Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Last Light of the Day - new post at Lighting Essentials
It is also metaphorical light… the end of the day, the oncoming shadows, the contrast that helps define and refine edges, the way it creates shadows and highlights and turns a mundane facade into a tableaux of color and shadow.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Why Selling Web Copy Needs Commitment | SomeThings to Think About for Photographers as Well.
Here’s what happens: Some clients start wondering what they paid all this money for. They might think they wasted it. You know they didn’t waste their money, because you know they’re going to make money…
There is so much that can be applied to photography here... Just read it and think about what we do.
Well, there are facts and there are facts. Interesting for sure.
Teachers and students at other schools, as well as others interested in economic issues, are welcome to use this resource.
Well. That is interesting
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Where wizwow is now.
Sent from my Android. This post made possible by qwerty. Email: don@steelid.com
Where wizwow is now.
Sent from my Android. This post made possible by qwerty. Email: don@steelid.com
Friday, October 22, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Fast Company does a Huge Story on the New Faces of Social Media. I guess you will have to gauge for yourself if they got it right...
Companies approach me all the time," Penna says. "I recently had someone offer me $1,000 to do a video. I had to explain that my fee is 50 or 60 times that.
I was totally underwhelmed by the article.
But then this week I have been called a 'troll', 'rich asshole' and 'crazy artist.'
And it is only Wednesday.
Seth's Blog: Deliberately uninformed, relentlessly so: (Sad, but terribly true Rant on the Choice of 'Stupid'
As for the deliberately uninformed, we can ignore them or we can reach out to them and hopefully start a pattern of people thinking for themselves...
Well, the "we don't need no education" society is mainstream now. Instead of being informed we watch Jon Stewart... or worse.
As far as reaching out... I don't know Seth. There are literally thousands of ways these people are enticed to become smarter. Oprah has a book club. There are libraries and bookstores everywhere.
Point this out to many and you may have to duck a swing. As the post states... they are DELIBERATELY uninformed. It is a CHOICE they make.
Television has turned stupid into a 'cool' factor. Politicians have banked on keeping their constituents poor and dependent, and the pop culture relegates education to the depths of hell. The heroes are the illiterate, misogynistic misfits that preach violence and deliver little of any meaning into the lives of their legion fans.
Shakespeare is tossed aside in deference to comic books. Music that has thought passed by for thumping chumps who scream infantile rhymes.
No, Seth... we cannot reach out to them. Far too many are beyond reach. Their choices were made and cemented by a culture that seeks to limit personal responsibility while finding 'blame' at every encounter.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Well, this should make all the Hallmark students feel all fuzzy and warm inside. I wonder if they offer an ethics class there?
Behind the scenes at the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, Massachusetts, president and former owner George J. Rosa III has filed for bankruptcy to clear $3.6 million in personal debt, and he's facing fraud charges from a bank he owes nearly $2.2 million.
10 Signs That You're Ready To Graduate from Flickr: Yes, I like Flickr too, but there are some considerations...
Flickr is not an evil place. I like Flickr, I think it's fun, and there are a tremendous amount of inspirational images there. I just don't think it's a "professional tool", and photographers who are trying to take that next step should consider a system that is more business-savvy.
I have cut my Flickr participation to non Pro. I started wondering what benefit to anyone was my having 2100 pictures on an online site with no one looking at them.
Only the latest few images get seen.
So I took them down. I only put up fun stuff - and some portfolio stuff too... but not in a serious attempt to market and no more 'lighting' instructions.
You Can Photograph That Federal Building: Good News! We actually HAVE the rights we already had. Great Thanks to our benevolent overlords!
The right of photographers to stand in a public place and take pictures of federal buildings has been upheld by a legal settlement reached in New York.
WTF? Common Sense prevailing?
I may have to take the day off and wonder if this is really possible.
Heh - or maybe I will head downtown with my 8x10 camera and a couple of film holders and take a shot of the Fed Court House here.
Naww... it's kinda ugly.
I can only imagine some "open letters" to deans of art and photo schools that are being written at this moment... heh
Unfortunately, the occasion for me writing to you is not a happy one. As a 3L, my peers and I find ourselves in the midst of one of the worst job markets in the history of our profession. A few of us have been able to find employment, but the overwhelming majority of us are desperately looking, and unable to find anything. We are discouraged, scared, and in many cases, feeling rather hopeless about our chances of ever getting to practice law.
Yeah... well you all know how I feel about taking out a loan for $100K to go to a 'Photo School" or University Art School.
And in the end, you can do whatever you want.
It is my job to warn and explain the meaning of the warning. It is up to you to make of it what you want.
35 Photo Retouching Tutorials: Some you may like and some you may not be interested in. But that is what makes it fun, ya know!
Whether you want a glow effect on the bride’s face in her wedding photographs, or want to make an ordinary face more attractive by removing her blemishes or wrinkles, Photoshop is a widely used tool for photo retouching. Photoshop is known as best remedy for giving a fresh look to an old or dull photograph. Today we present some nice tutorials which will take you through different aspects of Professional Photo Retouching.
There are some pretty good tutorials here. You will have to decide which is right for you. Not all are right for me, but I learned a thing or two by checking out the ones I was interested in.
Remember, 'extrapolation' is the name of the game when working with tutorials.
Working all hours of the day and night, weekends, holidays and vacations? Clients need a re-education.
There’s a good reason for overtime pay. Ever had one of those jobs that ate your evenings and weekends? And, when it ended, did you feel like it devoured you too? That’s what overtime pay is for. If the job is a big rush that needs to be done by Monday – and it’s Friday afternoon – double or triple your usual rate. If nothing else, it will get your clients thinking about better time management.
Working from a home office can sometimes be a challenge. Here are a few tips that I think work pretty well.
Time-Line Your Day
Lay your entire day out the night before. This includes lunch, your graphic design project(s), picking up the kids from school, your graphic design project, dinner, family time, your graphic design project(s). Design your day!
These are goals that you are working towards and if you go over the hour, that’s OK, just keep working. Forever more, do not punish yourself.
I have both - a home office and a studio downtown. I work mostly at the home studio when doing writing and designing. Downtown is where I shoot and do some editing. Planning my day on a sheet of paper (yeah, paper on a clipboard) helps me keep productive.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Gene Simmons Doesn't Understand the Internet
The reason why he's so "passionate" about this musician rights crap is because he's worried he may have to do some actually work again
Selina Maitreya: Do You Have a Story?
by Selina on October 4, 2010
Want a wonderful, quick, easy and cheap way (no fee) to add a little fun and a bit of credibility to your Website? Create a search stories video with youtube. Go to youtube sign in and look for searchstories .
What will happen is that you enter topics relating to you in one line and then google searches for you and you tube creates a video of the search.
The final result is a way cool short video that has you,you, and you as the topic.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
I would love to trade a full, custom website, one full year of hosting and a matching WP blog for a nice Mac iBook 13" or 15"
Call me at 602 814 1468 or send an email with your contact information to don@steelid.comINCLUDES YOUR CHOICE OF ANY BLOG/SITE THEME WORDPRESSTHEMESFORPHOTOGRAPHERS
($99 VALUE) AND FREE ONE YEAR HOSTING ($150 VALUE).
You own the blog and website and can move it to any host you may wish to at any time.THESE ARE CUSTOM SITES. THEY ARE NOT OFFERED AS "TEMPLATES".
When you purchase the site, we build it fresh for you, teach you how to use it, and get it launched.
We have two prices for the designs.
Thanks.
Kirk Tuck shares a little of what we all go through
I had a good Summer and early Fall as a photographer doing real assignment photography. But as a result of the last two years I always feel the cold sweat of impending doom wafting over me like a chilling breeze. And so I pitched a book project on a new lighting technology/technique. And the publisher accepted. And the moment I got the e-mail of acceptance I remembered the old Texas curse, "Be danged careful what you hanker for.....you might just git it." And all the calmness and optimism that led me to pitch the project, the joy of new learning, the challenge of writing, the happy anticipation of shooting a whole new body of work-----that all paled in an instant; replaced with the anxiety of knowing that now I have to perform. I have to make the great new photos. I have to master the new technology. I have to deal with the gnawing doubt that I may have "bought a horse who won't make it to the finish line..." I have to help sell the property once we make it.And there is always the indecisiveness that comes from knowing that a project like this can push you to a new level......or level you. But it's nice to get started. Back to the typewriter and bit of isolation.
Kirk's blog should be on your reading list.
MacBook Air Apparent: Interesting discussion on portable computing today
Going forward, I suspect the majority of my computing will be done on the following devices: iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air (and perhaps a ChromeBook, or whatever Google will call their Chrome OS notebooks). It’s becoming all about ultra-portability. As Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously said recently
, PCs will become like trucks. Desktop computers and these larger laptops will still be around for utilitarian purposes — but I don’t want to have to sit behind one all day. Or worse, have to carry one around.
I want a system that instantly boots. One that’s always connected to the Internet (that could be another interesting play for the new MacBook Air — 3G built-in). One that lasts for a very, very long time. And one that I don’t think twice about carrying around.
My view is nearly the same. Desktops are holding less interest for me. And the iPad has simply changed a lot of my ways of working and doing business.
Yesterday I had a new business meeting and instead of taking my laptop, I took only my iPad. We looked at the clients current site, a list of sites I keep for showing clients, my portfolio and some of his competitors. I made notes on it, made an audio recording of a spec list, shared a list of what was needed on the spot and more. From a lightweight, instantly on device that also had Pandora playing my Coltrane station in the car home.
This new macbook Air sounds really tantalizing to me.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Bella Petite Has Some Not-So-Kind Words for Model Mayhem
Allegedly, one of the most misleading model-oriented websites on the internet is called Model Mayhem. Please beware they are a great
example of the worst kind of site, where model hopefuls create a “portfolio” to be seen by other members of the site ranging from photographers to photoshop wizards. Though this may sound like a reasonable way to make your mark in the modeling industry, it’s not. This is simply an entertainment medium that takes advantage of those hoping to break into the modeling and entertainment industry through enticing subscribers with free and paid memberships to view your photos.
Who are these so-called important people viewing your graphics? What you need to know is that Model Mayhem does not allow casting directors, publishers, model and talent agents or advertising agencies to join and those are the individuals you need to be seen by to get real work as a model.
Well. Yeah.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Joni Sternbach - one of my most favorite photographers - has some new images in her surfer series. I am saving for one of her prints.
See her work here: http://www.jonisternbach.com/gallery_surfers.html?0
Don Giannatti:
www.dongiannatti.com / www.lighting-essentials.com / www.learntolight.com / www.steelid.com / 602 814 1468
LinkedIn 
Facebook 
Flickr 
Twitter 
TumblrChat
dgiannatti 
wizwow 
wizwow 
don.giannatti | Latest tweet: Chip Simons work will make you smile: Photographer: http://www.chipsimons.com/ |
 | My recent favorite song: John Coltrane by Dwight Trible |
EP Resources - Outcast of Originality by Chip Simons
You don’t have to focus or light anything.
You can buy photo gear for $1.59.
You can get work for fancy magazines with just a big ego…
Sometimes what you do for relief of an uncomfortable feeling or from boredom might just generate cool pictures.
Laughing out loud in the middle of the road in Nevada is a good thing….
European womens’ misunderstanding of American slang is an untapped resource of funny pictures.
And…it really doesn’t matter if you take pictures anyway…..nobody cares….there are a million guys, that were at that party, who will gladly take the job anyway…
You might as well like what you are doing….
Yeah, Chip.
A back of the envelope lighting diagram from Robert Wright
So what does this tell you? Well, really great work requires preparation and support. There is a lot of cost cutting going on, downsizing of gear, all this information out there about how to get good results without employing a truckload of lighting. I am here to tell you it is mostly bunk.
Yep.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Why I Think Education is Failing Today's Artists. Intellectual Fail and a Sad Commentary on Rights.
This is an email exchange. I have permission as noted to share.
From Eugenia Loli-Queru
Hi Don,
finally found your email address at your Lighting site.
replies. Twitter is simply a BAD tool to communicate. At 140 chars you
have to do compromises, and since English is not my first language,
it's easy for me to do a mistake and change a meaning without meaning
to! >>>>> I believe that we should have more relaxed fair use laws. I believe
that individuals should be able to re-use portions of existing
copyrighted material, in order to realize their artistic vision -- as
long as these remixes are not used for commercial purposes. To me,
this is the epitome of how culture should spread. Re-inventing the
wheel as an artist, is halting culture, and it's making art more
expensive. Nothing good can come from that! Our main disagreement seems to be on the fact that I believe that fair
use laws should be relaxed and descriptive-enough so people can re-use
parts of existing works without permission, while you believe that
they should at least ask first. The problem with asking is that not
everyone replies -- even if these artists don't mind people re-using
and remixing their work! In fact, most artists don't reply! And this
is terrible for culture. The other problem with this is that when
artists die, there's no one to ask! I know this all to well in the
book industry, where institutions want to *save* some old books by
digitizing them, and yet, they're still under copyright, but there's
absolutely no one to ask for permission! The same goes about film!
We're losing 20th Century culture, not because we can't buy or license
these works if necessary, but because we can't even ask for
permission! So if some artists lose a tiny bit of control, by not having remixers
asking them for permission all the time, but at the same time this
could make culture flourish, then losing some control is a good thing. <<<<< This is my reply, and this is the one that should be used for your
article. As I explained, Twitter is simply not the right tool to get
ideas across. Neither on my side, or yours. I mean, if you're going to
WRITE a full article, at least give us the ability to get quoted via a
medium that it's not limited to 140 characters and getting misquoted
by placing the replies at the wrong paragraph of your replies (making
us look like fools)! thanks,
Eugenia
My Reply:
Hi.
Thanks for this.
Still disagree. Personally, I usually allow them to do so. But I like having my option as the creator. You are implying that my wishes do not count.
For instance... say I am a deeply committed somethingorother and you make a mix with my images that totally run against my core belief. Is it wrong for me to not want that to happen? Is the fact that I have a deeply held belief not worthy of involvement. Asking would have mitigated that problem instantly.While you may believe that with all your heart doesn't make it true. "Halting culture"? Really? Not being able to mix a 'groove' by Kanye is halting culture? Not having the ability to grab a Beatles song for the background of a 'engagement shoot' is halting culture? Really?
Not having to listen to Kanye is a possible 'good' coming from that - but I digress..Two things. Tough. And a non-reply IS a reply.
I do a ton of direct mail for my studio and my clients. I do not have the right to challenge someone who doesn't respond to my direct mail, do I? (I wish I could... heh... "Dude - I sent you a mailer that cost me $19 bucks and you didn't get back to me... loser creep. I'll never ask you for an annual report gig again... you'll see."Yes. That sometimes happens.
No. It is not now, nor will it ever be, a good thing.
I wish I could go back to the 70's and make that purchase of "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" - Adams for $200. I was there, and I coulda - but I didn't. So that moment is lost. I would love to hear Chopin play his 'Etudes' - I really would. Nope... not happening. Nor will I ever see Alvin Ailey dance in a performance, or Coltrane play "A Love Supreme", or watch Bird and Dizzy trading 8's - all lost. All I would give nearly anything to see. It is what it is. It is the ethereal, fleeting nature of art. It is a magical, mystical endeavor. It comes at great expense, and I am not talking about money. And it belongs to the artist. And it belongs to the shifting sands of time. Thanks for the email.Hope this finds you well.Reply From Eugenia Loli-Queru:
I guess our more fundamental disagreement is that you believe that art
belongs to the artist, while I believe that it belongs to the whole of
humanity. Especially after 25 years since its release (I'm willing to
give artists a grace of 25 years to make money by other professionals,
but after that time, old works should belong to the world). The
original copyright limit was 25 years, and I think that this was a
wise limit.
Eugenia
And there it is. The work should belong to anyone who wants it. The author is "willing" to give the creator 25 years, then all bets are off.
Sad... truly sad that people think so little of the creative process.
Why I Think Education is Failing Today's Artists. Intellectual Fail and a Sad Commentary on Rights.
This is an email exchange. I have permission as noted to share.
From Eugenia Loli-Queru
Hi Don,
finally found your email address at your Lighting site.
replies. Twitter is simply a BAD tool to communicate. At 140 chars you
have to do compromises, and since English is not my first language,
it's easy for me to do a mistake and change a meaning without meaning
to! >>>>> I believe that we should have more relaxed fair use laws. I believe
that individuals should be able to re-use portions of existing
copyrighted material, in order to realize their artistic vision -- as
long as these remixes are not used for commercial purposes. To me,
this is the epitome of how culture should spread. Re-inventing the
wheel as an artist, is halting culture, and it's making art more
expensive. Nothing good can come from that! Our main disagreement seems to be on the fact that I believe that fair
use laws should be relaxed and descriptive-enough so people can re-use
parts of existing works without permission, while you believe that
they should at least ask first. The problem with asking is that not
everyone replies -- even if these artists don't mind people re-using
and remixing their work! In fact, most artists don't reply! And this
is terrible for culture. The other problem with this is that when
artists die, there's no one to ask! I know this all to well in the
book industry, where institutions want to *save* some old books by
digitizing them, and yet, they're still under copyright, but there's
absolutely no one to ask for permission! The same goes about film!
We're losing 20th Century culture, not because we can't buy or license
these works if necessary, but because we can't even ask for
permission! So if some artists lose a tiny bit of control, by not having remixers
asking them for permission all the time, but at the same time this
could make culture flourish, then losing some control is a good thing. <<<<< This is my reply, and this is the one that should be used for your
article. As I explained, Twitter is simply not the right tool to get
ideas across. Neither on my side, or yours. I mean, if you're going to
WRITE a full article, at least give us the ability to get quoted via a
medium that it's not limited to 140 characters and getting misquoted
by placing the replies at the wrong paragraph of your replies (making
us look like fools)! thanks,
Eugenia
My Reply:
Hi.
Thanks for this.
Still disagree. Personally, I usually allow them to do so. But I like having my option as the creator. You are implying that my wishes do not count.
For instance... say I am a deeply committed somethingorother and you make a mix with my images that totally run against my core belief. Is it wrong for me to not want that to happen? Is the fact that I have a deeply held belief not worthy of involvement. Asking would have mitigated that problem instantly.While you may believe that with all your heart doesn't make it true. "Halting culture"? Really? Not being able to mix a 'groove' by Kanye is halting culture? Not having the ability to grab a Beatles song for the background of a 'engagement shoot' is halting culture? Really?
Not having to listen to Kanye is a possible 'good' coming from that - but I digress..Two things. Tough. And a non-reply IS a reply.
I do a ton of direct mail for my studio and my clients. I do not have the right to challenge someone who doesn't respond to my direct mail, do I? (I wish I could... heh... "Dude - I sent you a mailer that cost me $19 bucks and you didn't get back to me... loser creep. I'll never ask you for an annual report gig again... you'll see."Yes. That sometimes happens.
No. It is not now, nor will it ever be, a good thing.
I wish I could go back to the 70's and make that purchase of "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" - Adams for $200. I was there, and I coulda - but I didn't. So that moment is lost. I would love to hear Chopin play his 'Etudes' - I really would. Nope... not happening. Nor will I ever see Alvin Ailey dance in a performance, or Coltrane play "A Love Supreme", or watch Bird and Dizzy trading 8's - all lost. All I would give nearly anything to see. It is what it is. It is the ethereal, fleeting nature of art. It is a magical, mystical endeavor. It comes at great expense, and I am not talking about money. And it belongs to the artist. And it belongs to the shifting sands of time. Thanks for the email.Hope this finds you well.Reply From Eugenia Loli-Queru:
I guess our more fundamental disagreement is that you believe that art
belongs to the artist, while I believe that it belongs to the whole of
humanity. Especially after 25 years since its release (I'm willing to
give artists a grace of 25 years to make money by other professionals,
but after that time, old works should belong to the world). The
original copyright limit was 25 years, and I think that this was a
wise limit.
Eugenia
And there it is. The work should belong to anyone who wants it. The author is "willing" to give the creator 25 years, then all bets are off.
Sad... truly sad that people think so little of the creative process.
So Intellectual Honesty Escapes Eugenia Loli-Queru. Not me.
Tweet from @eugeniaLoli:
@rlkohoto @wizwow
"Wizwow would be best to quote the full replies,
not selective parts that show only half truths. No
more replies to him."
Reply IN FULL from Eugenia Loli-Queru
"I guess our more fundamental disagreement is that you believe that art
belongs to the artist, while I believe that it belongs to the whole of
humanity. Especially after 25 years since its release (I'm willing to
give artists a grace of 25 years to make money by other professionals,
but after that time, old works should belong to the world). The
original copyright limit was 25 years, and I think that this was a
wise limit."
Line qouted:
"disagreement is that you believe that art belongs to the artist"
Nothing out of context. Nothing in the reply is changed by selecting the line.
It is, as stated, fundamental.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
MPEX Monday Evening, October 11, 2010
Don Giannatti, Designer, Photographer, Writer, and Educator is coming to Midwest Photo Exchange on Monday, October 11.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Steve Korn, Seattle Editorial Photographer, discusses hard light and how to create a dramatic portrait at LE
The Hard Life: Embracing and Experimenting with Small Light Sources
by Steve Korn, Seattle Editorial Photographer“Avoid mid-day sun, it’s too hard and contrasty.”
“Learning to light, start with an umbrella.”
“If your subject is a woman, you should use soft, flattering light.”
“Get the light as close to your subject as possible to achieve the softest light.”
“The larger the light source, the softer it will be, better get the biggest one you can.”
These sentiments are ubiquitous. We learn early on that hard light as a bad thing and should be avoided. Well, no one says that it’s a bad thing, instead they tell you, “It all depends upon the kind of look you want.” Funny thing is no one seems to want anything that doesn’t look like the light was run through a giant marshmallow.
Thanks to Steve for this wonderful post.
Awesome Ad Campaign: If you are into killing or hanging children
But ACT Responsible, a group of Left-wing advertising executives (!), had already come up with this for a Cannes conference:
Astounding. Disgusting. Self-defeating. Borderline criminal. Brutally honest depiction of the thought pattern of wacko people.
What can I say... I am at a loss for words.
If you think this will make me pull my wallet out to support ANYTHING you have to say, you are as fuggn' nuts as you are at really terrible advertising.
Unexpectedly! Unexpectedly? It's Always "Unexpectedly"
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private employers unexpectedly cut 39,000 jobs in September after an upwardly revised gain of 10,000 in August, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.
The August figure was originally reported as a loss of 10,000.
What is it with these idiots? I cannot be unexpected if it happens month after month after month. Google it - for each of the last 14 months, every report of downward motion is "unexpected" - and I don't give a shit whether you are a D or an R. This is simple incompetence. Anyone in any job anywhere would have to do better than these pinhead 'experts'.
Yeah... remember, the people who fucked up and the people who are trying to fix it and these numbskulls all went to the same Ivy League Skools.
It is beyond a joke.
People are hurting out here and NOTHING is being done.
That is the only thing that is NOT unexpected.
At Sam Zell’s Tribune, Tales of a Bankrupt Culture - NYTimes.com
“Randy is a tremendous motivator, very charismatic, but he is very nontraditional,” said Frank Wood, a member of the Tribune board. “He has the kind of approach that motivates many people and offends others, but we think he’s done a great job.”
The company is now frozen in what seems to be an endless effort to emerge from bankruptcy. (The case entered mediation in September after negotiations failed, and a new agreement between two primary lenders was recently announced.) But even as the company foundered, the tight circle of executives, many with longtime ties to Mr. Michaels, received tens of millions of dollars in bonuses.
"...but we think he’s done a great job.”
"The company is now frozen in what seems to be an endless effort to emerge from bankruptcy. "
Ever get sick hearing how smart these people are?
"Yeah, he's done a great job... we just can't seem to get out of bankruptcy."
Got it.
What is sad is that the potential for these services to be valuable to us all is lost in the politics of elitism. Their insufferable elitist positions that have no basis for success will doom them.
They will immediately turn and blame 'us' for their absolute failure.
Tedious.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
New Airplane Design - Exciting and Possible
Instead of a single-fuselage cylinder, the D series melds two partial cylinders into a distinctive “double-bubble” shape. This adds to the lift and allows for longer, skinnier wings and a smaller tail, reducing drag. The engines sit at the top rear of the fuselage, where they draw in slower-moving air that passes over the plane, using less fuel for the same amount of thrust—a technique known as boundary layer ingestion. To mitigate the engine stress this creates, the plane would travel about 10 percent slower than a 737; the researchers anticipate making up this time through quicker loading and unloading via the plane’s second aisle. (Illustration by Jeremy Cook)
Innovators: Mark Drela, Edward Greitzer, MIT; Jeremy Hollman, Aurora Flight Sciences; Wesley Lord, Pratt & WhitneyBoeing’s 737 is the best-selling jet airliner in history: Today, it carries 29 percent of all U.S. domestic air traffic and is responsible for 25 percent of the industry’s fuel use. A reinvention of this commercial workhorse, called the D series, could burn 70 percent less fuel, emit 75 percent less nitrogen oxide and dampen noise from takeoffs and landings. In short, it could transform air travel
into a more environmentally benign practice.
Cool.
Monday, October 04, 2010
How To Market ART... Right Here. Ideas are so powerful!
"On Saturday, April 24th, the Opera Company of Philadelphia teamed up with the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival for a large-scale "Flash Opera" event! Over 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members of LA TRAVIATA performed the famed "Brindisi" in the aisles of Reading Terminal Market, entertaining hundreds of Philadelphians, and proving that the perfect accompaniment for all things Italian is a little Verdi! The Opera Company sincerely thanks members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and cast for generously volunteering their time and talents... BRAVI TUTTI!! LA TRAVIATA runs from May 7 - 16 at the Academy of Music. For tickets/info: 215-893-1018 or operaphila.org"
Awesome guys. Wonderful way to interrupt the narrative and present something special.
Effects of a Forest Fire Still Visible in the Canadian Rockies
Effects of a Forest Fire Still Visible in the Canadian Rockies , originally uploaded by Don Giannatti (aka wizwow).
I just loved taking this drive thought the Canadian Rockies. This is from the Rocky Mountain Park area - West of Calgary.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
CU tuition plan: 9.5% hike next year, up to 9% for four more years - Boulder Daily Camera
If in-state tuition were to increase at the maximum rate outlined in CU's five-year plan, it would reach about $10,850 by the 2015-16 school year. That's 55 percent more than tuition now.
Bubble? Hell yeah. How can they justify this? Insane!
Do the Bride and Groom Bear Any Responsibility For The Quality of Their Wedding Photographs?
Regarding a post on a Flickr Forum:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157624901739277/
The OP asks about shooting with a small camera as a second shooter and is excoriated into renting a top of the line DSLR so as to make the highest quality images possible. Some are indicating that it is simply impossible to do a good job as a second shooter without years of knowledge and the reading of thousands of pages of manuals. You would think that this assignment required the abilities and the knowledge of a hundred photographers...
The wedding venue the couple chose is a gymnasium.
A. Gymnasium.
And they are hiring low-budget wedding shooters to boot.
(Whoa... I am fine with low-budget wedding shooters. Glad that she can hire someone to do pictures for her wedding and obviously she doesn't have the funds to pay for hi-budget wedding shooters. I get that. In fact, I am very glad that low-budget wedding photographers exist because I am not elitist in the least thinking that brides should either pay $5K for a wedding or shut up - her $700 makes her unfit for receiving pictures. There are those that believe that, but NOT me.)
I think that the bride and groom and 'wedding planner' if one is involved bear a great deal of responsibility for the quality of the images. Choose a shitty venue, and chances are the images may not be as nice as the ones in the photographers book shot at a world class venue.
I am also tired of hearing this elitist crap about oh, how terribly difficult it is to shoot any wedding. In a French Cathedral... yeah.
In a gymnasium... not so much.
My post from this morning.
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"...Listen, if someone is getting married in a gymnasium they have no clue about quality and probably don't require it...."
YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! Yes Yes Yes. Jaysussss... I am starting to think that shooting that 'special day' is incredibly difficult and requires the best of the best and the brightest of the brightest to even attempt to shoot a 'wedding'.... Man... I can't even think how skewed my thinking was. I would hope that the bride and groom have some say in the fiasco---err, ceremony. They are having it in a gymnasium and hiring inexpensive photographers and you would think it was the best venue in the world and they were entitled to D Regie work at basement prices. I think they are most assuredly expecting decent photographs. Memories for their day. Prints to share and give out to loved ones. And these are unattainable unless we read 1600 page manuals and have cameras that can shoot in near darkness rendering astounding 20MP for the utmost in crystal sharpness. Look... I have great respect for wedding photographers. I did it for a while and freeeeeeeekin hated it. (so maybe my bias is showing, but I don't think so). 1. It is NOT rocket science.2. It is NOT the unattainably difficult challenge requiring the utmost skill.
3. It is NOT requiring all the latest gear and coolest flash. It requires an eye and an understanding of people and a clear ability to deliver images that are acceptable under the circumstances placed before them. 8 years ago, we were told that we had to ditch the 5MP cameras because wedding photography required 8MP (Photo East, Denis Regie speaker). So - the part about wedding photography needing 8 MP. Now we need 21MP? It is a total game and an insincere one at that. Without pointing at any single poster here, and the ones I am referring to with this next statement are NOT posters here... I think it is a croc that some wedding photographers start telling people that 'you can't do this' and 'you can't do that' and 'it takes decades of shootin' fer free to get good enough to charge money for weddin's.' Right. In a gymanasium. You betcha. Seems more like a 'protectionist' philosophy to me. And it isn't only in wedding photography that I find this stuff, it is very alive in the commercial shooters as well. "Man this industry sucks, no one should even consider it, it really sucks - did I tell you how bad it sucks... don't even think about entering such a sucky business." Meanwhile they are waiting for their new book to come in so they can hit the lists. It's all bullshit. Tough market? Things changing? You betcha! New boss different than the old boss? Yeah, maybe. So? It's a low dollar wedding in a gymnasium. I would submit that most anybody could shoot it and get decent images. Even with a point and shoot. The bride certainly shouldn't have very high expectations... it is in a GYMNASIUM. Shooting in a grand cathedral... with 20 bridesmaids and a budget of $80 grand... yeah, better have the cred and the abilities. Skills. But then I am guessing that bride didn't seek out the cheapest no-name she could find... Ya know.
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Saturday, October 02, 2010
New York Times Bestseller Seth Godin to No Longer Publish Books Traditionally - GalleyCat
I’ve decided not to publish any more books in the traditional way. 12 for 12 and I’m done. I like the people, but I can’t abide the long wait, the filters, the big push at launch, the nudging to get people to go to a store they don’t usually visit to buy something they don’t usually buy, to get them to pay for an idea in a form that’s hard to spread … I really don’t think the process is worth the effort that it now takes to make it work. I can reach 10 or 50 times as many people electronically.
Hmmm - this is VERY interesting to me.
Seek Scarcity (Seth)
If you're creating a business, figure out what contribution you make and what you offer that your competitors can't. If 1,000 people can provide typing services the way you do, don't expect to get paid a premium.
I have had photographers tell me they cannot get a gig. "My work is just as good as the other guy" they tell me.
And I don't really know what to say. If it is just as good as the other guy, why would they change and work with you? If your service is simply the same as the portrait studio down the block, you will have no real unique reason for someone to come to your studio.
And when that happens, the 'art' of photography gives way to the 'commerce' of photography and the commoditization begins.
The photographer will fall back on the marketing ideas she has known all her life. Price, location, specials, discounts, premiums...
All fine.
But what she needs is to do something photographically to make her work stand out. Be different. Be unique. Be expensive. Be amazing.
And give away mousepads... that always works.