Pandemic Productivity & Creativity: You Don't Drown by Falling in Water; You Only Drown if You Stay There

“You don't drown by falling in water; you only drown if you stay there.”

That Zig Ziglar quote sounds kinda funny, but it sure is true – especially during this worldwide pandemic where many of us have “fallen in the water.”

Breaking my ankle and having major surgery in July of 2021 compounded (greatly) my personal experience of “sailing in rough seas” during the “tidal wave” of pandemic.

At times, like many of you, I felt as though the “water was rising” – especially with how the business side of photography was being affected. However, being the positive person that I am, I found a “life preserver” that pulled me to safety: a life preserver of productivity and creativity.

I share my story with you with the hope of giving you some encouragement if you feel as though you are falling beneath the waves – and to illustrate how being productive and creative is important, some may say essential, for the health of the mind and body . . . and your business.

To begin . . . In the early stages of the pandemic I started the Photo Therapy Facebook Group - a safe place with no politics, and a place where members could share their photographs and get honest feedback. Today we have more than 5,000 members worldwide who find posting their photographs and sharing their stories very therapeutic and rewarding. Yes, I hope you can join the photo fun and photo learning!

As part of the Photo Therapy Facebook group, I set up a Photo Therapy YouTube channel. Here my friend Linda Marshall hosts Monday Meditation, and I share slide shows (that’s me on piano) of some of the members’ photographs . What fun!

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 1.0.

I came up with the idea for the Facebook group after receiving lots of positive feedback on my all-pictures-and-no-words book, Photo Therapy Motivation and Wisdom – discovering the power of pictures, which was published two years earlier.

Shortly after starting the Photo Therapy Facebook Group I came up with the idea for another inspirational book, Photo Quest - discovering your photographic and artistic voice. I felt as though the pandemic was the perfect time for photographers to find their voice. Many of my pro photographer friends agreed, and contributed to the book, hence the “All-Star Photo Mentors” in the credit line.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 2.0.

No rest for the weary. After publishing Photo Quest, which was another book with no photographs, I thought I should do a book with photographs. As I was about to turn 70, I thought a memoir of my world travels with some of my favorite photographs might be the way to go. Acting on my idea, I published Photo Pursuit: Stories Behind the Photographs – a travel photographer’s memoir. It’s an Ebook that is readable on any device.

I also set up a Gallery with the Photo Pursuit photographs here on my web site.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 3.0.

Several months into the pandemic KelbyOne started live on-line training sessions - which are separate from my standard classes. From late 2020 to mid-2021 I record 12 live sessions during four conference, my sessions at Photoshop World 2021 being some of my favorites.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 4.0.

During the pandemic, because I and virtually all of my pro photographer friends were spending most of our time on the business side of photography, I thought a book on the business side of photography would be helpful for serious photographers who like to make a few bucks with their photography. How to Make Money While You Are Sleeping grew out of that idea. Here, too, many of my photo friends contributed. They are credited as the “All-Star Photo Coaches.”

Click here to read the Introduction and Chapter One.

The book is available in paperback and as an Ebook.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 5.0.

Wanting to keep busy (even with a broken ankle and stuck in bed and a wheel chair) – and to keep from drowning (mostly emotionally) – I wondered, “What else could do to generate income and, more important, have some fun?” Launching the app - Rick Sammon’s Composition Plus: Iceland Edition - was the answer.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 6.0.

Breaking my ankle in Mt. Rainer in July 2021 (the day before one of my workshops was about to begin) was not fun. It took nine rangers to carry me out of the park! The pain was unbearable. That’s the bad news.

The accident required major surgery. While at home, as you saw in the opening image for this post, I started exercising soon after the operation – exercising the parts of my body that were in good shape so I’d be in better shape when I could fully exercise.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 7.0.

Part of my at-home photo therapy and creativity/productivity process was to try to recreate, with Susan Sammon’s help, a photo similar to the photo of Jimmy Stewart in the movie “Rear Window.” Good fun and good creativity. (FYI: I was in a wheelchair like Jimmy Stewart.)

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 8.0.

Another part of my at-home therapy was making the commitment to improve my bass guitar playing. It was a ton of fun learning new songs and trying new techniques.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 9.0.

Seven weeks after surgery, and after spending lots of time in bed and on my computer, I resumed my twice-a-day, one-hour bike ride here in Westchester, New York.

Productivity and creativity to the rescue 10.0 . . . big time!

Well my friends, I hope my experience illustrates the quote, “You don't drown by falling in water; you only drown if you stay there.”

Good luck with all your ventures and adventures.

Rick

P.S. Always go where you are looking, which may prevent you from breaking your ankle.

Photo Therapy Facebook Group Info

Shortly after the pandemic started, I started the Photo Therapy Facebook Group - a private group where photographers could post their images and share their stories, which is good photo therapy.

Within about two months we had 2,000+ members, and we are growing day by day. The images are amazing, inspiring, and motivating.

We have awesome moderators: Alec Arons, Linda Marshall, Juan Pons, and Jim Griggs.

If you’d like to join the group, or if you are new to the group, here is some info that will help you get the most out of your membership.

Description:
- A place to get motivated and stay inspired.
- A place to share your thoughts and ideas on the power of pictures - and what your photography means to you.
- A place to grow as a photographer by understanding what your photography means to you.
- A place with no political posts!

To become a member, you must answer the Group questions and follow the Group rules. When inviting friends, please pass along that important info.

When you post an image, please be sure to add a Topic after you post your image. You need to be on your computer or iPad). Just click on edit and you will see Add a Topic as an option.

Adding a Topic will help other find similar images - and help us find your images for our Happy Hour/Review Sessions. Read on.

Each Thursday at 5 PM Eastern we have a one-hour Happy Hour/Photo Review session - LIVE on our Group page (and posted the next day on our YouTube channel). Each week we have a different Topic. The LIVE event is a wonderful place to comment on the images we review and to learn. Juan Pons and I are the reviewers, and Alec Arons is our moderator. Comments are posted on our Facebook Group page, not on our YouTube page.

And each Monday we have a Monday Meditation guided by Linda Marshall and produced by Alec Arons.

Each Wednesday we choose a member’s photo for our banner photo. We choose the photo based on subject matter - and how it will looked cropped. We have many wonderful images that would be ruined if we crop them . . . so please keep this in mind when you see the image.

I came up with the idea for the Photo Therapy Facebook Group after writing my book, Photo Therapy Motivation and Wisdom. This book, my 40th, has no photographs (unlike my other 39 books). I wrote the book because knowing why you take pictures, and understanding the psychology of photography, is the key to becoming a good photographer.

Take good care, and please stay safe!
Rick

P.S. So something good was born out of bad times. Something else came out of stressful times: my 41 book, Photo Quest - discovering your photographic and artistic voice, was released in May 2020, when thing were very bad in New York, where I live. This book, like Photo Therapy, has only words - not only my words, but words of wisdom from 33 of today’s top photographers. If you are searching for your “voice,” you have come to the right place.

Introducing My 40th Book: Photo Therapy Motivation and Widsom

Whew! I feel much better now that I’ve gotten 40 books out of my head! :-)

So here’s the deal: A new filter, camera, lens, tripod, reflector/diffuser kit and speedlite can surely help you make better photographs – but they can’t necessarily make you a better photographer.

That’s where my 40th book, Photo Therapy Motivation and Wisdom – Discovering the power of pictures, comes in. Understanding why and how we are motivated to make pictures – and what your photography means to you – is of the utmost importance. So is learning about emotional intelligence for photographers, how to steal like an artist, realizing that it’s never to late to be who you might have been, and understanding the difference between looking at seeing. Exploring light and color therapy also helps.

All those topics and much more – including my 40 quick-tip “Sammonisms” and 20 “missions” (self assignments) – are covered in my latest text-only book.

Click here to order the Kindle book from Amazon. $9.99.

Click here to order the paperback book from Amazon. $15.99.

Well-known photo educators, who also believe in the power photo therapy, contributed to my latest work. They include: Art Wolfe, Trey Ratcliff, Scott Bourne, Skip Cohen, Richard Bernabe, Randy Hanna, Ron Clifford, Denise Ippiloto, Derrick Story, Jonathan Scott (The Big Cat Man) and Steve Brazill.

Unlike my other 39 photo-rich books, Photo Therapy Motivation and Wisdom – Discovering the power of pictures, has no photographs between the covers. Yet, I feel as though it is my most important work. I trust this book will make you think – hard – about your photography, and about how using your brain, the best photo “accessory,” will help you become a better photographer. Or as stated by black-and-white landscape photographer Ansel Adams, “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.” 

Famed photographer Lewis Hine said, “If I could say in words what I say with my pictures, I would not have to lug around a camera.”

It’s not that I am tired of lugging around a camera. It’s just that I think the motivational and inspirational message of this book is better expressed without showing my own pictures. Rather, in reading the 35,000-word text, I’d like you to imagine your own pictures – and potential pictures – while I am describing a situation, process, technique, feeling or emotion.

My son Marco asked me, “How long did it take you to write this book?” First I answered, “Three months.” But then I changed my answer. “In reality, it took me almost 70 years to write this book – because it includes not only photo lessons, but life lessons as well.

One-on-one Photo Therapy sessions, in person and on-line via Skype are available. The sessions include a portfolio review (on-line gallery). Cost is $125 an hour. Shoot me an email to arrange a session.

Enjoy - and I’d love your feedback, here or via email.

Rick

P.S. Below: This is how I looked while writing 35K words… and after!

My New e-Book – Get Motivated and Stay Inspired – is Here!

My new e-book – Get Motivated and Stay Inspired – is now available for direct download to your tablet or computer. I'm very excited about this e-book, because I think we (and that includes me) all need some inspiration and motivation from time to time.

The cost for the 195 page e-book is $4.95. Click here to download from my on-line store. Here's the scoop on the book.

Throughout the year I enjoy giving seminars to audiences around the county. Most of my talks are how-to photography talks, during which I share my favorite photographs from around the world – each image is accompanied by a photo or Photoshop/Lightroom or travel tip.

One of my favorite seminars is Get Motivated and Stay Inspired. It’s not a how-to, technical seminar. Rather, it’s a seminar on how to get inspired and how to stay creatively motivated.

The talk is about an hour and a half long. I have taken the highlights of that talk – My Top Ten Techniques to Get Motivated and Stay Inspired – and put them into an easy-to-read e-book (just a few of the 194 pages shown here) with the same title, which you can read in less than ½ hour.

Although the e-book is photography-centric, I feel as though all creatives can benefit from reading it.

Yes, I hope the photographs (some of my favorites) themselves are inspiring, but my main goal with this e-book is to encourage you to be as creative as possible while getting motivated and staying inspired. Hey, I figure if I need inspiration and motivation, there are others who feel the same way!

I think you will enjoy learning about the Four Levels of Learning – levels we all go though. I also think you will find inspiration in the quotes, which include: "When you are though changing, you are through.” And, “If you think you can you can, and if you think you can’t you can’t.” And, “It’s never too late to be who you could have been.”

I also think you will enjoy learning about my “Six Steps for Creative Visualization” process, and the difference between seeing and looking. Big difference.

You will also find short assignments in the e-book. It's good to have assignments, and to challenge yourself to be as creative as possible.

I hope you enjoy the e-book - which looks great on the iPad. As with everyone who takes one of my classes, when you purchase the book you become a student for life. That means you can email me questions for the rest of my life.

Good luck with your photography and with your art!
Rick