It's What I Do...

"Do you really care about good writing advice?" - or any advice at all, actually.

2012-02-23T16:24:00.001-07:00

It’s like that famous Pareto Principle, only in this case, it’s more like a 99/1 ratio. 99% of the people that ask for advice do nothing about it.

via menwithpens.ca

I notice it a lot with photographers who will ask for advice, and then do nothing with it. A few months later, they are back asking the same questions and seeking the same advice.

My Project 52 group is the exception. These folks take the critiques and expand their knowledge and their quality.

Locked Door on Burned Church

2012-02-23T10:03:00.001-07:00

On a recent walk about, I shot the historic church in Phoenix that was burned down. This door was kinda fascinating to me

"Hey Photographers! Pinterest is Not for You" - We all seem to be suffering by "bright shiny penny" syndrome... sigh

2012-02-22T11:06:00.001-07:00

But for photographers, it simply isn’t a good referral source because it doesn’t lead to sales. So worrying about the rights-grab and whether it’s skirting copyright law is moot.

via blog.photoshelter.com

I was thinking a couple of weeks ago that it may be a good place for some consumer shooters, but I think now that this analysis seems about right. I think Social Media is getting into bubble status - and I think it is best to simply choose a few and be done with it... maximize your visibility... not your SM list.

"Lay off the Social Media Experts" Good article in defense of expert consulting.

2012-02-21T15:01:00.001-07:00

But the real reason this anti-social media marketing zeitgeist irks me is because everyone who says it has obviously not made an attempt at grasping the ramifications of social media marketing for a global corporation.

via betabeat.com

I kinda agree with him.

I set up a Twitter, Facebook Page, and blog for a client then spent 10 hours helping her understand how they all worked together.

Those of us who do it every day forget that for a lot of people it is a huge challenge.

"Is Pinterest Illegal?" - Maybe, says noted IP Attorney... good read if you are a Pinterest Participant

2012-02-20T10:18:00.001-07:00

But the big problem is that it grabs entire copyrighted works to re-post. This could be hard to overcome, especially as Pinterest starts growing and becomes more of a destination for a greater audience. The more time users spend on Pinterest, one assumes, the less likely they are to click out to other sites. And why click out when you can see the whole picture right there?

via businessinsider.com

Good discussion with an IP attorney.

"Research on Deadly Bird Flu to Be Published in Full" WHO self identifies as being monumentally stupid.

2012-02-18T22:03:00.001-07:00

The full details of recent experiments that made a deadly flu virus more contagious will be published, probably within a few months, despite recommendations by the United States that some information be kept secret for fear that terrorists could use it to start epidemics.

via nytimes.com

Great job guys. You fukkin fools have no shame and no idea.

But go ahead and kill millions... it's all in the name of scie...err, gubment grants.

"How to Write" by David Ogilvy... Writers Rule the Web... Even back then. Heh.

2012-02-18T21:39:00.001-07:00

4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.

via listsofnote.com

What we are up against... the disease of CC continues to destroy the brain cells of "editors?" Stupidiousness!

2012-02-17T11:06:00.001-07:00

Our industry therefore adopts the stance that if a picture has no overwhelming artistic value and if there is no issue of exclusivity (ie it is already being published online or elsewhere) then no reasonable copyright owner will object to its being republished in exchange for a reasonable licence fee. The only alternative to such a stance is not to publish pictures at all unless they come from a commercial library, the available range of which will inevitably be inadequate.

via jonathankent.wordpress.com

Via A Photo Editor
http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2012/02/17/clearly-it-is-open-to-the-copyright-ow...

I would submit that this sort of unadulterated bullshit is blow-back from the "culture of free" crappola and the insidious destructive forces of CC and all the lunacy it provides the art world's 99%.

But then, that is just me.

I don't go to no joornulist skoul.

This happens a lot actually. I am always amazed at how far the elitists THINK they are from the 'little people'

2012-02-16T21:27:00.001-07:00

I was a terrific little snob who thought she knew everything, and subsequently, I was about to learn a great deal.

via salon.com

But of course, they are rarely actually above anyone. Their patina is actually a fauz glaze of arrogance.

"Be What You Want" : Living and shooting with a purpose in mind...

2012-02-15T08:34:00.001-07:00

Sometimes conscious creation is more about being, owning, expressing or celebrating what already is.

via ornaross.com

Sometimes the outrage is not capable of being truly expressed. (OT - not photo/design)

2012-02-15T07:48:00.001-07:00

There are no clear restrictions about what additional items — like potato chips — can be included in preschoolers’ lunch boxes.

via carolinajournal.com

If this is your idea of a wonderful place to live, I feel sorry for you.

Wait, no - I pretty much loathe you as you are forcing some sort of crappola down my throat.

And it ain't chicken nuggets.

"Dutch Pave the Way for Looser Copyright Laws" - Don't matter none to me. You made it, I want it. So Shut UP!

2012-02-14T15:13:00.001-07:00

Much to the displeasure of the wider EU, the Dutch want to liberalize their copyright laws to explicitly allow remixes and mashups. The irony is that their inspiration is not political movements like Sweden's Pirate Party, but America's laws about fair use.

via technologyreview.com

See- that's the thing.

People think that just because they made somethin' that no body else can take it and use it. That's stupid.

You think just cause you went to school and spent all those hours learning to play your instrument and composing them hundreds of little tunes that your shit is yours... FOOL.

If I wants your shit, I takes your shit. You ain't got nothing to say about it. I'll remix it and mash it up and make all kinds of shit out of it and it is MINE. I'm proud that I didn't waste no time learnin' like you did, fool, I just takes what I wants.

Cause I have a right to your shit. I want it, I take it - that's my RIGHT!

"Lillian Bassman, Fashion and Fine-Art Photographer, Dies at 94"

2012-02-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

Lillian Bassman, a magazine art director and fashion photographer who achieved renown in the 1940s and ’50s with high-contrast, dreamy portraits of sylphlike models, then re-emerged in the ’90s as a fine-art photographer after a cache of lost negatives resurfaced, died on Monday at her home in Manhattan. She was 94.

via nytimes.com

A very inspirational and incredibly talented photographer is no longer with us. RIP Lillian.

On understanding the nature of the image... technically perfect may not be emotionally interesting

2012-02-14T07:41:00.001-07:00

Somewhere I have a very ordinary polaroid of me standing in. I was probably worried about exposure, shadow detail, etc, things that did not matter.

via robertwrightphoto.com

"November 15, 1984: Before Whitney Was Famous" Back when life was simple, and oh so mellow...

2012-02-13T17:37:00.001-07:00

And today it’s all so damned sad.

via damnuglyphotography.wordpress.com

On Living Deeply and Investing in Ourselves: Photographer

2012-02-13T14:04:00.001-07:00

Although my home and my pictures are expensive, they represent the large library that is me. They are deep, rich in tonal detail. And Oh, how I hope more beautiful than words.

via rodneysmith.com

"Modeling Agency: Sometimes Underage Models Are Really Mature!:" Ahh, that is also known as BullShit

2012-02-11T20:00:00.001-07:00

His 'look' is girls who appear underage, abused, look like heroin addicts … I don't understand how anyone works with him.

via gothamist.com

Neither do I. But then, I am an old guy...

Wait - so is that cretin...

I have no idea at all.

We simply do not need more gigantic, ill conceived, poorly written, and power distributive laws. We really don't.

2012-02-09T11:02:00.001-07:00

Two things are missing from the current conversation. First, the recent debate all but ignores the broad arsenal of responses to copyright infringement already available to rights-holders, without SOPA. Second, the public has not been informed on how America's free trade negotiations have been used to circumvent the democratic process, accomplishing much of what SOPA was meant to do.

This administration, like its predecessors, negotiates free trade agreements without public input or transparency. These agreements quietly ratchet up the international scope of copyright protection and the harshness of penalties for infringement, without public discussion of how these changes impact companies or users at home. One of these agreements was just signed in the EU, where it is belatedly raising political havoc, and another was negotiated last week- in Hollywood.

via theatlantic.com

Of course the entertainment lawyers would stand to gain the most, and are leading the charges on Capitol Hill.

Look - I LOVE IP Attorneys. They save our bacon many times. But there is a difference between an IP attorney and a corporate bureaucrat with a law degree and marching orders to MAKE MONEY.

Sorry for my jaded approach, but lately I have met too many arrogant, angry and selfish "supporters" of SOPA - and it has left a very bad taste in my mouth for the whole thing.

"The Myth of the Courageous Journalist" - Cowards? Well, maybe. More likely ineffectual bullies with pragmatic tendencies

2012-02-08T21:23:00.001-07:00

We need new ways of thinking about censorship. The first step is the most essential. Only when we have the courage to admit that we are afraid can we begin the task of extending our freedoms.

via literaryreview.co.uk

"It’s Not the Recession, You Just Suck" - LOL, well, there is always that chance... heh

2012-02-07T11:38:00.001-07:00

Entrepreneurs are ruling this recession.

Why? Because they’re hungry and they’re motivated. That means they can’t spend their whole day getting caught in the fame game or in office politics. It means when they go to a conference or a networking event, they’re not there for the booze. They’re grabbing handfuls of business cards, talking to people, and then following up. And they don’t just say they’ll email you after the show. They really do. Actually, they email you as soon as they get home. They’re nurturing leads and finding clients and creating opportunities. They’re marketing themselves. They’re not tuning in to Oprah this afternoon to get Twitter tips from Ashton Kutcher.

via outspokenmedia.com

Mostly True: Chances Are, You Suck (seen via APE) yep, them's the odds for sure.

2012-02-07T11:37:00.001-07:00

Chances Are, You Suck

Worse yet, nobody is going to tell you.

via kennethjarecke.typepad.com

This is an all too true pheonomena, and when coupled with low expectations and a "me too" culture that rewards mediocrity and punishes true innovation (in most case... unless that innovation serves more mediocrity), it can be systemic.

And not easily dealt with.

I read an article a long time ago that was titled" Maybe it isn't the Economy, Maybe You Just Suck" and it was wonderfully understated...

Ahh - here is another one:
http://outspokenmedia.com/online-marketing/you-just-suck/

Stuff to think about, eh?

Portrait with Flowers

2012-02-03T09:35:00.001-07:00

A studio shot from a few years ago. One medium softbox and fill cards. Kind of a glitzy shot... Great MU from Lorri.

Inaudi Bare Chested

2012-02-02T15:23:00.001-07:00

I shot Inaudi for my second book. The point was to show how highlights create dimension and shape. I think this shows it pretty well.

First impressions: Lytro lives up to the hype

2012-01-26T08:01:00.001-07:00

Lytro isn’t going to kill current digital photography–it’s just going to be a big, important part of changing it. People won’t forsake their digital cameras and replace everything with Lytro cameras (at least not those that are already in the process of being weeded out of the market), but we’re certain they will be adding it to their lineup. On the surface it might sound gimmicky, but at it’s core Lytro is a new step in the digital imaging evolution, and it’s going to shape the direction camera makers take their products

via digitaltrends.com

More disruptive technology on the way.

Hold on to your butts...

"Photographer Annie Leibovitz says project that became Smithsonian exhibit revived her spirit"

2012-01-25T21:50:00.001-07:00

It’s a project I did for myself. I wanted to be seduced into a photograph and not make it up,” she said. “And I wanted to take my time.

via washingtonpost.com

NOTED: on my Facebook stream via Deborah Weiss.
https://www.facebook.com/dwcreativeconsultant