The Creativity Paradox

Nothing Stationary in Stationery

2013-05-17T14:51:00.000-05:00

Shower Invitation from Paper Muse Press

I have just arrived in New York to attend the National Stationery Show for the first time. I am looking forward to seeing all of the creative new card designs and making new friends in the stationery industry. It will be particularly interesting to hear their views on the trend toward personalized stationery.

Like many industries, there is a steady shift taking place in the stationery market. The large social expressions companies including Hallmark and American greetings are struggling to maintain their sales while smaller, more specialized companies are gaining market share. A birthday greeting on Facebook may be sufficient for casual acquaintances, but more important events are worthy of personalized cards from Tiny Prints, Minted or Paper Muse Press.

For most of the show, I will be working in a booth for Black River Imaging which is exhibiting for the first time at a stationery show. We are well known as a professional portrait lab, but more and more card companies have discovered that the printing, boutique packaging and drop shipping services that we provide for photographers are also a perfect fit for personalized stationery. Exhibiting at the National Stationery show will make it easier for these types of companies to find us.

The card samples that will be in the booth are from Paper Muse Press, a brand new social expressions company that just launched their web store this morning. It has been more than a year since Emily Walters, Rowena Raborar and Sarah Carney-Norris launched Paper Muse Press as a lifestyle blog featuring do-it-yourself decorating projects and some printable downloads. The blog posts are beautifully photographed and clearly explained.

In addition to blogging, the ladies of Paper Muse Press, and a talented team of design artists and web developers, have been working frantically behind the scenes to furnish their shop with over 3000 unique card designs that can be personalized with images, names and dates. Emily and Sarah will also be attending the National Stationery Show, so be sure to congratulate them if you run into them.

If you will be at the show in New York next week, come by booth 2888 and say hello.

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

An Unforgettable Summer Job

2013-05-09T06:07:00.000-05:00

In the summer of 1981, Carl Decker had completed his freshman year studying mechanical engineering at the University of Texas in Austin. He traveled to Houston for a summer job with a machine shop that made parts for the nearby oil fields. Many of the parts were made from castings which had to be shaped using handcrafted molds. Decker recognized the need for a method to automatically create castings from CAD drawings and began thinking of ways it could be done.

By the time he was ready to graduate, in 1984, he had developed the idea of using a beam of energy, such as a laser, to melt particles into a solid 3D object. He continued to work on the idea, developed the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process and formed the company DTM Corp which was sold to 3D Systems in 2001. SLS continues to be an important part of the 3D System product line.

Selective Laser Sintering is a 3D printing method that uses a high powered laser beam to fuse small particles of plastic, metal, ceramic or glass into a solid layer. After each layer is fused, the part is lowered, a new layer of powder is applied on top of the first layer, and the fusing process is repeated. The bulk powder in the SLS machine is preheated to nearly the fusing temperature to reduce the amount of laser energy required.

Selective Laser Sintering Diagram from Wikipedia

The most common uses for SLS technology are rapid prototyping, additive manufacturing of complex or low volume plastic parts and fabrication of casting patterns.

When the SLS process is used to manufacture metal parts, it is usually called Selective Laser Melting (SLM). The Swedish company Arcam AB has a similar system which replaces the laser beam with an electron beam and is appropriately named Electron Beam Melting (EBM). These processes are typically used to make parts for aerospace companies, personalized orthopedic implants and jewelry.

In 1993 Ely Sachs and Mike Cima of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a process that uses a powder bed like SLS, but binds the powder with glue injected using a print head similar to an inkjet printer. The process, which they named 3D Printing (3DP), was sold to Z Corp which was acquired by 3D Systems in January 2012. Z Corp created the first full color 3D printer by combining color print heads with the binder print head.

The invention of the SLS process by Carl Decker after three years of reflection on the idea he originally formed during his summer job is a great example of the need to let ideas simmer to allow the brain to connect the dots in a new and unique way.

What's cooking in the back of your mind?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Changing the World with a Glue Gun

2013-05-02T07:12:00.001-05:00

In 1989, Scott Crump wanted to make a toy frog for his two-year-old daughter. As he worked in the kitchen shaping the frog with a glue gun, he was also inventing the 3D printing process that would transform manufacturing in the 21st century. Crump formed Stratasys to commercialize the process he named Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and the company is now the largest manufacturer of 3D printers with a 44% market share.

FDM works by depositing droplets of melted thermoplastic in a computer controlled pattern much like a regular desktop printer jets ink.. The plastic solidifies after it is deposited to form one layer of a 3D object. When each layer is finished, the print head or print table are moved to allow the next layer to be added. This process is repeated layer after layer until the 3D item is completed.

The raw material for an FDM printer is typically a coil of plastic filament which is fed into a heating block to heat the end of the filament to the melting temperature. Stepper motors or servo motors move the print head to the precise x, y and z position to extrude each droplet.

Diagram from RepRap Wiki

Stratasys manufactures a wide range of FDM machines from desktop models for designers to large industrial models for manufacturing plants. Stratasys has a trademark on the term Fused Deposition Modeling and the abbreviation FDM so the RepRap, Makerbot and most other small 3D printers which use the same process refer to it as Fused Filament Fabrication or FFF.

The FDM process works with several types of thermoplastics including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer, polycarbonates, polycaprolactone, polyphenylsulfones and waxes making it suitable for a wide variety of prototyping and manufacturing applications.

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Who Can Tell How Events Will Be Transformed

2013-04-25T06:16:00.000-05:00

Taijitu by Nyo

April has been an interesting month so far. Some of the events in our industry and our country have been very disturbing. But bad news is seldom as it appears.

The Tao Te Ching contains the following parable:

A poor farmer's horse ran off into the country of the barbarians. All his neighbors offered their condolences, but his father said, "How do you know that this isn't good fortune?" After a few months the horse returned with a barbarian horse of excellent stock. All his neighbors offered their congratulations, but his father said, "How do you know that this isn't a disaster?" The two horses bred, and the family became rich in fine horses. The farmer's son spent much time riding them and one day fell off and broke his hipbone. All his neighbors offered the farmer condolences, but his father said, "How do you know that this isn't good fortune?" Another year passed, and the barbarians invaded the frontier. All the able-bodied young men were conscripted, and nine-tenths of them died in the war. Thus good fortune can be disaster and vice versa. Who can tell how events will be transformed?*

I don't know how things are going to turn out and neither do you. In the absence of a personal Tardis, we can only travel the stream of time in one direction. Our best option is to move forward with the understanding that we will encounter obstacles and the confidence that we will overcome them.

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*Tao Te Ching, Chapter 74, translated by Stephen Mitchell

The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

The Paradox of Certainty

2013-04-16T11:24:00.001-05:00

Probability Stories by Iruhdam

The world we live in is a complex place. The impact of any event or
policy change is the result of a chaotic interplay between millions or
billions of individuals acting in ways that may not always be
rational. The probability of any particular result is almost never 0%
or 100%.

Whenever I hear a talk radio host or television commentator
belligerently proclaiming the certainty of their particular view of
the future, I wonder whether they haven't thought things through
carefully or they're just being dishonest.

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Postcards from the Netherlands

2013-04-11T05:45:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled with my wife Terri and daughter Jennifer to visit our daughter Amy who is studying international law in the Netherlands. That's Amy above with her mentor Hugo Grotius, the "Father of International Law."

Amy lives just a few steps away from this beautiful canal in central Utrecht.

A bicycle is one of the best ways to get around the city center, but you have to park it somewhere. This parking area is near the Utrecht central train station.

It's easy to know what time it is in Utrecht. It was nine o'clock when we walked past the Dom Tower and its bells began to ring.

We took a weekend trip to Maastricht where it had snowed the day before. This water channel which feeds the moat surrounding the old town walls no longer has much defensive value. But it's great for a quiet walk.

The Maastricht Town Hall, which was across the square from our hotel, looks a little eerie in the moonlight.

I was surprised to see this in a shop window on the square in Maastricht.

When we returned to Utrecht, we were able to take a walk with these gigantic snowflakes falling. I particularly like the way the orange backpack contrasts with the dull colors of the cobblestones and bricks.

We had a wonderful time exploring the Netherlands with Amy and Jennifer. Where are you planning to vacation this year?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

It Started with Stereolithography

2013-04-04T06:27:00.000-05:00

Stereolithography diagram from Wikimedia Commons

As I have mentioned in previous posts, 3D printing is one of the fastest growing technologies and is poised to transform manufacturing over the next decade. This is the first of several posts I have planned to describe how specific 3D technologies work.

The first 3D printer was developed by Charles Hull in Valencia, California in the 1980s. He first used the term stereolithography in his patent entitled “Apparatus for Production of Three-Dimensional Objects by Stereolithography” issued on March 11, 1986. Hull later relocated to Rock Hill, South Carolina and formed the company 3D Systems to manufacture the 3D printers.

Stereolithography works by sweeping an ultraviolet laser beam across a vat filled with a liquid photopolymer resin. Where the laser beam hits the resin, it solidifies to form one layer of a solid part. The part is lowered by a distance of .05mm to .15mm and a resin filled blade sweeps across the part to coat it with a fresh layer of liquid resin. This layer is also solidified by the ultraviolet laser and the process is repeated, layer by layer, until the full 3D part is completed. After printing, the parts are submerged in a chemical bath to remove any excess resin and cured in an ultraviolet oven.

The .stl file format, which is often used to store 3D dimensional data, was also developed by Hull to enable the transfer of the shape data into the stereolithography machines.

Stereolithography was originally intended to accelerate the engineering process by allowing the creation of rapid prototypes and is still used primarily for that purpose. The process is also used to make molds for investment casting. The machines are typically large, expensive and produce parts with extremely high resolution and accuracy.

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Inspired by WPPI

2013-03-13T22:58:00.000-05:00

Photography by Whitney and David Scott

Today I am flying home from Las Vegas where I have spent the last four
days in the Black River Imaging booth at the WPPI Wedding and Portrait
Photographers Conference and Expo. Over 16,000 professional and
aspiring professionals attend this conference every year to improve
their skills and network with their peers.

The thing that impresses me most about WPPI is the energy level. The
people who attend the WPPI convention are passionate about photography
and eager to learn more. Those who have been in the industry for years
are enthusiastic about sharing their experiences and excited to learn
more. The event is particularly supportive to those just getting
started in the industry.

Photography by Corrine Alavekios

I have been attending WPPI since the early 1990's when the show was
tightly focused on wedding photography. It has been exciting to watch
it grow and expand to cover birth, preschool, sports and fashion
photography as well as wedding and family portraits. The classes
cover everything from lighting and posing to business planning and
law.

Black River Imaging has changed a lot since the 1990s too. In those
days the images were all captured on film which was processed on giant
dip and dunk Refrema machines. We used Lucht V7 printers to make any
print size you wanted. Today the book and album binding areas are
bigger than the print room and our fastest growing product lines are
luxury stationery and wall decor printed on metal.

Photography by Amanda Reed

I really enjoy meeting with our customers during the trade show. It's
a perfect venue to learn what we're doing well, where we need to
improve and what kind of new products people want. We introduce new
products continuously, and the conversations we have during the show
influence every product development meeting.

The Black River imaging booth is divided into two sections. Half the
booth is used to display products including the new lay flat picture
books and the LOFT line of luxurious cards and stationery. The
products that draw the most attention are usually those that have rich
textures and unique shapes.

Photography by Dawn Shields

The other half of the booth is dedicated to education. The Black River
Imaging featured artists, whose images accompany this post, teach a
series of classes about photography and the business of photography.

I always leave WPPI inspired, invigorated and looking forward to
coming back next year.

Photography by Dixie Dixon

Photography by Elise Ellis

Photography by Martha Dameron

Photography by Spencer Beorup

Photography by Vanessa Joy

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Sincerely Social

The Creativity Paradox will be taking a break from publishing for the next two weeks. Please look for our next post on April 4th.

The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Stages of Investment

2013-03-07T05:48:00.000-06:00

Books by Zen Oracle

Most people desire the independence that comes with financial security. For most of us, that independence is acquired though careful investments of time, attention and money. Here is a process that has worked for generations.

Invest in Learning a Trade

In the beginning, select a skill you love doing and learn to do it extremely well. Enroll in the classes required and study diligently. In the workplace, identify the best people in your field and try to emulate their techniques. Read all of the books, manuals and trade publications that are relevant. Most of all, practice constantly with the goal of becoming better everyday.

While you are investing your thought and energy in learning a trade, remember to save five to ten percent of every paycheck. You will need it later.

Invest in Learning to Lead

There is a limit to what you can accomplish by yourself. The most skilled craftsman in the world is limited to what can be completed by a single pair of hands in a day. If you want to achieve more, you must learn to lead others.

Leadership requires knowledge, optimism and empathy. Knowledge is important because people won't follow someone who is obviously wrong. Optimism matters so it is clear that you believe the mission is possible. Empathy is critical because people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. It needs to be obvious that you care about the mission, the organization and about them.

While much of leadership is a state a mind, it is also a learned skill. Pay attention to the leaders you admire and watch how they do it. Even if you feel you have a deep understanding of your field, this is not the time to cease learning. Continue to study the new developments in your field, but broaden your reading to include techniques in management and leadership and the biographies of great leaders.

By now, saving five to ten percent of your earnings should be a habit and your savings are beginning to accumulate. A stock mutual fund is the easiest way to ensure a return higher than the rate of inflation.

Invest in Learning to Own

For those fortunate enough to grow old, there will come a time when they no longer have the interest or perhaps the ability to actively lead every day. At that point, independence and security come through ownership. Companies pay dividends and continue to appreciate in value without constant supervision.

When looking ahead to this stage of life, it is important to make sure that the savings accumulated are deployed where they can earn the most. Unfortunately this is a difficult skill to learn because most of the recommendations in the news and most professional advice is wrong. As in the other stages, pay attention to the methods of those who have been successful: Shelby Davis, Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch.

Read the books, learn the basics and apply the wisdom acquired over your lifetime to develop a methodology and style that works for you.

Study is the Constant

Amazon probably appreciates this post because the one thing is remains constant through all of these stages is reading and learning. One of the books I am currently reading is Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. One of the most remarkable traits of our greatest President is that he never stopped reading and never stopped learning.

What are you learning this week?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

You Would Even Say it Glows

2013-02-28T06:08:00.000-06:00

New Fire and Ice by Thomas Mangelsen

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me to take a look at the images at the Thomas Mangelsen Images of Nature gallery in Las Vegas. These images are not only visually stunning, they also seem to change with different light levels and the gallery exhibited some of them in a room with a dimmer to demonstrate this effect.

Most of the images in the gallery were printed on silver halide photo paper laminated to the back of a sheet of acrylic. This is a beautiful way to mount a photographic print, but most of the visual impact, including the interesting effect with the dimmer, was in the original photography. These images will exhibit similar characteristics when printed on high gloss metal or any other method which has crisp and vibrant color reproduction.

Cypress Sunset by Thomas Mangelsen

This style of photography draws characteristics from a group of American painters in the mid 1800s who painted landscapes and seascapes that were infused with light. These “luminist” painters created works that radiate light, whether from a windows of a stone cottage or through shafts of sunlight penetrating through the clouds. This was was a favorite technique of the Hudson River School and was incorporated into western landscapes by Albert Bierstadt and others.

Between the Sierra Nevadas by Albert Bierstadt

Luminism strongly influenced the popular “Painter of Light” Thomas Kinkade who called his use of light the “Kinkade Glow.” He has explained that his method for creating the glow relies on three visual aspects: “soft edges, a warm palette and an overall sense of light.” The effect is particular effective for Kinkade in suggesting romanticism and nostalgia with a sense of mystery.

The Beginning of a Perfect Day by Thomas Kinkade

To emulate the Luminist style, your image should contain saturated pastels, particularly the warmer shades of yellow and orange. The edges of the image can be darker so the eye is drawn to the main source of light and the reflections the light creates.

After becoming familiar with this style of painting and photography, I decided to dig through my own image archives looking for examples. I believe these images of a sunrise over the Indian Ocean, which my wife Terri captured last year in Mozambique, fit the description perfectly.

Indian Ocean Sunrise One by Terri Williams

Indian Ocean Sunrise Two by Terri Williams

I had some of these printed by Black River Imaging on 16x20 metal and tested the effect with a light and dimmer in my dining room. The pictures really do change dramatically as the light level changes.

Try it for yourself and see what you think!

Lead, Follow AND Get Out of the Way!

2013-02-21T06:36:00.001-06:00

The phrase "Lead, follow, or get out of the way" has often, and probably incorrectly, been attributed to Thomas Paine.

As a leadership philosophy, the admonishment is not quite right. It works better with "and" instead of "or." A great leader leads, follows and gets out of the way.

A great leader leads by clearly articulating the mission and building the right team. A leader follows the conversation about the mission and considers how input from the team should refine the mission. Finally, a great leader gets out of the way and lets the team accomplish their mission.

Are you leading or getting in the way?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

The Thrill of Ownership

2013-02-14T05:45:00.000-06:00

Desktop 3D Printers from Stratasys

For me, it started with Stratasys, the 3D printer company. I had been researching additive manufacturing tools for building a new product and had even visited the Stratasys headquarters to see the machines in operation. Ultimately, we selected an Objet printer for the project and our new product was not successful.

Statasys remained intriguing however. This was a mostly unknown technology that seemed like it could change the world. So after carefully research and consideration, I took some of our savings out of some slow growing mutual funds and purchased a portion of the company.

Since that purchase, the company has grown, added new printers, introduced new modeling materials and made several acquisitions. As an owner, it has been thrilling to watch.

There is an important psychological difference between buying stock and purchasing part of a company, even if the actual financial transaction is exactly the same. Often, buying stocks is similar to a poker game; you try to guess what the other stock buyers are thinking and whether investor sentiment will push the stock price up. In purchasing a company, the focus is on the intrinsic value of the company, the suitability of the products for the marketplace and the skill the management team has in operating the company.

As an owner, I have a responsibility to understand the marketplace and know the strengths and weaknesses of our products compared to those of our competitors. I need to pay attention to revenues and margins. I need to watch cash flows just like any other business owner. For me, this is both exciting and good practice for the assessments that I have to make regularly for my employer.

Since that initial investment, I have purchased a few other companies. Ownership is a lot more challenging and rewarding than following the daily fluctuations in an index fund. Instead of watching the game, you are in the game.

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Opportunity in Personalized Manufacturing

2013-02-05T20:00:00.002-06:00

Yesterday's disclosure of stellar performance by Shutterfly proves something I have known all along: there is tremendous opportunity in personalized manufacturing. The online photo imaging company's fourth quarter profit jumped 50%, topping their own estimates and exceeding analyst expectations.

The company no longer separates prints from other personalized photo items in their financial statements, but it is a safe bet that their 35% increase in full year revenue did not come from making more 4x6 prints. The growth came from stationery, greeting cards, photo books and photo based merchandise.

There are still people in the photo industry complaining about the changes that have taken place over the last decade. In the meantime, Shutterfly continues to demonstrate what can be accomplished through consistent new product development, continuous improvement to web user interfaces and aggressive marketing.

How does your growth compare to Shutterfly?

What are you planning to do about it?

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Textures and Shapes

The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Textures and Shapes

2013-01-31T05:37:00.000-06:00

LOFT cards from Black River Imaging are thick and luxurious!

I have just returned from working back-to-back photography trade shows for Black River Imaging: Imaging USA in Atlanta and the Sports and School Photography Annual Conference in Las Vegas. In my visits with professional photographers, they want textures and shapes!

Texture as in the 51 point thick LOFT cards printed with a luxurious eggshell finish that invokes memories of the letterpress era.

Shape as in the elegant die cuts around the edges of the specialty shaped cards.

Texture as in the snakeskin and ostrich leather choices available for the Mosaic albums.

What are your favorite trends in photographic products?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Share Your Point of View

2013-01-24T08:02:00.000-06:00

The GoPro Photo of the Day for January 11, 2013 uploaded by Manuel Gindl

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, GoPro must feel extremely loved. Ten years ago, GoPro introduced a camera which could strap to the wrist of a surfer to capture the wave from the surfers point of view. When people using the camera discovered they could use the device to share experiences on YouTube, the company caught a wave of it's own. GoPro has sold over 3 million cameras in the last three years.

This year at CES, almost every major camera company and several new companies were promoting their own version of a wearable point-of-view device. These are designed to be durable which was best explained by JVC as "quad-proof," the four proofs being waterproof, shockproof, dustproof and freezeproof. The accessories available for the GoPro Hero3 camera include mounting brackets for your helmet, chest, handlebars, roll bar or surfboard.

GoPro encourages the use of their camera through their website which includes the featured video of the day, and the photo of the day. GoPro users are extremely excited about the brand and often mention it in the videos they upload. A quick search for GoPro on YouTube just found 474,000 videos.

What's your point of view? Are you planning an experience that you could share with the world?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Mirrorless and Wireless

2013-01-17T06:21:00.000-06:00

The Samsung Galaxy Camera runs the Andriod OS

Last week, over 150,000 people gathered in Las Vegas for the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest annual innovation event. For those interested in cameras and imaging, the most important trends involve the shift to mirrorless cameras and the introduction of dozens of Wi-Fi enabled enabled cameras.

Camera manufacturers are hoping that both of these can slow down the shift to capturing images on smartphones instead of dedicated cameras. The popularity of smartphone photography resulted in a 19% decrease in the volume of compact camera sales in the United States last year. This is not surprising considering that the iPhone 4 and 4S are the number one and number two devices used for uploading images to Flickr.

However, iPhone users tend to be photocentric and there is a strong correlation between iPhone ownership and SLR camera ownership. Although the resolution of the iPhone is sufficient for most uses, it's fun to have a camera that allows more creative control in certain situations. While a digital SLR camera has been the typical choice for these situations, mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras are a nice upgrade.

Digital SLRs are generally an adaption from 35mm cameras. Originally, the size of the film dictated the size of camera body and the size of mirror which deflected the image to the viewfinder. The mirror was required because the film was a passive sensor which could only display an image after it was exposed in the camera and developed afterwards. Camera makers based their digital cameras on film cameras because they could reuse their camera designs. Photographers bought them because they looked and felt like high quality devices and could work with lenses they already owned.

Mirrorless cameras with interchangable lenses offer the advantages of of SLRs without the bulk or the weight. By using the digital sensor for both image capture and the viewfinder, there is no need for a mirror. By optimizing the optical path for the actual sensor size rather than 35mm film, more light can be captured with smaller lenses and the camera body is smaller. Photographers are figuring this out pushing the sales of mirrorless cameras up 141% in 2012.

Part of the fun in photography is sharing. Compared to smartphones, sharing with dedicated cameras has been cumbersome. After taking a picture, you had to move the image from your camera to your computer and post it to Facebook or Flickr through your browser. The new Wi-Fi enabled cameras imply that you can take your picture and immediately upload it to your favorite social media site.

In reality, there is a great deal of difference between the capabilities of the different Wi-Fi enabled cameras. The Samsung Galaxy Camera and the Nikon Coolpix S800C run the Android OS which means they can upload images using the same apps that are available on the Android smartphones. The Canon EOS 6D transfers images to preferred websites through the Canon Image Gateway. Others require transfer to your smartphone or tablet before you can share your images with your friends.

I enjoy sharing snapshots directly to Facebook from my iPhone. But when I use my "real" camera, part of the enjoyment is the selection and editing process on a big monitor after I get home. Then I share my best images on Facebook and on this blog. So I'm not in a hurry to own a Wi-Fi enabled camera.

Will you be upgrading your camera soon?

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Camera sales data from GfK reported in the November/December issue of International Contact.

The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

The Best Camera

2013-01-10T06:41:00.000-06:00

The Milwaukee Museum of Art

"The best camera is the one that's with you." - Chase Jarvis.

In some ways, I understand that the best camera is the one that's with you, but it's not true for me. I have an iPhone in my pocket everyday and walk past dozens of photo opportunities without seeing them. I know the camera in the phone can capture nice images, but the scene would have to reach out and hit me before I would notice.

For me, the best camera is one that reminds me that I love photography. When I pick up a "real" camera, I become aware of the beauty and texture of the world around me. I see things that I would not take time to see otherwise.

A "real" camera does not have to be an expensive digital SLR. It can even be an iPhone. As long as it initiates the mental transition into "photographer."


Lake Michigan from the Milwaukee Museum of Art

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Additive Manufacturing Pioneers

2013-01-03T05:57:00.000-06:00

Emma's "magic arms" were 3D printed.

In my last post of 2012, I made the observation that I would be following additive manufacturing, sometimes called 3D printing, closely in 2013. In that post, I noted that the technique had reached an inflection point where it would change manufacturing, distribution and marketing radically. Here are some of the most important companies in the industry.

Stratasys Ltd. manufactures 3D printers that that use the Fusion Deposition Modeling method of extruding molten plastic in layers to build a part. In 2012, Stratasys merged with Objet Ltd. which builds machines that use a PolyJet process. The PolyJet process employs an ink jetting process to apply photo photopolymers in fine layers. Each layer is cured simultaneously with ultraviolet light.
3D Systems makes a variety of different 3D printers for personal and professional use. These machines can be used for manufacturing prototypes or final parts. The company was founded by Chuck Hull who invented Stereolithography, the original 3D printing technology. In early 2012, 3D Systems acquired Z Corporation which supplies machines that can build full color models.
Arcam AB is a Swedish company that provides a unique technology for the production of metal parts. Electron Beam Melting builds parts layer-by-layer from metal powder melted by a powerful electron beam. The technology is used primarily in the medical, aerospace and defense industries.
Mcor prints photo-realistic 3D parts from paper. This is the printer that Staples is market testing in some of their stores in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Renishaw is a UK based company with core skills in measurement, motion control, spectroscopy and precision machining. Their product line includes additive manufacturing technologies encompassing laser melting, vacuum casting and injection molding.
ExOne calls their additive manufacturing process Digital Part Materialization and their machines are used for 3D printing of sand and metal materials.
The NovoGen MMX Bioprinter™ from Organovo takes primary or other human cells and shapes them into 3D tissue for biological research. This technology was developed by a team led by Professor Gabor Forgacs from the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Makerbot is a rapidly growing manufacturer of desktop personalized printers. The printers are used by engineers, designers, researchers and people who just like to make things.
Shapeways is a 3D printing marketplace and community where individuals can make, buy and sell their own products. They 3D print everything on-demand which means that every order is customized and personalized.
Cubify is a website from 3D Systems to encourage you to "express yourself in 3D!" You can look for something unique that has been 3D printed or design and print your own creations from scratch. If you want to print at home, the site encourages you to purchase a Cube 3D printer which is "plug-and-play easy and looks pretty nice on a worktable."
Sculpteo offers a 3D printing service which is open to professionals or consumers. They can print from your 3D design or their community platform gives you access to 3D designers allowing you to share models, upload your own 3D designs and make them real through 3D printing.
i.materialise believes that people have an inherent need to express themselves and provides 3D printing services for demanding designers and inventors.
Ponoko claims to be "the world's easiest making system" and offers both 2D laser cutting and 3D printer services.
To make a file for additive manufacturing, you will need software. Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software.

These are the companies that will change our world over the next decade. Are there any I should have included but missed?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Focus for 2013

2012-12-27T07:49:00.000-06:00

Who's In There by Stuart Dootson

We are on the verge of a new year. The world changes at an increasingly faster rate. Do you have plans to change accordingly?

The beginning of a new year is traditionally a time for setting goals and making resolutions. The difficulty with defining specific goals and resolutions is getting the world to cooperate. I find it more helpful to define areas of focus. Focusing attention on areas for growth and improvement help me be better prepared for the challenges of the upcoming year and beyond.

Here are things that I intend to focus on in 2013:

Personalized Stationery -While the decline of offset printing continues, the demand for personalized items is growing rapidly. Beautiful printing on thick, deeply textured paper is a hot growth market.
Additive Manufacturing - I believe additive manufacturing has reached an inflection point where the growth rate is going to exceed almost everyone's expectations and have an unimaginable impact on the future of manufacturing, distribution and marketing.
Functional Inks - The deposition of conductive inks and other functional materials using aerosol jetting and similar technology is a very promising method for revolutionizing the manufacturing of electronic components.
Twentieth Century History - Think of how different the world was in 2000 compared to 1900. I want to understand more about the thought processes of the people who caused those changes.
Film Scores - I have appreciated the music of John Williams since Star Wars, but this year I want to get more familiar with the music of Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry and some of the other great composers who have contributed to the great films of the last 50 years.

Unless you have been doing nothing in 2012 or have discovered a way to add more hours to the day, your focus list is worthless without a matching not-to-do list. The only way to make time for a new focus is to spend less time on something else. Are there fields where you have focused enough in the past that the law of diminishing returns has kicked in? There is always more to learn, but is the value of that knowledge worth the time to acquire it?

Time is our most valuable resource. A little advanced planning can help make sure we use it in the most enjoyable and most productive way.

In what areas do you plan to focus in the upcoming year?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

In Vino Veritas

2012-12-20T06:11:00.000-06:00

Early this month, after attempting to divine the future of electronics manufacturing at a conference in the Silicon Valley, Terri and I decided to spend a day in the Napa valley. The Beringer Vinyards turned out to be ideal for enjoying the luxury of a far older technology.

Brothers Jacob and Frederick Beringer founded the vineyard in 1876, making it the oldest continuously operating vineyard in the United States. The tools of traditional wine making are preserved in the 19th century cellars.

After the grape harvest, the grapes are pressed to squeeze the juice from the fruit. The design of a grape press may have inspired the creation of the first printing press.

Sugars in the grapes convert to alcohol in these fermentation barrels. Today, the vineyard uses stainless steel fermentation vessels in a modern facility across the street.

Most red wines and some whites are aged in oak barrels. Over time, characteristics from the oak change the wine adding complexity in the flavor. For centuries, the aging took place in underground cellars to maintain a constant 58 degree temperature.

The Beringer family's private wine collection is stored in these dusty bottles in the cellar.

Before the wine bottles gather dust, they reflect and refract light in some very interesting ways.

The Rhine House is a beautiful 17 room mansion that was built by Frederick Beringer to recreate the family house on the Rhine River in Germany. Frederick and Jacob had emigrated from Germany in 1868.

Our day in the Napa valley was filled with wonderful sights and flavors. Do you have a favorite valley?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Changing the Odds

2012-12-13T06:07:00.001-06:00


Ariel wants to be where the people are! © 1989 Walt Disney Studios

Many people believe that success is just a matter of luck. Some people just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

I believe there is validity in this point of view. It is good to be lucky. However, in a highly mobile society with compulsory education and an unlimited flow of information at our fingertips, all of us have tremendous opportunities to improve our probability of being in the right place at the right time and recognizing opportunity when it appears.

Knowledge and preparation are the first step in enhancing serendipity. It is important to spend time everyday learning and some of that time should focus on the following questions:

What industries and companies are going to be growing in the future?
What skills are required to lead in one of those growing industry?
What is your plan for acquiring those skills?

Ariel in Disney's Little Mermaid expressed the next step in these lyrics:

I wanna be where the people are
I wanna see, wanna see them dancin'!

I'm ready to know what the people know
Ask 'em my questions and get some answers

If you want to increase your chances for success, get out! Get out of your office! Get out of your immediate circle of friends! Get out of your comfort zone!

Go find and meet the people who are creating the future. Spend more time with customers, more time at trade shows, more time interacting with the thought leaders in your field.

What have you done lately to improve your odds of success?

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Closer to the Heart

2012-12-06T09:15:00.000-06:00

I have been listening to some classic Rush recordings recently and have found myself troubled by the opening line of the song Closer to the Heart. Overall, I like the sentiment expressed by the song and agree that each of us play a role in making the world a better place.

The phrase that bothers me is "And the men who hold high places, must be the ones who start." My concern is that the belief is naive and actually discourages action by ordinary people.

To me, "the men who hold high places" implies leadership in government. In a democratic society, those who get elected are those that embrace the beliefs of the majority of the population and offend the fewest members. This process makes it highly unlikely that any new initiative will begin at the top. Political leaders follow public opinion, they do not lead it.

Change begins at the bottom, usually with those neglected and reviled by the majority. Through hard work and time, justice is accepted by more and more people. Eventually, support for change crosses a tipping point where those in governmental leadership positions are willing to risk lending their support.

If we wait for change to begin with government, we will never mold a new reality. Change must begin with churches, businesses, non governmental agencies and individuals.

Change must begin with you and me!

I am not able to change the historic lyrics to classic rock songs, but if I could, I would rewrite the opening line of Closer to the Heart to:

And the ones who care most deeply
Must be the ones who start!

To mold a new reality
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart

The blacksmith and the artist
Reflect it in their art
They forge their creativity
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart

Philosophers and ploughmen
Each must know his part
To sow a new mentality
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart

You can be the captain
I will draw the chart
Sailing into destiny
Closer to the heart

Rush

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

The Impossible Movie

2012-11-29T06:23:00.000-06:00

Life of Pi, Ang Lee's magical movie about a boy and a tiger trapped in a lifeboat together, surprised the pundits by topping $22 million in its first week. The movie features the most beautiful 3D cinematography that I have ever seen and a storyline that is as unusual as it is heart warming.

When director Ang Lee first read Yann Martell's novel ten years ago, he felt that making it into a movie would be "technically almost impossible" with the tools available at the time. However, he also "suspected that a new film language might open up the chances with this particular project."

3D Camera System from the Cameron | Pace Group

The Fusion 3D camera and workflow developed by James Cameron, Vince Pace and the Cameron | Pace Group along with advances in computer generated imagery made the impossible possible. "The 3D is an integrated part of the art form and I feel like the technology that we created has contributed to a masterpiece," Cameron explains.

The 3D imagery in Life of Pi rivals, perhaps exceeds, the beauty of Cameron's Avatar. Don't miss it!

What is your favorite 3D movie?

James Cameron and Vince Pace on Life of Pi

Life of Pi Official Trailer

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

Quotations sourced from:
http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_22005587/life-pis-ang-lee-talks-3d-casting-and
http://www.iamrogue.com/news/movie-news/item/7706-life-of-pi-featurettes.html

"suspected that a new film language might open up the chances with this particular project."

Read more: "Life of Pi's" Ang Lee talks 3D, casting, and adapting the impossible - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_22005587/life-pis-ang-lee-talks-3d-casting-and#ixzz2DGl40EmK
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

Read more: "Life of Pi's" Ang Lee talks 3D, casting, and adapting the impossible - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_22005587/life-pis-ang-lee-talks-3d-casting-and#ixzz2DGkummkP
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

"suspected that a new film language might open up the chances with this particular project."

Read more: "Life of Pi's" Ang Lee talks 3D, casting, and adapting the impossible - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_22005587/life-pis-ang-lee-talks-3d-casting-and#ixzz2DGkummkP
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

November in Columbia

2012-11-22T06:59:00.000-06:00

Jesse Hall in the Fall

November 10th was a beautiful day in Columbia so I grabbed a camera and went for a walk around the MU campus and downtown. Here are some images I captured.


Memorial Union Surrounded by Color

Yellow Leaves and Red Bricks at MU's Lowry Hall


Looking Up!

Red and Green

Jesse Through the Columns

Enter and Learn

The Quadrangle and Columns at MU from Jesse Hall

Framed by Pines

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.

3D Printing Crosses an Inflection Point

2012-11-15T06:26:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, a major inflection point occurred in the history of manufacturing and the progress of 3D printing. For the first time, a consumer company has started offering replacement parts for its products as 3D CAD drawings that can be printed on demand at a 3D service bureau or on a 3D printer at home.

Teenage Engineering, a Swedish company that produces electronic music synthesizers, has posted the models on Shapeways. Any customer can download the model for free or order the part to be manufactured on-demand by Shapeways.

The production of replacement parts on-demand with a 3D printer has been predicted by manufacturing experts for years including Scott Crumb, the CEO of Stratasys, one of the primary companies building 3D printing equipment. Now that it is beginning to happen, I expect the trend will accelerate and transform the way companies produce and stock parts.

3D printing creates parts by building them layer by layer based upon a 3D computer model. Each layer is added to the layer below until the part is completed. This additive process is completely different from the way most items are manufactured. Traditional machining processes start with a block of material and remove material until the part desired is completed. The additive process can be much faster and easier for creating prototypes and small production runs.

The term 3D printing is seldom used by its practitioners. The process was originally called "stereolithography" which is the name of the first method used to manufacture additively. As other types of technology were introduced, the term "rapid prototyping" became popular because that was the most common use for the machines. Currently, the preferred term is "additive manufacturing" because the method is used increasing for short run manufacturing and producing highly specialized products.

Whatever you choose to call it, the speed and costs of the additive process are continually improving and the technology will be highly disruptive to traditional manufacturing. Teenage Engineering's new approach to parts support is one of many inflection points we will cross over the next decade.

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The Creativity Paradox is sponsored in part by Convertible Solutions which supplies specialty paper substrates to digital printers, direct marketing companies and photo book fulfillment companies.