Fanjoy Labrenz Photography

As much as we have been affected by the loss of business and income the past few years, the positive changes continue to
stack up and overshadow the little glitch of not making much money. What happened after the first year of patting ourselves on the
back and thinking, “It’ll all come back”, is that we noticed, it’s not coming back, things are fundamentally changed. Not only in the
local economic environment, but in our profession, our industry, as a whole. Photography is a tool for everyman, no longer the domain
of those who spent years learning and understanding camera anatomy, film and paper chemistry, and the physics of light. Last week, we
entertained 120 plus eighth grade students for a career day field trip. The students came through our studio in groups of 10-15 every 15 minutes.
We had that 15 minutes to try and give them a feel for our profession, but I am sure we learned more by this exercise than they did. The most
important and most urgent message we could send them away with is that the field of photography is completely different than what is was 10 years ago,
5 years ago, yesterday, what it will be tomorrow. This is magical, beautiful change. Frightening, unpredictable change. Better pay attention change. We have at our fingertips cameras, computers, and software programs that give us unlimited ways to create, manipulate, and express. It can be overwhelming and
intimidating, yet our job now is to set ourselves free in the possibilities. We have come to realize that what we have to share are not simply the tools, studio
space, lighting, and expertise – but our ability to translate ideas, to generate fresh ideas, to find ways to inspire ourselves and others. We are looking for new ways to move forward by adding film, moving images, poetry, conceptualization, social media (thank you), and even tactile paint to our visual vocabulary. We look more clearly at our passion and our art, knowing therein lies the karmic energy. We are enriched by change, and prosperous in sight.

Sculpture/Chair from fanjoylabrenz on Vimeo.

MayDayProject from fanjoylabrenz on Vimeo.

Chair Story from fanjoylabrenz on Vimeo.