Two words: Thanks. Giving. For USA readers, today is a holiday where we're encouraged to take pause from our daily grind and give thanks for the myriad of wonderful things in our lives. For the international readers, I'd encourage you to join in.I'll start with the THANKS portion. I'm thankful for too many things to list here, but most of it can be wrapped into health, family, and community. The first two need no explanation.... read more ›
172 reads
Nov
22
Oct
22
Our in-house tech wizard and all around genius utility player, Dartanyon, unearthed this last week and it's been in my mental queue since then to share. Kansas State guru Michael Wesch blesses us with another smart vid on the changes in -and power of- information.Update: just popped over to BoingBoing - they just posted it there this morning too, but they wisely added this link as well to Michael Wesch's earlier short about Web... read more ›
154 reads
Aug
26
BackgroundOK. My last post was about how good verbal communication skills are important for success in commercial photography. It was a quick diatribe highlighting how communication is essential at every step of the way while making a good photograph. If you missed that post, go read it now. If you've already read it, then you know that communication is an important part of being a good photographer.So that's all good, but we're past that. More... read more ›
433 reads
Aug
21
I really enjoy connecting with aspiring, or student photographers way more than I do with old school, jaded pros. There's usually a good spirit in there, even if some of the questions or attitudes are naive - they're at least fresh and, well, bouncy. I often rap with students from The Brooks Institute, Art Center, Santa Fe Workshops, Parsons, Seattle Central, RIT, etc. Sometimes I'm mortified with the b/s they have to endure (instructors, keep... read more ›
621 reads
Aug
05
I was just reading/responding to a great discussion from an earlier post herein about buying point and shoot cameras (43 comments and rising), when an intriguing video clip I saw a while ago popped back into my head. I figured the older post with all its techi-ness and commercialism (it features nearly every brand including Nikon, Canon, Leica, Pentax, Rioch, Panasonic, Fuji et al) would juxtapose nicely against this post featuring a new, entirely different... read more ›
207 reads
Apr
29
Occasionally, when the timing works, people from my staff head off to attend or lead Photoshop or digital asset classes. This past week a representative from our office, Dartanyon, attended a Santa Fe Workshop put on by guru, Jerry Courvoisier. This post isn't about all the great things that Jerry said or did. I'm sure there were plenty of both. Instead, this post is about something Jerry said to the class that I don't agree... read more ›
201 reads
Mar
19
If you've seen the video clip advert thingie I was hired to shoot called "Rollin Street", in collaboration with Flying Spot Seattle, you might guess that it's trendy (but cool and fun!) to make a movie using still images (and video) sequenced together. Some are intentionally cut roughly (like the Rollin Street piece we did), whereas others are more smooth (requires more shots lumped together). Strangely, although the Rollin Street "story" has been here on... read more ›
135 reads
Mar
11
I'm not shy about my liking the UK graffiti artist Banksy (see my earlier post here if you missed it). All you artists out there should take a lesson from this: one of his graffiti, stencil style paintings sold last month at a Sotheby's auction for 102,000 British Pounds, or around $200,000 USD, a new high price for a piece of his art. Read the BBC article here. Why I'm bringing this up is to... read more ›
359 reads
Mar
05
I recently gave an interview and the questioner, like many others before him, asked about my busy lifestyle. "Absolutely," I said, "crazy busy all the time. Fast paced. Happy. BUT crazy busy." I'm sure you know what I mean. We're all doing everything so quickly. Saving time here, efficiency there, etc. Our lives are faster than every before. After the interview, I wondered to myself how many times I've replied with that answer when asked.... read more ›
422 reads
Feb
20
Portrait Not as View of the Soul, But as Personal Advertising?What is the relationship between portrait as collaboration and portrait as unbiased recording? If the eyes are windows to the soul, and if in advance of a portrait sitting you’ve basically had the windows washed and lined up all the furniture inside and put on your favorite clothes for an open house, are the photos that result from that sitting any less “real” than a... read more ›
836 reads