Coming September 2010! :D

LIKE!!!!! :) :) :) YAY!!! By the way.. September.. it's a great month for babies.. not that I am biased or anything, har har. :)

What an absolute blessing!!!!! Congratulations to you and your family! I cannot wait for newborn pictures!!!!

Fantastic, Congratulations so happy for you all !

We are stoked for you guys. Baby Schwank couldn't have been blessed with a better family. I cant wait to meet him/her!

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSO excited for ya'll!!!!!!! :D larky's bday is september!!

What an absolutely delightful way to break your awesome news! Congratulations Zak and family. More fun is on it's way!!!

Awww, so excited for you guys!!! Congratulations Schwanks! :) And what a cute way to tell the world! I

Congratulations!!!

Sweet picture to share the news...

Yay!!! I am SO HAPPY for you guys!!! Congrats!!!

Wha~What?!?!?! See what happens when I'm gone for a few weeks from "social medialand" ~ how exciting!!!!! Congratulations to you and your family!!!!! BTW ~ I miss ya & all my TwitterFriends.....18 days to go before I can get my Tweets back on!!!!! :p

I am beyond thrilled for you! I can't wait to meet Schwank #3!

Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and one last time, happy bday! :D

Woo hoo! What an awesome thing that you put into motion!

Woot! I hope you had a rad b-day! :)

Yay!!!!! Congrats!!! I'm so happy this much was raised, great job making it easy for people to donate Zak! :)

So cool that you did this! I hope you had a great birthday :)

One of the best self portraits ever, in my humble opinion. Love these shots.

I'm with Kelli on the self-portrait. Love it! Really glad you chose the first one for the warmth image, too. The second one makes me feel cold because of the shade. :)

Hey Zak, thanks for joining the Rebirth assignments. And yes, that self-portrait is very unique, way to go using a different perspective.

Love the last one... Cool hat BTW! :)

these are so cool and i LOVE the self portrait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BDAY!!!!!!!!! go 'head and get your schwerve on!!!!!!!!!!!!

Done and done! Happy Birthday, what a great thing to do! :)

I hear ya man and I know where you are coming from. I'm with ya!

I'm with you...and support you all the way! Whatever you do, it will be fantastic. :)

PS, Thanks for the blog post. ;)

Oh well said. I keep trying to find my place, and shoot things that set me on fire, but i get stuck with families and cheap weddings. Not all the time, but sometimes, and I want to put an end to it!

I'm with you Zak!! The business side, while totally necessary, will make one nutszo! But then you have those moments where it all clicks, you can just feel it, it is right...and it is all worth it. Sometimes you just have to pull away from the current view, and then Focus and re-compose. ;). Keep up the good work Zak!

I hear ya.
And I dig that shopping cart picture.

You are fantastic no matter what. Fantastic photographer, person and friend. You rock, my friend. Rock.

I hear ya, Zak. There's always a challenge in balancing putting food on the table and shooting from the heart - and only the heart. In other news, GREAT image!

I would love to see where the shopping cart goes. I need to rediscover my own cart.

I understand. Happily business has not put me off of photography, BUT I can relate when it comes to sewing and fashion design. I have been sewing and designing since I was a child.. but going to school for it has killed me. I have not touched a thing in eight months, and I don't know when I will again. It just killed the love of it. Turned it into something I HAD to do, not something I loved. I look forward to seeing what you find out there.

Thank you everyone for your words!!!!!!! I really am excited to see where this goes! You all are the best. probably the thing I love most about photography is the community!

Zak, I'm totally with you on this! I hear you loud and clear! And my friend, you are rad ... and your work is rad, and whatever you decide to do, you will be freaking amazing! Sometimes ... I feel like the creativity is beaten out of me ... I want to do something that lets me be creative and be crazy with no pressure. I can't wait to see where you're going! :)

Zak, Zak, Zak.... great post! I often times feel like I am waiting, waiting, waiting for a phone call, an email... asking for my photography... which is not a feeling I like. You'll get "it" back..... "it" being your creativity, your passion, your outlet... you will. So eager to see where your cart goes...

I could have written this very post. Sometimes its nice to know that you aren't the only lost shopping cart.

This is how we all feel... striving to find a niche, a uniqueness that we can claim for our own. Every artist has doubts, we are always looking for that perfect place. Or some brat kid just left their shopping cart too far from the corral. Glad to see you back to blogging... We missed you!!!

p.s your cel phone takes WAY better pictures than mine. *jealous*

1. I am jealous of your cell phone camera.
2. Look how many comments you have-holy cow! People have been waiting for an epiphany!
3. Do what you love so you can love what you do. There are so many areas of photography to delve into, so you're bound to have one that you absolutely love.
4. The business side drives us all crazy once in a while. You are not alone.

Oh Zak, don't get bummed! I don't know if we have any answers, but we are always happy to help if we can. :)

And you need to watch this: http://vimeo.com/5843895

dang i got vertigo there for a sec! :D love it zak attack!

Cell phone?? Wow!

Ahhh thanks Lynn! That was great! I'm not so much bummed as I am wanting to focus on what makes me happy. I feel really excited about my future as a photographer! You guys are the best! Yes Chelo I shot it with my Droid and edited it with Tilt Shift Gen on my iPod. :)

Zak!! I have checked your blog a hundred times and asked our mutual photog friends, "What's up with Zak? He hasn't been blogging." And then here you are with this really cool image -- and I have to admit, I've been feeling a bit of the doldrums too and wanting things to be way easier and wondering how to make it all click. Thanks for the inspiration, the honesty and the FUN you put back into it all! LOVE your Twitter and FB! Hugs, my friend, and if you ever come to NY, you BETTER come hang with MEEEEEEEEEE!

For real. The business side makes me batty.

I completely understand what you mean! It's time to shoot for me as well! :) Good luck with your journey!!