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
27
Jul
05
About 18 months ago, I wrote about Chris Anderson's 'Free' in the context of the ever-evolving landscape of photography, video, and their relation to new media. In today's New Yorker Magazine, Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point,Blink,and Outliers,) offers some cogent analysis and great counterpoints to Anderson's claims that are well worth the read: "...And there’s plenty of other information out there that has chosen to run in the opposite direction from Free. The... read more ›
Jul
01
I was recently invited to speak to the Art Director's Club of Denver and the ASMP about creativity, and subsequently delivered that keynote two weeks ago. This video is a recording of that talk. Hope it strikes a chord with you.I had a blast connecting with some of the creative community in Denver/Boulder while I was in town, and it was also a great honor to judge your annual advertising awards show with some rather... read more ›
Jun
29
Two French students were awarded the annual Grand Prix du Photoreportage Etudiant last week to honor a photographic story that presented images documenting the precarious lives of students today and the things they must do in order to survive and succeed.The only catch is that the entire story was a fake.And during the award ceremony, the two "winners"--Guillaume Chauvin and Remi Huberr, art students at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Strasbourg--instead of claiming... read more ›
Jun
24
Jeff Goodby, pilot of the mighty Goodby, Silverstein & Partners advertising agency has rightly said of the advertising industry: "We've created a system that rewards work that is increasingly unknown to anyone outside the business. We have become connoisseurs of esoterica. And in the process, we're becoming more about us, and less about changing the world. We are becoming irrelevant award-chasers. Sure, some of the best things we make nowadays are internet experiences with necessarily... read more ›
Jun
23
Sorry, someone had to say it.Your photos are predictable. Your insights are recycled. You don't bring surprise with you when you come back from working on location.That's why people are ignoring you.Which used to be fine, because people used to not be able to find other photographers. You could just sit back on your past work, or your agent, or your portfolio. But that half-price sale on attention is now over.The only path left is... read more ›
Jun
22
I missed this when it came out last month, but I'm smitten with the concept and decided it must be shared. Regardless of whether you like the track or not... Reminds us why art and new media is so freaking cool. From The Future of Media: "The band set up their music equipment, from microphones to drum kit, in eighty different locations, including buses and what appear to be taxi cabs, and then requested... read more ›
Jun
14
One of my favorites, the legendary street artist, Banksy, has "secretly" taken over the city museum in his hometown of Bristol. In a rare statement, Bansky said: "The people in Bristol have always been very good to me - I decided the best way to show my appreciation was by putting a bunch of old toilets and some live chicken nuggets in their museum...This is the first show I’ve ever done where taxpayers’ money... read more ›
Jun
11
In any discipline, it's tough to be first. The first guy to make a battery powered car, the first first gal to wear combat boots with a babydoll dress, or the first guy to eat 50 hotdogs in 10 minutes. People may laugh at you. They might even point and laugh. In the world of creativity, it's especially tough. Not physically hard, but emotionally hard; hard to have the cajones to lay it out... read more ›
Jun
11
If you're a photographer, filmmaker, CD or AD and interested in advertising work, and/or if you've enjoyed Doug Pray's previous documentary films Hype!(about Seattle Grunge) or Scratch (about DJ Culture), you'll want to check out his new one, Art & Copy.A synopsis: "ART & COPY reveals the stories behind and the personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of our time and their campaigns, including Lee Clow (Apple Computer 1984, and... read more ›
