Typically, I am not a star-struck type of person. Being raised by a normal, down to earth family, my parents always taught me that no one was better than anyone else, and that people were people. Those in positions of authority were to be respected, and those less fortunate were to be pitied, and essentially, that’s why I’ve been able to have a conversation with anyone from the president of a company down to a homeless person. I’ve always been a people person. So, the times I’ve been impressed by a person have been few and far between.
And then today, I dialed a number, and was knocked off my feet.
I’ve been interested in attending a photography workshop for quite some time, but was waiting for the right opportunity to come up, and timing and finances to work themselves out. I’ve been a fan of Cliff Mautner’s photography since the first time I saw it, and his work is so inspiring that I said, “Oh, I’d love for him to shoot my wedding”. For a photographer to say that about someone else’s work, says something big (we’re a kooky bunch).
Imagine my delight, when I saw that he was teaching, and had several workshops scheduled in 2009. The one listed on his website was for May, and living in Florida, I knew there was no way I’d be able to plan that in time, so I noticed there was a phone number at the bottom of the blog post, and decided to call and ask what the future workshop dates were. So I call the number… To my SHOCK and embarrassment, a man answered, “This is Cliff”.
I HAD CALLED CLIFF MAUTNER’S CELL PHONE.
Apologizing, and hoping I hadn’t bothered him, I told him who I was, and why I was calling. He was extremely nice, and proceeded to tell me he was in…. Dubai! Not only did he answer his own cell phone, but he answered from the other side of the earth!
I was completely starstruck, and will definitely be attending his workshop. I was awed by how nice he was, and found myself wondering why other “big name” photographers weren’t this nice. Isn’t it amazing how one small thing made such a huge difference?
PS Please check out his website or this link to his blog so you can see what I’m talking about!
by Lisette
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