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Out And About On Fifth Avenue

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Above: Nikon F, 28/2.8 Nikkor Lens, Kodachrome 25

Out And About On Michigan Avenue

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Above: Canon EOS-5DII, 300/4.0 Canon Lens EF L Ultrasonic, ISO 100

It's Deja View All Over Again - Part III

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Ryerson Conservation Area - Riverwoods, Illinois
Above: Canon EOS-5D, 70~200/2.8 Canon Zoom Lens EF L Ultrasonic, ISO 100

Seeing The Future?

There's been talk in the computer industry of another innovation from Apple. All the tech sector magazines are abuzz with predictions of an Apple Macintosh tablet... Business Week calls it the Jesus Tablet... to be introduced this Spring, and there have been an equal number of predictions as to what it might look like and what it might do. Apple, as usual, is so tight lipped about it's new products as to not even acknowledge the rumors, but the most credible of these predictions is a proof of concept video made by Sports Illustrated showcasing the next iteration of the magazine and, you guessed it, it's running on the Macintosh tablet!

This is actually great news for photographers as advertising looks like it's finally made its way to the web, and in a manner that enables us to earn real money just like the good old days.

The Danger In Working For Free

My friend Mark has always loved a movie from the 1060s called Putney Swope and this is one of hs favorite scenes. It's also an excellent illustration of why you should never work for free.

This Day In History, 1969

"Happy Christmas from John & Yoko"
Times Square, New York City
Christmas Eve 1969
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Above: Pentax H3v, 55/1.4 Mamiya-Sekor Lens, Kodak Kodalith Film (via Spiratone)

Season's Greetings

Flights To London Are Cheap These Days

A Response To The Madison Shooters "On ASMP"

Largely a rehash of previous posts to this blog, but it obviously needs to be said again.....

It's interesting to me that you all take Scott Highton's e-mailed comments, and share them, as if it were unbiased news reporting on ASMP.

First, let's set the record straight, Scott Highton was never president of ASMP. He did sit on the board of directors for a time and has been trying, unsuccessfully, to get re-elected ever since. It's his lack of success in this regard that drives his commentary.

Like yourself, I've been receiving e-mails from Scott Highton, the California member referenced in the blog post, on various issues. These e-mails from Mr. Highton, a former ASMP director (not former President), contain some pretty wild accusations about the current board's activities. Charges that the current board of directors lied to the membership in seeking a dues increase while sitting on a windfall of $1.3 million, concealing the receipt of the $1.3 million itself, using the money to make illicit payments to each other under the table, that the board is misguided, out of touch with the membership, that they put their own financial interests ahead of [those of the members], that they've (the board) committed tax fraud... oh, the list just goes on and on and on.

Many of you don't really know what to make of all of this. While members know the board's really not made-up of crooks, Mr. Highton's charges seem reasonable somehow. And what about that $1.3 million? Why did we need a dues increase if we have that money? Is Highton right? Have we all been duped? And very recently Highton has enlisted Dick Weisgrau, former Executive Director of ASMP, in his campaign to sling a little more mud as regards tax reporting issues that, stopping just short of making an accusation (why? because libel is a slippery slope), imply criminal behavior.

ASMP members have been enduring the shrill protests of Scott Highton for many years and while his issues vary slightly from year to year they are always presented by Scott in a manner that casts dispersions on the character of our board members and questions their integrity.

Those he accuses in a conspiracy to defraud you are: George Anderson; Richard Anderson (2nd Vice President); Kate Baldwin, Jim Cavanagh (Treasurer); Blake Discher; Chris Hollo; Shawn Henry (Secretary); Todd Joyce (1st Vice President); Bruce Katz ; Richard Kelly (President); Greg Kiger; Peter Krogh; Ed McDonald; Gail Mooney and Thomas Werner (he's previously accused Ben Coleman, Lynne Damianos and Jim Flynn in this conspiracy too).

Scott Highton is the perpetual squeaky wheel. He is never happy, he is always complaining. For a period of time Scott Highton served on the board of directors. His contributions were remembered by one member as, "a series of disasters punctuated by chaos." His latest e-mails are not intended to solve ASMP's problems, they're intended to exaggerate them and to furnish a stage from which he can play a starring role. He loves the spotlight and the attention and he works tirelessly to attack the people who do the real work of ASMP. His rantings and ravings demand our attention and cost us real money. His campaign is relentless and over the past several years has tried to divide ASMP, not strengthen it. Highton is smart enough, and clever enough, to conjure up just enough plausibility to make his presentations sound reasonable, and it's these half-truths... combined with some glaring omissions... that have wrought so much havoc.

I've been an ASMP member since 1972 in three chapters (NY, NJ, Chicago/Midwest) and at three levels (Student, Associate, General), an ASMP volunteer since 1981, New Jersey Chapter President (two terms) and Vice President of the Chicago/Midwest chapter (*your* chapter). One of the great benefits of being involved has been having the opportunity to meet and get to know many of you, our national directors, every one of the people Scott Highton mentions in his e-mails including Scott himself. Being somewhat an insider, I've learned that the people who now lead ASMP at the national level are the most effective leadership I've seen over the years I've been an ASMP member.

ASMP is more productive now than it's ever been. Every one of our directors, every member of our staff and our executive director are hard working, honest people of the highest calibre and with the utmost integrity. It's my distinct pleasure to know and work with them, and to call them my friends.

Is ASMP perfect? No, it is not. Are Highton's accusations true? Not by a long shot! I've found Scott Highton, and this is strictly my opinion, to be disgruntled, jealous and malicious; likely due to his failure to be re-elected to the national board of directors.

To best illustrate how Highton has spent the past few years spreading incendiary rumors about the board's activities is this: Highton claims that the board pled poverty asking for a dues increase while ASMP was receiving a $1.3 million grant. That grant was given with the stipulation that ASMP not use the money for normal operating expenses, so a dues increase was entirely appropriate. Scott knows that the grant is subject to the aforementioned stipulation, yet he's quite vocal in saying that the board is trying to scam the membership. It's an outrageous claim, and like his others, completely without merit.

Another conspiracy Highton alleges is that the Directors authorize ASMP to pay speaking fees to those participating in ASMP educational seminars. He claims that these ASMP members should share their specialized knowledge with the rest of us as volunteers, not paid speakers, and he further claims that your dues payments, your hard-earned money, is going into their pockets.

Of the Directors previously named, only three are on the ASMP lecture circuit. Peter Krogh, Director, presents "Get Your DAM Stuff Together" and for this he is paid not by ASMP but by Microsoft. Blake Discher, Director, presents "I Stink At Negotiating" and "Is Your Web Site making You Money?" For the former, Blake is paid not by ASMP but by Microsoft, and for the latter he is paid not by ASMP but by Adbase & Live Books. Thomas Werner, Director, presents "The Business Of Fine Art Photography" and he is paid by ASMP. One out of three. That's some conspiracy!

Each of these seminars takes two to three days of the presenter's time (includes travel), not to mention the time it took to develop the program. Doing this for 39 chapters consumes approximately 78 days per speaker. That's 78 days away from their businesses and their families. It's worthy of compensation, regardless of who pays them.

Of the other seminars ASMP presents, Paula Lerner & Gail Mooney lead one on Multimedia & Video (paid by ASMP - Gail is a Director, Paula is not), Susan Carr presents "What Do I Charge" (paid by Microsoft - she's not a director) and Judy Herrmann presents "Taking Control Of Your Career" (paid by Microsoft - she's not a director).

Even if all were paid by ASMP, that means that twelve board members who are not also lecturers would have to be involved in a conspiracy authorizing these payments. Well, what do they have to gain from all of this? I'll tell you: nothing!

These are tough times for photographers. Our economy is shrinking, advertisers and editorial outlets are cutting back, fees are spiraling downward. Those leading ASMP's Seminar Series are helping us stay abreast of trends, keep up with changes and teach us how to better compete in the marketplace... and because we're all competitors as well as colleagues, they're teaching us how to compete effectively with themselves. This is above and beyond the call of volunteerism, and as speaking fees and honoraria have become a normal part of their revenue streams, if we prevent them from earning a living they will have little choice but to resign their posts in favor of remaining profitable. That would only do damage to ASMP, and it's not a desirable outcome.

In addition to the speakers, Scott accuses the board of hiring each other to perform other tasks for the Society such as programming, book editing or assignment photography. This has been done in an above board and entirely proper manner, and only when the director was also the best qualified for the job. In fact, Scott Highton himself was hired to do some computer programming for ASMP when he was a national director. There was nothing sinister going on then and there's nothing sinister going on now.

Scott Highton has also served ASMP as an outstanding volunteer in the past but his recent tirades, his tactic of character assassination based on half-truths and innuendo is despicable and reeks of sour grapes, and gravely harms ASMP.

In the last election, Scott Highton proposed a referendum to block a dues increase. ASMP leaders, chosen by members to represent them, are given the opportunity to declare either Pro or Con on pending referenda. Not a single National Director, not one Chapter President (after consulting the chapter directors) declared as Pro on Scott's proposal. Not even Scott's local chapter leadership supported his proposal. Doesn't that tell you something?

Should we be spending our valuable time and resources answering the ridiculous or should we be talking about our future, about how we're going to go about advancing our primary mission of making the world safe for professional photographers?

What can we do about it? Let's make a point of rededicating ourselves to the mission that brought us all together: improving the lot of the working professional photographer. This is what we ought to be discussing. Where have we been, what are we doing, can we do more, where's there room for improvement in what we've done? Let's kick that up a notch.

We can build a better future, a more stable working environment, be better educated both technically and with sound business practices to navigate an increasingly difficult economy, orphan works, and a host of other obstacles. ASMP needs your support now more than ever. Think about that as you weigh your options for the coming year. Your continued membership ensures that the work that's so important to us all can continue unabated.

New Tricks With The EOS-5D Mark II

Yesterday I put the new camera to it's first real test. Shooting in low light with a long exposure, f8.5 at 2.5 seconds (ISO 100), made the skaters disappear. In fact, the only skaters visible in the ISO 100 frame are the two in yellow coats who, for some reason, were standing still. The other skaters were exposed at ISO 3200 (1/30th second) in subsequent frames and strategically transplanted in the ISO 100 frame using Photoshop, and adding a little more blur to soften the noise resulting from the increased chip sensitivity.
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Above: Canon EOS-5DII, 70~200/2.8 Canon Zoom Lens EF L Ultrasonic, ISO 100 & 3200

This Day In History, 2003

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Above: Canon EOS-1N, 300/4.0 Canon Lens EF L Ultrasonic, Fujichrome Provia 100

ASMP Or Reality TV?

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." Abraham Lincoln

If you're an ASMP General Member then it's highly likely that you've been getting e-mails from Scott Highton. These e-mails from Mr. Highton, a former ASMP director, contain some pretty wild accusations about the current board's activities. Charges that the current board of directors lied to the membership in seeking a dues increase while sitting on a windfall of $1.3 million, concealing the receipt of the $1.3 million itself, using the money to make illicit payments to each other under the table, that the board is misguided, out of touch with the membership, that they put their own financial interests ahead of [those of the members], that they've (the board) committed tax fraud... oh, the list just goes on and on and on.

Many ASMP members don't really know what to make of all of this. While members know the board's really not made-up of crooks, Mr. Highton's charges seem reasonable somehow. And what about that $1.3 million? Why did we need a dues increase if we have that money? Is Highton right? Have we all been duped? And very recently Highton has enlisted Dick Weisgrau, former Executive Director of ASMP, in his campaign to sling a little more mud as regards tax reporting issues that, stopping just short of making an accusation (why? because libel is a slippery slope), imply criminal behavior.

I've written about this before and just because Highton's accusations keep getting traction I'm going to write about it again today.

ASMP members have been enduring the shrill protests of Scott Highton for many years and while his issues vary slightly from year to year they are always presented by Scott in a manner that casts dispersions on the character of our board members and questions their integrity.

Scott Highton is the perpetual squeaky wheel. He is never happy, he is always complaining. For a period of time Scott Highton served on the board of directors. His contributions were remembered by one member as, "a series of disasters punctuated by chaos." His latest e-mails are not intended to solve ASMP's problems, they're intended to exaggerate them and to furnish a stage from which he can play a leading role. He loves the spotlight and the attention and he works tirelessly to attack the people who do the real work of ASMP. His rantings and ravings demand our attention and cost us real money. His campaign is relentless and over the past several years has tried to divide ASMP, not strengthen it. Highton is smart enough, and clever enough, to conjure up just enough plausibility to make his presentations sound reasonable, and it's these half-truths... combined with some glaring omissions... that have wrought so much havoc.

I've been an ASMP member since 1972 in three chapters (NY, NJ, Chicago/Midwest) and at three levels (Student, Associate, General), an ASMP volunteer since 1981. One of the great benefits of being involved has been having the opportunity to meet and get to know many of you, our national directors, every one of the people Scott Highton mentions in his e-mails including Scott himself. Being somewhat an insider, I've learned that the people who now lead ASMP at the national level are the most effective leadership I've seen over the years I've been an ASMP member.

ASMP is more productive now than it's ever been. Every one of our directors, every member of our staff and our executive director are hard working, honest people of the highest calibre and with the utmost integrity. It's my distinct pleasure to know and work with them, and to call them my friends.

Is ASMP perfect? No, it is not. Are Highton's accusations true? Not by a long shot! I've found Scott Highton, and this is strictly my opinion, to be disgruntled, jealous and malicious; likely due to his failure to be re-elected to the national board of directors.

To best illustrate how Highton has spent the past few years spreading incendiary rumors about the board's activities is this: Highton claims that the board pled poverty asking for a dues increase while ASMP was receiving a $1.3 million grant. That grant was given with the stipulation that ASMP not use the money for normal operating expenses, so a dues increase was entirely appropriate. Scott knows that the grant is subject to the aforementioned stipulation, yet he's quite vocal in saying that the board is trying to scam the membership. It's an outrageous claim, and like his others, completely without merit.

Should we be spending our valuable time and resources answering the ridiculous or should we be talking about our future, about how we're going to go about advancing our primary mission of making the world safe for professional photographers?

Let's make a point of rededicating ourselves to the mission that brought us all together: improving the lot of the working professional photographer. This is what we ought to be discussing. Where have we been, what are we doing, can we do more, where's there room for improvement in what we've done? Let's kick that up a notch.

To that end I'm announcing my candidacy for election to the ASMP board of directors in 2010. Over the years I've worked hard to advance photographers' interests as an ASMP chapter Director, a Chapter Vice President (Chicago/Midwest) and a Chapter President (New Jersey); as well as a principal founder of another trade association, SAA, which my friends and I built from the ground up.

We can build a better future, a more stable working environment, be better educated both technically and with sound business practices to navigate an increasingly difficult economy, orphan works, and a host of other obstacles. I'm asking for your vote in the upcoming election so that the work that's so important to us all can continue unabated, and I'll appreciate your support.

Why Don't I Drive A Prius?

You may have noticed that I haven't had much to say the past month or so. Some have speculated that I fell victim to the H1N1 flu and wasn't up to writing, others thought I stayed in NYC after PhotoPlus Expo and took up residence in an SRO hotel sans wi-fi. Actually, it's nothing more than writers' block. It happens from time to time. The fact that I haven't written doesn't mean I have nothing to say.

During my hiatus I've been searching for a villain in the Toyota 4Runner/flickr.com scandal, where Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles (Toyota's ad agency) linked to the images of some photographers with flickr.com galleries and made the images appear to be part of Toyota's mini-site. The problem is not that Saatchi & Saatchi didn't have permission to use the images, the problem is that with all their many years of experience Saatchi knows they have to pay the artists whose work appears in their ads, they've been doing it for years. The result is that Toyota got a black eye and appears to be a villain. After all, the Saatchi name is nowhere to be found on the web site, all anyone sees is the Toyota name so Toyota must be the villain.

The flap began when Michael Calanan, a Denver photographer, learned through a comment on his flickr.com page that one of his images of a couple of bears walking down a trail had appeared on the 4Runner mini-site. It was news to him as he'd never been contacted by Toyota. I first learned about this two weeks ago when Mike posted a note on the ASMPproAdvice listserve looking for advice on what to do about it.

"Now I realise [sic] that the first response," Mike wrote, "will likely be 'get a lawyer' but I still want to pose this to the group, both for its sage advice and because I don't have a lot of extra money to invest in retaining a lawyer."

There were a number of replies suggesting that it's his own fault for having a flickr.com page, he was just asking to be ripped-off... blame the victim. Others wanted to know if the subject image had been registered with the Copyright Office and noted that, other people, who have been similarly victimized, have not been able to interest a lawyer since the damages are limited without registration, you're not entitled to statutory damages or attorney's fees.

From my vantage point, and I realize this will not endear me to the advertising community, the villain is the person at Saatchi & Saatchi who made the decision to use the pictures without so much as asking Mike Calanan and the other photographers if they'd be interested in licensing their images for the Toyota site. Toyota was left in the unenviable position of having to apologize via Twitter, where the whole thing went viral, as well as on flickr where they were roundly trashed. Nobody knows if Saatchi & Saatchi fired the professional who caused all the trouble to begin with, and that should have been done very publicly.

In the meantime, it's worth noting that even though Calanan's image wasn't registered he's (as well as the others) not necessarily out of options. Jeff Sedlik, photographer and very generous copyright maven, pointed out the not-so-obvious: "the photographer might not even want to seek statutory damages in this instance. Actual damages and disgorged profits might prove to be a better route, as the photographer may be entitled to profits resulting from car sales resulting from the use of the image." The entirety of Jeff's comment can be read here.

Toyota have removed the infringed images from the 4Runner mini-site and a spokesperson for Saatchi & Saatchi acknowledged that they worked on the campaign and that they're in the process of rectifying the situation, though two weeks have passed and nobody's been paid. I can only imagine a settlement offer might have been made if the photographers had registered their images. Have you found the obvious lesson here?

Birthday Presence

November has always been my favorite month, all the best stuff seems to happen to me in November. For starters, my birthday is in November... today, in fact... and a happy one it is?

By way of presents, some really good things have come my way. One November morning, in the early days of the world wide web, the New York Times online edition ran a story spotlighting my web site (that gave me good buzz!). A few years later, following the terror attack at the World Trade Center, The Digital Journalist published a couple of my pictures in a story called Seeing The Horror, first-hand accounts by photojournalists on the scene on September 11, 2001.

Being part of The Digital Journalist's story is, thinking about it now, is perhaps my proudest moment in the business. I've been published just about everywhere that means anything to anybody over the years but being included in that group of extraordinary photographers, having the recognition of The Digital Journalist is really gratifying... there's nothing like a magazine about photojournalism, by photojournalists, saying hey, you've made a great picture.

So... what did I get for my birthday today?

Today, on Facebook, the ASMP NY group is closing in favor of a fan page. I joined as a fan, no big deal.

AT&T sent me a note telling me that they're moving (taking away) my two favorite TV channels to the HD Premium Tier effective today. Of course, for another five dollars a month I can get them back. I paid, no big deal.

Also today, I got a note from Dirck Halstead, Editor and Publisher of The Digital Journalist, saying that "Canon, whose market has been impacted by these turbulent times, has decided they can no longer afford to provide their financial backing to The Digital Journalist." This is bad news, this is a big deal!

The Digital Journalist has set-up a PayPal link for their 10,000 readers, and urgently asks for your pledges "so we can continue the work which will help us all. We have never solicited paid subscriptions, but these dire times call for dire measures. If you value The Digital Journalist, this is the time to step up and make a pledge. If enough people do, we may be able to keep The Digital Journalist alive. Consider it as an investment in yourself, and the future."

As far as I'm concerned, The Digital Journalist has been required reading since its inception, whether you're a photojournalist or just a photographer. That hasn't changed. Let's help them survive so it never will change.

It's Deja View All Over Again - Part II

Day two in New York City for PhotoPlus Expo... it's deja view all over again!

It's Deja View All Over Again

Back in New York City for PhotoPlus Expo... it's deja view all over again!

There Goes The Neighborhood

Have you been reading the newspaper or watching television news the last few days? One of the big stories concerning photographers was the demise of Gourmet Magazine, Modern Brides and a few other Condé Nast titles. That means that there's now fewer editorial assignments to go around. It's really bad news, generally, when magazines die, because we lose another window on our world. Forget about the jobs lost (well, almost).

Closer to home, and something you're not likely to read about in the newspaper or see on television network news programs, is the rumour I heard today. Actually, it's more than a rumour because I heard it from a highly knowledgeable source. Still, a rumour because I haven't confirmed it with a second source but you can almost take it to the bank: one of our favorite photography magazines has told its staff that they're being furloughed three days a month to cut expenses, which amounts to, roughly, a ten percent pay cut for them. Hard to imagine that they can't make a buck, even with the fast pace of change in the digital world... there's just not enough advertising dollars to go around.

There's other sad news as well. Last Wednesday, Marty Forscher, the legendary camera repairman and inventor of both the motor drive and the Proback Type 108 Fiim Holder for 35mm cameras, passed away in New York. Everyone I know has a great story to tell about Marty, he made that much of an impact on our working lives. He'll be sorely missed.

And, just minutes ago, I learned that my favorite photographer of all time, the venerable Irving Penn, has died this morning at 92.

There goes the neighborhood!

All You Really Need To Succeed: A Copy Of Macworld

Once again the feud between the pros and the amateurs heats up online. Now the hot topic on APAnet is the article in Macworld which seems to advocate that everyone buy a DSLR and join the ranks of micro-payment stock photographers.

I don't understand all the controversy surrounding this. What's wrong with micro-payment stock has more to do with the amount of money that's paid both for the license and to the photographer than it does with who, specifically, is supplying the photographs.

So what if Macworld tells its readers that they can buy a prosumer DSLR and get into a profitable sideline? That's not a problem for us. Why? Because no matter what market our work serves, there will almost always be an amateur to compete with. This is more true for wedding & party photographers than it is for, say, corporate and advertising photographers... and much less so for photojournalists. It's always been a big problem for stock photographers, even before the digital revolution. Haven't we always had to live with amateur competition?

As a teenage amateur photographer I took a job away from a pro when I accepted an offer to shoot my friend's sister's wedding for $100 (1967). That was waaaaaay before digital, waaaaaay before anyone can do it and waaaaaay before I was even really ready to compete with a professional. Is my crime ameliorated by the fact that, even at that age, I knew where I was going career-wise?

The problem is not who is making pictures but, rather, how they are compensated. Agents used to be called ten percenters because they took an average of ten percent commission for brokering the sale. Now, in the micro-payment stock arena, they get eighty percent. It doesn't matter whether it's eighty percent of $1 or eighty percent of $10,000. Eighty percent is a radically skewed number.

There are also, I hate to remind you, lots of full-fledged professionals participating in micro-payment stock. Do you really think a handful of Macworlders-with-cameras can easily knock a Jack Hollingsworth off his lofty perch? I don't.

Rather than seeing the crisis of our time, I see a crisis of confidence in some of us. Personally, I have no such crisis. I'm confident in my ability to compete. I have talent and experience, which translates into a career based on the same, rather than a sideline dependent upon being lucky enough to pull it off.

An amateur can bury his failures, a professional cannot. Which are you? Think about that, then go out and make pictures.



Oh, just FYI, I responded to Macworld in a letter to the editor.....

I've read your story, "7 tips for selling your photos," by Heather Kelly with great interest. Excellent reporting on a growing segment of the advertising industry. Though Ms. Kelly's article is right on target, there are a few things she left out that your readers may wish to consider.

First - I'd like to point out that Ms. Kelly has erred in calling it, "microstock." The actual name for this piece of the stock photography pie is micro-payment stock. Omitting the word payment from the name does your readers a disservice by creating the impression that there is actually a substantial amount of money to be made in that business, while micro-payment more accurately describes the situation: these companies pay you peanuts for something that is actually very valuable.

Second - It's true that stock photography is not easy money. Having been active in stock photography for more than twenty years (and decidedly not in micro-payment or any form of royalty free stock photography) I can attest to the fact that it is, indeed, very hard work. In fact, it's a business, and success cannot be achieved as a sideline to your day job. It takes a very strong commitment and about sixty-plus hours a week to achieve success as a stock photographer. It also is not quite as simple as buying a good DSLR camera and getting, out of the chair, [leaving] the house, and [seeking] out new settings and subjects.

Third - Let's not discuss your cat. Let's discuss real business issues such as major investments (and reinvestment every 18 months) in powerful computers, expensive software, expensive cameras & lenses, expensive lighting equipment, travel expenses, insurance, permits, legal advice, accounting, etc, etc... all necessary for stock (even micro-payment stock) photographers.

Fourth - Look at the best sellers from the micro-payment stock companies (let's not call them agencies because they're not agencies): these are all, without exception, images with very high production value. This is not something one does in one's spare time, not when attempting to earn 12% of a license that's usually priced at $5.00 or less in a volume necessary to equal real money.

I could likely write an entire book on what it takes to be a successful stock photographer (in fact, I am) so I'll stop here, but my point is this: Ms. Kelly's article was far too short, way too simplistic and unfairly raises the hopes of your readers to unrealistic levels, much less giving them an accurate picture of what they can expect to earn in micro-payment stock photography.

Joseph Pobereskin
Photographer
Director, ASMP Chicago/Midwest Chapter
Immediate Past President, ASMP New Jersey Chapter
Founder, Stock Artists Alliance

Done..... whew!

After three months of talking to myself and three days of mind-numbing, eye-straining, blindness-inducing, brain-busting html coding..... voilà: pobereskin.com v3.0 It's about time!

The major change was to make the portfolio images much, much larger; maintain constant navigation; maintain quick as a flash image loading; update all the internal links; eliminate the registration page (don't applaud all at once!); change the front page image and eliminate the membership badges. Now all that's left is some minor housekeeping to sweep up the bugs and enlarge all of the collection images and link them to my stock photo site..... it will all happen within the next week and by October 1st I will have it all 100% working.

If you're inclined to inspect and if you catch a bug, please shoot me an e-mail right away so I can fix it ASAP.

What's The Frequency, Dan?

The past few days we've seen cool mornings with a heavy fog here in Chicagoland and as I walked to the corner to get my Sunday NY Times yesterday I noticed that leaves were already dropping from some of the trees. In the land of endless winter, the fact that this was occurring a full week before the calendar officially turns to Autumn really didn't surprise me.

I remembered that a few years ago, still living in New York City, I'd wanted to make a trip to Vermont to catch the fall colors but, because of a busy schedule, I was unable to get away. Instead, I headed off to the Upper East Side to make pictures of rush hour traffic. Being that the color of rush hour on New York streets is predominantly yellow (taxis) and red (brake lights), I was inspired to scan and manipulate the image to imitate the fall colors I was missing by not taking the ride to Vermont. It turned-out to be a good idea for a city boy.
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Canon EOS-1N, 600/4.0 Canon Lens EF L Ultrasonic, Fujichrome Provia 100 film

Web 3.0 ...or, If You're Ever In Vancouver

The big buzzword about the Internet these days is Web 2.0... like that's really happening. Let me tell you something about the Internet: if they're talking about it in magazines and at lectures and forums it's already happened, it's over! Web 2.0? Nope, I'm here to tell you we're now at Web 3.0! Quick..... somebody put me on the lecture circuit before my expertise lapses.

Anyway, you all know me, you know I want to be where it's happening, I want to be on the cutting edge. Hey, I'm into all sorts of social media networks now: LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook and... something I started with a couple of months ago... flickr. I like flickr. flickr is cool, flickr is hip, flickr is where the younger ADs and editors are looking for pictures these days. Using flickr is so 3.0!

Well, I met the younger, cooler, hipper set. No, not ADs and editors... Thieves who think they're younger, cooler, hipper ADs and editors.

I've got to stop here for a moment and bring you up to speed on a new Internet business model. According to Mark Cuban in this week's issue of Newsweek (you know Cuban, don't you? Internet entrepreneur, owner of the Dallas Mavs and the HDNet cable network?), well Cuban thnks the only way to really make money on the internet is to stop what he calls aggregators from linking to your content. Cuban says you have to tightly control your content to keep others from monetizing your content (capitalizing on your work) so you can monetize your content.

So, back to my rant... just about the time I was reading Cuban's article in Newsweek my web site access log told me that someone had found my web site by searching a common misspelling of my name. I ran the search out of curiosity, to see what you get when you misspell my name, and guess what? There's a whole bunch of links to web sites illegally using my pictures and giving me a misspelled photo credit for the unauthorized use. Typically, the credit reads photo courtesy of poberskin.

I got a good laugh out of that because for a photo to be courtesy of, somebody has to have done the courtesy of asking me for permission. (or they could pay me)

My friend Eliot once told me to let them steal all they want, then I could sue them. The problem is that most of these people don't have any money to sue for, and the one that does is in Canada! How the hell am I going to bring a copyright infringement suit in freakin' Canada?? No, I just reset my permissions so that nobody can see, or link to, my pictures on flickr.com, I've gone dark.

I made the small frys take my pictures down, got the big fish in Canada to do the same. The Canadian magazine guys were such thieves that they were obviously stealing all their pictures from flickr pages, even the stuff in their print edition.... it all disappeared from the web, including the cover of the current issue of the magazine, Westworld. Well, if I can't sue them at least I can out them!

So, if you're ever in Vancouver and you're driving down the road and you see a car with a BCAA... British Columbia Automobile Association... sticker, flip 'em the bird for me!

Location, Location, Location... The Donald Sure Can Pick 'Em!

Trump Tower on the Chicago River
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Above: Canon EOS-5D, 15/2.8 Canon Fisheye Lens EF, ISO 100

September 11, 2009

Don't Tell Me..... Summer's Over Already?

I don't know what to make of the weather, I'm thinking it's all a cruel joke. The Chicago winter (when it snowed at least every other day from November to the end of March) seemed to last until July, then it warmed up just a bit. I used my air conditioning for only three days in August and, now, September 2nd feels like late October. So, what? Summer's over already?

One of the things I like best about summer is going to the farmer's market and buying fresh, organic produce. Is that ending now too?

I guess I got the last good carrots of the season at the Deerfield Farmer's Market last Saturday. It's going to be a long winter!

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Carrots: Canon EOS-5D, 28~105/3.5~4.5 Canon EF Ultrasonic lens, ISO 100

Wait A Minute, That's NOT A Corn Field!!

I took a road trip with my sons a couple of weeks ago and one of the most interesting things we saw as we crossed Michigan on US12 was acres and acres, miles and miles, of corn fields. I kept thinking that Americans sure grow a lot of corn. Then I started thinking about how we use all that corn.

Corn syrup for our pancakes (well, except for me, I like maple) and hi-fructose corn syrup to sweeten everything from Coke and Pepsi to Heinz Ketchup to candy bars. The cows and pigs and chickens we eat are fattened-up on corn. We pop it to take into the movies. We pump it into our cars as more and more of our gasoline is 10% ethanol... from corn, naturally. Corn starch, corn meal, corn muffins. Not to mention that we eat a lot of plain old corn, like on the cob at so many summer barbeques. Man alive, corn is everywhere. We're all going to turn into ears of corn if we're not careful. And about half a mile from my house, there's a corn field that's about to be converted to condos, if the signs are to be believed.

So I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for another corn field about to be converted to town houses, and that's just what I was feeling as I exited Lake Cook Road to turn up Milwaukee Avenue yesterday, just before sunset. That's when I noticed something very strange: that corn field I wasn't feeling sorry for, that plot of nature about to become condos that I wasn't pining over was beautifully backlit in the glow of an approaching sunset... and it was a gorgeous, golden, yellow color. That's when it hit me... that's no corn field, it's sunflowers!

Screech went the brakes, flash went the hazard lights, open flew the car door, up jumped the photographer, pop went the trunk and out came the tripod. On went the digital camera, plugged-in went the remote switch and buzz went the bumble-bee... frozen at 1/1000 of a second as snap went the shutter. Another case of you don't see if you're not looking.
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Sunflowers - Canon EOS-5D, 70~200/2.8 Canon Zoom Lens EF L Ultrasonic, ISO 100

Now We Can All Go On Vacation!!

I should never go away on vacation... never! Ever since I started blogging, something important, something I should be writing about, happens. This time, in the three weeks I budgeted for myself this year, Sony introduced it's PartyShot robotic photographer. It works on two AA size batteries so you don't even have to feed it!

From the press release.....

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 5, 2009 – Sony today introduced the Party-shot™ personal photographer (model IPT-DS1)—an innovative camera dock that pans 360 degrees and tilts 24 degrees, automatically detects faces, adjusts composition and takes photos for you.

The Party-shot camera accessory uses the camera's BIONZ™ image processor with its Face Detection and Smile Shutter™ features to take photos without the user needing to snap the shutter button. This device makes it easy to capture more natural expressions and fun, candid moments of you, your family and friends without having to hire a photographer.

“With the Party-shot personal photographer, you no longer have to worry about taking photos when you are with your family or friends,” said Shigehiko Nakayama, manager of the digital imaging accessories business at Sony Electronics. “Party-shot captures candid moments that tell natural life stories and also offers a new style of photography that enriches time with your family and friends.”

Compatible with the DSC-WX1 and DSC-TX1 Cyber-shot® digital cameras, the Party-shot camera accessory is mountable on nearly any tripod, so you can set it up in a convenient location in your home, especially when you are entertaining. With two AA batteries, the Party-shot camera accessory captures photos for up to 11 hours and is portable, so you can enjoy taking pictures outdoors. You can also use an AC adaptor (sold separately).

Pre-orders will begin on August 6, 2009, at www.sonystyle.com/retail and at selected retailers nationwide. The Party-shot camera accessory will be available for about $150 in September at Sony Style® retail stores (www.sonystyle.com/retail) and at authorized dealers.


Yes friends, it's time to kick back, put your feet up and smoke a big fat one! Now we can all go on vacation!!

This Day In History, 1969

It was 40 years ago, today, that science fiction became science fact: a man stood on the surface of the Moon. This is, in my opinion, one of the greatest photographs ever made. More daring than Robert Capa or Larry Burrows or any photographer to come before him, Neil Armstrong, risking all, traveled to the Moon, posed Buzz Aldrin against a stark landscape and pushed the button. The ultimate uncertainty... will he be able to bring the film home, to Earth?

We all take it for granted that we'll make our pictures and make it back to the lab alive and in one piece. I'd love to know what Neil Armstrong was thinking at this moment.

At The Intersection Of Pickens & Gore - Part II

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Above: Canon EOS-5D, 15/2.8 Canon Fisheye Lens EF, ISO 100

No Contest Part III - The Art Institute of Chicago Doesn't Get It!

In mid-May, my ASMP Chicago/Midwest Chapter colleague Marcus Maddox and I took issue with the Art Institute of Chicago regarding the rules to their photography contest celebrating the opening of a new wing. The contest rules, like many others lately, contain insufferable language which amounts to an egregious rights-grab. We see this all the time, it's not unusual to find the corporate world (and their legal departments) seeking to get over on artists. What makes this exceptional is that it's an art museum seeking to get over on artists!!

The rules state: By entering the Contest, entrant grants Sponsors the non-exclusive, royalty-free, and irrevocable right to use, reproduce, copy, publish, display, distribute, perform, translate, adapt, modify, and otherwise exploit the photo and to incorporate the photo in other works in any and all markets and media now or hereafter known worldwide in perpetuity. Again, we expect to encounter this elsewhere, but not from an arts organization. Needless to say (I hope so, anyway), we let the Art Institute know how deeply saddened we were to see this behavior coming from them.

Two days ago we received a reply from Eric Hogan, the Art Institute's Director of Public Affairs, which read: Thank you for your comment regarding the Art Institute's photography
contest related to the opening of the Modern Wing. The contest is not directed at professional photographers, who should be and generally are well compensated for their work. The contest was meant to engage the hundreds of thousands of visitors who like to take pictures -- with their iPhones and non-professional-quality digital cameras--in the Modern Wing as a new feature of the Chicago landscape. We're sorry for the misunderstanding but certainly did not mean to imply that we were looking for "free" professional work. More than a dozen professional photographers have shot the building -- for magazine spreads, ad campaigns, and publications -- and all were fully compensated by the museum.

These are supposed to be bright, intelligent people. Do they really think an art museum can stage a widely publicized photography contest and that there would be no serious artists (professionals) entering images? Especially if the rules don't specifically exclude professionals and images made with professional instruments?? C'mon, let's get real, and please don't insult my intelligence with a lame response.

My point was, and remains, simply: An organization that's supposed to be dedicated to advancing the visual arts ought not be taking advantage of visual artists; and whether an artist's status is amateur or professional is wholly beside the point. The Art Institute of Chicago should not sponsor a contest in which the rules undermine the value of art and the artists who produce it!

Independence Day 2009

Do You Ever Wonder?

Do you ever wonder what a photo credit tastes like? How about this: do you ever wonder how many miles per photo credit (MPCs) your car gets? I do. I also wonder if these thoughts ever cross the mind of people whose job description includes asking me for permission to publish my images, promising only a photo credit as compensation. Don't you?

This morning I received an e-mail via Flickr from a woman at the Irish Museum Of Modern Art saying,
I'm contacting you regarding the touring exhibition and monograph publication of the artist Lynda Benglis currently being prepared by the Irish Museum of Modern Art. As a comparative image to one of her pieces, we would like to include your image of the Statue of Liberty torch. Would you allow us permission to copy the image for an edition of 3,000 worldwide English copies? If so, can you send a high res copy? We will credit you as the author, though we might possibly want to crop it to only include the arm and flame. Would you allow that as well?

I'm wondering why she didn't ask to borrow my bicycle, too! Aren't you?