The Betrayal with the Reward - Part III (Final)

What if we all got together and started a photography blog?

As if I needed one more blog to manage or be a part of.  Here's the rub:  This one will benefit not only the readers, but also the users.  Different, right?  Well, in my mind it is.  With every photo that's posted, we're going to do our best to describe what it is we did to achieve it.  For instance, for those that are photography-savy or just want to learn, we're going to tell you what we did to the camera's settings prior to taking the picture and after.  (i.e, f-stop, shutter speed, ISO settings, flash usage, etc.)  We'll also tell you what camera gear we used and what we did in the editing room post-shot with Photoshop, Lightroom, or other editing programs.  In the end, we'll not only be educating our readers and dazzling them with what we hope are only great photos, but learning ourselves about the different ways we all shoot things and edit them afterwards.  I'll be the first to admit, there's not one photo out there from me that hasn't been in some way altered by my 3rd wife, which still remains to this day, Photoshop.  It's become as natural as getting in the car, putting on your safety belt and driving.  You take the photo; edit it in Photoshop;  done.  It's the way of things.  And then a few days later, you look back on it and think crap, I should'a done that instead.  Damn you, hindsight.   Reminds me of something Leonardo da Vinci said, and this is not a joke:


"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen."

This is true for so many things besides photography and art.  I don't have a man-crush on Leonardo da Vinci, but when someone says exactly what you're thinking, but you can't express it in words, you tend to remember it.  Like you won't forget that one time when you came walking out of the bathroom with toilet paper hitchhiking on your heel.  And then your co-worker said, Um...dude...

There.  Write it down.  Copy and paste it to your forehead.  Tune in next week for another episode of Jonathon's Stolen Catchphrases.  I'm going global with this.  

Don't say you weren't warned about my tangents.  I do this.  A lot.  


Re-routing...


If we don't do this with every photo, don't come chasing us with baseball bats and the I told you so fingers, please.  We will do our best with the details based largely on all of our schedules. 

Details are still forthcoming, but I'm trying to get several of photographers I know involved in this.  The site will launch January 1st, 2011.  We will try and post as frequently as possible to keep it fresh, hopefully around 2-3 times per week, maybe more, depending on how big our author-base grows. 


More to come.

The Betrayal with the Reward - Part II

...I'm pretty sure Coke came out my nose at one point.  And that wasn't too far from the truth.  

It's not that I'm not familiar with commissions.  Because I am.  Relatively.  Maybe not as much as my buddy Matt, but close enough.  I've done all sorts of projects for people.  Some of which have been a lot of fun and some, well, not so much.  When I tell people what it is that I do, they usually follow that up with hey, could you make me a (insert your desired goofy project here) comment.  I was once asked,  

hey!  You know that Photoshop program!?  Okay, this is what I want you to do...take this picture, see me in it there?

Uh-huh.  

I want you to take away some weight on my body, remove all my wrinkles, and change the color of my shirt!  Can you do that??  

Why?

Because it would be great! 

Oh, so you want to look like one of those Cosmo cover models that are so digitally painted on the magazine cover that if their Smashbox makeup kit saw them in the mirror, even it would freak?  Um...no.  Scram.  I didn't say that, but I really wanted to.  I got off on a tangent.  I do that sometimes.  Bear with me.  

My point is that I'm used to commissions in all shapes and sizes.  Like, this one time...oh crap.  I'm doing it again.  Nevermind.  

But this wasn't a commission.  This was something bigger.  Three childrens books.  Thuureee.  300-350 drawings.  I want this project.  I need this project.   So, I started writing a letter...

Dear Photoshop,
I know you and I have been close over the years and all, but sadly, I have to go away for a while and have an affair with Illustrator for a -

No, I didn't actually start writing a letter, 'cause that would've been stupid.  But I did reply to the initial email and the progression bloomed from there.  This was back in October.  On December 14th, I signed the contract and fully committed to the project.  I can't reveal much more about the books themselves other than that.  The first book is tentatively scheduled to be on the market sometime next Spring.  Having said all that, special thanks to Kallie for giving me this opportunity!  

Now, I'm going to switch gears, turn around, and back up the truck to about a week ago.  And you thought we were moving forward...ppffff.  Nope.  But I have good reason.  Stay with me.  I have to keep my 3.8 readers a day coming back for something, right?
  
I have a few friends that are awesome photographers.  'Bout 3 or 4 to be exact.  I don't include myself as one, because I don't think of myself as one...yet.  But I learn from them and they learn from me.  We're symbiotic that way.  But not in a Venom meets Spidey kind of way.  Anyway, a week ago, I asked this question to myself:

What if we all got together and started a photography blog?

To be continued...tomorrow.  Again.