PixelatedImage Blog

This is a picture of my cat, Brie, on my – excuse me, on HER – office chair. Because nothing sets up a discussion of professionalism like a cat on a chair.

Ok, so you know I’ve got my reservations about the word “professional” when it’s set up against the word amateur. But the word “professionalism” where it applies to a high standard of excellence, that I can get on board with. In fact I’m constantly amazed at the lack of professionalism in creative industries. And I know I’m not the only one. I had an editor at a major photography magazine recently bemoan the fact that the photographers she works with can’t get things in on time. I’ve had other editors express total shock when I’ve replied to emails within an hour or two. Still others yet are amazed that I’ve replied to an image request on time and with well-delivered, clearly marked files that were to spec.

Seriously?

Frederick Van Johnson recently asked me why I feel like vocational photography is hard. One of the reasons I gave is that the point where craft and commerce meet is not an easy one to balance. I don’t even recall if I put it this way in VisionMongers or not, but if I didn’t, I should have. So in case I missed it, a recap: being a successful working photographer means far more than making photographs. I’ve barely shot a frame since the end of September – almost two months ago. We have times when it’s more important to stock the shelves, and this is one of those times for me. And then January will come and I’ll be shooting almost everyday for a couple months. But in the in-between times it’s not photography, it’s business. Consider these, among a great many other things, as a place to begin with a self-audit. Do you:

You reply to clients on time every time? If you’re too busy to do that, you’re too busy. If you wait 24 hours to reply to an email you’ve waited too long. If you only answer the “important” ones within 24 hours then you’ve made progress but are making assumptions about which ones are important. I’ve had many a client come from “unimportant” emails. They are all important. This is top of my list because I’m struggling with this now that the books are out. I lose track of the odd bit of fan mail, but even those are important. Don’t neglect your audience, whomever they are.

You meet client needs to the letter, then give them more? Files on time, well delivered, to spec.

You never, ever depart from the core of your brand? Know who you are, what you stand for, and never deviate.

Your outgoing emails, invoices, and every piece of collateral, is well-designed, consistent with each other and with the visual conventions of your brand, not just a logo?

You begin every day assuming your service or product can always be better and you take every opportunity to make it so?

You approach your market with the aim to serve them not exploit them?

That’s a short list. Be the best photographer you can be, and getting better. But you also need to be the best business-person you can be. Don’t like it? That’s one of the benefits of not bringing your craft to the world of commerce.

I’m not even sure who I’m talking to out there. If it’s you, it’s not too late. I do know why I’m telling you this – because it doesn’t take much for me to wow clients. And while that’s good for me, it bodes very badly for those among us who are setting the standard of mediocrity so low. I mean, c’mon, it’s hard enough to do this and keep your head above water, I know it is. I get emails all the time about these challenges. Don’t mulitply it with customer service that makes you look ragged around the edges and drives customers to someone else – who might be “less talented” but is more inclined to serve the customers you don’t have time to serve well.

Here’s one more that my manager made me change for this very reason: my invoicing. He literally forced me to sign up for Freshbooks and it’s changed the way I do invoicing. It’s amazing, and it’s very professional in the way it looks, and makes your business look. It’s also easier for your clients. Take one small step today, and everyday. Today, consider cleaning up your invoicing. Next week clean out your inbox – by replying to them or deleting them and starting fresh, but an inbox with 1000 emails, that’s only going to intimidate you and you’ll never, EVER, empty it. Clear it, create some rules to keep it ordered and end every day with it clear. Then standardize your letterheads and all outgoing email signatures – do one thing every day that begins with the assumption that your service needs work. A complete overhaul is intimidating, few of us have time for it, but one action-item a day gets the job done. Set the time aside. Raise the bar.

Last call on the BIG FAT BUSINESS CARD GIVEAWAY THING. I draw a name this evening sometime, so now’s your last time to get in on it.

I shot this in northern Bangladesh, earlier this year while on assignment. We’re now in between two great holiday seasons that focus on gratitude and giving. You don’t come here for preaching, but you know it’s going to happen once in a while. Please consider giving to organizations, like World Vision, Invisible Children, or others that work closer to home. Let’s make this year the year we stop with the token gifts and landfill-bound trinkets.

In my haste to get on the soapbox yesterday I completely neglected to wish my American readers a happy Thanksgiving. Being Canadian means we get Thanksgiving, in some measure, twice. Of all the holidays I think I could tolerate doing more than once a year, Thanksgiving is at the top. Daily would also be fine. So while we Canucks had our day way back in October and now have nothing to do until Christmas, y’all to the south are gorging yourself as I write this. In the spirit of the holiday, for which many turkeys have died – I’m deeply grateful for so much, not the least of which is you – my readers, fans, tweeps, and friends.

If y’aren’t already sick of my yapping, there are two solid interviews online that are now available for your listening pleasure.

First, my buddy Matt Brandon did an interview with me while we were in Ladakh. That interview is available HERE, along with others like Bob Krist, Nevada Wier, and Gavin Gough, on the Peachpit TV site. Matt’s interview skills are exceptional and I think the conversational tone of this interview probably makes it more fun than insightful, but that might just be me. Matt’s Depth of Field series is growing and he approaches his guests with some real insight – all his interviews are highly recommended.

The second interview is on episode #117 of TWiP (This Week in Photography) and it’s more focused on the release of VisionMongers and the issues I discuss in the book. Frederick’s becoming a good friend and he too is a fun interview, so take some time and listen to that episode, available HERE on iTunes.  Just look for Episode #117. Or, perhaps the easiest way, just got follow this link directly to the interview on Frederick’s site.

Reviews on blogs, Amazon.com, and Twitter, for VisionMongers are beginning to pop up everywhere. Looks like the book is finally hitting the far side of the planet, which will be good news for folks from Europe and Asia who’ve been waiting. Thanks for the great comments and the glowing reviews. Keep them coming. Knowing what resonates with you makes it easier for me to keep teaching in ways that that work best for you. And it doesn’t hurt book sales, either, so thanks!

Finally, the winter holidays are nearly on us and if your tradition involves giving gifts, then there are plenty of Gift Guides out there to help you out. I’ll probably post one too, though it’ll more than likely encourage you to give the give of education rather than gear, and I’ll point you to a couple organizations where you can spend your money on something for people much less fortunate. Many of you have asked what the easiest way to give my $5 ebooks as gifts and I’m working on that too. I’ll include a discount too, just to share the love. Keep your eyes peeled.

Have a great weekend.

I think there are two kinds of photographers among those who are honest enough to admit they compare themselves to others. The first looks at the work of another and says, “I wish I could do that.” The second looks at the work of another and says, “I could have done that.” So because I’ve been, alternately, both of those people, and can still be so from time to time, I feel the need to preach the following sermon. I’m preaching first to myself, if you listen in that’s your choice.

I could have done that.

But you didn’t, did you? You were too busy doing something else while the other guy went and did it. Too busy comparing or procrastinating or getting distracted with gear. To busy making excuses. I could have done that if….If I had a better camera, if I had more lenses, if I had studio lights. If, if, if. I think every time my ego says “I could have done that,” someone should be allowed to say, “but you didn’t.” Much of the time these thoughts come not because I truly think I could have done that particular thing, or shot that particular shot. The thought comes because I’m too busy comparing myself to others and not busy enough working. You know what? No one cares about what you could have done but didn’t. They only care about what you’ve done. Crap or get off the pot. There is no good place in the creative soul for this kind of thinking, it’s toxic. Turn it into something better; let that enviable image or job push you to think “Hey, I’m going to try…” Because, honestly, this isn’t rocket-science. It’s photography and to one degree or another, when you say “I could have done that,” well of course you could. That we didn’t make that photograph tells us more about ourselves. I’m not being hard here, just saying what needs to be said, even if it’s only me listening sometimes. Comparisons are a waste of creative energy.

I wish I could do that.

Do it. Find a way, and do it. You won’t do it the same way but why would you want to? Still, do it. Life is incredibly short. Your time to redeem the few days we all have is now. Your time to change the world and make a mark is now. You are the one who assumes the photographer you envy has more hours in the day, more cameras in his bag, and more skill in his shutter finger than you have in your entire body. Bologna. And even if that is true, so what. I get more and more emails telling me I’m living the dream, telling me how badly they wish they were doing what I do. Great. So few of them have a plan to get there. So few of them even think it possible. I’m not saying you can do anything, I’m saying the biggest failure is not trying and these dreams – I know, I’ve said this before – are not going to chase themselves.

It’s hard enough to create a compelling image when you’re focusing all your attention on the ground glass of the focusing screen, infinitely more so when we’re also looking over our shoulder or looking around to see who is taking notice of us, what others think of our work, or what others are doing. If you must look around, do so to learn and improve your craft. For some of us this means less time on Flickr looking for affirmation. For others it means less time online and more time shooting. And for others still it means sitting down and making a plan instead of simply wishing. Just, whatever you do, don’t finish life thinking “I could have- should have – done that.”

I had a whole other post written and scheduled for today, but I’ve bumped it because I just got my copy of The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography from the folks at DPS. Digital-Photography-School.com is a massive community of enthusiastic learners and they’ve just produced and announced The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography. It’s an ebook, it’s priced at an intro price of $14.95 right now and it’s huge value for the money. If you can’t wait and just want more info now, then click here for more details

It’s packed – I mean packed – with information that will be particularly helpful to people just starting out with portraits or wanting to work on their portrait skills. It’s well illustrated and it doesn’t hold back. And it ends with interviews with people like Jack Hollingsworth, Chase Jarvis, and myself. And others.

I’ve been sending you to a lot of books lately, and there’s a reason for that – dollar for dollar you aren’t going to get better information or education than in books, and when they come digitally the cost goes way down. The one I’m recommending here is different from my own stuff and I think that’s important – we all need to draw from many sources as we learn and grow.

The DPS site does a great job of revealing the book, offers the intro pricing I mentionned (which is 25% off) and the darn thing has a money-back 30-day guarantee. Not even my books have that. Head over to DPS to take a look at The Essential Guide to Portrait Photography. Highly Recommended. Click here to view more details

Got in late last night from a long weekend in Seattle. We went a little under-the-radar and I know there were people that would have liked to have connected but I really needed some time to hang with my wife, and eat some great food. Sorry. We had relaxing to do, and the moment you start making too many plans… Anyways, had a blast, walked around, did some shopping, had a quick chance to see my friend Joe about re-designing some of my stuff and to stop in Fremont on the way out of town to have lunch with Chase Jarvis who took me to a place with the best sushi I’ve ever had. It was amazing. I’ll bring up the lunch with Chase at some point this week, I suspect, because each time I talk with the man I spend a couple days digesting his ideas. Anyways, all that to say, I got in late, and this is a short post.

Craft and Vision – CraftAndVision.com – is the new home of the eBooks I’ve been producing (screenshot above). You can still get there through the Books link at the top of this page too. You’re welcome to head over and look around. In the coming months this site will grow as new ebooks get published. Dave Delnea’s first title, Below The Horizon, Understanding Light at the Edges of Day, will be next out of the gate, and I’ve got two more coming, though not quickly, and they’ll be much different from the first four. Keep an eye open.

Also, huge thanks to Scott Kelby and Scott Bourne who both created holiday gift guides featuring Within The Frame. Scott Bourne’s is related to books (find it HERE) and Scott Kelby’s Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide is his usual fantastic round-up of great gear (you can find it HERE)

Finally, VisionMongers is now in a lot of hands and the reception’s been truly gratifying. If you’ve read it and would recommend it to others, can I be so cheeky as to ask for an Amazon.com review? These things mean a lot in the whole Amazon world, and while I’m only asking you to be honest, I’d be grateful for the review.

Thanks. See you tomorrow.

The cover of Paul Nicklen’s new book, Polar Obsession.

I’m captivated by Paul Nicklen and his work right now. His book, Polar Obsession, is on its way from Amazon and I can’t wait until it arrives. I haven’t been this excited about a book coming my way for a while. I might even be more excited about this one arriving than I was about VisionMongers.

Paul Nicklen grew up among the inuit in the far  – FAR – north of Canada. He studied to become a biologist. He mapped out his career plan on a scrap of paper when he should have been studying for a genetics final in his 4th year at University of Victoria. He failed the exam but found a career. I’m so intrigued with Paul for several reasons. The first of course is that his images are breathtaking. I don’t care any more about seals per se than I do about, I don’t know, toy poodles. But his images make me care. His images of the arctic and antarctic make me care, make me want to be there. Hell, they make me want to get into that water with him. But more than that, I suspect I’m drawn to him because, like the visionmongers I profiled in the book, this is a guy who seems to do it because he can’t NOT do it. He cares deeply about his subject. He has leveraged his expertise and his own story, and found a place shooting something few others are shooting with such great affection.

A person with a reason to shoot is lucky. A person with a passion, an obsession, is damn-near unstoppable. And I think their images show it.

A leopard seal feeds Paul Nicklen a penguin. Antarctic Peninsula.
© Paul Nicklen

So to start the week of right I’ll stop yapping and refer you to some of the inspiring bits I’ve found on Paul Nicklen.

First, his own website is here. Be sure to look at his galleries and read his story. PaulNicklen.com

Next, a great YouTube video about some of the experiences behind his leopard seal images HERE and his underwater polar bear HERE.

PDN has an article on Paul Nicklen HERE.

Finally, if you’ve got a few shekels left after buying my recent barrage of books, you can find Paul’s book, Polar Obsession, HERE on Amazon.com

Early this week, my second book – VisionMongers, Making a Life and a Living in Photography, was released. Holding your own book in your hands just doesn’t get old. Neither does running to the bookstore to put my books in front of Kelby and McNally’s Hey, they started it.

By now y’all know I’m addicted to the question Why? It’s just more interesting than How? most of the time. So I thought as an introduction to the book I’d share with you a couple of the Whys behind VisionMongers.

Why “VisionMongers”?

Once upon a time, before there were fear-mongers and war-mongers, and the name took on negative connotations, there were honest tradespeople that sold goods to other honest folks. Fish sellers were fish-mongers. Folks that worked with iron were iron-mongers. It wasn’t exactly an elite thing. It was a get-yer-hands dirty name. An honest name, if not a little blue-collar. But there was no mistaking what they were selling. So fast forward to today and the context of so-called professional photographers. I used the term visionmonger because it communicates several things at once, even if we have to first build some meaning into the term. It communicates that we are selling our vision. Not our ability to press a button, or the fact that we have lots of gear. Those are just the wheelbarrow in which the fish-monger delivers the fish. No, our value to the market is in speaking a visual language in a unique way, and delivering it in the way that best meets their needs. Want to be a shutter-button monkey? I think Sears is still hiring. But if you left a soul-sucking day job (and not all of them are) to make not only a living but also a life, in photograpy, then the path to doing that is finding and communicating your vision to the market.

Right, but why write VisionMongers?

I wrote this book because I love what I do. I wouldn’t trade it. Heck I left a career in stand-up comedy to pursue this, and that was an easy gig. People send me emails and tell my I’m living the dream and I can’t think of a thing to say to deny it. But it’s not easy. I want people to understand that this is not an easy path, and it’s not a path you take based on a template or a system for “becoming a professional photographer.” It’s a journey as unique as you are. What your path looks like will differ tremendously from mine. What is common is much of the groundwork that is needed to deal with the colliding of these two different worlds – craft and commerce. You can be a brilliant photographer and never make it as a working or vocational photographer because succeeding in the world of craft is not the same as succeeding in the world of commerce. Not everyone wants both, and that’s fine. But if you want to make a go of it as a so-called working pro, you need to understand the world of commerce as much as you understand the world of craft. So VisionMongers is a sketchbook of ideas foundational to that understanding.

Why Visionmongers?

I know, it seems like the same question. There are 9 case-studies in the book in which I look at 9 photographers I know and respect – visionmongers with something to contribute, stories to tell, and solid wisdom to be passed on. So I profile Chase Jarvis, Zack Arias, Karl Grobl, Grace Chon, Chris+Lynn Jaksa, Kevin Clark, Dave Delnea, Gavin Gough, and Darwin Wigget – photographers who between them work successfully in a diversity of markets – weddings, pets, commercial, landscape, travel, headshot, food, and humanitarian photojournalism. They all have things to contribute to the discussion and though I chose them for their diversity I’m amazed at how similar their wisdom is, despite the different journeys taken to get there, and that tells me there’s something to be learned from them. They don’t hold back either, and are all very open about the challenges, failures, and lessons learned that are part of their own success; none of them believe in secrets. You won’t follow the same path as they did, but knowing what their path looked like can be pretty helpful. There’s also a conversation with Joe McNally in there in case you want to hear it from the, ahem, elder statesman of the group. (The image above, btw, is a collection of images from the first page of each case-study, all of them are about 6 pages long. There’s meat on them bones.)

Professional?

It was  tempting to subtitle the book something less artsy. “Becoming a Professional Photographer”, for example. But the deeper I got into the writing the more I realized two things. First, this book is not merely about becoming a “pro” – it’s about crafting a career with the same creativity with which we craft our images – with vision and passion. Money is a means to sustaining that, to making a living. But the goal is to sustain our craft, and that’s more about making a life than a living. Secondly I realized I had a problem with the world “Professional” – it no longer has the cachet or meaning it once did, and the dividing line between so-called pro and so-called amateur is less clear or meaningful than it once was. And that’s a change I’m glad for. So I studiously avoid the word. Not everyone will like that, they get their identity from being a “Pro.” I think there are better places to find your identity than in a label. Instead I talk about being a vocational photographer, one who feels called to it, one who does it because they can’t not do it. I think it’s more helpful.

So that’s a look into the Why and one that hopefully gives you some of the flavour of the book. We’re living in interesting times and I think there’s probably never been a better time to chase this dream. It’s hard work, and you might fall down along the way – we all do – but it’s so gratifying, so challenging, so much fun. These dreams aren’t going to chase themselves, but a little wisdom from others that have done it, are still doing it, might make the chase a little easier.

VisionMongers, Making a Life and a Living in Photography is out now and available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobles, or at your favourite BookMonger. Don’t forget to enter the VisionMonger BIG FAT BUSINESS CARD GIVEAWAY THING. I draw at the end of the month and the prize package is pretty nice. Especially for an aspiring visionmonger.

Have a great weekend. Make time to shoot something you love.

Me. Kiboko Bag by GuraGear, Canon 1Ds MkIII, EF 300/2.8L IS.

I told you I’d picked up an Elinchrom Ranger Quadra (B&H link HERE). It came a week or so ago and I’ve finally had a little time to play with it. Product reviews are always a dicey thing. So because I’ve not had much more than an afternoon to play with this, consider it a reaction instead. I set it up in my living room, still amazed by how tiny the head is. I mounted it to the adaptor that lets you use larger Elinchrom modifiers, then put it into a Lastolite Ezybox, which I’ll talk about in a moment. I set it up as one light, very low power on the left of the frame and put a large reflector on the right. And then I parked my butt on the floor and grabbed a couple of my new favourite toys and took a few self-portraits because the cats weren’t in a helping mood.

The way I judge whether I like a product or not is this – does it do what I bought it to do? Does it meet my expectations? So here’s why I wanted the Quadra. First, I need more power than the 580EX can give me and I am NOT getting into the nonsense of bringing a dozen of them and a crate of Pocket Wizards just so I can have some nice light. I needed it to be portable, un-reliant on AC power for a day in the field, and I needed it to play nicely with my other gear. I want to be able to put one light on a monopod or stand, through a softbox or umbrella, and be able to set it up fast and shoot wirelessly.

So. I bought a Lastolite EZbox because I am so sick of messing with my Photoflex softboxes and I am not bringing a 5ft octa to Africa. It sets up really fast, breaks down quickly and with the Elinchrom speedring and the Quadra adaptor it all goes together fast. Plug the cable in to the pack, turn it on, and you’re ready.

But it gets better. The Quadra comes with a built in Skyport receiver. With the optional Skyport transmitter you’re ready to shoot wirelessly really fast. The transmitter is TINY and though some worry about breaking it, I’m more concerned about losing it. Why this over a Pocket Wizard? I love my PW’s but they require plugging in, and they can’t control the power of the light from the camera. Skyport can, and it’s amazing. You want to fiddle, push the power a little up, a little down, go for it. No more walking back and forth to the pack. It’s all at your hotshoe and in the hour I played with it, it worked great. I can’t tell you how psyched I am about this!

And one more plus – it’s got an LED modelling lamp and for some of the low-light places in which I shoot, this will be all I need – one LED modelling lamp will do wonders in a low-light space and I won’t have to mess with shutter sync. Glorious.

What don’t I like? Elinchrom umbrella shafts are slightly smaller than the standard, so their holes are too. Want to use an umbrella, you’ll need to get one from Elinchrom. The instructions are lousy, as they always are with Elinchrom. And the head comes without a protective cap. Even my 200Ws D-Lights came with a protective cap and they’re the bottom of the pile of Elinchrom’s offerings. The lack of protective cap seems cheap and silly to me. Grumble, grumble.

Is the Quadra for everyone? No. Plenty of folks still want much more power. The Quadra’s 400 Ws which is a lot – 4 times more than a 580EX or SB800. But for some that won’t be enough. For me, it is. And some folks don’t need even this much power, in which case you’ll save a ton by purchasing a used SB800 or 580EX, a battery pack,  and a set of Pocket Wizards and still have money to spare. The Quadra’s about $1500 plus extras. But if you’re asking whether I love mine, yes I do. It borders on mania and I can’t wait to play with it some more and shoot something better looking than the suspicious bald guy up top.

If you’re looking for more detailed info than this artsy-fartsy, touchy-feely reaction to my new toys, then head over to David Hobby’s Strobist site and read his post about them. Then for the real meat, read the comments. Lots of good intel in there.

Lastly, a quick shout out to Lastolite. I have a couple of their products and they’re just great. I love their Skypanels and this new 24×24 Ezbox (link HERE to B&H product page) is compact, quick up, quick down, and makes some really nice light. I loathe futzing with softbox poles and speedrings, and this rig is light, fast, and rugged. And it’s simple so it doesn’t give me the rage when I’m too tired and jet-lagged to screw with setting up a fussy softbox.

Thus concludes the gear-head post. I don’t do them often and Vision’s better, but hey, Gear is still good when it helps us get a little closer to our vision. And when it’s shiny.

Hey, this one’s a quick one.

A while back we announced the Vision Collective – a forums site that got a really nice following. And then I got busy and it’s been dwindling. In part because I just never darkened the door – and I’m sorry about that. I never foresaw how busy I’d become this year. Also in part, I think, to the growing use of micro-blogging media like Twitter.

I get so many emails and comments about this site and how truly great this growing community of good people is, and I totally agree. You folks rock. The less time I have to reply to comments, the more I wish I had more hours in the day. But that’s life.

Anyways, two items related to my desire to build community and collaboration. The first is that at the end of November we’ll be shutting the Vision Collective down. Sad, but true. The second is that I still want to interact, and if you’re willing to join Twitter, or are already there, then let’s use the hashtag #piblog. This way comments, etc, made with this tag are easily tracked and we’ve got a means of interacting on some level without the time commitment of a forum. I have no idea where this is heading, it just seems like a good solution for now.

Thanks again for being part of this. With the release of VisionMongers it’s going to be a little bit “all book all the time” again, but I’ll keep in mind that I’m preaching to the choir a little and don’t need to flog you to death with it. So, if you’re down with it, I’ll see you on Twitter #piblog

Richard Avedon, Self Portrait. 1923-2004

“I hate cameras. They interfere, they’re always in the way. I wish: if I could just work with my eyes alone. To get a satisfactory print, one that contains all that you intended, is very often more difficult and dangerous than the sitting itself. When I’m photographing, I immediately know when I’ve got the image I really want. But to get the image out of the camera and into the open, is another matter.”

“And if a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it’s as though I’ve neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. I know that the accident of my being a photographer has made my life possible.”

“I believe that you’ve got to love your work so much that it is all you want to do. I believe you must betray your mistress for your work, you betray your wife for your work; I believe that she must betray you for her work. I believe that work is the one thing in the world that never betrays you, that lasts. If I were going to be a politician, if I were going to be a scientist, I would do it every day. I wouldn’t wait for Monday. I don’t believe in weekends. If you’re headed for a life that’s only involved with making money and that you hope for satisfaction somewhere else, you’re headed for a lot of trouble. And whatever replaces vodka when you’re 45 is what you’re going to be doing.”

I’m not sure Richard Avedon and I would see eye to eye on everything, but I love his passion and there is something in the spirit of what he did and the things he said about what he did that warrants learning from him. Take some time online at some point, or at your local library, looking at the work of Avedon. As far as portrait photographers go, he was his own man with his own voice. Remember, the point is not to find photographers you like or even agree with, but photographers from whom we can learn.

Reminds me of a line from an early Bruce Cockburn song, Maybe The Poet:

You and he may not agree/but you need him to show you new ways to see…