Two things prompted this post:

First, the recent christian conference I attended, and second Mike Colón’s latest blog entry about the small decisions in life that need to be made in order to live a healthier life, especially along christian lines.

A couple repliers on Mike’s blog were to the effect “getting with Jesus” is a great “business tactic”, (and nothing more?) …as if someone famous and skilled / successful like Mike couldn’t possibly have a genuine relationship with God, and not just be blogging about it to appear spiritual and drum up business…

Which is of course a silly idea. I’ve had a relationship with the Lord all my life, and have only recently gotten into professional photography.

I really was helped by Mike’s pointers and I think it takes guts to post about one’s faith on a public blog, especially when every other pro in the industry is watching you… I never even thought that a “Jesus bandwagon” would be good for business, I just thought it was a life-practice that other christians would appreciate and non-christians would ignore.

I guess there will always be those non-christians who feel compelled to shove THEIR “gospel” down christian throats LOL…

But anyway… Check out Mike’s blog and definitely subscribe, (via RSS of course) …especially if you like beautiful photos, if you are a professional photographer, and/ or if you are a christian…

Moving on, I realized that there needs to be a difference between being materialistic and simply staying on top of an industry for the sake of ones’ business. As a pro in general we *must* be well-informed if we are going to stay in business. Due to the super-competitive nature of the industry today we have to be at the forefront, plain and simple. Things like Bridge and Lightroom and the latest DSLR bodies are tools we need to master in order to stay in business!

But it’s also incredibly easy to simply “worship” material posessions, to be a “fanboy” and obsess over gear, to put your heart into these temporary things that eventually leave us wanting more.

Christian or not, I beleive it is harmful to one’s spiritual and mental health to be like this. You’re always wanting something more, wishing you had another lens etc, always wanting to “dump it” and upgrade, getting hyped over the release of new gear, and so on and so forth. It gets you down plain and simple, and for me as a christian it totally takes my focus away from the Lord. But like I said christian or not, I think materialism is one of the great downfalls of society today, and a huge reason for all the depression and dissatisfaction in the world today…

Obviously I’m guilty of pretty much every one of those un-healthy things. At the moment I’m eagerly awaiting the (possible) announcement of Nikon’s next generation of cameras / lenses. (10 days until Nikon’s 90th anniversary)

While by Moses’ “law” there’s definitely nothing wrong with this picture other than coveting, and non-christians won’t even care about that one, as a christian I feel only one true need inside me, and that is to “gain” Christ, instead of filling my “vessel” with other stuff.

Aside from my christian values, I strongly believe in a few things:

1.) Be happy with what (camera gear) you have.

2.) You probably don’t need that new DSLR in order to take better pictures; that one you already have does the job just fine…

3.) Be nice to everyone else in the industry, first of all having a pleasant demeanor is GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS, but also it is just a common courtesy. Don’t insult other people’s gear, photos, or skills. Regardless of what camera they have!

4.) Keep a level / healthy head in general. If you’re down, find out what is making you down and eliminate it from your life. Remember, theoretically YOU are in charge of your life, especially including your emotions.

I don’t intend to cease from staying on top of the industry for the sake of my business of course, that would be dangerous. And I’ll always post about gear and industry news so that other professionals can stay on top too. However hopefully I’ll be able keep my spirit & soul on the right track, and hopefully any non-christians out there can be adult enough to respect my silly convictions hehehe…

Take care and the Lord be with your spirit,
=Matt=