Pricing: nice read!

Pricing a Project - Blue Flavor: "It often seems in the design agency business that the status quo to pricing a project is the old car salesman approach, where no two cars sell for the exact same price and to negotiate the price you must pass scraps of paper back and forth until you reach an agreement.

I believe these days are gone. In the Information Age the consumer is in control, with the ability to discover exactly how much a thing costs, honesty and transparency must be at the heart of how you price a project."

May 7 Workshop coming up!

This month we have decided to run the Lighting Workshop on a Sunday so a few wedding shooters who have contacted me can attend. I do have an opening for the workshop if any of you are interested. The last one netted some great images from the attendees. I will share a few with you here.

These images are from David Smith and were taken at the April workshop. Models are Richelle and Julie.

Toriann at Maxim

Toniann is up for Hometown Hottie at Maxim. Go on over and give her a vote.


thanks

Jazz... Make of it what you will

... and that's the point after all. Jazz has been a part of my life since I was very young. My dad played Benny Goodman (B Rich on drums), Satchmo, and the incredible Louis Prima all the time. Man, did I ever have a crush on Keely Smith. Gorgeous and she could sing and be funny and hang out with real jazz guys. This post will make you think. And if you have the time (make the time) - listen to a tune or two of each of these players. Need a point to start from? Ok, try this.
Ellington: Any damn one you want.
Paul Desmond: Bill Evans "Take Five"
Wynton Marsalis: "Live at the Blue Note"
Louis Armstrong: Anything from before 1965, stuff after is good too...
Dizzy Gillespie: "Salt Peanuts"
John Coltrane: Where to begin here... I have no idea. He is one of my greatest heroes. I have everything I have found... vinyl and CD. Fan? Nope... desciple. Try "Afro Blue" or "Ballads" for an introduction. Then follow up with "Kulu se Mama" and "Expressions".
Don Cherry: find a CD with Ornette Coleman on it. Then strap in.
Charles Mingus: anything you can find.
Billie Holiday: oh my... hard to find, but nearly every recording is a gem.
Herbie Hancock: Early stuff is very jazzy... after 1970 he got a bit pop... but after about 1980 got totally into jazz again.

Presentation Zen: Jazz and the art of connecting: "Jazz and the art of connecting

NoteMost students of jazz will not go on to be professional players. And few students turned on by the creative arts in school will go on to be professional artists. And that's OK. Knowledge and understanding of the arts and the experience of pursuing excellence with, say, an instrument or a brush, etc. can teach students a lot about life and the value of focused effort, patients, teamwork, perspective, creativity, problem solving, and a million other things. All things that will serve the student well no matter what profession(s) she ends up dedicating herself to."

Toriann is Asking for your vote

Toriann in Red Swimsuit in the desert
Originally uploaded by Wizwow.

"Ok everyone so here are the rules:
Here is the link
http://www.maximonline.com/hotties/hottievoting.aspx
I will be on starting tomorrow
You can vote EVERYDAY one time a day
You have to VOTE FOR TEN GIRLS IN ORDER TO SUBMIT YOUR VOTE… Thanks!"

Ok guys, this may be a tough assignment, but if you all could help her out with a vote or two this week we would sure appreciate it.

This saddens me...

Maybe it is my age, or the fact that I shot film for over 35 years... or maybe it is a deep seated concern that we bailed from film too fast. Going digital was fun, still is. But we will turn around one day and the film cameras will be gone. With that a lot of tradition, and frankly some incredible cameras. I love my RB's and RZ... now they will sit with my high-end cassette recorder, my top-of-the-line turntable and my beloved F3.
"Ch-ch-ch-changes..." Hat Tip: Kevin.

Mamiya bailing on camera biz - Engadget: "It looks like another venerable Japanese camera company is about to exit the business, just weeks after Konica Minolta produced its last camera. According to reports out of Japan (which we've confirmed with our Japanese bureau), Mamiya, best known for its high-end pro equipment, will be selling off its film and digital camera business to focus on other sectors."

Oh my...

Well, this is about right. Scary? You bet. Possibility of failure? Yep. Worth the gamble? Hmmm... your call. You have to do the hard work and face the wrath of the mediocrity mongers. Worth it if you fail? Well, sure!

Seth's Blog: "No" to average: "This is scary. It's really scary to turn down most (the average) of what comes your way and hold out for the remarkable opportunities. Scary to quit your job at an average company doing average work just because you know that if you stay, you'll end up just like them. Scary to go way out on an edge and intentionally make what you do unattractive to some."

This looks like a great way

... to add a little interest in an 0ffice or home office. I love quotes, so I ordered one. I'll let you all know how it turned out.

Wonderful Graffiti: "Graffiti letters are very, very thin pieces of vinyl. A light adhesive holds them firmly on the wall until you're ready to remove them. Think Colorforms and Post-It notes.Vinyl makes Graffiti flexible, durable, and washable.It's extreme thinness and hand-applied matte finish make Wonderful Graffiti look like it's been literally printed on the wall. (And not like vinyl at all.) "

Gigapixel project...

Check this out!

San Francisco/Bay Bridge Night: "San Francisco and the Oakland Bay Bridge from Treasure Island. The two parts of this deliberate double exposure were separated by more than an hour; an initial ten-second exposure provided by the twilight backdrop; a subsequent six-minute exposure being required to capture the blaze of city lights. Double exposing in this fashion allows one to preserve a host of architectural detail which otherwise would be lost in the shadows. Below are a closer city view and detail within the city, as well as a zoom of the bridge with a close up of the far right tower."

Cool: Under The Loupe: #5 Visual Thinking

A great series of eye opening ideas and strategies. This one is particularly useful for photographers and designers.

Jason Santa Maria | Under The Loupe: #5 Visual Thinking: "This might sound very familiar to you, because yes, Visual Thinking is a close cousin to Brainstorming. And for the purposes of this discussion, we will be talking about how this generally applies as an extension of keeping a sketchbook, all part of a healthy breakfast… er… design process."

Time (marches on... sigh)

I once saw a series of images of a father and daughter taken at the same spot on her birthday for 25 years... to say it was moving is a complete understatement. It was joyouns and melancholy at the same time. Now my firstborn is nearing twenty... I wish I had done that... hindsite...
This is pretty cool too...

Time: "On June 17th, every year, the family goes through a private ritual: we photograph ourselves to stop a fleeting moment, the arrow of time passing by."

Why I fear "Status Quo" thinking

Over at Organized Individualists, Kevin caught my eye with this tasty little nugget. Not a good taste, but so rich in its total meaning.

As I talk with photographers, I keep hearing the same thing... the business is being killed by (... fill in the blank ...). We need to stop (... fill in the blank ...) cause they are tearing down the pricing and such. I am afraid the battle cry seems to be "we like it the way it was, let's go back!" This is followed by a "we need more legislation to protect us" cry.

This little article says a lot to that kind of thinking.

TIME.com Print Page: TIME Magazine -- Liberty, Equality, Mediocrity: "Against precariousness? The vibrancy of a society can almost be measured by its precariousness. Free markets correlate not just with prosperity and wealth but also with dynamism. The classic example is China today, an economic and social Wild West with entire classes, regions, families and individuals rising and falling in ways that must terrify today's young demonstrators in Paris. In France not a single enterprise founded in the past 40 years has managed to break into the ranks of the nation's 25 biggest companies."

Another FilmLoop Looplet

I am liking these little guys. This one is representative of the work of the AZPhotoBook Photographers. Check 'em out.

Cool Little Film "Looplets"

These are cool little Flash things that can be created and embedded on your sites and blogs. I have some questions about FilmLoop, (like why can't you search by tag, or keyword, or even publisher) but I do like this wonderful little tool.

Truly "Tears of Joy"

If you have never heard "Strawberry Soup" or dug the sound of a huge big band, with electric string quartet, 4 drummers, a trumpet player that plays quarter-tones and a sax section that blows like a monsoon of jazz ecstasy.... you gotta hear this. Don Ellis was truly one of a kind. I saw him play with the band 4 times before his way too soon death. Pick up a copy of this 1971 masterpiece and get ready to be blown away. Don Ellis and the band... I love those words.

Amazon.com: Tears of Joy: Music: Don Ellis

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This is kinda cool. I can think of so many ways this could be used for marketing... or just having fun. Very interesting stuff.

Yep... now that's what i'm talkin' about...

LASIK@Home: "Affordable In-Home LASIK Surgery You Can Do Yourself!

In the past, LASIK surgery was an expensive procedure that could only be performed by skilled professionals in a doctor's office or eye clinic. Often costing upwards of $1000 per eye and almost never covered by insurance, Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) was beyond the reach of most Americans.

Now the revolutionary LASIK@Home system makes clear vision affordable for everyone."

Hmmm... some folks just got too much time on their hands. But, amazingly it is a better website than most that I see. Sheesh.

Now this is cool

Social Picmarks. Bookmark and Tag Photos from the Web: Pixrat.com: "What is Pixrat?

Pixrat is a social photo bookmarking tool. It is a collection of links to interesting and popular photos on the web. These are yours and everyone else's online photo bookmarks.

On Pixrat you can:

* Save links to your favorite photos on the web and see a preview of the same as thumbnails. You can bookmark and access photos from different computers connected to the Internet.
* Share your favorite photos with friends, family, colleagues and others.
* Discover new and interesting photos. You can browse the popular photos from the web that others have bookmarked and add them to your collection."

Lessons to Learn

Jim Logan - 5 Lessons From A Guru, What Not To Do: "Why mention it now? Mainly because I just remembered it. Secondly because it serves as a great example of what not to do. As smart as this guru thinks he is, he missed several key parts of business:

* it’s not about me, it’s about you.
* It’s not how much I normally get paid, it’s what you paid.
* It’s not about the people that aren’t there, it’s about those that are.
* It’s not the invitees fault attendance it low, it’s my fault for not building sufficient reason to attend.
* The customers you don’t have aren’t stupid, they aren’t convinced.

Those are valuable lessons we all can stand to be reminded."