Become a really good graphic designer

Seth puts up a pretty good page about making yourself look better. At least in print and online.

Become a really good graphic designer

Not sure that it would make anyone 'really good' but better than ordinary, maybe. Sure.

If you like Keith Urban...

... and I do, you can get his brand new album here for $4. Today only at Amazon.

Amazon.com: Defying Gravity: MP3 Downloads: Keith Urban:
Defying Gravity
by Keith Urban
Price: $3.99
Album Savings: $6.90 compared to buying all songs

An interesting post at A Photo Editor

There are two great little posts at APE currently. One is on an old Rolling Stone mag with shots of Avedon in it. Money quote below.

A Photo Editor - Photography Director Rob Haggart:
"She says, “It was designed in-house at Richard Avedon Studio, as was everything of Richard Avedon’s as he always retained control of what went out. ”"

Read the post for more.

Similarly, Rob links this great little video on doing personal work.

Harry Callahan: a video interview

Cool. I love Callahan's work.

RIP Helen Levitt

© Estate of Helen Levitt

One of the greats has left us. Known for her sensitive and incredible looks into the lives of ordinary people, she was a great influence on all photographers and the genre of portraits in particular. The world was better for her involvement in it, a little sadder for her passing. Read the whole thing, please.

Helen Levitt, Who Captured New York Street Life, Dies at 95 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com:
"In Ms. Levitt’s best-known picture, three properly dressed children prepare to go trick-or-treating on Halloween 1939. Standing on the stoop outside their house, they are in almost metaphorical stages of readiness. The girl on the top step is putting on her mask; a boy near her, his mask in place, takes a graceful step down, while another boy, also masked, lounges on a lower step, coolly surveying the world.

“At the peak of Helen’s form,” John Szarkowski, former director of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art, once said, “there was no one better.”

The late 1930s and early ’40s, when Ms. Levitt created an astonishing body of work, was a time when many noted photographers produced stark images to inspire social change. Ms. Levitt also took her camera to the city’s poorer neighborhoods, like Spanish Harlem and the Lower East Side, where people treated their streets as their living rooms and where she showed an unerring instinct for a street drama’s perfect pitch. In his 1999 biography of Walker Evans, James R. Mellow wrote that the only photographers Evans “felt had something original to say were Cartier-Bresson, Helen Levitt and himself.”"

TWIPPHOTO.COM » Photographic Standards Always Change - TWIPPHOTO.COM

Yep. Things change. We can certainly all agree. The thing that I would add to this post is that it is kinda sad to see so many photographers uninterested in the history and rich traditions that gave them the freedom they now have. And because of that we see so much stuff touted as 'new' that quite frankly, well... isn't.

TWIPPHOTO.COM » Photographic Standards Always Change - TWIPPHOTO.COM: "Generationally, photography standards change. The new generation typically breaks away from the old trying to find its place. For example, to some people, good bokeh and the rule of thirds are less important these days than finding a person to photograph who happens to have lots of tattoos and nose rings.

New standards are gradually adopted by the emerging photographers and attitudes gradually change. Younger photographers seem much, much less concerned about the things I was taught to look for. And truth be told, I don’t enjoy looking at much of their work. We all have our bias, even in photography. It’s important to know and recognize your own bias. That said, I do think the change is okay, as long as it has a direction and purpose."

That Eggleston Photograph - Paper Cuts Blog - NYTimes.com

There seems to be a renewed interest in Eggleston's work. I think that is a good thing.

That Eggleston Photograph - Paper Cuts Blog - NYTimes.com: "Eggleston is considered one of the pioneers of contemporary color photography. His 1976 show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, of work done in Memphis and northern Mississippi, where he lived at the time, was MoMA’s first ever solo exhibition of color photographs. In the show’s catalog, the MoMA curator John Szarkowski called Eggleston’s photos “irreducible surrogates for the experience they pretend to record, visual analogs for the quality of one life, collectively a paradigm of a private view, a view one would have thought ineffable, described here with clarity, fullness, and elegance.”"

Letters, we get letters.

Awoke in beautiful, but very cold, Kansas City to this poetic missive from someone named 'Miss Aria'.

"Your photography skills are terrible. My good friend Bruce smith would blow you away. Where did you learn to shoot my Grandma ?

Go back to school and learn to shoot. My dog could shoot better then you if i gave him the remote for my camera. How do you expect to charge this much when you suck balls."

I didn't edit it, so as to keep the flavour of the gentle Miss Aria.

I will write Miss Aria someday to ask what I could possibly have done to make her so angry. But for now, I will simply pass on it. Lovely woman, indeed.

As for her 'good friend', Bruce Smith (we capitalize names here), he is indeed an excellent photographer. Forgetting that he has such colorful and interesting friends, you should check his work out.

If you are near the UK, you should consider a workshop with him. But when you do, use your real name... most civilized people like that.

EDIT: You can read below what Bruce responded with. He doesn't believe Miss Aria is a friend of his and I can't imagine it either. The great thing that came out of this is that I got to meet Bruce online, and take a look inside his new book.

He has a great little blog going as well here: http://prodigitalfashion.blogspot.com/

Check it out. And check out his book too. Links at the site.

Kountry Keith Photography

Photo by Keith Taylor

This is a great little introspective post by Atlanta photographer Keith Taylor. Read it, he has some perspectives on things we all think about every day. And no Keith, you aren't the only one struggling with this stuff.

Kountry Keith Photography:
"This being the simple act of seeing something great or interesting and then capturing it to share with anybody that cares to see the world through my eyes. No planning out a big shoot, no worrying about things with the shoot going wrong, no spending hours in Photoshop doing post production. Just straight-up photography for fun at that time and not feeling the burden of all that can go along with shooting stuff with my real cameras. Feeling guilty because I need to be doing something business-wise rather than playing with photos I shot “for fun”. Following up with clients, finding new clients, paperwork, etc. All things that are not necessarily fun – but are required if you want to stay in business."

As I said, read the whole thing.

A handful of Firefox tweaks that will double your browser speed

This REALLY works. Take your time and type carefully. Dang, thanks man... it doubled or more my little macbooks Firefox speed.

A handful of Firefox tweaks that will double your browser speed:
"Firefox users take note: You need to do this. Now. As in, this instant. More savvy users are probably already familiar with editing Firefox’s configuration file but whether you’re a computer rookie or a seasoned veteran, Gnoted has issued a handful of tweaks that really get Firefox cooking. As much as we all love the fox, it can get a bit slow on occasion - especially if you’re like us and have 35 open tabs spread across four windows at any given time. By tweaking the way Firefox handles some caching functions, you can dramatically improve page load speed and even prevent Firefox from hogging your system resources while minimized. If you don’t currently have any experience playing with your configuration file, don’t be scared. Just follow the simple instructions, take your time and if you want a security blanket to squeeze, jot down each setting before you change it so you can always restore the default configuration if need be. So without further ado, hit the jump and get tweaking - just remember to restart Firefox when you’re done."

I am Simon Jester

Heh. Well, so it starts.

I am Simon Jester:

"Who We Are

We are Simon Jester.

We are not anarchists.

We are not Far-Right or Far-Left. We are the seventy percent in the middle.

We are not Capital “L” libertarians, although we do have sympathies with their platform.

We are neither bitter clingers nor conspiracy nuts.

What we are is a group of folks that think we see liberty and freedom eroding in our beloved United States. We see the policies and agendas of the hirelings in Washington D.C. heading toward an abbreviation if not outright abrogation of the Bill of Rights.

We think that the Federal government is grasping to consolidate power using the current crisis, since as Rahm Emmanuel said, it’s a terrible thing to waste. We think the Federal government, not just this administration, is more interested in self-serving personal, political, and party power than it is in actually doing its best to do the least.

This President didn’t make it this way. It has been heading along this path since Woodrow Wilson held political prisoners and FDR held four terms as president; since Johnson’s Great Society and Nixon took us off the gold standard; since Bush Sr. lied about no new taxes, Clinton desecrated the Oval Office, Bush Jr. rammed through the Patriot Act, and Obama wanted every high school kid to ‘volunteer.’"

Oh My. You can't make this stuff up.

I am not sure this is what the meaning of change that they thought it was. Criminalizing teens will be a boon to the litigation industry, so I can only imagine it is some sort of stimulus move.



I welcome our benevolent overlords.

My favorite part is how they are keeping it secret.

The Ultimate Ella Fitzgerald: 66 Songs for $5

Amazon.com: The Ultimate Ella Fitzgerald: MP3 Downloads: Ella Fitzgerald

The Ultimate Ella Fitzgerald
by Ella Fitzgerald

Price:

$5.00

Album Savings: $53.74 compared to buying all songs

66 of Ella's best for only $5?
That is madness... I'm in.

Speaking about Chase Jarvis (previous post)

Chase Jarvis Blog: Photography Vs. The Photography Industry

This is a wonderful little post by Chase Jarvis, but the real action is in the comments... read it all.

Chase Jarvis Blog: Photography Vs. The Photography Industry:
"The photography industry is really focused on the ‘industry’ part and not so much on the ‘photography’ part. This is the greatest moment in the history of photography if your dream is to distribute as much photography as possible to as many people as possible, or if your goal is to make it as easy as possible to become seen as a photographer. There’s never been a time like this before."

10 Awesome Ways to Integrate Twitter With Your Website - Nettuts+

This is a very good list of ways to integrate your twitter feed. I think it may become very useful to have a single, non social twitter account and use it to update one's site with nuggets of interest. Use the tool instead of the experience in some ways - keep the social as a social.

10 Awesome Ways to Integrate Twitter With Your Website - Nettuts+:

"Web developers with social media savvy are in hot demand. Imagine what it would be like to promise your clients a web presence that is fully integrated with their Twitter strategy and makes it easier for their content to go viral on Twitter. Would be nice, no? Well -- why imagine? The tools for web developers to add a touch of Twitter to any site are out there and easy to use. Trust us -- your clients will love you for it!

There's no better time to start utilizing Twitter integration tools than right now. Here are 10 of the most useful ways to start turning your site readers (or your client's customer base) into Twitter followers, and vice versa."

Photo Gallery - Marc Silber: Ansel Adams on Visualization

Yep. See it first in your head and "if you have enough craft" you get it from in your head to on the film (or capture).

Photo Gallery - Marc Silber:
"Ansel Adams used the term “visualization” often–but what exactly does it mean? How does it fit into your work flow as a photographer? I looked all over for a good explanation–then last year Ansel’s grandson Matthew loaned me rare unreleased footage–and there it was! Listen well to what he has to say."

Music News Net: One Less Music Magazine - BLENDER Shuts Down

A shame, but expected. Music is an online industry now. Especially in this demographic. They blame the global economy, but I think that as more of our life goes online, there are more and more places to discuss it.

Music News Net: One Less Music Magazine - BLENDER Shuts Down:
"Blender_mag_4_09 MUSIC NEWS - Today, the staff at Blender were informed that the magazine was the newest causality of the world economic crisis, thanks to lower magazine sales, declining subscriptions and fewer ad pages. Their Kelly Clarkson covered, April 2009 issue will be the last. Around since 2001, ' Blender has provided unmatched music coverage and entertainment news in its unique voice to a profoundly dedicated audience of music enthusiasts,' Alpha Media Group CEO Stephen Duggan said in a company memo, reports Advertising Age."

Kausfiles : JournoList Revealed! Inside the Secret Liberal Media Email Cabal

You can't make this stuff up. They do a great job all themselves.

Kausfiles : JournoList Revealed! Inside the Secret Liberal Media Email Cabal:
"Kausfiles has obtained a copy of one JournoList discussion, focusing on New Republic editor-in-chief Martin Peretz (for whom I once worked.) This is not a parody! It's the real thing. I don't know whether or not it is representative. I've edited it only to remove potentially defamatory passages--those cuts are marked--and left out various boilerplate links and commands embedded in the thread, such as 'Print' and 'Report this message.' ... I won't add my own commentary, at least for now. Find your own lede! ... Reminder to JournoList organizer E. Klein, who likes to take it private: All communications are on the record. ..."

Shop For A Cause

My friend and client at Apricot Lane, City North have organized a wonderful weekend of shopping at City North that will help kids with a rare, but challenging illness. If you want to spend a little time, buy a hot pair of jeans, grab a coffee and a yogurt, take a few hours to relax at City North. Oh, and you can get your makeup done there too. Carlos, you hearin' this? ;-)

Apricot Lane City North:
"You are invited to Shop and Dine for a Cause at CityCenter of City North from Friday, April 3rd through Sunday, April 5th. A percentage of your purchases will be donated to the P.O.P.S.I.C.L.E. Center. CityCenter of City North is located at 5515 E. Deer Valley Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85054. The kick-off party is on Friday, April 3rd from 6 pm to 9 pm at the Apricot Lane Boutique at CityCenter of City North. Food will be provided by Kona Grill, wine by Press Coffee and Wine, and dessert is compliments of Mojo Yogurt."

4 Ways Companies Use Twitter for Business - ReadWriteWeb

Read the whole thing and make notes. I think Twitter other similar one-one-many micro blogging tools are going to be more and more popular. We are using it at tow

4 Ways Companies Use Twitter for Business - ReadWriteWeb:
"Gartner released a report today that highlights the different ways that companies are adopting Twitter for business use. Although Twitter was originally intended for communication among individuals, a number of organizations have begun to actively participate on the platform. However, not all companies are using Twitter in the same way. Some are tweeting, some are just listening, and some really savvy companies are doing both.

Before any company employees start tweeting, it would be a good idea to remind them that the same rules that apply to other web participation (like blogging, for example) also apply to Twitter. 'As Twitter is a public forum, employees should understand the limits of what is acceptable and desirable,' says Jeffrey Mann, research vice president at Gartner. 'If organizations have not defined a public Web participation policy, they should do so as quickly as possible.'

Based on Garnter's research, they have narrowed down the four different ways that companies are using Twitter today: direct, indirect, internal, and signaling. Here's what those mean:
Direct

Some companies are using Twitter as a marketing or public relations channel, much like an extension to their corporate blogs. They will post about corporate accomplishments and distribute links that take people back to corporate web pages"

There's more. Read it all.

Want to Stop Online Photo Piracy? Create a Better User Experience | Black Star Rising

Want to Stop Online Photo Piracy? Create a Better User Experience | Black Star Rising:
"A few tools are slowly emerging as a reaction to the piracy problem. PicScout, for example, will help you after the fact, as will TinEye. But these are reactions, not solutions.

ImageSpan, GumGum and PicApp offer an option, but not a solution. It doesn’t make much sense for third-party companies to concentrate on such a limited model to pick up a few pennies. It will soon be obvious that there is no room for technology companies like these to wiggle in — not between agencies and their clients at least.

Most copyright owners, meanwhile, are still hoping that metadata will save them, forgetting so conveniently that it can be so easily stripped away."

name your dream assignment for 50k

Cool. Here you go with a great idea kicker.

whats the jackanory ? - name your dream assignment for 50k:
"For once a contest that isn’t a pay to play and it doesn’t appear to be a rights grab either although I just had a quick look see at the rules and regulations, so read carefully. Going to have to get the finger out though closing date is April 3 and you will need to get the public behind your submission to make it to the final cut. Sorry we didn’t get this out there sooner. Details and links below courtesy Microsoft and Lenovo the money behind the venture"

Amazon.com: Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Studio Photography: Kirk Tuck: Books

My friend Kirk Tuck has published his SECOND book. Damn, I gotta get on the job here. Great job, Kirk.

Amazon.com: Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Studio Photography: Kirk Tuck: Books: "Minimalist Lighting: Professional Techniques for Studio Photography (Paperback)"

Canon unveils EOS 500D / Rebel T1i DSLR: Digital Photography Review

You can't help but smile as the quality of even the entry level cameras keeps growing like this. Wow, this baby is loaded and under a grand - way under. Including the HiRes digital is of course, very compelling.

Canon unveils EOS 500D / Rebel T1i DSLR: Digital Photography Review:
"Canon has unveiled the EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i), the latest addition to its compact DSLR series. The upper-entry-level camera features a 15.1 MP APS-C CMOS sensor with 1080p HD video recording at 20fps. It also offers a 3.0 inch LCD with 920,000 dot resolution and an ISO sensitivity range expandable up to 12800 equivalent. It includes a faster Digic 4 processor offering better noise reduction at higher ISO's and continuous shooting speeds of up to 3.4 fps delivering 170 large JPEG images in a single burst."

Crowd Funding: Customers as Investors - WSJ.com

I love this concept. It is one that is currently working well and will continue on the success curve as it becomes more and more popular. I think it will spill over into art, design and photography very soon.

Crowd Funding: Customers as Investors - WSJ.com:
"There's a new business model in which the customers play an unaccustomed role -- as investors.

It's called crowd funding. Customers invest sometimes as little as $1 in a product -- often an album by a new musician, or clothes or jewelry from an aspiring designer.

The customers then help promote the product by posting messages on the Web. Their incentive: a cut of the profits in proportion to their investment. They share in the risks as well, but each person's risk is low because he or she is part of a crowd of investors.

A similar concept exists in charitable giving, in which people pool contributions, usually via the Web, to support various works and initiatives. But now some online companies have shown that such an approach may be fruitful for businesses, too."

Is Street Photography Legal?

Yes. Sigh. When there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, it is legal. In Britain and America and most other western countries. Sigh.

Google Street View Controversy Continues: Is Street Photography Legal?:
"March 23 & 24 2009-- Following the controversy surrounding Google's Street View service, you could be forgiven for thinking that taking - and publishing - identifiable pictures of people in the street without their permission is illegal.

But posting such images on the internet does not pose the same threat, according to the information watchdog."

PDNPulse: Scott Streble's Pro-Bono Portraits of the Unemployed

This is cool. A great idea and a wonderful way to do good by doing good.

PDNPulse: Scott Streble's Pro-Bono Portraits of the Unemployed:
"Photographer Scott Streble kicked off a timely pro-bono project this morning at his studio in Minneapolis. After receiving requests from unemployed friends for portraits they could use on networking sites like LinkedIn, Streble decided to dedicate a day to making free portraits for Minneapolis job seekers.

Throughout the day, Streble has been shooting ten-minute sessions with each sitter. At the end of each session, his assistant burns a disk with a digital file and makes a proof sheet for the subject, who can take the photograph and do what they like with it. Streble hopes the portraits will be of some help for the job seekers."

Where's the Outrage, Liars?

For years we were told that Bush was like Hitler. Now we have this inept and corrupt administration going into the EXACT thing that third world countries have done. And do you all remember a clown named Mussolini? WTF do you think he and his little German buddy did? Huh?

I heard someone say it was unprecedented. Bullshit. It has a precedent. Just not in free country with a democracy. Hope and change? This is the change?

U.S. Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms - washingtonpost.com:
"The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document."

10 Rare HTML Tags You Really Should Know - Nettuts+

A couple of these are surprises to me. And a couple of them are pretty cool.

10 Rare HTML Tags You Really Should Know - Nettuts+:
"Mar 23rd in Web Roundups by Glen Stansberry

Web developers these days are often expected to know and work in multiple languages. As a result, it's tricky to learn everything a language has to offer and easy to find yourself not utilizing the full potential of some more specialized but very useful tags.

Unfortunately we haven't been tapping into the full potential of these more obscure HTML tags as of late. But it's never too late to get back into the game and start writing code that taps into the power of some under-used tags.

Here are ten of some of the most underused and misunderstood tags in HTML. While they might be less familiar, they're still quite useful in certain situations."

The Visual Science Lab: Short Term Bleak. Long term unknowable.

Kirk is an online friend, a photographer, book author and now blogger. This is one of his recent posts... all pretty damn good.

Money quote....

The Visual Science Lab: Short Term Bleak. Long term unknowable.: "The most important thing photographers can do in this time is to get out of their studios and keep working. 'What? Work without clients?' Absolutely. Work to stay engaged. Work to provide a continuing discipline of eye/hand coordination, but most importantly work to create the new body of work that will push you into the next upcycle with a fresh vision and a fresh offering."

Now this is pretty cool.

Photography - WebPartner Channel

Garfield: 'Chaos Scenario' Has Arrived for Media, Marketing - Advertising Age - News

Well, this is an amazing article. Totally accurate, but at the same time there is a bit of pessimistic optimism. Yes, some of those magazines have failed... but some are doing well. I think there is definitely a problem with media, but they don't seem to think that their CONTENT has any hand in what is happening to them. Do you really think that the content and bias of the Seattle Post Intelligencer had NO HAND at all in the demise of that crapass newspaper?

If you look at the magazines that are doing well, or at least better than the failing ones and holding their own, the content is KING. They provide the information for their market with depth and objectivity. Niche's are doing well... general content are not.

I need a compelling reason to buy a newspaper, magazine or to watch a TV show. Without the compelling reason, it is a game of chance for the broadcaster. Sorry... I am more discerning. Gotta wow me. Gotta get me something more than same ol' same ol'.

Just be standing when the smoke clears. Be open to new ways of doing things. Be aware that the terra firma is shifting. MAKE things happen for you. Or sit and let things happen TO you.

Like the newspapers did.

Garfield: 'Chaos Scenario' Has Arrived for Media, Marketing - Advertising Age - News:
"This isn't about the end of commerce or the end of marketing or news or entertainment. All of the above are finding new expressions online, and in time will flourish thanks to the very digital revolution that is now ravaging them. The future is bright. But the present is apocalyptic. Any hope for a seamless transition -- or any transition at all -- from mass media and marketing to micro media and marketing are absurd.

The sky is falling, the frog in the pot has come to a boil and, oh yeah, we are, most of us, exquisitely, irretrievably fucked."

Beautiful Pictures For Spring Inspiration @ Smashing Magazine

Lovely collection.

Beautiful Pictures For Spring Inspiration | Inspiration | Smashing Magazine:
"Inspiration is all around us: you can derive new ideas from people you meet, places you visit and observations you make. Sometimes it is enough just to take a look around and observe the beauty of nature surrounding us everywhere. For instance, spring is often considered the most beautiful and inspirational period of the year, with its refreshing, colorful, vivid imagery and structures. And this post hopes to prove just that."

...Ahhh... And this one too, courtesy of a reader.

Personally I think it is one of the best. And oh, so appropriate in this hour of darkness.

I think there's something in the air...

Something of a foreboding, a sweet smell of indignation being righted. Of desperate men becoming desperate no more, but for their courage taking them to the edge. Change? We gotcher change right here!!!


And for something a bit lighter. (Hat tip PowerLine)

Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet

Not sure I agree that it is "Failing", but I do think it is being drastically altered into something that may not look like advertising when we are done. Lots of things are changing faster than expected. That is the nature of change - especially when added on to technological advances that foster more independence and freedoms. Not that everyone wants freedom, we are finding out, but still I think it is a good thing.

Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet:
"My basic premise is that the internet is not replacing advertising but shattering it, and all the king’s horses, all the king’s men, and all the creative talent of Madison Avenue cannot put it together again. To analyze this statement we need a working definition of advertising, and I proposed the following, which is as general as I could make it:

Advertising is using sponsored commercial messages to build a brand and paying to locate these messages where they will be observed by potential customers performing other activities; these messages describe a product or service, its price or fundamental attributes, where it can be found, its explicit advantages, or the implicit benefits from its use.

It is frequently argued that the advertising industry will provide sufficient innovation to replace the loss of traditional ads on traditional mass media. Again, my basic premise rejects this, suggesting that simple commercial messages, pushed through whatever medium, in order to reach a potential customer who is in the middle of doing something else, will fail. It’s not that we no longer need information to initiate or to complete a transaction; rather, we will no longer need advertising to obtain that information. We will see the information we want, when we want it, from sources that we"

Well, this should spark some debate. And that is a good endeavor. Read it all.

THEONLINEPHOTOGRAPHER.COM

You should read this. You really should.

THEONLINEPHOTOGRAPHER.COM: A Life in Art

"The discussion of Ctein’s print-subscription offer, and the ruminations on the monetization of artwork, are among the most critical topics ever addressed on this site, and I was astonished that so many people seem upset by the idea, or the process, or the fact that’s it’s being publicized here.

I’m a professional writer of thriller novels. I’ve been doing it for twenty years now, having written a couple of non-fiction books before I finally got launched in fiction. In that time (since 1990) I’ve published twenty-seven novels. I have another coming out in May and another in September. All of them have, in one form or another, made the New York Times Best Sellers list, several of them going to Number 1.

In addition, I have a lifelong interest in art—painting, in particular, but also in photography, ceramics and fabric art. When I was a newspaper columnist, I tried to write two columns a month about artists, which meant that I spent a lot of time in artists’ studios, many of them heart-breakingly primitive. I’ve seen middle-aged women living illegally in industrial buildings with no private bathing facilities, cooking with illegal hotplates, just so they could do the work. One of my non-fiction books, The Eye and the Heart: The Watercolors of John Stuart Ingle, published by Rizzoli,"

There's more. Read it all. (Hat Tip, Kirk Tuck)

Seth's Blog: Fitting in vs. standing out

Short and to the point. Fitting in is not the way to keep a creative career on track. And yet there are so many in the photography business that don't want to do anything remotely new or interesting. Status Quo = fitting in to the narrative.

Seth's Blog: Fitting in vs. standing out:
"You won't have any trouble at all finding someone who can tell you how to fit in.

They can tell you what to wear to that restaurant or this conference or that funeral. It's not that difficult to figure out how to fit in. If fitting in is your goal, you should be sure to get great advice on how to do that."

World's Largest Photo

Well, it is interesting.

Art News Blog: World's Largest Photo:
"'The Great Picture' is the world's largest photograph taken with the biggest camera in the world. I love the fact that my little digital camera with 7 mega pixels fits in my pocket and can be taken anywhere, but I don't think a giant jet air craft hangar sized camera will ever be very popular!"

Minor White on Equivalence

If you want to be a photographer, you should read this. Several times. It is one of the most powerful short articles on the thought process of making images that 'speak' to others I have ever read.

Minor White on Equivalence:
"When we speak of trends, we concern ourselves with changes, with shifts in style from here to there and back again. Trends are peripheral, yet we can lose ourselves in too blind a concern for them. Central to the changes is something else. If we have to give a name to this centrality, and I guess we do, one name is 'Spirit.' Every fashion, every trend, every style may function as a gateway to the central significance of the aesthetic experience if the individual persists. That is, though we follow trends or get on bandwagons we can always get off and head towards the eternal significance, Spirit. At best styles and trends and fashions are but clothes for the raison d'etre of any art. At the worst, fashions, styles and trends function as traps for the unwary. I will treat here of a tradition, a concept and a discipline, namely the concept or theory called 'Equivalence,' by which any style, fashion or trend may be worked through to something beyond the conformism of competition."

100 Best JavaScript Resources via Spoonfed Design

This site rocks. Developing a web site? Take a look at this incredible list of very powerful scripting tools.

100 Best JavaScript Resources | Spoonfed Design:
"JavaScript is an extremely useful scripting language for enhancing user experience and usability. It is becoming more and more popular as more developers begin to make cool techniques accessible. Here are 100 excellent JavaScript (and a few AJAX) techniques, plugins, and resources based on the major libraries of jQuery, Prototype, Scriptaculous, MooTools, and Dojo."

The Girls of Rocky Point Mexico 2009-2010 Calendar

This little project is going well. Jim and Jerry have really been knocking themselves out on this. Looks like they have the ladies chosen.

This shoot will be part of the LE Workshop for the end of April. Lighting Essentials Workshop attendees will be able to participate by helping the photographers, working on the sets and even doing a little shooting. It promises to be an exciting weekend. If you are interested in being involved and taking the workshop, see the details here.

Contest Winners for March 14th! | The Girls of Rocky Point Mexico 2009-2010 Calendar:
"Contest Winners for March 14th!

Well guys and gals, it’s a bit late, but here are pics from our winners for the contest on March 14. It was a terrific night, and we heard from guest after guest that Chango’s was the hottest ticket in town that night. Many had been to other clubs before coming to Chango’s, but they STAYED at Chango’s."

Portable Lighting | LIGHTING ESSENTIALS : For Photographers

Wanna see some of these things in use? We will be doing an hour broadcast on modifying small strobes. Tune in and watch and ask questions as well.

Portable Lighting | LIGHTING ESSENTIALS : For Photographers:
"Webcast shoot with some of these products will be tomorrow at 1PM, Pacific Standard Time. Web address will be here, at Lighting Essentials Live on Ustream.tv. Popping on early will find nothing. Join us at 1PM, Saturday, March 21, 2009.

I use my speedlights frequently when on location, but truth be told I would rather have a more robust selection of tools to modify the light. I will admit to sucking pretty bad at the DYI approach. I will simply not go into a shoot with grubby or ‘home-made’ equipment unless it really looks compelling."

10 User Friendly Tips for Good Content Heavy Web Designs | Spoonfed Design

Nicely done.

10 User Friendly Tips for Good Content Heavy Web Designs | Spoonfed Design:
"There are so many different ways to represent information, and that is essentially what web design is all about. You see so many different styles and techniques used to convey this information, some better than others. Designing information rich websites is a whole different ball game.

The majority of the population is now using the internet as there main resource, instead of print. Therefore, it is extremely crucial for news sites to have user friendly designs. Here are 10 universal tips that will help you design content heavy websites."

Speaking of "Bringint It" from the previous post...

This one will really rev you up. Here's how you can define what you are bringing!

Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development Blog:

"Have you ever heard of an elevator pitch? That’s when someone casually asks, “What kind of work do you do?” and you give them a brief answer in roughly the time span of an elevator ride.

The people who hear your elevator pitch could be potential business partners or clients, or they could be strangers you meet at a party or on the street. Even when it seems like no serious business relationship is likely to develop, there are lots of people out there that can help advance your career indirectly. For example, they might personally know someone who’s looking for the service you provide, so your elevator pitch could lead to a referral or two.

Unfortunately most people totally flub their elevator pitch, so they’ll typically receive a reply like, “Oh, that sounds interesting.” At best the other person may ask a few follow-up questions, but deep down they don’t really care about your answers. They’re just making polite conversation. They’ll probably never do business with you, and they won’t refer you any new clients or customers."

Seth's Blog: Where have all the agents gone?

Well, he puts it right out there. No more stagnation. No more status-quo. No more money for nothin'... You gotta really bring it to make a difference as an 'agent.' Really bring it! Read the whole thing and ask yourself how you are gonna 'bring it' to make a difference.

Seth's Blog: Where have all the agents gone?:

Travel agents... gone.
Stock brokers... gone.
Real estate brokers... in trouble. Photographer's agents, too.
Literary agents?

The problem with being a helpful, efficient but largely anonymous middleman is pretty obvious. Someone can come along who is cheaper, faster and more efficient. And that someone might be the customer aided by a computer.

The airlines don't want to pay travel agents, because the travel agents were making more money on each flight than they were. Some house sellers hesitate to pay real estate brokers because they don't believe the 6% payment is an opportunity, they see it as a tax. Investors abandoned full service stock brokers because trading stocks directly is faster and more accurate than using the phone."

I love really creative people... ya know

YouTube - "Birds Fly Away" by Theresa Andersson

| The Girls of Rocky Point Mexico 2009-2010 Calendar

The Girls of Rocky Point Mexico 2009-2010 Calendar:
"Welcome to “The Girls of Rocky Point Calendar” Website. The “Girls of Rocky Point Calendar” is a collaborative effort between The Rocky Point Calendar Group, Chango’s Bar and Grill, The Las Palmas Resort, and Don Gianatti’s Lighting Essentials. Beginning February 28th, Chango’s Bar and Grill in Puerto Penasco, Mexico will be holding contests to determine which girls will appear in the first EVER “Girls of Rocky Point Calendar. Winners from each contest will be invited back in April to participate as models for primary photography on the Girls of Rocky Point Calendar. So check the calendar page for contest dates. If you’re a beautiful girl, and you’d like to sign up for the contest, PLEASE read the FAQ, and the rules and submit your application online here, or in person. And if you just want to see some beautiful women in a fun, friendly environment, JOIN US AT CHANGO’S to cheer on your favorite girl!"

You can be a part of this exclusive shoot. The Lighting Essentials Workshop in Mexico will be happening at the same time as the calendar shoot. Attendees can help and be involved in the early morning / late afternoon shoots of the girls with five wonderful photographers.

Mexico is going to rock. For anyone concerned with safety, the Rocky Point area is a lot safer and more friendly than other border areas. We carpool down and stick together pretty tight. It has always been a fantastic workshop. This time it will even rock more.

Showcase of Beautiful Fashion Websites | Design Showcase | Smashing Magazine

This is a great compilation of Fashion Websites. Well done, Smashing guys!

Showcase of Beautiful Fashion Websites | Design Showcase | Smashing Magazine:

"From a web designer’s perspective, it can be very interesting to look at the top websites from a particular industry to see how they relate to their target audience, the different approaches that are used, and how they compare to websites in other industries. The fashion industry consists of companies that make their mark by designing beautiful and stylish items, and by setting trends for consumers, so one could expect to see some creativity and a focus on appearance in terms of their websites also."

30 Photo Manipulation Tutorials for Photoshop

Vandelay Design brings us a nice compendium of Photoshop techniques. Some are really nice, and some are not what you may want to do... but there is a lot of variety and everyone should be impressed by a few.

30 Photo Manipulation Tutorials for Photoshop | Vandelay Design Blog:

With Photoshop, amazing results are possible for photo manipulations. In this post we’ll feature 30 tutorials for creating your own photo manipulation. The tutorials shown here will teach a wide variety of techniques and will work towards end results of all kinds."

7 Simple Image SEO Best Practices that Lead to the Top of Google Image Search

This is a really short, well written post on getting your images found. It works well for helping page rank as well... Even if it isn't a photo, there are lots of things to do to make the page list better using image names and image alt tags. Take a look.

SEO 2.0 | 7 Simple Image SEO Best Practices that Lead to the Top of Google Image Search:
"It’s astounding how simple image SEO for blogs really is. I’m ranking so high in Google Image Search with the images that illustrate my posts that I get more traffic via Image Search than the text based Google search inspite being top 10 for “SEO blog” and number 1 for SEO 2.0."

Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline - Photo Essays - TIME

Take a look. Stunning.

Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline - Photo Essays - TIME:
"Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline

Two French photographers immortalize the remains of the motor city on film
Photographs by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre."

28 Must Read Articles For Growing Your Freelance Design Business | The Design Cubicle

Great for Designers, great info for photographers too. I love posts like this. Thanks, Design Cubicle.

28 Must Read Articles For Growing Your Freelance Design Business | The Design Cubicle:
"While social networking and blogging has filled that void, I thought I’d share 28 of my favorite freelance/business articles that have helped me over the years in developing and improving my freelance design business."

Funky Youtube: Here's the Most Amazing Mashup Music Video You Are Going to See This Month

Wow... you gotta take a moment to see this!

Funky Youtube: Here's the Most Amazing Mashup Music Video You Are Going to See This Month: "Some guy got a bunch of random YouTube clips of people playing instruments, editing them together into one of those omfg-I-can't-believe-this-is-real video. At least, I can't believe it's real."

Singer on the Stage: The Choir Portrait Project.

Singer on the Stage: The Choir Portrait Project., originally uploaded by Wizwow.

Part of the Choir series for Central Choir.

Q&A: Paul Graham at PDN OnLine

You gotta read this. I mean, you really GOTTA read this whole thing. Do it now.

Q&A: Paul Graham:
"Having said that... there's a lot of blame to lay in the photography community itself, for the plain dumbness and lack of discrimination that burdens the medium. We should fight that and be smarter and more discriminating in what we do, say and promote. It's an incredible medium, alive and direct, but we need to engage our hearts and minds in aspiring to make truly great work, that put any doubts beyond reach."

Be It Twittering or Blogging, It’s All About Marketing - Question - NYTimes.com

Yeah, Gary. I know it, but telling people who wont listen is so painful sometimes. Good article.

Be It Twittering or Blogging, It’s All About Marketing - Question - NYTimes.com:
"He rebranded the shop, which was founded by his father, Sasha Vaynerchuk, a Russian immigrant, in Springfield, N.J., as the Wine Library and began online sales in 1997, when he was still in college. Since then he has steadily advanced his Internet-based marketing skills. His sites are tv.winelibrary.com, where his daily webcast, 'The Thunder Show,' has won a wide following, and garyvaynerchuk.com.

Last December, seeking to enhance sales, he offered free shipping and promoted it three ways. As a result, he said, a direct marketing mailing cost $15,000 and brought in 200 new customers; a billboard ad cost $7,500 and won 300 new customers; and tweeting the promotion on Twitter attracted 1,800 new customers. No wonder he loves the online approach and is in demand as a consultant by businesses as large as Disney and as small as neighborhood hardware stores."

Character Project: Great Portraits by the Masters

If you haven't seen this, you should go there now and spend some time.

USANetWork Character Project.

This is a great post on photographer Robert Benson, San Diego

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT BENSON

Take a look at these extraordinary images.

Feature Shoot:
"Can you walk us through the process for making Tintype images?
‘It’s a convoluted, long, messy, dangerous process that is so complex that I have to often refer to a 40 page instruction book, especially when mixing the chemicals. I do tintypes the same way, using the same chemicals, as was done in the late 1800s. I begin with a metal plate that is black on one side (this is the side that will have the emulsion)."

The Complete Guide to Creating Effective Square Banner Ads

Anywired is a great blog. Full of interesting content and well written articles. This one caught my eye because of how detailed it is. Bravo guys. BTW - when you visit, take a few minutes to look over the previous articles on making a 6-figure income.

Anywired » Blog Archive » The Complete Guide to Creating Effective Square Banner Ads:
"If you’re selling a product or service online one thing you might choose to do is advertise it. One increasingly popular form of advertising is the 125 x 125 pixel (or small square) banner ad, usually displayed in a grid formation in blog sidebars. Their compact dimensions make them perfectly suited to this format.

In almost every case, advertising in this manner will cost money. In return, you’ll be hoping to get click-throughs, exposure, name recognition–and ultimately, more sales. In this post I’ll be explaining what makes an effective banner ad, and some common pitfalls to avoid."

10 Things They Don’t Teach You In Design School | Design Reviver

Wait... only 10? You're kidding, right?

10 Things They Don’t Teach You In Design School | Design Reviver:
"I had a great time in design school, I was constantly learning and surrounded by lots of like minded people. However, after five years of freelancing as a graphic designer, I’ve learned many new things. The following list is the top ten things that I had to learn the hard way."

The 13 Most Essential Plugins for WordPress

Bookmark this page.

The 13 Most Essential Plugins for WordPress - NETTUTS:
"WordPress is a very powerful and flexible blog/content management system, but the thousands of plugins really help to extend the basic functionality. Here are 13 essential plugins that you should immediately install after finishing the WordPress installation."

He didn't bring his axe, but Bill and I bent his ear about Bird, Trane and Pres.

He didn't bring his axe, but Bill and I bent his ear about Bird, Trane and Pres., originally uploaded by Wizwow.

One of the Florida Portrait Series. See more at www.lighting-essentials.com

I did have a great time there and met some wonderful people and got a chance to do a little shooting. Lovely place, that Anna Maria Island.

57 Best WordPress Resources

This is a must bookmark source of WP information and stuff you will need.

57 Best WordPress Resources | Blog Themes Plus: "
57 Best WordPress Resources

WordPress resources are abound us, with dozens of sites showcasing tips, plugins, themes, et. al. The following list is a collection of the most talked about, best-known resources for finding plugins, tips, news, themes, and so on from the designers and coders that make blogging possible through the WordPress system.

The list has also been built around the amount of articles, age, and usefulness of each individual blog - what it gives back to the community. Also included are some sites that primarily feature “blogging tips”, which include tutorials for WordPress or are using it as their blog platform.

If you have any sites that you enjoy reading, please feel free to leave a link in the comments area. Otherwise, enjoy the collection!"

Collections of CSS Websites and Designs

Cool. Thanks, Yuri.

CSS Best, CSS Top Websites, CSS Web Galleries - Collections of CSS Websites and Designs

In modern web designs large scaled background is being used and makes website look pretty and nice. In this post we have listed 35 Free Dark Backgrounds from Yuri Fedorov russia based web architect. Download link of the full backgrounds can be found here. Subscribe to us guys for more post.

OT: Foul language about a foul person

Nothing to do with what I usually write, but just something to think about from the woman who jumped up hands a-blur when the president stated that companies can't use private planes anymore. Companies who earn money, NP simply converts oxygen and thinks she is above the rest of us? My god the arrogance.

Hey, bitch... buy your own friggin' plane.

REVEALED: PELOSI'S 'AIR RAGE' - New York Post: "'It is my understanding there are no G-5s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable . . . The speaker will want to know where the planes are,' a Pelosi aide wrote in an angry e-mail to the military."

Really trying to get that "Flare" thing down.

Working on that 'flare' thing. Very interested in growing this technique. I perhaps need some newer glass., originally uploaded by Wizwow.

Perhaps it's the glass. My lenses are older.

I see that super controlled flare effect and love it. I hope it all just isn't Photoshopped.

Diana Krall's New CD is coming out soon

Check your iTunes store for pre-sale pricing.

PSD to XHTML Conversion: A great post

Well, you could have some fun with this...

13 Tutorials for PSD to XHTML Conversion | PSDVIBE - Tutorials and Resources:

"You can always count on NETTUTS and the Evanto network to supply you with high quality tutorials. This is a great tutorial for beginners and intermediate learners alike to advance there coding skills. Be sure to set aside a few hours, this walks you through the entire process of creating the design. From PSD, to HTML, and then to WordPress."

50 Stunning Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials | Tutorials | Smashing Magazine

I love typography. I love Photoshop. I love this Smashing Magazine Post!

50 Stunning Photoshop Text Effect Tutorials | Tutorials | Smashing Magazine:

"Photoshop’s text and layer tools can be used to create some really awesome effects. We’ve put together a list of 60 of the best tutorials we could find to help you stay up to date on the latest trends and techniques. You’ll find some really cool grunge and glass styles (plus a few surprises!) and learn how some of the best designers create their unique effects."

Photos From Mexico - GORP Project

This is some preliminary work for the upcoming Girls of Rocky Point Calendar that will be shot during the workshop in Mexico, late April. Take a look at Jim and Jerry's great work here. If you want to come along and be involved as an addition to the workshop, check it out at Learn to Light.

More Photos From Mexico This Weekend | The Girls of Rocky Point Mexico 2009-2010 Calendar:

"Well guys, I wanted to write a very long detailed post on all the things we did this weekend, including going to the docks at Malecone to see the yacht we’ll be shooting at, and all the different photo shoots we got to do with two of our contest winners, but if we wait for me to write THAT post, you’ll NEVER get to see any more pictures from this weekend. So how about I just post so more pictures for now, and we’ll leave all the rest for later? This blogging stuff is HARD! You know the reason I quit using Twitter was because I had a hard time coming up with 140 characters worth of relevant material, and now I have to BLOG??!!"

Top 7 Free WordPress Themes Released in February 2009

If you are looking for a clean, well done WP Theme for a blog, take a look at these.

Top 7 Free WordPress Themes Released in February 2009 | 2experts Design - Web Design and Graphic Design Blog:

"If you are looking for free quality themes for your valued blog, here is a small but great collection of 7 free Wordpress Themes you maybe haven’t seen yet. All themes quality well designed elegance and an easy to use interface. I hope you Enjoy!"

The Visual Science Lab

Kirk is an author and photographer in Austin. He also 'get's it" in this post. Clarity.

The Visual Science Lab:

"What does this have to do with photography? Well, here it is in a nutshell: The emerging market for images is young and totally wired. My son spends more time with his iPod Touch than he does watching TV or cruising the web on his laptop. His information comes from a loosely gathered network of 'Touch Available' media that includes news feeds, online games, constant e-mails and more. He's never going to be a traditional newspaper customer. He's never going to follow network prime time television. He's skewing the market for advertising messages more and more to the web.

So, we traditional photographers have been chasing more and more megapixels in our cameras with the rationalization that astute customers can surely see and value the improvement. No. It's not true because it's not relevant. We're busy asking the wrong questions. There's a new trend and it's all about speed and audience relevance and we traditional photographers may be on the wrong side of the equation. Like traditional economists in an untraditional economy."

Building Complementary Services: A Powerful Long-Term Social Media Marketing Strategy

This is a really good article that spells out the way to use something to do well while being involved.

Building Complementary Services: A Powerful Long-Term Social Media Marketing Strategy:

"A fundamental aspect of marketing is to gain the attention of a target audience and engage or redirect it in a way which fulfills specific objectives, such as a positive increase in reputation, legitimacy, mindshare, exposure (visitor traffic), sales and captured leads (subscribers, users, clients etc).

In terms of online marketing, social media channels offer many opportunities. Some webmasters focus on setting up profiles with self-serving user generated content only for backlinks and traffic. Other savvy brands or individuals actively interact with online communities while moderating the impulse to ’spam’, in order to build legitimacy, authority and a better reputation in the specific field."

50 Twitter Tools and Tutorials For Designers and Developers | Developer's Toolbox | Smashing Magazine

50 Twitter Tools and Tutorials For Designers and Developers | Developer's Toolbox | Smashing Magazine:
"Twitter appears on innumerable personal and professional websites nowadays, whether it is a simple “Follow me” badge in the header or a display of the author’s latest tweets in the sidebar. No longer a fad, Twitter is now a necessity for every website, not just for sharing your thoughts and keeping in touch with people, but also for marketing, advertising and even searching. But you may be wondering, How can I make Twitter work the way I want on my website?"