The Secret Lives of Elephants: A Photo Odyssey

These two pachyderms exemplify the secret lives of elephants as they entertwine their trunks and touch their feet together.

The Secret And Remarkable Lives of Elephants
We all know that Elephants are remarkable creatures, but until very recently we didn’t know how remarkable. It was on a two-year expedition to previously unexplored regions of both Africa and South East Asia that I was able to gain the trust of these ponderous pachyderms to the point where they let me photograph them in there normally secret activities and feats that have never before been witnessed by humans. Elephants, as it turns out, have amazing skills in music, dance, in athletic performances and even in the metaphysical.

Burmese Jungles and Elephant Ballads
At one point, having hacked our way through the deep jungles of Burma for weeks, sharing meals and stories with Tribal people including the neck-ring wearing Padueng, some of whom had never seen westerners before, and seeing nothing but malaria mosquitoes, leeches and venomous snakes, we were rewarded with a truly inspiring sight. We actually heard it before we saw it. An eerie but incredibly beautiful melody, a haunting harmony punctuated by rap-like bellows and an deep rumbling base that came up through the ground and reverberated into our chests. And then, as we parted the vines and tropical leaves, there before us, four of the huge beasts, trunks upraised, stood together and harmonized in their elephant ballad that spoke of eons of history, of heartache and accomplishment, of lost brothers and sisters, and of hopes for the future.

Bangkok, Disco Dancing and an Elephant in a Bar
But our elephant adventure was not confined to the Burmese rain forests. In the back alleys of Bangkok, where tourists are never seen and darkness hides the comings and goings of those who frequent unlikely venues, we were ushered into a cavernous unmarked warehouse whose plain and pedestrian exterior belied the extraordinary scene within. A huge, pulsing room filled with a flashing staccato strobe and streaming colored lights washing over a crowd swaying to the music and surrounding a towering bull elephant standing upright and disco dancing with surprising agility. When the music stopped the hulking animal lumbered over to the bar (you may have heard about the elephant who walked into a bar…) and enlisted three stools as he settled himself in at the bar for a little libation.

Angkor Wat, a Buddhist Monk, and a High Wire Act
But the athletic ability of elephants isn’t, as it turns out, limited to dancing. In yet another jungle clearing, this one not far from Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat, an ancient, leathery Buddhist monk led us to a sight I will never forget.  Among the fallen stones of a long forgotten temple, the elephants had set up a school, a school of performing arts, and we were lucky enough to witness one young adolescent practicing his high wire act with the help of a balance beam.  As we watched another youngster drifted by in the background clinging to a balloon with his trunk. In the corner of my eye I caught one elephant practicing his chameleon act changing from grey to pink in just an instant.  As awesome an experience as it was we couldn’t linger. We had to press on with our journey of investigation into the secret world of elephants.

Flying Elephants, Elephants Hiding in Trees, and Elephants in the Room
In the course of our mission we saw flying elephants, we saw elephants hiding in trees, and even elephants practicing yoga. But perhaps the most amazing ability of all that we witnessed in the elephant repertoire, is a metaphysical ability, the ability to slip virtually undetected into any room in which a conversation is taking place, and to remain undetected as long as the conversation continues. I myself witnessed, and photographed, such feats more than once (once in a hospital recovery room, and again in an office).

The End of Our Odyssey, and One Last Treat
Eventually we had to end our odyssey. Our funds had run out and it was time to get back to work. But the elephants had one last treat for me. As we headed to the airport on our back home, I took one last glance out the back of the cab and caught a glimpse of a lone elephant emerging from a side road and then disappearing into the distance…on a unicycle.

Nurturing Relationships and Your Photography Success

Cultivating relationships (even with elephants) is good for your life and your business.

Regrets, Advertising Assignments, and Relationships
I don’t have a lot of regrets at this point, but I do have a few. And one of those regrets is not keeping up friendships. Due to a variety of factors, divorces (eeks…plural), being a workaholic and so forth, I have lost touch with many of my friends both in business and in my personal life. If I had it to do over again, I would have retained more friendships. One piece of advice I was given as a young photographer, just entering the world of advertising assignments, was not to look a job as a $3,000 dollar day (back then day rates were in…I chose $3,000.00 because that was what I was asking at that time), but rather as a $100,000.00 relationship.

Relationships and People You Genuinely Like
Obviously it is important to keep relationships healthy and alive for one’s personal life, but it could be useful to take a look at the role relationships play in our photography business and careers. These relationships range from bankers and accountants to models and fellow photographers to art directors, designers and, yes, even your non-photographer friends. It is important to realize that in a good, healthy relationship you will not be taking advantage of people. I think it is important to cultivate relationships with people you genuinely like and respect…there are plenty of them out there!


Art Directors, Communication Friends and Fun
Of course, it is obvious why you would want to cultivate relationships with Art directors and other clients. It is more fun to work with friends, it fosters better communication and teamwork with a trusted friend can result in better work. But good things can come from unexpected places, and the chances of those good things coming increase with the number of close and positive relationships you have.


Exotic Video Cameras, Helicopters and Blend Images
A close relationship with my primary computer vendor has resulted in the opportunity to shoot with exotic video cameras, and to play with cutting-edge storage systems. A relationship with my knee surgeon resulted in one of my best paying stock shoots ever, using his facilities as a location basically for free. A relationship with a helicopter pilot led to countless opportunities for aerial shooting…and a heck of a lot of fun! And relationships with a couple of my peers resulted in my becoming one of the founders of the stock agency Blend Images (that was a big one…). I have many such stories, but have let many more get away by failing to nurture and maintain relationships that had the potential, but that I neglected to death.

Who You Know, and Things We Can’t Imagine
It is sometimes said that it isn’t what you know, but whom you know. I think what you know is vitally important, but it often is whom you know that allows you to put what you know into practice. The people you know can provide you with opportunities from locations, to models, to inspiration to guidance to things we can’t even imagine.


Nurturing Relationships
How do you nurture those relationships? You give of yourself. You give your time, your enthusiasm and your heart. You do your best to see the world through their eyes. You give them honesty, an ear, and respect. If you do that with no expectation of getting something in return… you will be amazed at what does come back.

Panic Greed And Patience In Creating Stock Photos

Whats the rush? Give your images some time to rest!

Creating Stock Photos And Image Gestation
I am not sure whether it is panic or greed, or perhaps both, that keep inserting their insidious talons into my photographic flesh (can I turn a phrase or what). You see, the problem is that I have a very hard time finishing a stock photo well. That is, taking the time to make sure every detail is a good as I can make it. I have an even harder time giving it a rest period before submitting it. Yet that rest period is incredibly important. So often I am in such a rush to finish an image and get started on the next one, and to see that first one up online and potentially earning me income, that I don’t take the proper and appropriate time to let the image gestate a bit before declaring it complete and sending it off.

The Approach That Finally Works
There are many reasons to allow for this gestation period, which I think should be a minimum of three days, and better a week, though I imagine each image would have its own optimum gestation period. Some images, like elephants, might even be best with a two-year gestation…and though that might be taking it a bit far, I have actually had images sit in a unfinished condition for that long before revisiting them and coming up with the approach that finally works. In the elephant photo above, I let the image sit (no pun intended) for a few days before I had the idea of adding the line of Pelicans flying by. It was a small touch but it adds a tremendous amount to the final image.

Separation, Detachment And Increased Earnings
A waiting period allows you to get some separation, some emotional detachment, from an image. That can be important because, at least for me, the emotional involvement and excitement of creating a stock photo (hey, I hold stock photography in VERY high regard), can hide flaws in the image from me, as well as keep me from seeing derivative versions that can significantly increase the earnings potential of my efforts. Once I send that image off, it makes submitting similar images or alternative versions almost impossible.

Feedback, Breathing Time And Significant Improvements
In addition, having a waiting period allows me to get some feedback from others on a photo. Sometimes someone will point out something about one of my stock images, a problem of some sort, that I already knew on some level, but refused to acknowledge to myself. Other times people can give me a new and fresh perspective altogether. While ultimately I have to go with my own judgment, if several others point out a similar difficulty, or possible improvement, then it certainly behooves me to pay attention. I find it interesting that sometimes my ego has a very hard time accepting another person’s point of view or suggestions, even while I can clearly see the validity of those suggestions. Having the patience to give an image some breathing time can lead to significant improvements in one’s imagery with virtually no negative consequences. Now I am off to watch some mindless television while my images “gestate”!