"A Little Help From My Friends"

To see a larger image of this picture go to http://bit.ly/o6TPdj

"Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends
Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends"

Most everyone knows this great classic from the Beatles, "A Little Help From My Friends." The lyrics to the chorus brings out a truth that I have seen over and over again in the world of photography. Most people when they think of a photographer, they think of an individual person who is standing behind a camera snapping pictures. The truth is that often a picture is not conceptualized, created or executed in isolation. There are many more people involved in each picture that is taken.

Every photographer would like to think that at least some of their images are theirs and theirs alone. To some degree, this is true. Thus why we have copyright laws and it is a hot topic among photographers. However, there are several ways that the influence of other people can be seen in a picture. Let us start with the most obvious.

This picture of rusted paraphernalia was one that I took on a recent trip with the local Sunbelt Photography Club. So already, I have five other people involved. I have companions going along with me which encourages me to get out and take the pictures. We end up where this picture was taken because Chuck Ulm knew about some photo opportunities in the little town of Oakfield, Georgia so we deviated from our original path. Once we were in Oakfield, we got to exploring their interesting town center that is replete with old buildings and vignettes of times gone by. While there, we talked with some of the locals who regaled us with stories of their rich history. They shared with us some stories that encouraged us to continue taking pictures that shows the story of Oakfield. I personally talked to four locals so that brings our count up to nine people. At one point, a few of us found ourselves taking pictures inside one of the older buildings that had a collection of old rusted items from the past. My friend, Kathie Entz, is an art teacher, master watercolor painter, and photographer. She noticed how the light was shining into the area casting a beautiful golden hugh and started thinking of beautiful intimate scenes she could create. She put together this collection of items as well as this one. Thankfully, she was sweet enough to allow me to step in and take pictures of the beautiful scene she had arranged.

Our count is currently at nine people, but there were other people involved in the making of this picture that often go unnoticed. One of the phrases you will hear me quoting often is that to take great pictures one has to look at great pictures. The more you look at other people's pictures the more they influence your own way of seeing and doing photography. I am sure that in this picture there is at least one or more artist's whose work influenced Kathie so she would have an idea how great a pile of rusted stuff would look in the right light. To be generous to our head count, I will only add one more person to the number though I am sure many other artist's influenced Kathie's ability to see this photographic opportunity. We also have to take into account that there are photographers whose work influenced how I composed the picture in my camera. I can think of two sources off the top of my head. Bryan Peterson's book "Learning to See Creatively: Design, Color & Composition in Photography" is one of them. Another resource that has influenced my creative vision is the magazine "COLOR for Collectors of Fine Photography". So that adds at least two more to our count though technically the magazine is the work of several people. I will keep it simple and put our count at twelve people.

The last area to consider would be all those people that have invested in me as a photographer over the years. So we add into the mix, my mother who taught me to see the beauty around me, my father who allowed me to be his photography companion, and my husband who has provided me the equipment. Then you have to include some of my photography mentors, Donna Eaton and the Carolina Nature Photographers Association that taught me how to get my camera to capture the picture I wanted and then how to process it so it would be art instead of a snapshot. And, make no mistake, if it was not for God giving me the talent, skills, and opportunity to take this picture, it never would have happened.

In total, it took at least 18 people to create this one image. This just adds credence to the scripture in Proverbs 11:14 that says "many advisers make victory sure." So with that I send out a special thank you to my "many advisers." I could not do it without you!