Photography

How did you start the year last year?

One thing that’s fun to do in January is to look back and see how things started off the year before. It seems that on January 2 last year, I was still processing and posting photos taken in 2010.

January 1, 2011 was clear, but very cold (for me). I was quite unprepared out at Crescent Beach in Surrey, and remember scooting back to the warm car after just a couple of shots. Nothing postworthy from that trip.

However, in early December I did catch this cold shot in the Serpentine Fen. Clear, blue sky and cold blue water contrasted nicely with the water fowl resting in the Fen. The photos got processed and uploaded on January 2, so I guess they could be considered last year’s photos 😉

We haven’t had much sunny weather so far this month (year?), but the weather folks are actually predicting some blue sky over the next week. If I can push myself out the door, I might just make it up to the Harrison River or Squamish to catch the eagles as they feast on the last of the salmon.

Left Over

I found this little berry in the park at Green Timbers the other day. The red of the berry and the green of the moss really stood out from the dead leaves and logs around it.

I used the on-camera flash to give me just a little catchlight to draw attention to the berry. What do you think? Did it work?

The forest seems pretty dead at this time of year, but if you look, you’ll find patches of fungi coming to life in the rotting logs and leaves, and an occasional berry patch here and there.

I must have seen 5 or 6 different fungi, ranging from the usual conchs to jelly-like species on old logs. Actually, that might make an interesting project in the future – to photograph as many fungi in the park as I can find. But that’s another day.

Most of the berries seemed about done, but this one berry seemed to be in its prime. There’s always one, right 😉

It’s easy to lose track in these fast times, and I find that there is nothing like a slow walk in the woods to help me reconnect with nature and centre myself. It’s a nice start to the new year, and it usually results in at least a few pictures.

To License or Not

A few days ago, a photographer by the name of Trey Ratcliff (of HDR, and stuckincustoms.com fame) posted his reasons for making his work available via the Creative Commons license. If you missed that post, it’s worth a read. You can find it here on Google+.

I have to agree with a lot of what he says. By sharing, you avoid a lot of headache, and you get your work seen more than if you have it squirrelled away under pay walls. Sort of like news these days, people will just go elsewhere for their fix.

Pretty much everything I’ve learned about computing, photography and technology has been via the commons. Sure, I’ve bought books and paid for seminars and workshops, but the day to day information has come from people sharing and me soaking that up. The way I look at it, sharing my photos for personal use is one way I can give back.

I share for personal use, but if you want to use it commercially, I hope you’d contact me about payment of one form or another. That’s much like me reading someone’s blog and then purchasing his ebook or donating to the site when I can. People can also access my photography by hiring me to do some specific work, so yes, payment is part of the model.

I guess it’s like a sales funnel. People can share to start, pay when they want to do more with the work I offer, and when they want something special, they hire me to get it done.

At some point, I may even create a storefront for what I consider the very best of my work. I’m not there yet, but I can’t rule it out.

There are lots of new business models floating around now. Different strokes work for different folks, so what works for me today, may not work for others. That’s what makes it so exciting these days – there is lots of room to experiment and try new things. Having been a scientist in another life, I like that.

A Couple of Links for a Tuesday

Not sure if I’ll make this a regular feature, but for now….

Among the many websites I visit every day or so, there is an ever evolving core that I don’t want to miss. I was reminded about this today when I visited these two links. I hope you find them as useful as I do.

Photoextract.com

Daily collections of some of the best photos showing up at Google Plus, provided via Jarek Kilmek, Editor of PhotoExtract Magazine. If you don’t have the time to visit and see the photography on G+ directly, this is a great alternative to get a feel for some of the talent there.

It is truly amazing how photography has taken off on Google’s social network. People are posting photos, talking about issues and meeting each other in ‘hangouts’ almost daily.

chasejarvis.com

Create, share, sustain. That’s how he drives his business. Chase Jarvis attracts clients by putting great, edgy, personal stuff out there almost daily. The ‘cjlive‘ portion of his site offers meaty interviews with talented photographers, designers, business folks and more.

Thanks for the inspiration guys.

Another bag?

Yep, a Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home to be exact. Picked it up today at Broadway Camera in Central City Mall in Surrey.

I’ve been using a Lowepro Inverse 200 as a walk around bag for some time now. It works well, but a) it’s a stretch to get my D3S in it, b) it won’t fit an SB 900 flash on end and c) well, it looks like a belt pack bag, which it is.

I have the 7 Million Dollar Home and I love it. It carries a ton of stuff, but that’s the rub for a walk around bag. It ends up weighing a ton, because you keep filling it up! I do like it though for professional gigs. It’s smart looking and I can get most of what I need in one bag.

The 6 Million Dollar version is just a bit smaller and it looks like a messenger bag as well. It will hold the D3S and the SB900 if I need them, and it’s tidier than a belt pack.

So, the walk around kit now consists of a Nikon D700, an SB 800 flash, a 28-300mm 3.5-5.6 lens and a 60mm 2.8 micro lens, along with an assortment of cards, cloths, etc. all neatly packed in the Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home bag.

Can’t wait to try it out tomorrow.

Pimp the work

I watched a live stream interview today from photographer Chase Jarvis, where he had some discussion with Creative Coach Allegra Wilde about photography portfolios, or The Book that photographers present to potential clients. The conversation was about photography, but some of the ideas have to do with other businesses too.

3 short takeways:

1. The subject of a photo is less important than the emotion or story that the photo provides the viewer.

We also hear this about other products and services; people don’t want to read a book so much as they want to be entertained; many people buy Apple products for the ‘cool factor’, not the tech specs. The bottom line is that we want people to react in a positive way to what we do, and a good story helps them do that.

2. If you are trying to shoot the kind of photos that are selling, how are you going to differentiate yourself from all the hundreds or thousands of others doing the same?

So true, especially when your product is approaching commodity status. These days we differentiate our products and services through our voice, or the personal touch we put on them. Shoot (or do) what you love and the money will follow (or so they say ;-).

3. Wilde suggests: How can creative work have a target market? Creative work is pretty much subjective work and you never know just who is going to like it. Better to shoot or write what you love and market the hell out of it. The right clients will find you.

This is an interesting contradiction to the usual marketing wisdom, but it could very well be true. Everyone won’t want, need or even like what you create, so your job is to find those that do and pamper them as much as you can. As Jarvis says: Shoot what you love; pimp the work; repeat.

Jarvis does some amazing things, and it’s worth following his work. Just a warning…you’ll wonder where he finds the energy to do all the stuff he does. Good stuff.

Slowing Down is Good

Sometimes it’s good to just slow down and take a look around you.

The other day at Green Timbers Park, I was walking across a bridge on my way back to the car, when I decided to stop and peer into the creek below.

For most of the summer, the creeks are pretty dry, but with the winter rains, they generally have at least a bit of water. There were a couple of spots that were intriguing, but this one really caught my eye.

I just loved how the blue sky reflected with the tree trunks in this pool of seemingly quiet water.

Made my day.

The Grove

A week or so ago, we had a nice clear, windy day, so I grabbed the D700 and headed out for a short photo walk at Green Timbers Park. I ended up spending about 4 hours traipsing around the park. as well as at the beaches at Crescent Beach and White Rock. It turned out to be a great day for beach pics, and I’ll post more of the days shots soon.

One kind of photo that I’ve been trying to get is one of a nice grove of trees. I’ve seen some that are black and white that look great, as well as many that look good in colour. I haven’t been able to match those yet.

This is my best so far. I think having a bit of blue sky poking though from the back of the scene helps give it a bit of depth. I might process this again using Nik’s Silver Effects Pro, just to see what it looks like in black and white.

Gradually catching up with the processing. Just a couple more outings to go and I’ll be current. Yay.

Most Viewed Flickr Photo

There aren’t a lot of folks frequenting my Flickr photo stream, but there does seem to be a few. This photo is the most viewed of them all so far.

It was taken in October 2010 on the west side of the current Surrey City Hall. Just off the parking lot, there is a cement wall facing south that’s covered in ivy. It gets really colourful in the fall.

I used my Nikon D3S with a 24-120 f4 lens. It’s a relatively new lens in Nikon’s line up, and I actually bought it to use for events. It has a good focal range for covering most of the activity you’ll find at a business event.

Now that I’m photographing fewer events, I’m not using it as much as I should. While it isn’t the best lens for wildlife, apparently it does an acceptable job with nature photographs too. Of course for nature photos, just being there at the right time is half the battle.

Seasonal Reflections

There won’t be too many colourful leaves left on the trees after the windstorm tonight on the south coast of BC. The leaves have been getting more and more sparse over the last couple of weeks and only a few die-hard trees remain in full colour.

Thought I’d put up a photo to brighten the day. it was taken earlier this month around Deas Island Park. That was one colourful day.