A rainbow appears over a neighborhood in downtown Columbia, S.C., on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, following a severe thunderstorm. (© 2011 Brett Flashnick/flashnick visuals, llc.)

Click “More” to see the technical details after the jump.

Technical Details
Camera: Canon 5D MKII
Lens: Canon 24-70 f/2.8L USM @ 24mm
Memory: SanDisk Extreme 8GB
ISO: 160
Shutter: 1/320
Aperture: f/4

The first  video comes from a blog post by Chase Jarvis.  Chase shared video interview from The Atlantic with National Geographic photographer Sam Abell (one of my personal favorites).  In the video he talks about taking an entire year to make a single image. Like Chase I have to admit I’ve never spent an entire year trying to make a single image, some have taken hours, and a few have taken days but never an entire year.  However I have had the experience of watching someone thumb past those images in a newspaper or magazine, and really wish I had handled it like Abell did instead of just hanging my head and walking away.

The next video came from facebook page of the South Carolina Arts Commission. In this piece edited by David Shiyang Liu, Ira Glass of “This American Life” (another one of my professional heroes) talks about the amount of perseverance that it takes to really become good at your craft. In his case it is telling stories through spoken word and moving images, but the same applies to photography. This is something I was told, albeit a little less eloquently, almost two decades ago when I started with photography.

If you are interested in watching all four parts of the original “Ira Glass on Storytelling” from Current_TV/PRI, I put together a playlist you should check out http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC85F217C182194FF.

I think the most interesting part about these two videos is that I am somewhere in the middle.  I’ve been doing this for long enough that a large volume of work has been produced, but not yet at the point where I can spend a year making a single image.  This is a good reminder of why it’s important that you don’t just persevere through creating a large volume of work at the beginning of your creative endeavor. The real trick is persevering through this process over several decades, just like Sam Abell has done.  Just like anything else, the skill of seeing and developing a story, whether its with photographs, video or words, can grow dull over time if its not kept sharp.  I will admit that I have fallen victim to this in the past when trying to focus on business, marketing, etc… It was easy to say to myself “ok I’ve got this photography thing down pat, now I have to focus on the business side of things to be successful.” Unfortunately thats not the case and what you are trying to get out there grows dull in the process.

I’m interested to hear what you think. Do you think you have this level of commitment and perseverance?  What’s the longest you’ve spent working on one thing? Please share your thoughts and comments below.

9/27/07 - Columbia, S.C., Local alternative rock band Closer, rehearses for their upcoming performance at the Five Points End of Construction Celebration on Friday, October 5, 2007. The group which has been together off and on for almost eight years consists of David Reed, (vocals, guitar), David Baker, (bass), and Nathan Reed, (drums). © 2008 Brett Flashnick/All Rights Reserved

After reading the story The Day the Music Died in The State today, about how Richaland County just shut down all of the bands that practice at the Sumter Street Storage sheds, I really can’t help but wonder what can be done to help make this area more friendly to the creative community.  The Sumter Street Storage facility was not only a safe haven for up and coming musicians to practice over the past 20 years, but it was a source of creativity for my own visual art as well.  I made the above image of the alt. rock band Closer as the practiced inside of their rented shed in late 2007.  I cringe to think of all the tax money that the Columbia Talent Management project just spent on a survey about how to attract the creative class to the area, when the answer is simple.  Prove that you are there to support them!  Most creatives didn’t get into their respective fields to get rich, or famous, they probably didn’t even choose it at all, it chose them.  We create because there isn’t anything else we could envision doing, or because creating fills a deeper part of our souls and fulfills our lives, and the lives of those who are inspired by what we create, be it music, art, poetry, etc…  The easiest thing you can do to help out is show them that they have your support.  I know this was a ruling made by the county fire marshall, but what now?  Now is the time for Columbia to step up and provide, or just even allow a place like Sumter Street Storage to operate.