Posted on January 31, 2012
Well, that certainly seems more than 31 days where I’ve had to Blog as part of this Challenge!
I have to be honest and say that I’ve not found it easy! In the early days it seemed quite simple to find a subject and write about it, but as time progressed it became more and more difficult – not helped by the fact that the business was picking up as we moved away from the Christmas/New Year break …. so finding the time to write became a challenge in itself!
I’m not a natural writer – yes, I can pen business communications, but I’ll never be an author or journalist … that’s just not me! I tend to communicate with images, which is pretty handy in my line of work I guess! 
Anyway, the Blogging Challenge has come to an end and I’ve absolutely refused to take part in a video blogging challenge – that’s just not me! However, I’ve set myself a challenge for February – to post an image a day (and perhaps a few words), so watch out!
Thanks to everyone who’ve commented on my posts, and well done to all of the participants – hopefully you’ve enjoyed it as well.
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 30, 2012
Is technology taking over your life?
There’s an interesting article on the BBC News website today about something called “Trendfear” ….
Do you ever have a worry that things are moving so quickly in the world today you’ll miss out on something and get left behind? Should you be on Pinterest? How often should you be Blogging, Tweeting, updating Facebook, checking into Foursquare ….. the list goes on, and on, and on!
Some people choose to say “I’m not interested”, and ignore the siren calls of smartphones and iPads, but what if you have a job or (perhaps more importantly) your own business where you HAVE TO keep in touch with breaking news and the latest trends? Do you feel alienated if you find out something in a news bulletin on the TV instead of seeing a Facebook update or Tweet a couple of hours earlier? Do you have to know everything, right now?
Do you avidly read the social media Blogs and check out the latest websites, tools and trends – Flipboad, Zite, Summly or whatever?
If that’s a description of you, then why not switch off the phone, close the lid on the laptop, and pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read for a couple of years?
I have to admit that over the past 12 months or so I’ve noticed that I spend a lot more time on social media than I used to! Getting a smartphone was a great idea – to keep in touch with clients and respond to enquiries quickly, but what’s happened? It’s switched on at breakfast so I can check emails and social media (no, I don’t leave it switched on 24 hours a day!) – it peeps and pings at me during the day telling me I’ve got updates, and I check it in the evening when it should be family time! So, yes, it’s had a negative impact in some respects.
Why not let me know how you feel about technology, and whether it’s taking over your life?
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 29, 2012
Well, someone did!
The words of that classic Paul Simon song, referring to the archetypal transparancy film (that’s was around for nearly 75 years), came true in 2009 when Kodak announced that production of this wonderful film would cease.
It’s a real shame – many of the iconic colour images of the second half of the 20th century were captured on this fabulous medium. Time Life, National Geographic and many others used shots from this fine grained film, with its unique tone and “feel”.
Mayrhofen 1937 - W. Robert Moore / National Geographic
In the Summer of 1937, National Geographic magazine photographer W. Robert Moore took the first Kodachrome shots for the publication whilst on assignment in Austria. For a world that was used to seeing “action” photographs in black and white this was a revelation, and National Geographic was quick off the blocks and soon most of its photographers had the film in their camera bags.
In the days before the travel industry catered for the masses, magazines like National Geographic brought the world into people’s homes – showing them wonderful places that they’d never heard about.
Although I use digital for the majority of my work, I still hanker after using analogue for landscapes and the demise of film is a sign of our unrelenting “progress” as a society. Only 7 or 8 years ago, digital cameras were so expensive and out of the reach of most consumers that everyone shot film. Kodachrome was readily available in three speeds (ISO 25, 64 and 200) and could be processed in a number of labs worldwide. By 2009 that had dwindled to just one speed (ISO 64) and one lab in the world – “Dwayne’s Photos” in Kansas (you’ve got to love that name!)!
Piccadilly Circus 1953 - David Boyer / National Geographic
It’s easy with today’s computer-manipulated imagery to enhance colours and tweak exposure – with Kodachrome you had little margin for error and had to nail the exposure (with processing taking a couple of weeks it’s a far cry from checking the histogram and shooting again!), but if you got it right the results were almost magical!
It was hard work, but it was the best way to learn about getting the correct exposure – on a film that was incredibly fine-grained with a natural way of recording colour (something that I feel can’t be recreated digitally).
There’s something else – we know that film has a life of at least 100 years (it’s been proved) – we have no idea how long digital media will survive!
Kodachrome 1935-2010 – RIP
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 29, 2012
I’ve posted several times on this Blog before about not taking things for granted – our family, friends, health etc. and that applies our work as well. Here’s a reminder of a story I heard a year or so back about one of the USA’s leading children’s photographers, a lady by the name of Lisa Jane:
Many years ago Lisa took a portrait of her best friend and his little boy, but a day or two after the shoot, they were both killed in a car accident. Hers were the last photographs ever taken of this father and son.
She printed and framed an image and wanted to personally deliver it to her friend’s mother. On boarding the plane to fly to the funeral, the flight attendant wouldn’t allow Lisa to bring the print on board, as it was too big to fit into the overhead locker and violated FAA regulations.
Lisa explained the position but the attendant wouldn’t compromise – however, the pilot overheard the story, took the print and said, “I thought I had an important job flying all these people around, but my job is nothing in comparison to the importance of yours”. He took the print and put it behind his own seat in the cockpit.
As photographers we’re in a privileged position of being able to capture some of life’s most memorable occasions, such as weddings, christenings and family celebrations. In today’s digital world everyone’s looking to do things quicker, being encouraged to take shortcuts and make compromises by the “I want it now generation”.
The moral of this story is that as photographers we never know how important our images may become later on, and for that reason, we should never compromise on the quality and the effort that we put into every shoot.
In Lisa’s own words – “In our business we can’t afford to compromise, you just never know when a portrait you take of someone may be all a mother has left to hold on to….”
Ian
Posted on January 27, 2012
A subject re-visited today (because it’s Friday and nearing the end of the 31 day Blogging Challenge!!) ….
A year or so ago one of my fellow professional photographers tweeted and asked the question “What is art“?
Not surprisingly, a number of my peers around the country responded, and I chipped in with “Art is whatever you want it to be” – so it rather caught me by surprise when people agreed!
The point is – everyone’s tastes are different, be it with regards to photography, painting or whatever. There are those who will say that “art” is classical in style, some will say it’s something that draws an emotion from deep within you, but I think it’s just whatever you like – there are no rights or wrongs. Forget the pretentious opinions about art, and just enjoy it!
There are also those who say that photography isn’t an art, it’s a mechanical (well, electronic now I suppose) capture of a moment in time. But the word “photography” is actually derived from an ancient Greek term meaning “painting with light”, and I have to dig my heels in and say that I truly believe that photography CAN be art – it isn’t always, believe me, but with the right techniques a superbly executed photograph can rival many a painting.
This photo I took of Chloe could be considered to be “artistic” by some, but I love it for what it is:
Think I need to add that quote to my site and Blog – it’s quite good (even if I do say so myself!)
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 26, 2012
With Valentine’s Day 2012 approaching I couldn’t resist sharing this story with you again!
I came across this charming video on one of the wedding vendors’ blogs, and think it’s a fabulous story ….. a photographer in the US by the name of Sid Ceaser created this Muppet inspired story for his girlfriend -
Image copyright Sid Ceaser / Ceaser Photography
On December 12th 2010, Sid took his girlfriend Sara to a cinema in New Hampshire. After they’d watched a couple of trailers for new films, this wonderful video came up on the big screen – as the Muppet proposed to his girlfriend Sid proposed to Sara. No prizes for guessing the outcome of either proposal – just enjoy the video and the terrific song.
You can read Sid’s story about the background to the proposal on his Blog – it makes the story even better!
Cheers,
Ian.
Dorset and Hampshire wedding and portrait photography
Posted on January 25, 2012
Having spent years in the “Corporate” world, it was a tough decision to leave the (supposed) security of that behind and to pursue the dream – of having my own business and doing something that I enjoyed passionately … wedding and portrait photography. But in retrospect it was definitely the right decision to make – even though we’re now in tough times with talk of a double-dip recession it’s great when you have the freedom to pursue that dream and live life to the full.
I wrote about this last year just after Steve Jobs stood down as the CEO of Apple due to health issues and before his untimely death. This is an extract from a speech he gave to the students of Stanford University in 2005 – in which he reminds us all that no matter how young you are, one day you’ll be old and consigned to history – regardless of whether you were rich and famous, or poor and unknown it’s one of those speeches that brings home the fact that we’re all mortal.
Even though it was quoted many times on Blogs around the world after his death, the message still holds true – so make the most of your time, and have the courage to follow your heart …..
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Posted on January 24, 2012
This 31-day challenge I’m taking part in to post to my Blog on a daily basis has, I must admit, become a lot harder as the month’s gone on! Initially you’re fired up with enthusiasm and lot of ideas, but as time goes on it becomes more of a struggle to find subjects that you think will be interesting to our readers and which allow you to be a bit creative. I’ve even taken to looking at news-sites like the BBC News or social media sites for inspiration, but that takes even more time!
Perhaps posting on a daily basis is something that’s best done if you’re doing a personal Blog (like Facebook updates on steriods!), or you’ve got the sort of business that’s driven by news items? Let’s be honest – most businesses don’t have something really interesting to say about themselves every day, do they? As a photographer I get to work with some lovely people, but sometimes they don’t want their images shown, and I’m not shooting every day of the year!
I’ve tried to keep a balance between talking about photography and subjects which might appeal to a wider audience, so how about this one?
Top 10 tips for writing great Blog posts!
Now, I’m obviously professing to be an expert in this matter (that’s a massive under-statement!), so I did some trawling around across a few of the social media sites and picked 10 that I thought might help others – so here we go …
1 – make sure you know how to format your Blog posts – understand your platform.
2 – have an eye-catching title. Seems obvious, but you want potential readers to be interested.
3 – put your posts in Categories, so that readers can look at relevant articles.
4 – be contentious! As long as you explain your stance you could generate some interesting conversations!
5 – remember to include a meta-description for the search engines (160 characters or less).
6 – check, double check and triple check it for grammar and spelling before you publish!
7 – remember to use header tags.
8 – use a relevant image or two – not only does it make the “read” easier, it helps with the search engines.
9 – use outbound hyperlinks.
10 – get your facts right before you publish!
Those are just a few tips on how to write great Blog posts, but it’s by no means a complete list – so …
Let me know YOUR tips for writing great Blog posts, and lets share them around!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 24, 2012
I saw an interesting article yesterday about emails, as it’s apparently “Clean Out Your Inbox Week” – 5 whole days dedicated to giving your Inbox a detox! I’d really like to know who comes up with these things!
Anyway, a survey by The Radicati Group worked that, on average, each employee spends about 25% of their day on email, and that by 2013 approximately 507 billion email messages will be sent every day! We spend hours getting rid of junk mail, spam, “forwards”, “cc’s” and conversations that, quite frankly, we don’t have time for!
Do you know someone that manages to achieve that almost Nirvana state of “Zero inbox”? Do you envy them, or hate them (just a little bit)?
IBM Research undertook a study last year that whilst “actively foldering” your mail (to keep your Inbox manageable) reduces the complexity of your Inbox, it’s difficult to determine whether the time spent filing emails if actually worth it! It seems that “frequent filers” (as they referred to them) tend to remember less about their emails than non-frequent filers (out of sight and out of mind I wonder?).
Personally, I have to admit that my Inbox is usually a little untidy, but I do have the occasional purge to get rid of stuff!
What sort of email user are you? Filer? Inbox user? Let me know!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 22, 2012
As a wedding and portrait photographer it’s really important for me to keep up-to-date with all of the changes in technology, but the trouble is that things are moving so quickly these days that the manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the pace and it’s almost the case that cameras are becoming outdated in less than 6 months! Not only that, but it’s all too easy to get drawn into thinking that you HAVE to get the latest, greatest camera, and that buying it will make ALL the difference to your shots …….. well, I’ve got news for you – it probably won’t!
Back in the days of film (and yes, it may surprise you to know that I am old enough to remember it!) an SLR would have a life of anything from 4-6 years before it was replaced. But these days people want more pixels, video, then HD video, stereo microphones, articulated LCDs and the list goes on!
The CES Show has just closed in Las Vegas and there were a host of new camera announcements – including the The Fujifilm X-Pro1. the latest in the line of mirrorless compact system cameras (or CSCs). These non-DSLR interchangeable-lens cameras offer high quality in a compact body, and you can expect these to gain popularity as the year progresses.
Nikon announced its new flagship, the D4 which goes head-to-head with the Canon 1DX and there were rumours about replacements for the Nikon D700 and the Canon 5D mk II this year. Sony brought our their A77 to rave reviews and they’ll probably bring out an even higher-spec’d model later!
Although smartphones have hit the traditional pocket camera market hard in terms of sales, there were lots of new models announced at CES. Samsung brought out a new model that even has built-in WiFi so that you can beam your images directly to the computer or the TV screen without having to remove the SD card!
So, and here’s the BIG question that I hinted at earlier – do all of these changes make us BETTER photographers? My personal view is that most cameras these days are more than capable of producing excellent pictures in the right hands – and I stress, “in the right hands”. A monkey can take a picture if you give it a camera, but creating a picture and understanding how the various elements of light, timing, composition etc. come into play are something that can only be achieved with time and practice – unfortunately I feel that far too many people don’t take the time to understand the basics, and that’s a real shame. As I said, the latest camera won’t actually make you a BETTER photographer – that only comes with practice!!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
