I've been doing photo shoots like this one for more than 15 years and I still get a huge kick out of it!  Seriously, I just love seeing the images I envision come to life on the back of my camera.  So much so that it's not unusual for me to cry out when I take a moment to look at the back of my camera in the middle of a shoot.  Take the instance captured in the behind-the-scenes snapshot below, my assistant literally laughed at me as I took a peak at the back of the camera and exclaimed, "Oh, BABY!"  

I had envisioned turning this part of the abandoned Fort Armistead in Baltimore into what appeared to be a performance stage where musician Madisun Bailey would normally be working.  As you can see, we were shooting in the middle of the day, but I knew I could make it appear darker in my camera and then use a single light on Madison to replicate a stage spot light.  

The final image, a spot lit portrait of Madisun "on stage" in the middle of overgrown, abandoned ruins, reflects my subject's love of nature, her "hip" vibe, and her drive to be a performance musician.  

Madisun Bailey photographed at Fort Armistead in Baltimore, MD

So, I still get excited about creating images....so what?  The importance of that, I believe, is that my clients get a photographer who is still trying his hardest to create images that are eye-stopping and memorable, not just going through the motions in order to generate a pay check.  Indeed, I LOVE the creative process, and that includes:

• interviewing my subjects to discover elements of their true-selves that should be represented in the final images; 
• scouting locations that are relevant to the client's story;
• hauling gear to places other photographers wouldn't bother to reach; and, of course,
• imaging unique lighting that results in images that stand apart from others.

I do it all because I sincerely love it...to me, it's all fun and I will never lose my passion for doing so.  I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't fun, and I wasn't producing images that thrill my clients.