Q: What has turned out to be the best advice given to you by another photographer? What advice would you pass on?

A: When I first started taking pictures, I happened to be good friends with the English photographer Paul Graham, who was one of the first photographers to use color in the classic genre of social documentary. I admired Paul’s social commitment, and we had many discussions on photography, through letters and conversations whenever we saw each other in New York or London. I remember once writing to him about my excitement of “capturing the world into the lens.” His reply set me straight and is something that I have striven to do (though very rarely successfully): “No, the aim is not to capture; it is to release the genie out of the bottle.” Of course he was right, and it is something that I constantly try to remind myself.

A few young aspiring photographers have asked my advice and I always tell them to look at a lot of photographs and to develop their own point of view. To do the latter, it is essential that they be interested in a wide range of subjects, to live in the fullest sense. It’s important to read, to look at everything around you, to take an interest in a wide range of things and learn as much as you. It’s one thing to be technically proficient, but it’s another to have real depth in your work.

Q: If you decided today to drop photography, what would your second career choice be?

A: It would be landscape design, which incorporates so many things that interest me, including history, art, design, culture, and nature – quite a few important aspects of life.

Q: For you, what is a perfect photograph?  How has this concept changed for you over time?

A: I don’t have any fixed idea of what constitutes a perfect photograph, apart from a personal preference that it should convey some idea or emotion. It could be technically flawed, like a lot of the English photographer Richard Billingham’s photographs of his family, but as long as it communicates some strong idea or emotion, I would consider it a perfect photo.

Q: Looking back at your career, what shoot are you most proud of and which was the most difficult?

A: There are a couple of shoots that I am most proud of. One was a story done for Martha Stewart Living, and it involved all my sisters and me having a Mother’s Day lunch with my mom. We shot it at my house at the time, and it was the first time my family got to see me at work and be a part of it as well. Also part of the crew were some very good friends, including the art director Scot Schy and the food stylist Susie Theodorou. Susie stayed at my house and made these wonderful meals. In the evening we all sat around the big dining table eating the most delicious food and had the best time.

Q: What themes have you explored in your photography so far?

A: My commercial photography revolves mostly around interiors, and I’ve always been interested in how people express themselves in their own home. The idea of home is fascinating to me. As the old saying goes, home is where the heart is. I believe that one can tell a lot about a person by seeing his/her home, and I love stepping into a home of someone creative because it is always original, distinctive and ultimately inspiring.

In my personal work, I am obsessed with the idea of memory. We all have mental images that are basically inner substitutes for the external objects. For example, we form a mental image of someone and that visual image becomes a part of us so that even when that person is no longer there, his/her image is still a part of our inner life. In the same way, much of what I choose to photograph for myself has to do with creating a memory trace of the things, places and people that I love. Lately I have also started taking a lot of photographs of plants because I am fascinated with the complexity of nature, particularly in the plant kingdom.

Q: What are 10 things that interest or influence you?

A: I used to see a lot of movies. When I was in college and before I had my daughter, I think I spent most of my spare time either reading or going to the cinema.  Like literature, film takes you to different places, geographically and mentally. I am a big fan of great storytelling, and every culture on earth has its own tradition of storytelling. Some of my favorite directors are Wong Kar-Wai (Happy Together, Chunking Express, In the Mood for Love, 2046), Jean-Luc Godard (Band à Part, Le Mépris and À bout de Souffle), François Truffaut (Les 400 Coups, Jules et Jim, and La Peau Douce), Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Magic Flute, and Fanny and Alexander), Federico Fellini (I Vitelloni, La Strade, and La Dolce Vita), Akira Kurosawa (Ran, Kagemusha, and Rashomon), Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, and Not One Less), to name but a few.

I also love the Italian Neo-Realists; Jean-Pierre Melville, who was part of the French New Wave but whose films are not well known in America; Chris Marker, whose highly original films defy categorization; and Terence Malick, whose films Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line contain some of the most poetic images on film. There are so many more. I love films and can get completely lost in them. Their images are burned into my memory, and I always fall for a good narrative. I also love the works of cinematographers Christopher Doyle (he shot most of the early Wong Kar-Wai’s films) and Darius Khondji (he started with maverick French directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro on Delicatessen and now works on big Hollywood productions). They both have a way with colors and composition that is highly original and evocative.

Another source of interest is books, and I always wish I had more time to read. Among the books that made a deep impression on me are Annie Ernaux’s La Place and Une Femme, her account of the lives of her father and mother; Roger Deakin’s trilogy on nature (Waterlog, Wildwood, Notes from the Walnut Tree Farm); Michael Pollen’s The Botany of Desire and the Omnivore’s Dilemma; and Aeschylus’s Oresteia trilogy. I also love the works of Jeanette Winterson, for her abiding belief in the redemption of art; Ian McEwan, for his masterful clarity; Marguerite Duras, for her evocative language; and William Trevor, for his sobering short stories, which remind me of Chekhov. There are so many others but I can’t list them all here.

Music is another big interest. I love everything from Bach, Mozart, and Schubert to Portishead, Bon Iver and Andrew Bird.  There is a long list of artists and photographers whose work I find absolutely fascinating, but if I had to mention just one photographer, it would be Robert Frank, whose work I find unflinchingly raw and incredibly moving at times. I just realized that this is a much longer list than what you asked for. But you can look at it this way: the 10 things are film, books, music, art, nature, history, food, family, love, and memory.

Postcard worthy is a collection of postcards or postcard worthy photos we have stumbled upon. See more

Q: How did you come to choose the name ripo?

A: I had a few other tags when I was a kid and have some other aliases now as well, but I mostly stick with Ripo. It comes from — and is pronounced like —repo. Repossess it all, take it back and do it yourself.

Q: What city do you call home?

A: NYC and Barcelona

Q: What piece are you most proud of?

A: The ones that I can still only just imagine.

Q: Lately, it seems like you can find graffiti in art galleries as often as you can find it in the streets. What do you think about that trend and has it had any effect on your career?

A: They’re two different worlds and just to clarify graffiti in a gallery isn’t really graffiti. A lot of work in the streets has so much power that it can’t have indoors. At the same time while working indoors you can explore different things technically that might not be possible in the streets. I’ve only had one solo show in a gallery space and I’m going to take my time and consider carefully before going there again.

Q: What did you make for dinner last night? If I am to become a graffiti artist, do you recommend me eating that as well?

A: Beer. Yes.

Q: Have you ever had a run in with the law while working on a piece?

A: I’ve (still) never been arrested doing work in the streets, although it’s been close a few times. In those instances I had three options: 1) Run fast 2) Talk slow and think fast 3) Get really lucky.

Q: What challenges do you think you face most as an artist?

A: Continuing to grow, travel, and never stop working.

Q: Where is the tiniest or most interesting place you’ve ever left a tag?

A: A friend recently asked me to tattoo a tag of mine onto his leg. It was the first time I had ever touched a tattoo gun.

Q: How do you choose the verbiage that you include in your art?

A: It has to make me feel something. Laugh, get pissed off, annoy me, confuse me, whatever.

Q: What themes do you tend to explore in your work?

A: Look at my work and you tell me.

Q: What are 10 things that interest or influence you?

A: My friends are some of my biggest influences and being around creative and active groups of people is necessary. Traveling is also a major motivator. Photography is a great way to interpret and hold on to what’s around me visually, and I use my photographs to find inspiration later on. Signage (especially hand painted) and street typography are obvious influences in my work.

There are really too many artists who have influenced me over my life to list them all but a few who I currently enjoy are Steve Powers, Tauba Auerbach, Fred Eerdekens, Felice Varini, Blu, Robert Rauschenberg, Ralph Steadman, Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, and tons more who’s work is incredibly varied. Also the Scrawl Collective Book was probably the one thing that kept me sane and helped remind me that there was artwork that I actually liked while I was stuck at art school.

Postcard worthy is a collection of postcards or postcard worthy photos we have stumbled upon. See more

Q: What themes have you explored in your photography so far?

A: Some themes include shooting with natural light, controlling composition, and playing with space. My photography is shot exclusively with natural light. I’m very interested in manipulating light to pop colors, textures, and form. It’s changing constantly and keeps me on my toes. I tend to gravitate towards simple compositions and lots of space in my photography. I don’t like clutter in my life or my photographs. I always feel better with a clean kitchen and a clean photograph.

Q: What has turned out to be the best advice given to you by another photographer?

A: I was told once not to be so disappointed when I “miss a shot” because there are plenty more to be had. I didn’t believe this until I finally relaxed in my sessions and saw that I really do get the images that I want without overshooting.

Q: How do you help your subjects to embody the emotion or idea you want to capture in your shoots?

A: While photographing people or animals I just stand back and look for a moment. Rarely do I influence a subject to look or act a certain way for the camera. As a child I had a camera happy mom (love you mom!), but I hated smiling for the camera and wouldn’t want to force anybody to do so for me.

Q: If you decided today to drop photography, what would your second career choice be?

A: I would like to be employed at a natural history museum collecting, mounting, or replicating, animals and plants. I used to want to make prosthetic teeth out of porcelain until I found out how lonely it was.

Q: Have you ever worked in different mediums? What does photography achieve for you that other mediums don’t?

A: Yes, I have worked in many different mediums such as sculpture and ceramics. In the end I have always been more interested in taking photographs of my installations rather then the pieces of artwork. Photography gives me the control to pick the moment and angle to be captured and viewed.

Q: What’s the most interesting movie or television show you’ve discovered in the past year?

A: The Fall Directed by Tarsem Singh. I thought that the images where absolutely beautiful. I would love to screen capture some of the scenes.

Q: What are 10 things that interest or influence you?

A: Here are a few artists that have influenced my artwork over the years.
Ngoc Minh Ngo
Mikkel Vang
Roland Bello
Rebecca Thuss
Ron van dongen
Richard Notkin
Peter Voulkos
Dorothea Lange
Glenn Grishkoff
Marilyn Lysohi

To learn more about Kari or to purchase some prints, visit her blog and her shop on Etsy.
Postcard worthy is a collection of postcards or postcard worthy photos we have stumbled upon. See more

Here’s an update about what’s going on in the wonderful web world of {e} house studio. We’ve recently launched two great sites for some really great clients: FIG and Campion Platt.

As many of you Charlestonians know, FIG is one of the most popular and respected restaurants on the Peninsula, gaining national recognition in publications such as Southern Living and ForbesLife. {e} was very excited about working with Byrdhouse PR and FIG in revamping their new website! Along with a user-friendly interface, {e} developed an elaborate content management system to aid the restaurant in adding new photos, revising their menus and updating specials. We created a blog to spark communications between the restaurant and their devoted customers. {e} house also set up a Twitter account for their popular chef, Mike Lata, so he can share their nightly specials. The Twittering soon paid off since the restaurant picked up some press as a result! To make reservations or to simply peruse the site, go to www.eatatfig.com.

Campion Platt is one of the nation’s most sought after Architects. {e} house recently worked with our friends over at FORMO by coding the front end of the new website and developing a content management system for the New York based architect and interior designer. Campion Platt’s work has been featured in Veranda, Martha Stuart, House Beautiful, and he’s also been distinguished as one of Architectural Digest’s Top 100 Architects. We’re delighted to have received the opportunity to work on the project!

Q: What themes have you explored in your photography so far?

A: Mystery, beauty, tranquility. I have developed the phrase “poetic ubiquity” to describe something that I try to create in my photographs. Essentially, it is an attempt to take notice of places and things that are at once visible to all, yet their very everpresentness has made them invisible to most. I try to record the inconspicuous details of everyday life in a way that infuses a moment of poetry.

Q: Have you ever worked in different mediums?

A: I’ve worked in printmaking too and I love the tactile and manual aspects of printmaking. I have transitioned (almost) completely into working digitally, but I do miss the tranquility of working in a darkroom.

Q: How do you help your subjects to embody the emotion or idea you want to capture in your shoots?

A: Most often, I mentally “see” the image that I would like before I approach a person for a portrait. Quite often, I don’t share a common language with my subjects and only occasionally have a guide. I usually memorize a few phrases in the appropriate language before trips. Before I starting shooting digitally, I would exchange Polaroids with people, it was a great way to communicate and ingratiate myself. They were the perfect currency.

Q: For you, what is a perfect photograph?

A: For me, a perfect photograph must have an unprepossessing simplicity. As a travel photographer, I try to create images that are at once magical and meaningful; I try to “see” things that are commonly overlooked and introduce an element of visual eloquence.

Q: If you decided today to drop photography, what would your second career choice be?

A: When I finished my undergraduate degree, I had no idea what to do next. I chose to pursue my Master’s degree in photography, but architecture was a very close second.

Q: What challenges do you think you face most as an artist?

A: Technology is changing photography at warp speed. It even changes the speed at which we are required to work. I think this is directly at odds with the need to slow oneself down in order to locate and recognize beautiful visual opportunities.

Q: What are some things that interest or influence you?

A: I love to read when I travel, so I never leave home without a stack of books (good ones of late: “Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It”, Geoff Dyer, “A Field Guide to Getting Lost”, Rebecca Solnit).

I am planning a trip to Iran for the fall, so there is a tremendous amount of planning and research. Organic gardening: I just planted a vegetable garden on my roof! Yoga.

Found your new favorite photographer? We understand completely. To see more of her work please visit her website.

Postcard worthy is a collection of postcards or postcard worthy photos we have stumbled upon. See more

Q: What challenges do you think you face most as an artist?

A: Time. There isn’t enough!

Q: How would you describe the art scene in San Francisco? What have you found to be unique about the art, galleries and artists there?

A: I’m not sure how it compares to other cities because I’ve lived here the last ten years since coming into art, but it is a very open and creative place. Unfortunately the rents are extremely high, so a lot of artists struggle to survive here and end up working 40 hour a week jobs and not having as much time to create. The galleries here seem to be a real mix between high-end ones downtown and really small boutique type ones, with not tons in between, at least in my experience.

Q: What are 10 things that interest or influence you? (you can list books, records, artists, etc.)

A: travel
Hugh D’Andrade, my artist husband
The paint colors and wonky hand painted signs in my neighborhood—the Mission
Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico
Gee’s Bend quilts
Coastal Maine where I grew up
Jonathan Richman, Lucinda Williams, Bon Iver and CocoRosie inspire me lately while I paint
My mom and her craftiness
Biographies of other artists and innovators
Vintage 60’s silk scarves
William Kentridge, Maira Kalman, Sarajo Frieden, Kiki Smith, Margaret Killgallen to name a few artists that inspire me to no end

Q: What is your earliest memory of making art?

A: In my room drawing moths when I was 6. I was also smitten with a great coloring book called the “Anti-Coloring” book. I want to make one for adults

Q: What themes do you tend to explore in your work?

A: The themes that I like to explore between the figures in my painting focus on loss, longing and love from the perspective of a sophisticated child. I think regardless of my subject matter there is an emotional quality to my painting process that I try to engage with personally and hope that it translates to the viewer.

Q: Where do you go to be inspired?

A: Dollar stores, the ocean, book stores, china town and my studio.

Q: It’s always interesting to find out where an artist creates their work. Can you describe where you make your paintings?

A: I make art in my art studio which is a converted garage behind my apartment that my husband and I share with 4 other artists. I feel lucky that there is a little distance, but I can still run back and fourth to my kitchen for tea.

Q: How did you come to the decision you wanted to be an artist?

A: Becoming an artist has been like climbing a mountain, but instead of going straight to the top, I’ve been going gradually around the mountain, getting distracted along the way by scraping my knees, setting up camp along the way and other fumbling and sustained moments of grace. I am 33 and went to art school when I was 29. I have worked so many different jobs, but finally am being brave enough to go for it and make art for my living.

Q: What elements are really important to you in terms of your practice?

A: Good question… setting up a schedule and trying to stick to it and evaluate it on a weekly basis, even though it inevitably mutates. I also think that artist dates are essential—giving myself permission to take an afternoon to pull inspiration from magazines and decorate my studio wall with them, or to take a day off to go to the museum, or to take photos in a new part of the city all fuel my creative process immeasurably.

Q: How do you choose the verbiage that you include in your paintings? What significance do these words have to the piece?

A: The verbiage comes from eaves dropping, songs and stories that evolve from my sketches that are usually based on memory. Like other aspects of my paintings, including color choice, I think texts adds another element to the overall composition and narrative of the painting.

Q: Have you worked in different mediums? If so, how do these choices correlate?

A: I have done print-making in the form of silk-screening and love to repeat patterns and this has led me to explore the potential of surface and textile design.

Postcard worthy is a collection of postcards or postcard worthy photos we have stumbled upon. See more

Here’s a recent addition to my little bag of tricks - it adds a subtle touch to the everyday image rollover effect with a minimal amount of additional code.

An example of the effect can be seen here:

http://labs.ehousestudio.com/code/jquery_rollovers/

Sexy, eh? Easy to implement too. Here’s how it’s done.

Start with the element to which you want to add the rollover effect. We’re going to use a simple image for this example.

<img src="/path/to/image/" alt="Image alt description" />

Now, you’ll need to wrap the image in a container of some sort that will act as the trigger - this can technically be any element you want but for sans-javascript users and usability reasons, it should probably be an anchor. (Adding a rollover effect to an element that doesn’t take you anywhere after you click it is the same as underlining text that isn’t a link.) So here’s what we have now:

<a href="/path/to/your/page/">
	<img src="/path/to/image/" alt="Image alt description" />
</a>

Here’s where purists will kick me in the shins. We need to add an extraneous, semantically-useless piece of markup. I know, I know… kick me now.

<a href="/path/to/your/page/">
	<span class="rollover"></span>
	<img src="/path/to/image/" alt="Image alt description" />
</a>

That’s it for the markup - let’s style it:

a {
	display:block;
	width:200px;
	height:200px;
	background:#ccc;
	position:relative;
	}

a .rollover {
	display:block;
	position:absolute;
	top:0;
	left:0;
	width:180px; /* (totalWidth - (borderLeftWidth + borderRightWidth)) */
	height:180px; /* (totalHeight - (borderTopWidth + borderBottomWidth)) */
	border:10px solid #666;
	background:transparent;
	}

This is pretty straightforward. We assign dimensions to the wrapper element and give it a position value of relative. The rollover element is positioned absolutely to the top-left of the wrapper and has a border value of 10px. (Obviously, the border widths and colors can be adjusted to your own whims.) Since there is 20px of border on each size, adjust the width and height accordingly so that the span is exactly the size of the wrapper (as denoted in the css comments above).

The concludes the CSS portion of the program. Let’s get our hands dirty with some jQuery:

(I’m going to assume that you are familiar with at least the basics of jQuery which are not really in the scope of this article. If not, check out this tutorial: http://docs.jquery.com/Tutorials:Getting_Started_with_jQuery to help get you started.)

After including the jQuery file in your document, go ahead and call the jQuery object:

<script type="text/javascript">
$().ready(function() {

});
</script>

(Of course the rest of the code we write will go inside the jQuery function.)

In order to be able to fade the rollover in to a specific opacity level, we need to set the initial opacity of the rollover to 0. Add this to your script:

$(".rollover").css({'opacity':'0'});

The only thing left is to create the hover function. This is how you do it:

$('a').hover(
	function() {
		$(this).find('.rollover').fadeTo(500, 0.60);
	},
	function() {
		$(this).find('.rollover').fadeTo(500, 0.00);
	}
);

Notice that I’m fading the rollover element in to 60% opacity in one half second. You can adjust these values accordingly.

Here’s the end result:

<script type="text/javascript">
$().ready(function() {
	$(".rollover").css({'opacity':'0'});
	$('a').hover(
		function() {
			$(this).find('.rollover').fadeTo(500, 0.60);
		},
		function() {
			$(this).find('.rollover').fadeTo(500, 0.00);
		}
	);
});
</script>

That’s it! Now you have a custom animated rollover for your images.

Why, Oh Why?

My two year old loves candy; don’t we all? She walks around with her hands held out muttering ‘moe emems peas’ (adult translation: ‘more M&M’s please… we think’). There’s nothing more enjoyable than gorging yourself on candy - eye-candy included. So why is an accessibility and usability nerd telling you about how to add eye-candy to your site? Well take a look at that example again and roll over the image… What is the muscle inside your skull telling you? In addition to giving your users a visual clue that you’re supposed to click on the image, it also adds a touch of aesthetic elegance to the element. Why is that important? Well, just as my daughter walks around muttering and wiping her chocolate covered fingers on our walls, windows and dog, users want eye-candy; studies show that people appear to use aesthetics to judge appeal and perceived usability (reference article: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/aesthetics-usability.shtml). Therefore, a subtle focus on adding improved aesthetics to your site, in addition to continuing to pay more attention to usability, can make even this chocolate-covered nerd happy.

You can download the referenced example source files at http://labs.ehousestudio.com/code/jqueryrollovers.zip.

Any questions? Comment below or find me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eHouseDev.

Cynthia Waddell, known globally for her tremendous achievements in the advancement of web accessibility, spoke with {e} this week. She reflects on her career path, her continuous efforts to bring civil rights to people with disabilities and clears up some common misconceptions about Section 508.

Q: Can you tell us about your organization, the ICDRI, and why accessibility is an important global issue?

A: As an internationally recognized public policy centre organized by and for people with disabilities, the International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet seeks to increase opportunities for people with disabilities by identifying barriers to participation in society and promoting best practices and universal design for the global community. ICDRI’s mission includes the collection of a knowledge base of quality disability resources and best practices and to provide education, outreach and training based on these core resources. ICDRI makes this information available in an accessible format through our web site at http://www.icdri.org. In addition, we provide Accessibility Oversight Professional Consulting Services for government and private sector clients. Our clients include U.S. and foreign governments, higher education, major corporations and the United Nations.

ICDRI enables people in every country to post best practices resources on our web site. We also facilitate meetings on public policy such as the Pacific Rim meeting in Manila on accessible information and communications technology, and the annual presentations held during the Technology and Persons with Disabilities International Conference in Los Angeles, California. In fact, next week I will be speaking at the conference on a number of topics including an update on accessible web litigation, the Google Library Book Settlement and the Kindle 2 text to speech controversy.

The accessible design of products, services and facilities and the implementation of effective communication for persons with disabilities have increasingly become priorities worldwide. For example, on 3 May 2008, the United Nations Convention or treaty on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) came into legal force setting forth the obligations of countries who have signed the treaty to address accessibility in all sectors of society. As the first human rights treaty of the millennium, it received a historic number of signatories for any treaty on opening day and was one of the fastest treaties ever negotiated with active participation from organizations of persons with disabilities.

It was an honor and privilege to serve as an accessibility expert in the drafting of the UNCRPD and to now be engaged in assisting countries in their implementation of the accessibility provisions of the treaty.

Q: What initially inspired you to pursue this career path and how have you remained passionate about this cause?

A: As a person with a lifetime hearing loss - who has had years of speech and lip reading lessons and wears two hearing aids - I first became active in cross-disability issues while I was studying for my Juris Doctor degree at Santa Clara University School of Law. By cross-disability, I mean the entire spectrum of disability issues impacting people with visual, hearing, speech, mental and mobility disabilities. At that time the ground-breaking Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) had just been enacted by Congress. I found that it was not enough to learn about disability rights laws and how they sought to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. I wanted to know more- what was the practical application of these laws in society? What were the real public policy challenges of government and the private sector in meeting these requirements? Did people with disabilities really benefit from this effort? Did their quality of life improve?

As a pragmatic person seeking practical solutions, I sought out venues to learn more and tried to put myself in the position to understand the challenges. Every employment, volunteer position and government appointment I have had addresses civil rights for people with disabilities. When I served as a public interest scholar at the Employment Law Center, I learned about employment issues and wrote a training manual for lawyers on how to litigate under the ADA. In my work as an ADA consultant for higher education, I learned about issues concerning the built environment, faculty access to the work environment and student access to learning.

This was my training ground for eventually serving as an ADA compliance officer for local government and as an ADA Mediator for discrimination complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Justice. At one time I even held local, county, state and federal appointments — all dealing with access for people with disabilities! Those appointments provided a reservoir of information as I worked with and alongside people with disabilities and tackled systemic change issues for management. Little did I know that writing the first accessible web design standard for local government in 1996, would lead to recognition as a best practice by the federal government and contribute to the Section 508 effort. When I subsequently provided input into the language of the Section 508 legislation, I had no idea whether or not Congress would enact the legislation. This was also true during my work on the UNCRPD. I had no idea it would eventually be so widely accepted and enter into legal force on my birthday.

Perhaps I have remained passionate about the cause because I have seen how the removal of barriers enables persons with disabilities to contribute to society. I also see how the accessible design of technology can improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities by providing independence, dignity, equal access and even privacy.

Q: You’ve had such an accomplished career, including multiple publications and awards, what was the most problematic obstacle you’ve had to overcome to get where you are today?

“My mantra continues to be: Technology changes, but civil rights do not!”A: Understanding and working in a field addressing systemic change is one of the most difficult things to do. Notwithstanding all the efforts underway, there is still a lack of education and understanding about the accessible design of technology, its impact on consumers and the public policy ramifications. Even with the promise of innovation through convergence, technology barriers continue to be erected.

Q: User-generated content (”web 2.0″) has become the latest trend on the web, and with it has come the latest hurdle for accessibility-focused web authors. What is your opinion on the current state of web accessibility? If you believe it should be improved, please explain why.

A: In the beginning, there was a lot of Web 2.0 stuff that prevented user-generated content to be produced in an accessible manner. Now we are seeing efforts to address accessibility in Facebook and Twitter and even YouTube. In fact, I do not think that many people know that YouTube now has captioning functionality in the application and this is now an education and awareness issue that needs to be tackled. By the way, I think that user-generated content should have features that create accessible content by default so that the user does not need to know how to address accessibility. My opinion is that accessibility always needs to be addressed and it can certainly be improved in the Web 2.0 arena. I understand that there is an Accessibility Center in Second Life? What do you think about it?

Q: The majority of opponents to web accessibility are concerned that making their website Section 508 compliant costs too much. According to the National Center For Health Statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/), 21.2 million (9.6%) American adults experience “vision trouble”, 37.2 million (17%) experience “hearing trouble” and 32.3 million (15%) American adults experience “physical functioning difficulty”. With these numbers in mind, what would you tell an opponent to web accessibility that would sway their decision?

A: I do not believe the majority of opponents to web accessibility are concerned that making their websites conform to the Federal Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards is too expensive. This is the cost of doing business in the Federal marketplace for vendors providing documentation, help and support online for their products and services. If it was too expensive, then they can opt out of participating in the federal marketplace and I do not see that happening. In fact, in a recent bid protest on a contract award, the facts showed that the winner of the multi-million dollar contract award had an accessible web site while the loser did not. Even vendors who sell to State governments are finding that State governments may have adopted the Federal Section 508 accessibility standards in some form in their procurement practices. And now with the new treaty requiring accessible web design on behalf of 650 million persons with disabilities around the world, there are more legal incentives to do so. The irony here is that one would think that a sales organization would want the greatest number of people possible to access the content on their website.

Q: While regulations exist in the UK, Australia and other countries for commercial websites to comply with web accessibility guidelines, only federal agency websites require compliance in the United States. Do you feel that all US-based commercial websites (e-commerce, brochure, etc.) should be Section 508-compliant? What can be done to achieve this goal and how would these regulations be enforced?

A: Your question contains a number of assumptions that are not correct and since I may be discussing legal issues, I would like to add a disclaimer here to say that the following response is not to be considered legal advice or opinion on specific facts. Particular legal questions can best be answered by seeking the advice of legal counsel.

Having said that, perhaps you should ask whether or not there are legal incentives for U.S.-based commercial websites to be accessible? Since 1995 there have been both private and public accessible web settlements by commercial vendors. Also, we already have a U.S. company found in violation of the UK Disability Discrimination Act and fined for having an inaccessible web-based testing exam - and this company did not even have a physical presence in the U.K. In the U.S. there continues to be Americans with Disabilities Act Title III obligations and risks for businesses that have websites. There are also State Statutes that prevent discrimination on the basis of disability and these State Statutes can create obligations and risks for commercial businesses that have websites.

“If a business has any online customers in the State of California, and their website is not accessible, they risk a treble damage lawsuit”For example, we now have persuasive authority in the State of California that impacts commercial businesses with websites. If a business has any online customers in the State of California, and their website is not accessible, they risk a treble damage lawsuit with liability starting at $4,000.00 per incident. A broad interpretation of the statutory damages would be to count the number of inaccessible elements on a website and multiple this number by $4,000. Then multiply it by each day the website was not accessible. Treble damages can be a serious risk in California. As I said, this hypothetical is based on the persuasive authority of the Court in the NFB v. Target case even though it was settled. I think all of us will stay tuned to the outcome of the recently filed web accessibility case, NFB v. Law School Admissions Council. This is because the complaint is based on the same California State disability rights statutes of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Disabled Persons Act.

How ironic it is that the first paper I ever published was on Treble Damages under the Unruh Civil Rights Act for the Consumer Trial Attorneys of California back in 1995. At the time, I was interested in how the State Statute was being utilized in litigation to address discrimination against persons with disabilities. It is still with us today – but now being applied to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability in access to a commercial website.

Q: While the WAI and W3C have made great strides in setting standards for web authors to follow, the standards themselves have yet to achieve wide-spread acceptance. What, in your opinion, is responsible for this, and what can be done in the immediate future to rectify this situation?

A: The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) leads the way for setting industry standards in accessible web design, but by definition, all industry setting standards are voluntary. Only when a country or government incorporates a standard in a regulatory setting can the standard become mandatory in a legal sense.

The WAI leadership participated in the Section 508 refresh effort, but the final report came out prior to W3C WCAG 2.0 becoming a Recommendation and a stable standard. I expect that the new Section 508 Proposed Rules for web accessibility will be published by the U.S. Access Board in 2010, and at that time, it would be prudent for all voices to respond about accessible web needs during the comment period. The more the community of persons with disabilities and the WAI participate during the comment period for the proposed rules, the better the possibility that the final rules for accessible web will address the concerns raised.

Q: For you, what is a perfect photograph? How has this concept changed for you over time?

A: My idea of a “perfect” photograph is a little skewed from what it used to be. I love it when things just happen naturally and I catch a moment that isn’t planned out- in something that I have planned out. It can happen at anytime and might not even be a part of the shoot you are on. You always have to be paying attention to everything that is going on during a shoot, but there’s that split second when you’re talking to an assistant or stylist and the model relaxes. They’ll start playing with something around them and it creates an amazing photograph. This happens a lot! Its this weird twist oxymoronic kind of feel. I want this person(s) in a certain scene or area, but I want to catch them doing the opposite of what I want to do! Sounds crazy, but it works.

Q: How would you explain the importance of your profession to an outsider?

A: This is a very interesting question. There are a lot of factors that the majority of people don’t realize. It takes a lot of work to make quality photographs, from big shoots to small scale shoots, from start to finish. There is no such thing as pointing a camera and 1 click later “OK, got it.” Proficient photography is not just, “oh, just point you camera over there and snap away” or “it should only take ten minutes, its digital!” It’s such a team effort in my area, involving hair and makeup artists, stylists, photo assistants, art directors etc. You’re constantly wondering if the lighting is perfect, are the props/ people in the right position, what angle should I be shooting from. It makes professionals a little hot when people think that our art is “so easy, just point and click.” Think about what is involved next time you see a beautiful photo spread in a magazine, or if you see some guy photographing landscapes on the side of the road- he has probably been waiting there for 3 days to get the sunset he wanted.

Q: You’ve grown up in Charleston, but have spent a lot of time in other cities. How would you describe the art scene here? What have you found to be unique about the art, galleries and artists here?

A: The art scene in Charleston is a lot bigger than people might think. I encourage everyone to take advantage of that. When people think of art in Charleston they think rainbow row, the battery, sunsets, sea shells, palm tress, etc. There is more to that in Charleston. There are tons of modern artists, street artists, photographers, painters, sculptors, graffiti etc.- they’re all here. What I find to be unique about the art scene here is where people get their inspiration. As an artist you always need to surround yourself with what inspires you. To most people that means going to a big city and being one of a trillion other artists. Granted there is nothing wrong with that and it does work, but I love the artists that are doing really amazing work right here in Charleston, South Carolina. I think it’s a great and wonderful thing and I hope everyone keeps on breaking down walls and pushing the limits for new art!

Q: What challenges do you think you face most as an artist?

A: The challenging part of my field, and I’m sure it goes the same for all other artists, is always coming up with new work and fresh ideas. You always want to be doing something better than the current “best”. A lot of my time is spent formulating new ideas and driving around cranking some tunes and finding things that inspire me. I love it when I see a photographer’s work who is amazing and far more talented than me, it just makes me work that much harder to try and come up with better and more creative work.

Q: What are 10 things that interest or influence you?

• People in general
• Every Photographer, I love to look at other peoples work. Its very inspiring to see what people can create.
• Tim Walker, David LaChapelle, Steven Klein, Danny Clinch
• Music (its my inspiration portal for everything, I have my boombox on every shoot!)
• Antique/Vintage stores
• 18th century paintings
• My Mom (I’m a momma’s boy and not afraid to admit it. She got me where I am today! Thanks!)
• Honestly, Everything inspires me. I am such a visual person, everything I see has an effect on me. From dirt to lemons to blue skies to people with green Mohawks to trash in an old storefront window. I try to take inspiration from everything I come across.

To stay up to date on all things David, check out his blog!

Postcard worthy is a collection of postcards or postcard worthy photos we have stumbled upon. See more

Protecting a brand’s identity can seem like a daunting task, especially when you need to communicate its importance to a client. That’s why it’s a great idea to include a Visual Standards Manual (aka brand style guide) with any logo you design for a client, so they have a reference point before making major decisions.

The guide will protect them from diluting the logo’s message thus weakening the brand’s overall identity in the marketplace. The manual itself can range from a just a couple simple pages to what appears to be a thick novel. Obviously, what you offer depends on your clients’ specific needs.

Step 1: Draw a layout. There are a few basic pages that most manuals include, but there are literally hundreds of rules you could chose to incorporate as well. Narrowing it down before you start will save you time and a headache later.

Step 2: Make a master. When you’re creating the manual, (I prefer to use InDesign) be sure to make a master page with the header, guides, a footer with page numbers, etc. You’ll probably be making dozens of standards manuals for many clients and there’s no need to start from scratch each time. You also might want to make multiple layers so you can quickly hide an obsolete section in the future.

Step 3: Add a contents page and directives. Unless it’s common knowledge, each item should include a brief summary of how it applies to their specific logo.

Color Palette: Include Pantone colors for printing. You may want to add CMYK or RGB values as well.

Typography: Write out the entire alphabet and numbers 0-9 in each font chosen for their brand.

Logo colors: Display the logo in the Primary color and also the Secondary colors (if any). We also recommend displaying a reverse logo.

Unacceptable logo versions: There are a number of examples of how Not to display a logo; such as distorting, changing colors, rearranging elements, adding text, adding a white box, etc.

Clear Space: Add an example showing how much space around the logo should be untouched at all times. This is usually the size of one of the medium sized letters in the logo.

Minimum Logo Size: Because they’ll be including the logo on many different printed materials, it’s important to provide the client with guidelines of how small they can shrink the logo while keeping in legible and conveying the same strong brand message.

Identity Materials: Be specific about where the logo should appear in a number of their identity materials, like envelopes, business cards, faxes, stationary- you may even want to include an email signature.

Product Placement: This tells them where the logo should be placed on merchandizing items, such as t-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers. This section will defiantly depend on the client’s specific needs.

Other topics you may choose to include in the manual are text wrapping, an example of a Sponsorship logo, and an explanation of file formats.

Step 4: They’ll have questions. On the back cover or in the footer of the manual, make sure to include a contact at your firm with their information. This way, if there’s any confusion down the road, the client will contact you instead of possibly making a bad decision.

Step 5: Presentation is everything. There are several options for presenting the standards manual. The two I recommend are either uploading it as a PDF or printing it out and presenting it in a binder rather than a bound copy. Both ways allow you to insert additional pages as the brand grows and more detailed needs have to be addressed.

{e} has found that creating visual standards manuals for clients has been incredibly beneficial. Not only does the client receive a quick reference for their logo queries, but also the manual helps them to grasp the importance of branding and preserving their logo’s strong message.

For more logo information, you can check out Logo Design Workbook or Designing Brand Identity.