Today's Guest: Ron Jacobson of Northern Lights PPA. in Mayville, North Dakota
Today's Host: John Bentley
September 2007
Listen to this Show
Publish this Show on Your Website
Show Sponsor www.morephotos.com
Northern Lights PPA.
Ron Jacobson Transcript Page
Ron Jacobson Expert PageANNOUNCER: Welcome to the VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.
JOHN: Today's program is sponsored by morephotos.com the online photo sales solution to professional photographers worldwide.
JOHN: Today we are in the Studio with Ron Jacobson of the Northern Lights Professional Photographers Association. He's based out of Mayville, North Dakota. Welcome, Ron, to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight.
RON: Thanks for having me.
JOHN: Give us kind of an overview of the Northern Lights Professional Photographer's Association.
RON: Well, we're one of the unique ones in the United States where we actually have no membership dues. Our membership is based on three states of photographers. They are members of their own state associations which is Minnesota, North and South Dakota. By being a member of each of these states, they automatically are a member of the Northern Lights Professional Photographer's Association. So that's what's unique about our little group.
JOHN: Well what do you guys offer that the other associations don't? What sets you apart?
RON: We actually are kind of like an umbrella. In the last 25, 30 years we have been only a convention every other year type of an organization, and just last year we switched to go with the convention every single year. And what that meant is that previously we would have a regional convention one year. The next year the states would each have their own state association conventions. Now we are just having a regional convention every year and then in addition to that, each state is able to hold their own affiliate seminars during the year. They each have one affiliate seminar on the different times of the year. South Dakota is winter, North Dakota is summer, and Minnesota is Fall, and we generally have our regional convention in the spring so we are running somewhere between Marh and usually April, nobody really gets into May as far as a large convention so we have brought this in for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is our vendors did not like to be going out to a lot of smaller conventions. They wanted to put their dollars and their time into a bigger convention where they had a lot more bodies to buy and to sell to, and that is one of the big reasons we have gone to this is that we looked at that, and we also by pooling the money are able to have a like a four day convention that has got a lot of talent, a lot of different variety for people in the studio, not only the photographers, but also their staff. It could mean from retouchers, computer artists, it could be from their front staff people, their staff, their sales people, and also probably just if they've even got a manager. Some of the studios are big enough that they have a manager. So we try to bring in programs that cover the whole gammit as opposed to just if you have a small state convention you may be able to have 2 speakers come in, and obviously, you don't get as much information out to your members as well as our large association does.
JOHN: Well it seems you're kind of an umbrella association. How many members would be a part of your association then?
RON: Well if you take the membership of North - South Dakota, and Minnesota, and both in our regular members which is active and the associates, we are, I think if I remember, we're well over 500 members that are 500 paid members.
JOHN: Now when was your organization established?
RON: The Northern Lights was established in the mid to late 70s. They actually put together the oranization and didn't even start with anything except for the organizing part, and I think it was about 3 years before they actually had a convention, and part of that was just, you know, politics. Just like anything else. The states at that time were already doing their own conventions so it was like a tough sell for a while. Once it happened, though, what it's done is it's created a commaradery and a kinship amongst the three states. Originally it was North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. And then Wisonsin left to go on its own and then the regional picked up Manitoba and that was good for a lot of years. The problem that happened is that then all of a sudden the Professional Photographers of Canada kind of came in to existence. They really weren't working prior to that and there was some changes that happened so then the Canadian members really didn't have any benefit of coming in to the United States. So about 3 years ago, Manitoba voted to go out of us, and actually there was quite a difference in the PPoC compared to the PPoA. They don't even have a, oh man, I was gonna say, they probably don't have one tenth the members that PPA has in the United States, but we still have a lot of friendships that come down from Manitoba to our conventions, because they're usually fairly close, and I'll be honest, I've even got two of them speaking at next year's convention. I've got two of our very good friends from Manitoba that are coming down to speak and give presentations.
JOHN: We are in the studio with Ron Jacobson . He is the president elect of Northern Lights Professional Photographers Association, and you are listening to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. We'll be right back after these messages.
ANNOUNCER: This VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight is sponsored by morephotos.com, the online photo sales solution to professional photographers worldwide.
VTALK RADIO: VTalk Radio.
ANNOUNCER: Did you ever wonder why the groom is supposed to carry the bride over the threshold? What does the saying something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue mean? Visit www.weddingdetails.com and click on the lore and tradition section. We've got culture and tradition information from around the world. Visit www.weddingdetails.com tonight.
ANNOUNCER: We now return you to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight with your host, John Bentley.
JOHN: We are back in the studio with Ron Jacobson. He is president of the Northern Lights Professional Photographers Association, and you're listening to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. Wecome back to the program, Ron.
RON: Thank you.
JOHN: Let's talk about your tenure as president. How long has that been?
RON: Well I'm the last of the dieing breed. I actually have a two year tenure and this is my last year, because of our every other year convention in the past, it's always been that each officer held a two year position so once my tenure is done the middle of next year, then we will...each officer on the executive board will be having a one year term at that point.
JOHN: What about your connection with photography. When did you get involved with photography?
RON: Well actually way back, I started in junior high and high school, but professionally I was actually taking pictures in high school for pay, and I took a mail order course which now a lot of people can take over the internet, and I applied to a school to go farther, and they looked at my work, and said you need to find an apprentice; you don't need to spend time in school, and in that case, I could not find somebody that at least in my area, because I'm in a very low populated area, and so I just kind of worked a little bit harder and trained myself and started to go to these seminars and conventions myself and so I call myself an education junkie. Some people say geez, you've been doing it for 30 years, because we just started our 30th year full time, and they say you should know everything, and I said, you know what, we change our whole industry has basically flip-flopped over, and we are not the only ones. There's tons and tons of businesses out there, service and retail and whatever that because of the computer information age, we are a total different business than we were 5, 10, 15 years ago, and so I'm constantly in the education part whether it be going to seminars, whether it be attending, also teaching, because I teach myself on a number of levels, and that is what has taken me photographically that it's allowed me to even expand my art further and some of the people that are my age I'll say that are in mid-life, they look at it and say, geez do I want to learn all this stuff. Well now they're being pushed to learn it, because a lot of the technology like with the labs are changing 100% to digital. Film is a bygone thing. A lot of people are saying well geez there's some film shooters. There are some film shooters out there, but they're having a hard time finding where to have their film processed, because a lot of that technology is changing and disappearing on them.
JOHN: Let's get back to the organization now. What are some of the services and benefits that would be included in your assocation?
RON: Well our number one thing is the educational event which is the yearly convention now. Our convention next year is going to be April 27th - 30th, and it's going to be in Fargo, North Dakota, at the Holiday Inn, and we will be having almost 20 speakers that are going to range all the way from top end wedding photographers...we've got Doug Gordon coming out of New York. We've got also programs like Painter which is an elemental program that a lot of photographers are getting into to give their photography a different look. We've got Don Deery coming up from Kansas City. He's one of the actual programmers and designers of the original Corel Painter program. In addition, we've got photographers and speakers that will be talking on everything from glamour to family to senior portraits. Also on Photoshop learning to learn a little bit more on both the beginner and intermediate Photoshop techniques which has kind of become our niche for photography. You pretty much run everything through Photoshop and do different things to it whether it be retouching or enhancing of your images. Also there's going to be people even talking about selling, motivational marketing, and we have our print competition that goes along with this. We've had this every single year. We are authorized by the Professional Photographers of America to handle the regional print competition which is our big thing where our awards are given out to the members based on the print competition. Other benefits that we've got; we are in a dual partnership with the Minnesota Photographers and they have got a website that each member gets a chance to...for the same price that they're paying which is their state dues...they get a chance to have a 10 page website for no extra charge. They don't even have to have a domain name. They can actually just have it linked right in the website through both Minnesota and Northern Light and that is a plus because a lot of the smaller studios don't have the money to buy domain names and pay webmasters and go onto that. If they do have, they can just put in a link, and they can go right to there. So there's some benefits in those two things. Also the seminars, like I said, they get preferential pricing to go to these seminars. We also have a e-zine that's given out at least 4 times a year which is like our magazine which is like 25 - 36 pages every single issue that comes out, and it gives spotlights of the members; it gives our vendors a chance to advertise and also talks about the events that are happening within the region because it isn't just Northern Light or the state association. There's Super Mondays that are put on through the Professional Photographers of America that happen within the three states. There's private seminars. There's also what's called local PPA groups, and they have, if I remember right, there's six or eight of them within Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota, and those are local affiliates. They don't actually get a membership unless they join there, but they do get the news on that, and a lot of times those members will join up there as well. So they've also got the local affiliates which could be a small region. There's like the twin cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul. There's like the corn belt. We have the Northwest Professional Photographers which is based out of Fargo. There's also the Black Hills one that just restarted up back in Rapid City, South Dakota, and so people can have the locals where they can meet monthly or every two months. The state associations which will have the seminars and also then the region that has the yearly convention and all the other benefits that go along with that.
JOHN: Now if I was a professional photographer interested in joining your association, I'm assuming I could go to your website and find that information, correct?
RON: Right. They can search through the Northern Lights, PPA Northern Lights Photographers, or they can also go through...there's a link I know for sure on the Minnesota Photographer which is, if I remember right, MMPPA.com, and so they can find out the information. We also have a full time executive director. That's the one that's based out of Ironton, Minnesota, she's in charge of all the different functions whether it be accepting the invites. She sends out the information. She gets the information to them. She also manages all of us as far as our emails that are sent out on a weekly basis to everybody reminding them of the different things that are coming up, and so that is the person to get in charge of, Nicole Budnacki is...that's our executive director's name, and like I said, she's in Ironton, Minnesota, but if people do want to find out, they can find her name and her number right on the Minnesota site which MMPPA.com.
JOHN: And of course your's is www.nlpp.org. I want to thank Ron Jacobson, president of the Northern Lights Professional Photographers Association for joining us today on VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. Thanks, Ron.
RON: Thank you for having me.
JOHN: It's certainly been a pleasure. You have been listening to VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight. I am your host, John Bentley. Everybody have a great afternoon.
ANNOUNCER: You have been listening to the VTalk Radio's Photographer Spotlight; only on www.vtalkradio.com. Radio for the 21st Century.
go to top of the page
