My Mugs

I drink coffee each morning and so I started to collect coffee mugs from all the places I visit. It's pretty fun because then every morning I wake up with a memory of a trip I've taken.

Back in Action

For the past couple of months I haven't really felt myself. I dunno what it was but for some reason I had trouble finding motivation to do anything. I felt in a slump and really tired and burned out even though I wasn't doing much.

Now I feel like I've been reenergized and I think I figured it out...it's because I'm doing more! Now I'm not doing more things that because I have to do them...I'm doing more things that I believe fall in line with my gifts and my purpose in life and that gives me so much energy and I am so amped!

Today on the flight I had 298 emails to respond to and I responded back to 46 of them and enjoyed it! ...and I'm gonna crank on some more tonight! I'm also excited about the weddings I have coming up. Not because I wake up every morning and want to shoot weddings but because I've found a new purpose in them and have reshaped how I see wedding photography fitting into my life.

Are you looking for purpose in everything that you're doing? I know I often don't and when I don't those activities drain me. Having a purpose behind what you're doing is possibly the greatest motivator you can have so if you haven't thought about why you're doing what you're doing then do that today! It will change your life.

Stellar

Ok..me and my friend Amy Nave always joke with each other about traveling and so a couple of days ago we were both staying at the Barlows and she was flying out and was just heading out the door and I was like why are you leaving so early. She was leaving at 10:00am for 12:30pm flight. The Barlows live 30 minutes from the airport and so she would've been there two hours early! I slowed her down a bit and it's so fun to watch her stress out. Seriously...it's great... but then b/c I'm a nice guy I showed her some tricks for getting through O'hare really quick b/c I am a self proclaimed expert.

So today I had my flight out and my flight was at 10:00am. The 10:00am fight through LA is the best one because it's not super early and it allows me to just catch the LA -> SB flight at 2:05 so I still have half the day at home.

So anyway, we left the Barlows at 8:50am which is 1hr and 10 minutes before my flight. Awesome...and Sarah got me to the airport at 9:20 so when I was checking in my flight was actually boarding...but I was sure to take some extra time to get a photo.

I didn't run but I walked real fast and got to the gate at 9:40 which means that I got from the Barlow Inn to my gate at O'hare in exactly 50 minutes!

I've been putting some travel tips up on one of my other blogs so check it out if you're bored.

I'm on the plane right now....gotta fly. :)

PartnerCon Fun!

PartnerCon was such a reunion and I've loved getting to know so many amazing photographers over the past couple of years.



This was the first time that Showit did the booth thing and here's a pick of Kenny Kim and Master Todd hanging out!


Kenny always gets so many great pics from the conventions and so be sure to checkout his blog!

Also, Davide Greene from Canada had the funniest slide in his presentation and here's a little video clip of it!

Heaven on earth!

Heaven on earth!, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

This is the best combination ever!



God bless America!

Pink flamingo pajama party!

Pink flamingo pajama party!, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

We're having so much fun at the barlows but the girls would rather blog than talk to me... So i'm taking pictures of them and blogging too.

PartnerCon!

The conference has been so fun! Yesterday I needed to get a TV so I took a cab to Costco and had him wait while I grabbed a TV! It's awesome! It's a 32inch Sony LCD and it's amazing seeing the Showit-DVD's play on it!

I set it up in my room. I'm not sure how I'm gonna get it home yet cause it's pretty big.

Ok...tonight a group of us is going to get sushi! My favorite! :)

I will go take more pictures now. bye

Sleepy

Sleepy, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

I'm just taking off on a late night flight to Chicago...I was going to come in tomorrow but then I lose the whole day traveling and I have to go find a TV to have at the Showitfast booth...I haven't had a TV in a long time but I suppose if I buy one I'll bring it home.



Anyway...I just took two Tylenol PM's and those things really knock ya out... ;) ...off to bed...



Oh yea...if you check www.showitfast.com you can get the free update to showit web with the new embed feature which allows you to embed super easy and even works on MySpace!



...and if you prefer to read my blog in French you can now do that by clicking on the "French Translation" button on the right.

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Night night.

I am still at the wedding!

I haven't tried this before but I'm actually posting this Showit Web show before I can even put the on-site slideshow up! I rocked it out while they were eating and they had a bit of a longer dinner so here's the show!

...and I'm using a brand new embed feature that is so awesome b/c you can resize and do some other super cool stuff without having to upload a new show! We'll put it up for download next week!

...ok...back to shooting!

PHewww...

Ok so I'm on my way down to Palm Springs for my wedding this weekend and Brett is driving so I brought my Verizon internet card so I could book a room on the way...but there were no rooms. We couldn't believe it!

I think the 2nd stop of the Swiss Watch Tour must be here in Palm Springs this week b/c there are seriously no rooms.

So when times get desperate I have to actually pick up the phone and make phone calls. So I called this nice place right next to club where the wedding is and while I was on the phone with the lady telling me they were booked full somebody cancelled their reservation so we got it! Sweet!

We're staying at the Rancho Las Palmas resort which I've heard is pretty nice.

Ok...we're just arriving. Ciao. (BTW - this place isn't that nice) lol

....so we got checked in and I remembered Samuel showing me the bed jump website so I decided to do one of my own! Pretty fun!

Mashups

I like this song from Avril...this isn't a real video of it but since the band didn't make a video the fans make them themselves and they are called Mashups. In the WOM world it's further evidence that our brands are being created by our supporters and as long as we allow them to they will create content and marketing for us without us doing anything. It's a great example of "hands-free" marketing.

Exercise Changes Everything

Look at the food I'm buying...this is rediculous.

Mayan Riviera Slideshow

We had a great time shooting Vanessa and Jordan's wedding and all the good shots you see are probably from Kevin Swan who was so fun to shoot with!

Press the play button to watch the show!

Also, I've been have a lot of fun on my trips taking pictures of all the unique textures in these places and then mixing those textures with the photos! I love how they're coming out and the picture above is a cool example of what you can do!

So I packaged up all the texture files and made a video showing you how to use them.

Click here to Getit!

The training video is free and the textures come out to about a dollar a piece right now b/c they're on sale.

Have your DEFAULT be YES!

It's great to be home! Although I do have to leave again in the morning for a wedding in Palm Springs. A few of you emailed about wanting to come along and sorry I haven't gotten back to you. I haven't had much internet access and so it's been tough to correspond with anyone.

When we got on the plane yesterday I realized their was a mistake with our seats so I asked to move to an open seat in a different section and the flight attendant said "no" ... so I informed her that I was a 1k member and she still said sorry I can't move you. That's when I got on my high horse and told her that she was being unreasonable and that the rules she was spouting off were flat out silly and I wanted to talk to somebody else. :) ...Can you imagine how silly I sounded!

She sent back her superviser who moved both me and Brett as soon as she could but I asked Brett if I had been rude to the lady and he said, "The way you acted was very unDJ-like" which was Brett's brilliant way of flattering and scolding me all at the same time. So when the flight attendant came back through I apologized to her for how I had acted.

Lots of lessons were learned:
1. Always check your seats at Check-in.
2. If your default response is "no - I can't help you" don't expect to have many friends.
3. When you lose your patience, even if you're right, apologize.
4. When correcting someone - do it like Brett did.

Azulik

I can't belive how long it's been since I've had internet! Wow! I tried to post a bit from my phone but I know it's just not as good so here's a fun video of the place I'm staying! I love it! I want to come back here with a bunch of friends just to hangout for a week! My room has three beds and so does Kevin and Brett's. Two inside and one outside! Checkout the video to see the outdoor hottub too! :)



This afternoon an iguana climbed right up on the patio and I took this picture of him with my phone! I was so close I could almost touch him but I was afraid he would bite me.

...and here's a video!

Paradise

Paradise, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

I am now in paradise!



This place is amazing! You will not believe it! I will take a video tonight and upload it for you!



This is one of the top 5 places I've ever experienced!



Right now i'm laying on a swinging bed on my balcony overlooking the gorgeous teal water!

Thinking

Thinking, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

I just read an old proverb that says, "Develop your business first before building your house." This is certainly what I've been doing...but i'm becoming less and less content just building my business but I've also found myself really resisting starting the "house building" and adding another dimension to my life.

One of the reason's I've been getting up early is to spend time praying about this and trying to get some direction about where to go next. I know a lot of you have been praying for me too and thank you for that.

I'm excited for the wedding today and as soon as I can get online I'll get some pictures up for all of you.

:)

Back of camera

Back of camera, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

Hey everyone...I thought you'd enjoy this picture...I took a picture with my phone of the back of my camera from this welcome party we're having before the wedding tomorrow. Lol...I'll have better pictures up as soon as I have internet...can you believe I haven't had internet this whole time other than on my phone.

It's been gorgeous down here and we met a cool videographer who told us about an insane secret getaway where you stay in palapas (sp?) right on the ocean so we're gonna blast there for a couple of days after the wedding.

I miss you guys...i'm so used to being able to stay in the conversations with everyone and keep up on the blogs.

Ok...back to shooting...

Breakfast

Breakfast, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

The food here is great!

Sunset

Sunset, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

It's 6:30 in the morning and i'm up reading thinking and praying. One of my Easter resolutions was to get up at 6am every day and I've done it ever since!



It's really weird because I don't feel jet lag anymore or even feel what time it is for that matter because it's actually 3am for me and when I was in Europe the time was way off and I dunno why but it doesn't bother me.



It's gorgeous here. Warm and windy and there are these huge pools that go throughout the whole hotel. I brought my underwater housing so I'll take some fun pictures.



More later...

Denver

Denver, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

Me and Brett had a short layover in denver and I really like Denver. People here in Colorado are really nice...they remind me of the people in Switzerland.



We are headed to Cancun where we'll meet up with Kevin Swan if he's able to get out of Texas. There have been bad storms and lots of delayed and cancelled flights.



I'm really excited for this wedding. It's a couple from NY who I've never met but they seem wonderful and are going to have an amazing wedding!



Everyone is staying at the barcelo resort which is an all inclusive resort down there and I've never stayed at a place like that.



I also changed my plans a little bit to come home for a day inbetween this wedding and my wedding in palm springs so I can repack and get everything I need for Chicago as well.



Rock on!

DJ

Maximum Impact Reunion!!!

I'm leaving in a few hours for almost 3 weeks! YIKES! ...and very rarely do I extend my trips but this is worth it! Sarah Barlow just sent me the info and I'm so excited!

CLICK HERE AND GET YOUR TICKETS FAST!

Last year a group of us went to a Maximum Impact conference in Chicago and this year the conference is only two days after PartnerCon so I have to stay! Anybody else who's in the area should come!

It's only gonna be $59 to hear all these amazing speakers! The conference is simulcasted to 100's of locations and over 80,000 people will view this world wide. All of us will be going to the Chicago one so post here if you're interested!

More info here!

See you in Chicago!

Inspiration is Scalable!

So it's been pretty cool over the past couple of weeks to see how my friend Deyl's Ironman performance has inspired so many people!

I've been getting emails and phone calls from people I've never even met before telling me how now they're gonna start training and it all goes back to Deyl simply doing something he loved and sharing his joy with others.

I got a call from my Showit Web partner Todd in AZ saying he was starting to train and my buddy Brett is starting to train and my new friend Sarah sent me this note on MySpace and it is just incredible to see how far this goes!


This morning I got up and went to the gym and had my best run yet. I've finally worked out some of the kinks with the Nike+ stuff and am getting the hang of how it works. My previous runs have messed up my average time because I forgot to turn it off when I'd finish and then it would keep counting the time when I was getting a drink of water instead of running.

Here is some of my info from the Nike + site...

I like the run graph because it shows your pace and as you can see I would run faster at times. I've been listening to this podcast from Robert Kiyosaki and it's so good. I've been learning so much and getting healthy at the same time and I think I run faster when he talks about cool stuff. I dunno.


and the final feature I like about Nike + is the ability to talk trash to the people you're racing against. Right now it's just me and Brett in this race and he's already claiming his knee hurts...what a baby. Seriously. It's only been two days. Anyway, I got one of these things for deyl as well but he told me that he ran 16 miles yesterday so I'm not gonna give it to him.


So how many of you are training! I want to know and if you have the Nike+ stuff let me know too and we'll make a new challenge with everyone! I want to talk trash to all of you. I'm much better at that then actually working out!

:) Happy Trails,
DJ

Where are YOU!

This is so cool. I just got this from the GNYC blog and put this on my blog and it's so fun to see where all my friends are logging on from!

Which dot is you!

If you click on it it'll open up and you can see all the visitors! Sometimes it doesn't load the first time so click again. The dark areas of the map are the parts of the world where people are sleeping.

I am Fast

I try to be humble about things like this but I have to admit that I am just fast and I always have been. :)

Listen to this MP3 from when I was 6 years old. I was fast back then too.

So all of you know that I've been training for this "sprint triathalon" thing and it's so boring. I really think running is like the most boring thing ever and so I'm trying to find ways to make it fun. So my buddy Todd reminded me of the Nike + system that tracks how far you run and then you can race against your friends. So I went out and got one and they are pretty cool.

I also got some personalized shoes so that when I run past everyone they can read on the back that "I AM FAST" - I am already beating my buddy Brett at a race we set up and after the first day he's on the injured reserve list already...what a baby so if any of you have Nike + things then we can setup races together...

Knowledge Network and Compassion

We all go through so many milestones in our lives and a huge milestone that most of us have gone through is starting our own businesses. The excitement, anxiety, sadness, joy, possibly even pain and fear that this process has brought us has the ability to change us and what a blessing and sometimes a burden it is to share these emotions with one another.

As OSP continues to grow (we just passed the 4000 members mark) Let's be sure to take time to remind one another of our roots and encourage each other to always think of OSP as a place where we come to help others.

OSP was built as a way to help people get the information that they needed and it eventually became a community of friends who share their lives with each other. Of course there will be times when we disagree and then we fight and bicker with one another and what's nice is to watch as those little quarrels pass and people forgive each other and we continue growing together.

This post isn't about anything specific...simply a reminder of how wonderful this place is. We talk a lot about the first two things that go into what Tim Sanders defines as a "Lovecat" which are sharing our knowledge and sharing our network so let's be sure to spend some time focusing on the third which is sharing compassion with everyone around us.

Support, encouragement, love, and compassion are things that everyone can give no matter if you've been in the industry for 10 years or 10 days.

I love you all and thank you for making this industry a better place!

Yours,
DJ

Always inspired!

I'm always inspired when I go to Scott Robert's blog. I've seen very few photographers who can capture emotion the way he does and as we all know EMOTIONS are EVERYTHING!


Check him out!

He does some stellar post processing too which you can learn about at his workshops and I just saw that he's gonna be in Paris right after I'm there in July! So cool! Paris is so amazing!

No sympathy...

It's ok...I know I didn't deserve any sympathy and your posts were funny... The night went by pretty fast and I spent the last couple of hours hiding out in this shower room that I found which was totally sweet! ...and I saved $500 b/c all the rooms were booked so that's a bonus! I made this video at 2:00am this morning!

Now I'm in Germany making a change and then flying back to SB! Yea! I'm so excited! I also just found out that one of my weddings got cancelled this year and I'm so amped because it's the weekend of one of my good college buddies wedding so now I can go to that!

oops

Oops..., originally uploaded by davidjay13.

So I uh finally got nipped from my lack of travel planning...haha...last night I searched and searched for a hotel for my last night in Switzerland and I thought for sure there was some error because all the sites claimed that none existed. So when I arrived in Geneva I came back to the President Wilson hotel where I stayed last week and asked if they could help me find a room and they searched and searched for me and their is only one bed available in the whole city which was at a dorm style youth hostel!!! Yikes! Once a year there is a huge watch tradeshow that books up all of Geneva and it's this week. Lol



So being that I have to be at the airport at 5am (and I am a big yuppy when it comes to traveling) I was like forget the hostel I will just stay up all night. So today I hung out with Daniel Zihlmann and he showed me some cool places and now it's 12:30am and i'm back at the President Wilson hanging out being a squater in their lounge with a bunch of watch folks! :)



I'm not sure what I'll do when the lounge closes because I'll still have a few hours before I can go to the airport but I will let you know.

Planche Contact - Lyon, France

Planche Contact! Lyon, France, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

Today we finished up another great workshop with Planche Contact!

I really get excited when photographers are open and wanting to take advantage of new systems and new tools and I'm convinced that my new friends out here are going to excell very fast if they adopt some of these new philosophies because they will be the first French photographers to do so! They will actually be some of the first photographers in the world fully take advantage of this "Hands Free" system because only a few people even in the U.S. are doing it.

It was so cool tonight when David Bornais started talking at dinner about the photographers he knew of in the U.S. because they were all my friends and he said he knew them because they were the ones sharing information! So cool! I have a video clip of him talking about Dane and the Simple Photo Minute and Jasmine Star and others and I'll try and put it up tomorrow!

Now...I gotta go find a hotel room for tomorrow night back in Switzerland.

Back in France!

So I'm back in France for a quick meeting and 2 day workshop with Samuel and Planche Contact! Samuel has been a great business partner and he is leading the charge here in France and encouraging photographers to adopt this attitude of abundance and embrace openness! These philosophies are key to creating freedom in your life!




Also, for english speaking photographers you can now join us in France! It's the week of July 8th!

The next workshop will include the famous wedding photojournalist Bob Davis and will have instant translation to French through headsets so both French and English speakers should come! I'll be staying out here for a little fun after the workshop and possibly apartment hunting :) so if you come from the UK or the states we can hangout and celebrate Mark Miller's birthday together!

Also checkout this funny blog Samuel showed me! Bed jumping!

I worked out again today! This is 3 days in row! I haven't gone this many days in a row since college. I started weighing myself before my first day of training and this is what happened...

Only because you asked...

Several of you have asked for me to verify what you had heard about the women here in Switzerland and so yes they are very nice people.

***Click Here for the short video***

Start of Training

On the flight in I flew from Frankfurt right over the Swiss Alps and they are amazing.


Switzerland is so cool. I really like it here. It reminds me so much of Santa Barbara b/c of the way the mountains kinda surround the water. This is a pano shot I just took this morning. I'm styaying at the President Wilson Hotel and it's right on Lake Geneva so there was this gorgeous sunrise this morning. I feel very grateful to be able to experience all these things.



I started training this morning...I can't believe it. I feel really good I LOVE exercising (not really but I'm trying to trick myself into liking it even a little bit)




This morning after I exercised I just sat and had breakfast for two hours and read the newspaper. Starwood hotels here in Europe have the most amazing breakfast buffets and what's funny is that I'm not much of a breakfast person so I never knew that but when I was in France Vanessa got up and went to one and now I never miss them! My friend Jason Lanier is a big wig at Starwood and he told me about Starwoods new venture of condos called Aloft and if they have breakfasts like their hotels I want one.

Gotta go roam the streets a bit. There are so many cool textures here and so I'm taking pictures of them and then seeing how they look on top of other pictures and it's so cool! I can't wait to show you guys!

I made it!

I made it!, originally uploaded by davidjay13.

So I just landed in Switzerland! Yea! The flights were wonderful and I don't feel tired or anything. I just stopped at this restaurant because I haven't gotten to the part of my planning where I book a hotel so I need to hop online and do that...but this restaurant has a great menu as you can tell!

Back to Europe

Here's my schedule over the next couple of months.

April
12 - 15 Geneva, Switzerland - chillin... :)
16 - 19 Lyon, France - Workshop with Planche Contact
25 - 30 Mayan Riviera, Mexico - Wedding

May
1 - 7 Palm Springs - Wedding
8 - 11 Chicago - Presentation at PartnerCon
17 - 20 Connecticut - Wedding
21 - 22 New Jersey - Presentation at PPANJ
25 - 27 Pismo Beach - Wedding

June
11th Ventura - Presentation for CIPPA
18 - 21 Ohio - Alive Music Festival
21 - 26 Maine - Wedding

July
5 - 7 Tennessee - Wedding
8 - 16 Paris, France - Workshop with Planche Contact
26 - 29 Chicago - Wedding

OH MY!!!!

My friend Paige is hilarious!!!

She and Deyl want me to do a triathalon and when Paige gets something in her mind there is no stopping it from happening! Look at the coercion!!! She even started a poll on her blog! Unreal!

***Click here*** to vote!

p.s. - I'm uncertain about what a "Coach Potato" is though so it might not be that bad.

Largo Largo Largo

I know I've already posted about Chris and Tammie Billey from Largo Photography in Arizona but everytime I see their work it just amazes me. ***Click here*** to see their MySpace which is my favorite because of all the Showit Web slideshows they have on there!

They are brilliant!

Christian Music

One of the things I've learned over the years is how much music affects my emotions. So if I'm feeling a certain way and I don't want to be feeling that way I can turn on music and it helps me transition those emotions into something positive.

I have so many new emotions going on in my life right now and some of them I don't know what to do with and so I want to be careful how I use these emotions ...and I just heard this great new Christian artist and thought I'd share it. Her Website is JaimeJam.com!

I really like this song called Hear My Worship.

Enjoy,
DJ

If I had a millon dollars...

....I'd hire Dane as my personal PR person! :)

He just did a stellar interview on Inside Digital Photo.

Click here to hear it...Dane's the 2nd half.

Easter Resolutions

I missed church today...can you belive that! Easter of all days! They changed the time and I didn't get the memo but I think God wanted me all to himself today so I went to the beach and read and prayed and worshiped (with my iPod) there.

I'm not a pastor and I'm not posting this to try and convert anybody so don't trip out but this is a big day for Christians because this is the day we believe Christ rose from the dead which is pretty gnarly so I really wanted to take some time thinking about that.

This morning I read a great quote from C.S. Lewis book "The Weight of Glory"

"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.
We are far too easily pleased."

I think in my personal life and my professional life I'm far too easily pleased. I'm realizing that I don't want more of the same - I want what's best! ...and it takes discipline and commitment to discover that - two things I'm not so good at so I made some "Easter Resolutions" today. :) New Years Resolutions never even make it to Easter but I'm hoping these resolutions will stay with me forever.

Wisdom...

This morning I was listening to my monthly CD from John Maxwell's Maximum Impact Club and this month's lesson was on wisdom and there was this great quote...

"The wise man learns from his mistakes
The wiser man learns from others mistakes...




....the wisest man learns from others successes."