Last Photos of the Decade

What will be your last photographs of this decade and what camera will you use to capture them? Yes, most purist say the decade ends December 31, because there was no year zero, so 2011 starts not only a new year but a new decade.

Of all the camera's I have in my possession, the NEX 5 by Sony is one of my favorites. It is the camera that is most often with me when I am out running around town or going to an event. The reason why I love this camera is simply because it is a fun camera to use. I have two lens that come with the camera but I can also use an adaptor and use my professional lenses for the A900 as well. This always seems to freak people out when they see this and it is a great way to get attention and start photo conversations. Tomorrow night I will use the 16mm vs the 18-55 zoom on the NEX. I know a lot of people love zooms but I have always preferred the fixed lens. The reason I like the 16mm lens on this camera is because I love to shoot at F2.8, which is wide open. This gives me the flexibility to capture life as it happens with worry of a slow lens.

This New Year's Eve I will have the NEX as well as my professional A900 camera. I want to document the end of the decade and the start of a new one in a special way.

Have fun, be safe and Happy New Year!

Always Dream Big!

The Power of Twitter_and Positive Thought

Change is in the air. I can feel it coming in with the new year. So many things seems to be happening out of the blue, and my girlfriend keeps telling me how some things just seem to come to me. I don't believe things just come out of the blue, I believe you must put your goals and dreams out into the universe and that they will then come to you.

Each day I start my day with a prayer, asking God for guidance and strength. I know there are those who don't want to hear about anything regarding religion but I'm not into religion. I am into my relationship with God and I speak to him daily for guidance and strength. After I pray I have started meditating and visualizing my goals. This is hard for me as I try and sit still and clear my mind and visualize my goals. The more I do it, the easier it becomes. I can only do this early in the morning before my life takes over. After I finish my meditation I say my goals aloud to myself and then I'm ready to start my day.

Last night out of the blue I received a tweet message from a celebrity I have never worked with. At first I wasn't sure if it was really who he said he was but after a few messages back and forth I knew it was. Today we spoke for about an hour and discussed ideas for the new year after the conversation I looked at my goals and just had to smile. I do believe in the power of speaking your dreams into reality. Yes, it takes work but in the last month, so much has happened in what seems to be coming out of the blue, but its the power of positive thought and prayer.

Your thoughts are full of energy, positive or negative these thoughts will manifest in one way or the other. If you don't fill your mind with positive thoughts the opposite will surely take over and come into your life.

Stay positive and always dream big!

HOPE and Long Lasting Effects

November 7, 2000 I watched, along with the rest of the world, as an unbelievable event took place. The Bush/Gore Election unraveled in front of our eyes and for the most part we all just watched and stood still. Yes, there was an outcry for a moment, and we learned the term "chad", but after George W. Bush took office things settled down and we all went back to our day to day activities like standing in line at Starbucks.

Less than a year later, September 11th happens and our world changed forever. I often think about these two days, November 7, 2000 and September 11th, 2001. What would our world be like today if Al Gore had been in office? Would 9/11 have taken place? Fast forward to fall of 2008 and our economy is all but destroyed and the country is headed for Depression. Would this have happened if Bush didn't have a brother in Florida in 2000? Would so many American's have lost their homes in the biggest housing nightmare in history? Of course there are no "what ifs" in life, there is what happens and what we make happen, but at times I do wonder what are world would have been like if Al Gore had only been President.

December 30, 2011 and the first Black President in U.S. history is trying his best to push the gigantic boulder of recession up Mt. Everest. At times he slips, falls down and the weight of the world comes crashing down on him, but then he gets up again and starts pushing. There are many who are placing banana peels soaked in oil at his foot steps but HOPE got him in office and as new challenges approach I hope he can step around the obstacles and bring this country out of recession and back to new found glory. No matter what political side you stand on we all want to thrive and live successful lives. I'm not a political person at all, but I am one who wants this country to thrive and once again the the power house it can be.

2011, 2012 and beyond has a lot in store for each of us.

Dream big for the future, don't forget the past, and excell in 2011

Success is Waiting

With only two days left in 2010 it seems like a good time to look back and reflect on the past. This year has been an interesting one filled with many highs and lows. I have learned more this year than in past years when everything was up all the time. This year was spent re-inventing myself and working through challenges. I had to look over my business and see what was working and what was not. I had to change the way I look at the photo business as business has changed. I had to re-read some old but powerful books like, "Who Moved My Cheese", Think and Grow Rich, and How To Make Friends and Influence People. Each of these books are powerful in their own right.

To be successful you must be open to change and not let fear keep you from venturing out to do something different. There are many in the photo community that will say, "oh this is how it's always been", or "this is how it is", but following that mentality will soon have you out of business, especially when things are changing as fast as they are now. Warren Buffett once spoke about how powerful the old top-three networks were, ABC, NBC and CBS. Now however those companies are not as powerful as they once were. Nothing stays the same. We all know the name Kodak, but when was the last time you shot a roll of film?

As we look back lets learn from the past and embrace change and the future. Success is waiting for each of us if we just open our minds explore all the new possibilities.

Merry Christmas

Last night we watched It's a Wonderful Life, a movie I have seen a zillion times, but this year it had special meaning in ways it has not before.

On my last day of holiday shopping this year I was in an elevator with another man who had also finished shopping. I looked at him and could tell his mind was heavy. At that very moment he looked up at me and said, " This year was very hard giving them my money for gifts". I agreed but said still we have so much to be thankful for and we both smiled and went on our way. His words and expression stayed with me the rest of the day and I hope this day he is enjoying his time with his loved one. I hope you too are enjoying this special day and not thinking only of gifts but in the love you give and receive. If there was ever a day about showing love this is it.

It always does the soul good to laugh so I want to share a blog post that had me in tears this morning from a good friend, Skip Cohen.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas to all!

Twas the Night Before

Your Perfect Life

It is the end of 2010, with only two days left until Christmas and as I started my day and friend asked the question, "are you happy with this past year?" I have pondered this questions all morning and as we look back over the past year lets ask ourselves this question. Are you happy with 2010? If not, what's standing in the way of your growth? Is it inspiration, knowledge, connections?

This is the season of giving and nothing feels better than giving. No, I don't mean always in a tangible way because the tangible fades away. Yes, it may feel good to get something beautiful and special from a loved one but does that feeling last? Does it take us to the next level?

In 2011 I want to give the gift of inspiration. Here's a sneak peek into what I hope can take us all to the next level! Since it's the holiday season I think the lesson of "Blessing" is very important to pass along.

Have a great holiday season and continue to push forward in making the life you dream of.

Always Dream Big




Smokey Robinson - Blessings


I have no complaints about my life. It’s a blessing. I have been through some real crises, but so what? I’ve had many peaks and valleys in my life, and the valleys have always made me appreciate the peaks.

I am living a life that I absolutely love. If, on the day before I was born, the Lord had come to me and said, “Hey, I want you to fill out this questionnaire as to what you want your life to be,” I would have filled out what I’m living right now! I am living my dream. I can’t beat that. I never dared to believe that this would actually be my life. I wanted it to be so bad, but I just wouldn’t let myself get my hopes up. So when it happened, I felt so blessed. Not everybody gets a chance to do what I’ve done. And I always look at it like that. I have no complaints about my life. It’s a blessing. I have been through some real crises, but so what? I’ve had many peaks and valleys in my life, and the valleys have always made me appreciate the peaks.

I think that writing was the Lord’s calling for me because I’ve been writing songs ever since I can remember. I wrote my first song when I was about six. I’ll never forget this because I was in the first grade. We were having a school play at Dwyer Elementary School in Detroit. At the beginning of the program, my teacher had written this melody at the piano. I asked her if I could write some words for it. She agreed so that’s what I did, and I sang it in the play. That was the first time I ever wrote a song. I’ve been writing ever since.

When I was younger, I thought I might be an electrical engineer or that I wold be a baseball player because I was pretty good, but singing, which was my first dream, just seemed too far-fetched to me, man. It just seemed too far away. Too impossible. Then one day I went to see Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers at the Broadway Capital Theater. All of a sudden the dream didn’t seem that far. I said, “Well, golly, if these guys can do it, maybe I can do it!” But I still wasn’t sure.

I grew up in one of those Detroit neighborhoods where a lot of people became famous in show business, like Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin. I lived near the Four Tops. I’ve known the Temptations since high school. We used to have song battles where all the groups would get together and compete. I believe that in every town, in every city, in the whole world, there is a bunch of talented young people. It’s just that they have no outlets. But in Detroit, we had Berry Gordy. He was a young Black man who had a dream, and he had the instinct and inner ability to pull it off. It took a lot of doing.

I was singing with a group called the Miracles, and I was in college studying electrical engineering when I met Berry in August of 1957. He was writing these hit songs for Jackie
Wilson at the time, and Jackie Wilson was my number-one singing idol. I was sixteen or seventeen when we auditioned for Jackie Wilson’s managers. They told us, “Hey, there’s already the Platters, and you’re got a guys singing high and a girl in the group, and you’ll never make it because you’re got to change your format and blah, blah, blah.” The whole time there was this young guy sitting over in the corner. I thought he was waiting to audition next because he looked like he was about seventeen, nineteen at the most. When we walked out after they had rejected us, we were very dejected. This guy came out and said, “Hey, man, where’d you get those songs you sang?” I told him, “Well, I wrote them.” He said, “Yeah? A couple of them I liked.” I’m thinking to myself that he wants to sing a couple of them for his audition. Then he said, “I’m Berry Gordy.” I said, “Berry Gordy who writes the songs for Jackie Wilson?” My mouth dropped open. I could not believe that this cat right here was Berry Gordy. I had always loved his song-writing. So I said, “Oh man!” He said, “Got any more song?” I had a loose-leaf notebook, man, filled with about one hundred songs. I sang about twenty songs for Berry that day. Even though we went to that audition and got rejected, I guess it was my fate. The Lord had planned this for me because Berry Gordy just happened to be there. I hooked up with him, and about a year or so after that, we started Motown. It was meant to be.

I’ve learned that you are first and foremost a human being. You get into this, and it’s a lifestyle. But I think we all make the world go around. People see being a garbage-man as one of the lowliest jobs. But what if three was no guy who wanted to pick up the garbage? The wold would be in trouble. I think the world could certainly do without a bunch of people in show business more so than it could do without a bunch of guys who pick up the garbage. So how can a person in show business think that they’re so high and mighty and think that the garbage-man or a cab driver or a grocer or the butcher is below them? If it weren’t for those people having your records and supporting your work, then what you are doing wouldn’t matter anyway. I know that for a fact. In show business, you are what the public allows you to be. If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t be whoever it is you think you are. You can never forget that. This is my job. I hope I can do it well, and I hope that when I go somewhere and perform I can make somebody happy.

The love of writing itself is what inspires me to do it. I know that it’s a gift, and that’s how I look at it because very seldom does a day ever go by that a part of a song doesn’t come to me-a melody or a phrase or some words. I don’t really need some sort of special inspiration to do it. I don’t have to be sad to write a sad song or happy to write a happy song. I don’t have to take some time off and go to the mountains so I can write. No, I can write on the toilet. On the bus. In the plane. Wherever it hits me. I’m blessed. It’s a gift. If you are going to be a songwriter, make sure that your songs have continuity, structure, and meaning. Make sure they tell a story. You have also got to be a strong person. You have to be a person who can tolerate setbacks. Because that's what show business is. It is very fickle. Show business is “Okay, you’re riding high today, but you’re down tomorrow.” You have to be somebody who can tolerate being slapped down and then get back up and keep on steppin’.

Love is the never-ending subject. Love is forever, I hope. I hope that as long as there are two people on the Earth, in the world, that there will be love. Now I have written a couple of songs about political things and dances. Never about a car that I can remember, but people do write song’s about cars-the ‘57 Chevy and the “this” and the “that.” But all of those things become passe, you see. The political situation of that day is passe tomorrow. The car of that day is passé tomorrow. The dance of that day is passe tomorrow. But love is never passe. Love is constantly here. Constantly turning itself over. Constantly becoming a different thing to the same person. When I write a song, I want it to be a song that would have been significant if I had written it a hundred years earlier or that will be significant a hundred years from the day that I write it. So, I write about love. I love love.

The most important thing in my life is being happy and making those around me happy. it’s important for me to be positive. I work hard to focus on hte best things about my life. I don’t dwell on what has gone wrong in the past or what is going wrong at the time. I always remember that I’m very, very, very blessed. I try to take care of myself because I want to do what I’m doing for the rest of my life. I love my life. I’m going to live it to the fullest.

Senegal and Vegas

This week I was invited to two very different places with all expenses paid. The first was to the Republic of Senegal. 50 artist from the U.S were invited and I received a first class ticket but I felt a little uneasy with the lack of information on where we'd be staying and the more. I was only given a few days notice and with no time for the shots or malaria pills to work I decided not to go. Another artist and good friend was also invited but he's been to Africa a few times and his shots are still valid so he went and I just saw his facebook update with Stanly Clark having a great time. I hope I can one day go to this event but with a bit more organization.

The second trip took place in Las Vegas and was help at the brand new Cosmopolitan Hotel. The sponsor to the event flew myself and my girlfriend in with 25 other photographers along with their spouses. The hotel opened it's doors this past Wednesday and I was the first to spend the night in my room, which was one of the sexiest rooms I've seen in a while, even for Vegas. The room was designed with a Japanese style soaking tub, and a long balcony that over looked Las Vegas. I'm not a fan of Vegas at all, but this hotel and the event made for a wonderful weekend getaway.

The event, hosted by Albums Inc, was wonderful and started with a "Living Red Carpet". I've seen a lot of red carpet events, but never one like this. As you entered start walking on the red carpet but as you got closer the red carpet was attached to a beautiful model who welomed you to the event. I met some amazing photographers and caught up with other photographers I have not seen for a while. One photographer that I have wanted to meet but have not had the opportunity to cross paths with was Scott Bourne. We finally met and spent a great deal of time talking during the evening. If you don't know of Scott's work then check out his blog daily and join his twitter page. You'll be glad you did.

Oh, a special note on the Cosmopolitan Hotel. As you enter the hotel you're greeted by frosted glass columns with what appears to be nude models but it's just a very well done rotating visual display. The display goes through several different themes from human figures, bubbles, great locations and much more. What I really loved about this hotel was the devotion to art, which included a large amount of photography. A must see if you're in Vegas anytime soon.

Always Dream Big!

Take a Ride with Me!

Last night I had an incredible meeting filled with life changing possibilities for the future. Stay with me and I will take you on a magical ride that will inspire, educate and give pride for generations to come.

Always Dream Big!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

There is nothing like the Christmas season and sharing holiday cheer with family and friends. Happy Holidays to everyone from all religions and backgrounds.

As a kid I was always excited about Christmas Day. The energy in the house was alway great and my sister's and I were filled with excitement to open our gifts. As adults it was more about seeing kids excited and spending time with family for Christmas dinner. My memories of dinner are now some of most precious. As a photographer I want to put myself in every image in some way and that's usually by adding my experience to every image.

This year I was asked to shoot a family portrait for good friends and I wanted to make it special by giving it a twist. This is one of the main images from the shoot and one of my favorites from the day. It was an amazingly fun shoot and one I will never forget.

No matter where you are or who your with this holiday season, be thankful for life, health, family and friends.

With Love,

Matthew Jordan Smith

One Million Miles

Today I received a new milage card for crossing the million mile mark. This year I've flown less than usual as work was slower in 09 and 10 but I think we are pulling out of the recession and that the future looks better than ever.

This week has been filled with one meeting after another and all in regard to the future and my very big dreams. I hope to share them in the near future but for now they are simple meetings to sow the seeds for the future.

Tomorrow night is another big meeting and I'm very excited about this one as well. What I can share with you now is one of my latest interviews conducted by Profoto. The video went up the end of last week and has over 13,ooo views on youtube already. On my clients page it has even more. I was shocked to see the amount of traffic from this video and more will be coming soon.

Let me know your thoughts: YouTube Video

Always Dream Big

Heidi Klum

Years ago I did a shoot with a model I'd met on a casting. The first moment I saw her I was taken with her beauty and energy. I had the same feelings the first moment I met Tyra and I knew I had to photograph her right away.

The day we shot was incredibly fun and she was full of energy and life. We joked around all day and she kept joking with me saying, "if I wasn't married"! At the time she was married to another model and we were just kidding around on set. I remember her telling me how she's been modeling for a while but that she was up for Victoria Secrets and hoped to get it. At the end of the day we exchanged numbers and hoped to shoot again but I lost her number and we lost touch with each other. Six months later Heidi is the new hot Victoria Secrets models and the rest is history.

To shoot this session I used two kinoflo light banks positioned very close to Heidi. The light quality is soft and these types of lights put out a very low amount of light. What I love about these lights is that it gives me to option to shoot wide open creating a soft romantic quality that I still love today.

Elizabeth Smart

After eight long years finally Elizabeth Smart and her family have justice. The court system in America is broken and it seems to only get worse at times. Why it takes so long I have no idea, especially in cases like Elizabeth's with so much press and evidence. It seems like ages ago when I went to photograph her in Utah with her family for my book Lost & Found. Today a federal court found Brian David Mitchell guilty of abduction so finally Elizabeth Smart and her family can rejoice in the fact that justice has been served.

Favors and The Color Purple

Today was a long day but a good day. I started the day by doing a favor for a friend and shooting his girlfriend. It was a fun day where I met new talented hair and stylist that I will definitely hire on my upcoming assignments. The energy was great during the entire shoot and my subject was very comfortable in front of the camera.

It's always a good feeling to do favors from time to time, but make sure you don't give yourself away too much as time is the only thing you can not get back. Make sure everyone knows how valuable your time is and the sacrifice your made to do so. Nothing in life is free and even when you give your time to other you're sacrificing your time, and time is truly money. In a lot of cases its more valuable than money.

After my shoot I took a break and then spent time doing something I've started to take seriously,.........study Japanese. Each day at 7:00 pm I'm devoting my time to study Japanese for an hour. I've set alarms on my phone to remind me to study so when I hear my alarm, - which is in Japanese - I stop what I'm working on and study. The reason I've taken my studies more seriously is because of my last trip to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. The drive was long and I was in a vehicle with my Japanese girlfriend and two of her friends who were in town visiting and into photography. It was great to have all of us shooting with different perspectives and camera's but it was impossible to communicate and I felt what it was like to be an outsider. It felt weird to hear everyone laughing and having great conversation when I had no clue what was being said. At first my girlfriend tried to translate but an hour into the trip that got old and I told her not to worry about it.

Learning anything new is exciting no matter what your age. I believe in setting goals in life and being constantly aware of them each day. I'm teaching my step son to do the same. Years ago a friend told me his daily goal was to know more when he went to bed then he knew when he woke up. I never forgot that and now my step son's first goal is that. I've put it in his bedroom and ask him daily what his goal is. Little by little it sinks in. Today, I've learned more Japanese than I knew this morning. I'm learning through Rosetta Stone and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn a language. Today as I learned to speak I also learned to write in Japanese. I took it a step further and borrowed from the movie "The Color Purple" and placed cards around my house written in Japanese to help remember things. Funny but it works. Tomorrow when I start my day with a glass of みず I will see the characters and become more familiar day by day.

Got to love the Color Purple.

Always Dream Big

Aretha Franklin_Pancreatic Cancer

I just heard the news of Ms. Franklin's cancer and the first thing I did was pick up the phone and give her a call. For the last five years Ms. Franklin has been a great client and friend. A few years ago I was deep in sleep when I received a call and when I picked up the phone it was Ms. Franklin and she said, "Jordan", she calls me by my middle name, "Jordan I'm having a problem"! I was thinking I forgot to send an image of something, but then she say's I have to come up with the name of my new album and I'm stuck between two titles. Which one do you like"? I thought I was in a dream because this was the Queen of Soul asking me what I thought. A funny moment but one I'll never forget. Please pray for my friend and client!

Always Dream Big

Sexileaks

How often has sex been the trap that has brought down so many people? Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, and so many more. The latest sex scandal seems a bit odd but I think we all knew the Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange would be caught and convicted of something, but I never thought it would be tied to sex.

Success and sex are tied together at the hip - no pun intended- but not always in the way we think. The sex drive or sexual energy is the power that brings success to so many and in one of my favorite books, Think and Grow Rich, the author speaks about using your sexual energy - or transferring your sexual energy - to achieve incredible success. Today we only see sex mentioned in a negative context most of the time, but the sexual energy when used in the right manner can bring success beyond our wildest dreams.

Always Dream Big

Pearl Harbor, Peace and Change

Time changes everything it seems. I'm sure many who witnessed what happened on December 7, 1941 could ever have imagined the world we now live in. Japan is a different country all together and our countries live in peace. The Japanese may be the most peaceful people on the planet today and Japan is definitely one of my favorite countries to visit. I wonder in twenty years how America will relate to countries we have problems with now and what our future holds in keeping peace around the world. No one knows what the future holds but I hope no country ever drops another atomic bomb ever again. As we remember this day let us also pray for peace and never forget the lessons of our past.

The Power of Cool

This morning I had a conversation with a good friend who had just returned from a month in China for business. During our conversation his phone dropped the call at least seven or eight times and after the second time it dropped he said, "I'm sorry man but I'm calling from my iPhone". We laughed about it but then it hit me how apple has a phone that doesn't work as a phone yet people buy it left and right because of the cool factor. The phone is on the worst carrier but still it is the phone that has changed the business and all other phone have followed in Apple's footsteps.

Often times in business the one who comes out on top may not be the best or have the most talent, but having a strong drive, determination and laser beam focus will get you all that you desire. For the last three months I have prayed for guidance in my business and afterwards spent the first 15 min. of the day in deep meditation visualizing my goals. Some of my ideas are crazy, but all the crazy idea's are the one's that change the world.

Always Dream Big

America the Beautiful

I love photography but at times a photograph doesn't do justice. An example of that can be seen in looking at images of the Grand Canyon or Sedona, Arizona. I just returned from a quick trip shooting in both places and making great images but part of the reason why I love the images is because I had the experience of being there. I had so many things I wanted to shoot on this trip and I took several camera's with me, a Sony A55, a Sony A900 a Sony NEX-5 and an old RZ 67 Film camera. The RZ was to much work to carry around as I hiked up steep mountains in Sedona and only shot one roll of 220 film. My A900 and NEX-5 went everywhere with me. I used the NEX to shoot all my panoramic shots and my A900 for capturing everything else. If there is one camera I would tell all my non-photographer friends to run out and get it would be my NEX-5. It is really a fun camera and easy to use in a lot of situations as a snap shot camera. A lot of celebrities ask me to refer a camera to them that's easy and this year the NEX-5 is that camera. On jobs it is my behind the scenes camera that my assistants love to use. If you're looking for a great camera as a gift this year to give to family and friends then grab this one. You will love it and those who get it as a gift will as well.

Always Dream Big

Grand Canyon and Sedona

Tomorrow morning I leave for a photo excursion to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. It has been almost ten years since I saw the beauty of the Grand Canyon for the first time and I am eager to see it again. This morning I packed my cameras, lens and tripod. The first time I experienced the beauty of the canyon I was disappointed with the images because the images didn't show the depth, scale and beauty of this amazing place. To really show scale I need to show something in the image that everyone can relate to in terms of size, a person would be ideal.

After photographing the Grand Canyon we will travel to Sedona. I visited Sedona for the first time back in the 80's as a photo assistant. Sedona is my girlfriends favorite place to get away but it will be our first time together there.

Tonight is the Aids Benefit honoring President Bill Clinton, billionaire Shelia C. Johnson, Blair Underwood and Marvelyn Brown. I photographed Sheila Johnson and Marvelyn Brown this year for this black tie event and I'm looking forward to attending. The organization hosting the event is the same group that wanted to send me to South Africa years several years ago to photograph Nelson Mandela but I had to turn it down because I was photographing Michael Jordan the same day.

Before tonight's event its all business as usual. I have a first meeting with a potential new client I am excited about and I tweaked my portfolio last night. For all my meetings now I show my work on the ipad but I also still take my traditional portfolio. I found a beautiful ipad case for presentation and it is similar to my portfolio case. I've found the ipad as a great presentation tool if you're showing only one person but most times when I'm in a meeting there are several people so one can view the ipad while the others look at the "old style" portfolio. It's good to have both!

Okay, I'm off to my meeting!

Always Dream Big