Margin is a word I think about almost daily, these days.
Too much margin and a person can drift, waste time, get lost, not rise anywhere near their potential.
Too little margin and a person can suffocate, get crushed by an overload, have nothing left over.
As a photographer, I appreciate just the right amount of margin.
Too much margin? I'm not sure what to shoot. I'm not conforming my photographs into my vision. I'm wandering. My photographs will eventually show it.
Too little margin? There's no room for energy or creativity. I shoot before I think. Just like that last president.
Just enough margin? I'm pushed a little, with optimal constraints, I've got to optimize, must FOCUS... to make my best creation under the circumstances.
Feb 23, 2010
Feb 19, 2010
The Audacity of Self Promotion
The best promotion, in my humble opinion, is to do what you do, do it very very well, and let others speak well of you if they are so inclined.
Self-promotion, in the 21st century, is a whole 'nother deal. It's a somewhat foreign deal.
I see some people who are good or great at modern self-promotion. Extroverts, likable, well-spoken, confident, connected (genuine relationships or not) and it helps to be talented (though not all self-promoters are).
Sometimes there's plain old arrogance and self-absorption, I think we've all seen some of this too. Where it's found, it's not entirely ineffective.
When I observe self-promoters I have a slice of envy and a slice of discomfort (or in extreme cases, worse).
In this age of blogging, tweeting, and feverish friending there's a certain crude benefit to audacious self-promotion.
But long before the internet or modern media, there was also a certain value ascribed to graceful humility, a basic commitment to excellence, the advantage of signal over noise. Quality over quantity.
You know... a recognition that cream naturally rises to the top, rather than feverishly proclaiming, "Hey everybody, I'm cream! Please RT!"
In 2010, I find much of (post?) modern self-promotion to be crass and unsightly; such as when people RT (retweet) their own posts, and a majority of their social network activities amount to "look at me."
On the other hand, there is some sort of strange temporal sweet spot in modern so-called "social networks" for those who are well suited to tooting their horn as they chase after some measure of accomplishment. There is a sweet spot of quick results, followers, friends, respect, notoriety, attention, or other things that might be deemed good.
Is it worth it? What personality types are ideally suited for such ventures? What are the lasting fruits of these exploits? What life deficiencies lend themselves to audacious self-promotion? Where's humility in the mix, does it matter any longer? When will the internet advance far enough to offer an "ego filter?" Where does self-promotion crossfade into spam?
(I would say that perhaps 1/3 of everything I see on twitter is essentially spam or noisy chatter with little signal. 1/3!!! Would you watch TV or listen to radio if 1/3 or more was noisy static?)
These are questions I have, more than any answers, or even my own conclusions. I'm trying to navigate these very waters. I transgress my own boundaries from time to time.
I have a degree of skepticism, maybe that's all I'm saying.
My instincts tell me: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly.
Meanwhile, there are few things as rich as promoting the talents of OTHERS -- using twitter, facebook, blogs, and actual face-to-face REAL social networks... to point to the creative excellence and genuine exploits of other people, and encourage their endeavors.
Just some thoughts for the mix.
Self-promotion, in the 21st century, is a whole 'nother deal. It's a somewhat foreign deal.
I see some people who are good or great at modern self-promotion. Extroverts, likable, well-spoken, confident, connected (genuine relationships or not) and it helps to be talented (though not all self-promoters are).
Sometimes there's plain old arrogance and self-absorption, I think we've all seen some of this too. Where it's found, it's not entirely ineffective.
When I observe self-promoters I have a slice of envy and a slice of discomfort (or in extreme cases, worse).
In this age of blogging, tweeting, and feverish friending there's a certain crude benefit to audacious self-promotion.
But long before the internet or modern media, there was also a certain value ascribed to graceful humility, a basic commitment to excellence, the advantage of signal over noise. Quality over quantity.
You know... a recognition that cream naturally rises to the top, rather than feverishly proclaiming, "Hey everybody, I'm cream! Please RT!"
In 2010, I find much of (post?) modern self-promotion to be crass and unsightly; such as when people RT (retweet) their own posts, and a majority of their social network activities amount to "look at me."
On the other hand, there is some sort of strange temporal sweet spot in modern so-called "social networks" for those who are well suited to tooting their horn as they chase after some measure of accomplishment. There is a sweet spot of quick results, followers, friends, respect, notoriety, attention, or other things that might be deemed good.
Is it worth it? What personality types are ideally suited for such ventures? What are the lasting fruits of these exploits? What life deficiencies lend themselves to audacious self-promotion? Where's humility in the mix, does it matter any longer? When will the internet advance far enough to offer an "ego filter?" Where does self-promotion crossfade into spam?
(I would say that perhaps 1/3 of everything I see on twitter is essentially spam or noisy chatter with little signal. 1/3!!! Would you watch TV or listen to radio if 1/3 or more was noisy static?)
These are questions I have, more than any answers, or even my own conclusions. I'm trying to navigate these very waters. I transgress my own boundaries from time to time.
I have a degree of skepticism, maybe that's all I'm saying.
My instincts tell me: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly.
Meanwhile, there are few things as rich as promoting the talents of OTHERS -- using twitter, facebook, blogs, and actual face-to-face REAL social networks... to point to the creative excellence and genuine exploits of other people, and encourage their endeavors.
Just some thoughts for the mix.
Jan 27, 2010
Horses are Beautiful Creatures!
Yesterday I photographed some horses near Oregon, Wisconsin.
It was early afternoon, a cloudy winter day, which gave me a nice big softbox in the sky.
The only problem? It was c-c-c-cold! 20 degrees F. is not so bad but with the wind it probably felt like 0 degrees F. or lower.
These are such majestic animals, the way they move and hold themselves. It's wonderful to study these creatures with a camera.
It was early afternoon, a cloudy winter day, which gave me a nice big softbox in the sky.
The only problem? It was c-c-c-cold! 20 degrees F. is not so bad but with the wind it probably felt like 0 degrees F. or lower.
These are such majestic animals, the way they move and hold themselves. It's wonderful to study these creatures with a camera.
Jan 21, 2010
Between the River and the Sea
I'm participating in a group exhibit at the Pyle Center in Madison Wisconsin. The theme is Between the River and the Sea, and the exhibit will run from January 25 through February 28, 2010.
Here are 4 pieces I'm including in this show. If you're in or near Madison, please stop in and see these prints and several pieces from 10 other artists with a diversity of styles and media.
A big shout out to Bobbette Rose for her work on lining up this group exhibit.
Lastly, Makoto Fujimura, a New York based artist, will be in Madison for a few events in early February. I'll post more details soon but you can find some info on the Facebook event page.
Jan 4, 2010
Dec 5, 2009
Metaphor: Trees and Forest and Focus
I love the way photography offers metaphors for living. Here's one of them.
In photography, there are no trees. There is no forest. There is only depth of field.
(Definition: "depth of field" = how much of a photograph is in focus. Could be a lot, could be a little.)
So we need to focus. Not too near, not to far.
That's what I'm trying to do these days. Long-term thinking and planning, which is (permissively) imperative... while also getting today's highest priorities accomplished.
This tension can be difficult at the best of times. We have to make choices. We can't do it all, we can't focus on everything at once, near and far.
Long-term thinking tends to move us away from immediate priorities, as we ponder things like... what are my two biggest 5-year objectives and how do I get there? How will we fund our children's education? When will we retire? When will we spend several weeks in western China? How will I care for my parents over the next decade? You know, things which are real but don't relate to "today."
vs...
Is a bill due tomorrow (or yesterday), how can I be prepared for this afternoon's meeting, what surprise was just sprung on me, now's no time to get sick, do we need more milk? I need to exercise, I need enough sleep, and of course, "Ooh, shiny."
Most of our lives we are focused on immediate things, and occasionally if we happen to undertake such a discipline, we might also focus on longer-term planning, goals, objectives, and strategies.
Sometimes when meeting the insane demands of the current moment, we need lots of bokeh (bokeh : wikipedia). We regularly need to "throw" the longterm things (as beautiful as they might be) out of focus, off our radar, so we can efficiently accomplish the most important responsibilities of today and this week.
But if we continue to live this way, focusing only on the present (even if we get good at it, and some people are, damn them :) we may end up being controlled by circumstances rather than our dreams and goals.
On the other hand, if we focus only on the horizon's dreams and goals, we may live very rocky lives in the here and now, finding limited success at meeting today's responsibilities and tomorrow's obligations.
In photography, the amount of focus (depth of field) a photographer chooses is influenced by at least two things:
And daily life needs both. Sacrifice everything one for just the other, and we're in trouble. Maintaining both is hard, but it can be done.
That's all for today. :-)
In photography, there are no trees. There is no forest. There is only depth of field.
(Definition: "depth of field" = how much of a photograph is in focus. Could be a lot, could be a little.)
So we need to focus. Not too near, not to far.
That's what I'm trying to do these days. Long-term thinking and planning, which is (permissively) imperative... while also getting today's highest priorities accomplished.
This tension can be difficult at the best of times. We have to make choices. We can't do it all, we can't focus on everything at once, near and far.
Long-term thinking tends to move us away from immediate priorities, as we ponder things like... what are my two biggest 5-year objectives and how do I get there? How will we fund our children's education? When will we retire? When will we spend several weeks in western China? How will I care for my parents over the next decade? You know, things which are real but don't relate to "today."
vs...
Is a bill due tomorrow (or yesterday), how can I be prepared for this afternoon's meeting, what surprise was just sprung on me, now's no time to get sick, do we need more milk? I need to exercise, I need enough sleep, and of course, "Ooh, shiny."
Most of our lives we are focused on immediate things, and occasionally if we happen to undertake such a discipline, we might also focus on longer-term planning, goals, objectives, and strategies.
Sometimes when meeting the insane demands of the current moment, we need lots of bokeh (bokeh : wikipedia). We regularly need to "throw" the longterm things (as beautiful as they might be) out of focus, off our radar, so we can efficiently accomplish the most important responsibilities of today and this week.
But if we continue to live this way, focusing only on the present (even if we get good at it, and some people are, damn them :) we may end up being controlled by circumstances rather than our dreams and goals.
On the other hand, if we focus only on the horizon's dreams and goals, we may live very rocky lives in the here and now, finding limited success at meeting today's responsibilities and tomorrow's obligations.
In photography, the amount of focus (depth of field) a photographer chooses is influenced by at least two things:
- Subject (what the photographer is recording and what the image is about, on its own terms)
- Vision (what the photographer sees / interprets, and would like to communicate about the subject)
- The needs of today (trees)
- The dreams of tomorrow (forest)
And daily life needs both. Sacrifice everything one for just the other, and we're in trouble. Maintaining both is hard, but it can be done.
That's all for today. :-)
Nov 16, 2009
The Fantastic Mr. Fox Meets the Nikon D3
The "Fantastic Mr. Fox" stop motion movie, just released, was shot completely with the Nikon D3.
35 workstations; 5,229 shots; 621,450 frames; 120GB data per day (18.5TB total).
One lazy director (jk) supervising the whole thing from his remote couch in Paris. :)
Here's a short "making of the movie" video, on wired.com.
Anybody making a movie with your DSLR? :)
And how much time and money do you suppose they saved on camera costs compared to yesterday's stop-motion cameras that would have been used, plus film processing, plus editing? I'd love to see more behind-the-scenes about this movie.
P.S. I love that the movie characters have "real" voices, while one of the guys who talks about making the movie has a cartoon voice. :)
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