Ruth and I were raised in a family that believed your career should be dictated by listening to your heart. Figure out what you love — where your passions lie — and that is what you pursue. As you follow your path, you do not fear hard work, but you also know that some choices are more labor-intensive than others.
Case in point: farming. We grew up on a small farm, mainly goats and chickens and cats, but through the years also dogs, sheep, rabbits, pigs, Penelope the Shetland pony and Chuck the duck. The farm was always a lot of work, particularly for our mom, but it was worth it.
Noemi + goat: two kids just hangin’ out; Noemi and brother John, who being a linesman for Eversource, surprisingly has never worked at Ink&Pixel; Noemi going in for the snuggle; Noemi and her dad, Paul Zelanski
Ruth milking the goats, because on a farm everyone works; Ruth with Blackie, her chicken, in her pocket apron; friends in a field with Ruth; Ruth and a lap of love
Fast forward to our own adulthood, the choices we’ve made, and the opportunities we get (and grab with both hands) to work with other people who are working hard following their dreams. One of those people is Bob Handelman, a Connecticut photographer with whom we have had the pleasure of working. Bob is one of those photographers who has a quiet, unassuming demeanor. He is polite and kind, thoughtful and generous, but don’t let any of that fool you. He is a badass talent who never stops, never even slows down, and absolutely never falls short of perfection. And I do mean perfection.
Bob recently proposed to us a collaboration with his subjects Louisa Conrad and Lucas Farrell, the owners of Big Picture Farm in Vermont. Coming beautifully full-circle, Big Picture Farm is a family-owned goat diary that makes cheeses and candies, like the most delicious caramels, among other products.
Big Picture Farm photo assignment: “Americana, Know Thy Neighbor”
Candy and goat’s milk caramel production: a handmade labor of love from goat to wrapper.
Now, point A to point B. How does a passion project create new business? That’s where Ink&Pixel comes in. We know how to create a conversion from emotional connection into a job. When you have passion for what you do — it shows in the work. And that is why Bob came to us. Well, that’s not the only reason. Why not enjoy the process?
Our challenge was to create a promotional marketing tool for Bob that would engage an audience of creatives who would in turn hire him to shoot their projects. One of the things that we love most here at Ink&Pixel is creating immersive experiences. First of all, what does it communicate? What is it? How does it arrive? What does if feel like? What do you do with it? Does it activate other senses? Oh yeah.
Hot off the presses, we printed the components of the magnificent promo on a digital Indigo Press, at Cannelli Printing in West Haven, with expert color and image calibration on a beautiful sheet — to deliver Bob’s photography with maximum accuracy and a special wow factor.
From tactile to digital, the common thread is passion all around. Clients become recipients, become fans. The mailing continues to be well received, and well followed.
Running a business is hard. Running a farm is really hard. At Ink&Pixel, we have a passion for passion, and so we are very excited to be partnering with Bob, Louisa, and Lucas on some upcoming collaborations. To my shear delight, these are the kinds of projects — and partners — that reinforce all those early life lessons. Join our mailing list to make sure you hear about how we milk this opportunity.
“I know that to succeed as a photographer, I must always dig deeper. In addition to sharing great stories, this personal project for me was to get raw, overcome resistance, persevere and draw new lessons. This ain’t easy! I hate the phrase “trust the process.” To me, this often means having to endure physical and emotional pain (real and perceived). It means failures. It means inconvenience and inefficiency. These are all things I despise and am hardwired to avoid. Ahhh, the creative process … bring it on!”Bob Handelman
Read more about Bob’s journey at HANDELBLOG, “DOWN and DIRTY”
And check out the entire project gallery.
Want your own farm experience? Book a stay at Big Picture Farm.