My first blog entry! [It's a long one - sorry]

I was struggling with what to write about but then it hit me, why not explain to everyone about my history and what's been going on with my previous business (Turning Leaf Photography) and why I have changed the name to 'John Magnoski - Photographic Artistry'. So here goes:

Photography found me, I did not find it nor did I seek it out initially.

It all started in 8th grade, when my family took a trip to Montana. My uncle had my father take his Minolta 35mm SLR to get some nice pics of the mountains. But my dad had me take most of the photos (thanks Dad!) which I thought was really was cool. My dad, trusting me with his brothers fancy SLR camera - whoa, what encouragement!

Anyway, I got some really nice images from that trip and even got some compliments on my abilities. The photography bug had bitten.

Now in 9th grade at my high school (Rosemount High) I was unable to take photography because I needed to take an art class that year. I liked art anyway and loved to draw so that was really no big deal for me. It was in this art class that I met my future wife, seriously I did, and I fell in love with this beautiful girl (now woman) and pursued her like crazy. She was of course not interested since I was a total geek and not very attractive (think revenge of the nerds). I got the old "I consider you a friend" line all the time...

Now, back to art. Let's just say that I thought the art teacher had a thing for the girl of my dreams - so I purposely failed the class to "show him!". Dumb, stupid, confused teenage mind!

10th grade rolls around and I have to take yet another art class with the same teacher and I finally get to take my photography class. I took to photography like I took to swimming. Even though I failed 9th grade algebra and was nearly failing all the other courses (except for the business and computer courses - LOL) I 'got' photography. It made sense to combine the f-stop with the shutter speed to create your vision. I aced the course and my teacher, Mr. Hugelen encouraged me to continue pursuing photography - that I had a built in talent and an eye for it. He told me to find a job at a local photo lab, but I was too busy trying to win the love of my life to worry about a career. And by the middle of 10th grade I finally convinced her to go on a walk with me. To us, that was our first real date and it was amazing.

Heidi (my wife) and I started dating then and she inspired me to a level I had never known. Here was this gorgeous girl wanting to spend time with me, helping me to focus on my homework and raise my GPA. My parents fell for her too, and we dated on and off pretty heavily throughout high school. Throughout this time I continued to snap photos whenever I could - just for fun.

Now senior portrait time came around and she and I did not have the money to go to the more expensive studios. So we decided to go to the local ProEx Photo Studio (Apple Valley, MN) to have our senior pictures done. I walked out of there with a job that day and rose through the ranks and became one of the most requested photographers there at the time. It was also through working at ProEx that I met some of my best and closest friends, and they too inspired me to not only pursue my talent but to pursue God's will for me. I got saved then too - it was such an amazing time in my life! And for Christmas, my parents gave me a Nikon N50 SLR kit - and for that I am forever grateful!

After working for ProEx for roughly 18 mos. I was offered a job by a Lifetouch 'headhunter' to photograph school portraits and groups. The offer was $5 more per hour (plus mileage) than what I was currently making, so I jumped on the opportunity. I had also graduated HS at this point and needed a more reliable, full time job with benefits , as well as a new car. All I can say is wow, that was a hard job and I commend & respect those who do it every day.

The management at Lifetouch could tell that school photography wasn't for me, so after the season died down a bit they transferred me to be a key photographer in their Mall of America studio known as Images by Lifetouch (it was 'Faces' before I got there) which was a glamour shots type of studio that focused more on cutsie kid, senior and family photography - a precursor to their now popular 'Flash' digital portrait studio.

I really had a good time working at Images. I had moved out of my parent’s house, since they had moved to AZ that year and I was pursuing my dreams. Now at this time in my life I really wanted to find a great girl, get married and have lots of kids (Heidi and I were broken up at that time).

I hit on every cute girl I photographed but nothing ever panned out further than a phone call and or a date...

So, feeling sad and depressed I prayed for God to send me a woman who I could be with - to love and share my passion of life, God, and photography with. I did not see it at the time but she was always there - as my best friend and former girlfriend, it was Heidi - the girl I fell in love with in 9th grade. She and I decided to go see a movie at the Mall, and as we walked out we noticed we were accidentally holding hands. I did not let go. It was raining hard that night and when I went to drop her off at her house I asked her dance with me in the rain. She thought I was crazy but I insisted and she agreed. It was then that I realized who she was and that I had lost sight of what God had blessed me with in her. So I professed my love to her there, as we danced in the rain (the song that was on the radio at the time was "Like the Rain" by Clint Black - how fitting.) From that moment on we were together again. I later asked her to marry me at our favorite pizza joint (the Italian Pie Shoppe in Eagan, MN) and she of course said yes.

I now had a renewed sense of inspiration through the love she and I felt towards each other...

Fast forward to 2000 (I had gone back to ProEx and worked at their Burnsville, MN location in 1997 and was also assisting other wedding/portrait photographers at the time.)

I started Turning Leaf Photography in the early spring of 2000. I was managing a studio in St. Paul, MN at the time (I had finally quit ProEx to have this 'better' job).
But I felt that I needed to break out on my own and pursue what I love.

Having only worked for the this studio for 3 months I approached the owner and told him how I felt and that I thought the main photographer would make a better manager for him. I offered to work an additional 3 weeks to make the transition easier for him and his studio.

He did not take the news very well and told me go home early (this was on a Friday), and to think about it over the weekend and come back in the morning to chat about my decision.
So the following Monday I enter into his office to further discuss my creative needs. He again got upset, called me some names, insulted my faith in the scriptures and compared me to Don Quixote. He told me that I was "jousting at windmills" to which I replied, "Y'know, One of these days those windmills will fall...". His reply to me was, "Get out".

So, with the $25 I had left in my pocket I headed downtown to register the name Turning Leaf Photography - and there I was, a business owner with the world before me and a growing family that needed me to support them. Again, I felt renewed and energetic. I made it my goal to knock his and other 'windmills' down. I wanted to offer everything to everybody, as was the way most 'successful' studios did things - at least that's what I thought. I wanted to be different and to tap into what so many had forgotten. My angle was customer service. Lower volume, higher price but with a better quality product and service than the competition.

And for over 6yrs I achieved my goals. I feel that I, along with many others in my industry, have helped to change the face of portrait and wedding photography. Guys like me changed the perceived notions in people minds about photographers. We were now on the brink of something big, something different. People began to respect and trust the photographic artist and the work we were able to create just kept getting better and better.

Now my dreams and big ideas for Turning Leaf Photography did not happen as planned.
I had plans to be so big, so huge, that other studios would be forced to change their 'evil' ways of how they mistreat their clients or face going out of business. What they had, that I didn't, was capital and big fat marketing budgets. So I went more 'grassroots' and word of mouth with my offerings. Business grew rapidly.

I wanted Turning Leaf Photography to employ teams of photographers, carbon copies of me and my passion, to storm the nation and provide the best we had to offer. And we offered everything from family, children, senior, baby and wedding portraits to Fine Art (Giclee) reproductions, commercial interiors/exteriors & product photography. I also offered consultative services to photographers and helped a custom lab in Minneapolis set up their fine art reproduction services. I was at the top of my game. But I kept losing assistants and friends to their own dreams of business ownership, which prevented me from achieving my bigger dream.

Now here I was, in the same situation I had left my former employer in. Here are some really talented people, people I have 'developed' and trained choosing to become, in a way, my competition instead of working with/for me to create the best studio in the state... But unlike my former employer, I did not get angry with them. I encouraged them to follow their dreams and pursue what they felt God was calling them to. And I will even be there for them, to help them succeed.

But all of that caused me to step back and reconsider my windmill jousting. Did I become like the Church of Ephesus (The book of Revelation ch.2)? Did I lose my 'first love' in my quest to be a 900 pound gorilla? The answer was clear - I did.

Not only that, but I was (and still am) so busy and lacking in the help that I need that I could not get orders done in a timely fashion. I could not respond to emails quickly enough or return phone calls fast enough. Top that off with the fact that for the last 2.5 yrs I have been working 6 days a week, 10 hours a day - without a break in site... Something had to change and God was gently breaking my business apart so that I could go back to my first love(s).

My first love(s) are God, Family & my passion for photographing all of God's beautiful creation, which is not limited to landscapes, scenics and nature - we are all His creation and He has given me an awesome gift to capture the truth and beauty of life's everyday moments.

So after much prayer and late night talks with my wife, I decided to change the name to :: John Magnoski - Photographic Artistry ::
And I have made a promise to God, my wife Heidi and our 5 beautiful children to pursue what I love, regardless of what the 'other studios' are doing. I promised them that I would not allow my business to run me and to take me away from them.

One of my favorite songs when I was a kid was 'Cats in the Cradle' - it touched me and I never really understood why. But I realized that I was becoming the dad in that song and what a poverty that is towards my children. We must never tell our kids "“sorry honey, I'’m just too busy for you right now."” God never tells us He's too busy to hear us pray, He never tells us He is too busy for us and our needs. He is the only example of a truly devoted father who loves his children unconditionally.

So, here I am, with a new business name and model, and again, with the world before me and my family needing me to provide for them. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

I am eager to pursue my love's and enjoy my life with my family and my God.

Please check out my new site [http://www.johnmagnoski.com] and come back to my blog often.

And, please provide me feedback on my new site.
I want to know what my clientele are thinking, what services you like or don'’t like.


Thank you for taking the time to read this.



God Bless!
<>< John Magnoski

Photographic Artist