h2meyer.com photog blog

PhotoShelter Collection Widget

2008-05-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I would throw out a bit of eye candy today in the way of slideshow of my images that are part of the PhotoShelter Collection. As posted previously, PhotoShelter is looking to shake up the world of stock photography by putting more control, and more money back into the hands of the photographers. Can't find fault with that! Now if only some national magazine with deep pockets would actually buy something... enjoy!

*hint: if you want more info on the photo, rolling your cursor over the image will bring up part of the caption. You can also click on the image to get more details, though you may have to enable pop-up windows.

Algonquin Long Table Party

2008-05-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

My very good friends Albert & Maureen host a grand dinner party a couple times a year, each with an inspired theme. My favorite part, aside from seeing great friends and meeting new people is definitely the "party piece" performed by each guest. It can be a song, poem, reading, or some other talent that is shared with the group. While this may sound terrifying, even the shy folks put on an inspired performance. I took along my camera for the most recent party, which had a theme based on the Algonquin Round Table of Dorothy Parker fame. You can view the gallery on my PhotoShelter Archive.

Green web hosting?

2008-04-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, in my effort to think up new ways to make my business effort greener, it occurred to me today to look into finding a green web host. Much to my delight there were several to choose from, each offering various incentives like free software, access to sustainable marketing guides/libraries, planting trees for new customers, multiple/unlimited domains, etc. My favorite after reading through all the options is ThinkHost and I will now be referring anyone who asks to them. I will likewise be moving my own sites to ThinkHost as they come up for renewal. And better still, I can put them all on the same hosting account. Yay!

Perito Moreno Glacier

2008-04-11T09:59:00.001-07:00

A massive chunk of ice calves from the face of the Perito Moreno Glacier in Patagonia. One of the few advancing glaciers in the world, the Perito Moreno creeps forward at a pace of around 2-3 meters per day.

Tis the season...

2008-04-09T09:12:00.001-07:00

There's a lot of truth in this comic for most independent photographers... I know I didn't fully anticipate how expensive this would get. I suppose when it was just my "hobby", I didn't have the need to keep track of how much money I spent on equipment, software, computers, etc. But now it's a requirement. I only have one word: ouch. So now I need to really focus on building a business, getting work more consistently, and yes, marketing myself.

I'm not 100% sure what the best approach is, so I'm throwing all kinds of stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. I think the first thing I need to do is find a mentor or two, second is do a LOT more networking. And I need to revamp my website to start driving more traffic this way.

Shooting tethered with Aperture 2.0

2008-03-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to play with Aperture 2.0's ability to shoot tethered. Not really wanting to take photos of myself or my less than tidy office, I called in my dog Ellis to sit for me while I fired off a few frames. She patiently sat, lied down, looked pensive, etc. while I fussed with lenses, angles, etc. Sunday will mark our 9th year together, so I offer this post in her honor.

Nikon D300, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
ƒ/4.5 | 1/40 | ISO 280

As for the software, shooting tethered worked fine--set up was very simple and intuitive. Just launch Aperture 2, plug a USB cable into the camera and computer, turn the camera on and under the "File" menu, select "Tether>Start Session". You are now ready to shoot tethered.

The transfer rates while shooting seemed a little slow, but I imagine that's to be expected given the file size [shooting RAW 14-bit]. I was very disappointed, however, when I ended the tethered session and had Aperture crash on me. No data was lost, but if I were shooting a client session and that happened, I would have had a canary. Not sure yet if this is a repeatable issue nor have I checked the forums for other reports. Luckily, the shots are also captured on the camera's CF card, so there's always a back up. Like anything new - be it equipment, software, or new techniques, always try it out first on your own time.

New exhibition opening March 7th!

2008-02-26T08:11:00.001-08:00

I am delighted to announce my second exhibition of photography at the Morning Star Cafe. There will be an opening reception Friday, March 7th from 6-8pm. The photos in the exhibition are from my recent trip to Patagonia and capture various aspects of the wild, rugged, austere, and vast landscape. I'm very excited to be able to show the work, and hope to see you at the opening!

The Morning Star Cafe is downtown at:

510 SW Third Avenue
Portland, OR 97204
phone: 503-241-2401

View Larger Map

Around the world

2008-02-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

Flickr has a fun new feature: a map of the world on which you can check off all the countries you've visited. Here's mine:

create your own visited countries map

While I tend to think of myself as well traveled, this definitely puts into perspective how much more there is to discover. And for the geographically challenged, here's a list: Argentina, Austria , Belgium, Brasil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, Vietnam

Fresh off the plane...

2008-01-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

I just returned home yesterday after 3+ amazing and fun weeks in South America. We spent over 2 full weeks on the road exploring Patagonia with friends, and I found myself desperately deleting files from my laptop to make room for the daily average of 6 GB of new photos. Thankfully I did a full back up of my laptop before we left. Mostly in case of theft or disaster, neither of which occurred. I have a last minute photo shoot this afternoon, but hope to get some fresh images up on the website very soon.

I will also be working on a second photo exhibit for the Morning Star Cafe. Mats and various other supplies have been ordered and I am targeting an opening at the start of February. I have yet to speak to the owners about a reception, but hopefully we'll be able to put together another First Thursday opening night. Stay tuned!

PhotoShelter Collection goes live

2007-11-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

The PhotoShelter Collection officially went live to buyers on Monday morning. To the best of my knowledge, there have not been any sales as of yet, but there are over 250,000 images [and counting] that are available. I have only managed to get 52 images in... but considering I've only submitted 64 in total, I'm OK with my numbers [I definitely have room to improve, though]. This week I've been perusing the collection trying to get a better feel for what the editors want to see, and then digging through my archives accordingly. I've also decided to stop submitting uncompressed TIFs, and go with high res JPGs instead. It seems many of us new to the stock world took the technical requirements a bit literally and suffered through long upload times with 29mb TIF files... you can view my contributions on my microsite. There are few new images there, and many old favorites. As always, feedback welcome!

Remodels, portraits, & logos, OH MY!

2007-11-06T09:00:00.001-08:00

It's been a busy month... In the midst of remodeling our own bathroom, I spent a day shooting professionals remodeling the bathroom of a family in need for REACH Community Development. My volunteer assignment started with a dart game at the Lucky Lab a couple months ago. We met several folks who'd just arrived in Portland for their AmeriCorps assignment, and one of them asked if I'd be willing to do some pro bono work on their behalf. Last Thursday I covered two sites, one with a new wheelchair ramp installation, the other a bathroom remodel and living room window replacement.

The crews were from Belfor and were all very courteous, accommodating, and fun. Some were more aware [and wary] of the camera than others, but that is to be expected. The bathroom job turned out to be much more involved than they had anticipated, so I just tried to stay out of the way and document their work.

Prior to that I designed a logo for Yoga for Weddings... I haven't done a lot of illustration, but I must admit I am very happy with how this turned out. I started out by sketching in my notepad, then a more refined sketch on bond paper, which I scanned and brought into Illustrator. The rest was all vectors and some transparency layering.

I'll be working on the website creative direction next...

I also did another portrait shoot, this time of a young family--our friends Andy & Amy & their son, Theo. Three people at once proved much more challenging, but there were definitely a few keepers. I did decide it was madness to attempt to do that without an assistant, though. It's much easier working one-on-one or in a documentary fashion.

Now it's back to our own remodel... Perhaps I should rename my venture "h2meyer creative"...
[last night my mother asked if I was "bored"...]

PhotoShelter Collection

2007-10-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

PhotoShelter has launched a new edited stock photography site called "The PhotoShelter Collection" and aims to shake up how stock is bought and sold in today's digital world. Among its notable qualities, they offer photographers a 70% commission, and give you the freedom to also post/sell through other means. It is free to join, but there is a pretty strict application process with a long list of requirements, and each photo is reviewed by an editor. This almost scared me away, but I submitted my application on Monday with 10 images, and found out this morning that I have been accepted as a contributing photographer. What's more, 9 of my 10 original submissions have been approved, and two of them are Editor's Choice.

I've long pondered entering the world of stock photo sales, but to be honest, have never particularly found the process or the companies all that compelling. Until PhotoShelter, that is. This is definitely a good fit in terms of content, style, attitude, and compensation. I am very happy.

It's getting easier to be green

2007-10-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

American Photo recently published "Assignment Earth: A Photographic Mission to Save the Planet". This is a series of articles including ways for photogs to embrace sustainability, (Thirteen Ways to be a Greener Photographer), and several galleries by "conservation photographers"--those who shoot with the intent of raising awareness about environmental issues.

There is also a mini feature of products that are "low impact", but with the exception of a solar panel, rechargeable batteries and recycled photo paper, they are products that would inspire "upgrade" behavior that would likely lead to more stuff ending up in a landfill somewhere. It is a slippery slope to recommend buying new products to become more "green"--sustainability is a mind set, not a product line. That said, there are times when it is simply necessary to purchase new products, and at those times, it's nice to see the market being populated with more responsible choices.

One product I've been experimenting with that didn't make the list is ViaStone. This is a tree-less paper made out of limestone. I first read about it on TreeHugger, and managed to get my hands on some earlier this year. I've only been able to try the matte finish papers, but the print quality is very nice. The finish limits its useful application, but it works well for brochures, letterhead, and the like. I'm hoping to find a more artful use for it as well, like b+w prints, for example.

The double sided business cards are microperfed, but do not separate as cleanly as some other similar products. Tiny ridges are unavoidable, and unfortunately lend a less than professional presentation.

Website updates!

2007-10-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

Made several functionality improvements to my website. Lots of new text content--an about page, contact page, and pricing guidelines. Will get fresh images up soon. In the mean time, I'll post images onto the blog... hoping to get a new one up every week. Feel free to send feedback!

trapped

2007-10-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

A honey bee is hopelessly ensnared in a pumpkin spider's web.