S2E5: Unleashing Potential: The Entrepreneurs Redefining Ability - Part 3 - The Nathan Markley Show

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello. Hey.
So you want to introduce yourself andtell us a little bit about your business?
Yeah, sure. My name, NormMarsh, and I am a freelance photographer.
I do everything from landscapesto portraits to family shoots
to product photography.
I pretty much do anythingbesides weddings.
I just personally, it's not my cup of tea.
I've done a couple of them,and I found out I really do not like them.

(00:22):
So I just stay away from weddings.
Awesome. I'm a photographer myself too.
I do mostly nature landscapes,but thinking about doing
some professional headshots.I dabbled in that a little bit.
Nice.
And maybe some product photography.
It's fun. Yeah.
Yeah, it is.
I absolutely love it.

(00:42):
I actually started with landscapes myself,and I absolutely love it.
It's. It's a great thing.It's a huge passion of mine.
It's not just, you know,
like it's a business, obviously,but also it's a passion to do.
It’s a passion of mine too its interests.
And I kind of liketo keep it on the interest side
but if I a photo that I really enjoythat I feel like that they took

(01:07):
and I think people will like itand might offer up to sell it.
And maybe the professional headshots to
maybe I can turn photographyinto a business. Nice.
But yeah.
When did you get startedon taking photography?
When? Yeah, when.
okay.
This is a loaded question, butI'll try to sum it up as much as possible.
But I love to talk.

(01:28):
So I actually started back
in 2007, back in high school.
me too.
Yeah.
So I just took a class in in high schoolin this part of the class,
and I just used one of those.
You know,at that point shoots pretty much,
you know,you put the small little memory card in.

(01:49):
It's only got the screen on the back.
I guess it's either a point shootor bridge camera. It's one of the other.
They're kind of similar.
So I just used one of thoseand I absolutely loved it.
My dad used to take me outactually where I live,
and he would take me around
and he'd actually tell me he'd be like,Hey, to get a really good shot,
just try to do something different
than everybody else, trying to get up highor try to get down low.

(02:11):
So me, because of my physical disability,I have spina bifida.
Due to that, I walk with crutches, sotherefore I'm not very stable on my feet.
So therefore I get low for my shots andI absolutely loved it and it was great.
And then at the end of the class,my teacher, I'll never forget her name.
Her name is Mrs. Burke.

(02:32):
And sweet, sweet lady, she she told me,she goes, you know, you've got something
special here.You should keep going with photography.
And, you know,
little 17 year old me with a, you know, 40year old teacher or 50 year old teacher.
I don't know how old she wasat the time, but,
you know, looking at her and I'm like,yeah, OK, whatever.
So I ended up putting down the camera.

(02:52):
And then fast forward to about 2015, 16ish, somewhere around there,
I just started taking pictureswith my cell phone
because I was going througha tough time in my life.
And so I needed an outlet.
So I picked up my cell phone
and I just started taking photosand I post them online
and people are like,Wow, you're really good at this.

(03:13):
And I was like, Well, thank you.I appreciate it. Just a cell phone.
I mean, don't get me wrong,cell phones are great for you.
They're amazing. What?You can do it. Yeah.
They're great. But I mean, there's,you know, there's just that.
There's just that thing with a camera,you know, like an actual camera.
So anyways, so I,
I told the, like, the people who wouldsay, Hey, you do great work.

(03:35):
I'm gonna thank you very much.
And I would put quotes with my photosbecause inspirational quotes, like
uplifting quotes because they helped meso they can help someone else.
That's fantastic.
So one daysomeone actually commented and said, Hey,
have you ever thought about,you know, taking a class or something?

(03:56):
I said, Funny enough,
I wanted to over CCRI over in Newport,Newport, Rhode Island.
And I told the person,I said, Funny enough,
I want to, but I can'tbecause you need an actual camera.
And all I have is a cell phoneand I kid you not.
The next day when I came home, I'mwalking down my street

(04:17):
and I see this packagein front of my house and I'm like,
I didn't order anything from Amazon.
What is this in the package that's open?
And I'm like, Okay, what's this?
There was a note insideand it said, You are great at what you do.
You need to keep going with this.You need to keep going.
And they actually bought memy very first camera.
So it was a yeah, it was a at the bottomof the note, it said Anonymous.

(04:40):
So I don't know who bought it for me.
Someone must have seen iton Facebook, knew
who I was, knew where I lived,which is kind of weird.
But hey, whatever.
If they're stalking me or whatever,they're very
they're very boredbecause I don't do a thing.
So anyways, so yeah, they just, they bought me that
and then I took a class in collegeand by the third week of class, my teacher

(05:05):
actually asked me, see, after classone day she goes, she goes, Hey Norm.
I said, Yeah, what's up? She goes,Can I talk to you for a moment?
And I said, Yeah, sure. What's up? Goes,Can I ask you a question?
I said, Yeah, what's up? She goes,Why are you in my class?
And I was like, It might that bad.
Like, this is a beginner photographyclass and goes, No, that's the thing.
You're that good. I was like,What do you mean?
She goes, You are not a beginner.Like you need to keep going with this.

(05:28):
And I was like, Wait a minute,I have heard this somewhere.
I was like, Where have I heard this from?
And then a few weeks go by,we learn about Photoshop because that
what we that's what we learned.What's Photoshop? We didn't even know.
Did you take the class CCRIfor digital photography one.
Yes, that's.
I took that too. Yeah, yeah, yeah.So the intro photography.

(05:49):
Took care of the Lincoln Campus. Though.
Yeah, I was over at the Newport campus.Okay, so.
So, yeah, I so once we, you know,learn Photoshop and everything by like,
I would say like the fifthor sixth week of class because, you know,
there's like 16 weeks in a semesteror something like that.
I kid, you know,
people would be asking questionsthey'd ask me,
they'd be like, Hey, Norm,can you come over and help me with this?

(06:11):
Or, Hey, Norm, two things.
And 101 studentone day was like, to the teacher.
She goes, Hey, can you? And she goes,Why don't you just ask Norm?
Norm seems to know everythingabout photography. And I looked at her.
I said, Not everything.
I just really lovephotography. So our final,
our final that we had for the semester,I don't know if it was the same for you,

(06:32):
but for us, our teachersaid to pick like eight of our most
like our best photosthroughout the semester.
So instead of doing that,I actually talked to my teacher
and I said, Hey, would you mindif I told a story with my photos?
And she goes, Told a story?
And I was like, Yes,told the story with my photos and goes,
You know, if anyone could do it,you can do it. Yeah, sure. Have fun.

(06:54):
I was like, okay, cool.
So the story that I did was,well, backstory
to the story isthere was this one student in the class
who, if they listen to this,
I'm sorry, but they they thoughtthey were better than everybody.
So they were like, I have, you know,a mercedes and I have, you know,
the best camera and I have thisand this person got a, It's college.

(07:17):
Yeah, exactly.This person got on other people's nerves.
But the thing is, this college student
at the time was,I believe, like 35, 36 something here.
And, you know, I'm at at the timeI'm like 21, 22, 23, and I'm just like,
wait a minute. I was like,Why are you acting this way?
So what I actually majored in in college.

(07:39):
I haven't finished dueto personal reasons,
but I majored in psychology,so I took it upon myself.
I was like, You know what?
I'm going to do that.
So the story that I did was, you know,
all of us in life have like differentavenues for going down and everything.
But at the end of the day,
we're all going to end upin the same place, which is a cemetery.
And that was my final slide.

(08:00):
And pretty muchwhat I said was treat people
how you want to be treatedbecause it doesn't matter
what type of camera you have,
what type of car you drive,how much money you have, that's all gone.
What's people will remember
you by is how you treated othersand how you like, like treated yourself.
So that's what I wanted to get acrosswith the story that I told.

(08:20):
And I had a whole bunch of friends and Iand we went to different locations.
I was like, Hey, you hold this.
You go over here, you hold this, yougo over here like we do different things.
But it all matched upand it all made sense.
And so anyways,
so at the end of my slidesthat I, that I had for my project,

(08:42):
I kid you not,you could hear a pen drop in the class. So
everyone got up, laughed.
My teacher goes, That was unbelievable.She goes, I don't know what to give you.
You get like an A-plus. Plus,I was like, okay, cool.
So I pass for the semester.
She goes, Norm, you get a really goodgrade for the semester.
I was like, Sweet, Thank you.
Have a good one.
And I left.
So but that's how my journey started.

(09:06):
And I've been doing it ever since.
Like,it's just it's a huge passion of mine.
Yeah, well,when you're really committed to it
and you find what you really want,you you start going that avenue and you
do doors start to open up.
All doors start opening up,and then you know your wallet
starts opening up because I didn’t realizehow expensive I’ve; oh yeah;

(09:28):
expensive hobby.
Yeah, exactly.
You have a hobby this is a passion this is
But honestly, I wouldn'ttrade it for the world to be in with you.
I absolutely love it.
Even though some days I'm sitting herethinking, Great, I spent X
amount of dollars on all this equipment,but why?
And then I was like, yeah, this is why.
So it's, you know, I absolutely love.

(09:49):
What kind of camera you use?
So as of right now,I have a Nikon Z five.
Okay.
So I started with a Nikon D 3300,which for anyone who watches
let's listens to this Nikon D 3300 is ais just a DSLR,
just like you're like intro DSLR and then a Z five

(10:12):
Mirrorless camera, which the differencebetween mirrorless and DSLR, is DSLR
They have like they have a a mirrorthat's here in here.
So when you look through it,
you know looks though bothand then goes through the lens.
As for mirrorless,it's literally just a like it's glass
and then you put the lens on the frontand what you're seeing through
the lens is actuallywhat your eye is seeing.

(10:34):
So I moved up toa z5 and I absolutely love it.
Cool.
Do you have different lensesyou use? Yeah.
So it has a 24 to 70that came with the with the camera.
And then I also have a 70 300
and then I also have a 50 miland I also have a 50 to 150.

(10:57):
I want to say that also came with theSo I got a bundle with my camera.
I was thinking about switchingto like Sony or Canon.
I think I was really looking into Sony,but when I thought about it was like,
Wait, if I just get the Z five,I can get the adapter for my lenses.
I don't need to spendeven more money on new lenses.

(11:18):
So that's why I did that,because I already had some lenses
from the D 3300, right?
Yeah, but, I have a 50 millimeter lensand it's pretty fun to shoot.
You get creative with it. It's fantastic.
Funny enough though, the 50 mil is
the least used lens in my repertoire,I guess you could say in my in my bag.

(11:40):
I it's the one that I use the least,
but the one I wanted the mostwhen I was back in college.
And I I'm not oneto usually do this, but
to, to have my parents buy me this lensbecause I couldn't afford it.
I actually brought a bullet points ofthese are the pros of having this lens.
These are the kinds of having this lensand is the least one I use because

(12:03):
I personally love zoom lenses,because I use crutches to help me walk.
So therefore, when I'm
well say like, you know, the 50 mil,you got to get closer.
Say I, you know, I can't get closer,therefore I can just zoom in.
Yes, it may not be as sharp, but still,you know, it's it's
I work with what I got here.
So and then also, I love zoom lensesbecause I'm also legally blind.

(12:28):
So therefore,
if when I'm looking at something,if I'm like, wait
till I actually see thisinstead of using a you know a prime lens,
which you can't move,I use the zoom and I zoom in.
I'm like, okay,I did see what I thought I was seeing.
That's true. Yeah. Yeah. And eachlens
Have the pros and cons like you said.
yeah, yeah, yeah.
So awesome.

(12:49):
So reflecting on your journey,what challenges did you encountered
doing your school yearsand how did they manifest adult life?
Well, to be honest with you,
I used to get bullied mercifully,like throughout my school career,
especially from second gradeto middle of high school.

(13:11):
I used to get bullied all the time.
And so that was really tough.
But to be honest with you, I always justI treat people how I want to be treated
with respect, even though, you know,and also obviously it's different
now because adults and, you know,we know better now and everything.
But, you know, even growing up, just I used to the kids

(13:33):
who used to make fun of me and everything,
I still treat them with respectand everything because, you know,
as my parents would always say,kill them with kindness, you know?
So that's what I would always do.And treat people how I want to be treated.
I don't want to be treated badly,So I'm going to treat you with respect.
But at the same time,
if you're going to treat mebad, my attitude I could

(13:55):
the flip that real quick and I can,you know, I'll get on your level.
But so it was tough growing up.
It was but also I just you know,I just went out, as I've always said,
and I will say this until the day I die,life is full of obstacles.
It's just our job as humansto find a way over, under or around them.
So just kept pushing and just kept going.

(14:16):
And you know, it is what it is like,you know,
I just let things like thatroll off my back.
Actually, just recently
I ran into someone from middle schooland mind you, I'm in my thirties, I'm 34.
They saw me recently and they were like,Hey, how you doing? Those are good.
They're like, Hey, I just want to tell younow that I see you,
I'm really sorryfor the way I treated you.
I'm like, treated mewhen in there, like back in middle school.

(14:38):
I'm like, okay.
And they're like, Where are you?
And I'm like, No, you know, like,I think about it every now and then.
I was like, Cool,but don't worry about it.
I I'm not mad.
I'm not upset.I really don't care because we're adults.
Like, I was saying that to myself, like,but, you know, it's just it is what it is.

(15:00):
But it did help them out.And they're like, thank you very much.
Like, yeah, no problem.
Yeah, a great one.
But yeah,now that that kind of stopped back in High School
And I do really appreciate themcoming back.
I like saying that to my face
and it probably they didn't think about itevery day.
But, you know,just seeing me probably brought up things
from the past and everything,and they're thinking about that.

(15:21):
As for me, I'm just thinking about it.It's good to see what's going on.
I want to get home to eat. One of those thingslike doesn't cross my mind, but also
with being legally blind, just being ableto, you know, not see the board.
So I would have to sit up close to thelike in the front row, which is great,
but also not because

(15:42):
we've all had these dayswhere we just don't want to pay attention
and being in the front row,
you know, the teacher would be like,Hey, you're not paying attention.
So stuff like that.
But also just having spina bifidaand walking with crutches,
just trying to get to class on time,
even though it was in my IEP that I couldget to class late if I wanted to.
But I, I don't like to do that.

(16:04):
You know, I want to be treatedjust like everybody else,
you know, like I want to be treatedquote unquote, normal.
Because you're normal is differentthan mine.
Mine's differentthan, you know, Joe Schmo down the street.
But, I always try to get to classon time, but it never really worked out.
And also just because I had an IEP in school,
because also I'm a little uh,I have a learning disability as well.

(16:30):
So that was a little tough.But you know, it is what it is.
You just keep going out, going on through life so you can't stop.
Yeah.
So doesanyone still treat you differently?
Yes, but they don't bully me.
But they definitely dotreat me differently.
And I can tell,
especially if someone doesn't know me,they haven't heard my voice before.

(16:51):
Anything like that.
They will treat me differentlyuntil I start talking to them.
And then I can see,you know, like the light bulb
turns on their in their headand they're like, okay.
Like, how you doing? Also just, you know,
going up and down stairs with like
if someone's like, Hey,can you run upstairs for me? never mind.
I was like, No, I can go upstairswhere I don't like, no problem.

(17:13):
I got that. And everything isespecially for people who don't know me.
But then once they get to knowthe person I am,
then all that goes out the doorand they treat me again as a normal person
and everything.
In fact, I've always said thisand I absolutely mean it.
If you can't make fun of yourself,then you know,
if you can't laugh at yourself,then what can you laugh at?

(17:33):
That's what I was trying to say.
So friends, even coworkers and stufflike that, they'll bust my chops
and everything and be like,Hey, can you run?
yeah, you can’t
But I don't mind that because
that's that bond that you have withpeople is great because then they,
they feel comfortable doing that
because they knowyou're not going to get upset by it.
And yes, you're disabled,but they're not treating you that way.

(17:56):
They're just treatingyou like everybody else, which I love.
So if someone is, you know,busting my chops or whatever,
that's great
because it's different than backin, you know, when you were in high school
and middle school getting,you know, bullied and everything.
That to me, if someone can, you know,once they get to know me, obviously
not right away,but once they feel comfortable,
if they, you know, start busting my chopsand being like, hey, could you run?

(18:17):
oh, yeah, you can’t. I take that as you know,Awesome, Thank you. Cool.
Like, yeah,
because I'll give it right back to him
and I'll be like,Yeah, I'll run, but I'm not very fast.
Or I got this really good friend of minewho I actually just saw.
He's in the military and we were out to breakfast and I ended up tripping
and then he was like, he just looked at meand the waitress is over here

(18:40):
and I went, Dude,how could you strip me like that?
And even at 34 years old,because I am just a big child at heart,
I was just like, Dude,how could you treat me like that?
the waitressShe starts to turn red.
He's starting to look at me like, really dude?
Like, really?
And then I would stopand I'm like, By the way, I'm only joking.
By the way.
Hi, I'm a big child, so, like,I know when to be serious, but.

(19:00):
Hi. I'm. I'm a child. So.
Yeah, once you get to know people,you have friends that you can joke around,
and mess around withthat's a different vibe. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah. Nice to have that too.
Because they treatyou just like they would everybody else.
And that's just what I personally want.
They just want to be treatedlike everybody else.
And, you know, respect earns respect.You respect me.

(19:21):
I respect you.
But like I said earlier in this interviewis that if you're not respecting me,
you're starting to be a
a rude person, to be polite and everythinglike that.
I can get right down to your level. So.
Yeah.
Which leads me to my next questionis, yeah, what aspect of your identity

(19:42):
or your disabilitydo you wish society better understood.
That even though I'm legally blind
and this is just me personally,because I can't talk for anybody else
who's disabled or anything, but for mepersonally, who's physically disabled
and legally blind, I can do pretty mucheverything everybody else can do.

(20:06):
I'm just adaptive with it.
Like case in point, if, if I like, go upstairs with a laptop or something.
If I have a bag with me, I'mputting things in my backpack
because I use crutchesand I need both hands
as I'm going up to the stairsor I'm going on my knees
and I need my handsanyway to get up the stairs.

(20:26):
So I as I say, as I also say,if there's a will, there's a way,
you know, that say like I always try it,like there's always an alternate route.
And I wish people would know that.
Like who would be like, okay, Well,there may be, you know,
this in his way, but he's going to
it goes back to the whole entireobstacle thing I was talking about.

(20:46):
So also, I guess finding those toolsto help you out in your life.
Exactly. Yeah.
And I just wish that,
you know, even though I'm disabled, I'mjust like everybody else. Like,
you know, I may do things differently,but I'm still going to do them.
And even if you have disability and not,I think everyone also has
a different way of doing thingstoo, and everyone has different

(21:11):
find ways to do certain stuff and
have those different tools in theirtool bag to help them out in my life.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Because even even someonewithout a disability,
they do the same thing because, I mean,
I personally believein one way or another,
we all have a disability of some sortlike, you know, some of them are more,

(21:35):
what's the word I'm looking for?
Well,
like, some of them are actual like,you know, defined as a disability,
but some people may have issuesto where they can't do something
that's considered a disability as well.
They may, you know,if that's making any sense.
So we all have
struggles in life of some sort and we allhave to adapt in one way or another.

(21:57):
So. You have a photography businessand you're building it.
How does it make you feelto have built something of your own
and work for yourself?
To be honest with you, I love it.
I, I don't even think of it as
and I don't mean this in any rude,disrespectful way or anything.
I don't consider it like a businesstype thing because it's a passion of mine.

(22:18):
So I'm doing something I love.
It may not be my full time job right now,but also that's perfectly okay
because I I'm building that upand hopefully one day this will be
my full fledged like,Hey, this is my one and only income.
But as of right now, it's one of thoseDo I want soup or do I want to have

(22:41):
chicken for dinner?It's like one of those things.
Also just a passionate like I said,I started doing portraits and family
shoots with peoplewhich sorry to jump back,
but also that's somethingI had to get over with being like.
Because you asked, I think in the previousquestion was what type of

(23:02):
like what type of strugglesdo you have with,
you know, having a businessof being physically disabled?
So I started with the landscapesbecause, you know, I get down on my knees
because again, I have to get lowand I didn't think that I could do
family shoots or portraits or anythingbecause most people stand up. But

(23:22):
I found out that
people like if I explain to themwhat the reason I'm doing A, B, and C,
they trust me and they're like, okay,you're the one who's the photographer.
So they trust me.
They're not going to be like, he has toget on his knees to take a portrait of me.
I don't really like that or something,or sometimes
because I have a three wheel biketo get around
because again, being legally blindI can't drive.

(23:44):
So therefore I have an electric assistbike that I use.
So sometimes while I'm out on locationwith you.
it's a blast. I absolutely love the thing.
I'll talk about thatnext after or something.
But so while I'm out on location,sometimes I'll tell the people
I'll be like, Hey, this angle is not goodfor anyone involved.

(24:06):
So I'm going to sit on my bikeand I'm going to take a picture of you
and because the Z5 that I havehas a screen that pulls out
like on the back, like the LCD screen,I can sit there and instead of
being at eye level,I can still bring that down.
So it's at a different angle,but it's more flattering than being down
low because,

(24:27):
I mean, I'msure you know, as like being down low
sometimes it's not a flattering anglefor some people.
So therefore I'm like, okay,how can I do this?
And I just sit on the bike and at firstI can see the clients that I have.
They're like, okay, like I can seethey are a little, you know,
littlelike not sure on how this is going to go,

(24:49):
but then I usually don't do this,but sometimes they do.
If I can tell with my with the clientsthat I shoot with and everything,
if I can tell, they don't really
think this is going to work out,which is understandable.
I'll turn the LCD,
I'll turn my camera around and be like,This is the shot I just took. Yeah.
And then their eyes will just open upand wow and everything.
So they don't mindthat I'm shooting on the bike
because I'm like, okay,this is where I got to shoot from.

(25:10):
Don't worry, I got you.You like, trust me, I can do that.
So the way that I look at it is
if you have a vision in your headand you have to adapt to it, just adapt.
Like if you in your head, if your head is
like, you
know, your mind is saying to you,you can do this just A, B and C, go do it.
Like, don't hesitate to do it.

(25:31):
And that's whatI have found out to where I'm like, Okay,
if I get down this way,I can get a cool angel from this,
and then I just go off and do it.
So because you don't know what you can dountil you try.
Yeah, I think that's the great thingabout photography.
You can try different things andbe creative because there's no one set
rule you have to stand in this placeor use this position or whatever?

(25:55):
Like you can be so creative. Yeah. oh 100%.
Like with photography as it is,you know, there's these, you know,
these rules to follow,which I put quotations around rules
because, yes, it's nice to knowthe rule of thirds or the golden ratio
and you should learn those.And then the exposure triangle.

(26:16):
Every person who's getting intophotography should know
the exposure triangle,
which, you know, is your aperture,
your iso in your shutter speedand all of those after matched together.
But and then the third, you know,is placement of where your subject
is in the frameand then the golden ratio, you know,
what leads up to your subject anyways,so you should know those.

(26:38):
But also at the end of the day,photography is art and art is subjective.
So what this person over heredoesn't like this person
over here may like and againit goes back to the rules.
And I put rules like this because they'renot rules, they're just guidelines.
But you should knowthose certain guidelines
before you go off and do your own thing.
Like just don't

(26:59):
automatically pick up
your camera and be like,
okay, I'm going to click nowlike like learn how to do those things.
But also once you learn how to do them,branch off, try some things different.
Like I saidand you said too is, like you
and I go out in the same spot
and take the same photothe same day at the same time.
We may, or the same subject.
I say we may not the end resultmay be different because we see

(27:24):
we see the subject differentlyand that's what makes it
ArtAnd makes it creative too, and fun too.
oh, yeah. yeah, most definitely.
It's so just a couple of weeks agoI was out
and there was a gentleman standing hereand so where I lived in here
in Rhode Island,I live by the coast of Jamestown,

(27:46):
so it was a foggy dayand I went out and I was like, okay,
I want to get some moody photos.
And there was a gentleman standing hereand I was like,
okay, what's he staring at?And then I looked and I was like,
I was like, okay.
So I didn't stand like here.
I stood here, like on my bike. I was here.
But a little further down,but I ended up meeting up with the guy,

(28:09):
like meeting the guy, talking to him.
He got my Instagram,I got his all that, and then
his photo came outtotally different from mine,
even though we were standing just like,I don't know, like 20, 30 feet apart.
It's just like the whole entiredifference
of like what you were just saying.

(28:30):
you may see something differentthan what I see.
Even thoughwe're staring at the same thing.
We're not.
And that's one of the beautiful thingsabout photography is,
you know,everyone sees something different
and you get to especiallyif you're going out with people,
you get different perspectives
of how people actually view the worldand i’s fantastic.
One of the things I like to say photography.

(28:51):
It's I'm able to use itto show people what I see
in the world,how I see it, my point view exactly.
Yeah, that's a perfect way of putting it,
because that's the same way with me,because I may be legally blind,
but I'm still seeing thingsthat you're not seeing.
And people ask me, they're like,How do you see that?
And I'm just like, Well, going back to thewhole entire normal, this is my normal.

(29:13):
I'm used to it.So it's just the way I see things.
And then if I think I'm seeing something,that's when I put the lens up to my eye
and I'm like, okay,this is actually better than I thought.
So real quick, quick. I promise.
I was getting sunrise shots with someoneand they're really into bird photography,
and so we're out getting some sunriseand getting like

(29:37):
we had a lighthouse in the picture andeverything and then I'll send my buddy.
His name just happens to be Norm as well.
And he, he actually was aa photography teacher over and CCRI
at the Warwick campus And so me and him
go out and he's taken a pictureand he's going see that bird.

(29:57):
I was like, No. And he's like, click, click
And so I was like, Okay, sunrise is rightthere.
He's pointed at that bird.
I can't see said bird.
Anyway, I take the photo, I come home,I put it on my laptop and I went
huh, the birds in myphoto like I was able to take the photo.
It made it even that much better.
And I was just like,Wow, I couldn’t see it over there.

(30:19):
But I actually got the photo.
And that happenedsometimes with me as I'll come back
and I'll be like,Wait a minute, that was in my photo.
That's fantastic. Or I'll be like, Great,That's in my photo.
Well, thank God I got Lightroombecause I'm getting rid of that.
Can you see some ofyour proudest achievements so far?
I actually got intoI had a opening over at AS220 in Providence.

(30:42):
I don't know if you've ever heardof AS220 or no about. I have not, no.
So AS220 is an art gallery,but they are really well known.
Like they are big in the art worldand everything like that.
So I actually in they're locatedin Providence, which is like
there may be other AS
220’s like around the country,but I know of the one in Providence.

(31:05):
You know, anyone who's listeningat this don't come at me,
LoL, for you know not knowing.
But it was quite the like at first.
I was just like, cool.
I got into an art gallery andsomeone was like, You got to AS220.
Like, that's huge.
I was like, they're like,they're known like Countrywide.
And I was like, oohbecause if you're part of them,

(31:27):
like, of AS220, like you can also
you can go to like different countriesand stuff like that.
Like if you work like in, likein their community and stuff like that.
I have not done that. I would love to,but you know, it is what it is.
But so that's one of my
proudest achievements.
I also had a one of my first shows

(31:47):
was like individual shows.
There's a,
well, a retail like no realtorlike,
you know, houses and stuff like that, thatthey let me have a show in their office.
So like, they're building.
So they let me put up as many photosas I wanted.
That was, that was great.

(32:09):
I also,
before I started working at the job thatI have now, which is at an art gallery,
they I entered one of their showsand I actually got best
in show for one of my photos.So I was just like, that, that's awesome.
Yeah, that's I was like,Wow, that's that's pretty cool.
So just, you know,

(32:31):
I've also been in my local papera couple of times, which is this is great.
I was I got on the cover of our telephone book
because we still have a telephone bookwhere I live on.
And so even though,you know, it's it's small
but still is it still you know, it's greatlike everyone gets a copy of that.

(32:52):
So yeah, that's fantastic as well.
But I you know, it'sjust it's just keep going.
I just want to keep goingand see where else I can go with this.
Yeah, it's it'spretty cool to see your work out there.
Someone
who wants to hang it up in their in their,in the office or the house or.
yeah. LIke you you said the cover, the phone book.That's pretty cool. Yeah.

(33:14):
and newspaper, there's a.
There's a womanwho owns a cleaning business overall.
So you're located in Rhode Islandas well, right?
Yeah. I live in the Providence area.
Okay, so you know where North Kingstown.
Yeah.
Okay, so there's a womanwho owns a cleaning business
who bought a whole bunch of my photos,and she just hung them up in their office.
And I was just like, wow. Like, like her.

(33:36):
She's like, Yeah, I just have a wall
dedicated to your photosbecause I absolutely love them.
I was just like, oh
That really means something. I was like,That's sweet.
I; thank you, like just seeing that.
It's just it's great. It's, you know,I love that.
And then I also, I, I have put outcalendars.

(33:56):
This was my third year doing a calendar.
So putting those out,people have just told me,
I love your calendars and everything,so that's great.
This cup that I'm drinking out of.
I made this cupand people have told me they're like,
I get to have a cup of coffeewith Norm every day.
I was like, What do you mean?And they're like, I bought a cup of yours.
I was like, That's, that's,you know, it's fantastic.
And, you know,it's very humbling, too,

(34:19):
that people actually want to buy my stuff,that I like, my artwork that I like
making and everything. It's very humbling.
And I really appreciate everyone who,you know, stands behind me.
And it's just like, Hey,I want to work with you and I want to
I want you to dothis for me. I just actually
just the other day I got someone whoI haven't talked to in years.

(34:40):
They were like,Hey, my, you know, I'm getting married.
I need a photographer.
I was like,
Yeah. And I was like, Sorry,I don't do weddings.
And they're like, Really? I was like,I greatly appreciate it.
I will help you out.
I will find you a wedding photographer,but I just don't do weddings.
So But even having someone
wanting me to do their wedding that I knowis because they love my work.

(35:01):
I greatly you know, it's very humbling.
It's like, wow,thank you for, you know, choosing me
and wanting meand loving the art that I do.
I was just part of this past
is is holiday season.
I was part of a craft fair.
And this woman came up to me and she goes,you know,
I absolutely love your photography,but someone who loved it
even more was my husband before he died.

(35:23):
And I was like,I'm so sorry to hear that.
She goes,My husband was diagnosed with cancer,
and I was like,I'm so sorry to hear that.
She goes, Yeah,
but him seeing your photoson Facebook and Instagram
and seeing the quotes that you put withthem really helped him out.
When he was having a bad day.He would just
look at your quotes in your photosand it would help him out a lot.
It just hearing that really it's stuckwith me, honestly, because having someone

(35:47):
who's gone through cancer,I think that my my art can help them.
That's my landscapes and everything.
That's exactly what I wanted out ofthat is if I when I first started this
and I still mean this to this day,obviously we all need money to live.
But with my landscapes,if I can just make one person smile
and stop and forget about the worldwe live in, I've done my job.

(36:10):
So if I can do that forif I was able to do that for her husband
before he passed away, thatthat's that's the world to me.
And then if I'm doing family portraitsor I'm doing, you know, family shoots,
I mean, or portraits,
if someone you know, if they canjust get away from the world, that they,
you know, that they live in becausewe all, you know, have something going on.

(36:32):
If they can just forget about that,they can just be present
and they can, no pun intended here,but they can smile and be happy.
Then I've done my job like,you know, some families.
Yeah, theythey may be going through something
and I don't know what they'regoing through, but I hope that after
they leave a session with meand this goes along with like

(36:52):
just portraits as wellbut different manner.
But let's just stick with the familyreal quick.
If they, you know, saythey're going through a hard time
and the husband and wife or the or whoeverthe spouses or whatever they are,
you know, in a tough space,I hope they are whatever.
I hope they can look at my photos
I've taken for them and they can be like,you know what? We were happy here.

(37:16):
He legitimately made us happy.
We can work this outand we can still do this.
And then with portraits,everyone is beautiful in their own way.
Like, you know, well, these models,like I know magazines and everything,
airbrush like those are all fake.
Like we are all we are all beautiful in our own way.
And you should feel confidentin your own skin.

(37:37):
So if I can help someone,you know, with a portrait session
or whatever, feel confident again.
I've done my job like that's what I want.
And then if they just need to, you know,vent or whatever, they can vent to me.
I don't mind
just this the time that you're with me,forget about everything going on
and be the, you know, the happy, positive,outgoing person that you are,

(37:59):
because we're all that wayin one way or another and confident.
Like it's about confidence.
So if you're leaving the session with me
and you look back at your photosand you're like,
Wow, I was confident in this photo shoot,then yeah,
keep being confident
because you can do thatin every normal day,
like not with a session with me,but you can do that in life.
So yeah. Yeah. Awesome

(38:21):
It’s differently
good. And you had some great stuff happenand a lot of proud achievements too.
I appreciate. Thank you
CongratulationsI just checked out a little bit about AS220
Yeah. And I never heard of it.
And I, was like, this is actually a cool venue.
Cool place. I may have to do more research.Yeah, it really is.

(38:43):
Because when I so meand a friend of mine,
we just, you know, decided to go there,see what would happen.
And they were like, Yeah, well, we'llhave you in a show, but we're going to.
So they have like different officesin Providence, like different areas.
We were going to be in their cornergallery,

(39:05):
which I looked at it and I was like,okay, cool.
Like, whatever, it's AS220.
I don't care if I'm in the corner,like, whatever, Like it's a smaller
than the main.
Yeah, someone ended up dropping out.
So they told me and my friend,they were like, Hey,
we're going to move youto our main gallery.
So we were actually in the main gallerytoo, where usually everybody goes to.

(39:25):
So that was that was quite, you know.
So yeah, it's
just the whole entire AS220,it was fantastic and I love doing that.
So I did mine during COVID so 2020, soI couldn't be present during the opening,
but still it was just being part of AS220 and that sense was fantastic and
I loved it. So

(39:47):
but everything I've done with photography,I've loved it.
There's never been likea, you know, bad thing that's happened.
I mean, except for when my camerahad to be in the shop.
I hate that it happens at some point. So
that's why you need to get a backup.
Backup? Yeah, yeah, yeah.You know, I've realized.
I mean, I am saving up for a backup rightnow, even if it's.

(40:09):
However, phones nowadaystake really good photos.
they do. And a could be a good photo, for people.
I some questions about
about starting photography and what to useand like what kind of phone you have.
A lot of them have like the new iPhone.yeah.
and the Samsung cameraon the new Samsung phones.
Unbelievable lens I mean use that it getsbecause you can have yeah you

(40:33):
and there’s some have advanced featuresyou can adjust the lighting the apertures.
Exactly and I mean if someone'slooking to get into photography honestly
like I said, I started outwith the phone, like, start out with that.
And then if you reallyenjoy that, then invest in a
relatively cheaper

(40:55):
camera, I guess you could say, no, don'tgo out and get like a $6,000 camera body
or whatever,or invest in a cheaper camera body.
But then along with that camera body,try to invest in better glass
because when you get the cameraso not all the time,

(41:16):
but sometimes when you get a camera,it comes with a lens with it
and it's usually in 18 to 55 or it's a.
18 to 35.
Yeah, or like an odd number.
It's just those lenses.
They're okay at first.
But also I would invest in better glassbecause. Yeah.
And whatever photography you ask everyone,

(41:39):
that's the thing with photographyyou say one thing
someone else is going to havea different like, you know,
everyone's salt and pepper look,everyone's different, you know,
But that's why they make chocolateand vanilla ice cream some people like.
And a lot of times to other photographerswhen they get new cameras,
there will sell them on like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist.
So you can get them cheap, too. Exactly.
But some people will be some people will say,

(42:00):
well, get a really good camera body.
Well,no, don't get a really good camera body.
Start off with astart up with a cell phone.
If you're thinkingabout going into photography
and then if you can afford even a DSLR,those are still fine.
Like people are like,no, it's all about mirrorless.
Well, yeah, mirrorless is great,but if you're just starting out with this
and you don't know
if you actually like doing photographywith like a camera camera, start out with

(42:24):
like a, you know, D 3300 for me or like I
like I did or, you know, D 7500.
I'm only naming Nikon because that'sall I know what the, you know like a
but just invest in better glassfor your camera because in my opinion
it goes the photographer likeyou have to have an eye for photography

(42:46):
and then it's the lensand then it's the camera body, like it's
the person makes the artand then the lens helps
and then the camera body,yes, upgrading will help, but you don't
necessarily need that $6,000 freakingcamera body.
You can take amazing photos with just the,you know, an intro camera,

(43:07):
the D 3300 that that I started with.
I actually sold it to someonebecause they were like,
you know, I want to get into photography.
I was like, hey, I got a D 3300.
It's been beat to hell, and I don't knowhow much is left on the on the shutter.
I even looked it up because you knowthere's app like programs you can use.

(43:28):
I was likeI don't know how much still there
but I can sell this to you foryou know a little bit.
And I kind of regret doing that
because my camera recentlywas in the shop, as I was saying,
and I was thinking to myself,I was like, If only I had my backup.
I wish I really backup camera. Yeah. And
Like we were saying before, sometimes it's justthe easiest way to get into photography

(43:50):
You may know someone who's into itor has a camera that they wanted to either
give to you or sell to you for good priceAnd just to show
we both, anyone looking to startphotography is going back
is use what you haveor just a cheap $100 $200 camera.
Exactly.

(44:10):
And then if you are looking to, you know,
you can take classes, but also there'sthis lovely thing called YouTube.
You can get everything on YouTubeor if you're not.
On Peter Mckinnon is great at that what Peter McKinnon is great at teaching on YouTube,
and all the others. oh yeahPeter Mckinnon is fantastic.
I actually, other than taking the classesthat I did, I learned everything

(44:35):
from YouTube and PetermacKinnon is phenomenal for that.
I actually so going back to
when I was in college, like I was tellingyou already, CCRI, the teacher.
One of the first classes was like, Who'sthe photographer that influenced you?
And like, like you look up to
I was like, Well, other than Ansel Adams,because he's, you know, the freaking

(44:59):
grandfather of photography there, AnselAdams with landscapes and everything.
It was Peter Mckinnon,and then someone was like Peter Mckinnon
And I was like, Who's PetermacKinnon? Well, let me look this up for
you bring you down a road
yeah, no, he’s great
But for people who are listening to thisand they don't like the

(45:20):
they don't like YouTube, like for reasonsand they like reading,
just look up on Google,like how to work your camera
and just read about your camera,really know your camera inside and out
and that then bring your cameraeverywhere with you because you know,
you never know what you're going to seebecause there's been plenty of times
where I've gone out and I'm just sittingthere going, oh my God, where's my camera?

(45:41):
And yes, I have my cell phone,but it's just not the same.
Like in a pinch
Yes. I've done that, too, It’s not the same.
So not that cellphones are bad,don't get me wrong.
But like as someone who uses a camera, I'drather use my camera than my cell phone.
So, yeah,always bring your camera with you

(46:02):
because you never know whatyou're going to find and you never when
yeah, I used to carry this in my backpack.All the time. yeah, Yeah.
So the last question you have,
why is
the inclusion of individualswith disabilities important?
Because we are, quote unquote, normal,just like everybody else.

(46:22):
I mean, goes back to what I was sayingearlier is, yeah, we may do things
differently, but, you know, we still adaptand we still, if you know, we can
we can live a quote unquote, normal lifejust like everybody else.
And I put quotes because I've said thisbefore, and I will say it again,
your normal is different than mine.
My normal is different than JoeSchmo, who's normal down the street.

(46:44):
But it's just everyone'severyone's got some sort of
like I said as welltonight is we all have our
some some sort of disability in a senselike, you know, we all can’t do something.
But if you are considered,quote unquote, normal, you don’t,
like, you know, treat that persondifferently

(47:05):
for not being able to do something.So why treat this person over here?
They may just do it in a different waythan you, but they can still do it.
So personally,I can't speak for everybody else.
I can speak for myself, though,is just treat me like everybody else.
That's all I want.
And I think that a majority of peoplewith disabilities would want

(47:28):
is just be treated like we just wantto be treated like everybody else.
We just want, you know, it's
that's all.
Awesome.
Yeah,I think that's a good spot to end too
So, Norm where can people find youor learn more about your photography?
Actually, Do you do you sell your photography? Yes.
So I am currently working on my websiteright now.

(47:52):
I'm just,you know, I'm getting myself a logo now
and I'm currently moving some things around on my website.
But where you can find me onmy website is Outta the norm
photography and you can find me there.
And then on Facebookyou can either just look up North Marsh

(48:12):
because I put my photos thereor I also have outta the norm
photography on Facebookand then on Instagram.
My Instagram is storman_norman
and that's where I havemy photography as well.
You know, it's I may be branching outand make my another Instagram

(48:34):
for my photography itself, but reallyall I put on there, unless you scroll
all the way to the bottom, isI just put all my photography on there.
So I just, you know, and also with mywith my company, like my business,
whatever, not company,
but my business namebeing outta the norm,
I, you know, you never knowwhat you're going to get with me.
So I may post, you know, pictures of like,you know, I love baseball,

(48:56):
so we may post something about baseball
or I may post something about footballbecause it's outta the norm.
Like I I'm original with what I do.
And so that's why I have not.
That’s a good business name to. Thank you.I good play on words.
So real, real quick,because I know you got to end this.
So the story that I was telling you beforeabout when I was in college

(49:17):
and I did the story,it was actually called outta the norm.
That's what I namethat whole entire series of photos.
It was called outta the normbecause a buddy of mine
who actually helped me out with this,I was like, Man,
I got to think of a really cool,catchy name for this.
And he goes, Why don'tyou just call it outt the norm?
Because what you are sayingand what you are trying to

(49:40):
get people to realize is
it was part of the norm, like you're goingto the beat of your own drum.
I was like, I like that.
So when I was starting my photography,
I was like,You know, Stormin Norman, that's great.
And I was like, Norm Marsh, Like,
I could just have my regular name,but that's so generic.
I'm like, I want something that's,you know, interesting.
So I searched the Internet and everything.

(50:00):
No one has the name that I haveor anything,
and so I made sure that I wasn'tstealing anyone's name.
Yeah.
And then I asked my buddy,who gave me the name for this,
I was like, Look,do you mind if I do this?
Do you want anything?
He's like, No, use it. That's fantastic.
So that's how outta the norm photographystarted.
And also it started that waybecause if you haven't noticed,

(50:22):
I'm sure I've said it throughout thisinterview, certain words I say
like, like I talked like I'm from Bostonor like New York or what I like Rhode Island
It's a mixture of all three.
So, you know, parked the carin the Harvard Yard.
I have a very thick accent.
So outta kind of works outthat way as well,
because you call it talking in cursive,because I will say one word, I'll be like,
you know,I went to the car the other day just to go

(50:44):
and you know, that one wordpeople will get,
you know, they'll stick to that word andthey'll be like, what did you just say?
So, you know,the whole entire outer works out
because once people hear me talk,they're like,
you're definitely from like New York,Boston.
I was like, Nope, not Boston,not New York.
I'm from Rhode Islandand I was born and raised here.
So but yeah, that'sthat's the name. Interesting.

(51:08):
Thank you.
Thank you.
So but yeahno outta the norm photography dot com
and then Storman Norman, Stormanunderscore Norman
for my Instagram and then either outta the the norm photography or just Norm Marsh.
If you want to be on my personal Facebook page,
I don't care because I mainly just postall my photos stuff on there.

(51:29):
Anyway, so.
Cool.
Well, thank you for joining me todayon this podcast
and good luck in your photographyand have fun.
And I know the spring is coming up, So you
probably excited to get out there in this warmweather. yeah, I take photos.
I am really excited.
I actually have three people who wantportraits done already, like they booked

(51:51):
you know, and stuff like that.So it's great.
How can people book with you? Through your website
email? So they go through my website.
Like I said, it's a work in progressright now,
but you can still send me a message on there because my email is on there,
which is just is just outta the normphotography at gmail.com.
You can see it on my website and you canjust, you know, talk to me there.

(52:14):
Or if you find me on Facebook,you just shoot me a message,
shoot me a message on Instagramand I'll talk to you about it because
is howI do my things is a little different
because due to me not being able to drivedue to my legally blindness and
I need to figure out how I'm goingto get places, but also where I live here
in Jamestown, Rhode Island,the landscapes are just amazing.

(52:37):
For backdrop,just work, you know, doing natural
light shoots or,you know, for portraits and everything.
Or also I just do portraits right herein my apartment because I got, you know,
I got a nice white wall here that I canjust, you know,
put you up against and I can put upI have a what do you call it.

(52:57):
There are backdrops that I can useand all that.
So it's it's or I can go on location,I can go to where you are.
I just would have to,you know, take an Uber, find a ride.
And so the best way to find me is through that.
And then we can talk about pricing
and we can talk about all thatbecause again, it may not be a set price
because if someone's like, hey,I'm in Massachusetts, okay,

(53:19):
that price is going to bea little different than in Rhode Island
because I'm going to have to find someoneto bring me to Massachusetts.
I don't mind goingbut just know the location dependent.
It's the pricesare going to be a little different.
Yeah. Cool.
Awesome. Well,thank you again. Yeah No problem.
Thank you for having me.
I greatly appreciate you,

(53:41):
you know, having me on your podcastand I hope to do it again sometime.
Yeah.

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