I mentioned in another blog post: when you are a photographer, you are a fly on the wall of history. And, that works great until someone decides to beat the crap out of you. But there’s an advantage of being a photographer: at some point, you meet the famous. At least, if you work in […]
My trainer, Paul, said it best the other day: Everything cost something. We were actually talking (well, I was panting between squat reps — if you don’t squat you don’t work out) about a previous blog post, and that, distilled, was the bottom line. Fast forward to last night. Every night, I take a zen […]
Back between owning Cool World Aquarium and working for Target, I held a job for a jewelry company. Not your traditional jewelry store, this guy was a manufacturer — with factories in Thailand — a designer — creating most of those dolphin and sea shell pendants sold at the beach — a wholesaler — selling […]
As some of you know, last week, my mom and I photographed for our oldest, newest client, Maryland Association of Realtors (MAR). Working for my first real client brought on a wave of nostalgia in me, thinking of how far we’ve come, and in no small measure is that success due to loyal clients who […]
When I was growing up, I was the official restaurant scoper-outer. That means I was sent in to prospective restaurant, and I made the decision whether the family would eat there — or move on down the road. This was a big responsibility for a kid, therefore, I had to develop some rules. Restaurant rules […]
Photographers are all high brow, even myself. We are convinced our most famous work will be hanging in a gallery, perfectly lit, overshadowing the sainted Ansel Adams in the MOMA. People will brush past the Ansel Adams work, not giving it a second glance to exclaim: “OMG! IT”S A MIKE GATTY ORIGINAL! I SAW THIS […]
Eleven years. That’s how long long I’ve been shooting for one of my oldest, newest clients — a decade plus one. What is an “oldest, newest client”? Maryland Association of Realtors (MAR) was the first client I obtained under the new business — DC Event Photos. Not the old business, Gatty Communications, my mom’s business. […]
Working as a photographer, you are a fly on the wall to history. The problem is, sometimes they — those not on the wall — want to take a swatter and beat the living crap out of you. Photographer’s make for an easy target: in some ways, we’re a bother. Everybody moans and groans when […]
The Republicans have their economic theories. The Democrats some of their own. And, the President is responsible for overseeing the National Budget. There are hundreds of economic theories out there: ranging from Trickle Down Economics of the 1980’s to Economies of Scale of the 1990’s. All are wrong. Mine is right. I call my […]
I tip everyone. I tip excessively. Here’s why. In our work, servers, bellmen, valets, sky caps — even the workers at the hotel’s free breakfast — all make our jobs easier. Much easier. And, when I travel, I travel with equipment — in some cases more than 400 lbs of equipment — and lugging it […]