Comments on: Coffee Break with Craig Strong

By: First Photog Meetup a big success! | Jules Cafe

First Photog Meetup a big success! | Jules Cafe — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:44:34 +0000

[...] game where participants found out information about who is the man behind the Lensbaby (Craig Strong) and what a Drobo is (Data Robotics storage [...]

By: michele jones

michele jones — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:37:05 +0000

Love the lensbaby

By: Jon McGovern

Jon McGovern — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:46:12 +0000

The fact that, as you say, the world can be seen in a new way through the lens baby is, I think, what draws me to it. Even the best photographers need something to spice up their enthusiasm, which brings to mind the fact that David Bailey once switched to an Olympus E3 for a while.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 05:03:55 +0000

The Lensbaby is the best thing since sliced bread! I covet all of them.

By: PJ Lee

PJ Lee — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:40:53 +0000

What a luxury a new lens is! It’s like an inspiring professor in a small package. Someone who makes you think more deeply about things you’ve seen the same way for years. The best teachers notice when we’ve expanded ourselves and challenge us to keep doing it. Lensbaby is that professor.

In the last one and a half, I added a new world view to my usually liberal, happy, hopeful self. I’ve learned about greed, arrogance, and supremacy. A very very wealthy man decided he didn’t want to pay for 3 years of my husband’s world class corporate work. This man used lies and threats to drive us to give up our legal quest for justice or we’d continue to lose our life savings and maybe our house to lawyer fees & constant stress. Starting over hasn’t been what I planned to do at my age, but it’s nearly forced me to choose photography for a new career because I need to see light & beauty to keep my soul from being obsessively angry. Creating lasting visual stories for my family, friends and hopefully new clients will keep me focused on what’s important. I love the details in the skin, eyes, furniture, fabric, togetherness, hand expressions…
My husband and I are combining what we both know about photography, including exploring vintage cameras, lens and techniques. It’s a new world view. I know a Lensbaby would be a great tool and professor for this adventure. Thanks for inspiring us to see more.

By: Michael Ruter

Michael Ruter — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:25:38 +0000

Craig, a whole heartily agree you must follow your passion. I’ve have lots of experiences but one I remember vividly was coming out of one of my first surgeries and waking up and nothing was completely in focus, except my wife standing over me looking at me lovingly; That dream quality that lens baby has is amazing I’ve only used one a couple of times; using it is like seeing something for the first time and having the ability to capture it. I wish had one, i have lots of things id like to try; but other priorities come first. I hope i get to meet you sometime in the near future.

Sincerely,
Michael Rueter

By: Katherine Masci

Katherine Masci — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:25:19 +0000

This was a great article! I also read Dane’s book and found it so helpful. Recently I’ve been spending more time with my grandfather. He too is a photographer and he has been going through all his old photos. Telling me how he would glue a baseball to the end of a bat to get an “action shot” because back in the 30s his shutter speed wasn’t that fast. Seeing all his memories through film and his lens has inspired me to really bring my camera with me everywhere. I want to be able to pass on similar stories one day to my grandchildren. I can only hope to have the walls of photos over such a long period of time in my house one day.

By: Jenny Arnez

Jenny Arnez — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:41:41 +0000

Great interview – thank you! I just returned from an incredible 2 week trip to Europe with two close friends. We went to Rome, the south of France and Paris together. This recent trip has changed my perspective in many ways but most importantly it has reminded me of the importance of relationships.The places we visited were beautiful but it was the people & my travel buddies that made it stunning. Change, growth and healing happens when people connect.

Thanks again for the interview and the opportunity to share.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:34:38 +0000

The catalyst for moving me to see things differently?…The birth of my son 10 years ago…the first time I put him naked on my bed and let him sit near an open window and stare out into the sun lit yard. I pulled out my camera and snapped some pictures, I so wanted to capture that moment in time. His innocent perspective–the wonder of soaking up his world. A blank canvas. The soul of that moment inspired me with a desire to use my camera to capture more of those moments, but also to see as he did–with eyes wide open.

By: Trent

Trent — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:02:24 +0000

A moment I saw the world in a different light was not an earth-shattering one, but one of contemplation and natural beauty. It was at the base of Kinuseo Falls, near Tumbler Ridge, BC.

At the time, the only way to get there was via an old logging road. All the bridges were washed out, so you could only go late in the season. My best friend’s girlfriend’s family were going out to someplace with a funny name and, having nothing else to do, I tagged along. It took the better part of three hours to get there, even though the falls are less than 30 miles from the town as the crow flies.

I made my way to the base of the falls and stood there, transfixed. I was 18 years old, recently moved to the area from a small town in the middle of the prairies, and this. This was something I’d never experienced before. Kinuseo Falls has a few feet on Niagara Falls. Though it doesn’t move the same volume of water, it was still an impressive site. But was more than a waterfall. The thundering water was the wild pulse of nature, untamed and untrammeled. “This,” I thought, “is true wilderness.”

When I finally left that place, I chose not to hike up the path beaten up from the base of the falls, but to scramble up between the path and the falls, half climbing, half hiking. And with each step I would wonder “has anyone ever stood here before? Right here, where my feet are touching. Have any other feet touched this spot?” For a boy from the prairies, where nearly every inch of the land has been broken and reshaped, it was a heady experience, and it began an obsession with the wilderness that has since lead to me authoring over a dozen books on outdoor exploration and adventure.