Wk 8 EOC: Is She Fair Game?

I think the princess in the film we watched is fair game to say the least. Anybody is has the freedom of press, and people such as princesses and other royalty fall into the group of people that the press are most interested. There is no law against documenting reality. As a public figure you should already know and expect that you are being watched at all times. With that in mind whatever you do in public where others can see you is fair game for anyone who sees it. As far as emotions go, that is a different story entirely. The actor in the film had intent to use his opportunity to get the next best news story. After spending time with the princess, he lost sight of his work. He let his emotions get in the way of what he was set out to do. I liked the way that the film ended. I think it was a pretty clever way to wrap up everything in the end. I think in the end he realized that he was in the wrong doing what he was doing. Personally, I probably would have done the same thing if I were in the news reporter’s shoes. Choosing to not exploit her was probably the best decision. I think it was a fair way to end things for the fact that they took advantage of her. So yes, I would say that the princess or any royal family member is fair game.

Wk 7 Photo Challenge: Eye Reflection

To Be Continued...

Wk 7 EOC: Progress Towards My Professional Contacts

The business cards that I obtained for my final project consist of an accountant, insurance agent, lawyer, banker, and technical advisers. I got what seemed to be the cold shoulder when asking for business cards from different people, some more than others, of course. The relationship I look forward to the most is the networking I have done with technical advisers. The people who can build me various web pages, and have the ability to make watermarks, logos, or any graphic I may need for my business. It is extremely helpful that I knew this person somewhat before I asked for a card. Having a conversation, and discussing different needs with these people was very easy and reassuring. I look forward to the work I will do with this company further on in my, and their career. Another professional contact that I looked into was insurance. I feel as if insurance is a must in my trade. I work with very expensive and valuable photographic equipment on a daily basis. I feel that it is imperative to insure all of the professional tools of your trade. Accidents happen, and if anything were to affect the flow of business such as damaged equipment, I would give me peace of mind knowing that it’s not gone forever. Networking is key, and with that in mind there are more contacts that I have yet to seek out. 

Wk 6 Photo Challenge: Paparazzo

I got my inspiration for this project from the documentary we watched about legendary paparazzo Ron Galella. He has a lot of experience, I could just tell by the way he would talk. He put everything I ever thought about paparazzi photographers into a different perspective. He showed famous people in a way that no body else could see them. He photographed “famous people doing un-famous things.” I took that approach with this assignment. I live in Las Vegas, a hot spot for famous people. I would have liked to shoot different celebrities, but due to a busy schedule going out of my way to ind celebrities wasn’t an option. I decided to cruise the streets of Las Vegas, and try to capture normal people doing un-normal things. For this shot I knew right away I wanted a black and white color balance. Next was the challenge of finding people in the act of doing something un-normal. When I thought my idea was hopeless I looked out my car window to see a man adjusting his undergarments. Adjusting your clothes in public seems to be pretty normal. The only thing that makes this un-normal is from where the man in the photo is adjusting himself. The next abnormal thing I photographed was of two people. I could see a young woman standing at a bus stop. From a distance I could see that she was fairly attractive. Judging on the part of town I was in I would expect that she was moments away from being picked up on. What I saw next was what I didn’t expect. I saw a man approaching the woman from a distance. I noticed as I passed that he was a older man probably in his mid 70’s. I almost missed my opportunity as I drove past, but at a moment I looked into my rear view mirror and saw the old man begin to pick up in the young woman standing at the bus stop. I knew it was a matter of time before the woman was hit on, but I didn’t expect to see it in front of my eyes, especially by a person that I would least expect it from. I flipped a U-turn and got my shot.

Wk 6 EOC: Ron Galella & The First Amendment

After watching a documentary about paparazzo Ron Galella, I was inspired. I have seen a lot of documentary films and videos about different photographers that interest me; a documentary about a paparazzi photographer is the last thing I thought would give me insight to the photo business. Ron Galella exercised his first amendment right to the fullest. I think all photographers should go about their work with the same determination and attitude he did. I valued the fact that he did whatever he needed to, no matter the circumstances, to get the next best shot. After watching a documentary about paparazzo Ron Galella, I was inspired. I have seen a lot of documentary films and videos about different photographers that interest me; a documentary about a paparazzi photographer is the last thing I thought would give me insight to the photo business. Ron Galella exercised his first amendment right to the fullest. I think all photographers should go about their work with the same determination and attitude he did. I valued the fact that he did whatever he needed to, no matter the circumstances, to get the next best shot. It amazed me on how he slipped out of every sticky situation by exercising his first amendment right. In the eyes of the law, everything thing he was doing was technically allowed by law. Although some of the measures he went to to get a better picture were a little over the top, and sometimes menacing

Wk 5 Photo Challenge: Paint With Light

Painting with light is a very general term. It could mean a lot of different things. After going over the examples of Pablo Picasso’s light painting portraits many ideas came to mind. I did something similar to this challenge a few weeks back. Our first photo challenge I photographed my self with written text. I used a light, and a long exposure to paint the fluorescent trails of text. Taking this into consideration I realized I wanted to go in a complete different direction to add some variety to my blog. It worked out conveniently that I had a field trip to a ghost town in northern Nevada. I decided that this is where I would complete my photo challenge. Rather than making trails for the majority of my image, I decided to photograph something a little different. I photographed a historic town site in the middle of the desert at dusk, the best time for shooting outdoors in the desert I’d say. I placed my camera a few feet away from the building and pulled out a wireless flash. I set my camera to record for a couple of seconds while I ran along the exterior to light building in different places. This final result is three images combined.

Wk 5 EOC: Midterm

After being in this class for five weeks, I have learned a numerous tips and information that plays a key role in my career as a photographer. I have learned the fundamentals of what it takes to create and carry out a successful business in my trade. Being a photographer is hard work that takes a lot of time and patients to succeed. I still have yet to learn what it really takes to become a business. This class has given me much insight on what it takes to be in business, and has given me an advantage that I did not have before. I have gained important knowledge of what it takes to run a business, which gives higher hopes as I step into my career as a creative professional. I think I am doing well in this class. It is a lot more interesting than I originally thought it was going to be. Each week we go over key points that are involved with making a business that I would have never thought of in a million years. I have met all of the deadlines for all of the work that has been assigned. I docked myself points for the accounting software paper because I turned it in a few minutes after the beginning of class. I didn’t want to give myself the full on hundred points for the twitter grade either. Even though I have all of my tweets are in place, there are at most some points with three days in between posts, which is why I decided to give myself eighty out of one hundred. As for attendance I missed a day of class which made it necessary for me to deduct twenty five percent off of participation. I have all of my work done and turned in on time with the few exceptions of a couple tweets, and the accounting software paper. Other than that I feel that I have a good understanding of the Marketing and Promotions material we have discussed for the past five weeks, and have done a good job in this class so far.

Wk 5 BOC: Competitive Analysis

One of my goals as a professional photographer is to travel and document different landscapes. For this competitive analysis I choose to explore a web site of a Landscape Photographer that I’ve admired for years. Peter Lik has been a big name in the industry for a while now. For the past couple of years Peter Lik has had numerous galleries around the world displaying his high quality landscape images, and now currently has a show on television. The website has various links that take you through out the website showing all of his different projects. This website is definitely promoting a high quality photographer, portfolio, and business. The part of the site that separates Peter Lik’s website from others is the award section.  It displays several awards that he has won through the past years in his career as a creative professional.

A portrait studio in Henderson Nevada was the next website I decided to look up. The homepage of the site plays a slide show of stunning portraits from the photographer’s portfolio. As well as different links to various projects the photographer has done. The Mikel’s Fine Art Photography Portrait Studio is a real business advertising their services. Their good quality portraiture gives you the feeling that the photographer has a lot of experience in what her or she does, and is selling a buyable product.

A good way to get paid in the photography industry is doing freelance work. There are a lot of people who make a good living documenting different places at different times, sometimes going to drastic measures to get the shot that counts. Robert Leon is a documentary photographer. His site compared to Peter Lik’s is fairly the same, which gave me the impression that he was a well-established freelance businessman. The site contains various images that attract the eye. It displays the documentarian’s collection of different cultures and other work. The different links showing his work varies from commercial work to different environmental portfolios. The website shows a high quality business.

The next website I researched is for an entry level business called River Street Photography. The quality of the website is what gives away the fact that it is an entry-level business. I must say that the portraiture and quality of the photographers work is really good. The website is the only thing that doesn’t give the business a bad impression. The site is very well put together with links that show you information about the company, pricing, etc. Overall I would say that this is a pretty good website for a good quality entry-level business.

The last website I looked at was definitely a good example of glamour. The photographer designed this site to display his or hers portfolio. This website shows that the photographer has talent and show that he or she has a potential in the business. The site shows different images of women and men in a unique way. The fashion world is always looking for the next best thing and I think work like this has the potential to be just that. The site doesn’t really have a lot of content, just images and a link to contact the photographer, not really giving the feeling that this site is advertising a real business.

Wk 4 Photo Challenge: Wedding

This was a pretty diffcult challenge this quarter by far. Weddings take months sometime even years to plan out. Recreating a picture for a wedding seemed impossible. I knew this was going to be hard to put together in just one week so I had to think of something quick. Since schedualing a time and place for me to use models would have taken longer than seven days, the first thing that came to mind when I thought wedding was the products that come along with it. My original idea was going to contain what ever wedding rings I could get my hands on, but that didn't turn out so well. At this point I began to realize rings were not an option. I started to think of other things that are involved with weddings. Recently I was asked if I were to have been hired for photographing a wedding, would I have the ability to take the pictures for the greeting cards, and thank you cards as well. After taking this into consideration, I came to a conclusion on what my image was going to consist of. Traditionally wedding parties never send you home empty handed. They give you a little something to remember a special occasion. Things like this seem to have a important emotional value to people. I took a souvenir that I had gotten at a wedding a few years back. I decided to photograph the mementos a bridal party would give their guests. The concept I went with to create this image was to make a smooth gradient to allow room for text to be written through out the thank you card. That way everyone invloved whether present at the wedding or not could have something to hold on to if they desired.

Wk 4 EOC: Scary Legal Issues

As an artist I have always had fears about the legal system. Having the title as a creative professional in the photography business brings a lot of fears that I have. First and foremost, legal issues that have to do with my health are what worry me the most. “I can’t tell you the number of times I walk down a sidewalk at night-especially during the winter when the leaves are off the trees-and get poked in the head by a tree twig. As a photographer, my fear is always that I’ll lose an eye, and I panic that the twig that poked me in the cheek could have been two inches higher and poked in the head by a tree twig.” If my vision goes, my profession goes with it. This could eventually lead me into a big mess that I would like to avoid. I have done work for many different people and a few different businesses in my past years as an entry-level photographer. The thought of copy right and legal issues is something that always simmers in the back of my mind. I am a firm believer in recognition. I think someone who is getting recognized for a piece of work that they have done has every right to take credit for it. A scary legal issue I have always had is dealing with copyright issues. I know I for one like getting recognized for a job well done. I have learned from pervious experiences that your work is never safe. A few of my photos from my earlier years as a photographer were being presented and shown as someone else’s. Of course I was much younger, and the situation got handled without a legal issue, but it still puts fear in that back of my head to think that one day in my professional career it could happen again, but at a much larger scale. It’s something I definitely fear and would like to avoid. Other legal issues that concern me are issues dealing with association.

Wk 3 Photo Challenge: Action

My concept for this challenge was to photograph an action that interests me. I have always had an interest in skateboarding since I was young, so the content of this image is the first thing that came to mind. For this challenge capturing a sport in action in a still frame didn’t seemed simple. With that in mind I took a couple of things into consideration. I wanted to capture more than just a still frame of my subject in action. In the final result I wanted to have more content to, something for the viewer to look at, something that says more about, or describes the person in action. Giving a visual representation of which the person in action really is. Skateboarding isn’t a very formal sport. Though there are designated areas designed for skateboarding, skateboarding is prohibited in more places than you think. Almost making it illegal. I think this is what sparked my interest to photograph this in action. For this image I choose to capture an athlete in their more natural environment. The location played an important on describing the athlete in my photo. It gives it a different feel. A different feel that you couldn’t get from lets say a baseball player on a well-crafted playing field. It gives the athlete more of an identity. Lighting was another key element I needed to take into thought. Freezing an action with good lighting could be difficult. I choose to just shoot off the cuff, or just use whatever lighting was available at that point in time. The harsh sunlight from the time of day the photo was taken was unflattering to say the least. The bright washed out specular light made my subject look dull and flat. I pulled a 180 on my original idea and choose to block out the harsh light and capture the action simultaneously. Creating a vignette effect to frame the action in a creative way.