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New Directions

May 28th, 2010

Photo Finishing EnvelopeCourtesy of Vision Archive

Remember when you printed out snapshots?  How often do you print out your digital images, not often is my guess. Gone is the era of the personal snap shot album. Its all online now.

Do I have permission to do excerpt this article? Not too sure, but here is content that caught my eye

An Ad Engine to Put ‘Mad Men’ Out of Business By ANNE EISENBERG Published: May 21, 2010

NYTIMES So when they charge for content I won’t complain. We have a subscription for the NYTIMES, The New Yorker, New York magazine etc.

“New software called PlaceLocal builds display ads automatically, scouring the Internet for references to a neighborhood restaurant, a grocery store or another local business. Then it combines the photographs it finds with reviews, customer comments and other text into a customized online ad for the business.” How is this legal? I don’t quite understand and I need to investigate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/business/23novel.html?scp=1&sq=mad%

Link below is for one of the best article I’ve read on trends in the journalism industry. NY Times Sunday Magazine on the shifting models in print industry and journalism. “Putting a Price on Words” (amount of content goes up dramatically, length of article and pay fee going down.)

By Andrew Rice/The New York Times Sunday Magazine

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16Journalism-t.html?pagewa

“successful example is the Huffington Post, which employs 70 salaried editorial staff members and 6,000 uncompensated bloggers and recently pushed into the nation’s top 10 current-affairs Web sites.The Huffington Post generates an average of 500 items a day.

Another example from same article of Google searches driving content:  “Demand’s business model draws on the skills of thousands of freelance contributors, who pick the topics they address from an automated list of more than 200,000 written and video assignments culled from Internet search requests.The topics are mostly geared toward answering practical questions and are posted to low-profile Web sites like eHow, or to YouTube, with which Demand has a profit-sharing agreement.”- heres the kicker: “Demand’s freelancers can make around $15 or $20per item.”

Finally here is a site that gathers new cutting edge website. thank you! However, I found a few the sites they picked to be irritating as an art buyer, lots of bells and whistles but hard to look at  – but a good source for new ideas and talent. We are now competing on a global basis in many cases.

http://www.strangefruits.nl/

and finally if you want to post your own magazine online go to calameo.com (there is a plug in for wordpress) you CAN upload PDFs:

http://en.calameo.com/help/398-what-types-of-documents-can-i-convert-

Visual Studies Workshop: Photo – Bookworks Symposium

May 24th, 2010

Image above: Courtesy  of Vision Archive. Alex (Sweetman) is heading to Rochester soon to present and attend a symposium on the photo book that is being headed by the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, NY. July 1-3, 2010. He has been growling for weeks working on the written essay that he is tackling for the event. I’ll be glad when it is done!  The lis of presenters is very impressive. It reads like a who is who of the photo book publishing industry including critical thought, collecting, & making.  Anne Tucker will be there as well Alec Soth’s CV- have you seen it? pheww! http://www.alecsoth.com/alec_soth.html I get winded just looking at it! Douglas Holleley will be attending (whom I’ve  had the pleasure of studying with) friends Jeffrey Ladd and Jason Fulford. I wish I could be there to join in, but I am organizing an event in Boulder that weekend.

Alex Sweetman teaches at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he has helped assemble one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of 19th and 20th century photography books in the world. In 1985 he mounted the first comprehensive exhibition of photography books, “Photographic Book to Photobookwork,” nearly 400 books and 100 photographs at the California Museum of Photography.

http://www.vsw.org/Symposium/presenters.php

On the website I came across two individuals who are giving workshops on book making. Looking  at their work makes me realize I have only touched on the possibilities with the medium.

Scott McCarney will be doing an “Artist–Conceived Books for Digital Production” June 28-29, for $225, http://scottmccarneyvisualbooks.com/Pages/biography.html

Douglas Holleley is giving a “A Book of Photos or a Photo–bookwork?” workshop, June 30 for a steal of $175. Here is Douglas’s website and link to his new book: Surviving Academia: “now titled” Studying Photography: A Survival Guide for all of you trying to sweat through your MFA thesis, here is your ticket.

http://clarellen.com/photoediting.html

Body Flow: Sunday May 23

May 23rd, 2010

Today I bought a used bike from http://www.bouldersportsrecycler.com/ $85 bucks sweet! I have wheels now, no excuses!

Look briefly at this book online: Brown, Judith K. (1963). A Cross-Cultural Study of Female Initiation Rites. American Anthropologist 65:837-53.

Came across this spell: Carrying a cat whisker in the glove box of the car protects against car theft, troubles, accidents and traffic tickets.

Came across this quote: “I’m a Christian Pagan Buddhist Goddess worshiper, but I’m also a feminist. I think the ultimate glass ceiling is God.” –Cybil Shepard http://www.celebitchy.com/

Looked up the definition of strange fruit on Wikipedia. It is the title of Billie Holiday’s song about racism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Fruit

Looked at TDA’s website. Smart folks who designed Bliss ice cream packaging http://www.tdaadvertising.com/: Saw an ad on Denver Egotist that they are looking for a mid level graphic designer.

Gave Nancy (Fashion Marketing) Loopy Designs http://www.loopydesign.com/ A recommendation on LinkedIn.

I went to a great “Flow” class at 24 Hour Fitness by Cathy 11AM. http://mystore.24hourfitness.com there was some new thing about a body bug that helps people loose weight? Fat eating bug anyone?

On Friday I celebrated two years of marriage with my husband, Alex Sweetman by purchasing Pink Daisies at LUCKIES on Broadway and Bliss Ice Cream, Ginger/Vanilla http://blissorganic.com/ yummy, both companies are based in Boulder, CO my new hometown.

wild west shrinking print

May 21st, 2010

I got a call from a photographer today searching for some help with all the stock that he has sitting around but not a way to sell it. I thought that this stock model might be an idea he could run with. Its a small group of photographers have banded together with similar high end nature content – with a search option. It is headed up with David Doubllet, Thomas Mangelsen, and Art Wolfe. http://www.wildphotography.com/ (don’t forget the watermark)

The only way I can see how to survive is to gain an audience. An online magazine devoted to your average joe who loves snow. If the consumer supplies the targeted content – (photos of their lifestyle), then the advertisers follow. I found at ForbesLife Mountain Time magazine our photo contest where we gave away a prize -was very popular. The company that sells the product and the consumer both liked this. I think in the future, you need editors to shape things, but Its not about being exclusive anymore, its about being inclusive building communities online. You can have a pro section – that is where your images live. Can you imagine a community of people online in magazine form that create their own content in real time. This company seems to have it figured out. http://www.backcountry.com/

Find someone who sells online ad’s – if you understand that business then you will understand the web. Read this article for some idea of what happening: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16Journalism-t.html?ref=magazine

Another source for info: http://blog.livebooks.com

Good luck -and let’s stay in touch. Paula Gillen

If at first you don’t succeed you should: The Quiz

May 7th, 2010

Statement: Exposure is a combination of intensity of light, length of time (shutter) and the opening of the aperture (F Stop)

Questions: A doubling or halving of light happens when you change from one (f-stop) to the next. To open up one stop from F4, you would set your lens F-stop at?

To close down one stop –if you start at F11  You would set your lens at what F-Stop?

The ISO refers to the speed of the film – its sensitivity to light.  The grain of the film (the visibility of the silver halide crystals) increases as you go (up or down) in film speed.

A fast film (ISO 400) would come in handy when you are shooting in dim light or bright light?

A faster ISO film would assist you in stopping or blurring action?

There is nothing wrong with seeing the grain of your film in your prints. True or False

ISO rating that you see on your film refers to the International Organization for Standardization or the International Security Offenders? So why is it ISO and not IOS?

If ISO 100 film is half as fast as ISO 200 film, then ISO 400 film is twice as fast as ISO ________ film.

Film has an ________________ date stamped on the package.

It is a good idea to store your film in a hot car. True or False

Film is light sensitive. Is it a smart idea to load your film in very bright light or in shade? You would choose: bright light or open shade

35 mm film is the size film most commonly used for still photography and motion pictures. The common “full-frame” image size is 24×36 mm. 35mm film was first introduced in (1892 or 1930) by Thomas Edison. Pick one date -1892 or 1930

The first compact and simple camera was the Brownie, made by Eastman Kodak- in 1900, it sold over 150,00 copies and cost $1. The Brownie 127 had millions of sales between 1952-67.  The affordable price of the Brownie camera and its commercial prints also know as snap shots secured the place of photography into the hearts and minds of a large segment of society. Because it is affordable and relatively easy for the amateur to master – photography is known as a very democratic, communist or socialist art form?

Henri Cartier-Bresson used what brand of camera that was introduced to the public by a German company in 1932?

a. He was known for the making images that captured the indecisive or the decisive moment?

b. He is considered to be the father or uncle of modern photojournalism.

As of (1990 or 2009), Flickr or Facebook claims to host more than 4 billion images. Pick one date.

Flickr offers these types of accounts: Free – Pro – Steal Me (Choose two)

Free account users are allowed to upload 100 MB of images a month and 2 videos. True or False

The light meters in your 35mm cameras what type of devices?

The combination of f-stops and shutter speeds to correctly expose your film that your light meters suggests gives you an average of lights and darks known as ______________.

Light travels in straight or bendy lines?

RGB refers to which colors used to form an image on your computer monitor and TV’s?

1.

2.

3.

Is RGB light subtractive or additive process?

CMYK refers to the colors of inks found inside your EPSON inkjet printer and as well the inks used to print an image in magazine page. Please list those colors and tell me is the process subtractive or additive?

The type of light created on an overcast or cloudy day is low contrast or high contrast?

The type of light that we see on a cloudy day is diffused or direct?

The best time to shoot film in Colorado is on a bright sunny day – between 10AM and 2pm. True or False

The dial filters in your enlargers activate RC Illford Multi grade paper. If you start at 3 as a normal starting point -to obtain lower contrast you would use: what number filters? To raise the contrast of a print you would use what filter?

Good things to purchase if you are going to take a lot of photographs in Colorado are the following:

1. a lens shade

2. an easy chair

3. a UV filter to protect your lens

4. an SUV

5. a polarizing filter

6. neutral density filters

To understand how you are developing your vision as a photographer and to keep track of your digital images – it is important to learn about digital management of images, get a external hard drive back up, and get in the habit of making contact sheets and prints of your images. True or False.

When developing film – consistency and cleanliness is:

a. bloody waste of time

b. good idea and habit to get into

If you make a contact sheet and that contact sheet looks good at Filter 3, F8 at 25 seconds you can use this same time to make an enlargement from one of those negatives? True or False

To make an enlargement you need to make a test strip that judges the amount of time needed to correctly expose that one particular negative. The common test strip created to judge the correct exposure time uses increments of:

5 seconds, 20 seconds, or 1 min segments.  Pick one.

To make a good print, it helps to first get the density correct, and then tweak the contrast. True or False

To obtain shallow depth of field you would set your aperture to which of these two f-stops? F 16 or F2.8

To obtain extensive depth of field you set your aperture to which of these two f-stops? F 2 or F11

If you are shooting a subject that is backlit, it might be a good idea to open or close your lens by one f-stop above what the camera meter’s suggests.

Circle one:  open or close.

If you are shooting a subject with bright sun, it is a good idea to pose that person so the sun is behind their back or is it better to have the sun behind your back?

If at first you don’t succeed you should

  1. give up
  2. keep trying
  3. practice
  4. get an attorney

You are shooting a black cat against a black cloth, the averaging devices in your camera is programmed to give you middle grey. To bracket your film and give it less exposure, so your cat is not overexposed or middle grey, you would close down one or two stops?

Your meter tells you to shoot the black cat at 1/60 at F5.6, to give the film one stop less light you would close down to F _____, to give the film two stops less light you would close down to F ____?

Vernacular Photography

March 17th, 2010


Here are a few images pulled from a snap shot album of a couple's trip to Hawaii in 1971. Even though the photographs are not stunning compositions, they have an innocent appeal and sincerity to them. They were important mementoes to the couple who took them. I like the fact that photography is very democratic, its relatively easy to do, so lots of people use the medium to record their lives and love ones. I imagine their photographic process and routine is one where he picks up the camera and photographs her, she then picks up the camera and photographs him - sometimes in funny poses, or when they are not aware of being photographed. Innocent good fun, making good use of the camera's ability to record the bare facts. The photos are so humble, so I find them touching in a funny way.

Models: props to project desire

March 11th, 2010

In general – if you use models, there has to be an end reason as to why they are in your portfolio. Models are props in which to hang or place a product on, they are a fantasy that is helping you sell something to the viewer. If you take a portrait of a “model” and have them look into the camera somehow it doesn’t come off as real, as they are not “projecting” themselves, but they are “projecting” being models! Somehow the viewer can pick up on that.

Models are used by advertisers as a “handsome” prop to hang products on to: such as makeup, handbags, sunglasses, clothing, rings, etc. They are a blank slate that you bend to your will; to make a product look good, or to create a fantasy/mood for the camera. That is why I press photographers to include – a product, or an activity when using models. Too many shots of models looking into the camera (like a portrait) doesn’t do you much good $ work wise, except to get you more work shooting images for model portfolios and maybe some portrait work with regular people.

Corporate advertising is often about selling a mood – That is why consultant push photographers towards shooting two people or groups of people – rather than shooting one model. If you get two or three people together in an environment or in a studio, and can get that group interacting – this is when some interaction/synergy builds – and can be captured by the photographer. This “real moment” often doesn’t look stiff – but alive – as there was something actually moving/going on in front of the camera. Avedon was the master of that – in his early fashion work. In general for lifestyle work: get the models looking at each other –and less at you – ie: the lens.

When you are shooting for lifestyle, you have to think in advance about the fantasy that the viewer is buying into: Is about the clothes, (status/luxury), a sexy mood (perfume), diamonds rings (love), great beach shot (vacation/travel) – Can you define the moment in advance before the shoot? So for a “romance” moment, let the male model give the female model a real ring, or have them share and look at a snapshot of themselves. Using models/actors – you direct them to act out or go towards ” an
emotion” – and you as the photographer nail/capture that moment. Lots of moments can be staged for the camera, such as: birthday’s, graduation, business man/global communication, mental and physical health, etc. Your job as the photographer is create an intimate mood for the camera -that the viewer experiences when viewing your images. If you can pull this off – you will then (hopefully) be hired by a client, to build images with a similar intimacy/fantasy/desire – about their product. These images are the types of images useful for the advertisers as they achieve their end goal — of creating “desire” for their products.