PixelatedImage Blog

Planting Rice outside Chiang Rai, Thailand. August 2009

Good morning. I’ve got a handful of links for you this morning, some worthwhile stuff I want to point you towards.

Scott Kelby and his gang of elves that never sleep have an online show called D-Town. I watched a few episodes when it first came out but as it was geared entirely for Nikon shooters I stopped watching. Only so many hours in the day and I don’t shoot Nikon (though I’d be willing to if the good folks at Nikon are interested in talking) Anyways, D-Town is no longer a Nikon-only show and that should make it suddenly relevant to anyone other than Nikonians. Details HERE.

My friend Gavin Gough has work in this year’s Travel Photographer of the Year book, as do I, though I’d forgotten about it until reading Gavin’s post. Where Gavin and I seem to differ is that he’s willing to give one of these books away. I thought, “What a great idea!” but where others would then give a copy away I’m just going to send you to Gavin’s site and encourage you to read the rules on his simple giveaway HERE. Gavin’s work is in a current/recent edition of Vanity Fair as well, check it out HERE.

Matt Kloskowski’s got a cautionary tale regarding THE IMPORTANCE OF BACKUP and I suggest you either read the story or just skip it and go, for the love of Binary, and back up your work. Do it now! And create an offsite backup while you’re at it.

Matt Brandon’s been rocking his blog lately. Be sure to check out his post on the last lantern maker in Penang, Malaysia HERE.Also be sure to catch all his Depth of Field podcasts. Matt’s a fantastic interviewer and his glimpses into the lives of working photographers is always full of laughter and insight. Catch his latest interview with Gary S Chapman and Vivien Chapman HERE.

Finally, I want to point you to two eBooks. If you’ve been around here you know I place a high value on reading and learning, and am investing a great deal of time on creating eBooks for the photographic community. I think we offer amazing eBooks at ridiculously low prices, but we aren’t the only ones. Bruce Percy, whose work I respect tremendously, now has an eBook out on his recent work at the Taj Mahal. Bruce does incredible work and is a thinking photographer. Click here to view more details

The last eBook is a more substantial effort from the folks at Digital Photography School. It’s called Photo Nuts and Bolts and where the eBooks at Craft & Vision are more about putting your technical knowledge to use in expressing your vision, this is about the foundation of the craft itself. It’s very well illustrated and the teaching is solid. If you’ve been looking to brush up on some of the basics, perhaps get your mind around something you’ve been missing, then I recommend you take a look at Neil Creek’s Photo Nuts And Bolts. It’s on sale for $19.97 and has a 30 day money-back guarantee, so there’s no risk. There’s a reason the DPS site is one of the largest photographic communities on the planet, they do good work over there. Click here to view more details

Lastly, two housekeeping things. 1. We’re planning to release Andrew S. Gibson’s The Magic of Black and White, Vol.1 in 10 days or so. I’m very excited to have Andrew on board. Andrew is a skilled black and white photographer, a technical editor for EOS Magazine, and runs a great blog full of interesting interviews. Find his blog HERE. 2. I’ll be in Seattle tomorrow and Wednesday speaking at Amazon, which means a. road trip! and b. I won’t be around much. But I’ll be back later in the week with a report.

The monastery at Lamayuru catching the days last rays. Ladakh, 2009

There are a couple spots left – 2 each, I think – in both my tour in Tibet and the overland trip in Kashmir and Ladakh. I would love to see these spots filled with one of my readers, so if you’ve been thinking about it, these newly opened spots won’t last long.

Tibet, July 20-30, 2010
The trip to Tibet will be absolutely exhilerating. There is more information here, but the highlights are these: we’ll be partnering with some friends in Tibet and working closely with the Tibetans to see and participate in things well off the beaten path. From where we are staying there are over 60 monasteries from all for sects of Tibetan Buddhism in a 50 square mile radius. Of all of Tibet, this area has the highest percentage of actual Tibetans living there – thus also containing the best preserved culture as well. We’ll be in a nomad trading town, so nomads come in almost every day, and we’ll also be in one of the largest pilgrimage sites in all of Tibet – The Jana Mani. The Jana Mani has anywhere from 200 to 1,000 pilgrims circling it at any given time.  This is a chance to see real, and disappearing, Tibetan Culture. We’ll be at spectacular horse festival as the climax of the trip, and will not be in Lhasa – Lhasa has close to 30,000 ( yes, thirty thousand!) local and foreign tourists arriving daily in the summer. We’ll get off the path and share an exciting adventure together. This will be a small group, as small as 6-8 participants, so you’ll have more time with me that want. Seriously, you’ll be sick of me by the end.

For more information on the Tibet tour, click HERE. For photographs of the area we’ll be in, check THIS out.

Kashmir/Ladakh – Sept 12-25, 2010
The trip to Kashmir is also a once in a lifetime kind of thing, in part because traveling with both Matt Brandon and I is something no one should have to do more than once. It’s a great deal of fun and we travel in a small group of 8-9 participants. Matt and I have done tours in both Kashmir and Ladakh now, but never one that spanned both regions and the diversity of geography and culture, from verdant valleys and lakes of Kashmir, and the heavily muslim culture there, to the high altitude deserts of Ladakh and the prevalant Buddhist culure, it’ll be a trip you’ll never forget. Trekking into Lidderwat to spend time with the transhumant Gujjars was a highlight not only of my first trip to Kashmir, but of my life.

For more information on the Kashmir/Ladakh Trip, click HERE. For photographs, head to my PORTFOLIO and look at either the Ladakh or Kashmir galleries.

I am so excited this morning to be releasing Dave Delnea’s Below The Horizon, Understanding Light at the Edges of Day.

A year ago I found Dave Delnea, a Vancouver photographer, online. I was immediately drawn to his work for his incredible understanding of, and ability to capture, light. We’ve become close friends over this year and he wound up in VisionMongers because of my respect for his work and his career. So when it came to collaborating with other photographers on eBooks, Dave was one of the first people I asked to participate.

Below The Horizon is an inspiring read, as much for the images as for his encouragement to take this basic knowledge and get out there and play. There are no secrets here, just solid information and incredible images to back it up and push us out the door.

This is Friday, February 26. For the first 48 hours+ of this release, until midnight PST at the end of Sunday the 28th, Below The Horizon can be had for an introductory price of $4 instead of the usual $5. But that’s not all! If you buy 4 or more of the books, and there are now 8 Craft & Vision titles to choose from, you can have 20% off your order.

Use coupon code DELNEA4 to get Below The Horizon for $4.
Use coupon code DELNEA20 to get 4 or more of the Craft & Vision titles for 20% off.

Buy Below The Horizon Now
Take me to Craft & Vision to buy a set.

Shortly after I started Craft & Vision I approached some of the photographers from whom I myself get inspiration and I asked them to work with me to bring what they do to my readers. My friend Dave Delnea, whose work and career you can explore in VisionMongers as well, is the first photographer out of the gate and I’m thrilled to be able to release his eBook, Below The Horizon, in the next week or so.

Below The Horizon, Understanding Light at the Edges of Day is an inspiring 40-page PDF ebook, much like others in the Craft & Vision line-up. It was reading Delnea’s rough drafts before going to Kenya that pushed me to create some of my favourite work in a long time. Here’s what I wrote in the Foreword:

I shot the image on this page while on safari in Kenya this January. It was reading the rough notes that eventually became this book that finally opened my eyes to the possibilities to be found in shooting at the far edges of day.  Like so many great learning moments, it was the inspiration I took from Below The Horizon that pushed me to get out and play with this stuff.  The information in this eBook is valuable, but as David himself points out, it’s not rocket science.

Shooting at the edges of day and learning to see the interplay possible between light and time, and how that affects the aesthetics of the image, has opened a whole new world to me. I came back from Kenya with images that excited me more than any I’ve shot in a long time, in part because playing with this stuff, and learning to understand it, creates images that do what I want all my photographs to do: create mood and the feeling of being there. I want my work to say “It felt like this…” not only “It looked like this….”

Take the time to absorb this stuff, but when you’ve done so, shut the computer or turn off your tablet, and go out in the growing or fading light and play. Learn, as David suggests, to see the light that’s only here for a few minutes every day. Everyone shoots when it’s easy to be awake and handhold the camera above 1/60, shooting in the near darkness will invigorate you, inspire you, and produce images with uncommon mood and visual pull.

We’ll be releasing this in the next week or two. When we do there will be, as there was last time, a limited-time discount offered for both single books and a bunch of them at once, as a thank you to my readers. This is an excellent addition to the growing line of ebooks at Craft & Vision and one that has personally inspired and energized my own work. I’m really proud and excited to offer it and the moment it’s up it’ll be announced here.

Mti 1, Burning Bush. Kenya 2010

There’s a great Peter Gabriel song about the tension between the desire to be home and to keep travelling. He begins with “Lost my time, lost my place, in sky blue,” and goes on in the chorus to say, “so tired of all this travelling / so many miles away from home / i keep moving to be stable / free to wander, free to roam.” Man am I feeling that right now. It’s good to be home but I’m jetlagged and not trying too hard to fight it because on Thursday I head back out again, this time to Senegal.

I’ve got a desktop wallpaper for you for the end of the month, I’ll post that before I go. Other than that my time back home has been too short and too full to even think about doing much more than putting the latest book out there for you (If you didn’t see that release, check it out here – The Inspired Eye, Vol II ). Add to the list of skills a photographer needs: an ability to manage time and get more done than possible.

Kenya was amazing. It was hard and I learned alot. I spent time with a great team of people whom I really enjoyed. But many of us struggled to shoot against our expectations. You go to a place with expectations and they can blind you. But they can also be the veil that hides some great surprises. I went for example, thinking I might get a few shots of majestic male lions or something. Didn’t come close. But I got some landscapes I love. And I learned a lot. It comes back to the idea that as creatives we must focus first on the process itself and not the product. Focusing on the product can blind us to what the muse is pointing at, and that’s a dangerous place for a creative who’s in the business of seeing and themselves pointing at things for others to see.

So now I’m up to my knees in gear that needs wiping down and checking, batteries that need re-charging, new harddrives to install for the coming year, and all the concerns related to getting what’s needed to do the job packed and out the door.

The highlight of my week was in seeing the reception to the last eBook. You guys blew the doors off my hopes and within the first 24 hours the classrooms I wanted to build for the school in Kenya were completely paid for. Thanks so much for participating in that with me. It’s yet another thing that sets this community apart from others. Y’all may not be big, but you’re big-hearted. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I intend to return next January, to see the classrooms, hear more stories, and ask the same question I asked this year, “what’s your greatest need?” I hope you’ll be part of it again then too. As an aside, when I was 8 I walked to school worried about having not done my homework well. These kids walk to school worried a leopard will eat them. It’s a very real concern and happens often. Kind of puts things in perspective.

Lastly, when I arrive in Senegal I almost immediately jump into a Land Crusier and drive 10 hours into the bush, so it’ll be quiet around here. But I’ll be thinking about you, promise

I’m really excited to be announcing the release of the first collaborative book to come out of Craft & Vision. Hot on the heels of VisionMongers, my manager Corwin Hiebert has written Growing The VisionMonger, 10 Things a Manager Can Teach You About Running & Growing Your Business.

If you want to learn about f-stops and focal lengths, ask a photographer. If you want to learn about managing your business, ask a manager, and Corwin is a great manager. He’s not only the guy holding my own little world together but he performs management tasks for my friends Kevin Clark and Dave Delnea. He’s freaking great at what he does and he’s  neurotic about doing thing excellently and with efficiency. In short, he’s my secret weapon, and while not everyone needs or wants a manager in their back-pocket, using a the expertise of a manager is a sure way to grow your business.

Whether you’re a Weekend Warrior or a Working Stiff, there’s solid meat in here for you. And there’s action points with each of the 10 topics for both. If you made a New Year’s resolution to get serious about your photography business, this is a solid place to start. And for $5, it’ll leave you plenty of budget for that new logo and a retainer for your new accountant.

Still only $5, Growing The VisionMonger is available on the Craft & Vision website HERE or for immediate download with the fancy buttons below.

A Happy New Year from all of us at Pixelated Image Communications and Craft & Vision. May this year be the year you chase down your dreams.

Hi all. Hope you had a lovely holiday, filled with family, friends, and love. Ours was subdued, a close friend was diagnosed to have a brain tumour and that brought the tone of things down. But it re-calibrates you in a hurry, this kind of event; reminds you quickly of the things you truly want for Christmas – health, family, friends. The trimmings aren’t the main event.

Sharon gave me the gift of Wisdom, a book by Andrew Zuckerman. On my birthday I opened that book, along with books from a close friend. In fact he gave me Annie Leibovitz At Work, which I have, so I traded it in for Camera by Todd Gustavson and The Unguarded Moment by Steve McCurry. I also got to spend a couple mornings, while Sharon slept in, walking on the seawall and wrecking roll after roll of otherwise perfectly good film while I second-guessed my light metre and tried to get things level in the goofy inverted focussing screen on the old Hasselblad. It was, in a word, heaven. Wisdom, by the way, is a fantastic book, especially if you love portraits. Camera is just amazing if you are interested in the history of our craft, and The Unguarded Moment, it’s pure McCurry, and like his last two, it’s HUGE. The cover image is one of my favourites. I’m willing to bet it was a case of finding a great background and just waiting it out until the moment arrived. Very Henri Cartier-Bresson-esque

My muse visited and gave me an idea for what one day will be another book, and I wish I weren’t already working on one because this one just strikes me as way more fun No spoilers just yet, and who knows if/when it might actually come out. But ideas are like gold and getting one that just fits, that’s priceless.

So now we’re in that weird space and time between Christmas and New Year’s. I’m settling in to keep writing, to pack bags for Kenya and Senegal, to make a list of resolutions I plan on breaking early so I can get straight to the guilt part (kidding), and wrapping up the loose ends of 2009. How about you? How was your holiday? Did you get a gift that inspired you? A moment that you managed to capture, with your heart or your camera? Trust it was a good break for you.

I had a simple “Merry Christmas” post planned for today. I scrapped it. I’m wavering between my desire to let this holiday pass with a simple Christmas greeting and something more personal. I had the same struggle last year and in the end I said everything then that I wanted to this year too.

It’s an unusually low-key year for us here, but so peaceful. Sharon and I are celebrating quietly with friends. A few meaningful gifts, a lot of meals and bottles of wine shared with family. We’ve stopped with buying token gifts and the usual insanity that comes with this holiday, not because we value it less but because we value it more. Somehow even wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” seems a little trivial, as if being merry were the best this holiday can offer. Maybe I’m just getting older and more cynical wiser. 38 tomorrow, as it turns out.

What I’m certain of, and remember I didn’t train formally to be a photographer, I trained to be a pastor (hence the sermonette), is that if this holiday means anything, and if there’s historical fact in the reasons for which we celebrate, then it means more than the knick-knacks and bacchanalia it’s become. So for Sharon and I this is a quiet holiday, we celebrate the incalculable gifts we’ve been given, ponder the sad mysteries of the losses we’ve experienced this year, and look forward to another year of similar gifts and losses. In our hearts we long for fulfillments of the promises that accompanied the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, namely; Peace on earth, good will among mankind. And we pray for the strength to do what we can to be part of that.

So, because I consider you all family and friends – thank you for being part of this year for us. On behalf of Sharon and I, we wish you health and peace, the comfort of friends, and the fond remembrance of ones you too might have lost this year. We wish you light and life, joy and happiness. And yeah, we wish you a merry Christmas as well. From both of us, we wish you blessings.

I have a bunch of things I want to point you to this morning.

The 23rd edition of the free online magazine PhotographyBB (above) is now up. The man at the helm of PhotographyBB is Dave Seeram and he was kind enough to interview me earlier this fall. That interview found its way into this issue.  Find more information and a free download of PhotographyBB Magazine HERE.

My friends Gavin Gough and Matt Brandon are leading a tour and workshop to the Kumbh Mela festival in India this April. I wish I could be part of it but my schedule doesn’t permit. Travelling and shooting with these two men is a privelege. I know the few spots available will go quickly and as the next Kumbh Mela isn’t until 2013, it’s not something you can just do next year.  More information on Gavin’s blog HERE.

The winners of this years Travel Photographer of the Year award were announced last week. The big winner was G.M.B Akash from Bangladesh and his work is stunning. Take some time to look at the work of the winners and runners-up HERE in the TPTOY 2009 Winner’s Gallery

Syl Arena rolled out the motherload of Canon-specific web resources on his blog last week. Find Part One HERE and Part Two HERE.

Last but certainly not least, my friend, and a member of this community, Jon McCormack has had one of his images selected to hang in the Yosemite Museum Gallery. Congratulations, Jon. It’s always exciting to see good people and good work recognized. See his announcement and his image, Vernal Falls in Summer, HERE

The holidays are nigh. I’ll be taking Christmas Eve, my birthday, and Christmas Day, off. So tomorrow’s likely the last post until Monday, the 28th. Check in tomorrow, then close the computer and go be with friends and family.

A short post this morning as I’m swimming (drowning?) in the business and task-management end of things. Consider the brevity a chance to catch up on other reading

My learning curve feels endless and steep these days. New software, new business models, new cameras, shooting film and remembering what it’s like to get a bunch of crap back from the lab. I spent yesterday morning at my lawyers signing final incorporation documents and spent this evening with my accountant trying to not be a knucklehead about all the changes that incorporation means. It just doesn’t end and I feel like I’m drowning in it. But oddly it’s energized me. I’m busy but I’m reading, playing, and learning in the small gaps my schedule allows me.

I am also up to my neck in Vision & Voice, and writing the draft of Volume II of The Inspired Eye. But in all the stuff I’ve been thinking and writing about re. the creative process, I should add this: learn something new. When the rut starts feeling too deep, or the inspiration seems more like boredom, learn something new – anything, just make it new. If all you have is 20 minutes, sit down with Lightroom and try duplicating an effect you saw earlier today, or learn one of the plug-ins you haven’t had time to sit down and figure out. Don’t have time to learn? Then play. Just mess around with it. You’ll be surprised how well we learn when we’re actively trying to avoid learning and are just playing. Find 10 minute blocks to play.

Whatever you do, one thing is sure either as a creative, a business person, or a creative business person – to sit still is to stagnate, to not move forward is to move backwards, and the antidote to both is simply to learn something new daily. Make it intentional, carve out the time somehow, but learn.