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December 7th, 2021
Free Advice
When I made this photograph, it reminded my how I only give free advice. Because there is a lot of it out there, and the advice you pay for may not work out because each person and circumstance is different.
Yes, there is a saying ‘ same problem, different name ’. But you do not need to pay for it I think.
It is more important to buy books or webinars or listen to podcasts or read blogs. Gather information and then compile it into what works best for you.
Growing up, my parents often said that a financial adviser was nothing more than an unemployed insurance agent. Today, I find an number of advisers in many fields whom none of them I have found I can trust to pay money to tell me what to do with my career or my life.
True, selling is about helping, it is not giving advice.
On the flip side, several people ask me for advice and I would never think of charging them for my thoughts. I make my living making pictures, and if my pictures inspire you then, yes, you should buy them. My advice, no. Though I have over thirty five years experience as a photographer.
Likewise, I have several decades involvement with Catholic Men's Ministry. Every month I am either one-on-one with other men, or in a group setting, sharing free ideas and mentoring them about growing in holiness, and how to be the best version of ourselves. Though they may support the apostoalte, I would never think to charge for this. Because the information shared and the impact made is priceless. (I always feel after I walk away they give me much more than I provide them)
Seth Godin does a similar thing. He (says that he) does not charge for advice or consulting. He makes his living as a book author, etc. Matthew Kelly from Dynamic Catholic It seeme does the same.
The words of Jesus are free in the Bible, it is the publishers who sell the book to be in business.
In comparison, I have over the years several spiritual directors. A spiritual director is a person who helps you discern what God is saying to you. This is advice from a person who is in tune with God and the Bible. A spiritual director has never charged me for their advice. Some people go further in to pay for counseling from a spiritual perspective, however.
In choosing his disciples, Jesus said to them " come and see ". By doing this he invited them to develop relationship with Him so, in turn, they could help others. Jesus invites us all to this mission today.
When we provide sound advice to others, especially when they ask for it, then we help each other to make a positive difference in the world.
“ For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors ”.
- Proverbs 11:14
Thanks for reading, enjoy your day.
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December 4th, 2021
The photograph Acceptance - Black and White illustrates for me how Sunday in the park in Chicago is a lesson on acceptance. Here we see people out for a ‘walk’ on Segways, while others enjoy lunch in a tent at Lake Michigan, and cars move along on Lake Shore Drive. All in a stones throw of Willis (Sears) Tower in the background (a building / community with its own zip code).
In a city the size of Chicago you learn real fast that 'where there are people there are also many issues'.
You also see people living the simple principle of The Golden Rule: all of us long to be accepted - it’s the first and foremost desire of every human heart - and It’s the conscious choice to proclaim to someone, “you matter to me!”
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November 23rd, 2021
PRIVATE GALLERY WALL ART
I have created a private gallery, with you, my email list subscribers, in mind. Unique and distinctive imagery either newly created, or newly edited from my archive, using the latest in image processing software.
Click here for these password protected items for viewing by mailing list subscribers only ( join my mailing list at tinyurl.com/fjcart-list ) and to come back bookmark frankjcasella.pixels.com and find the private gallery on the collections area.
Order early to avoid potential holiday shipping delays!
Photo: Bold Colors Down The Trail https://frankjcasella.pixels.com/featured/bold-colors-down-the-trail-frank-j-casella.html
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November 19th, 2021
Dear Loyal Friends,
I wanted to let you know about the benefits of how to save money shopping online from Fine Art America / PIXELS, as well as my Artist Website.
For example, the two largest expenses when buying art online are the framing and the shipping costs. Did you know, when you have your art framed it adds weight and size which causes you more cost in shipping.
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States, and traveling to visit family, things also become busy with Black Friday and the prospect of Christmas shopping.
So be sure to bookmark these resources for reference.
I want you to enjoy my work, or gift it to others, and bring a sense of purpose or meaning to your life each day of the year.
So here here are a few Tips to consider ...
TIP: When buying framed prints be sure to click the link on each picture page size selection for standard sizes. This means that you can save a ton from buying glass and frame in custom sized to the print (unless you really need it), the artwork will then be cropped to fit the standard size.
Note: You can also have fun with cropping the image size, adding a color border (instead of, or in addition to, adding a mat), as well as change the orientation of the image (horizontal, vertical, or square), and view your completed details 'on the wall' illustrations.
TIP: Search for a local artist who creates regional scenes. Buy an art print or poster and send it to a family member or friend who moved away. Look around for other unique, locally-produced or themed gifts. They mean so much more than just another mass-made product. Gift as a way to make a better world.
TIP: To prepare for when Fine Art America / Pixels hosts the free shipping days, though I do not know when they are until hours beforehand, may I suggest you find the items you'd like to purchase and add them to your shopping cart? This way, when the shipping days happen you do not have to search for your items.
Note: Even though Fine Art America has 16 manufacturing centers located in 5 countries., shipping costs keep getting more expensive. Keep in mind your order is automatically routed to the nearest manufacturing center in order to minimize shipping costs and speed up delivery times.
TIP Local peeps, may I suggest that you order prints only unframed? It will then be sent rolled in a tube. You can then bring it to The Great Frame Up in Homedwood, IL. who will assist you with framing and save you a bundle (from shipping) as well.
You can also visit my work on their dedicated site at
this link. Click the link and enter my name - FRANK J CASELLA - in the search box
-- Remember To Shop Local In Home Sweet Homewood! --
With that said, here are some links on the Pixels site to resources so you can start shopping the full product line.
Christmas Greeting Cards by Frank J Casella
Shop the Latest Artist Group Christmas Card Contests
Shop the Artist Groups I Follow
Shop My Featured Photos by the Artist Groups I Follow
Shop My Favorite Artwork By Other Artists Of Pixels
Design Your Own Custom Print Products. Transform your photos into custom wall art, home decor, phone cases, and more!
Limited Time Promotions Canvas Prints Check back every day or two for new promotions.
My Gallery Collections
Word Search My Blog. Example: Christmas, Chicago, Izaak Walton, Crucifix, Trees, Shadows, etc.
Thank you for being my Customer! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and a blessed and meaningful Christmas Season!
Frank
Frank J Casella Photographs - 'Pictures of Moments In Time and Human Interaction, That Share Hope and God's Love in the World'
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November 17th, 2021
It began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.
Today we see messages about Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, CyberMonday, and GivingTuesday.
I would like to simply share with you gratitude.
I would like to thank all of you for blessing me with the gift to bring you my God given talents of goodness and hope. Images that Transform, Inspire, Educate, Inform, and Celebrate Life.
This is priceless to me ... and to humanity.
My sincere hope is that my images tell you stories about life that many of you relate to; that inspire and help some of you make it one more day; and that transform your thinking and thus your life.
And the comments you send my way, this touches my heart that you benefit so greatly from my work!
As you break bread with family and friends this Thanksgiving and think too about all you are thankful for, please know that I'll be thinking about each of you, and saying a prayer for you In thankfulness, that our paths have crossed in some way.
Photo: In All Circumstances, Give Thanks Copyright 2017 Frank J Casella
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November 9th, 2021
The Frank J Casella Artistic Photographs Annual Daily Mail
Once again this year, I will be sending out a daily email from Thanksgiving Day, to Christmas Day, through New Years Day. But this time I will be sending from the Sunday Letters mailing list, so enter your address in the sign up form to be sure you're on the list, or not.
These mails will be a quick read with an inspirational picture and caption, as well as the holiday promotion of the day when available, sent on Monday through Saturday each week (for seven weeks). If you already get the Sunday Letter mails there is nothing you need to do to get the annual Daily Mail.
Thank you for your interest in my artistic photographs, for being my customer, and for joining with me together on this journey of holiday inspiration.
Frank
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November 3rd, 2021
The Simple Things
I came upon this man and happy dog walking the nature preserve in early Fall, and could not resist how that dog seems to be in his element. Give him a simple stick in nature and life is good.
What are the simple things in your life that make you happy? Our lives as humans can become messy and complex, so much so, that we forget to engage with the simple things that make our life worth living.
God has blessed us with the gift of our lives, and much in this world, to enjoy when kept in right perspective. If we don't, then we miss out on the simple and free that can easily be taken for granted.
What you do with your life is your gift back to God.
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October 27th, 2021
Recently marketing guru Seth Godin shared on his blog bout Art with intent, as he says:
"Art (movies, plays, fiction, paintings, poetry…) exists to create a change. Often, that ’s a change in the viewer, and sometimes, powerful art changes the culture.
Art with no intent can entertain us, and it can also reinforce stereotypes and simply help what is in our world persist.
Art with selfish intent exists to manipulate the viewer to serve the needs of the artist. It doesn ’t often spread, but when it does, it can have a corrosive effect on the world around us.
But art with generous intent is different. It might not address an issue the way you would (in fact, that’s precisely why we need it) and it creates tension as it helps us look at things in a new way.
The plays of Sarah Jones, or a book by Sinclair Lewis or music by Charles Wilson or a movie by Amy Koppelman exist to make us think hard. To think about what we ’ve taken for granted and to think about what might be different if we cared enough.
I ’m not sure it even matters what the artist thought they wanted when they sat down to create the work. The art itself seems to want something, to make a change in the world. And the ability to create art like that belongs to each of us."
~ Seth Godin
So I shared this with the living artists on Fine Art America to see what kind of response it would get here.
So far it is wide ranging, as expected, just like their artwork.
When I read what Seth wrote, I got to thinking what is the best way to describe the intent of my artwork, and this jogged my brain about a couple testimonials I have received over the years:
“ As an active auxiliary bishop of Chicago for twenty five years, I have met scores of photographers, and rate Frank Casella among the best. Frank Casella considers photography not only as a profession in which he must excel, but also as a vocation with a message to deliver to the viewer ”.
-The Late Most Rev. Alfred L Abramowicz, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus
Archdiocese of Chicago
“ The feelings you capture no doubt have the same effect on others once they see your photography ”.
– Sharon Gelfano, Marketing Executive
In other words, I employed photography when I was shy as a child to illustrate how I see the world around me, and it has stuck with me ever since. And many people still respond to it, based on each of their own life experiences.
As I like to say, pictures speak in ways that words can not. I've been perfecting over the years how to put the viewer where my subject is - I call this "Pictures People Listen To".
Photo: Orange Leaves - Monet - Copyright 2014 Frank J Casella
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Frank J Casella's Email address is fjc [ at ] photographer.net To find out more about Frank J Casella visit his online profile at frankjcasella.crevado.com
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October 20th, 2021
Photo: Fall Colors - Copyright 2019 Frank J Casella
Perfection.
Perfection can get in the way of our success, if we let it. How to keep this in balance is key.
Perfection and fear both lead to procrastination, which then leads to failure. I remember when I went to Egypt, the people I saw making the beautiful rugs always made them with a flaw, because the only thing perfect is God.
Like this photograph, Fall Colors, illustrates the perfection of what God has created, to enjoy this beauty while on earth, in addition to His creating our lives. Although the leaf has flaws and scars, it still brings much beauty into the world for the short time of one season, just as our lives our short lived.
As a photographer, mostly, I have learned when there comes a time to 'ship' a photograph as done, otherwise you can keep tweaking it until it finally looks (as we say) over cooked. A lot of this came from fear, and fear will kill more dreams than failure ever will.
A lot of times, too, perfectionism comes from being over confident, or convinced of our own righteousness. It is better, as the Bible says, whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
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Frank J Casella's Email address is fjc [ at ] photographer.net To find out more about Frank J Casella visit his online profile at frankjcasella.crevado.com
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October 13th, 2021
The Human Element - By Frank J Casella
Many of you know that I have had a camera in my hands since I was a young boy. This is because I was shy as a child, and pictures were the best way to communicate how I viewed the world around me.
Fast forward a decade, during my high school days, it was common for people to tell me how I could photograph the soul of a person.
With this photograph, Where There Is No Love is a prime example. This was just a split moment click of the shutter before the person noticed and looked at me, then it became a totally different picture, but it made me think of this quote:
" Where there is not love, put love. And then you will find love. "
- Saint John of the Cross
Every person who sees this image gets a different meassage or meaning about what it is saying, pulled from their own personal experiences.
When it comes to making photographs of the human element, it is not only important to have the right subject, light, and composition, but to make a connection with the viewer. This is why my mantra for many years was, or has been, to make pictures that people listen to.
I think this is said best by Arturo Mari, Vatican photographer for St. Pope John Paul II, when he says:
" As a photographer, the big secret is entering into the charisma with the person you have in front of you. If you don't feel it, you'll never do it well. "
Note: The sharpness of this image is intended to have a rough edge to the resolution to carry the mood of the subject.
Photo: Where There Is Not Love - Copyright 2017 Frank J. Casella All Rights Reserved
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Frank J Casella's Email address is fjc [ at ] photographer.net To find out more about Frank J Casella visit his online profile at frankjcasella.crevado.com
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Great Art... Delivered to Your Inbox! Sign up for weekly priority access to updates and blog posts, featured artists, and more! I never share your e-mail address or send spam.
For the Frank J Casella Digital Connection visit www.info.frankjcasella.com