PeggySue,
Why anyone would want to be in the business I am is totally beyond me ! It's a tremendous amount of work for very little pay and virtually no positive feedback. It requires far more administrative/clerical skills than creative ones. Nobody respects the work. It's almost impossible to compete with the big guys.

So why do I do it? On my wall I have a slew of photographs of my first show dog, Annie Fay. At least I think she's in those photos. I can identify my handlers and the judges and there, somewhere toward the middle, is this black ink blot that I suppose is Annie.

I'm in this business because the people who have been doing it ad infinitum have been doing it badly for my breed. I felt it was time to actually be able to see Rottweilers in their win photos. I know I'm crazy but I think that's what owners want.

Now, let me point out that the great photographers in this business -- Kim Booth, John Ashbey -- take excellent photos and know how to light a black dog. Most of the others aren't really "photographers". They're people who have been taught how to set up a 2 1/4 film camera with flash at one exposure in every setting and click the shutter.

You know what my business is? It's database management. Keeping a database of folks who have received my proofs, those who have ordered, those who have paid, and, more importantly, those who have not.

And, it's sales. Sending out prospecting letters to clubs all over the country to try to oust existing show photographers and get them to hire me. Figuring out what incentive it will take. Sending out contracts for those shows I just shot to ensure I'll be back next year.

Oh, yeah, and sometimes it's about the dogs. Sitting on the floor taking shots of the Best Of Breed winning Cocker with a puppy sitting in your lap. Having a Rottie jump off the podium just to lick your face. Getting a big smoochy kiss from the Frenchie when you bend over to adjust a prop.

If it weren't for the dogs, I'd have chucked this business a long time ago. It doesn't pay back what you need to invest to be successful. In time. In money. In creative and emotional energy.

What part of this business do I like? I love actually photographing the dogs. Frankly, I love shooting candids, moving shots and beauty portraits far more than show formals. There I have more options for poses, angles, composition, etc. That's more of a challenge -- and therefore more rewarding -- than show formals.

My problem is that I'm very good with certain breeds and especially with Rottweilers. Together with my wife, Linda, I publish The Rottweiler Magazine. Nobody -- including Ashbey and Booth -- takes better formals of Rottweilers than I do. I wonder if I could make a living driving around the country just shooting Rottie Specialties?

Yes, I know Ronnie Bizer. Is she next year's show chair?

Anyway, I think brainstorming is a great way to expand our thinking beyond what we've always done. Or, as some workplace guru once said "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." It's a platitude but it's also true. I'm trying to take my thinking beyond TriX and hypo-clearing agent and into the new millenium. The only way that can happen is if you think beyond the way things have always been done and try to come up with a better way.

Any time you want to brainstorm, I'm available.

Jim