From the series: Girls looking off camera at stuff.”

Well, it is Good Friday, and this weekend will be a blur. But I wanted to get some thoughts down before I hit the schedule for the upcoming Project 52 and workshops.

First from the web:
Some really good reads:

From Chris Ridley who resides across the pond from me: This post on the differences and dangers of RF compared to Rights Managed stock. It is a well written, comprehensive approach.
“Herd mentality. Trends. Fads. We all end up following certain trends and fads, and this is no different in the world of design. Designers, image buyers, creatives, content fillers, web designers, like everybody else follow leaders, trends catch on, and that selection of cheap images somewhat loses it’s appeal when everyone is choosing from the same collections, again.

The fundamental issue with RF is that you never know what that image has been used for in the past, or what it will be used for the same time your ad campaign goes to market. There is no data, no history, no accountability or even the knowledge if your competitor is using the same image on a project right now. Rights Managed licensing changes all that.”
Read the whole thing here.

At “What’s The Jackanory” a heartfelt post on the loss of Tim Hetherington, Photojournalist, in Libya this week.
“Of course you couldn’t have been more friendly, warm, welcoming and engaging apart from being so fucking tall, handsome, charming and charismatic. Indeed you even humored and indulged me as only a good mate would in the ‘Meet the Hetheringtons’ video. Turns out we had much in common what with our shared last name, good looks, love of Liverpool FC etc etc. You were like an older brother even though I have a few months head start on you. What with your stories of daring photographic adventure in deepest darkest Africa and Afghanistan you became an instant hero but yet you were always interested in me and my story.”
Full post here.

The three part interview that Rob Haggard did with photographer Dan Winters is something to treasure. I am a huge Dan Winters fan, so reading about his philosophy and ways he approaches imagery is priceless. Thanks Rob.
“Heisler had just moved out of an apartment in Little Italy into a loft in Soho and he had three months left on the lease so he said, “you can stay in there for three months”, and “I’m going to set you up with this guy I know, Chris Callis, he needs an assistant right now, you should go interview with him.” So I went back to New York the day after the workshop and I went to Chris’s studio, and I met with him and he said, “if you move here, I’ll give you a job.”

Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three

Kirk Tuck interviews Michael O’Brien about his new book, “Hard Ground”. It is a great little video with some wonderful insights from an amazing editorial shooter. Kudos to Kirk for a good interview as well.

Heather Morton chimed in on the arrogant Creative Director flap with a post that told the story and introduced us to some new shooters.
“In a nutshell, last week a CD at BBH in New York published a website blacklisting a number of photographers who he claimed “Spammed him” (sent him several email promos) and denied his requests to remove him from their mailing list. By the time I got to it, most of the content had been removed from the site, including the list of blacklisted photographers. But APE’s post yesterday unleashed a tirade of angry photographers who vowed to boycott anything that BBH had ever touched and reaffirmed their disgust with the trickery and fickleness of the whims of agency creatives’ promotional preferences.”

I do not have any idea if Heather will be back to blogging, but it was great to see her icon pop up in the RSS… ya know.

Social Media Examiner has a concise little post on small businesses and their use of Social Media. Take a moment to give it a read.
“While the study didn’t draw any firm conclusions on how much time marketers should spend, there’s clear evidence that those who commit at least 6 hours per week will see significant rewards for their investment.”

Hmmm. Interesting.

My recent blog posts were pretty ethereal to a lot of folks;

If you missed them:
A Strategy for Going Pro as a Commercial Photographer: Part One: Discovery
“I eventually came to relax a bit, but there is still a sense of urgency and a disquieting sense of ‘did I get it all prepared’ running through my mind before shoot time. I want the client to love the shot. I want everyone to love working with me.

I don’t want to screw it up.”

Some thoughts on Photography as I wait for a plane in Omaha
“But if photography is only about the Benjamins, then I am afraid that there will be a reckoning at some point. And I am not betting on the photographer. Too many damned inspired and engaged and empowered and downright-friggin-over-the-top-amazing young folks coming up. They LOVE shooting. They will tread right over then un-passionate, un-engaged photographer as they would ants. Seriously.”

What Do You See When You Look at a Photograph?
“I can tell you that an image is an image. Photographers can work their magic with the composition, and processing and all the aesthetic stylistic affect possible, and the viewer still has to bring something to the table.

But we continue to try. We do. We want that experience we felt to be transferred over somehow. We hope and long for images that tell our story and invite the viewer in to present a little of theirs. We strive for context. Elusive, adaptive, hidden in plain site context.”

Well, I hope you had a great week. I also hope that you take some time to make some photographs this weekend. As always, if you want to stalk my every move, hit the Twitter. Lighting Workshops are all over the country this year, but we feel that Lighting Essential is the best bang for the buck going. Ask those who have attended one. See more at Learn to Light. And as for me… I am taking a well deserved break this weekend (while still writing 1000 words a day on the new book).