Blue Planet Photography

I came across an ad for a photography job and actually read through the entire listing, requirements, application procedure, etc. and was surprised to find a hidden tid-bit that made me wonder how many people could be getting ripped off. Not saying this will happen with this particular job, but with the economy like it is and everyone looking for the “easy” and “fun” photography jobs, it got me thinking. So, here’s the listing of the “requirements” for this particular job, which is taking pictures of hotels. There’s one particular line that would certainly be a deal breaker for me, can you spot it? I’ll point it out after the list.

To be considered for the position you must:

• be available to travel for extended periods of time (up to 30 days)
• be prepared to work an average of 10 hours a day
• own a Nikon D300, Canon 5D or higher
• own a laptop (Mac or Windows)
• own a cell phone with a national plan
• have a working and insured automobile
• have a valid passport with no travel restrictions
• have a valid credit card with a minimum of 2K available to cover project expenses
• sign a non-compete agreement
• have a pleasant, outgoing personality
• be an effective communicator
• have a passion for architectural photography
• be able to make a commitment to the position for a minimum of 12 months
• have liability insurance

Did you spot it? You can tell this is a freelance position although you’re agreeing to a 12 month commitment. You have to provide your own transportation, cell phone, computer, camera, experience, and oh yeah, pay for your own expenses (see that “hidden” line buried in the middle? — you must have a valid credit card with a minimum of $2000 available to cover project expenses!). Now, with freelance assignments the photographer does pay the expenses required for the particular job, but those are built into the job estimate and the client has signed off on those expenses. So, the photographer and the client know exactly what expenses are expected and covered in the assignment fee and the photographer has a contract with the client to pay those expenses. In the event the client selects not to pay the invoice, the photographer has the invoice/contract to use in court to recover any amount owed. If you’re putting expenses on a credit card without a predetermined set of expenses, guarantees of reimbursement, and a means to recover those costs, you’re taking on a financial burden you may not be able to afford. Granted, you might be able to call your credit card company and dispute the charges, but it’s probably going to be messy.

There are a lot of entry-level photography jobs out there with a bunch of companies taking advantage of people wanting to be photographers but who don’t know what they’re getting into. Look for descriptions that place the burden on you (providing your own equipment, travel, expenses, etc. is a good start) rather than your “employer”. You don’t want to get stuck with bills you can’t pay or with expenses greater than your hourly or daily wage can cover. Be very critical and ask questions, get everything in writing BEFORE you do anything and if you don’t understand it have an attorney look over any paperwork/contracts/invoices. Look out for yourself, because very few people will do it for you.

Here’s a fairly raw, “just-two-guys-chatting” type of interview between photographer Andrew Hetherington (What’s the Jackanory) and photographer Benjamin Lowy about Benjamin’s assignment to shoot Look Magazine’s fashion spectacular. Very casual, but you get so thumb through the magazine with them while they discuss what and who is involved in shooting such an intense assignment and a bit of how. Some parts are pretty candid, but overall interesting to peer into the inner workings.

The video is nearly 23 minutes.

Jackanory Films presents Benjamin Lowy in conversation from andrew hetherington on Vimeo.

Way back in January, 2007 and again in March, 2007, I wrote some glowing reviews of the Nexto CF Ultra ND2525 portable storage device from EastGear.com. Recently, I gave a show-and-tell to a group of photographers, again extolling the virtues of the Nexto - very fast upload, more than great battery life, replaceable hard drive. I even went online with someone interested in purchasing a Nexto and walked them through to make sure they found the right device. However, shortly after that, when they actually ordered the device, they were told they didn’t have any available and ended up purchasing a different model that performed much less satisfactorily.

That concerned me, so I checked with EastGear and found out they no longer make the CF Ultra. Bummer. It’s still a good product. There are other similar products, like the Wolverine and JOBO devices, but I was hoping to find something similar to the Nexto. In the process, I found the Sanho Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA. About $50 more than the CF Ultra 80GB version I have, but with more features ($349 for the 120GB version). Where the CF Ultra had just a B&W simple LCD screen (I’m not that interested in flashy screens for viewing - or showing off - images, playing videos or MP3s) the Colorspace has a large 3.2″ color screen for reviewing images, a superfast upload like the Nexto, a battery rated to upload 250GB worth of image files, user-replaceable hard drive, among other nice features.

My needs for portable storage are different than some. I want fast uploads, long battery life, the ability to replace or upgrade the hard drive, and a reasonable price point. Nothing too fancy. That’s why I like the CF Ultra so much. It’s not flashy, just business. The Colorspace, while a bit more flashy with the large color screen and other functionality, still retains the business end without going over the top like some other brands seem to do. This isn’t a status symbol for me, it’s a tool that’s going to be in a case on my belt or in a pocket or in a bag out of view so it doesn’t need to look pretty or have lots of fancy looking controls like a touchscreen. However, that technology is becoming more mainstream, so it’s inevitable these devices will incorporate those features as they become more affordable. Not a bad thing, I just don’t think it’s necessary for these devices to be first adopters. Leave that up to the iPhone.

I haven’t gotten my hands on one of these to see for myself, but the reviews I’ve read are glowing. If I were to need a replacement device, I believe the Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA would be my first choice.

My wife told me about an interview Charlie Rose had with Bill Gates the other day. Bill said we are heading toward a time (I think we knew it was coming) when we will be using one hand held device for nearly all our needs, phone, music, news, video, image capture, etc. That will probably be a good thing as long as we have the ability to choose among several devices, not just one or two.

source: Idaho State Journal

MALAD, Idaho - Clay Ross had just finished a photography job in Oneida County Wednesday and was driving north on Interstate 15, talking on his cell phone with a friend. Just a mile or two north of town, something caught his eye on the Devil Creek Reservoir north of Malad.

“As I looked over to the right, I saw what I thought was one man trying to pull another man out of the water through a hole in the ice,” said Ross, who’s from Idaho Falls. “I told the person on the phone, ‘Let me call you back.’”

The 46-year-old Idaho Falls photographer used an extension cord and his truck to rescue an elderly fisherman whose venture out on thin ice nearly killed him.

Clay Ross had just finished a photo shoot in southeastern Idaho and was returning home on U.S. Interstate 15 near Malad’s Devil Creek Reservoir when he saw two men struggling near the boat ramp.

A recent cold spell had frozen the surface of the popular fishing hole, and Scott Ravsten, 78, says he wandered onto the ice with a ski pole as a probe before falling through.

Ross used an extension cord and a tie-down strap that Ravsten was clutching in the water to pull him to safety.

Ravsten required treatment at the Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello because he’d spent 15 minutes in the icy water.

Hearst Publications, publishers of Cosmopolitan, Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, O, the Oprah Magazine, Smart Money, Marie Claire, among others, is holding their 8×10 Photography Biennial competition and have submitted a call for entries.

However, on the How to Enter page is the statement:

Important note: To ensure a fair and unbiased selection, entries are to remain anonymous. Submissions that contain a photographer’s name and/or contact information within the file name, caption field or metadata will be disqualified.

While I don’t think this is a deliberate attempt at a rights grab, by not allowing photographer information to be embedded within a digital file automatically creates an orphan work and the owner cannot be traced if the file is misplaced or transferred to someone else. I can understand the desire by Hearst to make the contest entries as anonymous as possible, but hey, even in a contest receiving prints the owner of the print gets to put his/her name on the back.

Maybe they trust their judges and staff less than they do photographers? This might be valid if they are sending out digital files to judges rather than projecting them all at once for an assembled panel.

But then, why should we photographers trust those judges to not take advantage of high quality orphan works dropping in their lap?

Hearst might have to look again at their contest design.

Photo I Class

January 5 - 26

Workshops
January 31 Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge

March 14 - 15 The Fine Art Figure - Studio (location to be determined)
April 4 - 12 Oregon Coast

April 14 - 19 Columbia River Gorge

April 21 - 26 Painted Hills, Oregon

June 4 - 10 Tallgrass Prairie, Kansas

June 19 - 21 The Fine Art Figure - Outdoors (location to be determined)
July 8 - 19 Vancouver Island, British Columbia

July 24 - 26 Silver City, Idaho

August 6  - 12 Spruce Island, Alaska

September 18 - 23 Tallgrass Prairie, Kansas

October 2 - 10 Oregon Coast

October 12 - 17 Columbia River Gorge
October 28 - November 4 Kroschel Wildlife Center, Alaska

November 13 - 19 Storm Watch, Vancouver Island

December 4 - 9 Storm Watch, Oregon Coast

December 11 - 15 Columbia River Gorge

January 7 - 12, 2010 Northern Lights, Alaska