August 9, 2011 Studio Light Basics Good summation by Joe Farace over at PhotoFocus on the basic elements of studio flash units. Nice primer if you’ve never touched one of these things before. Categories Tech Talk
August 9, 2011 Are YOU Backed Up? If you’re on staff somewhere, you have an automatic YOU back-up. If you don’t show up for work*, there’s (hopefully) someone else who will take care of what you were supposed to do. But what if you’re a freelancer? Skip Cohen writes over at GoingPro about having a backup for yourself. We photojournalists carry back-up cameras, lenses, cards, hard drives,... Categories Advice & Learning/Business & Industry/Thoughts & Theory
August 9, 2011 Stories from Inside We’re a little more than a month away from the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the country and there will be a lot of great, retrospective journalism coming out. Let’s start with one of my heroes, Joe McNally. McNally, known best for his stunning lighting skills and workshops, produced a series of portraits of firefighters and others affected... Categories At Work/Good Work/Photojournalism
August 8, 2011 Tyler Hicks on the New York Times Somalia Famine Image NPR interviewed Tyler Hicks, the New York Times photojournalist whose front page image of a starving child in Somalia has sparked a lot of discussion. Hicks was asked whether a photograph can still change the world. “It has a way of searing itself into your mind,” he says. “It’s something you can study. It doesn’t just whip by you over... Categories Ethics & Legal/Good Work/Photojournalism
August 8, 2011 Over at the Gear Geek … This week, a look at some cheap wide angle lens adaptors for pocket video cameras and cell phones. How cheap? Under $30. Categories Tech Talk
August 8, 2011 Miami Beach PD Sets New Guidelines for Handling Media The National Press Photographers Association’s Advocacy Committee has posted about their involvement with the Miami Beach Police Department’s decision to set new guidelines and procedures for the, “investigation, seizure and searching of portable video and photo recording devices.” So, to anyone who asks why the NPPA matters … who else stepped in? And a nod to Police Chief Carlos Noriega... Categories Ethics & Legal
August 6, 2011 Modern Retro Photo District News is reporting that there will be a new version of the Diana Mini Flash – this one in all white. The Diana is a very low tech film camera. Image quality is, well, horrific is you care at all about sharpness or color accuracy. Build quality will be questionable. Reliability? I wouldn’t mention that word. But people... Categories Craft/Tech Talk
August 6, 2011 When to Walk Away From a Client Debbie Swanson has a quick, five-point guide to deciding when it’s time to fire a client over at Freelance Switch. I know, I know … in times like these, should you ever walk away from a paying client? The answer, of course, is yes. Look at her five points, all of them are valid reasons for closing the door on... Categories Business & Industry
August 5, 2011 Staying Motivated Times are hard out there – but you know that already, don’t you? Over on the Poynter Institute’s site the other day was a chat session with Manny Garcia, executive editor and general manager of El Nuevo Herald about how you stay fired up, how you draw inspiration. Worth going through the transcript. (And, yes, I’m aware I’m Poynter-heavy of... Categories Advice & Learning/Business & Industry
August 5, 2011 NPPA Student Clip Contest Deadline is August 7 It’s that time of the quarter … if you published created great work in May, June and/or July, you have until August 7 to enter it in the NPPA’s Student Clip Contest. Clips need to fit into one of the following categories: news, sports, feature single, controlled portraits, multiple picture story or multimedia. I helped with judging an earlier quarter... Categories Competitions