From The Mouths Of Babes

This afternoon, while taking a break from the ninety degree heat in the cool, air-conditioned, refuge that passes for my office, I was preparing files for inclusion in a presentation I'll be doing at the Apple Store in New York City (SoHo) next month.

Making the most of the two weeks ahead, I'm scanning, resizing, dropping into PowerPoint, rearranging, etc, etc.... making sure I look professional when I make the scene at "Station A," as the Apple Store is called. "Station A" is an old post office on the corner of Prince & Greene Streets in SoHo. As Mark Holechek, neighbor and sometime client, reflected: "Hey! That was my post office when my office was on Broadway and Houston. Remember?"

Well, anyway, back to my story. Alex was getting bored with the nineteenth re-run of Sponge Bob Square Pants and he left the television to come over and see what I was doing. He caught me manipulating an image in Photoshop and (as if a lightbulb lit inside his head) started bugging me to show him how to use curves and adjustment layers. He's nine years old and already a digital guru (I continue to struggle!!).

I dragged him up on to my lap and we sat there together in my chair, using a third rate reject image as canon fodder for the myriad special effects we were trying..... and we came up with this. Hmmmm.

British Invasion, Part II

November, 1985, I think it was. I'd decided to go into business as a photographer, transitioning from apprentice to journeyman.

I'd been assisting Alan Kaplan, a brilliant photographer, but he basically kicked me out of his studio because he thought I was ready to make my move and he also thought I was too comfortable there to take the risk. So... Alan gave me the boot. Good thing too, because he was 100% right (told ya he's brilliant).

At the time, Alan was represented by Sam Bernstein and Tony Andriulli and they'd taken a liking to me so.... I'll bet you're thinking they offered to rep me.... wrong! But they saw a guy with a new studio and no clients and they'd just picked-up a Londoner by the name of Frank Herholdt. Frank, was going to shoot jobs here in the US, but Frank didn't really know his way around so Sam thought that I should be Frank's producer.

I really didn't want to be Frank's producer, but when Frank was in my position in London he really didn't want to be Art Kane's producer. But Frank did produce Art's shoots and so I produced Frank's shoots.

And I like Frank, we got on quite well and it was a good gig. And Frank came with Keith Taylor, an assistant who became Frank's printer and then opened his own lab in London. Anyway, Keith and I got on quite well, too, and I introduced him to New York by getting him sick as a dog drinking shots of tequilla and hot sauce (alternately... and there are as many brands of hot sauce as there are brands of tequilla) in some of New York's trendiest bars.

Okay, let's cut to the chase: Keith fell in love and moved to Minneapolis, where he's lived for the past eleven years and, though a fine phtographer in his own right, prospers as a custom printer for some of the midwest's greatest talents.

So it was with some surprise that, after all this time, I got an e-mail from Keith a couple of weeks ago inviting me to a gallery opening in New York. He'd done some really, really beautiful dichromate pigment prints for Cy DeCosse and I have to tell you: I was as impressed by the prints as I was by the photographs. Keith was as much the star of the show as Cy.

Cy DeCosse, New Works. Printed by Keith Taylor. John Stevenson Gallery, 338 West 23rd Street, New York. Through June 30th.

Somewhere, Down There

Somewhere, down there, nestled in amongst the bright lights of SoHo, is an Apple Store. You can drop by and take a big bite of an Apple, provided you like Macintosh.

No, I'm not talking about a produce mart... I'm talking about the Apple Store in SoHo, one of a number of retail stores opened in recent years by Apple Computer, now simply Apple Inc. At these stores you can play with... and buy... Apple Macintosh, iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro computers as well as iPod, iPhone (soon!) and Apple TV as well as various and sundry accessories for your digital life (and your Apple products).

On June 11th, at 6:30 PM, in the theater of the Apple Store in SoHo, you can drop by and see me and my pictures and hear me talk about how & why I made them and how I market them. You can ask questions... not that I necessarily have answers. I'll also talk about the benefits of ASMP - The American Society of Media Photographers, and the many benefits of membership in our Society (I'm the President of ASMP's New Jersey Chapter). I might even mention an Apple product or two, as I've been using Apple's computers in my day-to-day office and digital photography workflows for a long time.

I might even mention my service as an Apple EvengeList member but, really, I'll be there to talk photography and show pictures. If you're in New York June 11th, come on down to SoHo.

ASMP~Apple Pro Sessions
Apple Store/SoHo
103 Prince Street
New York, New York

June 11, 2007 - 6:30 PM

See you there!

No Contest Part II - The Big Print Giveth & The Small Print Taketh Away

In my last entry I mentioned that I won the only two contests I've ever entered. Two of hundreds of contests available to me. However, I regret that I seem to have overlooked a number of awards I've won professionally, but those really aren't photo contests so I don't feel like I've mislead anyone. For instance, the very first award I ever won was the Printers Industry Association Of America (PIAA) Gold Award for Best Cover. It was my first high-profile job, an Annual Report for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and... yeah, I won. There have been others as well and I'm not going to bore you with the details or toot my own horn. Suffice to say they weren't, strictly, photography contests. Anyway, I'm still ticked off about that Microsoft thing.

I last wrote about the Microsoft sponsored, "Future Pro Photographer" contest and my objection to the rule granting all rights to Microsoft and its fellow sponsors. Needless to say, I wasn't the only one to take offense and very shortly thereafter ASMP had worked a deal with Microsoft amending Rule #5.

ASMP is a great organization and I'm in awe of its ability to intervene to get the rule changed.* It now says: "As a condition of accepting a prize, you agree to grant Microsoft an irrevocable royalty-free worldwide license to reproduce and display the image, credited with your first and last name, in print and on the web for the purposes of only promoting this contest." This is a good start, but that's all.

"A good start," you ask, "that's all? What's wrong now?" Well, I'll tell you: Rule #5 now says that only the winners need to grant rights to the sponsors, and only those rights necessary to promote this particular competition. While this is precisely the response ASMP asked for, that's all ASMP got. There is, however, Rule #8.....


"8. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. .....By entering this Contest You agree to and hereby release and hold harmless Sponsor and Administrators from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, use or license of your Entry, or any prize. If you do not want to grant the foregoing release, please do not enter the Contest.... (and continues after some other qualifiers to state)..... You waive any claim of infringement (including without limitation copyright, trademark, patent, trade name, trade secret, etc.) against the Sponsor and Administrators or their licensees based upon access to or use of your Entry."

Hellooooo??? Doesn't Rule #8 say that Microsoft and its pals can break Rule #5, use your images anyway and be immune from litigation? I'm no lawyer, but it sure seems that way to me.

Above: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NYC - Nikon F3HP, 28/2.8 Nikkor lens, Kodachrome 25

*Okay, I'm biased, I'm President of ASMP's New Jersey Chapter.

No Contest!

I've never been keen on entering contests, probably because I don't like losing. That said, I've entered contests in the past, but given the number of opportunities I've had I can accurately claim that I've entered less than 1/10 of one percent of the contests available to me. I've only entered two contests, and I won both times, my track record's great in that regard... but they weren't very important in the general scheme of things.

Okay, okay, I can see you're chomping at the bit waiting to learn which competitions I've won. My first (picture at right), a self-portrait, won the Tappress Photo Contest in the spring of 1970. I guess, actually, this was a very important competition. Tappress was the monthly newspaper of Tappan Zee High School and there were just a few photographers among the students there, and we were all vying for two coveted positions: photo editor of Tappress, the school newspaper; and, photo editor of Half Moon, the school yearbook. In the end, I attained neither of those posts, a very big disappointment at the time, but I beat the pack: Richard Berner, Don Bookman & Mark Kalan, maybe a few others as well. God knows where these guys are today, but they're not photographers. (Actually, I know where Mark is, he and I have remained friends... he's just getting back into photography after twenty years editing and publishing a motorcycle magazine.)

The other contest I've won (picture at left), Maplewood Moments, sponsored by the Maplewood Civic Association, I entered only because I didn't like their rules: the entry form stated that all entries become the property of Maplewood Civic Association. I couldn't live with that so I entered solely to deny them the rights to my images. I guess it was the ultimate in arrogance, assuming I'd win. What? Maplewood is lousy with photographers, there are a number of top-notch professionals who live here (we're all friends), and it was surely absurd to think I would win, but think that I did.

I'd crossed out the line that gave ownership to the civic association, initialed it and enetered the contest with three images. Thought I'd wasted the fifteen dollars in entry fees, I'd never win having black-lined the the entry form the way I did, but it was worth the fifteen bucks to make my point. I was just totally surprised to return from a movie one Friday night to find a message in my voice mail from Dennis Donahue, president of the MCA, telling me I'd won and, "it's okay, you can retain your rights, we don't need to own your picture." I won!

I'd like to enter another contest: Microsoft is sponsoring a "Future Pro Photographer" contest. I'm not going to enter, it's only open to students, but I would encourage anyone considering this contest to read the fine print in the official rules, especially Rule #5.....

"5. ENTRIES PROPERTY OF SPONSOR. All Entries become the property of Sponsor and Administrators and will not be returned. By submitting your Entry, you grant Sponsor and Administrators an irrevocable royalty-free, worldwide right, in all media (now known or later developed) to use, publish, alter or otherwise exploit your Entry. You hereby forever release the Sponsor and Administrators from any and all claims you might have in connection with their use and exhibit of your Entry as set forth above. You also agree to sign any necessary documentation to effectuate that license and release. If you do not want to grant Sponsor and Administrators the foregoing, please do not enter the Contest. Sponsor and Administrators are not obligated to use the Entry, even if it has been selected as a Winning entry."

While this seems to be a standard clause in contests, I find it particularly egregious coming from Microsoft. Why?

Perhaps there's no other entity, save Disney, that's more protective of its intellectual property than Microsoft. Further, Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, is also the owner of Corbis Corporation, one of the largest picture archives in the world, and Corbis knows the value of photography very, very well. How could the sponsors claim to be fostering the careers of emerging photographers and, in the next breath, strip these naifs of their rights in their own images?

Even worse, this contest is co-sponsored by PPA (Professional Photographers of America) and Canon, among others. It blows my mind! It's worth a letter or two, mine are already in the mail.
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Top: Self-portrait 1970 - Asahi Pentax H3v, 55/1.4 Mamiya-Sekor lens, Kodak Tri-X Pan
Bottom: JP0988 The Ridgewood Patriot - Canon EOS-1N, 300/4.0 Canon EF-L lens, Fujichrome Velvia

You Don't See When You're Not Looking - The Serendipity Factor

I was asked recently about starting a career in stock photography. My advice, as always lately, was to get a law degree, then become a photographer. Other than that, I have some ideas on what it takes to make it in stock photography. I've been modestly successful as a stock shooter since the late eighties, and I personally know a lot of others, so from my perspective this is what you need to know.

* You'll need to be an outstanding photographer to succeed. This is true in any aspect of photography, incl weddings. In fact, this is true in all aspects of life. Whatever you do you must do well to succeed. Half-assed is half-assed no matter what you do, nobody wants mediocre anything.

* You'll need to be self-directed and highly motivated because the next item is shared by all successful photographers....

* You must be highly prolific, you need to always be shooting, every day, every day. I'm constantly running into
Bill Tomlin, a local wedding & portrait (retail studio) photographer, on the street, or in the alley that connects our places (we're around the corner from each other), or in the bank, wherever. He's NEVER seen me without my camera and he comments on it constantly. I keep saying, and it's true, you never know what you're going to see. All the images accompanying this post were serendipitous sightings, would've been lost if I hadn't had my camera.

Of course, everything can't be submitted to an archive, but a lot of what I encounter serendipitously can be submitted to an archive, especially when presented in series as a body of work. One picture from a farmers market doesn't say much, even if it's a great image. Spend an entire summer browsing farmers markets and you arrive in October with several hundred outstanding images of fruit... you look very good to the archive's editor. But you need to have your camera with you. You never know when you'll pass a roadside stand.

* Pay attention! You never know what you'll see, but you won't see unless you're looking!! keep notes, write stuff down, your memory will fail when you need it most.

* Production value counts big-time!! Can't say that enough. Produce your shoots. Light them, prop them, get wardrobe, H&M, hire a stylist.

* You MUST establish a business relationship with both an accountant and an attorney. They need not specialize in photography but you can't use your dad's accountant or a cousin or whatever. SPEND MONEY* and hire people you trust, people who treat you like a professional rather than you're their little sister. This is key.

When I first started I had my taxes done by my dad's accountant. He didn't take me seriously, probably hoped I'd "come to my senses" and open a chain of dry cleaning stores or something. I got no advice, just tax prep. No guidance, I wasn't paying him, I was a favor done for my dad.

My older brother was my attorney. That's great fee-wise but my biz issues were grist for conversation at family dinners.

When I finally wised-up and hired an accountant the guy showed me how to organize my bookkeeping, told me what is and is not deductible, went back and amended five years of previous tax returns (I got money back!!), etc, etc. My attorney keeps my business confidential... priceless on Sunday evenings.

(your two most important biz relationships will be with your accountant and your attorney)

* Spend money. You can't start a good business by being undercapitalized. I know, I tried it. I went into business on a shoestring, bumped along unsuccessfully for a few years. Why? No budget.

Finally got *lucky* and landed a few BIG jobs. Took the money and started over: bought all new equipment, computers, advertising and promotion, portfolios. If you need to, take a small business loan, get some money behind you and DO IT RIGHT. Been humming along ever since.

Shoot, shoot, shoot. You're not a photographer if you're not making pictures!! Get out of the chair, turn off the computer and go out and make pictures. Hire an assistant or get an intern to handle your post-production. You need to do what photographers do: make pictures!!
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Top: Torn Poster, Tel Aviv - Asahi Pentax SPII, 28mm Super Takumar lens, Kodachrome II
2nd: Reflected Traffic, NYC - Nikon F3HP, 85/1.2 Nikkor lens, Kodachrome 25
3rd: Empire State Bldg Reflection, NYC - Nikon F3HP, 28/2.8 Nikkor lens, Kodachrome 25
Bottom: Cargo Containers, Newark NJ - Canon EOS-1N, 600/4.0 Canon EF-L lens, Fujichrome Velvia

This Day In History, 1931

On this day in 1931, The Empire State Building, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street (350 Fifth Avenue is the actual address) in New York City opened to the public after having been constructed under budget and in roughly one year's time. The famous spire at the top was at one time planned to be a docking station for large dirigibles. They even constructed special ticketing booths and a departure lounge on the 86th floor. Safety concerns prevailed and no passengers were ever transferred to the roof from an airship (although a smaller zeppelin did lower a bundle of newspapers down a rope to the top of the building). The 86th floor serves as an observatory and it's open to the public.

While the mast at the top never actually held a large airship's mooring lines, it does serve as a fantastic host for radio transmitters, television, and eventually wireless phone and data connections. The special lounge was converted to a viewing platform, and has been a successful tourist attraction ever since.

To visit the official website of the Empire State Building click here.

If you ever make it to New York City, you should endeavor to make it to the top of the ESB. The view itself is worth the price of admission.

"Eat At Joe's" Featured in AfterCapture Magazine

Writer Ethan G. Salwen of Buenos Aires, Argentina, recently examined the pros and cons of blogging and what it takes to make a successful web log for the photography trade magazine AfterCapture. In his piece titled, "Enter the Blogosphere," Salwen interviews a handful of top bloggers from the photo industry and solicits and collates their advice for starting and keeping alive an online community.

"Joseph’s blog writing is intelligent and wittily self-effacing, and he only posts quality images. However, reviewing his blog reveals no indication that his blog is a conscious part of his marketing efforts." - Excerpt from Salwen's article.

To read the rest of Enter the Blogosphere in the AfterCapture online archive, click here.