Posts Tagged ‘community’
A Thousand Points of Light
Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work. — Thomas A. Edison
In one of the photography forums I so frequently haunt, a new photographer threw out the age old existential question: “What makes a better photo, film or digital? Discuss.” Yikes. Let’s just lob the Holy Hand Grenade of Photographic Antioch into our midst and see what carnage we can make!
Ok, it really wasn’t that bad. The responses ranged from the obvious of “The photographer” to “it depends on what you’re shooting and it’s intended use.” But the one that caught my eye was the guy who said:
“I shoot both. I do nature with film as I love the whole process but shoot people with digital due to ease of use and most of my shoots with people are typically upward of 1000 – 2000 photos which would be ungodly expensive with film.”
I’ve never really focused on shooting film, but I do understand the expense of it. What I question about his statement is the “1000 – 2000 photos” per shoot with his digital camera. And I have to ask: why? Why would you want to do that, especially for people? Is there something I’m missing here?
I get that there’s a desire to create the perfect photo. I really get that. But what is it about digital that makes people think shooting 1000+ photos will get them perfection? Don’t get me wrong, there’s probably a time and place for it. But really, is that needed all the time? I wonder if people’s photos would improve a notch or two if they stopped taking the shotgun approach to their art (or work) and thought a bit about what exactly they were trying to create.
From what I’ve encountered, some photographers look at digital as the panacea of recording media. I get the sense that these photogs just snap and snap with wild abandon because, hey, it’s digital … it’s free! But that’s not entirely true. What you’ve gained in saved film processing costs, you’ve now lost due to increased time dealing with more photos during post. You’re now saving large amounts of data off so your archiving costs increase. There’s a larger wear-and-tear factor on your camera. You may or may not care about any of these things.
Now, I’m guilty of doing this on occasion, taking photo after photo of the exact same pose or moment … or maybe even slightly altering it to see if that changes the dynamic of the content. But … does this really help me, as a photographer? I realize I can’t shoot every thing I see (well, I can, but I won’t). I’m going to miss some things. That’s just the law of averages.
But, thousands of images at a sitting? Sounds like a bit much to me.
As for the whole digital vs. film debate? That rages on.
The model above is Scarlet. We were trying different things in the studio. This was my third attempt at this setup. I tried a few times and moved on when I thought I wasn’t getting it. Lucky me, it turned out.
"Where’s your missionary?"
Foreigners cannot enjoy our food, I suppose, any more than we can enjoy theirs. It is not strange; for tastes are made, not born. I might glorify my bill of fare until I was tired; but afer all, the Scotchman would shake his head, and say, “Where’s your haggis?” and the Fijan would sigh and say, “Where’s your missionary?”Mark Twain A Tramp Abroad
Southern fried catfish. Covered and smothered in the hardiest cornmeal batter you can find and dropped into a vat of oil rolling and seething with the fury of the seas boiling before a hurricane. Add some golden fried chips, a splash of tartar sauce, and a hushpuppy or three? You have the makings for some good eats right there.
Work had their annual picnic recently. The main course that was catered in was catfish, cooked on the spot, served hot, and all you can stuff down your gullet. Definitely a photo-op to be sure. I don’t remember the company they brought in. It was the Manchaca Fire Department (Manchaca Firehall). They pulled in a large trailer replete with refrigerators packed with catfish, a rather large prep area, and four or five deep fryers. 
The more people ate, the more fish they battered and sacrificed to the gods of Canola and Flame.
The lines for the food stretched from one end of the building to the other. People chattered and kibitzed, but only in the politest of manners. There was a table full of lego men. Yes, I said lego men. One of the odd traditions, I’ve discovered. They (as in the group, not the lego men) have team building exercises wherein groups race to build dozens of lego men and the winners get … more lego men. But all the ones that are built throughout the year get bundled up and given away at this picnic.
Strange, I know. What more could you ask for from a team building experience?
Now, where was I. Yes, they gave out lego men. I picked up one of the medics. Why a medic? I used to work with a Vietnam Vet and he’d occasionally pipe up and yell, “MEDIC! I’M HIT!” whenever something bad went down in the environment. So, I had to pickup a corpsman and stretcher to keep on my desk. Oddly enough, the medic and I soon parted ways when I gave it to my office mate. He objects to the lego men. Something about zombie hordes of little plastic men coming to take over the world or something. Or maybe not. I can’t exactly remember. I just recall the look on his face when I placed it on his desk.
But, back to the story. I’m finding that the camera is going with me everywhere most days now. Especially with the new lens cranked on there. I swear, it’s practically welded on by this point. Knowing that there’d be a few hundred people at this picnic, it went along with me. I encountered a few other photogs there. They were focusing on the event in general. 
I was just having fun. With my camera and my heaping plate of food, I grabbed a chair and camped out at a table next to my friend Scarlett. I stole a few shots of her food because it looked more interesting than mine. But then, it was more interesting because I’d eaten most of my catfish and hadn’t yet gone back for seconds.
I ended up being joined by a few of the associate VPs. Funny that. I had to be on my best behavior. Wouldn’t want to make a resume-altering statement in front of three of the most powerful people in the group. So, I mostly ate in silence and occasionally took a photo or two. When all was said and done, I finished off the afternoon with the remains of what was on the table. Empty plates, full bellies, and nothing but trash.
One of the AVPs commented how good my camera was when the photo of the trashed remains came up on the screen. I pointed out it was the photographer that made the photo. The camera, unlike the photog, was just a tool.
I think it went over their heads.
They still liked the photo, though. And me, I was fat, dumb, and happy. Full of catfish and ready for a nap.
Whoops! and Give in to Sin
Ok. Shame on me. It has been not quite a month since my last posting. I shall hang my head in shame. But fear not! I’ve been taking photos like nobody’s business. I promise I’ll be keeping it more steady and catch you up on what I’ve been doing.
Last week was Give in to Sin. This was a benefit for Sinsations in Austin. Their lease expires in less than two months and the owner of the property has decided not to renew it. Morgan wasn’t expecting it, so a bunch of people helped get this benefit together for her so she could have the funds to move. Morgan does quite a bit for the local community with the other benefits she puts on, so it was time to give back.
The show was at Red7. There were bands, burlesque, boobs, beer, art, and spankings. It was a pretty great show with lots of interesting folks walking around in not so much. Met some cool people too. Here’s some more of the evening.
The full set of photos can be found on my myspace page (mostly because I was lazy and didn’t want to use flickr).
The art:
The comedy:
The fun:
The burlesque:
The flames:
The bands:
Learning from Chase.
Back in 2007, Chase Jarvis gave a keynote address for the Photoshelter Town Hall describing some of the reasoning why he shoots what he does and some ideals that up and coming pros should strive for. I know the video is somewhat dated, Internet time-wise, but I still go back to this on occasion and review it.
Things I took away from this:
- I think one of the most interesting facts that I took away from this is that he often does entire shoots just for himself to keep building on his portfolio.
- Shoot things that you’ve never seen before. Chase watches the marketplace for the patterns being developed and then tries to step outside the pattern. Whether it’s using props in ways you normally wouldn’t see in marketing (like aiming a gun to someone’s head) or finding a different angle to shoot from, it’s something that differentiates you from everyone else.
- It takes lots of hard work to be successful at this. I couldn’t shoot to the degree that Chase does (20 hour days), but I can certainly do more than what I’m doing now.
- You have to have passion for what you’re shooting. If you don’t, it’s going to be difficult to be your best creatively. Make your own style. You need to carve out time to shoot those photos you have a passion for.
- One of the best and fastest ways to get a subject to do what you want is to show them exactly how it’s done by doing it yourself. You can see Chase doing this in the Ninja clip.
- Smoke machines add a weird, almost mystical, dimension to photos, especially when they’re used in conjunction with a strong back light. I need to get a smoke machine and play with that idea some.
- You need to be a part of the community. Networking. Collaborating. Photos don’t get made by one person.
- Nothing can replace the power of word-of-mouth when trying to get business.
It’s an interesting video no matter what. I encourage you to check it out, if only to watch the video clips within it. Or, just check out his youtube channel. I believe he has the individual ones posted there.
Communities
One of the things that I’ve been big on lately is communities. Communities for geeks, communities for photographers, communities for just random social coffee drinking. You know, just groups of people getting together for no other reason than having a common passion for something beautiful.
Today was the meetup of the Austin chapter of ASMP. ASMP is the American Society of Media Photographers. A few of the local pros and a handful of the amateurs were there, including Kirk Tuck and Jay B. Sauceda. It’s fascinating to listen to these guys talk so matter-of-factly about photography.
So, this morning, we’re all sitting around the table BSing and Kirk brings up a story about one of his friends (who’s a psychiatrist by trade … we’ll call him Bob because I didn’t catch his name) who’s doing a shoot with some models around a pool for some company. Kirk happened to be there and was talking to Bob as the shoot was wrapping up. Kirk asked if Bob remembered to get the model releases signed.
“Model releases?”
Oy. So, Kirk ran off to get a stack of his blank releases to loan Bob and made sure that everyone shot signed them. Later, Bob was in discussions with the hiring company about the job. We learned that Bob had taken the job on a verbal agreement. Double oy! Well, during the discussion with the company, they basically stated, “We paid you, we want all the rights and there’s nothing you can do about it. We’ll use the photos however we want.” They appeared to be in a position of power. With no written contract it looked like Bob was up a creek.
“But, you don’t have the model releases. I do.”
Without those releases, the photos couldn’t be used commercially. The tone of the meeting changed immediately after that into one where the company was more agreeable to negotiation. Bob had his trump card in the model releases.
This story was quite eye-opening. I can’t say that I’m very savvy on the business side of photography (but I’m getting there!) and I’m learning more everyday. But, the story reminded me of how important it was to do two simple things: always have a written contract and always get a release for the photo. What’s even more amazing about this story is that, had there not been someone who had previously gone through this to tell the story to others, I’m sure I would have encountered the same situation at some point in my budding photography career.
While there, people were passing around a book, How to Succeed in Commercial Photography: Insights from a Leading Consultant. It’s apparently one of the best books out there dealing with commercial photography. I think I’ll be getting it soon. I didn’t get long to look at it … mostly enough time to take a picture of the ISBN for later. But, it certainly looked short and too the point.
While there, people were passing around a book,