Act now!
*edit* I scanned this from a 1965 Life magazine – an issue commemorating the first American space-walk – that I picked up at Aqua Books the other day. But if this offer existed today, I would be first in line. A trip in a bushplane is another one of my life-long wishes.
... everybody's got one. That's the inspiration behind my submission for Illustration Friday's fun theme of opinion. And really, there's not a whole lot to say after that. I went with this variation after doodling a few concepts while watching Patrick Roy Night on Hockey Night In Canada (after a pre-psychotic Theo Fleury, Roy was my favourite player growing up). Perhaps he served as a subconscious inspiration, as Mr. Roy let fly more than a few of his opinions over his career. After scanning, I cleaned up a few errant sketchy bits, removed a shticky speech bubble, and then added the subtle background and typography (Rosewood Fill is the face; overused, but I still enjoy it). There's plenty of ink detail, lost in this view, that can be seen larger here on Flickr.
Illustration Friday's theme of pretend painted an image in my head fairly quick – that of a half-mechanical "pretend bird" caricature, featuring a spring-loaded musical note shooting from a wide-open beak. Early doodles on a piece of grid paper reflected this, but somewhere along in the process my allegiances switched from the original concept to what you see here – a far less literal interpretation featuring the original musical note which now may or may not appear spring-loaded anymore (nor the bird mechanical). But since my intentions were honest – and I mostly devoted myself to the cause – I figured I'd still enter this under Illustration Friday's theme. I'd be more worried if I never diverted from an illustration's original course.Drawn in varying thicknesses of Pigma Micron pen (mostly the .005 and .05 nibs, brush pen and Graphic 1 pen), then scanned and coloured in Photoshop. The musical note and surrounding circle were created in Illustrator and stitched into the line art before colouring. For a bigger and better look at the detail, please click here.
Top row (left to right): Pop Wagner, performing in a weekend house concert; barite rose, from my rockhound days as a kid. Middle row (left to right): home sweet home on my Wii control; patterns in stained glass. Bottom row (left to right): back off, get yer own tasty sammich; extreme salt shaker action.-----
With the money I earned from leasing this photo to the City of Winnipeg to use on their website, I treated myself to an EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens for my Rebel. And I am absolutely loving it at the moment; I've barely even scratched the surface of what it can do to improve my game. It's just fun to see things around the house – little things, particularly – in a whole new light.
Some of these are available for closer inspection on Flickr.
In honour of Illustration Friday's current theme of wise, I present this (mostly) digital concoction of my wife – one of the wisest decisions I've ever made. Based quite literally from my favourite photo of her, it was an exercise largely in texturing and layering, and trying something in the way of a technique that perhaps I'm not so comfortable with – probably why it took me the larger part of an entire day to get it down pat. She's currently in Montréal on a five-day, work-related conference, and shortly after she returns it'll be her birthday. So... happy birthday, jellybean.
Don't you be so mean, my beauty queen, my movie screen
Don't you be so mean, my jellybean, my Boston Cream
Blow November blow, my sweetheart home, before the snow
Blow November blow, my sweetheart home, before the snow
– "Don't Be So Mean, Jellybean" by Justin Rutledge (though I'm not sure he came up with it).
There's a bigger version of this available for gawking, right over here. Please take a look.
Thanks to my now-married friend Allan – and the iTunes gift card he bestowed on his groomsmen earlier this fall – I was able to unabashedly walk into Apple's virtual shop recently and haul ass with a basket of all manner of aural goodies. I'm working on being more in tune with tunes; this list of music that I'm currently appreciating muchly comes thanks to a few sources: CBC Radio 3 and NPR podcasts, the recently (and nicely) reformatted CBC Radio 2 late-night programming, my occasional Illadelphian music hook-up Melissa (and husband) – and of course Al, who provided the coin as part of a most incredible gesture. Thanks again.
Singles
"Hey Modern School Girl " – *The Awkward Stage, Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights
"The Sun Will Set" – Bombazine Black, Here Their Dreams
"Frenchy's" & "The Pulse" – *Holy Fuck, LP
"Acid Tongue" – Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue
"Hello Tomorrow " – Karen O. & Squeak E. Clean (single from the 2006 Adidas commercial)
"Body Of Years" – *Mother Mother, O My Heart
"Cocaine Cowgirl" – *Matt Mays & El Torpedo, Matt Mays & El Torpedo
"All The Old Showstoppers" – *The New Pornographers, Challengers
"Life In Parentheses" – *Novillero, A Little Tradition
"How Can You Be Sure" – Radiohead, Fake Plastic Trees (single)
"Believe In Me" – *Sloan, Parallel Play
"Time Machine" – *Sweatshop Union, Water Street
Albums
Summer Rains – The Ditty Bops
*Ongiara – Great Lake Swimmers
Till The Sun Turns Black – Ray LaMontagne
Time Without Consequence – Alexi Murdoch
* Canadian content!
Above: four stages of snowy owl stink-eye, two gut-heavy prairie dogs and one Kerry, practicing her birch-bark biting on the Hunt Lake hiking trail.
-----
The weekend previous was salvation. Fall here is sometimes mercilessly brief, and following a most miserable Thanksgiving weekend it looked bleak for lovers of the season. But Big Weather tossed us in Manitoba a life preserver last weekend and we made good use of it, squeezing in a day of hiking on our favourite trail in the Whiteshell and a trip to the zoo to fulfill my need to see the owls at least once a year. The Whiteshell was in fine form, even if almost all the leaves had fallen. The park was quiet, virtually empty of critters (the sole highlight was a scavenging red fox that circled our weenie-fire in the evening). And Owl Row did not disappoint either, though one snowy was so perplexing we ran out of time to see almost anything else, barring some extraordinarily obese prairie dogs. But this owl, hopefully she is OK; despite making comical expressions and interesting photos, her stretch-and-yawn act every 15-20 seconds made me believe something is not alright with this poor thing.
Closer looks at a few of these shots can currently be had, o'er on Flickr.
I've been neglecting this site. But rest assured, I've concocted a methodology here to boost productivity: well-dressed clones.These were results of a recent bout of Photoshop play-time and a rental tuxedo, courtesy of Allan's wedding (mentioned previously). I moved nearly every scrap of living room furniture to pull this off; stuff was either in the frame or casting a shadow in the frame (the lamp remained; I enjoy its slight hindrance to the overall symmetry of the photos).I had some questions about the lighting: it's natural – there's a bank of windows six feet or so to the right and another set about 15-20 feet to the left, with diffused late afternoon light coming from the right. The dimming of light reaching the corners of these shots is artificial, the result of adding gradated duplicate layers in Photoshop set to multiply mode. Some additional (subtle) dodging and burning was done to other portions; the artwork on the wall, the sides of my face(s), etc.With a tripod, I took sequences of timed photos of myself on all three couch cushions. These ones, looking directly forward, worked out the best, but a quick second series with my own wedding suit created some options also. Let me tell you though, this is it for me and neckties for awhile – those things were giving me a rash after some time, creating yet another patch job in Photoshop.
As promised, here are some accounts of Flickr image requests that were unscrupulous, crassly commercial or rubbed me the wrong way, either eventually or right off the bat.
The ask: "I am working on Mazda customer magazines, Zoom-Zoom. We have a section for people to submit their own groovy photos, I think your "Swing High" (above, top left) one will be perfect for our Zoom Zoom moments. I hope you can get in touch with me and let me know you are up for this."
The response/outcome: I own a Honda. Get bent.
The ask: "I am writing to let you know that one of your photos (above, top center) ... has been short-listed for inclusion in the fourth edition of our Schmap New York Guide, to be published early December 2007."
The background: Schmap runs a successful series of online and download-able travel/tourism 'guides' for a multitude of cities around the world, and have a fairly honest reputation with Flickr users. However, they are still a commercial operation, and fair is fair: if you're making money, the folks you glean your photos from should be making money. Yes, even if it's a pittance.
The response/outcome: I'm a tiny bit sorry, but get bent.
The ask: "My name is ______, working at LIZ Editions, Paris, France. I have the pleasure to announce that your photograph (above, top right) has been selected to be published in this photographic book Red Inspiration! This book ... brings together 300 of the most pertinent photos illustrating this powerful color. At the end of the book, there is a Photographer Directory that lists the web address where you can be contacted – to consult your biography or any information concerning your photo (legend, anecdotes, copyright). Edited by LIZ Editions, the LIZ-books (a total of 96 works, including Red Inspiration) present elite photos taken by those who show a particular passion for the art of photography as well as young professionals."
The background: a search on Flickr's help forum details many folks' experiences with this same request. Turns out this outfit sells a whole line of colour-themed photography books on the backs of the most naïve, desperate and attention-hungry Flickr users, and sells them for upwards of $40 a copy through retailers like Amazon. They're turning profits, plain and simple, and not passing it on to photographers who make these books even possible. That's sh*tty business practice. Lowest of the low.
The response/outcome: Get bent. Big time.
The ask: "My name's _____ and I'm an intern at NowPublic.com. Just to let you know, NowPublic is running a news story on American Idol and your photo(s) (above, bottom left) would be an excellent addition. If you're interested in sharing it, please follow the links below and feel free to add your own comment as well. Looking forward to seeing your work on the site!"
The background: NowPublic is a "crowd-sourced, participatory news network that mobilizes an army of reporters to cover the events that define our world" – essentially citizen journalism. However, since crowd-sourcing is currently a blight in my chosen industry, I don't really wish to endorse it in other fields, either.
The response/outcome: Get bent.
The ask: "I am designing a website for Destination Winnipeg, intended to attract people to Winnipeg. I wanted to see whether I could use some of your pictures (above, bottom right) ... would you charge anything, or would credit be enough?"
The response: this fellow was asking about three photos in particular, and I offered an educated answer as to how much they would cost for leasing purposes, based partially on test searches through online stock services for similar shots/usages and a bit of advice from friend and local super-pro Ian McCausland (who informed me of DW's shady practice of sniffing about Flickr for their photo needs). Their response to my response? Nothing. Silence.
The outcome: Get bent, despite the promising start.
Over my time as a Flickr member – just over two years – I've been contacted no less than 19 times via email about image requests. It's a common practice, I'm sure, through the site (but not nearly as common as simply taking images without asking, or the only slightly less grating practice of taking images, not asking, but still supplying credit), and these requests have run the gamut from intriguing, to encouraging, to downright insulting. Requests have ranged from high school projects to online travel/tourism sites, to blogs and podcasts. And to come to an abrupt point, not a single request came with the intention of receiving an image – or an OK to use – by offering any compensation greater than straight-up exposure. Because, I gotta say it, Flickr is a vast, grey realm of chum posters largely inexperienced in these matters, and sharks looking to snag images – stock, essentially – for free.
So in a nutshell, a memo to all Flickr account members: if and when you get asked about a particular photo – and I have to wonder now whether it has or will invariably happen to many – do not get drawn into the alluring high beams of almighty exposure. If you are told in no uncertain words that this opportunity will increase exposure to you and/or your work, then I have to inform you: often times this is codespeak for I'm looking for stock imagery for free and thus, boiled down, I consider you sucker material.
Say no. Or add that you'll consider it, but for a fee. See where that takes you; you never know what may happen. I'll detail a handful of situations that dictated such a response, and others where I believed in the requesting party's cause and shifted my stance. As a Part Two later on down the road, I'll detail a handful of ones I told to essentially get bent...
The ask: a Cornell Lab of Ornithology production assistant requested a mosquito submission of mine for Illustration Friday's long-long-ago theme of "insect", for inclusion in an episode of their Meet the Scientists online video series, about avian malaria and its transmission through mosquitoes.
The approach: courteous, genuine.
The response: a no-brainer for me, the Lab is a huge presence in birding circles. I offered permission after asking a few questions about the project, final application and the image's part in it.
The outcome: video! (you don't have to watch the whole thing, but trust me, it's there.)
The ask: a representative from a Brooklyn, NY, ad agency asked of using a photo of Kerry (above) in an internal microsite for an accounting firm, built to celebrate a local branch's ten-year anniversary. The site would be accessible to firm employees for ten days, each day featuring a different image – yup – culled from Flickr.
The approach: misguided.
The response: (I keep a canned version of this on file now) "Apologies, but I cannot release this photo for use without the suitable compensation. I appreciate however, that you've asked – I know of many situations where this is not the case, so thanks for asking, and best of luck with your imagery search for the site."
The response to the response: "I was wondering if you would just let me know what you would have wanted to be paid for us to use your image for one day in the US. We have gotten approval from all the other flickr photographers for free but we are happy to pay you what we can for use. Could you just let me know what that would be?"
The outcome: this was all it took to open a dialogue, even though I was saddened by the prospect of nine other Flickr users coughing up images for free to an international accounting firm. The agency and I eventually settled on a dollar number for a lease, plus it opened the door to a second lease for an e-invite, effectively doubling the amount. I also asked for a signed separate contract for each use, which the agency provided. The cheque was in the mail for some time, but eventually showed.
The ask: "I'd like to use one of your photographs (above) in a video podcast I am co-producing for the new Peterson Field Guide to Birds ... I would be happy to send you a copy of the book as a thank you for this use, or $20 if you prefer. Your photo would only appear for a few seconds onscreen. You would be credited as a photographer in the closing credits of that episode."
The approach: all-business.
The response: done and done – I opted for the book, and downloaded a nicely-made podcast on North American wood warblers (which look to be accessible now only via their website and a registration process).
The ask: the web services coordinator with the City asked about using my hot-air balloon panorama of downtown (above) as the header of the City of Winnipeg’s redesigned website. Since it was not mentioned in the initial message, I led with a more open-minded variation on my canned response.
The approach: professional, informative.
The response: through a dialogue, a two-year lease of the image was agreed upon and a contract was signed. I did not opt for selling the image outright, another option that was presented.
The outcome: my image is now poster child for the City of Winnipeg website for the next two years.
