The End of Photo Help Desk

A reader wrote to me the other day asking, "Derrick, I'm wondering why you stopped doing 'photo help desk'? It was a great idea!"

Even though I appreciate his comment, as it turns out, Photo Help Desk was a fair idea at best. My original concept was based on the notion that if one person had a question, that hundreds of others were wondering about it too. So by posting and answering these technical queries, we could build an audience who were interested in photography problem solving.

Plus these questions and answers would appear in search engine results, bringing new people to the site. And if things really got cooking, readers would add their wisdom via the comments, thereby making Photo Help Desk a valuable online resource.

Unfortunately, none of that happened.

The reality was that people were generally only interested in their specific questions, and not the site as a whole. So the exercise devolved into the very interactions that I was trying to get away from, which is me answering emails one-on-one about specific photography problems.

And with no measurable site traffic, there was no hope for any sustainable revenue model to support it. Things being the way they are, if there's no revenue, I can't afford to do it.

I have left Photo Help Desk online, at least for another year. There's a lot of helpful information there that I want to continue to make available. And I will still answer questions to the site as I have time. But for all practical purposes, we're closed.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still glad I tried it. Every new venture teaches me a bit more about the online business world. And I certainly gleaned a few lessons from PHD. The most valuable being, that tech support is a very personal matter.

-Derrick

Clumsy Photographers

Photographers should be reporting the story, not creating it. But my word, we have been in the news a lot lately.

The latest episode was when Usain Bolt [was] Floored by Segway-Riding Cameraman.  The fastest man in the world run down by an out of shape journalist. Thank goodness he wasn't seriously hurt. Add this reported incidents of shooters causing bike racing accidents, damaging precious objects, and being disruptive in general.

The first rule of medicine is to do no harm. I think we should adopt this for our craft too. Being nimble (and aware) while we work to ensure that we don't get the shot at the price of others.

I'm always touched, and a little embarrassed, when I notice that someone on the street has stopped while I take a picture. They didn't want to ruin my shot. When I lower the camera from my eyes and see them patiently standing there, I immediately wave them through and thank them for their courtesy. For the rest of the day I make sure I'm extra aware of those around me.

If I'm wearing a backpack, I'm quick to remove it when entering a train, tram, or bus. And I try never to block anyone's path with a tripod.

I talk a lot about nimbleosity from the photographer's point of view. Traveling light has many benefits for us. 

But I also realize that stepping lightly through the world as I photograph it is a kindness to others.

As we used to say in the wilderness...

Leave only footsteps and take only memories.

-Derrick

Reinvent Again

"So, what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet," I replied while tugging on my left sock that was already straining against its heel. "But I'll think of something."

On this day, if you were to ask me what the most important ability was to survive as a sole proprietor, I probably would have replied, "the ability to reinvent oneself."

This is a challenge that makes many folks uncomfortable. For example, If your idea of a job is to log 8 hours a day, then collect checks on the 1st and 15th, then running a business probably isn't for you.

I know a lot of people say, "If I just had that one great idea, then I'd be set." How about 10 great ideas? Because that's what you're going to need to make a career of it, that is, unless that one idea is really, really good.

Case in point: Steve Jobs co-founded Apple and has 5 amazing revelations attached to his name: the original Mac, the iMac, iPod/iTunes, the iPhone, and the iPad. All of them were refinements of existing technology. Dare I say reinventions? Steve was fired from Apple after the Mac, resurrected himself twice (NeXT and Pixar), before returning to Cupertino for four more curtain calls.

So what's a guy like me, who doesn't have a Thomas Edison lightbulb glowing over his head, do to stay in the black? He constantly creates.

I was in the audience when Steve Jobs debuted the iMac. Apple was on the rocks at the time. The economy was bad. I'll never forget what he said that day.

"We are going to innovate through this recession."

I loved that. No excuses, no whining. It was the only game plan that made sense. I have all sorts of variations on this theme, such as: "When the going gets tough, the tough innovate." And of course, there's the classic, "Innovate or die."

There's a reason why I'm bringing this up. Once again, there are changes in the wind. I'm not going to let them blow me over. Instead, you'll be seeing new ideas coming from me soon.

"Are you worried?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm not."

-Derrick

Fighting Thieves with Nimbleosity

I read a disturbing article today titled, Photography Team at Olympics Cycling Event Robbed in Rio de Janeiro. It said:

"Photography safety is a growing concern leading up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This past weekend, a group of photographers were mugged and had their expensive equipment stolen while covering a road cycling test event for next year’s Games."

These guys weren't mugged while stumbling back to their hotel at midnight from a seedy bar, they were working. And this isn't the only incident I've read about. More than ever, photographers are targets for thieves.

Once again, nimbleosity comes to mind.

I've written about how traveling light helps simplify your shooting, increases your energy, and promotes creativity. And now I think we should add safety to the list.

There's still the perception that a big camera with a long lens is more valuable than something that fits in your hand. Unless it has a red Leica dot on it, you're just another amateur with an inexpensive device.

Heck, you could probably hand your mirrorless to a thief for s portrait of you, and he'd most likely hand it back. I don't recommend testing this theory, however.

The point is, traveling with a discreet bag with minimal equipment is wise. And not insisting that you bring every optic in your kit probably isn't a bad idea either.

Figure out what you need for the day, pack only the essentials in shoulder bag, wear it across your shoulders, and keep it close to your body. Along with a bit of street sense and a dash of good fortune, this is your recipe for success.

I think Hill Street Blues Sgt. Phil Esterhaus summed it up best: "Let's be careful out there."

-Derrick 

Mom's 80th Birthday

She and I were sitting in the living room. It was well past 10 pm and everyone else had gone to bed, that is, except the cat who was perched on the coffee table cleaning herself.

Mom was 80 years old.

When you have a challenging life, you hope to make it to 60, maybe 70. But here we were talking about how she had left home as a young woman with my father, and all the changes she had navigated in the decades that followed.

I'm the oldest son. I was conceived in a duplex in Chino California and raised in a home with a $500 down payment and a mortgage of $80 a month. 

"We sold that place for $13,000," my mom said. "Made $3,000 that we put toward the new house. That was a pretty good deal."

Every time I sit with my mom, usually on hot summer evenings with the air conditioner rattling in the background, I learn something new about my life. How a mom can keep a family together through sheer will.

And how a world often seems determined to tear it all apart. Yet there she sat, still in her pretty dinner clothes, a great grandmother with her family intact. 

All of this comes at a time when my boys are getting ready to leave home. My wife is going to give them each a hug while standing at the threshold of their dorm rooms, then cry as we walk back to the car.

But her sons will come back, just as I've done year after year. And they too will probably sit with their mother on hot summer nights and discover just how powerful a woman can be, 

when there are children to be cared for and dragons to be slain.

-Derrick