JMG-Galleries - Jim M. Goldstein Photography

First Light on Mount Whitney

Jim — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:27:53 +0000

Taking in early morning light in the Owens Valley is a magical experience. Drab grey rocks come to life in a variety of colorful hues as the sun’s first rays of light are filtered through the atmosphere. The success of capturing my now favorite photo of Mobius Arch, taken back in 2006 and the subject of one of my first podcast episodes, hooked me on repeatedly visiting the Alabama Hills in the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately such great light and scenery does not go unnoticed these days…

Click to Enlarge

First Light on Mount Whitney Seen Through Mobius Arch

Photo Details:
Canon 1DS Mark III, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, f/13, 115 seconds, ISO 200

Venturing out to Mobius Arch is seldom a solo event. The tight space that one can capture this photo is often filled with numerous photographers clamoring to get the perfect angle shutting out other photographers. On this morning it was the most crowded I’ve seen with at least 5 photographers in the area.

Photographers stake their ground to photograph Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills

In this day and age its nearly impossible to keep a good photo location under wraps. Given the popularity of this arch I wonder when the BLM will take action to preserve the area or regulate access. During this visit it would seem the BLM was more interested in making it as easy as possible for folks to find the arch with a freshly marked trail being in place. Given these circumstances its no wonder the likes of Marc Muench keeps his Unknown Arch location quiet. As the popularity of this area grows I do hope that photographers take care of this special location and stay civil to each other.

Mobius Arch Crowd of Photographers

Technorati Tags: photography, California, arch, Mobius Arch, nature, landscape, stock photo, Alabama Hills

Thoughts on the iPad: Where Will Your Audience Be Next Year?

Jim — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:48:52 +0000

In my previous post All Eyes Are On The iPad. Are Yours? I noted how the iPad was setting the stage for a publishing revolution with its transformational user experience. How have I come to this bold prediction? Three key signs have led me to the belief we’re on the cusp of a publishing revolution in short order.

Tablet computers are currently the next must have device.
Touchscreen interaction / navigation will be spreading to traditional computers
Touchscreen interaction / navigation is defining an entire new branch of user interaction & user experience

Must Have Device
If you haven’t noticed already there are iPad giveaways around every corner. Apple’s iPad has captured the imagination of millions of people by changing how they interact with content on the web. This same fervor hit consumers in the 80’s with the mouse and here in the 2010’s touchscreen technology is making online viewing less abstract and physically more interactive. Apple’s ability to hit it big with the iPad, as with their other successful product launches, inevitably results in competitors releasing cheaper takeoffs. Odds are if you know someone who wants a gadget for Christmas they’ll be asking for an iPad. If an iPad isn’t in the budget you can bet that your local retailer like BestBuy will be selling a variety of competitors to fill the void.

Expect Touchscreen Interaction on Your Computer
Mobile devices are an intuitive place to utilize touchscreen technology. Mobile devices with their small footprint must be compact for portability while walking a fine line to provide an easy to view screen with easy navigation capabilities. Ask a child to view something on a computer and their first reaction invariably will be to point to the screen. This exemplifies the simplest navigation tool available… our fingers. As mobile devices become ubiquitous amongst younger generations such navigation is not only going to become intuitive, but expected.

The difference between a 3.5 inch (9 cm) and a 9.75 inch (24.5 cm) diagonal touchscreen of an iPhone & iPad may seem less than notable, but the increase in real estate to present text, images and video is huge. Everything (navigation cues, graphics, buttons, etc.) becomes easier to identify, touch, and move. Larger screen sizes also create greater opportunity for new and innovative navigation and presentation layers. This type of content interaction is not likely to be lost on traditional computers with even larger screens, as recently surfaced Apple patent filings of a touchscreen iMac confirm we’ll be seeing more of this style of interaction on future computers.

Evolution of Web Use & Design Standards
In a recent edition of Wired magazine it was prognosticated that the web is dead.

Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule. And it’s the world that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they’re rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen). The fact that it’s easier for companies to make money on these platforms only cements the trend. - The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet

How the data is parsed to come to this conclusion is questionable in my book (video is not considered the web? really!? What about YouTube?), but this Wired article in general raises an interesting premise and should make you think twice about how you’re experiencing the web today and how you & your audience might be experiencing it in the future.

The iPad, being the first out of the gate, will have a disproportionate amount of influence on design standards and user experience trends for the touchscreen oriented content. Knowing these standards and understanding how users are interacting with online content is critical whether that content resides in a web page, app, peer-to-peer site, etc. The question then raised is how does your web site translate to a touchscreen device like an iPad? In case you were unaware iPadPeek is a great way to see (just be sure you disable Flash on your browser first). The even bigger question is how will your audience be viewing the content you produce and publish online?

Will traditional web sites hold up? Will apps be the dominant channel of online publishing? Will mobile viewing overtake traditional computer viewing? I have a notion of how things will play out in the future and it centers on a maturing model of revenue generation, but details to this thought will have to wait for the next post in this series. Stay tuned…

Technorati Tags: photography, Apple, iPad, publishing

EXIF and Beyond: Tom Hogarty Discusses Lightroom 3.2

Jim — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:47:04 +0000

The 35th episode of EXIF and Beyond has been released (duration 38:09 min.)

This episode of EXIF and Beyond features an interview with Tom Hogarty product manager for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, the Adobe Raw Converter plugin and the DNG file format. Discussed is Lightroom 3 vs. Lightroom 2 improvements, new features in the recently released Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Raw Converter 6.2 and great conversation surrounding performance, scalability and hints of future Lightroom functionality.

Tom provides an insiders perspective on video support, the return of Sticky Filters, custom lens profiles above and beyond Lightroom 3.2’s 120 new lens profiles that automatically correct for undesirable distortion and aberration effects, how and why Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Raw Converter are tied at the hip in their releases, the benefits of new publishing capabilities to SmugMug and Facebook, and an overview to many of the major bug releases included in Lightroom 3.2.

Related Sites

Download Adobe Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Raw Converter 6.2 Updates – Adobe.com
Sticky Filters – Lightroom Journal (Tom’s Blog)
Adobe Lens Profile Creator – Adobe Labs
Lightroom Feature Request – Adobe Forums
Media Storm
The DAM Forum
Jeffrey’s “GPS-Support” Geoencoding Plugin for Lightroom
What’s New in Lightroom 3.2 RC? – The Lighttroom Queen (@LightroomQueen)

Listen To The Podcast

Download: EXIF and Beyond: Tom Hogarty
If you enjoyed this episode please be sure to rate and comment on the EXIF and Beyond podcast on iTunes.

Technorati Tags: photography, podcast, Tom Hogarty, Lightroom, Photoshop, Lightroom 3, Lighroom 3.2, Adobe Raw Converter 6.2, Adobe, photography, EXIF and Beyond

Snakehead Yardang, White Sands National Monument

Jim — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:34:20 +0000

In 2004 I stumbled upon an incredibly interesting area of White Sands National Monument while hiking out into the 360 square miles park, an area I can only describe as an ancient dune field. When I first discovered this area I photographed one of the many yardangs I found in this isolated area (see photo #2 in My Top 5 Favorite Photographs and Accompanying Stories), but upon my return in April of 2010 the formation I originally photographed had been eroded into oblivion and was gone forever. I have to admit I was really bummed the formation was no longer present, but that disappointment soon transformed into an adrenaline fueled high as I discovered yardang after yardang the farther I hiked out.

Snakehead Yardang, White Sands National Monument

One of the more fascinating yardangs I found and photographed was one that resembled a snakehead emerging from a 60 foot dune. I took care to photograph various compositions of this fragile sand formation and cherished the fact that no one would ever see this formation in the exact same way. As I discovered while visiting the area of my last yardang photo these formations are here one day and gone another. The winds of the Tularosa Basin simultaneously shapes and destroys the landscape providing a unique experience with every visit. It is for this reason that every visit to White Sands National Monument is as exciting as the first.

Photo Details:
Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II, 16mm, 1/200 sec, f/16, ISO 200

Technorati Tags: Photography, Fine Art, New Mexico, White Sands National Monument, Landscape, Nature

Redwood Canopy, Muir Woods National Monument

Jim — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:23:10 +0000

It’s ironic and sad that only when we lose something does it become treasured. Muir Woods is a perfect example of this. These majestic Redwood trees were nearly wiped out to build and rebuild San Francisco (after numerous fires and the great earthquake of 1906). This last stand of local Redwood trees was saved by rough terrain that made logging difficult if not impossible and the donation of the land by William Kent.

Muir Woods National Monument Visitors

Muir Woods National Monument is among the most popular destinations in the San Francisco area. Just the other weekend my wife and I drove through Marin to see large crowds gathering at a shuttle stop to visit Muir Woods. The small parking lot there is quickly filled by early arrivals and numerous tour buses. I think it’s great that people now see the value in the serene beauty of this oasis of Redwood trees, but I can’t help but feel sad that it took their near destruction for others to appreciate their existence.

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. – John Muir

Redwood Canopy, Muir Woods National Monument

Technorati Tags: California, Muir Woods, National Monument, Redwood, nature, stock photo

Poll: Your Thoughts on the Ansel Adams Garage Sale Find

Jim — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:10:22 +0000

Things are heating up with the alleged discovery of Ansel Adams’ lost photographic work. What are you predictions to the outcome of this conflict?

Background Info:
Experts: Ansel Adams photos found at garage sale worth $200 million – CNN
Matthew Adams Speaks out About Alleged Ansel Adams Negatives – SilberStudios.tv
Ansel Adams’ Grandson Shows How Alleged Negatives are Fishy – SilberStudios.tv
Ansel Adams Garage Sale Mystery Apparently Solved – Petapixel
Ansel Adams trust sues over garage sale negatives – SF Gate

Technorati Tags: Ansel Adams, Rick Norsigian, photography, fine art

All Eyes Are On The iPad. Are Yours?

Jim — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:08:43 +0000

In early April Apple launched the iPad. Since that time not one day has passed that you’ve not heard the word iPad. Why? Apple sold 3 million units in the first 80 days of it’s release. Initial estimates were that Apple would sell 1 million iPads in 2010 and now the 2010 forecast is much higher:

iSuppli, a market intelligence company, also raised their forecast of iPad sales. The company believes Apple will ship 12.9 million iPads by the end of 2010, 36.5 million in 2011 and 50.4 million in 2012. – iSuppli

For many the iPad is the savior of a stagnating print industry and for others its a great gaming platform. But what should it mean to photographers? No it’s not going to change photography (Why the iPad Doesn’t Matter, Yet Matters), but it is going to provide a great publishing opportunity. In fact it’s more likely to create a publishing revolution, a revolution that could possibly turn publishing upside down.

I noted in my iPad review that I was initially unimpressed at the time of Apple’s announcement of the iPad, but sometime later I understood why the iPad would make a lasting impact (5 Reasons Photographers Should Take Note of the iPad). In a nutshell “transformational user experience”.

Not unlike the early days of PC’s when the mouse was first introduced, it was tough for people to envision the possibilities the new technology provided. It was tough to appreciate a computer that used a mouse when there was little to no software that utilized a mouse. Fast forward to 2010 and we’re in the same predicament. The main difference is that we’ve been graced with a soft introduction to the touch screen thanks to the iPhone. Yet the larger real estate of the iPad screen gives developers and users more to experiment and play with. It’s an exciting time to ponder the possibilities.

I know I have and over the coming week or two I’m going to share a post or two on the iPad to go deeper into my thoughts on the opportunities it provides and how I think photographers can benefit from this new publishing medium. Stay tuned!

Technorati Tags: photography, Apple, iPad, publishing

Friday Photo Recommendations

Jim — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:18:14 +0000

If you’re as passionate about photography as I am, I have some great sources of photo inspiration for you to start your weekend.

Art of Composition Lectures

If you’re looking to improve your photography Art Wolfe (@artwolfe) is running a series of lectures on the Art of Composition in 5 cities through October. Check out the schedule here on his web site and if you sign up be sure to share that you found out about it via the JMG-Galleries blog. If you’re in the SF Bay area Art will be in San Jose on September 25th.

Inspiring Books & Prints

Michael E. Gordon (@MichaelEGordon) has released a folio of amazing large format black and white photographs of the Southern California desert aptly titled “Desert”. Thanks to Twitter I caught wind of the release of this folio right away and bought it without hesitation. Given Michael’s fine artistic eye and technical prowess I knew this folio would be great. Upon receiving it I was not disappointed, impressed not just by the great photographs, but the detail applied to the presentation of his work. At $99 “Desert” was a bargain. If you’re a fan of Michael’s work as well pick this one up before the price reverts to $129.

William Neill (@wgneill) has released an amazing collection of his early photos from Yosemite National Park in an eBook titled William Neill’s Yosemite: Volume One. William was kind enough to share a courtesy copy of his eBook with me and it brought back a flood of memories in reading his articles and viewing his photographs in years past. This particular eBook contains over 100 pages of inspiring photographs of Yosemite’s pristine beauty. If you’re unfamiliar with William Neill’s work this is certainly a great way to introduce yourself to his incredible photography. Well worth the $10 price tag for the digital edition.

David Sanger (@davidsanger) has a wonderful book San Francisco Bay, Portrait of an Estuary. David was kind enough to provide a courtesy copy of this book to me and its an amazingly well done book. The images & essays are excellent and the print quality is superb. If you’re attracted to the beauty of the San Francisco bay area or want to learn more about its rich natural history this is a must have. David has signed copies available on his site for only $29.99. Definitely worth checking out.

Have a great weekend and as I can I’ll continue to bring you more sources of photo inspiration.

Monterey Pines in the Fog

Jim — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:18:38 +0000

Two of the most photogenic nature icons in San Francisco are the fog and Monterey Pine trees. Shaped by the wind Monterey Pines have a rugged appearance and texture. When shrouded by fog these trees stand out even more with their sweeping canopy and jagged branches. This scene was photographed very close to my home and in viewing it you can’t help but get the feeling these trees are reaching out to embrace the fog as it wisps by. Only after years of walking my dogs here have I learned that in fact that is what they’re doing. Their needles condense water from the fog and it drips down to the ground allowing them to hydrate and grow ever taller into the fog.

Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata) Trees in the Fog - San Francisco, California

Technorati Tags: photography, nature, stock photo, San Francisco, California, Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata

Sea Otters: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Jim — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:40:29 +0000

Few would argue that one of the cutest sea mammals around are Sea Otters. Whether they’re grooming, using tools to crack open shellfish to eat or just warming themselves in the sun Sea Otters seem to have an eternally cute appearance. As Sea Otters rest in rafts you never know what pose they might take. The rare combination is the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” pose between neighboring otters. I happened to get luck one morning witnessing and seeing this classic pose. I do wonder if I’ll catch this pose again… I hope so.

In the news: Sea otter numbers take a turn for the worse

Raft of Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris) - Monterey, California

Technorati Tags: photography, wildlife, Monterey, California, Sea Otter, Enhydra lutris, stock photo

Wonderland – Grand Teton National Park

Jim — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 07:10:41 +0000

As long as there are trees to walk under I will forever enjoy a harmony with nature.

Back in 2007 a morning walk along the shore of Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park yielded stellar views of Mount Moran, but it was my brief moments amongst the trees as I returned to the trailhead that grabbed my eye most. Wildflowers, vibrant green grass and dappled light filtering through the tree canopy created an infinite space to let my mind and body wander. While there were infinite elements of the scene before me to grab my eye it was the vastness of the forest that captured my imagination most and inspired my photo “Wonderland”.

Wonderland - Grand Teton National Park

Technorati Tags: photography, fine art, nature, landscape, Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park

Social Search: Competition = Opportunity

Jim — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:09:03 +0000

Last week in my post Social CRM: Opportunity Knocking I discussed the flip-side of common online privacy concerns highlighting opportunities for individuals and small businesses. With the rise of Social CRM solutions aggregating personal information to paint a picture of who you are to others I noted the importance of actively managing your online profiles and accounts. To extend this point further I wanted to share with you another area of opportunity for those who are managing their online presence in the Social Search space. Enjoy Part 3 of 3 on the topic of privacy and social media.

It’s been roughly 14 months since I wrote Why Social Media Matters to Photographers and in this time it’s very likely that the exploration of this new communication medium has resulted in your creation of multiple accounts either to experiment with or align into a larger communication strategy. In the past year Social Media use has exploded and the large search engines have taken note. So as to not become obsolete search engines have begun spidering entries in many social media communities to display alongside their traditional search results. Google quickly realized the best way to make sense of all this information in relation to individual identity was not to necessarily rely on algorithms to map things together, but to rely on individuals to piece their online presence together into a single profile… enter Google Profiles in mid-2009. In creating your Google Profile you can actively list sites that pertain to your online persona and footprint in a similar fashion noted in Social CRM: Opportunity Knocking. As an example here’s my Google profile page… feel free to follow me.

In late 2009 Google launched Social Search, 6 months after the launch of Google Profiles, enabling a new means to find information with in your social network. Google maps your relationship to the contacts in your social network and spiders content found with in the listed sites of each of your friends Google Profiles. The end result… for each of your searches Google will present the traditional results reflective of all content across the web and a special sub-set of results reflective of content amongst your contacts. To get a better idea of what this means see the video and screenshots below. (more after the jump)

Example 1

Click to Enlarge

Example 2

Click to Enlarge

Why is this of importance?

To beat the same drum in Why Social Media Matters to Photographers being networked provides benefits. In an almost counter intuitive fashion the greater you’re networked with your professional contacts, peers and even your competition the greater likelihood that a client can find you or your work. With “Google Profiles” and “Google Search” Google enables the intelligent creation of custom search based on niche.

To exemplify my point, in the screen captures to the left, I conducted a Google search for “Golden Gate Bridge Stock Photo”. As you’d imagine there are many web entries for this. At the bottom of the normal Google search results in Example 1 you’ll find a brief listing of results from my network. In this case content from my competition and friend David Sanger is included with my own. Clicking on “Results from people in your social circle for Golden Gate Bridge Stock Photo” displays the full listing of results as seen in Example 2 (enter another competitor and friend Gary Crabbe). With the proper connections it is possible for others in and beyond your known social network to find you.

If you’re at the top of the rankings for certain search terms you might be resistant to the idea of going networking crazy with Google Profiles, but no one can be at the top of every result nor can one be at the top of one result indefinitely. Google is constantly changing their algorithms and Social Search provides an alternate mechanism in the mysterious world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

I’m of the mindset that participation in Google Profiles and leveraging Social Search is of greater benefit to my business than detriment. Whether networked in this fashion or not my competitors and I surface in search results on several keywords as it is. We also compete regularly through placement of our images in agencies. I’m happy to let my work stand on its own and any way it can be found is a good thing.

The combination of Google Profiles, which provides an active mechanism to manage ones public information and shape ones online persona, and Google Social Search, which creates a unique custom search between you and your social network, feeds the maturation of user defined custom search. A custom search powered and shaped by data you actively provide. This is an incredibly valuable resource particularly coming from the 800 lb. gorilla in the search industry. Google as of April 2010 accounted for over 65% market share in the search space.

Given the ubiquitous nature of Google it’s critical to make it as easy as possible to be found and Google Profiles and Google Social Search enable you to do just that. So consider this a gentle reminder while its fair to be concerned about privacy and rights grab concerns with social media sites, don’t let it blind you from seeing emerging opportunities where you can manage and leverage your public information. Making your personal data and/or information public can be of benefit just be sure to manage it wisely and leverage it through trusted resources.

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You’ve found my blog, but you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg… follow me on Twitter, Facebook and FriendFeed.I also invite you to listen and subscribe to my podcast “EXIF and Beyond” featuring photographer interviews and the chronicles of creating some of my photography.

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Related Articles:
How Google Social Search Can Help You Get New Business for Your Photo Studio – Trevor Current
(coincidentally posted today as well)

Technorati Tags: social media, google, google profile, google search, social search, technology, privacy