Andrew Niesen

Under the guidance of 12 of the country's top wedding photojournalists, the Foundation Workshop's select 21 participants will be challenged to enhance their photographic vision and refine their understanding of photojournalism by documenting and editing a real life photo story.

It's an honor to announce that Mark Adams of LaCour will be on the faculty of the 2007 Foundation Workshop. There are some amazing faculty including Huy Nguyen, Greg Gibson, Tyler Wirken and Anna Kuperberg who have an immense amount of experience, skill and insight that they will be sharing with everyone at the workshop. For those of you who want to improve your photojournalism shooting and editing skills, we would highly recommend this workshop.

There are only 5 spots left and they are going fast. If you reserve your spot by Dec. 15th, you'll save $400 off the tuition price.

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, I compiled a list of my "Top 10" business books. All of these have played a role in our business development, and have shaped my philosophy about building the LaCour brand. Book Number 9, The Call, was given to me as a gift by my father. It changed my definition of success and challenged me to carefully consider my goals as a photographer and business owner. Book Number 10, The World Is Flat, is my assigned reading for December! Please send me your recommendations. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Happy Reading Everyone!

1) The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber

2) The Power of Cult Branding: How 9 Magnetic Brands Turned Customers Into Loyal Followers, by Matthew W. Ragas and BJ Bueno

3) Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force, by Ben McConnell, Jackie Huba, Guy Kawasaki

4) How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie

5) Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing, by Harry Beckwith

6) Enduring Passion: The Story of the Mercedes-Benz Brand, by Leslie Butterfield

7) Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands, by Kevin Roberts

8) Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell

9) The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, by Thomas L. Friedman

10) The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, by Os Guinness

And one random addition that never seems to fit neatly into any category: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Holidays are always a welcome time for me to catch up on reading, and I recently compiled a list of past and current favorites. I receive many requests for booklists, so this is my first attempt at creating one.
I divided it into two categories: Right Brain and Left Brain.

First, I'll present the Right Brain list. If you're looking for a gift for your photographer friends, these are all superb choices. I've read and re-read each of these books year after year for artistic inspiration. They are the classics, the "Top 10" of my collection.

Right Brain Books:

1) Truth Needs No Ally: Inside Photojournalism, by Howard Chapnick

2) Let Truth Be the Prejudice: W. Eugene Smith, His Life and Photographs, by Ben Maddow, John G. Morris, and W. Eugene Smith

3) W. Eugene Smith: Shadow and Substance : The Life and Work of an American Photographer, by Jim Hughes

4) The Photographic Essay, by William Albert Allard

5) The Mennonites, by Larry Towell

6) Why People Photograph, by Robert Adams

7) On Photography, by Susan Sontag

8) Stay this Moment, by Sam Abell

9) Sam Abell:The Photographic Life, by Leah Bendavid-Val and Sam Abell

10) The Photographer's Eye, by John Szarkowski

Check back tomorrow for the Left Brain list. In the meantime, share some of your favorites with me. I'd love to add them to the list!

Rachel and I are in St. Louis, my hometown, spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. As most people, I rarely visit touristy sights in my own hometown. In fact, I had only been up in the St. Louis Arch once before in my entire life, until this past weekend. My sister, Sudie, brought her college friend, Pulkit, home for Thanksgiving. He had never been to the Arch, so we all took a trip, and I made this soon-to-be cult classic video. Hmm. Anyway, check it out!

Happy Thanksgiving!

When Mark and I heard that one of our wedding couples planned to spend their honeymoon building homes in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity, we couldn't pass up the chance to document their story. Right after Malcolm and Kalshelia Lloyd's Oct. 21 wedding in Miami, we followed them to New Orleans to shoot pictures and record audio. The story was picked up by former CNN news anchor Daryn Kagan, who just last week launched a website featuring inspiring stories that support her belief that the world is full of selfless people working to make life better for others.

The story that Mark and I produced features photos from the wedding and their honeymoon, and an audio interview with Malcolm and Kalshelia.

**Click here** to view the story.