend 80% of your time working towards what makes you happy, chances are you will make a living at doing something you enjoy."

Adam Christing. Comedian. Entrepreneur.