Month: March 2009

This guy is talking about trying to find traditional jobs, but what he says applies to every creative pro as well. You will get work when you get out there and meet people who share your passions–even if that is surfing or cooking or racing cars.

There are a billion ways to connect with people today, but the best ways are still the ones that put you in the same physical space as people who share your interests. It doesn’t always have to be about the work–a lot of the time it’s about who your are and your innate passion.

Get out there and meet people–all sorts of people.

Like CC hasn’t been bad enough, now the “brain trust” (ahem) there has come up with a new “license” (it isn’t a license at all) that is, as the Copyright Alliance says, essentially intellectual property rights suicide for the creator.

I am so sick of CC. They do so much harm to all intellectual property creators of every kind. Grrrr….

Here’s a great idea (thanks Jenna for sharing it!): fix the economic mess by swapping jobs.
😉

While I’m not sure the artists would do any better, they couldn’t do any worse and the life-lesson the money folk would get would be excellent!

There is a one-eyed filmmaker who is going to hide a camera in his prosthetic eye. This presents all sorts of privacy concerns, I think. While yes, it would permit capturing people as they really are, and he is saying that he’ll get releases signed after the fact, it creeps me out.

I don’t like hiding. Hiding a camera anywhere presents issues of openness which, in the long run, I think may do more harm than good for photographers and filmmakers, especially documentary ones. While this technology could definitely be used for good, like to capture someone abusing workers, the potential for abuse is huge. The balance will be difficult to achieve.

I’m all for busting abusive employers, dangerous food producers, and the like. However, I don’t want to find out that I’ve been filmed/recorded only when I’m presented with a release. Shouldn’t the public be entitled to some presumption of personal privacy?

Stuff to think about…

Google is now targeting the ads it shows you. It does this by tracking your google-related activities. That includes any sites you visit that display google-based ads (AdSense), which is a lot of sites.

Me, I don’t want to be tracked. If you feel as I do, go here to learn how to opt out.

And here is why (click for larger version)…

(I’m not talking about the crappy photography here but rather the site itself)

(note: I meant to post this about a month ago, but it never made it to the live blog for some reason…whoops!)

I love books and magazines and anything with words and images, but the economics of print are starting to fail big time. That doesn’t mean print is dead though…it’s just evolving.

So buck up, people. There will always be a need for images, even when they no longer appear on paper.

Tony Blei is one amazing person. He’s been hit by the economic downturn like so many photographers, but rather than get fearful he is doing something wonderful. Tony is donating 25% of his creative fees for the rest of 2009 to a local food bank (or a food bank of the client’s choosing).

I asked him before sharing this with you all because it was clear that he wasn’t doing this for show (yes, even though he has it on his blog). What he said when I asked for permission to share this with the world was that, even though he could use more business, “I know there are others less fortunate.  It breaks my heart to think that there are children sleeping tonight with an empty stomach.  Despite the economy, we are still the wealthiest nation on the planet.  We need to share (ideas as well as proceeds). ”

I am incredibly honored that he shared this idea with me. I hope it inspires you the way it has me.