PixelatedImage Blog

My latest article on creating a sense of Story/Narrative within the frame is now up over at Lexar.com - Link HERE. I will also post it in the article archives to the left under Additional Articles. As always, your thoughts, feedback, and dialogue is welcome.

Thanks especially to Trevor Meier who helped me iron out a little of this, and to Johanna, Craig, Todd, Wilsonian, and Brad who left insightful comments when I initially put this idea out there for some thought. I think the more we understand an idea like narrative, the easier it will be to create strong images with a sense of story. Good stuff, thank you.

A month ago I decided to try the same set-up Karl Grobl uses. See THIS POST for the low-down.

The goal was this - a working set-up that allowed me to shoot with two pro-sized bodies, lens hoods in place, and no bag to have to set down and fiddle with everytime I got shooting. The only solution I could find was the one Karl Grobl uses: Think Tank Photo’s Steroid Speed Belt (link here), Digital Holster 40, and Digital Holster 50 (links to the whole Digital Holster line HERE.)

I worked out of this belt/bag combination for the whole two weeks in Tunisia and I absolutely love it. Here’s my initial impressions.

• As with all Think Tank stuff, the quality is top notch. Solid and streamlined, with alot of little extras that you don’t think you need until you have them.
• When the bags are on your hips, as opposed to behind you on your back, they are remarkably light feeling. That said, a whole day of walking around fully loaded was pretty tough on my back - I have the Pixel Racing Harness (link HERE) and wish I had brought it with me - I will be using it in the future.
• Once the bags soften a little it’s much easier to pull the cameras from them, but even still it’s a snug fit - good if you don’t want your stuff sloshing around, harder if you’re used to pulling them out with little effort.
• Being able to put these on my hips and still carry my backpack makes it really easy to haul my stuff through airports and train stations. The down-side is once on the train there is no way I can fit down the aisles without sliding it all to the back (which is where my backpack is) - so it has to br removed. This is just part of the territory - any belt/bag combo would do this.
• What do I wish these bags had? Just a little more space for extras. Sure, I can use another pouch on the belt, Lord knows I have plenty - but then I have to carry another pouch and it takes space on the belt making it harder to move things around. I want a place to put my Moleskine notebook and pen, a powerbar, and a cell phone. Karl Grobl uses the new Large Lens Drop In (link HERE), and I’m thinking about doing the same - or using All The Other Stuff (link HERE)
• One last thing - I like to take a tripod when I go out shooting in the evenings - I don’t use it much but when you need it, you need it. So I added a couple stiff velcro loops to the back - one leg of my little Gitzo Basalt tripod fits through it easily and I can put it in and remove it with one hand. It goes on like this:

Overall, I’m thrilled with this setup. My belt is the perfect size for me, but heading to Mongolia it will be a little tight to get over the bulkier winter wear, so I’m going to add another two buckles and a short length of webbing to bridge the gap.

I can’t recommend Think Tank’s gear more highly - truly excellent stuff, and while most of my bags are Lowe-Pro, these holster bags are truly the best I’ve used.

*Note, the one piece of the Think Tank line that does NOT fit on the Steroid belt is the Bum Bag - it’s a nice little bag but it was made to slide onto the Pro belts, which are much narrower than the Steroid belt. If you’re looking to get a small pouch for the Steroid belt you’d be better to think about the Trim Changer, or any of the others -but the Bum Bag is not compatible.

For the eager ones, I’ve posted a gallery of selects from my Tunisia trip - there are more here than I will eventually post in my portfolio, but these are for the keeners.

I do have a favour to ask of you however - if any of these particularily strike you as either excellent or “what the heck were you thinking?” please leave a comment at the end of this post.

Most photographers I know struggle to edit their own work - sometimes the images we like the most we like because we associate with the memory of being there, or the moment, and really those things don’t count. Unless it’s in the frame it doesn’t matter - or the photographer should have done a better job of getting it in the frame. Likewise we sometimes overlook an image because we read into it the fact that we didn’t quite make it say what we wanted. This trip was a challenge and I’ve looked at these images so long I can’t see the forest for the trees. Or the trees for the forest. Your comments would be appreciated.

So, here’s the link - CLICK HERE. I’d welcome your feedback.

I’ll keep this relatively short and post something longer in the coming day or two. It’s my last day in Tunisia; I’m in Sfax in a cafe within the walls of the medina, having mint tea and the smoothest chicha in the country. It’s been a great trip but a tough one photographically - I’ll detail that later. One of the toughest aspects, apart from losing my sunglasses and my Moleskine notebook (still twitching about that, my life is in those little black books and losing it feels like an amputation), is the coffee here. I think it’s the worst coffee I’ve ever ingested - the Tunisians have a suspicious relationship with Nescafe and I’m struggling to forgive them for it.

We take a train into Tunis this evening, then a 4am flight to Frankfurt, then to Toronto and on to Vancouver. I will post images in the coming days and post a more complete post around the same time. If you’ve sent an email and I’ve not replied please forgive me, I can receive email here but not send. I’ll get back to you asap.

Click the map to make it bigger.

Today I fly to Tunisia for two weeks of assignment work for me. When I first began this adventure I promised myself that as much as it was possible and OK with Sharon, I would do one trip annually - the only goal of which would be to work on my portfolio and stir the paint on the creative side of myself. I think it’s important to do work that is not driven by a client but by your own muse - work in which you can take chances and follow the somewhat unpredictable nature of inspiration. It’s this work you use to market yourself, submit to competitions, and sharpen your edges so you’ve always got your best to offer a client, year after year.

I think the most common mistake freelance creatives make is not allowing themselves - even forcing themselves - this time to hone their skills and re-fire their imaginations. The creative work becomes a commodity, time to do self-assignments gets seen as time without income; it doesn’t take long before the creativity stagnates, the joy of creation becomes elusive, and clients look elsewhere.

So over the next two weeks I will be travelling with an old friend - someone who is not a photographer - from Tunis to El Kef, Kairouan, Tozeur, Nefta, Tataoiune, and Sfax. We might make it to all of those, we might not. We might just fall in love with one place and stay the duration. We might go somewhere we don’t anticipate at all. What is important is that we go where the muse says we go.

Can’t tell you how excited I am about this. Tragically it means for you another two week hiatus. I’d love to post if I get a chance but I like these times when I am unplugged and the world has no tether on me. I’ll have a cell number in Tunisia and if you really, really need me you can email me. Sharon will be checking the email at the studio/office and will give my cell number out at her discretion.

If you’ve read this blog or know me personally you know one of my favourite words is INTENTIONALITY. Life happens faster and faster all the time and without putting much effort into it the days slide by and before you know it another year has gone by and it’s still “same old, same old.”

If you were to do three things this year that you did not do last
year - three things that would impact your craft and the way you do
business as a photographer, what would they be?

Here’s my top three lists for your consideration. Pick one or more from each list if you’re an amateur. Pick two from each list if you are transitioning to professional. Pros don’t get a choice at all - we should be doing this stuff - or initiatives like them - as a matter of professional routine.

DEVELOP YOUR CRAFT

1. Find another photographer you respect and go shooting with them. If you’re a wedding shooter find someone who does wildlife, if you’re a travel photographer find someone who does fashion. Break the mold, learn something new.

2. Plan to do one self-driven assignment this year - something focussed, something that you’d not normally do, and something that will look great in your portfolio. Call it a marketing expense.

3. Do one seminar, lecture, or convention this year - take a course, do a workshop, find something to do that will stir the paint.

PLAN YOUR MARKETING

1. Lay out an actual marketing plan this year. Who are you going to market to? How are you going to do it? When and with what initiatives? Put it on paper, budget for it and do it.

2. Rebuild your portfolio - keep it current with your most recent and most compelling work.

3. Do an honest assessment of your current materials - business card, website, etc - does it need replacing, updating, re-focussing?

BUILD YOUR BUSINESS

1. Make this the year you actually create a solid back-up system for your digital assets. Make it organized, redundant, and preferably off-site. The easier you make it, the better chance it’ll happen regularily.

2. Make this the year you buy a hardware-based calibration system for calibrating your monitors, then do it weekly.

3. Plan now for obsolescence/replacement later. You know that 5D you love now? You’re going to want the replacement even more. You might drop it. You might just wear it out. Putting a percentage of your earnings into a gear-fund will hurt less in increments than it will when you need to put a new body on your credit card.

4. Remember, the tax-man cometh. Plan for it.

Want to add to the lists, leave a comment.

Produced by Axiotron (AxioTron.com) this modded MacBook is pretty slick, and for those of us who’ve come to know and love the Wacom tablets, it’s hard not to get a terminal case of gear-lust when looking at this. Available with optional GPS installed. They should be shipping within US and Canada soon. More info HERE.

I’m pleased as punch (whatever that means) to have received a pdf of the spread in the new Photoshop User magazine featuring yours truly. Of all the magazines I get this one is the one I anticipate the most and get the most bang for buck on. Seeing three pages of my images is a real kick. Can’t wait to get my hardcopies.

If you don’t already get Photoshop User it means you aren’t a member of NAPP. You should be. If you do anywork in the digital darkroom and use Photoshop or Lightroom at all, a NAPP membership pays for itself. Link to NAPP HERE

Boy this is fun.

Ok, here’s an update via Flying With Fish. Here’s his post: Link HERE

And here’s the link to the TSA page: Link HERE

But for the lazy and in the inevitable event that the link above dies:

Effective January 1, 2008, the Department of Transportation (DOT)
through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA) will no longer allow loose lithium batteries in checked baggage. These batteries may continue to be packed in carry-on baggage.

Under the new DOT rule, lithium batteries are allowed in checked baggage (emphasis mine) - under one of the following conditions:

• The batteries must be in their original containers.
• The battery terminals must not exposed (for example placing tape over the ends of the batteries).
• The batteries are installed in a device.
• The batteries are enclosed by themselves in a plastic bag.

Loose lithium batteries found in checked baggage may be removed.

You can learn more at http://Safetravel.dot.gov.

So, carry on, nothing to see here.