Jeff Jochum is a strategic business coach based in Denver, Colorado. But that's just where he lives. He has clients just about anywhere you can throw a dart. His clients are a good mix of photographers like you and me, and small business owners who are aching to stand apart in a crowded marketplace. Indeed, I am one of his students.

One of the things I have learned from Jeff is about “specialism.” Notice I didn't say he taught me to be a specialist. There is a difference and you can find out what that difference is in this short conversation I had with Jeff just a few days ago.

If you live in Connecticut or nearby, it will be well worth your time to come and meet Jeff Jochum. He will be hosted by the CTPPA on October 22nd, where he will present “Take A Giant Step Into Specialism.”

For more details, please check out this page. The event runs from 5 pm to 10 pm. Knowing how passionate Jeff is about helping photographers, I expect this to be one of the best CTPPA presentations of the year. Come to take notes and challenge Jeff's theories. He actually welcomes it!

UPDATE: Yesterday's presentation by Jeff Jochum was a huge success. Thank you all for coming. Do you you have questions about his video coaching program, that he only indirectly referred to when he spoke about “specialism.” Ask them here. I might be able to nudge Jeff to answer them for you.

Dani Fine Photography is a Northampton, Massachusetts studio that caters to both wedding and portrait clients. Dani Klein-Williams, principal photographer, will be presenting at Inspire Photo Retreats in February.

Like the other interviews in this series (check out 1 – Doug Levy, 2 – Jane Ammon and 3 – The Scobey's), we scheduled a quick Skype chat about her presentation at Inspire – “Let's Get Down to Business… Why Sales are Sexy”

Here are a few examples of Dani's work:

Find out more about Dani Klein-Williams here.

For more information about the Inspire Photo Retreats conference please visit the site. I urge you to register early and secure your hotel room.

If you are still on the fence, please take a look at all the speakers who will be coming to Portland. I believe speakers like Dani and others have one mission: to inspire you to do your best work in the new year. Everybody needs that kind of motivation. If you agree, I expect to see you at Inspire Photo Retreats in 2015!

I have a confession. When I was told about The Scobey's, I have to admit I didn't know about their awards, their images or that they had at one time lived very close to me in Connecticut. Now, as Atlanta-based wedding photographers, they are winning hearts and minds for their soft, immersive approach to capturing meaningful moments in a couple's life.

Now, as busy photographers, I have to also admit that it was very difficult to pin them down for an interview. I was eager to speak with them as I found out that they were speaking at Inspire Photo Retreats in February, 2015.

So here we were talking to each other like old pals and I had not even met them before! That's just how they made me immediately feel about them. I trust their presentation is going to be one I will not miss at Inspire Photo Retreats.

Here are some of The Scobey's award-winning images:

For more information about the conference please visit the site. If last year was any indication, registrations will fill up and the conference will be sold out. So, I urge you to register early.

If you are still on the fence, please take a look at all the speakers who will be coming to Portland. I believe speakers like Jane and others have one mission: to inspire you to do your best work in the near year. Everybody needs that kind of motivation year-in-and-year-out. If you agree, I expect to see you at Inspire Photo Retreats in 2015!

I hope all of you have checked out the first episode, where I interviewed New England photographers, Doug Levy. Starting this month and running through October, I'll be posting short interviews I've conducted in partnership with Inspire Photo Retreats. The interviews will be of each of the presenters and some sponsors, to get a better idea of who they are and why they feel attending Inspire Photo Retreats is important to them.

Ok, so for this episode, I spoke with Jane Ammon, a child photographer who serves clients in central New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania. She will be presenting at Inspire Photo Retreats, from February 9-11th, 2015, in Portland, Maine.

When we spoke, I asked Jane about one aspect of her future presentation; why it was important for her to submit a proposal and finally what drew her to Inspire Photo Retreats.

Here are some of Jane Ammon's wonderful portraits of children:

For more information about the conference please visit the site. If last year was any indication, registrations will fill up and the conference will be sold out. So, I urge you to register early.

If you are still on the fence, please take a look at all the speakers who will be coming to Portland. I believe speakers like Jane and others have one mission: to inspire you to do your best work in the near year. Everybody needs that kind of motivation year-in-and-year-out. If you agree, I expect to see you at Inspire Photo Retreats in 2015!

I am reading an advance copy of Chris Guillebeau‘s new book, The Happiness of Pursuit. In the first few pages of the book, Chris describes a quest as thus:

– Has a clear goal and a specific end point.
– Presents a clear challenge.
– Requires sacrifice of some kind.
– Often driven by a calling or a sense of mission.
– Often requires a series of small steps and incremental progress toward the goal.

My friend and fellow documentary photographer Sephi Bergerson began his quest six years ago to document a wide variety of Indian weddings. When you look at his work, you'll agree that his images are heartfelt and stunning. After years of pursuing these Indian weddings in India, Sephi is now ready to publish a book. But he is clear that he wants to publish and distribute it in a non-traditional way. Today, he launched “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India“, a crowd-funding campaign to raise $42,000. At this writing, he has already raised $615!

A few days back Sephi and I sat down to talk about his journey and why he decided it was the right time to launch this campaign for “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India“:

(I am again sorry that the poor connection didn't allow us to record this as a true video.)

Here, however is a video that Sephi just uploaded to his campaign page:

Behind The Indian Veil Book from Sephi Bergerson on Vimeo.

Having seen Sephi's previous book – Street Food Of India – I can tell you that “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India” will also be a book that you will easily explore and lose yourself.

Here are a few of the many images you can expect to see in the custom-designed book:

So, what does Sephi's six year quest look like? To find out, step up and support the “Behind The Indian Veil: Weddings In India” campaign today!