Category: photography

Welcome to the neighborhood!

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Not sure if you all remember when we moved a while back, and our first day in, the next door neighbors called Animal Control because our dog was following us in and out of the house as we unloaded.  It took some talking, negotiating and convincing, but we did finagle a deal so that the dog wouldn’t be hauled off to doggie jail.  It was not the kind of welcome we were looking for.  Suffice to say, the lack of any real friendly neighbors or sense of community was kind of a motivating factor in our desire to find new digs.

So, when we found this place, the reception we would get was one thing we were a little curious about.  Moving day was Friday.  Saturday we re-assembled furniture (beds, sofas, TV’s, half the computer setup, etc.) and Sunday we started unpacking boxes.  In the midst of our unpacking, our agent stopped by with a card, a planter of tulips, and a welcome mat (very generous given her commission on both properties).  Well, maybe not the best “thanks for your business” gift relative to monies spent, but still a nice gesture.  When we did finally meet our next door neighbor, this was the welcome we got:

Apple Pie

And they say a sense of community is disappearing!  We’ll be hard-pressed to move again…

The Ides of April

Jason2 Comments

Well, it’s not really the ides of April, more the Ides of Closing.  Yup, us nomads are at it again – we just can’t seem to settle down.  Our cross-country move into an apartment for 6 months, then another move into our current house for two years was not enough.  Nope, we got the itch again.  Funny how the moving itch is coincidentally happening within a week of our seven year anniversary.  Isn’t that supposed to be the itch?  Oh well, I’ll take this itch over the alternative.  So, with this being closing date and all, I’ve clearly got a lot on the plate today and throughout the remainder of the week.

Believe it or not though, I’ve got a couple really good posts lined up over the next few days (amazing what happens to your content when you plan ahead, eh? 🙂 )  For today, I am bringing back the “Shout outs” theme from the previous months Flickr Group contributions.  These are just a sampling from the entire month of March to the group pool, and have nothing to do with the contests.  Just some images that I thought deserved a little recognition…so, without further ado, here’s that random sampling.  Thanks to all who have so generously shared their images and who continue to do so – it’s awesome to enjoy all the talent that is out there!

Flickr March

Flickr March

Flickr March

Flickr March

Flickr March

Flickr March

Flickr March

Flickr March

I think I got the order right, but if I cross-referenced these wrong after download, please let me know.  Honors this month go respectively to the following people:

  • Grey Hamster
  • Josh Cohen
  • KaleidoscopePhotos
  • karensk7
  • KBTImages
  • NZSnapper
  • Sue90ca
  • and whalenmdw

Thanks to them especially for their creative, inspiring and thoughtful contributions!  Everyone’s were really great so it was even hard to narrow it down to a select few here too.  Keep on sharing and next month, we’ll see which ones end up on the blog.  Stop over to their respective Flickr threads and give them some praise for their excellent work!

Speaking of months – don’t forget there’s not much time left in April to enter the Balance themed contest to win an Expo Disc from the generous folks over at Expo Imaging!  Entries are taken until midnight April 30th, MDT (GMT-7).  Good luck and don’t forget to enter your images in the thread here.

Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for more news and updates from the LDP/CB corner of the photo world! 🙂

*****

News Flash:  There’s something new abuzz in the iTunes store!

Must Read – Rangefinder Magazine

Jason6 Comments

We all have our periodicals that we subscribe to, and while differences of opinion abound about which ones are the “best” ones out there, there is always good content available.  One that I subscribe to is “Rangefinder Magazine”, which has great reads on up and coming artists, good food for thought, and other items of interest on a regular basis.  Their most recent issue (April 2010), had an article that also boils down well for blog posting, so today, a nod goes out to Rangefinder magazine, particularly Alice B. Miller for the article:

Marketing Mojo:

12 Ways to Land Your Next Magazine Assignment

Here she looks at things to do and not to do when trying to stay current in the ever-demanding world of “publish or perish” in periodicals and online print circles.  The entire article I would classify as a “must read”, but for here, the bullet points suffice.  Enjoy!

  1. Stay Current on World Events
  2. Pursue Your Own Projects
  3. Don’t become a prisoner of your style
  4. Look the Other Way
  5. Let the Freedom Begin
  6. Stay Positive in Slow TImes
  7. Stay Fresh, New, Vital
  8. Shake off the Doldrums
  9. Focus on Stories Close to You
  10. Learn How Editors Want Material Submitted
  11. Be Interactive and Engaging With Clients
  12. Plan Ahead

As you can tell, there’s more here than just the bullet points, and thankfully, Rangefinder also keeps current issues available online for easy viewing, so head on over there to enjoy the full length article.  Surely though, there’s more content out there that others know about too, so feel free to share links to either your own work, or other articles of interest in the comments.  What magazines do you like?  Any particularly useful articles?  Sound off to spread the word!  Thanks for stopping in and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

The Perils of Polarizers

Jason2 Comments

Happy Monday all!  My apologies at the absence on Friday – it seems some gremlins absconded with all my time on Thursday, so in the absence of any halfway decent content, decided to make it a legitimate “no blog” day heading into the weekend.  But, a new week is here, and I’ve got a cool topic to cover briefly with you…that being:

Polarizing Filters

Polarizing filters can be a godsend – they can really bring out blues in a sky, or minimize reflections in windows, and can really help to improve the quality of your work.  At the same time, polarizers can also be very tricky to use.  On my recent trip to Arizona (I shot a weekend with Rich Charpentier of The Airstream Chronicles), there were many opportunities to bring out the gorgeous blue sky, and contrast it with the amazing colors in the orange rocks that the American Southwest is known for.

The problem with polarizers is that the blue that is brought out is not a consistent blue – it usually gets stronger as you move toward the light source.  So, when you go to stitch things together, the results can be less than satisfactory with evident banding and shifts on hue of the blue skies.  Take a look at the example below to see what I am talking about regarding the banding…

Pano

See how the sky has blues that aren’t consistent?  It’s because I did not rotate the filter to accommodate the shift in blues as I shot across the scene.

Another problem is kind of hinted at above – what if you have a sky where you want the blue to pop, but the foreground includes a water reflection that is an integral part of your composition?  The answer here is to expose both with, and without the polarizing effect, and then blend together the two shots later in post production.  Masking off parts of images is much easier to deal with than the polarizing effect in the sky, but it’s a pitfall of panorama photography to be aware of.

As it happened, later on that day I was capturing another scene where there was no sky, so it was a non-issue.  Here, the key is to remember to spin your filter so that the reflection does reveal itself, otherwise you will think you are doing something severely wrong when you can see the reflection with your eye, but not through the lens.  I probably spent a good five minutes trying to change the angle of view before I realized it was just a quick spin of the filter to reveal the reflection below me…

Reflections in White Pocket

As, as you can see, there are benefits to polarizers and there are also downsides to consider as well.  When used correctly, they can really add to the character of an image.  For those looking at specific recommendations, here are the ones in my gear bag:

But enough about my thoughts on polarizing filters – what about you?  Do you think they are legitimate tools to alter a scene?  What about reproducing the effect in post production?  Which ones do you use?  Do you have a favorite or do you prefer all photography “au naturale”?  Sound off in the comments or via email!

Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow for more photography goodness!

Cameras at Ten Paces…

Jason4 Comments

If you think about it, cameras often share terminology with them…we go out to “shoot”.  We aim, we fire, and our shutter release is often analogous to a trigger not only in what it does, but in the proper technique (slow and steady as you exhale).  So, when I read recently about a camera holster, it kind of made sense.  The entire system seems kind of cool, and they claim it’s designed for “even the heaviest of professional grade camera gear”.  In a line of work where gear is often just off-the-charts expensive, I was surprised to find the Spider Holster system in its entirety happily priced at just a tad bit over $100 ($109.99 plus shipping).

They’ve got some interesting videos and product shots on YouTube and their website, so it might be something worth considering if you are interested in eschewing the traditional camera bags, shoulder straps, neck straps, and other more typical carrying scenarios.  What I liked is that it takes the pin that attaches it to your belt and moves it off center so you can easily and comfortably rotate between shooting in portrait or landscape mode.  It also looks cool that the setup allows for use of just a regular belt that you would normally already have (although they do recommend that you use their belt for the heavier gear…)  Here’s a few of their product demos embedded here…

It does have almost a cowboy look and feel to it, and for the street photographer or serious photo walker it could be very useful, regardless of whether you feel like John Wayne or Dirty Harry.  Consider it a lightweight approach also if you are out scouting new locations to shoot.  Another feature that I like is that it also seems pretty able to keep your gear from falling from looking at the other videos of people running with the belt, going up and down stairs, and even snowboarding with it.

All in all, it seems kinda cool, and I’d say it’d be something to look into  as the summer months approach if you want to be “light and mobile”.  (This would have been very handy when in White Pocket, AZ).  Their company website is at www.spiderholster.com if you are interested in learning more about them.  The only question that really remains to be asked on this gear is:

Do ya feel lucky?

(Okay, lame, but it just had to be said!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!)

A Primer on Licensing Your Work

Jason1 Comment

With so many people likely covering the CS5 launch event later today (http://cs5launch.adobe.com/), I thought I’d take a different tack on things, since the launch really is just talking about when it will be available.  (In other words, everything you hear today will be nothing more than hype and PR excitement.  Nothing to really sink your teeth into…except pricing, which has already been leaked):

  • CS5 Regular Price is $699 for the full version and $149 for the upgrade…
  • CS5 Extended Pric is $999 and $349 respectively…

So, for something to sink your teeth into – here’s the latest short of an larger article I am working on that covers the exciting, heart-stopping, living on the edge, never-say-die, run ’til you drop matter of…

Photography Licensing

Okay, so maybe it’s not that exciting, but think about licensing for a minute.  There are so many terms bandied about when it comes to licensing and usage, fees and rights, that it can be very difficult to navigate the jungle of not only what to charge, but which licensing approach will work best for you and your style of work.  Well, fear not fellow photogs!  Today, I’m going to take a look at some of the basic concepts and  terminology of licensing.  While this is not legal advice, consider it a resource that you can use as a springboard or basis for understanding.

First off, let’s get a handle on what exactly the term “licensing” means.  Licensing (in a very general sense) means that you are giving permission to print your work.  Whether that permission is granted to an individual or a company can define particular licensing options for you, in the end, it’s permission to re-print or re-use your work that licensing grants the buyer.  (Yes, this means you as the photographer are the seller!)  Also, as a general rule, if the buyer wants to use your work a lot (say National Geographic wants to print it in their magazine, on their website, and include in videos and email flyers) then you can usually command a higher price than someone who just wants to buy a single print of your work (smaller usage).  So, more use equates to a higher fee.

Now that we know what licensing is, and how pricing in general is structured, let’s take a look at some of the more common forms of licensing that you will see.  There are several categories of licensing and it can get confusing when you start to cross categories, so let’s talk about categories first, so we can distinguish all the elements involved.  The first categorization generally used is between  commercial use and non-commercial use.  Other categorizations include Rights Managed and Royalty Free.  Before delving into details on other types of licensing available, let’s cover briefly what each of these means.

Commercial Licensing

Commercial licensing means that whoever is purchasing wants to turn around and make money off your images.  They are likely going to redistribute usually in the form of print publications like magazines, corporate papers (like annual reports, brochures, and other types of media that is distributed to a decent sized audience like their stockholders, prospective clients, etc.).  As a general rule of thumb, the wider the distribution (more copies of your pictures are being printed/used), the higher the fee for usage.

Non-Commercial Licensing

Conversely, a non-commercial usage generally means that the use is not going to be generating any money for the person/company that is buying the license.  It also means that the image purchase will not be redistributed elsewhere and this is usually part of the terms of the license.  Here, a good example would be a medical office buying an image to hang on their wall, a church making a flyer, or some other instance like that.  Since this is a much narrower distribution (a.k.a. usage), the fee will not be as high as it would for commercial work.

If you think  that was a lot of reading, there’s so much more!  Licensing can be customized for pretty much any use by an attorney!  You can cross any of these and get a literal jungle of licensing protocols, including others like First Use, One Time Use, and much more!  Attorneys are available that specialize in licensing and copyright.  If you really want to get into the nitty gritty talk with them!  This is just a beginning dialog…

Speaking of dialogs – got any stories of licensing or copyright that helped save your bacon?  I’ve read a few in the NAPP forums, and from several other outlets too.  Feel free to share your own thoughts and questions in the comments or via email!  Who knows – the podcast that’s coming out soon may feature a question or two! 🙂

In the meantime, keep on shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

What's In Your Backyard?

Jason5 Comments

Remember the interview I did on a podcast a while back with Andie Smith?  One of the things we talked about was that you don’t really have to travel a whole lot to be a travel photographer – that sometimes your best shots are in your own area.  Well, a local Denver magazine, 5280 Photo, just put out an article in their most recent issue that talks about 52 things to do in Colorful Colorado this year.  Naturally, many are photogenic too.  So, for a dose of inspiration, don’t forget to look at what’s around you! Continue reading “What's In Your Backyard?” →

White Pocket, AZ

Jason5 Comments

Many of you have written in, asking when I am going to post some of the photos taken from the Arizona trip over last weekend.  Wait no longer, for here are some from the trip!  Several of these are potential “portfolio” shots…still debating which ones to include and which ones to leave off.  I’ve posted them to Flickr and to NAPP with some pretty positive feedback thus far, but here’s your chance to sound off on which ones to include in the newest updates.  Let me know what you think:

#1

White Pocket, AZ

#2

#3

S Curve

#4

The Road Less Traveled

#5

Lone Tree Hill

#6

Many Lines

#7

Window to the World

#8

Colors and Lines

#9

Other Worldly

So, which are your favorites?  All, any, none?  Sound off in the comments!  Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!  Happy shooting!

Saving Money is Always Good

Jason1 Comment

In photography it’s pretty much accepted that you get what you pay for.  If you want super fast glass with pristine optics, then expect to pay for it.  Alternatively, if you’re on a budget, don’t expect apertures in the 2.8 range do bring the sharpest images.  You can also kiss things like Image Stabilization goodbye (Vibration Reduction for the Nikonian crowd).  So, yeah, we all know that photography is a field where you have to spend money.

But, this does not mean you have to spend money unnecessarily.  When there are savings out there to be had, I am all for taking advantage of such opportunities.  Many savings can come from DIY projects.  Here on the blog I’ve done a few DIY projects, not only to save money, but also to experiment.  This kind of experimentation and money saving is almost always a source of creative inspiration, and usually some decent images come out of them!

Then, there are other more obvious ways to save money.  Here I am talking about coupons and rebates.  Most vendors will offer savings periodically in the form of instant rebates, two-fers (buy one get one half off) and other gimmicks to try and get consumers to let go of a little money.  Here is where you can actually get some really good deals if you plan accordingly.  If you know that you will be upgrading your camera body every 18-24 months – then buy during rebate cycles.  The same goes for lenses, accessories, and computer equipment – although with the computer items, there are sales and rebates going on pretty much all the time, so it’s to a lesser extent there.

So, if you are planning on upgrading any photo gear in the near future – take advantage of the Canon rebates.  They are going on now and you can save a few bucks (nothing stellar, $25 on flashes, $100 on the 7D, and some savings on the 5D Mark II) on your purchases.  You might want to move soon because the deals end in early April (the 3rd I think).  After all, saving money is always a good thing!

  • Need the links for the rebates?  Go here to get all the details.
  • Got your own money savings ideas?  Share them in the comments!
  • Or tell me on Twitter!
  • Finally, today is the final day for the March Giveaway so be sure you get your images in before midnight!

Have a great weekend all, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!