On December 17th, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the world’s first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight.
By 1907, the Wright brothers developed this into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft.
And in doing so, they reserved themselves a spot in the history books.
Think about this for a moment … flight is something that you and I kind of take for granted. We hop on a plane, buckle up our seat belts, put our headphones in and 3 hours later we step out of the plane, halfway across the country.
That is remarkable!
We owe so much to the Wright brothers, for their courage, their determination and their willingness to think of the unthinkable. Much of what we do today is built on the foundation they established.
… but at the same time, the plane you and I fly in today is not the same plane the Wright brothers invented over 100 years ago.
That would be silly, of course.
Since it’s invention, we’ve improved the plane. We’ve made it more efficient, added more technology, extended its purpose. We’ve re-designed it, re-thought it and made it more useful for today’s needs.
Discovery is necessary
At the core, I believe break-through is great. Discovering new ground lays the foundation for everything else that comes after it.
But … we must not be limited by it.
We must acknowledge and appreciate break-through, but then treat it as a starting point for further innovation.
Don’t just accept the “same old”
Let’s tie this in to the photography industry.
Just like we don’t fly the same plane that the Wright brothers first invented, we shouldn’t simply accept the same software that first broke the scene. Just as we’ve improved on the Wright brothers’ invention, we must improve on the existing software.
On a related note …
Recently, long-time industry giant Pictage announced that they would be closing their doors. On September 27th, Pictage will be no more, leaving thousands of photographers without a gallery/proofing system. Let me first acknowledge and extend gratitude to Pictage for all they have done for our industry. I was a Pictage user when I first got into photography in 2006, and in fact, I was even the PUG (Pictage User Group) leader for our local Toronto/Niagara PUG. Pictage (with their PUGs and other various events) played a huge role in my growth as a photographer in the early days.
It is sad to see them go.
At the same time, while I acknowledge and appreciate the studio management softwares, the online gallery systems and the album proofing services that helped us get to where we are today, I believe our industry is ready for a change.
We’re building a new 747, and our industry needs it.
If you were a Pictage user, we have a solution for you. I want to encourage you to hop on to our Reservation List for Sprout Studio.
Sprout Studio is the industry’s first all-in-one success software for photographers, combining online galleries, digital delivery, studio management, invoicing, album proofing and much more into one comprehensive piece of software.
In closing … let me publicly say “thank you” to Pictage for doing all they have for our industry, and let me express my gratitude to them for laying the foundation for what is possible today.
Now, it’s time for a new solution, and Sprout Studio is it. See you there!
