The Juggler

In 2018, I was just beginning to figure out how to make my photography business work (writing wasn't even a dream at that point). I tried numerous ways to make money with my photography - some worked but most didn't. 

In the meantime, I did rideshare and odd jobs to make money. My goal was to make a living doing only photography, but I was far from that goal. I knew the only way to make it there was to keep trying and use every opportunity possible.

This meant a lot of volunteering or simply shooting on my own, both to practice and to build a portfolio to show potential future clients.

Fast forward to the end of October. The church my then-boyfriend/now-husband and I attended was having a Fall Carnival. We volunteered to take pictures. I was excited about getting to take photos of the cute kids in costumes and was looking forward to giving them to the church to use.

Little did I know what all would happen due to what happened that evening.

As we always try to do, my then-boyfriend/now-husband and I got there really early. We do that so that we can get a good parking place (because hauling our equipment isn't easy) and to be there in time to get our cameras out, clean the lenses, and get the settings correct before it starts.

That meant that when the first trunk-or-treaters started filtering in, we were ready to go. It didn't take long before I had taken shots of every activity - and even some of the kids taking a break on the playground.

During my wanderings to find the next good photo op, I noticed that there was an advertisement for a professional juggler who would be performing twice that night. Since I had what I needed already, I decided to go.

Though I was late to the first show, it didn't matter. I knew I'd have a second chance. 

This is embarrassing to admit, but I was still very new to using manual settings. I knew how they worked but was slowly learning by trial and error how to use that knowledge in real-life situations.

Being able to see this show twice gave me a chance to really play with the settings. I tried a few things for the first show and picked the best settings for the second.

This worked most of the show, where the standard stage-lighting didn't change Once I was happy with the settings, I knew I wouldn't have to worry about that part. I just had to make sure I clicked the shutter at the right times to get the best shots.

That was, until the juggler grabbed three batons that were illuminated with different colors, turned off the lights, and started juggling. 

I panicked, knowing I had to start over with settings. I would try one setting, look at what I took, then try another. I did this rapid-fire... until I hit a sweet spot - the perfect setting for this part of his act.

The featured photo is the result. Honestly, I'm once again embarrassed to admit it, but I don't know if I could do the same shot ever again. I would like to think I can, but I'm just not sure. In other words, part of this was God's blessing (or  luck - whatever you like to believe.) There are others that are similar, but none compare with that one shot.

But here's the really exciting part... because I knew that photo was amazing, I couldn't wait to show it to the juggler. I have social anxiety disorder and have to work to overcome it constantly. It interfered with my general life, but especially professionally. But in this case, it didn't matter. I was too hyped to show him the image. I wasn't about to let a mental health issue stop me.

Thankfully, he was one of the rare performers who goes to his merch table after a show. I had seen him there after the first show so I was sure he'd be there again. I practically ran to his table, getting there before him. I had the image already up on my camera's screen, ready to show him but chose to wait behind all of the children and their parents ready to choose from the juggling-related offerings on his table. I didn't want him to feel rushed in case he wanted to talk.

Finally, they all left. It was just the juggler and me. I introduced myself, said I had a photo I thought he would like, and nervously handed him the camera.

Showing no expression at first, he asked if he could scroll through some of the other photos. Without a beat, I indicated he could, (even though I was still holding my breath).. I watched as he scrolled through photo after photo. Then he handed the camera back to me.

I vividly remember that moment... because after giving me back my camera, he said that he would love to pay me for anything I wanted to send him.

Pay?! I simply wanted to see if he liked that photo.

I tried to temper my excitement, to be "professional," as I agreed and we exchanged contact information.

I ended up sending Jesse Joyner, the Juggler, 136 photos and only charged him $100. At the time, I thought it was amazing that a professional would pay anything for my work. Now I know that he got them for a steal!

Since then, we have kept in touch. I've written several articles about him or things he's involved with. I'm working on trying to get a publication to take a fourth. He interviewed me for his podcast, called "Holy Fools" and has given me shout-outs in his newsletter. We both released our first books around the same time. Recently he performed at a church close to my home and I was able to take photos again (but no illuminated batons this time).

But the best thing has been what he told me early on - and has repeated throughout the years... that I have taken the best photos of him than anyone else. He's done this for decades and had who knows how many photos of been taken of him, but I'm sure it's easily in the thousands.

All this happened because of volunteering for a church's Fall Festival. (And, by the way, the church didn't use even one of the photos I took.)

For more information about Jesse Joyner Juggling or his new book "Incredibly Bad Dad Jokes," go to www.JesseJoyner.com or contact him at Jesse@JesseJoyner.com. 

                                                        (All images by Tracy Riggs Frontz)

       

       

 

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