These Look Different

I had an assignment shoot yesterday, and after we finished, the model called her boyfriend to come pick her up at the studio.

We got talking for a bit, and it dawned on me that he was probably outside waiting in his car. I found him, brought him in, so he could hang out with us while we wrapped up.

As most visitors do, he began to check out the gallery of images that lined the walls downstairs where I meet with clients. Kathleen then started pointing out her favorite shots, and suddenly we had this sort of flash-mob discussion about photography.

This was the part that I found really interesting:

"These pictures look really great on the wall," said the boyfriend.

"I've seen a couple of these on your web site," added Kathleen. "But they look different here."

"They do, don't they?" he added.

"I had the same experience," I said, "in art history. I remember looking at famous works in the book and thinking that they were OK. But when I went to the museum and saw them on the wall, I was blown away."

(Not saying here that my photography is in that category. But you get the point...)

After that Kathleen and I finished our work, and they were ready to go.

Interestingly enough, instead of working for cash on this assignment, Kathleen wanted a print. She had her eye on San Francisco Night Scene. 

When I handed her the 13"x19" print to take home, she said:

"Wow, this looks even better than on your site."

-Derrick

PS: The image I printed for Kathleen was on Red River Paper 75lb Arctic Polar Luster #1191, and the metal prints were created by SizzlPix.

Cellular Does Make a Difference

I grimace when I see the additional charge to buy a WiFi+Cellular iPad - even though I know I need it. 

Originally my thinking was to combat flaky hotel WiFi networks, jammed airport public access, and business clients who still believe that they must prevent all but a chosen few from using their wireless. But a new scenario presented itself last night.

It was one of those evenings where everyone had work to do. The boys had papers due at school, I was behind on my publishing, and Theresa hadn't checked her email in days. Around 11pm the power went out.

Darkness.

Everyone was in decent shape except for our oldest. I could hear his groan from the other room. He hadn't finished printing his homework yet.

I was reading on my iPad mini at the time. Everything went black, but that didn't affect my online access. So I logged on to our power utility's web site, found an update to our particular situation, and was able to relay their estimate for the return of our electricity.  This allowed Max to plan a strategy.

It's an odd feeling when the world around you goes dark, yet you're sitting there with a glowing tablet that can connect to anywhere. 

I'm adding this anecdote to my list of justifications the next time I complain about WiFi+Cellular. It won't take away the pain. But it might help a little.

-Derrick

Virtual Closet Cleaning

In the analog days, I would pass the time on cold December days by pulling everything out from under the bed and in the closet, then organizing it.

My primary focus then were envelopes and envelopes of 4x6 prints and plastic boxes filled with slides. My goal was to get those pictures in some sort of order so I could find what I was looking for when needed.

These days, I only make big prints, and I don't shoot slides. But I still have lots of pictures to organize at the end of the year. Now my closet is a computer.

Seems like every year I have a slightly different system. My Flash Drive MacBook Pro has influenced the organization for 2013. Since it doesn't hold a year's worth of images, I make seasonal libraries, such as Winter 1, Spring 1, Spring 2, Summer, Fall, etc. 

I backup those libraries weekly on to my Drobo 5D. When the computer gets full, I remove a seasonal library and start a new one. But in the end, I want all of that content that's stored in those various libraries integrated into my master Aperture catalog, that also lives on the Drobo. It's like a giant shoe box with tabs.

So now, that's how I spend my Decembers. I merge all of those seasonal libraries into the master catalog, then back everything up to another set of hard drives that I store off site.

The cool thing about closet cleaning in the technology age is that I can watch football while doing it.

I love modern times...

-Derrick

Big Prints

When I print, I like to make it an event. A big deal.

I get out all of my paper, I fire up the printer, and I decide which images I'm going to enlarge. I don't like little prints very much. I never know what to do with them. I prefer big images that I can hang on the wall or hold in my hand and really see what's going on.

Through printing, I learned something about myself concerning photography. I discovered that I like to make the world bigger with my pictures. That's why I don't care for little prints very much. In my eyes, I see life in its grandeur.  I want to use my camera to convey that feeling, not diminish it.

In the film days, my printmaking device was called an enlarger. I loved that! Maybe I should call my Epson an inkjet enlarger. It's not very catchy, but you get the point.

The bottom line is… it's a big world out there. And for me, it looks so much better at 13" x 19" or even 16" x 20".  My devices may be getting smaller, but certainly not the images they produce.

-Derrick

Never Underestimate the Value of Doing Laundry

Yes, of course, there are the obvious benefits of getting your laundry done.

But I think we sometimes underestimate its more subtle attributes. I mention this because I can do laundry at work. It's true. My studio has a washing machine and dryer. The short story on this situation is that I bought and converted a townhouse in to a workplace. It's one of the best business moves I've made.

But back to laundry.

Here's the thing. I don't think we allow enough time to think about stuff. The need to "do" trumps the desire to think.

"Honey, what did you do today at work?"

"I thought about stuff."

"That's nice sweetie."

Instead, it's far more impressive to rattle off a list of accomplishments that generated revenue. And this is where laundry comes in. Well, actually, laundry, mowing the lawn, sorting bills, vacuuming the carpet, you know... those kind of things.

They are mundane tasks that allow us to think about projects, goals, new ventures. Yet they're still a reasonable checklist item.

"Yes, today, I did a photo shoot, paid the bills, and made a dent in my laundry."

"Good job, sweetie!"

You see what I mean. Two of those items bought me enough time to figure out a new workshop that I want to offer in 2014.

That's why I never underestimate the value of doing laundry.

-Derrick