Being a professional creative might seem like the ultimate dream job for some--and for many of us it is. But it ain't always easy. In fact, staying inspired is really hard work. I recently received the above tweet (to @chasejarvis) and it got me thinking. Here's 9 things I've done over the course of my 10+ year career that have helped me overcome those times when uninspired or stale work invades:1. Make a major life... read more ›
Aug
18
Aug
17
WARNING: Nerdy tech content. If you're shooting a lot of video with all the video dSLRs and even the iPhone 3Gs, you've no doubt noticed the slight "wobble" when panning those cameras quickly. It usually translates visually into the slanting, or canting, of what are supposed to be vertical lines in image that you're recording. This phenomenon is the result of the digital rolling shutter, the mechanism by which these cameras write to their... read more ›
Aug
12
There's been a lot of hot fuss lately about what's possible with new projection media, especially in urban environments, onto building facades, etc. Last time I was in Paris there was similar stuff emerging on building walls in the Marais, but this seems to be evolving quickly and really taking off. Impressive live performance here in this video from NuFormer.If you liked that real clip and you want to see what NuFormer think is possible,... read more ›
Aug
10
[UPDATE: Martin has chimed in with more details and original photos...all info after the jump].After reading the headline of this post and looking at the image, you're probably waiting for the other shoe to drop. What's the catch? Well, there isn't one. Yes, my pal Martin Gisborne used only an iPhone 3Gs and a telescope to get this shot. He did some slight tweaking in Aperture, but no crazy-fancy space cameras, no Photoshop, no compositing,... read more ›
Aug
09
Whether you love it or hate it, the term "journalist" is increasingly being accepted by our culture to include freelancers, bloggers, even just citizens who happen to "be there".In a crazy story I read about first over at Wired Mag's new photo blog, RawFile, they report that a student photographer who photographed paramedics tending to a homicide victim was given journalistic protection provided for by the law. From the Wired story: "In recognizing the journalistic... read more ›
Aug
05
Problem: I think a lot of photographers (myself included at some point in the past) pour too much strobed light into an image out of technical misunderstandings rather than stylistic choice. Under-exposing 2 stops and then popping your subject from 5 feet away with a direct shot from your strobe is certainly a style, but unless it’s done deliberately as a style, it often distracts the viewer from the image rather than adding to it.... read more ›
Jul
27
It was fun reading all the great attempts to deconstruct the photo from Monday's post. As you might imagine, many of you got close or even nailed some of the components, and many of you were way in left field. And that's exactly what I expected, especially since this image has some tricky, unexpected stuff going on. At any rate, here's the debrief: Concept: This image is really a snapshot. I confess to liking it... read more ›
Jul
27
One of the ways that helped me learn to create the kind of pictures I wanted to create from a technical standpoint was by trying to reverse engineer the work of others... work that was my friends, that was the photography masters, or, even just cool images I'd seen in magazines. I'd sit there for hours considering what might be at work. It's a good exercise in trying to understand both the technical stuff AND... read more ›
Jul
17
http://www.facebook.com/v/122990946404You asked for more behind the scenes stuff, so I'm doing my best to deliver. This quick, very recent vid is from the morning of a shoot for a global ad campaign. Contracts and lawyers make it so I can't show any details, but I thought there's plenty to take away from the general buzz that's going on. Sort of fun. I know this is super lo-fi, but we're all crazy busy, so you're getting... read more ›
Jul
15
I haven't shot an image for stock photography in nearly 5 years. And I don't plan on doing it any time soon. That sentiment governs how I've felt about that part of the industry for some time now. That's not to say there's not some money to be made - after all, I still collect checks from old work and outtakes that would be rotting on my server - however I decided long ago not... read more ›
