Anyone passionate about their career always craves learning more about it.  I see new techniques being used and I need to know how to do it too, I want to try anything I can get my hands on, I love to network, I am on a mission to meet all of my biggest inspirations, and I want to know about all the new technology (despite the fact that I hate to change–a girls gotta be strong in a conversation though, right? 😉 )–AND, just when I think I get it all figured out, that’s when I know it’s time to change it all up and go a new direction.  (Yes.  As previously stated, I hate change…but, I hate being stuck in a rut even more.)  Social Media (despite all my negative ramblings about it), is a HUGE help in all of the above.  I follow all my inspirations and they alert me to, and prompt me to do most of what I mentioned above.  Creative Live, books, magazines, and competition, push me into all the rest.  Videos…well, those are my latest push.  My mind doesn’t, naturally, work in video form I’m learning…it needs to be trained to move like video and it’s difficult.  I’m thinking that one of these sessions I need to hire a Videographer to tag along with me–they would be able to help my in this venture.

Anyway…since 2011, I’ve had many, different, appearances as both the guest and/or panelist in webcasts run by other photographers.  They’re fun–but, eventually, I’d love to have my own YouTube show–just a quickie chronically my adventures in the world of portrait, family and commercial photography.  Nothing too serious…just something light and fun.  To do that though, I gotta get more comfortable in front of the video camera–and, to do that, I just have to jump in.  (Plus, I need to learn way more about video editing and stuff…)

Here’s my first ‘jump in’ video.  I learned that this isn’t the way I like my videos, and in the future, I won’t do them totally like this…but, it was a start.  (I was always that kid that just jumped off the dock in the deep part of the lake instead of slowly warming up to the water.)

And, since I’m talking video’s in this blog…this show isn’t my own; but, I like it and I think the messages are timeless.  This was the second, or maybe third, time that I had met Trey Ratcliff.  He was the first ‘name’ I ever knew in photography.  I studied everything he did for years before even learning how to really make a photo of my own.  Meeting him, made me realize that meeting my idols is a completely realistic goal–getting better at what I do might even impress them when I do meet ’em. 🙂

This was the latest show I appeared on.  I’d love to appear on more if I didn’t have such sickening anxiety when it comes to doing them.  (It’s a whole day of stomach aches, a feeling of dread, and then two shots before we go on air.)  I was SUPER excited to be meeting Michael Bonocore, face-to-face, finally (another inspiration); so, that was cool.  And, Eustace, Juan and Lotus are photographers/friends that I go way back with and have zero nerves about–but, I’m just weird.

I have more video’s out there too…just search ‘Mel Peifer’ on YouTube and I’m sure you’d pull them up–if you’re curious.