PixelatedImage Blog

I just got a reminder that today is the last day to enter Shutterstock’s 2010 Photo Safari Contest, co-sponsored by B&H Photo and Zozi.  Enter your best travel photo (the prize is a a safari, the photograph doesn’t have to be) for a chance to win a 6-night African Photo Safari Adventure. Once you’ve uploaded your amazing shot, encourage your friends to cast their votes for your pic. I’ll be judging the finalists on May 13th – May 17th, along with my friends Chase Jarvis and Zack Arias and winners will be announced on May 20th. To enter, click HERE.

As with all contests be sure to read the fine print. I’m just helping to judge this one, it’s not my contest, and I haven’t had a look at the rules with a magnifying glass either. But the prize is sweet and if you’re jonesin’ for a fantastic trip to Africa, and you’re cool with the rules, this is a chance at some pretty fun travel. Good luck!

On December 19, I posted an article called Making Money as a Travel Photographer and left suggestions 9 and 10 in your court with the promise that I’d pick two of the best and give you a signed copy of my book when it’s out. There were some great thoughts left in the comments, some of them more related to being a traveling photographer than actually making a source of income from it, but good thoughts all the same and I suggest you read them when you have a moment.

So here’s #9 and #10 from Jonathan Thomas, and a bonus from Dan Bannister which has less to do directly with making a living but is so generally overlooked it’s shocking.

#9 Have an online portfolio.
Not something with a 1000 shots or eight galleries with your family dog. Narrow it down. Let people see your best work. Keyword your images so you’re easier to find. In addition to easy, keep your web address simple.

If you’re looking to get serious about your portfolio, either online or print, take a look at Selina Oppenheim’s Portfolios The Sell

#10 Network.
Yes, it’s a competitive market… However, Network. Network. Network. Never burn a bridge with other photographers. This blog is proof of keeping respect and the benefit of doing so. (i.e. 5D Mark II) In networking with other photographers you gain experience and opportunities. When I traveled to Jerusalem, I met up with a fellow photographer I had met via a photography forum. That connection, friendship, saved me time and money.

Jonathan’s right on the money here – relationships are crucial and the old model wherein we all saw each other as competitors and guarded our secrets fiercely, it’s gone. The winners now are the ones who give openly and connect incessantly.

#11 Learn to light.
You should be able to turn day into night and night into day artificially. You may not always use it but, it will help you make much more interesting travel images and will allow you to get more pictures out of a given scenario.

I’d add to this and just say, Learn About Light. Even if you’re not controlling the light in any way the ability to see the light it crucial.

Jonathan and Dan both get a signed copy of Within The Frame when it’s out in May/June. Here’s the kicker guys, I’m leaving this in your court. I’ve got lots on the go right now and I will NEVER remember this. SO – when you see me announce that the book is out and on shelves, send me an email or leave a comment in any of my posts and remind me, along with your mailing address, and I’ll ship them out to you. Sorry to pass the buck, but it’s that or completely forget and totally neglect you, and I can’t live with that kind of guilt.

If this sort of conversation appeals to you, don’t hesitate to join the Vision Collective, the discussion forums for this blog. We’d love to see you there.

A week ago I announced a giveaway for a Polaroid Pogo prnter, of which I am a now a rabid fan. 104 of you entered and this morning I drew a winner.

OK, I had a number between 1 and 104 randomly selected by high-tech, top secret processes, and that number got associated with a name (again, a process I am not at liberty to reveal) – that name was Jeffrey Chapman.

Jeffrey wins a new Zink-powered Polaroid Pogo, a handful of paper, and a box full of styrofoam packing peanuts. Jeffrey – send me your mailing address and I’ll have this in the mail to you on Monday morning.

This is my friend and former student Nicole Gibson. I shot this as she leaned out of the window on our houseboat in  Srinagar, Kashmir, India, last summer on our Lumen Dei tour. Only days before we’d been at the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi and she shot this image. (Oops, Matt Brandon tells me it was at Shah Hamadan in Srinagar. I stand corrected.)

Fast forward one year and last weekend at Photoshop World, Nicole won the Vincent Versace Guru Award for the same image. I can’t tell you how proud I am of Nicole and how excited I am for her future as a photographer and communicator. Huge congratulations to Nicole – well done, my friend!

For a full list of the GURU winners, click HERE.

The prestigious, but relatively new PX3 awards have been announced for 2008. If you’ve got some time and you’re looking for some inspiration, spend it HERE looking at the work of the winners. Some really gorgeous stuff in there, in a range of styles from international photographers.