The Secret of Success is not a Secret

The secret of sucess is not a secret. It is a type of information that has been widely distributed; talked and written about in countless books, magazines, etc. It has even been shown in montion pictures, documentaries, television shows, and other media. The details have been practically given to us for free and yet, we haven't really grasped the full significance of it.

Anyone that thinks he/she lacks something, oftentimes tries to enrich himself with the knowledge that will allow him to escape their current situation into a more stable, and/or fulfilling state. Most of those books that we will pick up from the public library or book store during our lifetime are well-written, and extremely resourceful. However brilliant the books might seem, we'll continue to find ourselves picking up other books, assisting other seminars and later feeling completely empty inside. The particular feeling of lack will continue to perpetrate our meaningless existence and we will not ask ourselves why.

Every day and every night, we constantly create our inner and outer universe with the thoughts and with the words that we speak from moment to moment. What we think life is, our concepts, ideas, and convictions are our own creations. Every single thought we think, and every single word we utter have extremely powerful consequenses. Regardless of whether or not we have proof of what we say, think or do, these things are the stuff from which we create our seemingly meaningless existence.

The fact that we can excersise full control of our thoughts, words and actions is absolute proof, that we can consciously create anything that bring us joy, happiness and laughter. This is the crucial point. It is the most important of all points because it is the one we have failed to grasp as individuals and as a society as a whole.

When I was 12, I heard the notion that we live in the word of Maya, which meant illusion. I was always fascinated with that concept, but never really fully grasped what it all meant. The word of Maya is the word of illusion. The thought that we are powerless, insignificant beings, not fully capable of having absolute control of our existence. But the fact is, we have always excercised absolute control of our lives. We have always have. Every time we declare something, every time that we think something, however trivial, however insignificant, we create it and bring it into our lives.

Your thoughts create your feelings. Feelings are created in the mind; what we feel in our bodies is created in our thoughts. Feelings drive us to act and not to act. Feelings are extremely powerful things, and yet, we are not fully aware that they are the product of our thoughts.

Just listen to your conversations. Your limits are your limits, and only yours. Every time you say you can or can't do something, you bring that into existence. Every time you declare that life is good, or bad. Every time you say and think that things are hard or good, etc. For most of us, we take our immidiate surroundings as reference points from which we draw our thoughts and words. Not knowing, that what we see has been attracted to us with the thougths, words and feelings we experience on a daily basis. Every time we think of reality, we are not aware that we are are actually seeing is just the reflection of what we have created up to that point. Which is exactly why most of us are forever caught on creating and re-creating our current situation for the remaining years or decades of our lives.

Regardless of your current situation. No matter in what part of the world you are right now, what religion, creed, culture, doctrine you belong to. I am here to tell you that you are an extremely powerful being, capable of achieving amazing things. Think of it. Your world will change, when your thoughts and feelings change. No matter what surrounds you right now:

The problems, the debts, the lonelines, the lack. Decide right now that it is 100% your responsibility. And with that, you set in motion the wheels of fortune to your favor. Regardless of your decision, this has always been the case. Stop blaming what happens in your life to circunstances, people or events. When you do, you relinquish all sense of responsibility, and will be forever the subject to the whims of what might or might not happen. Which is in all sense, is directly related to your thoughts, words and actions. This is the world of illusion. Get out of it now.

Written by

Hans Gonzalez.

07/15/2010

Quinciañera

Last Saturday I was honored to photograph a Quinciañera ceremony at a church in Brooklyn, New York. A Quinciañera is the coming-of age-ritual held in some Latin American cultures of a girl's fifteenth's birthday, somewhat similar to a sweet sixteen celebration.

Being a father of a twelve-year-old daughter, I paid close attention to what unfolded before my eyes. A catholic mass was held in honor of the girl, she sat in a special chair right in front of the priest. At the end of the mass, both the mother and father performed the shoe and tiara ritual, signifying that their daughter was no longer a child, but a fully-grown woman.

I thought of my daughter Hannah, and three years from now, doing the same thing for her. While watching the parents in the audience witnessing the event, I imaged what was going through their minds: perhaps remembering the day when she was born, or when she learned how to walk, the first day in kindergarten, high school....

It was the last day of her childhood. Whatever they thought, it must have been very emotional indeed.

After the church, I accompanied the family to their home and took pictures of them and their loving guests. I took lots of pictures, and was impressed with with the love and harmony that surrounded me. It reminded me of the good things of life, of which, we often fail to acknowledge and fight for: closeness, love and harmony within our family. I had a great time.

Thanks for reading.

Hans.

Thinking Stuff

Becoming a full-time photographer requires a particular discipline, a sense of direction, and the desire and willingness to work hard in getting what is desired. Kind of like swimming against the current. It requires thinking.

It is true that no too many people practice the art of conscious thinking. What do I mean by that? Answering that question is the purpose of this post.

There are two kinds of thinking. The first one is the processing the information that is presented to us without any sort of effort in our part, like when we watch a movie. We see things and we come up with meanings and never question whether those decisions were right for us or not.

The second one is conscious thinking. Where we take everything that is presented, and examine all its details. Conscious thinking entails being awake and aware. It is the process of asking and answering questions.

By asking better questions, we can come up with answers that can empower us.

If you hate your job, instead of feeling sorry and waiting for things to change or somebody to quit or die (joke), ask yourself: what can I do to make this thing better? How can I get a better job? What sort of things can I do to move forward, etc. And wait and see, to your amazement, how everything that you needed to know comes up.

My question was, what I can do to make my career as a professional photographer a little bit more real?

One answer that came up was to file a fictitious business name, or "doing business as" It's just any sort of name other than your real name that you use to conduct business. To open a business checking account, banks need that little piece of paper. So last week, I went down to the court house and I filed for my fictitious name "The Golden Mile Productions" and this week I plan to open my first business account!

Thanks for reading.

Hans.

CAMERA TYPES...

I was born in the Dominican Republic; in a tiny little town known then as Salcedo (It has been renamed: Hermanas Mirabal). The Catholic temple shown here is the town's tallest and most important structure. It's symbol.

Since very early on, I was exposed to the world of photography through my mother. She loved taking pictures of us.

She married my father at fifteen years of age. Had her first daughter Maribel before 16. Biembenida came second at 18, me at 20, and finally my younger sister Rosa at 26. Most of my early memories of her smiling face are of her holding a tiny 110 camera that she used to take our pictures. An extremely popular 16mm point and shoot camera of the 70s and early 80s.

When I formed my own family in the late 90s, I followed the tradition and bought myself a consumer-grade 35mm camera. I took hundreds of pictures. I believe I was influenced by my beautiful mother to do just that. And I did. Anxiously recording everything for later days.

There are many camera types. The best known ones are the digital point and shoot cameras that come in all colors and mega pixel sizes. Those replaced 35mm film consumer-grade bodies of of the late 80s and 90s. They are called point and shoot because all you have to do is point and shoot, and you have your picture.

Other more advanced models are within the category of pro-consumer and professional. They come with better optics, and more buttons that allow more freedom for creative control. However, they are built with fixed lenses and do not provide as much creative freedom as the lesser known but more advanced SLR's bodies. SLR refers to Single Lens Reflex. What this just means is that what you see through the viewfinder or screen is what the lens is actually seeing, as opposed to the consumer grade 35mm ones that had one hole for the viewfinder, and one for the lens. SLR's best feature is the freedom using interchangeable lenses of different angles and lengths. This is the ultimate creative control.

There are several types of SLRs digital cameras. The professional SLR comes with a full-frame, 35mm sensor. They call them like that because most consumer-grade digital cameras on the market have a sensor size much more smaller than 35mm. To a digital camera, a sensor is what records the image. Because the technology is relatively new, that little electronic, light- sensitive piece of equipment is the most expensive part in the camera body. The bigger it is, the more expensive the camera.

Similar to a film camera, the size of the film is what tells you what format the camera is. A 35mm film SLR (or full sensor) camera is the standard professional format found on the market today. There are other formats, like the medium format camera, which is widely used in studio photography, and which film size/sensor is much larger than the 35mm one. A large format camera is the type of camera that has an 8x10 sensor/film size, and is mostly used for architecture and landscape photography.

Last but not least, regardless of what is said about which camera is best: the one that takes the picture is you. Our ability to see light and capture the best moment is what makes you and me a photographer. A camera is just an instrument, like a piano or a violin. Who we end up admiring is the one that took the picture.

Thanks for reading.

Hans Gonzalez.

Action and Reaction...

This blog is about my experience of becoming a full-time photographer. The process of having the guts, the discipline, dedication, determination and vision of setting a very meaningful goal, and see it come to fruition.

The last four years have been very rocky and confusing for me. My marriage of eight years ended sadly. Because of my subsequent depression and the worst recession since the last Great Depression, I was laid off from a job that I loved and cared for. Many people, familiar with my pictures, advised me to become a full-time photographer. In the middle of so many frustrations, and sudden life-changing events, I found comfort in knowing that I could make this enjoyable hobby, my main source of income.

However, I lost focus. I made the mistaken of thinking that being a photographer, was only about developing a good eye, and taking wonderful, breath-taking pictures. I did not set any goals, and spent most of my time, traveling to the Dominican Republic, and spending money like a lunatic. I did enjoy most of it, met a lot of wonderful people, and visited many wonderful places. It was all very new to me. However, I began to feel lack and desperate about my situation. I didn't have any job, and my back accounts were quickly drying up. I pushed a lot of people away, got another job, and the photographer career was put on hold. I said to myself: I have to figure things out. What I did was, to quit.

Everything I am experiencing now is the result of my actions. My emotions. My decisions. My limiting beliefs, the stories. Even though I knew that I was responsible for my own life. I couldn't possible make the connection and let feelings of frustration and confusion to dominate my thinking. Every action has a reaction. My inability to see the predict the reaction, or think about the consequences of my actions, brought me to a place where I had no power. Those who know me, know that I am always preaching about psychology, about philosophy. About the why of things. But the truth is, I wasn't practicing what I preached. I was extremely unauthentic about everything. It has to stop.

Attaining goals, is the simple process of setting them on paper, working on them, and see them realized. I will share with you that experience. Thanks for reading.

Starting and finishing...

This project is about becoming a full-time photographer. I started seriously liking photography when I bought my first SLR Canon camera. A 6 mega pixel camera that my friend Roberto told me to purchase back in 2004/5. I met Roberto in 1997, when we worked together at mall in Down Town Miami. His main area is nature photography. Throughout the years, he has been able to capture some of the most amazing animal shots I have ever seen. His love for birds, cats, lions, tigers and gorillas is easily identified by just looking at his photos (robertoanil.com).

Although I also love nature, but by living in New York, I have to say, my exposure to the animal kingdom is limited to the summer time, when the Bronx Zoo is in full swing, or when I take a plane and get out of the cold weather. Therefore, my main focus is mostly people.

I believe that life is full of magical moments that, if we fail to capture them, it is as if they didn't happen at all. And photography is a great way to freeze those moments and really enjoy them for all eternity. The most amazing pictures we have seen are moments frozen in time. Capturing those moments is the most fascinating aspect of my passion for photography.

I embarked on becoming a full-time photographer. I have a long road ahead, but I promise you that it will be done. And in the process, I will share with you the experience.

Thanks.

Using the light meter with studio lights

Hi, I heard recently that the signature of a professional photographer is mostly the kind of light that he/she uses. Everyone knows that using a light meter is essential in studio photography, but, even know I knew that, I didn't quite understood the whole significance of it. Last Sunday, I decided to try to do it right. Using 4 lights. I metered the main light at f/11, using a shutter speed of 200 and an ISO of 100. the fill light, I set it to f.5.6, and the two background light (my main problem zone) to f16. (both higher than the main light) The reason that I set the background lights to f/16 was because I was using a white background, and everyone knows that to make a white background really appear white, one has to over expose it 1.5 stops higher than the main light.

My friend Armando modeled for me for the shoot. Armando is the brother of my friend Vincent, which I met back while I was attending Baruch College back in 1994. Armando wishes to become a very successful actor, and I hope that the pictures help him accomplish just that.