August 2010 Archives

    The times they are a changin' in  photography and publishing.  Digital technology continues to revolutionize both businesses. Here's some recent milestones.

∞Kodak announced in June that the iconic film Kodachrome will no longer be manufactured, ending its 74 year run. The film dominated the film world, especially in magazines like National Geographic.

∞ High end digital cameras like the Canon 1D Mark IV continue to incorporate video, providing stunning  HD video owing to the very large image sensor. Video capabilities will only  improve

∞USC's Annenberg Digital Future
Study highlights, July 2010:
     •Only 22% of newspaper readers say they will miss print editions.  Just 56% rated newspapers as important sources of information
     • Americans spend an average of 19 hours per week online.
     •0% of users say they would pay to use Twitter
     •Looking at unprecedented levels of online communications, authors ask, "Have we reached the point at which users are going into 'online overload?'"

    Want to be a better photographer?  Make mistakes.  The best and maybe only way to really learn any skill is to practice, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, practice some more, make more mistakes, and on and on.  A fascinating book called How we Decide by Jonah Lehrer  explains how our decisions are made with a combination of feeling and reason.  The best in any field, from photographer to chess master, quarterback to radar operator, operate on an intuitive level based on emotions generated by something called dopamine neurons.  By endless practice and reviewing past errors, we all ingrain a native intelligence that bubbles up and points us in the right direction when we have to make quick decisions. 

    But it's not all a free ride on the emotions.  The keys are constant study and examination of our methods. So when we have an involved photo shoot, deciding all day how to light, where and how to position our subjects, how to position a reflector, when to joke and when to cajole....we're building up a bank of deep knowledge that allows us to make those decisions quickly and correctly the next time. 

    So never be afraid to experiment and make mistakes.  We have to goof-up to learn.