Depth of Field

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Well, this certainly brings to an end a very busy and tough year, personally and professionally.  However, things are looking good for 2010.  I have a lot of ideas and projects in mind, and some which I will be tackling head on.

First and foremost, I am blessed to be expanding my family exponentially, 2^2 = 4, with the early 2010 (well, March) birth of Amelia and Noah.  I can barely contain my excitement for this.  Of course, having never been a parent before, the natural fears are present.  But knowing all the craziness that is bound to happen, especially with twins, I’m very very excited.  Claudia and I are thrilled and it’s been a long hard road to get here, but seeing and feeling the kicking little ones makes it all worth it.

There are also other things that I’m working on in my personal life, that I feel confident that I will be able to resolve, strengthening myself and those around me.  2009 has definitely taught me to get things off your chest rather than keep them bottled up.

On the side, I’d obviously like to continue to improve my photographic skills and really jump into the business.  That’s my plan.  Right now I’m working on my official site, and I anticipate sometime in early 2010, to start taking clients and other promising avenues that have recently opened up.  It’s very exciting to feel like you are ready to take something that you are passionate about to the next level.

I’m also looking to advance my career in education.  I’m still trying to figure out where to go in terms of an advanced degree, etc…  There’s a lot that I see that can be changed in the educational system, and while I wouldn’t want to say, run a school, there are other areas where I think I can do good and help teachers become better and thus help their students.  The system is fundamentally flawed with its focus on testing as a sole indicator of progress.  It’s not fair to those with disabilities to be held to the same academic standards as regular education students on these tests, not when they still multiply using their fingers.  Something needs to change, especially since as a whole, we are rapidly falling behind other countries in the level and quality of education that our children receive going into adulthood.  Many blame teachers, and sure there are some bad teachers in every district, but as a teacher I can tell you we are handcuffed, as are principals, supervisors and districts, by laws passed by politicians who are primarily lawyers.  Heads of state DOE’s are often buddies of the Governor, and may have been a teacher, but still, the system is controlled by politicians.  NCLB is a prime example of the problem.  A decent, yet flawed idea, made worse by underfunding and incredibly tight regulations decided upon by people who are not educators.

Anyways, that was a bit of a rant.  Here’s a few of my holiday postings to flickr to brighten the mood!

Google Wave for photographers | New Media Photographer | Digital marketing and Social Media for photographers.

A while back I was lucky enough (Thanks Aaron Riddle!) to receive an invite to try google wave.  While I gave it a fleeing shot, I just wasn’t really seeing it for what it could be.  The link above actually explains how this new technology could work for photographers.  There is some useful advice, such as starting a wave and making it public, etc…  (Though in all honesty I’m trying to figure out how to find public waves!)  But It certainly does provide some direction.  As the article states, viewing the videos should be an essential part of your learning the ins and outs of wave, and I have thus far neglected this.  I will try to give it a chance though, especially with many of the changes that I have planned for 1/1/2010.

~John

Be sure to check out my latest flickr uploads and become a fan of my faceboook site!

Took this on lunch from my wonderfully stressful job. I love the reflection in the tv.

A simple picture post today. More later!

Things have been very hectic lately and I will update my blog fully in the next day or two. For now i’m just going to post a picture an hope any readers are doing well.

Talk soon,
John

With many classic action/adventure movies being made into video games with legos, I stumbled upon this today.

I just love how creative people are with this classic toy, and how progressive the company has been in keeping up with trends.  Another great example of the use of legos is a 365 project that a fellow teacher and photographer created.  I was always amazed, and frequently chuckled with my wife (I love you!) over some of the hilarious images, and subtle easter eggs thrown into many of the images.  Some where just flat out artistic.  All were beautifully shot.  You can check Dan’s completed project here, though to get to his great 365 project you have to go to the 2nd page of the blog and scroll halfway down.  It’s really amazing what he accomplished using these items and incorporating many current and “from our youth” references.  FYI I was born in 1977, so I grew up on Star Wars, and if you look at the first page, you can see that Dan is a HUGE Star Wars fan.  That’s all for now!

~John

BTW “The Empire Strikes Back” is my favorite movie of all time.

Apple truly, IMHO, made a revolutionary product with the iPhone. My purchase came right after the 3gs was announced, so I pounced on the $99 price for the 3g. Never in my wildest imagination did I think it would become such a part of my photographic life.

I do have to give credit also to Chase Jarvis, whose masterful use of the iPhone as a camera and the way he has promoted it, contributed to using it as a tool just like my 20d and not simply a point and shoot. I also have to credit all the app creators as I see how much effort it takes to write (and get approval) for your efforts.

Good Morning! Today I’m just going to run down a list of five photography apps that I use on my iPhone which, over time, have provided very good results.

1. The Best Camera – I love this app because of its ease of use, nice effects, layers, easy upload and real-time web-site viewing. It doesn’t hurt that Chase Jarvis created it.
2. Camerabag – A very nice app that has some great pre-set effects. My favorite is their “Helga” effect.
3. Tiffen Cool fx – Has quite an array of effects and the ability to utilize layers.
4. Photogene – Nice for cropping and playing with exposure/sharpness and the like. I think it is somewhat limited in what effects it provides.
5. TiltShift Generator – A really cool app that has improved from its initial launch. I’ve never used a tiltshift lens on a camera, but love the effect that this app produces on my iPhone shots.

*Honorable Mention – L0-Mob – Old cameras and old film are fantastic, and this app, which I purchased just the other day, is nothing short of impressive thus far. This will be used quite often and thus far the shots have come out looking really fantastic.

Please note I have not tried many other iPhone apps, nor have I listed all that I currently own or use. Feel free to recommend any in the comments!

That’s all for now!

~John

An older shot reprocessed with a new app, low-mob.

Well, this is kind of exciting, being my first “real” blog about an aspect of photography that has recently been quite bothersome, and which probably any photographer that is reading this (all two of you!), has also experienced.  I’m not sure what happened, but in the last year, I’ve discovered the following equation:

me + camera + antique glass/non-descript blue door/window displaying a reflection from across the street/marble sign with a really cool reflection of the sun/being on the wrong side of a crack in a sidewalk =  public enemy #1

Ok, well that’s probably overstating it.  But in all honesty, that’s the way that certain people have acted towards me as a photographer.  Here’s an example of what I encountered:

The Blue Door

One day during lunch break, as I frequently do, I walked up to the main street in the city where I teach, taking with me my trusty 20d.  As I walked through a municipal parking lot, I saw a blue door that I had previously taken a picture of with my iPhone, and decided, why not take it with the Canon too!

By looking at this door, there’s no markings, no identifying features, nothing.  It’s a really nice, blue door.  It is on the SIDE of the Parking Authority building.  Well when I decided to use the 20d, I took my shot EXACTLY like this, and went on my merry way, snapping shots of flowers, trees and the changing color of the leaves for the two block walk to a coffee shop.  When I arrived, an older gentleman was standing off to the side, not in line, and then started to interrogate me!  ”Who are you?”, “Why are you taking pictures?”, “Why are you taking pictures of a secure door?”, etc…  while also throwing out that he was a retired cop who worked the CCD cameras for the Parking Authority building.  He also threatened that if I did not cooperate, that he would call in the police.  During this I was thinking, “Did this guy not see this nefarious, evil photographer, snapping shots of flowers while he followed me for two blocks???”

Alas, after several minutes (and the impending end of my lunch break and upcoming Math class), I let the man know that I was a teacher, a photographer and I walk around taking pictures of interesting things I see.  I deleted the photo because a) I wanted my coffee, b) this guy off my back and c) to get back to work.  When I got back, I vented with a tweet, and several people tweeted back with the information I was looking for.

So it’s important as a photographer, especially one walking around taking street shots, and also in the NYC area, to know your legal rights.  I know I have not enjoyed being yelled at, or interrogated, and that next time I will use some of the following resources on the internet that I can print and carry.

1.  Well first and foremost I will carry my attorney’s business card.  :)

2.  From Craphound.com there’s this memo for NYPD officers regarding conduct towards photographers.

3.  Saving the best for last, Bert P. Krages II, a photographer AND lawyer, created a .pdf document that all photographers should print, laminate and carry with them here entitled “The Photographers Right”.  It’s a great document which explains what is on/off limits, what to do if questioned, etc..

Well, have a great day!

~John

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