Vince Collins - Developer, Coach, Photographer

I've enjoyed taking photos over the past month or so and thought I'd share the latest. 

I would love to hear any suggestions from all you budding photographers!

I have been coaching my youngest daughter's soccer team ever since she was in 1st grade.  It has been a great time and I've learned a lot about the game, myself and my daughter. 

My father seemed to generally have a skeptical view of coaches.  They were "Jocks" and their main goal was to win, sometimes at all costs so it was a bit of a surprise for me and my father when I realized I wanted to give it a go.  The reality is that coaches are humans and humans make mistakes but the vast majority of encounters I've had have been good.  Most coaches seem to be there for the right reasons.

I'm looking forward to jotting down some of my thoughts about our practices and games in the coming weeks.  I have to face the fact that next year may be my last year of coaching since my daughter will then be playing in middle school and they have their own coaching staff.  I'm a bit sad about that.

It has been 2 weeks since the last photo due to Christmas vacation. You can tell by all the cracks and refreezes that we have seen lots of cold and warm days in between. It's too bad the sun rises behind me in these photos because today's sunrise was beautiful. I waited a good 10 minutes for some color to appear in the clouds from the sun but my hands were getting way too cold :)

A new photo of Gile Pond was taken today.

The ice has begun to break up as it freezes and thaws from the changing temperature here in New Hampshire. I like the faint wispy clouds hanging over Music Hill in the distance. By the way, I'm curious as to why it's named Music Hill.  View more photos from the Gile Pond Project.

Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? Of course you can.  It's a silly expression really but the meaning is important.  I'll give you an example.

Can you develop websites AND communicate effectively?

In my many years of working with clients, I can't stress enough how important this is.  It's the most common frustration I hear the client say about the previous developers they've had before me.

It's very important to know how to develop a proper website, how to work with databases, how to make sure that their site is search engine optimized.

Yes, but website development know-how isn't enough!

What about business sense?  What about understanding the needs of the client from their perspective?  Being able to listen, understand and then repeat back to the customer their needs so that everyone understands the roadmap ahead?  The client does not like to be left in the dark.  It's important to communicate the progress of the project all along.  Touch base.  Provide a link to them along the way so they can see the progress, ask questions and fine tune the solution.

Web development should never be a black box to the client.

Sometimes, a company doesn't need to hire a large firm and pay tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars only to then be told by this firm exactly how the company needs to run their own business. 

Sometimes a company wants to hire a consultant who actually listens to them.

If you have a small project or a large one that you need help with, consider contacting me today.