I’ve long been fascinated by crows and just how smart they are. I’ve heard various stories about these ubiquitous animals and the surprising things they’re capable of. Not long ago, my family & I were treated to watching a crow land in the yard with a mouthful of rice. He put the rice down and proceeded to rip up a bunch of the lawn. then he took the rice and buried it where the grass was ripped up. Finally he covered his bounty with the torn up grass to hide it from other animals that might try to take it from him.

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It was among the coolest things I’ve seen in nature. It was even more surprising since I’d grown up seeing so many of these birds that they’d almost become invisible. After that, I decided I’d learn more about these birds that so many see as pests. I looked up some websites and eventually found the documentary from PBS that followed Dr. Marzluff and his studies at The University of Washington. I was pretty excited by all the information and still surprised by all the amazing things that these birds are capable of. I also highly recommend Dr. Marzluff’s book Gifts of the Crow (click to watch the fascinating documentary!). 

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Throughout learning about these little guys, the thing I kept thinking of was just how human-like these animals with a walnut-sized brain really are. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much what I do as a photographer—and especially a wedding photographer—is reminiscent of these little feathered ‘apes.’

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To list a few:

• Crows mate for life. 

Not much else to say here. Pretty obvious why a wedding photographer thinks this is pretty cool.

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• Crows (& their relatives) exist wherever people are. They have adapted to live and thrive in almost every environment inhabited by people. 

Much like the crows, I need people to do my job. Much like the crows, I thrive when I’m surrounded by people—though I’m not a big fan of eating garbage. 

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• Crows are one of a handful of animals who live in family groups. 

This applies on a couple of levels. Nothing is more important to me than family. Nothing. It’s everything to me. Also, without families being formed, I’d pretty quickly be out of a job.

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• Crows are problem solvers and are one of two animals (chimps) that will actually fabricate tools to accomplish their goals.

I’m a problem solver. It’s the most important skill I possess as a wedding photographer. So many times, things don’t happen exactly as they are supposed to and it’s my job to come up with a way to make it work. Sometimes it’s a problem about the schedule of the wedding day, and sometimes it’s a challenge of coming up with a way to light and photograph a couple of neurologists who want to look like characters from Goodfellas. You have no idea how many times I’m trying to find something to use as a tripod or light holder when I’m out shooting.

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• Crows tease & play. 

Anyone who knows me won’t have to ask why this applies. 

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• Crows are protective and form strong relationships. 

I adore my clients. I want what’s best for them always. Anything I can do to accomplish that, I will. It’s easy to do since I have absolutely the best clients ever. 

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• Crows mourn & feel empathy. 

Thankfully the mourning doesn’t come in to play much, but I guarantee a photographer who can’t empathize with their clients can’t photograph them properly. 

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• Crows are vocal.

They have the same ability to talk as Parrots and are considered songbirds. They use their voices to communicate. I dare you to watch me try to take a family portrait of 30+ people at a wedding and not see how this one applies.

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• Crows recognize people/faces and have amazing eyesight. 

I’m a visual person. For some reason names are really difficult for me, but I’m pretty good at remembering faces. My eyesight isn’t so great (without glasses), but I pride myself on seeing/noticing all kinds of things that are happening around me. That helps a lot when I’m photographing an even where there are people everywhere doing things that might (or might not) be noteworthy. 

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• Crows fly. 

Ok, I can’t fly. I wish I could. But I can’t. But my camera can! All of the 'aerial-looking' photos I’ve taken are shots where I use my extensive history of throwing and catching baseballs to throw and catch my camera. Don’t worry, I still haven’t dropped it (on accident). A camera is much easier to catch than a short-hop to the backhand side. 

 

Ok. That’s enough for now but I really could go on and on about crows. But these are a few of the reasons why I thought I should have a crow represented in my logo. I promise I wasn’t just trying to make it cool by ‘putting a bird on it.’