Jun 16, 2011 | Random Thoughts
Jake and I were just coming off a break and were heading back out to the line. We’d been working the flight line since 07:30, talking with pilots and crews, shooting, drinking coffee and of course, shooting some more. It was an excellent morning and we wanted to get off our feet for a moment. I naturally grabbed the iPad, checked emails and took care of some work. Even though the light had gotten hard, Jake & I know that sitting inside guarantees we’ll make no images. Even in bad light, at least being outside, there is the possibility something good will come along (and it did). We were just heading back out and I saw this photo which so reflected an email I had just read. Basically, a shooter had emailed bemoaning shooting at airshows because they didn’t have unique access to aircraft, the light was hard and there are crowds. So airshows are stupid. There’s no doubt they aren’t for everyone which is why photography is SO amazing, we can all have cameras and point them to so many different things and still enjoy photography together. What I have an issue with is, photography only happens when the lights perfect, the birds sing and music plays in the air. Photos happen where YOU make them happen, period! You wanna go out in the worst light and make great images, YOU can do it! You wanna go out in crowds and make great images, you can do it! The only thing stopping you is you! If shooting in hard light is hard then push yourself and start shooting in it. If you wanna do aviation photography for example, most airshows are during hard light times so if you wanna do aviation, guess what? And until you have those images you can show others that you have talent, you can’t move up the ladder to shooting those better aircraft in better light. It can be a very, long, hard, hot walk walking the line from beginner to professional, from failure to successful but if you don’t start walking now, today, we all know you will never make it to the other end. And if you think you are alone, think again. The only difference in this photography game, some are simply further down the line then the others. But I’ve yet to meet anyone who has made it all the way to the other end!
May 9, 2011 | Random Thoughts
When it comes to showing off your photography, personally I don’t think there is any better medium then the iPad at this time! There is a very good reason why I’ve bought (and still have) four of them, they make me money! I put an iPad into the hand of a client and allow them to flip through the images and I always get a sale, from a single print to photographing bigger projects to wall decor for an entire lodge (which is why I take so much time perfecting my image presentation with the iPad)! So when it comes to reading periodicals and the news, the iPad rocks! Those who have come to DLWS and been part of my presentation on printing know just how important paper is in making our images look great. Newspaper and magazine paper doesn’t even compare to the presentation power of the iPad. So besides wanting to see digital publishing not only flourish and grow for my own business to continue, I simply love seeing great photography at its best. So what you see here are just some of the digital publishing assets out there right now that have subscribed to. I’ve put down hard earned cash and paid to receive the full editions. I realize that times are tight right now but I also realize being an economics major that if I don’t invest now, when times are better, I won’t be in place to take advantage of those better times. I’m often asked about this business side of photography and while it all starts with the click, there is so much involved to close the circle to find its business rewards.
Apr 19, 2011 | Random Thoughts
While we can debate the cause and effect, the bottomline is things are warming up and being on the frontline seeing how this IS effecting our wild heritage, climate change concerns me on a daily basis. Well, trying to get this message out is taking some new forms (I know with this posting the usual emails will come from the usual folks telling me I don’t know what I’m talking about). You can never argue with someone’s logic, but you sure can attack the facts in which they base that logic. Or, better yet, educate. Check this out, might give you something new to think about. And if you wanna make a difference, now, today, simply unplug the power supply to your notebook, iPhone, iPod, iPad whenever you’re not using it. Yeap, making a difference can be that simple!
Apr 12, 2011 | Random Thoughts
Not sure how he has such clear insight, I’m just glad he shares it! This is so true for so many but I think it really applies to photographers. You just might wanna give it a read and answer the question for yourself. I might just improve your photography, at least time spent at it.
Mar 16, 2011 | Random Thoughts
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP50911.swf, 595, 484 [/swf]
No history of Dec 7th would be complete without a visit to the Arizona Memorial. This is a view you normally don’t see of the memorial though. We were with a great friends Bruce & Rob who, with their military ID were able to give us a tour like none other of the battle from that day. Those who know me know I love history and especially trivia about history. One of the highlights from yesterday was trivia that Elvis was involved in the fund raising for the memorial which in the day, was very controversial. Some complained it looked like a squashed milk carton.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP41701.swf, 404, 600 [/swf]
The day before we took Jake over to the memorial that lies atop the Arizona. The oil still bubbles up in tiny drops making a constant sheen on the water. We were also able to get to the Utah Memorial for the first time. The only photographic lesson one can take away from this is, if we don’t learn from the past, we are certain to relive it again in the future.
Mar 11, 2011 | Random Thoughts
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DLCNHWV0637.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Really kind of an interesting question which really doesn’t mean much to no one. But since I’ve been asked this a couple of times of late, thought I would answer it out loud. In the days of making presentations with slides, the actual prep was pretty simple. Make a duplicate slide, drop it into a carousel and go. Now if you wanted to change up that program, you’d have to find that slide you want to move or swap out, but with one carousel, it was easy. Now back in the day, I did a 6 projector show so changing just one slide was a major pain in the ass! And to alter the programming tape running all 6 projectors was worst then programming Apollo to land on the moon. So in general, I really don’t miss it ONE bit (and transportation and set up was a killer!).
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/DPAGAT0185.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Digital presentation when it comes to dropping in a new image, switching up the order, all the mechanics of getting an image on the screen is a snap! I use ProShow Producer (with some tricks I learned in the days of PowerPoint) to assemble all my shows. The “pain” if there is any with digital is all in the image prep. The one thing many don’t realize with digital presentations is that all digital projectors do only sRGB, only 256 colors. That really can kill the “luster” of some images and while I’m the only one who knows the loss, it bugs the crap out of me. So with all my images I present, I take extra time to deal with the loss of the ProPhoto color space with each image (adj layers, saturation & contrast usually). That just eats up the time but I feel your time to hear me speak deserves the best looking image I can throw up on the screen. The actual sizing the file down for projection (average file is 400k) is an action I made in Photoshop which simply flattens, converts to sRGB and sizes the file.
What this very long winded answer to the question gets to is, digital is much easier (and transportation & set up is a snap). I have 5 news one for this Photoshop World which has taken all this week to create. I actually put a helluva of a lot of time assembling my programs. I enjoy the creative process and challenge very much. And just like making the single click with a camera, if the presentation goes as planned, all I’ve accomplished in the end is to tug at your heart strings.
