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Here’s an interesting link, written by Eva Appelbaum, about blogging and how it can help your business. Take a look at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

The 2007 CT Hsu calendar is now finished an off to the printer. This is now the third year we have done the same “style” of design. Personally, I think the top image is a little too busy, but it works for this calendar. The ghosted image is one I took several months back of the Valencia Criminal Justice Institute.

There’s a new community happening on the web. It’s called MyBlogLog. It’s a community of blogs, where bloggers (like me) can create their own network of friends and peers. This is a more functional version of myspace, and it will be interesting to see how it works out. Be sure to check out my profile.

Sometimes it’s fun just to pull a polaroid from the 4×5 and not burn any more film on a shot. There’s a rough quality to the polaroid, which can give the photo a dark and moody look. And yet, they can look so good. Here is one I did locally at a park in Orlando. Originally I was going to shoot some Velvia, but the shadows blocked up too much on me. Also, that white pole bothered me, but I wasn’t going to wade out there and try to move it. Either way, it’s still is a nice shot.

As the title mentions, I have a newfound respect for all the outdoors men mentioned in magazines and articles. And, I’ve always considered myself a fairly capable outdoors man, but this weekend I realized just how quickly things can get difficult when you’re away from modern society.

Marisha and I took a trip to Cumberland Island, located in southern Georgia. The idea was to hike out to the camp site, and enjoy a nice weekend in the wilderness surrounded by wild horses and beautiful hanging oaks. We definitely went prepared for the trip. We had all the associated food and supplies packed within two back packs and one shoulder bag. We had the reservations ready, and we were excited to get on the island and get on the go.

The drive there took a total of three hours, which wasn’t all that bad. Straight up I-95 to exit 1 and into the quaint little town of St. Mary. Our ferry was scheduled to depart at 11:30, so we arrived early and meandered down main street for a little bit. Finally, it came time to head over to the island. After 45 minutes aboard the ferry you get off at Sea Camp, where everyone scrambles to grab the carts for the supplies. It’s unbelievable how much people bring for a couple days. Unfortunately for Marisha & I, we didn’t get a cart because we were headed for the back country.

And this is where the problems began. I hoped we were early enough to get to Stafford Camp which is about 3.5 miles out and developed with water & restroom facilities. Unfortunately we were too late! A boy scout troop came over first thing in the morning and filled up the camp. So, there was no other choice than to hike out to the next closest camp site, which was Hickory Hill at 5.5 miles out. The hike out took about two hours, which is pretty good time considering the 40 pounds of gear on my back and the additional 20 on Marisha’s back. She was a trooper, never complaining or anything.

The hike was tiring but doable. We took the main road for about two miles before trekking through the forest for the rest of the time. The only thing I didn’t like was the lack of markers stating distances or locations. The only way to way find was by using the roads you crossed along the way. The campsite itself was quite pretty, nestled under an oak tree with a small open for everything. So, the first thing we do set up the tent and then it’s time to look for water. Here’s where the main problem comes to fruition. The nearest water site is almost a mile and a half away from us. So, we start hiking because we need more water for cooking and cleaning. So, it’s off to get the water.

One thing about the Hickory Hill campsite is that it’s nestled in a marshier area of the island. What this means is that the bugs can be fairly intense, as they were this evening. While getting the water things quickly escalated to miserable, and we made the mile and half journey back to camp. Marisha jumped in the tent to hide from the bugs, and I proceeded to work on dinner. From here we calmed down and the outlook was a little better. As the sun went down we carried our tired bodies into the tent and bedded down for the evening. It was early though, so we stayed up for a few hours talking, and the consensus was that it would be better to make our way out the next day instead of waiting until Sunday, due to the amount of energy it took to get out and we both had to work on Monday.

I definitely won’t say it was the best nights’ sleep, but it was a comfortable night in the tent. In the morning we broke camp early and headed on our way back in. We knew there were two ferries leaving the island that day, one at 10:30 and the other at 4:45. The reality of the situation was that we’ll probably be stuck there all afternoon waiting, but we started hiking anyways. It was hard to coax the muscles to start working again, but we got moving at a good pace. We had less than two hours to make the 10:30 ferry, and I think we both wanted it pretty bad. So, we moved! Somewhere along the way, I took over the shoulder bag from Marisha to help her out. And in less than two hours we made the 5.5 miles and caught the boat right as it was leaving from the dock.

In hindsight, it was a fun trip. But, I would have definitely planned things differently. Making a 3.5 mile hike or even a 5.5 mile hike wouldn’t be out of the question as long as there is water available at the site. I hope you enjoy this tale of what happened on Cumberland Island, for now I’m going to put some Cortisone on the bug bites.

This is a response I wrote on the HOW Design Forum to a discussion posted by another photographer here: “Photography’s vanishing middle class.”

First off, for those who don’t know what micro-stock is. Micro-stock are sites where photographers (mostly amateur) can post their photos in hopes of selling them for small profits. It’s free for the photographer to post their image on these sites, and when their photo sells ($1-$30), they take a percentage of the sale. Of course, this has caused a lot of heated debates with photographers, and below is my most recent take on the whole issue.

I think everyone here makes great points, and I love reading them.

And coming from the photographer side as well as the designer side of the issue, I have wavered back and forth over the micro-stock issue. First off, I do not sell any of my photography through them, and not because I think they are right or wrong, but instead I think my work is worth much more than what I can make off the site. And I would much rather get paid what I’m worth than sell it for a well-below market price. What this means is that I might make more money doing a shoot for someone, but, all those “extra” shots I take that might be able to earn money on these sites are not. So I’m losing some potential income.

I can understand why an amateur would like to sell their photos. It’s fun. It offers a little income. Etc. And as a business model, micro-stock sites are something to be marveled. People are just handing them money to sell their photos. But does this really devalue photography in general? I’m not entirely convinced yet.

Does it devalue stock photography? YES. But I don’t think it’s all negative with no positives. Yes, professional stock has definitely lost some appeal to these small sites. And I’ll be the first to admit, I buy from these sites if I need a small image here or there. If I need a table top shot of something, it’s cheaper and easier to find the photo than to pull out the cameras, set up the lights and do it myself. Also, there is the argument that people are using more and more photography in their designs which actually helps the photography market in general.

The big problem comes in valuing the work photographers do. There is no question that a professional can do a better job than an amateur. And I don’t think having tons of amateurs in the market brings down the value as much as people think. Professionals need to work off their strengths and use that to convince their clients they are giving them the best they can get. Embrace technology, it’s not going away.

I believe our culture is having fun with the new, cheap technology. But, I also believe we’ll be moving to a more “customized” society where everyone will want their own look & identity and this is where the professionals come in. Companies want to differentiate themselves from one another; they just haven’t learned that a professional can offer them this service. Sooner or later, companies will recognize that using micro-stock sites and logo-mills are doing nothing but homogenizing their look and image.

So, to finish this off, I’ll say it’s up to the photographer to assign a value to their work. I know what I’m worth, and I’m not willing to settle. I’ll continue to use micro-stock, as well as professional stock when necessary. And I’ll continue to educate those I work with and let them know the pros & cons of using a professional photographer, professional stock and micro-stock.