Whirlwind!

The title says it all, at least in regard to the past five weeks or so! There have been many, many changes and happenings around here, and quite frankly, it has been a little difficult to keep up with it all!

Various members of the family have travelled to Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, and New York all for various reasons: some work, some play, some a combination of the two. Add in wrapping up my first semester teaching at Sitar Arts Center, starting a new position with Georgetown Ministry Center (A day center focused on providing services and outreach to the homeless), attending basketball tournaments nearly every weekend and being accepted to graduate school, you can see, things have been moving along quite quickly!

As usual, there is no sign of anything slowing down anytime soon. Already more travel on the horizon, projects, tournaments, and more. Living life fully is something to strive for, and it is something our family seems to make happen on a regular basis. 

I will try and get a few photos up in the next week or so of my latest excursion. I will also provide a more detailed update as to what I am up to. Thanks for reading!

Old vs. New

Yesterday afternoon I was leading my digital photography students on a walkabout through the Adams Morgan area of Washington, D.C. for their black and white lesson. We set out to explore luminance, texture, and interest. Walking up 18th Street, amid some of the best restaurants in the District, was an example of what until recently was considered commonplace... a smashed storefront window.

It goes to show that certain elements of the "old DC" still exist, despite the best efforts of gentrification. The neighborhood is interesting because it really is where old meets new, and not just in vandalism, but also in merchants and the streets. There are still a number of ethnic enclaves in this neighborhood, right along side the latest "interlopers" who are trying to re-purpose the neighborhood into the latest hot-spot.

Where else can you find falafel next to a bourbon bar next to indian food, across the street from a tattoo shop and Turkish deli? Right around the corner is a man from Eastern Europe selling the finest knock-off handbags money can buy (within at least a couple blocks). THAT is diversity, and I think it is the foundation of a true "neighborhood".

It is troubling to see a storefront smashed like above. At the same time it is troubling to see the unique character of the neighborhood slowly slipping away in the interest of hip, chic, restaurants and clubs. While I do not have the answer as to how to preserve the neighborhoods unique character while making it a safe and vibrant area, I see there is ample room for discussion. I only hope the neighborhood is working together to preserve said character, rather than simply focusing on the bottom dollar.

Beside Myself...

I couldn't believe it. There I was, at a gallery opening with fellow photographers and artists, where I had a few images being exhibited. Overall response to my work was fantastic, with a plethora of positive comments and reactions, which is awesome! I was engaged in a conversation with a fellow photographer who was going on about one of my images, and how much he liked it. He was asking me about it, and I was relating the story about when I made it. He asked "So, what do you shoot with?". I explained that for years I have been a Canon guy, but since acquiring my Fuji X100 back in 2011, I rarely shoot with anything else. His response absolutely blew me away...

He said "Wow, I guess I need to look into that camera if it can make pictures like that". I have heard similar statements before, but generally from those who have no understanding of the time, determination and skill it takes to make a great image. I did not expect a comment like this from a fellow photographer.

Why did this set me off you might ask? It is quite simple really. Would you ask a chef who just made an amazing dinner what kind of stove he used? Would you suggest that with the same kind of stove, you would get the same result? No, because it would not be the stove making your meal... it still takes a chef, and you understand that. Photography is no different. Does equipment make a difference? Only to a very limited degree. I have seen amazing photos taken with disposable cameras. I have also seen many less than stellar images produced from camera rigs costing thousands of dollars.

A photograph that makes you take notice is the culmination of years of practice, training and implementation of knowledge. Sure, great photos can happen on accident occasionally, but as a rule the camera is not what makes the image special. It is the technical merit of the photograph and the process to get there that matters most. The camera is merely the tool a photographer uses in their chosen trade/profession. No different than a stove, pans, or spatulas. It truly is what one does with his/her tools that makes the difference.

Photography is an art. It is not simply the creation of a tool that magically occurs in haphazard fashion. It takes years of training and dedication to be proficient. A nice camera just makes the process more enjoyable, just like a nice stove. Don't credit the camera, credit the photographer!

The next time you talk to a photographer and you like their work, a simple compliment will suffice. Be respectful of their devotion to their trade/craft, and enjoy what they have created. Odds are, that was the intent of the photographer in the first place... to create an image that has a lasting effect on you.

Thanks for listening.

Getty Giving Up?

UPDATE: HERE is a link to another article that better explains what is happening with Getty Images and the impacts on photographers and the industry in general, as well as just how valuable your information is to them...

ORIGINAL POST: Long the gold standard in licensed images, Getty recently announced they were going to make nearly all the images in their library free for non-commercial use. Yes, you read that correctly, free, as in, you do not have to pay a licensing fee to use the image unless it is for commercial use. Although, like anything that is "free", there is also a bit of a catch. The images will still be housed on the Getty servers, but will allow consumers to use embeddable code to link the image in their blog, on Facebook, etc.

It sounds as if Getty has realized they cannot go around suing the millions of people that use Getty images for personal use, but they can use those same consumers to try and leverage advertising dollars. It looks like Getty will begin doing what the likes of YouTube have done, and will utilize this new embrace of embeddable code to sell targeted advertising in an effort to increase revenues. So, non-licensed use has traded a watermark for a privacy-invading line of code that will be used to try and sell products and services that their algorithm determines you are likely to be interested in.

As a photographer, I cannot help but wonder what all the people who rely on residuals from Getty might feel about all this? I recognize that many of the images found on Getty have been available for "free" through nefarious means in the past, but does this new stance actually encourage people to not pay for a photographer's work? By no longer requiring consumers to pay for the right to use the images, what then is the incentive to add images to Getty? To me, this seems like a slippery slope, and just might spell doom for stock photographers worldwide.

HERE is one of the many articles available online right now regarding the decision made by Getty. With the many questions and realms this affects, the fallout could be huge (or it could be virtually non-existent). At any rate, the landscape of photography is changing every day, and we photographers need to be sure to stay on top of the shifts and either fight to keep things the same, or champion change.

I am curious how you might feel about this policy change. Thanks for reading.

Photographer's Rights

As a photographer who does a great deal of work in public spaces, the issue of my rights as a photographer are always top-of mind. This is in large part due to nearly every week I read another article about a photographer who was making images in a public space, for whatever reason, and misinformed police officers will demand the photographer stop recording "x" event, demand to view the captured images, might demand the images be deleted, or even arrest the photographer. These instances can be an infringement on a photographers First and Fourth Amendment rights.

You see, photography is protected as a means of expression (First Amendment) and the images on your camera are protected from law enforcement's illegal search and seizure (Fourth Amendment). The following link will take you to an interview with NPPA (National Press Photographers Association) attorney Mickey Osterreicher as he explains a photographer's rights, and what to do if those are violated. It is an informative piece, and worth the few minutes it will take to watch.

Check it out HERE