INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. and#8212; Acclaimed photographer Dewitt Jones is no stranger to storytelling.

Speaking Sunday at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, Jones explained to a sizable crowd that stories were his father’s favorite teaching tool.

and#8220;My dad loved to tell stories,and#8221; he said. and#8220;And he loved stories that always had a little lesson at the end. As a result, I hated stories when I was a kid.and#8221;

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This attitude has since changed for Jones, as he told a number of stories to a crowd of about 150 in the hotel’s ballroom, using his photography to help illustrate his philosophy on life.

The presentation was the third in an annual series dubbed and#8220;Extraordinary Visions,and#8221; serving as a fundraiser for the Children’s Cabinet at Incline Village, a nonprofit group that supports a number of family programs throughout the community.

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While Jones has achieved a high degree of success and fame as a photographer for clients such as United Airlines, Canon and National Geographic, his speech was not actually about photography or proper technique.

Instead, Jones talked about how and#8212; in order to be successful at what you do and#8212; one needs to embrace four key points: passion, purpose, vision and creativity.

Even though embracing those ideals may seem daunting, Jones stressed it isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Instead, he explained that if one can find a happy medium between his or her avocation and profession, vision will often accompany that balance.

Meanwhile, Jones pointed out that having a vision for one’s job/company is fine, but having a personal vision for oneself is far more important.

and#8220;When the vision is juicy enough, the passion and creativity is there,and#8221; he said.

Meanwhile, once passion, purpose, vision and creativity are discovered and embraced, Jones said finding and#8220;right answersand#8221; for every situation becomes much easier to accomplish.

This is because the aforementioned attributes combine to let someone become more engaged with whatever they happen to be working on, he said; it becomes easier to find a right answer to a situation that might not have an obvious one, or simply create your own.

and#8220;Don’t be the best in the world, be the best for the world,and#8221; Jones said.

At the end of his speech, the audience people gave Jones a standing ovation and had the opportunity to ask him questions while he was still on stage. Topics ranged from advice on how to deal with the difficult economy, why he chose to live in the area of Hawaii he does and what his thoughts were regarding the and#8220;digital vs. filmand#8221; debate.

Finally, he stayed around in the Hyatt lobby to talk with fans and sign copies of his prints that they had purchased.

Though the event was not as well-attended as previous such events for Children’s Cabinet, it was clearly well received by the crowd.

and#8220;I think it was a great speech,and#8221; said Diane Morrison, one of the Children’s Cabinet Board members.

Incline resident Gloria Obeso Levy agreed.

and#8220;(Jones) was a wonderful speaker,and#8221; she said. and#8220;He was so inspiring.and#8221;