Ralph Kristopher

In this episode, we explore the artist, photographer, and creative. Ralph Kristopher he has that special personality that gets along well with diverse groups of people. As a creative, he takes pride in collaborating and using his experience to capture “The Art of the Moment.” We discuss everything from the dance of weddings and events to the skills and the calculated risks required to work with athletes in tough locations. 

Transcript

Welcome to your photography podcast where we immerse ourselves in the diverse world of creative expression with photography and sometimes videography. Unveiling insights from portraits and weddings to the heart of what I truly cherish, adventure sports, photography, and the vibrant tapestry of an active lifestyle. Whether you've been following my adventures or you're new to. Have stops and shutter speeds. This podcast is your gateway to a treasure trove of knowledge and insights. Together we'll explore the art of. Working with clients, brands, capturing the essence of families, athletes, models and products. This isn't just about capturing moments. It's a guide to masterful storytelling through your lens. Join us as we explore the intricate facets of photography as a business, uncovering the invaluable tips and tricks of the trade. Learn from our shared experiences, the highs, the lows, that transformative moments that have shaped our past this podcast. Isn't just for photographers, it's a sanctuary for those hungry to deepen their understanding of photography and videography. Whether you're a seasoned pro or you're just starting to find your creative expedition. Get ready for a captivating exploration of the art, the business, the spirit of photography. Creativity can be your vehicle and your passport to endless possibilities. Let's embark on this adventure together. Be sure to subscribe and follow for every episode. Hey, what's up, guys? Thanks for joining another episode of Your Photography podcast. I have Ralph Kristofferson. Here are Christopher. Not seen. There's no sun. Anyway, that's. My bad, but. I'm happy to have him here. He's been doing photography in Alaska for quite some time and a little bit all over the place and we're going to get him to answer a few of the questions that we've got. And get to know him a little bit better. So yeah. Anything that I. Left out. 

Yeah. I mean, there's I'm a pretty dynamic individual. I guess just to start off with, it's funny, I have a lot of nicknames. Some of my friends call me Ralph Kapur, and that's not it's Ralph Christopher. And I guess it's it's fun to hear. I get a lot of. I've had publications and this spell, my name in different ways. I really care, you know it. It's all good. I'm a photographer. Sure, but I employ myself as a photographer. I'm an artist primarily and 1st. And so, you know, having been a photographer for a long time, I, you know, have a lot of different technical skills that I am able to make money with. And so that that's really fun. I love doing it. If I have a camera in my hand, I'm stoked. I love Creative Direction, creative design, sort of collaborating with people I love. Working with artists. And of course, I'm an athlete, so you know. I think, Adam, how? Do we know each other like we have ties to Crested Butte, isn't that right? 

I don't know. I I I honestly. So I was up in Alaska for a little while, right? And I I don't know if that's how I made the connection with you or what exactly it was. I know. Had you kind of fill in for me a little bit for Devin or not? Devin. Uh Peyton's wedding and stuff. And. 

Yeah, yeah, that was really cool, man. I'm glad I was able to pick that. Up it. Was like, yeah, you know, stuff happens and you need a someone in your network to take over an assignment. These guys won't know. I photographed a wedding kind of last minute. It was January, and it was a super cute young couple. Is it Peyton and Brittany? 

Peyton and Britney, yeah. 

Yeah, I'm I I'm hilarious with names, but sometimes I I get right. No, I think a lot about them. That was a really special wedding. Very large. And those two were champs. It was like, -4 out and you know, I'm having them pose. And we got these. Really beautiful photos, but boy. They had to earn it. You know, we all did. Like my hands were freezing. Camera batteries were struggling all. Sorts of stuff, you know, but. Yeah, it was. It was great. I had fun. 

Yeah, Peyton. I don't know if you follow him on Instagram or not, but he was living down in southern, southern Utah, St. George. He just fell rock climbing. Yeah, and. 

I did see that. Yeah, nasty headed 3. 

Dude, I'm like, he's lucky to be alive still. And yeah, yeah, Yep. 

You photograph athletes correct? Like for a bit. Have you ever been on scene when something terrible happens? Like you're like right there and it happens in front of you? 

Yeah, yeah. I have not. I have not, luckily, and and thankfully like I don't really want to be. I'm fully prepared to do that like or or handle the situation if one arised. But. You know, it's funny because. I feel like I have a little bit of an upper hand of having like medical training through the military as far as that goes, yeah. And being able to cause, I mean they they try to teach you to handle a high stress environment and the trauma of getting someone off scene or whatever it might be, but. Luckily, again haven't had to resort back to that training or anything in regards to that. But yeah, have you. 

Oh yeah, I'm going. 

To give you my little I'm I'm working with. A new athlete field. I will say, hey, you know today this is the plan. Look at this setting. You know, whatever it is, is this something you normally do, you know, like, I'm excited for you to do this. But do you feel comfortable? Is this something that you want to do? Because what I'm trying trying to do is eliminate the code at courage. If somebody is, like, really amped up and they would only do this because there's a camera, it's a big red. Flag for me. Yeah. The other thing is I depending on the situation. And then on the top of you know, mountains with athletes and. Whether it's a competition, I was a free ride, World Tour photographer back in the early 2000s for MSI, it's kind of fun. Little tidbit. There's some great stories out of. That I've been. All over the place and. I'll look over and I'll see an athlete and they're like super zoned and they're not breathing. And so if I notice that I'm like, OK, come here. Come here. Let's you know, because we're all, like, up here. It's like, let's come like. Down in your body like. Brett, you know and you connect that and so. I sort of. Help and coach my athletes or people doing stuff because I have seen something terrible and it was actually my brother. So I was filming him base jumping outside of the house. And this was in the early 2000s, we we actually went viral before things went viral like, you know, it was on all these world's worst vacation videos type shows. Yeah. We we sold the footage. Because he needed to pay medical bills. And so we were interviewed. And like all these channels and it really kind of messed me up to see something like that happen right in front of my face. And it was epically awful. And it was my. Brother on top of it. But yeah, I've had people wreck. I had someone at the US Free Ski National Championship in Kirkwood. Just blast off of something really stupid that they definitely shouldn't have done and just splatted in the flats, like off an 80 footer or something stupid. And it was really. It was really disgusting. It's just like, yeah, you know, I was close enough to see the body flop. I was able to move and get to the. To the person. But patrol beat me there, but it was still like I was really close. So yeah, yeah. Without patrol support, I don't have the military background. 

So I mean I you know it's it. You know what though? Like I will say too like. Everyone's gonna respond to it differently, like, even if you've got a bunch of training, when you have something like that happen. Your body goes into the natural response, and whatever that is for you like cause some and I think that probably comes down to how you were raised as a as a. Kid and through your adult. But like how you respond to traumatic events and stuff. And do you go into a fight, a fight or flight type response? And are you there to render aid or you're like, just in shock because you saw it, you know? And that can all. Play a factor so for sure. So I mean. 

You got some questions, I know it. 

Yeah, let's. Yeah. Let's get back to the questions a little bit. So what, what is it that you enjoy most about photography or the art or doing the creative things? Yeah. 

Oh, shoot away. 

I love the fact that I get. To give something. That's from myself that I have, you know, honed and cultivated my entire life. Was a young boy and worked in the dark room with my grandfather. He's a print artist. He was also a photojournalist and photographer for the Navy in World War 2, did reconnaissance as well as photojournalism, worked in the dark room and then in the 70s, he had a a business. Color systems. And he would do color separations and enlargements using a very large brown camera, which is these are bro NE how you spell that. And you've seen, like, the little boxes. Sometimes they're like medium format. This was like a four foot by 4 foot camera that was like, you know, 6 feet deep. Funny. So I have a long history with photography and then I was, you know, if if you have kids and what have you raising them, I will tell you my experience. I was in the Montessori program in as a. A young child. And so it's more of like a creative, explorative education. And so I learned the creative process and. Cultivating this I was in journalism program in high school multimedia in college and it's just like and then it was a. Passionate photographer and artist. Before that and all the way through, so all of a sudden I'm interacting with people and I get to bring this wonderful thing usually for. The some of. The better parts of people's lives. And like preserve it, I love working with people. I love bringing these skills and talents and sort. Of offering it to humanity. And so, you know, technical skills. Artistic skills. It's also like an awareness of the moment, not just in that moment, but Fast forward. A decade. Fast forward 50 years, like what's going to be important. And so that's some of my my favorite both. To kind of think about. Yeah, yeah. Just in general, there's a lot more I could answer to that and go and I could talk for hours on that question actually, but it's certainly comes down to the fact that I get to share something and live something. So from my center and just be completely like. There, you know, I'm not like, oh, I wish I wasn't here. Like, no, I'm. All the way, it's really fun. 

I guess is doing what you're doing today. What you thought you'd always be doing? Or do you have a different dream once when you're a kid or whatever? 

You know, they went around the room and in the classroom in 7th grade and. Asked what do. You want to be when you grow. Up and I said. Don't ski bum. And and that's what I did and I. You moved to Colorado right after I graduated high school. In in Columbus. Ohio, and that was a big deal for me. You know, I didn't identify myself with anything that was going on in Ohio at the time. And I I had always. Been a photographer. Some people spent their money on all kinds of. Things that I spent my money on. Film development and processing. Yeah. And so like, no, I'm I'm definitely doing that. I I feel. Like what's interesting is I'm I'm sure you're aware of is how many different. Business models you can run and be a photographer. How many different ways you can use photography in in art? How many different subjects there are? Yeah, you know it. It's kind of mind blowing, I guess the thing for me that I keep on kind of looking for is and and I found it. Is you know what's your? Niche. Where? Where are you? Where are you most passionate about? What is it? And so we're all kind of in the process of becoming. And I love where I'm at as an artist and as a professional because I really get to hone in on some of those things, and I have. I have everything I need, you know, to to climb that mountain. So it's it's really, it's really cool. How about yourself? What? What are you shooting right now? 

Uh, like subject wise or wise? Uh well. 

Yeah, yeah, I I we. Yeah, we shoot a lot, but like what? Like? What's like right now? 

Right now, right now is, uh, a lot of hunting, actually, a lot of hunting and construction work. But as I've kind of rendered a little bit reflective a little bit on life a little bit, I'm like I need to get back to. Like and I think. COVID kind of put a damper on things of like getting out with people and doing things. So I wasn't getting out and and biking or climbing or skiing like I used to be and kind of took a break from that for a little bit. And I mean, I guess I wrote a TikTok train for a little while and just published my own creative content. But I've been doing a lot of stuff for a construction company and just kind of trying to highlight their work and their business and stuff and that's been fun because it's been a different it it makes you have to think a little bit differently about how. Yeah, you know, it's not the outdoors, but it's it's still like. How can you make a mundane job look fun and? I don't know fun to watch and I and I can see how people can resonate with it too, because there's a lot of people that are like they used to do that for work and now they're retired or whatever. So that's kind of cool, but that's kind of been where things have been. And I just had a kid and. And yeah, yeah. Thanks. 

Ohh no way. Congratulations. 

So that's. 

How old are you now? 

3535 so. 

Right on. Yeah, I'm, I'm 43. Yeah, I don't have any kids. Yeah, I that's not my path. I was like. I'm sure you understand how difficult it is to make it as a photographer, and I was like, yeah, dead set on doing that. And I have a really high standard of like, if I was a father, like, what I want to provide the two just didn't match. So I was like, not yet, you know, these guys can wait a little bit longer. Not sure. It doesn't look like that's on my cards. But you. Know congratulations. 

Ohh thanks. Appreciate it. And that's and that's probably been where my my reflection has been in the last recent little bit of like. Let's not that I couldn't do it before, but now let's like let's really do it. So read my website and stuff recently and change a few things and but. 

Those websites, man, they're never settled? No, right. Uh. There's like, there's not a point like I've got here. This is going to work. It's just like constantly needs its tires changed. 

And yeah. 

It's like anything. I mean, all of it, yeah. 

Labels updated. Yeah, yeah, I spend way too much time on stuff like that. I I'm not good at it either. I started to employ people to take over those tasks. Yeah, because I'm just like, I fail. So. 

No, that's. That's what I did with. It This time. Is I had someone else do it for me so. That I'm like you do this day in, day out. Like I'm good at photography. I'm good at video. Those are my strong points. And then recognizing my weak points and being like I need to outsource these these points that I'm not strong in like I'm OK but I can't. There's a lot of like the efficiency that someone that does it day in and day out is going to make it so that I'm not spending a whole month wasting my time. If that makes sense. So that's what I. That's what I did there. 

I approach it and it's like I've gotta reinvent the wheel and there's no need for that. Yeah, I had a great business mentor and and actually worked in retail back in the early 2000s for gentleman Brad Surock. And look him up starting Crested Butte. That was his first assistant. He built this detail business up to like $20 million. A year at one point he was running nike.com. And I I love picturing this guy's blonde, curly hair tall walking into the Nike boardroom and just a casual like beach polo and and sandals because he was super casual, but he crushed it and his whole motto was elevate and delegate, and he took that. Just just rose up. And so I think about that all the time because. There's a lot of things that we can do as professionals, as artists, even our in our personal lives, where it's like, if you can maximize your time somewhere and your profitability or whatever, that's going to be and eliminate the stuff that's, you know, I spend 5 hours doing my photography work. It's way better than. Five hours, you know, get more. Out of. It and doing 5 hours of website. Or actually even video editing that kind. 

Of like, yeah. 

I I'm creative director. Yeah, and I'll. We do these zoom edits. And I'll be like, OK, no, cut this shorter. You know, we need a different shot right here. All this sort. Of thing you answered the question where are you shooting on and what you've been doing? I'll answer that same question. I've been incredibly busy. I've had literally the lowest lows in my professional career and the very highest highs this year. My projects got bigger and the. Distance between my paychecks got farther. The paychecks got bigger. Which was awesome. And I I did a contract for the tourism industry in Alaska. I do a lot of that these days, worked with Alyeska Resort, some their ownership changed. And so that kind of changed my workflow in the last couple years that COVID came in, you know, and then that then the ownership. Garrett Alyeska swapped over and they have. They're very, very different than the previous owner that I worked for. So, you know, I still have a huge catalog that I license images out to them for, but I used that network in that I did with built with Alyeska to sort of transition into the, the travel and the whole like tourism industry in Alaska. And so I've been doing contracts for them. And going after shot lists and lining up shoots doing, you know, finding models, finding weather windows. We I was telling you before we started here. How crazy that was. And a lot of that was really satisfying to edit. I loved editing that stuff. I really like editing, and then I had a commercial project for a diesel repair shop, Ford diesel repair. This is different strokes of Alaska and they are. This, like, really like reputable long time Alaskan Ford diesel repair shop. They have all these competitors coming in. They're kind of kicking their **** with the media and they're like, oh, hell no, you know, so. So we did a huge campaign. This summer I they didn't know what they needed and I came in. And I'm calling it brand identity because it's more than just photography. They needed a whole like whole thing campaign. They needed photos of everything. They needed the video. They need video content, different edits. And we actually produced a short documentary about 3 1/2, four minutes long, and that took the entire summer. Actually, we like our last film day was like middle of October and that was incredible. Really rewarding for me because I got to step in. I I was actually hiring drone operators. I hired film operators, editors, audio tech, you know, even had a grip. And I was there taking pictures, stills and then running everything and then with the editor, I would tell him what I wanted. He'd go rough it in. And then I would look at it on usually zoom edits, even though he's in a. OK. You know. It was really. Fun because I did a lot of editing in college and and even audio design, but the software has changed it like you know, it's so different. I don't have time to keep up with that. Like that's that is literally a totally different niche. And I'm gonna stay in my lane like I'm happy here, but I can be creative director, and that's kind of like, you know, director of photography. Yes, but. Anyways, that was that was really. Cool. They'll be coming out soon and I'll be sharing that a lot. Just to give you an idea of how many different things have been doing, I have a whole print series, Moody, mountains of Alaska, and I'm working on. I have released that one. I have another one that I haven't released completely yet and I'm kind of planning that one out. That one's on about frequency frozen motion. And then, yeah, teased about it because I've been working on it for a while, and it's just like it's actually my what I like to shoot. It's pretty funny. If someone sees me taking those pictures out of them. You're like, what the hell? 

Oh yeah. 

Is this guy? Doing, yeah. Yeah, I'll be right next to a river and maybe there's some epic scene there's. Like a bald eagle. Flying by and there's mountains and all this stuff and I could care less. I'm literally taking pictures of water really close. So I'll have a telephoto lens. And I'll be taking picture. Of the water, like as it moves and. I'll have my. Lens usually so close to the water that. Like the river as it comes up, sometimes kisses the bottom of my legs. It's like, whoa. You know, I'm just sitting there, like rattling it off. People like what the heck, but yeah, that's. I I have one really funny thing I'm I haven't assignment coming up, you know. 

Right. 

Sure, this this, this is great for your podcast, and I'm going to admit to everybody, I do a lot of portraiture. And I've done boudoir photos in the past with ladies that have asked me to do that, and I had. It was fun. I love working. Light, shadow and studio lights. What have you? But my partner, Canada. He has. A friend who is an exotic male dancer and has hired me to shoot photos for his promotion and I'm like, I put up a pretty, you know, I gave him a quote for what I thought it would take and for what. It was worth for me. To do something like that and he was. Didn't even bat an eye. I guess he's got, like, a sugar daddy. And that's awesome for him and. I don't know what I'm in for, but I'm going to keep it like, you know, studio photography. And Candace is going to step in and do some creative direction for me because that's going to be helpful and have a females perspective, even if I'm taking pictures of just. Someone that doesn't. Is not in the ladies at. It's sort of irrelevant that that sort of gaze and look I've learned. Do do you do much portraiture? 

I have in the past. I don't do a whole lot now. Yeah, but I think it's something that every photographer should learn or explore a little bit and have at least a foundation on because. I think it was Mark Fisher once I asked him about My Portfolio. I'm like, hey, just give me like things I could work on, right. And so and what that was one of the things he said he goes get a little bit more intimate with your subjects, get in their face a little bit better and and get those those portrait moments. That that image that they can have on the wall and stuff. And so I try to incorporate it in a lot of the stuff I do. You know, you could do it like for me. With the with the construction site like getting just standard. Hey, just pose someone real quick and I'll I know you're, you know, busy. But like when you're done pouring the cement or whatever you're doing, let me grab a portrait real quick. And sometimes you can get a candid portrait without even. Really asking for it or trying to prep it. And I say that because I feel like a lot of. Times with skiing. Or climbing it generally happens a little bit easier because people are hyped about what they're doing and they're already got this big grin ear to ear on their face. And so. But there's been times. I'm like when when we've had really good ski days and I'm like, OK, when they're done at the at the like, they've skied past me. I know I've got that shot but like. I look for their big ear to ear grin and try and capture that while I'm at it, so I don't know. 

Yeah, I found. I really enjoyed portrait photography and. You know, it sort of happens to think all those photographers you know, because we have a camera in our hand. Someone's like, oh, you should take pictures of so and so. Or will you take my picture? And you know, I, I know a lot of photographers that I've mentored and and have worked with approached me about this because they're so uncomfortable taking pictures of people. And so it is sort of a barrier. There's like this. Interesting thing and this is what I talk about a lot of times is that photography is a performance art, especially in mainly when it comes to portraiture or events. You have a rapport with the subject. There can be verbal and nonverbal communication and you know the. Smile is definitely like, you know, you sort of all sometimes just sort of point to someone like I've never seen them. Before, I'm just. Walking into a. Scene and I'll have eye contact with them and I'll lift up my camera and say and just sort of like is this OK? And like yes or no, and you know, if you get permission then start slow. I do this wonderful thing and I actually I I wanna do a Adam when we can talk about this later and anyone here can sort of think about this but I think it would be really fun to have photography. 

I don't. 

Want I don't think anyone needs to lose but photography competition. OK, fine, you know? But it's like a shootout, right? And you sort of have. There's different platforms you do, but one of the things I've gotten really good at, for portraiture, travel photography, candid lifestyle. Is shooting from the hip. And I will do it with a 200 millimeter lens. I'll do it with anything in between and it's super fun. It's really rewarding. You get the best moments if you can actually line up the your composition. You have to do it without a focus. Cameras like this is something you just could not have done in the past. So our technology like you have to set your focus. Right. And usually I'm doing in portrait mode. And so I'll put that top zone. For my focus in in, in the camera. So like when I turn it. And just just practice that because you can do so much like misdirection. I'll, I'll look this way. And This is why I say it's performance art because. I'll be talking to someone right here. My subjects over here, and usually this is someone that it's like, I don't know the uncle of a bride or something like this that doesn't. Want to get photographed? Yeah, they're like. Purposely being evasive and so you know, I'm just sitting. Here click click. I'm totally getting it and getting that moment and they don't even know it and it's just, you know when when it's. Your job to do that. And then, UM, events. It you have a stage presence. So a lot of photographers. Will inevitably end up in a situation where like there's 100 plus people in front of you and they want you to take your picture and it's like, you know. 

All of a. 

Sudden you're literally on stage and it's like herding cats. And so I use this, you know, I'm really giving away my tricks here, but I want everyone to win. That's kind of like what my my motto. Here in general like. Operate what you do is you get those people and you toss them. Something you say? You know you give a little speech on speech, you're going to have their attention for like 5 seconds right there. And if you don't toss them something that they can then respond or toss back to you, you're gonna lose them. And so you have to kind of keep this back and forth tension and. And So what I'll do is I'll. Say OK and we're on the right step in. You got this beat. They're stepping in. OK, now, everybody looking at me and smiling. Boom, boom, boom, boom. You gotta keep that going. If you take too much of A pause. If you're looking at your camera, if you're doing something else, you're gonna lose them and someone. 'S going to. Be like looking down something, picking their nose right. Kids are really hard, but this really works well with kids. So I go into using some stuff that musicians do and you know, you could have, like you can picture a musician on stage is going hey. And then we'll go. Hey ohh. And yeah, you know, I'll say stomp your feet. Boom, boom. Clap your hands. Boom, boom. Everyone, look at me and smile. Doom. You got that one boom right there. You got it, everyone. Literally. So you toss some stuff. You're sure you're taking pictures the whole time, but if you time that moment just right, that back and forth, but boom, you literally are right. It's group hypnosis. And and that's some of the stuff I study because that's. A stage trick is to employ these ideas of group hypnosis, and it's that back and forth. It's it's wild. It really works. Yeah. And it's fun, you know, and and then and then you're done. And then you release them. And and they're like. Oh, that was awesome. I had fun. Yeah, instead of like. 

No, that sounds. 

Oh gosh. Oh. 

Photography, you know? Yeah. 

No, like, yeah, that it. I can see how that would totally and I've never, I don't think I've ever like really employed stuff like that, but or maybe I have without thinking about it. But to make a more of an intentional like you do, no, that's really smart so. 

I I photographed a lot of weddings. In Alaska, I came up sort of a crazy story. I was in Asia for a year after Crested Butte. That's a whole another story. But when I ended up in Alaska, it was like. I was on a. Couch. I didn't have a car. 

You know I didn't. 

Have a job. It was pretty crazy and I sent all these resumes out. Got a job shooting for a really reputable and busy wedding photography company in Alaska. They had like 6 photographers. I worked for them for six years. And I got to a point where I kind of burned out working for somebody else because, like, I wasn't in line with what I where I wanted to go with my career. I wasn't supported in that position with where I wanted to go. It's career. So I was like, OK. Done. And I think any artist needs to really have that point like you really have to believe in yourself because that was tough. Like I had a pretty cush situation there and I I was shooting. I didn't have to edit. I didn't have to do the business side, I was just paid, you know, decent and that was nice, but it was also. I wasn't editing like I wasn't in control of what output I was doing. I wasn't picking my own clients right, like I I had some experiences that like, I'm happy I was able to be there for them, but they weren't experiences I wanted to repeat. I didn't, you know, I wanted a different kind of experience and and clientele and. You know, and so that sort of helped me find that was to just just kind of believe in myself. And then I think it was by. It's like 5 years went by 6 years photograph. And I'm up, like up and over 250 weddings here in the last decade. So that's that's a lot, right. And I built up that kind of stage presence because I'd be in these situations, and I would have very, very high end weddings. And there's a lot of pressure on you, you know, especially if you show up and there's. Like 200 people. And you're the only photographer. Like oh boy. You know. 

That's yeah. 

That's you're. You're gonna be lucky if. You get a snack with. 

A lot of drink of water. 

You're just like you know. 

Yeah, those days are long. 

Yes. And you know, and and they're really. Important I was going to tell you some. Of the lowest lows. I had this year as as an artist, as a photographer is because. I put a lot of effort into the commercial photography and the tourism and a lot of that actually was networking. A lot of my work just came from word of mouth and I had enough work where I didn't have time to touch my website. I didn't have time to market, I didn't have time to do this stuff. And so some of my weddings, events, adventure elopements this sort of packages I sold. You know, I I didn't do so. And so I've been working on that to build that back up. It's just more of like a steady paycheck between these bigger paychecks, which I'll still be doing. It's pretty nice to go in and, you know, go. In one day. Shoot, even though there's a ton of production work, especially in Alaska with some of this. But if you know you get paid for it, it's fine and you go shoot and you're done. You know, of course, editing and delivering, but these other assignments are like. You know, they sort of. Can really be expansive and. You really have to be careful with what you sign yourself up for. And not to overbook yourself. That's to be greedy. You know, if you want to keep your quality. Up you gotta. Sort of take things on slowly. That's UM. But right now I'm living in spring of 2024 in Alaska, even though we're, you know, December. 2023 yeah. And I've got some really cool stuff I'm doing and I'm excited and. I think. It's funny because. Even bite me on here to talk and. I can talk so much. And the truth is, I just want to be here to offer what I've experienced. And it is. It is profound. I do have a very long history of been a photographer for over 30 years. You know, I started in 1991 and I was like a child prodigy. I've been living and breathing photography since then. And it's changed so much. And what I want. Is of course to express I want to. And I can go into my whole like. You know, vision as an artist and what I'm trying to express there, but in general, I'm just trying to connect with humanity and to give back. And there's so many moments out there. I mean infinite, that I can't be there to take that picture. You're going to be there. Your listeners are going to be there. And it's important for them. It's a really important job. We are. Sort of preserving. Time for people to analyze and have new perspectives at that moment in the future. You know, these are pictures of you. They're pictures of us and. Whether it's. You know a landscape or an art picture, a portrait or what have you. It's sort of a picture of right now. And we are right now, you know, and in the future, we can look back upon that and be like. Wow, that used to be. A forest. And now it's a parking lot, you know? Or that's kind of us, right. So I. I don't know it it's interesting. 

Yeah. No, I I like, I like that. I heard something the other day. Was it yesterday? It might have been yesterday, but it was about we're kind of in a point with society and and we live in a day and age where. We are looking for meaning in our lives a little bit more than people 50-60 years ago or and. I think you know the creative arts and like photography and video and and other things like that are really that thing that helps us connect with one another and. And stuff. So yeah. 

I'd like to throughout this sort of observation, is that separation itself is. A myth? It's an idea. It's even an operating system that's so prevalent in our culture. We have this idea of me, you, them, they and you know we have the planet we have natural versus in natural or unnatural. And it it's really interesting because the more information you gather the and you know scientifically even and you can have experiences that will, you know, give you this kind of awareness. But in general separation doesn't exist and we're all connected, we're all one. You know, and that's. And so photography and media and what have you, regardless of what it is, it's all about connecting ourselves to ourself. And my landscapes and landscape photography, I think of it as, you know, our planetary body. If you can think of it like that. So you know, we we live on it, but it breathes out, we breathe in and vice versa, and so many different levels and. You know you have this history, you have individual history, but it's all connected to so many different things. And yeah, it's. So yeah. Yeah, like I said, I'm an artist 1st and then I employ myself as a photographer and I have a lot of technical skills. I've done a lot of stuff. And I have the hardest time trying to niche him. Adam. What? Like what would you do? Right? Like I like to take nature photos, but I absolutely love taking sports and action. You know portraiture and brand photography and even boudoir photography. I don't care who's in front of the lens, I'm going to have a blast. It's all light and shadow subject. I like to shoot iconic pictures. I'm always after that. Like boom. Yeah, but. 

I guess to kind of wrap up this episode, what tips or advice for someone that wants to start in photography or? Try and make it a career or what do you? 

Got. There's a lot, you know, making in a career certainly don't quit your day job. Right, I'm running. I'm running probably 10 business models all at once. And you know that's it's pretty difficult. I think your tools are really important and I think there's an overemphasis on having the latest. Greatest we have incredible cameras out there and this is really funny. This is something I like to sort of bring up for anyone is right now I have a I have a a hammer and I pound nails with it. Right? I'm I'm camera and I take pictures and I've been doing it and I do a really good job and I have professional results. And so, if you're gonna sell me a new hammer to pound more nails it. Really has to have like a huge amount. Of utility difference between what? They have so my. Standards are really high on that. It needs to be. Durable, it needs to have the menus need to be functional, like if you need to change something it needs to be thought out like buttons seem to be in the right place menu just need to be quick to navigate and and grouped together and there's certain cameras that are way better than others and these sort of fronts I shoot cannon. It's not the only camera to shoot, but it's a great all around platform and I do a lot of different things and generally I tell people that what's the best camera, the best one is gonna be the one you're gonna have on you. Like you can't take a picture if you didn't bring your camera. So, you know, unfortunately, Adam, they the. The deal here is that an iPhone is probably the best camera for most people. And even like. There's a whole I'm sure you've seen it. These guys with like these cages and stuff built around their iPhones and getting paychecks right with their iPhone, so yeah. 

Yeah, it's to the point that, I mean, Apple is using that as a a marketing thing. They're like shot on iPhone, like, they'll do a whole video and then at the end it. 

Right. 

Says shot on my phone, so. It's a Sarah. Someone posted something once. It was like, what's the best camera? You. Could get for. About 1000 bucks and I was like your phone. 

You're right, it's totally true. 1000 bucks. Yeah, you're in trouble. Yeah. Our lenses are more than that. Yeah. 

Yeah. So. 

I guess another another tip. I would say right now. Since 2023. Your cameras are generally going to the mirrorless right everything, and so you have this whole DSLR platform that had unbelievably awesome glass. It had excellent image quality and the software has outpaced the hardware. So you have software now that. And do like you know, denoise right. And so all of a sudden you're. You know 30 megapixel or 20 plus megapixel image is boosting up there and right on par with like sometimes in the 40s. So you can get these lenses cheap, shoot primes stay away from zoom lenses unless you're really just pounding nails with it. If you know what I mean. Like you're at an event. I shoot zoom lenses at events. If I'm on assignment for something specific, I will always shoot primes if I can, and if you're looking for one lens to start with the 50mm. Is fantastic. Get the nicest, fastest one you can for whatever platform you're shooting. My 51 two is my favorite lens. Both for portraiture. And in Alaska, I use it as my wide for landscape. Believe it or not. Yeah, it's just like, you know, there's no distortion on the. The mountains and the mountains are so huge. The landscape is so vast. If I shoot wide, you lose it. And so shooting 50 is as wide as I'll go. And UM. And shooting landscape. 

No, that's usually that's true. Yeah. Yeah. I've never really thought about the landscape images that I have in Alaska, but they're all shot on the 70 to 200, so. 

Yeah, exactly. Like here's a scenario that I've been in. I'm in a helicopter. The door is open. Cirque series for Julian Carr. Right, you know and. The whole and. Mountain race there at Alyeska, and I'm sitting with two camera bodies. Of course, we had Gopros and stuff, but I'm shooting with a telephoto and I'm. Shooting with a. 50 and that was just how I roll. And so if I'm out there, especially those aviation type moments, I'll always be shooting 50 and won't be shooting 35 or we'll have like an 85 on on that. I'll have a dedicated 50 every single time. Just so I can. Get that perspective. 

Ohh that's cool. So where you at right now? I'm in Utah. I'm in. Uh, yeah. Yeah. Uh Ogden, north of Salt Lake. A little bit, but yeah. 

OK, Salt Lake. OK. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm familiar. There's some some skydiving, and you guys have an I fly there. I'd be spending money if I was in your town there. And then when you travel. 

Yeah, that I fly is. Not that far from here. 

It's fun. Yeah, that's cool. And we will stop by next time around. 

In the previous, previous, uh. Episodes I've had rydstrom and and. Scott Markowitz on and both of them kind of mentioned about having some transparency in in the pricing. That we. Are charging clients. And yeah, so. 

You know, that's gosh, Scott. Mark Markowitz is a total legend. I I have been privileged to have been on the same in the same area taking pictures when I was like 19 US freeski. Put in. Vail, a 1990. Nine as wild. OK, so pricing. And has been something that I have gone through the process of reinventing the wheel. And what I did was ended up coming all the way back to being like, oh, why did I do that? You know, I used to charge by the hour, and sometimes I still do per assignment. It sort of depends, but generally. Commercial photography you are selling use rights, you the so the base model is copyright law. And that is very confusing because we're talking about intellectual property. So any one that's starting a business in photography or as a creative really needs to understand intellectual property rights and copyright law. It's not straightforward at all because it's not like, you know, here's my. 

No, it's not. 

Here's my product here I'm going to take money and you have it. It's like it's more like here. You can borrow this for a little bit of time and I'll take money for that. And I'm going to send you an invoice later. You know, a year from now or whatever. Where it is and then the prices are different, right? Like your mom and pop shop isn't going to be able to afford or nor should you charge them the same as you would charge a major like Fortune 500 company. So there's a huge difference. And I think the transparency in that. Is a challenge. You know, photography is a business. And like any business, you have operating needs, you need to know what they are you need to. Understand how much. Profit. You need to make and figure out what you need to charge and then I think the interesting thing here is. That's variable and I was really happy getting a paycheck that I would not be happy with, you know, five years before, like five years ago. I was stoked. Now it's like, OK, that's like not acceptable. So yeah. And you have to. Learn what that is. And at the same time, if you're starting out, you're not going to be able to command or justify, you know, a higher. Price. And so there's something in the market like you get what you pay for, right. I don't want to do every job. I don't. I don't have time for it. And I want to be more connected and excited as an artist and not just be like, oh, I'm at work, you know? So I like to show up. Like that pricing in general like straight up price. Right now. To get your client to swallow the price on something and you're charging by the hour, I used to sharp charge by shoot time and Adam that got to be like people are like you're charging more than a surgeon and and you're like, well, you know like. OK, except I'm not right, because there's like 30 hours of work that went into this just to get the job, and then, you know, every hour I shoot. There's like 8 hours. Associated behind a computer you know more or less. Yeah. So, yeah, it's it's tough. I think you have, you can do it by time. You can do it by session. If you're starting out and you're just doing portraiture or something, go in, take the pictures. I charge a shoot fee. That's a flat fee just for having me show up. It doesn't include any licensing. And then I. Sell individual images after that packages what have. You and then you can sell one year, three-year, five year unlimited use rights, right. It's sort of like general, like boom, boom boom. And they're each going to have different prices. But if you're you're showing up and you're kind of new, don't charge, just shoot fee go in there, take the pictures. Your client doesn't have. Any like thing to risk and then go ahead and like, sell individual images, they'll probably choose five, right, you know, 3-10 depending on what. Says and sell them for a couple 100 bucks apiece and you're going to have to decide on the use rights, but sell them. Use rights. They'll give up the copyright. Don't be like this is your picture, right? Like, because then that's a problem down the road. So yeah. I think you know what it's interesting you. You said gatekeeping. And we both work in the adventure outdoor sports industries. You know, you have resorts, you have outdoor retail brands even like production companies. And boy is it difficult to figure out how that works. Like nobody's going to tell you. 

Like, yeah, yeah. 

And and the truth is this, this is this is really. And this is what I think the answer to that is because nobody. Really knows they have what they have. And there's no model for it, so you have to do the networking. You have to make those relationships. You have to make it work. And and the most important thing in that is to walk away when it doesn't work. So you have to know where and how much you need and what that is, because let's just give you this example. I had a production company call me. They're well known and they had an athlete they wanted to film. They wanted me to put up my own money to drive, to take pictures, they said. It was a great opportunity that I would have access on this film shoot. And that that was a huge value. And I was like, OK, you want me to spend? And it's probably gonna be like $10,000 to do this trip. And in that time, I'm. Going to be. Kind of like I already have a contract that has a deposit and it's actually got like a pay scale model like I have regular paychecks. I have shot lists that I have to satisfy and this great opportunity, but you're not offering me anything like you're literally not valuing me like you're, you know. So if you want to step up. And have me invest my time and put effort. I need a deposit. I need a contract. End of story. That's it. Yeah. So that's my advice. And I I wish everybody luck. It's and we do need each other as photographers because we get rolled on all the time. Like hard, you won't be. Able to do. It if as a business or survive. Yeah. So your success, Adam, is my success and it's all of ours. Like let's all win. Yes, right. 

Yep, Yep. Right. No, it's it's so true. And and like you said. Yeah. Like if we don't stick up and I and I think that's kind of where my my mind is with it. If I don't stick up for my pricing. And they can walk on me, whether it's a company or a one off, you know, whether it be they feel like they can do it again and they'll do it again to someone that's a little more naive or doesn't know a whole lot more about the industry. I'm really grateful for the the one company that actually like stopped me and was like, hey, wait a second. Your pricing is off. You need to be charging more. And I was like. 

That's a gift. 

OK, thank you. And uh, you know and and I think call out companies right now like I'm not going to say their names, but just say you know if you're one of those companies, you need to be having the integrity to share that with fellow photographers that don't. 

Yeah, yeah. 

Or aren't charging what they should be, not taking advantage of them so. 

I mean you, you. Get what you pay for and one of. The things you. Pay for is experience and you know what is experience? Well, it's knowing how important things are and being able to identify it when the sand shifts underneath your feet, you got production. By you, boy, I hope you're not using a cheap photographer when you have high production value like you really could like lose out. And that's one of the selling points I have. But the community of photographers that we have and and people getting into it, I think it's really it's really beautiful and it's an incredible tool that's. Way more. I mean, if you look at how exclusive it was not 100 years ago, how about 30 years ago, like when I started like right, you had to understand film, you had to like know what you were taking a picture of without seeing the back of your camera like you had to, like, really understand what it was. And do what you're doing. And so the entry level, you know, the requirements, there are incredibly low and these days with cameras. And so it's a wonderful time to express yourself. I'd like to see people taking cameras to preserve culture. Especially, you know, in some very like remote areas and like to see them have the cameras like I don't want to come in and like exploit them. I want them to show us. And so I feel like that's one of the things that you know can happen now modeling business models. And pricing. Mentorship. This is a trade. You know, if you were in any other trade, you're an apprentice. You have someone that you look up to and you know these days because that bar is so low you can kind of get into it and just be like ohh I'm a photographer, you know, and really your cameras on program more or. That's right. And so with these questions, when it comes up to copyright law pricing, you know it's going to change depending on your client and your market, but have a mentor and tell you a few of mine real quick. Tom Stillo was a mentor of mine and Crested Butte. Paul Gallagher. Was a mentor. The late and these are it's the late John Fielder, his mentor. Stories with him personally and a gallery in crested Lucille Lucas find our find print gallery. It's now located. In Panya, we had an exhibit. He had one. And I had one at the same. Time I got. To talk with. Him and he looked at my art and. 

He's like, oh. 

Remind me of Elliot. Quarter and I was. Like, who's that? You know? And so like now? It's my favorite. Photographer. Look him up, Elliot. Porter, brilliant, brilliant photographer, if you. Don't know. And he's a little bit more. Obscure, but he's quite famous too. Yeah, I don't know. And and I did seek out and I have a living mentor because these guys are. No longer around. That I call regularly and we actually share some of the same clients. And uhm, I reached out to him because. I was like, Oh my gosh, this client's crazy. What? What are you? What's your experience like? What should I? Do right you. Know and you know he he's very open and and I really appreciate his skill set and. Yeah, I'll just. Tell you it's it's Ken Graham and Girdwood. In Alaska, he's. He's been doing a lot of like, like industrial photographies his main. Focus. Yeah, so. And I've been. It sounds like both of us are stepping into that market a little bit. 

Well, I appreciate you. 

Thanks for having me on the. 

Yeah. Where are where can people follow you? Like following, yeah. 

Thank you. So I am. I've got a. Thing as an artist and I'll tell you this real quick, because they'll understand how to follow me. My photography is for places and spaces, not screens in front of faces, so that's kind of my general motto. I allow my clients to share my best work first. That's what they paid for. They get first dibs. I try to honor that as much as I can. I'm sitting on so many bangers from this year. I'm just like. But I'm at peace with it, you know? That's that's what I got paid to do. And those photos are going to get used when. They get used so. You can find me sometimes I'm paid extra if the client doesn't want to have a mention. Give a photo. Right. Visit. Anchorage is one of those. So their client there and in Alaska they're sharing a lot of my stuff. Another one of those is Alyeska resorts. I've got stuff. All over and images all over the resort trail maps. You know, you sort of name it. I have cameos sort of randomly in Powder magazine. That's one of my favorites, you know. Just personal. Yeah. Appreciate that. I'm on Instagram, Ralph under score, Christopher. My tagline is art of the moment I'm on the interwebs at ralphchristopher.com and I'm on threads now, sort of doing. That I also. Have a YouTube channel and I'm building up that's sort of fun. I'm just putting out there because I want to share. I don't really care what the metrics are, just it's more for me. And I'll have various different things there. And actually you can look for I. Don't know which images are going. To be used but. It would be unlikely that no images were used, so look for an exhibit called borders in the north and the Anchorage Museum in the next year. It will be on display if things starting in February. And it's going. To be up there, so I have some really. Nice prints I. Gave them quite a big submission, so we'll see what they. Choose cool but. 

OK. Yeah. Awesome. Thanks, Ralph. 

Thank you, Adam. 

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