What Sam Walton can teach us about vertical marketing in today’s economy. These ideas apply to the small business owner, the middle manager and those who are looking to upgrade their employment situation.

Sam Walton, the founder of WalMart and Sam’s Club, looked at his business in a very unique manner. His driving mantra was “Go where they ain’t” and it seems to have worked fairly well for him. I would like to share three ideas based on some of my favorite Sam Walton quotes that have helped me keep my revenue stream from drying up and add new clients to my customer base.

1 – “Capital isn’t scarce, vision is.” Sam understood what it takes to keep a business going and as a small business owner we have to do everything, including clean the toilets, to keep the operation solvent. Sometimes I get so bogged down by the day to day minutia that I forget to look at my compass and review my charts. In effect I lose my vision of where I had planned to go. My favorite remedy for this is to get up before sunrise and drive to the back roads until I am away from the noise of the city and all the confusion. As I focus on the morning light and my surroundings I begin to feel more connected and ideas come flowing to me about my business. Many times during this process, I receive ‘revelation’ as it were, on pressing issues that have not been resolved in my life. This is a cleansing process for me and I end up attacking these tribulations with renewed vigor. When we are able to “see” where we are supposed to go, getting there becomes more of an adventure and less a chore.

2 – “Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there’s a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction.” Many years ago when I sold computer hardware and software for a living, my boss told me I had to open up several new vertical markets. I had never heard that term before, and rather than saying “wuh?” I just nodded and told her I would. The minute I was alone with a dictionary I looked up the term and realized there were millions of people looking for solutions to their unique business problems. They didn’t know where to go or who to ask for help. Conventional wisdom says go with the herd, Sam says “go where they ain’t” and small vertical niches can pay off big. Everyone in business today, especially the small business owner has distinctive talents and expertise they can tap into. Once you can “see” clearly, these personal vertical markets will open up to you.

3 – “When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you.” I have the opportunity to photograph children on a regular basis and each time I do I come away from the shoot very happy and invigorated. I attribute this to the fact that in order to get the “perfect shot” I have to get down on their level and act like a kid. When I make funny noises or goofy faces it somehow frees me from my uptightness. You know what I mean, all you button-down business types. Loosen up, get in touch with your inner child and let him or her take over for a while. The real benefit is that in doing so, your vision will open up and new ideas will come pouring in. If you haven’t noticed yet, vision seems to be the key ingredient here and in order to have the optimum vision we need to be happy and at peace with ourselves and our environment.  Having fun will change your perspective; go to Disneyland with your kids and take a notebook along. You will come back with more ideas than you will be able to execute.

Your next great idea, the one that lands you that big contract or job interview is out there. I can see it, can you? Want more help? Follow these links to some truly professional organizations that will help you find your vision and help you land your next BIG deal.

Several days ago I had the opportunity to visit our capitol city, Salem Oregon. I arrived there very early in the morning on a Saturday and decided to drive out to the capitol grounds and shoot the buildings there. This image is what I came away with after being on the grounds for several hours. To me it represents the confusion we are feeling over the lack of leadership in our government and the economy. The positioning of the water fountain and the capitol building just seem to call out to me.  When I got back to my studio I decided to add a little more emotion to the image and began adding several blended layers to the image until I ended up with the perfect illustration for the emotion I was feeling. I think it is very metaphorical too, that while I was there the water fountain was not in operation. So many things need to changed, I think I need to work on putting my life in order and restore the things I have control over.

My desire has always been to create captivating visuals and as hard as I tried it seemed that brush and paint were never going to be part of my creative process. I greatly admire those who can use these tools to create and envy their ability to evoke emotions. My love of art seems to have come full circle with the advent of new technology. I can now use software tools to “paint” with color, light and texture. The images you see in this gallery represent my 33 year quest to bring out my “artist” in a unique and distinctive manner. Each illustration began as a photographic image I captured. I then use other digital elements I have kept over the years and combined these elements in a layering effect. This blending of layers and use of selective digital painting techniques result in the images found in this gallery. I hope you enjoy this weeks image.

Yaquina Head Light House is my newest photo of the week. The day of the shoot it was a very cold 41 degrees. The real problem that day was the wind. Twice I was nearly blown over by gusts. Try shooting on a tripod in a gale, heck, try keeping your lens dry. I do think I succeeded however. It was low tide so I just jumped down to the beach and walked a short distance out to get the lines I wanted.

The lighthouse was built from 1871 to 1873 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and automated in 1966. It is currently an active aid to navigation. The lighthouse still uses its original 1868 French-made Fixed Fresnel lens. In 1993, the lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places

The lighthouse was used as the setting for the “Moesko Island Lighthouse” in the 2002 film The Ring. It had already appeared in an earlier film, Hysterical (1983), and The Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977 television series episode “The Mystery of Pirate’s Cove”.

Nestled in the scenic west hills of Portland, the Japanese Garden is a haven of tranquil beauty and has been proclaimed by his Excellency Nobuo Matsunaga, former Ambassador of Japan, to be “the most beautiful and authentic Japanese garden in the world outside of Japan.” The Garden is above Washington Park at 611 SW Kingston Drive in SW Portland, Oregon.

The garden encompasses five and one-half acres with five separate garden styles.  The Garden includes an authentic Japanese Tea House, meandering streams, intimate walkways, and an unsurpassed view of downtown Portland with Mount Hood in the distance. For more information visit their site:

www.japanesegarden.com

The Bridge of the Gods

Indian legend tells us that the Great Spirit built a bridge of stone that was a gift of great magnitude. Science tells us that about 1,000 years ago a mountain on the Washington side of the Columbia River, near what is now the town of Cascade Locks, crumbled into the river creating blocking the flow of the river. This natural dam was high enough to cause a great inland sea covering the prairies as far away as Idaho. For many years, natural erosion slowly weakened the dam and finally washed it out. The waters of this inland sea rushed out, tearing away more of the earth and rock until a great tunnel was formed under the mountain range, leaving a natural bridge over the water. The bridge was called “The Great Cross Over” and is now named “The Bridge of the Gods

Today, the Bridge of the Gods was created in a much less glamorous fashion than the original. It is however, an incredible sight to behold. Constructed in 1926, the Bridge of the Gods is the third oldest bridge on the Columbia River.

This week’s photo is of Mount Hood, and yes I have already written an article about my mountain but like the article points out, this is my mountain after all, and part of my responsibility is to market this magnificent rock. This particular photograph represents my number one selling item. I sell more of this photo in all its various sizes and configurations than any other in my archive. The really great news is that this week I spoke with the photography buyer of a regional chain here in Portland who is interested in selling my work. Needless to say, I am a bit over the top with the idea my work could be sold through an association with this outfit. I will keep you posted as to the outcome of this new venture.

Meanwhile, this shot was taken during a spectacular sunrise in Sandy Oregon, just a minute or two before the sun actually came up over the horizon. This is the perfect time for the best illumination because most of the light reflects back off the clouds. One of my customers asked how I “got” the orange light to show up on the side of the mountain. I looked at him, thinking to myself, “I can’t get the light to do that,” but instead I just said, “right spot at the right time, I guess.” And indeed it was, this light only lasted about six minutes then it was gone. I love being the only person around at this time of day; it just takes me closer to it all.

What’s your favorite mountain? And no, you can’t have mine.

This place has inspired people for hundreds of years and no where on earth can you find  a deep, pure lake, so blue in color it defies imagination. The sheer cliffs, almost two thousand feet high, surround the lake and at its center are two picturesque islands. It is a place of immeasurable beauty.

As Lois and I drove around the lake we noticed the tree pictured here. It looked like it was one of the original guests to this strange landscape. When you look carefully you can see the tree appears to be fashioned like a cork screw, twisting itself into the sky above. It was an amazing view.

I set up my tripod and took five exposures each 1.5 stops from each other. In effect I created a seven and one-half stop range to capture the lightest white and darkest black of the image. When I returned home to my studio I use a product from HDR Soft called Photomatix Pro to tonemap and combine the five images. I then used a tool from Topax Labs to return some of the detail that was lost during the tonemapping process and finally, used Photoshop to render a Black and White image as my final creation.

I learned the art and craft of photography when I shot black and white photos as a freelancer for a local newspaper in central California. I still miss the smell of the chemicals, and mixing them together using my secret recipes. I believe that this tree just looks better as a black and white image. I get the same feeling looking at it now as I did when I first saw it. Dark and foreboding, very mysterious and ghost like.

Tell me what you think, B&W or do you want to see it in color?

Mountains have always intrigued me. They are so metaphorical in their stateliness. The men and women who climb them stand as symbols to all who must overcome the challenges that life throws at us all. Asthma has prevented me from ever taking on the challenge of a mountain climb so I have chosen to master the mountain another way. My way, with a camera.

My mountain is Mount Hood. Yes, most people don’t realize it, but I traded my neighborhood, Lents Oregon, for it last year when the economy got so bad. Now if you are not from the Portland area, that may not make sense to you but, if you have lived in Portland for more than two years you know that trading Lents Oregon for Mount Hood was a way good deal. So, I have taken on the personal challenge to photograph my mountain from every possible angle, at every time of day and at every time of year. This year’s first submission is included in this post.

This week, while driving from one assignment to the next, I noticed a unique cloud formation around the mountain. I immediately drove out to one of my favorite shooting locations in Sandy Oregon, to begin the process. My plan was to create a three step procedure to capture the scene as I saw it.

My first step was to shoot for HDR rendering using tone mapping software from Photomatix. The second step was to clean up the detail and add sharpness using DeNoise from Topaz labs and Photoshop’s unsharp mask. The final step would be to use Adjust from Topaz Labs to bring out the detail and enhance the colorations somewhat.  What I ended up with was a 12MP digital photograph that will look stunning on a 16X24 canvas wrap. I can’t wait to get it printed. My next assignment will be to drive around the back side of the mountain near Hood River Oregon, early in the morning.

When I see the world around me I always imagine a camera at my eye. Most of what I see in the photographic progression is compartmentalized and colored in a way I am not able to accurately describe in words. What I end up seeing changes in my mind in some painterly sort of way. In a way it’s as if I have been given the ability to turn up the color receptors in my optic nerve. The problem has always been how do I accurately account for the colors and detail that I ‘see’ in my mind. In the past I would spend countless hours in the darkroom processing and re-processing to get the exact effect I was after. Now, instead of harsh chemicals and a glowing red light, I use software like Photoshop, Photomatix and several tools from Topaz labs. Now I am able to process for the exact scene I saw when I shot it and capture the precise feeling at that time. Each of the photos above has been processed with one or more of these tools, each in different ways in order to bring out the colors and detail the way I imagined it.

My champion, like so many other photographers before me, has always been, Ansel Adams. He too had thoughts on this process I have described. He said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it” and “In my mind’s eye, I visualize how a particular sight and feeling will appear on a print.” What he was elucidating was that feeling that overtakes me when I begin a shoot. It is akin to an ‘out of body’ experience in that many times I am completely oblivious to everyone and everything around me except the task at hand. I wonder what Ansel would do today, with tools like Photoshop and Topaz Labs.

“When I’m ready to make a photograph, I think I quite obviously see in my mind’s eye something that is not literally there in the true meaning of the word. I’m interested in something which is built up from within, rather than just extracted from without.”  – Ansel Adams