digital is not cheaper...

you want it for what? free?

while many people see the digital age of photography as the greatest thing since sliced bread, i on the other hand, as well as many of my other photography colleagues, think otherwise.

while there are indeed some great benefits to digital - faster turn around, greater retouching abilities and instant gratification - the flip side is at what cost does this convenience come with? i'm not just speaking dollars and cents. i'm also talking about the deterioration of the industry as a whole (which i'll address in another entry).

there are so many negative sides that i really don't know where to start...or where the end is. one of the biggest misconceptions is that because it's digital, it's cheaper.

let me say this loud and clear...DIGITAL IS NOT CHEAPER!!!

while there are no film and processing costs and digital media keeps getting cheaper and cheaper, people often forget that professional photographers need to upgrade their equipment a lot more often.

back in the film days, i used the same two camera bodies and five lenses for over 10 years. fast-foward to digital. in just over 5 years, i have upgraded my camera bodies twice and my computer twice. thankfully, i have been able to use the same lenses. my laptop, however, is due for an upgrade within the year. add to that the cost of software and upgrades. as you can imagine, this will all add up into the 5 digit zone. give me back those film and processing charges...at least clients were willing to pay for those!

as a result of this digital-is-cheaper mentality, people tend to want it for less...or worse yet, free. people seem to think that because there are no real tangible costs to copying or transmitting digital files that they shouldn't have to pay for them.

think again.

while there may not be any tangible costs involved, there is still intrinsic value within each digital file. after all, if someone wants to use it, then it should have value.

a colleague of mine sent me this youtube video, which led to me to write this blog entry. although he's talking about a video interview, i think screenwriter Harlan Ellison pretty much covers the notion of giving your stuff away and why people shouldn't expect it for free.


any questions?

on the road...part 3...

this is the third (and final) part of what i sometimes referred to to my friends as my 'midwest tour'. it had been four years since my last trip to the midwest, so i decided to take advantage of the work assignment by staying an extra week and see my friends that live in the area. another perk of traveling for work. if i didn't travel for work, i wouldn't get to see a lot of people that i know.

first stop, Dayton, OH. while Dayton isn't exactly a tourist hot spot (but my friend John sure likes to talk like it is), i like to visit Dayton because of that fact. little traffic, clean air and a sense of safety. of course, if John and his family didn't live there, i would never go there, but that's besides the point.

the highlight of Dayton isn't the Wright Museum, but playing with the kids. sorry John and Ellen, it's all about the kids. it's amazing how much they grow up in four years. the last time i was there, Matthew could barely talk and Brooke was still in a cradle. now Matthew is throwing spirals and Brooke is on her way to becoming the mini golf queen.

i elected to drive because it's cheaper and i get to see the different sights and small towns along the way. did you know that Mexico is located just a half mile off of highway 31 in Indiana?


hitting the road lets me see things that i wouldn't normally get to see. like the Point Betsie Lighthouse


or the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes


but the best part is hanging out with my friends. i even got to see an old friend that i haven't seen in over 15 years! she found me on facebook. so i got to meet her husband and two kids and explore the small town of Holland, Michigan. something i would have never thought of doing if she didn't live there.

the final stop of my midwest tour was Chicago. it has been over 10 years since i last went to Chicago. a few things have changed, but much is the same. the difference now is that i have a friend with local knowledge to show me around! nothing beats local knowledge. especially when it comes to local cuisine.

if you like vodka and you like spicy, you gotta try the Horseradish Vodka at the Russian Tea Time or any of their 50+ house flavored and premium vodkas. it packs a hell of a kick! or if you need a snack, Wow Bao should do the trick. this ain't your typical bao from sam woo's. spicy kung pao chicken, thai curry chicken or spicy mongolian beef are da bomb! and nothing beats a Bailey's and hot chocolate at the Signature Room Lounge located on the 95th floor high atop the Hancock building with it's breathtaking city view. sorry, i didn't bring my camera. shocking, i know.

this is a reflection of my friend (and tour guide extraordinaire) Wendy and I in the Cloud Gate sculpture aka: 'the Bean' designed by Anish Kapoor.


it's a very interesting sculpture. if you go underneath and look up at your reflection, it's difficult to figure out which one is you. unless you cheat, like i did, and use the flash on your camera, then you discover that there are more than 30 reflections of yourself!


while we were at Millenium Park checking out the Bean, i told Wendy i wanted to go check out the train station that i heard in the distance toward the lake. what i thought was a nearby train station turned out to be just the sounds of a train station blaring from a multitude of speakers mounted to the arches that criss-cross over the grassy field at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.


Wendy and i got a good laugh out of that.

so in addition to going to Raleigh, South Bend and Pittsburgh for work, i managed to see my friends in Dayton, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Holland (MI) and Chicago for fun. so even though traveling can be a pain the butt, sometimes it can also be a trip to remember. hopefully it won't be another four years for the next midwest tour.

happy travels!

on the road...part 2...

as i stated earlier, traveling for work is just that...work. for most people, when they hear i'm traveling for work, the first thing out of their mouth is usually "that's cool". i always wonder what they're thinking. do they think i'm on vacation and i get to go sightseeing and do all the touristy stuff? i hate to burst that bubble, but that is NOT the case. i have to work.

when i'm at home, i don't have to go to an 'office' and fight with traffic. woo hoo! i have the luxury of staying up late (2am) and sleeping in (9:30am). but on the road...and worse yet, on the east coast...i have to comply with other people's schedule and unfortunately for me, sleeping in is usually not an option.

with my body clock on the west coast, the first couple of days are usually the hardest. taking a red-eye flight usually works to my benefit. due to the limited amount of sleep i can get on the plane, i'm usually pretty tired the first night and tend to go to sleep early, usually by midnight EST/9pm PST. that's reeeally early for me! but it helps me get on east coast time faster.

but, as i alluded to in my last post, on the road, there are bonuses. while visiting tourist hot spots usually isn't part of the work day itinerary, that doesn't mean there isn't time to do a little sightseeing, even if it's only for a half hour. so whenever possible, i try to get out and see at least one cool place where i'm working.

at the University of Notre Dame, that one place was the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.


as a former architecture major, i was amazed by the details and the beauty of the interior. with it's Gothic Revival style, French stained glass windows (1870-1887) and murals by Italian painter Luigi Gregori, the Basilica is truly a sight to behold. these photos do not even come close to capturing the awe that one feels in the midst of such beauty.

whenever i go on the road, one of my rules is to eat at restaurants that i can't find in LA. regardless of how much you have to work, you still have to eat, so finding some place worthwhile is of the utmost importance. you don't want to waste a chance for a good meal at a mediocre place.

so where do you go to get advice on local restaurants? i find that the best source is the locals. in Pittsburgh, the trusty doorman at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel proved to be the right source. his recommendation? the Grand Concourse.


located in the old Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Train Station, the Grand Concourse features some of the finest steak, seafood and poultry dishes in the Pittsburgh area. with it's historic setting and romantic view of the Smithfield Street Bridge, the Monongahela River and downtown Pittsburgh, it's a great place to end the day with good food and good company.

if you haven't figured it out by now, one of the things i like to do is try new things. new food, new restaurants, new outings. even in LA, i have my favorite places, but a creature of habit i am not. if you ask me when the last time i went to them was? the answer won't be last week or even last month.

so while i got to try new restaurants on this trip, i also decided to try a new hotel - Hyatt Place.


while the Hyatt name is nothing new to the hotel industry, Hyatt Place is a new brand of stylish living. with a comfortable sitting area and a 42" plasma tv, the room was bigger than your average hotel room and felt a little more like home.

downstairs in the lobby, they have complimentary continental breakfast as well as ready made sandwiches and desserts and a 24 hour cafe where you can order food cooked to order from the menu. for a low maintenance guy like, me, it was perfect! i don't need a mint on my pillow, turn down service or a fancy restaurant. just give me a clean room and towels and linens that don't feel like sand paper and i'm a happy camper. =) and the best part is that they are reasonably priced!

the number of Hyatt Places is still growing, but i hope they catch on. i know for sure i'll be back.

on the road...

while traveling for work appears glamorous to those that don't do it, trust me, it is not all that it is cracked up to be. while i won't say it's a horrible thing either...there are some perks and silver linings (which i'll cover in my next post)...traveling for work is still just that - work. making travel arrangements, arriving early, security checks, picking up rental cars, checking in to your hotel and finding your work location can all be a challenge depending on who is on the other side of the counter. sometimes it's a breeze, other times you just wonder where the heck do they get these people from?

having done more than my fair share of traveling, i have seen a lot of the good and the bad and have learned to prepare myself for the worst. i'm not a pessimistic person, but being prepared for the worst is what makes traveling easier. at least for me it does. not only are you prepared for the worst, should it happen, but you place yourself in the mindset that you're prepared for anything and everything, which is a much better place to be in mentally than hoping for easy travels only to be disrupted by a flight delay or customer service agent in training. i've seen irate passengers scream at gate agents over a delayed flight. it's not the gate agents fault people. i've seen a passenger cry over a delayed flight. it's not the end of the world. stuff happens. be prepared.

i just got back from a 2.5 week trip that criss-crossed the country. i spent 18 nights in 9 cities and a MD-80 (red eye flight). the first half of the trip felt more like i should have been following the election, spending 8 nights in 6 cities and a plane. instead, i photographed my friend's family and then flew out of SFO to work as a lighting assistant on the college preview issue for sports illustrated. which, by the way, is on the newsstands now!

i was looking forward to the shoot because i got to work with Robert Beck, and his number one side kick Kohjirro Kinno (aka:Kojo). i owe a lot of where i am today to Beck. back when i was a punk kid freelancing for Volleyball Monthly, he helped me out, taught me a few important things, asked me to be his assistant a few times and introduced me to a few people that eventually led me to my Lighting Technician job at Sports Illustrated.

anyways, back to the shoot...had this been a normal cover shoot, i probably would not have been called to fly across the country. normally they would hire local assistants to help out on shoots. however, this was not a typical cover shoot. periodically, SI runs regional covers. for this particular issue, they were running six different covers that would run in 6 different regions. the cover in atlanta would be different than the cover in chicago which would be different than the one in los angeles.

for the covers, Beck shot one of the leading players from the men's and women's basketball teams at U Conn, U North Carolina, Pitt, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Arizona State. i worked on UNC, Notre Dame and Pitt. these are the covers that are being used...


because of the tight schedule, i was the one-man advance team. my job was to prep each location and ensure that the shoot ran smoothly. in addition to being the lighting assistant, i served as the equipment coordinator, location scout and prep person for UNC, ND and Pitt. i helped to arrange for the two sets of 15+ cases of lighting equipment to be shipped from Samy's Camera to UNC and Notre Dame.

i arrived a day early at each location to meet with the Sports Information Director (SID), arena personnel and to make sure all the equipment arrived and checked it all to make sure it was all working properly so that on the day of the shoot, there were no equipment surprises. i also took photos of the location and emailed them to Beck so he could see the location before he and Kojo arrived. i also had to make sure there was enough power available for the lighting equipment because you can't just run a power strip from one outlet to plug in 6 power packs. that would be too easy. instead, each power pack has to be on it's own circuit...otherwise, you'll likely blow a circuit and then you'd have two (or more) lights that wouldn't be working, not to mention a very perturbed photographer, an SID wondering if we knew what heck we were doing and two impatient student-athletes standing around in the dark while we scrambled around looking for two (or more) new outlets. needless to say, it may seem a small issue, but having enough power is pretty essential. most arenas are well equipped, but at one location we were put in the practice gym, which usually aren't as well equipped. this one happened to work out fine.

at UNC, i never saw the dynamic duo of Beck and Kojo as i had to leave for Indianapolis to pick up so more equipment at Robert's and drive it to Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana. after the Notre Dame shoot, i elected to drive the equipment to Pittsburgh rather than ship it to ensure that all the equipment arrived. it eliminated the shipping expense and the anxiety of wondering if it all would get there on time. if it didn't, we'd be screwed because the shoot was scheduled for saturday morning (but changed to the afternoon) and there would be no time to get replacement gear shipped in.

i didn't mind the driving so much. it wasn't all in one day (14 hours total) and i got to see the changing colors of fall in the midwest.


getting to see things outside of Southern California is one of the bonuses of traveling for work.

when i got to Pitt, the SID was surprised at the amount of gear i arrived with. not just because it was 15 cases, but that i was actually able to pack it all in my SUV rental. he, as well as most people, didn't realize how much equipment was needed for a cover shoot. sometimes it amazes me. but we bring what we need and then a little extra, just in case, because you never know what might happen. part of being prepared for the worst.

so why doesn't SI hire photographers who live near the location of the shoots? they could save so much money on travel and shipping expenses. the simple answer is for consistency. as you can see from the covers, they are all very similar. there may have been a little retouching done on the background to clean it up, but for the most part, the cover is the way Beck shot it. if you were to send a detailed lighting diagram, a sample image and hire six different photographers, you would still get six different photos of varying quality that would require more post production work to create a consistent looking cover.

the other obvious answer is that SI has the best sports photographers in the world and even though the price tag to ship equipment and fly everyone around the country may be high, the consistent result is worth the expense. using the same photographer, the same set-up means getting the shot right in the camera and ultimately very little post production work for the art department. quality is of the utmost importance. this is why SI is the best sports publication in the world.

if you want to see the covers bigger, click here to see a multimedia show.

or you can see them here in the SI vault.

be like water...

after some very serious introspection and soul searching, i have found that new direction that i alluded to in my last post. for those that know me really well, you know that my two passions in life are being creative and helping others. for over half of my life, i have taken pictures to quench my creativity and volunteered my time to many worthy causes to help those that are less fortunate.

but for the past few years, i seem to have lost that edge i used to have. the fire that once burned inside had dwindled to a mere flicker. like the pilot light on a gas stove. perhaps it had even burned out. maybe i was burnt out.

this past week, however, someone (or something) turned the knob to high. perhaps it was the ghost of Bruce Lee in the East West Players recent production of Be Like Water. A story of a 13 year old gung fu fanatic tomboy who is visited by the ghost of Bruce Lee and learns the true meaning of strength and water.

"Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."

many of my philosophies on life turned out to be the same as Bruce Lee's. as a kid, i loved watching his movies. Enter the Dragon, Fists of Fury...perhaps subconsciously his words stuck in my head. too bad his skills didn't magically manifest themselves in me as well.

somehow, Bruce always seems to make an appearance in my life as well. 13 years ago, i was on assignment in Athens, Greece and i was taking pictures of the local gypsy people near the harbor and one man came up to me and said i looked like Bruce Lee, and then he struck a martial arts pose.

earlier this year, i was in Japan on vacation and my friend and i were wandering the streets near chinatown in Yokohama and we came across a red roll-up door with a couple of portraits of Bruce Lee painted on it. well, i had to take a picture with my own martial arts pose. the Greek guy did a better pose than i did.

as you can see, it looks like Bruce is ready to knock my head off for having such bad form! ha ha!

after watching Be Like Water, and being very impressed by the production, it really made me think about what i was doing and where i was going. the past few years i have been trying to find a project that i could really get involved with. one that would combine both my passion for creativity and helping others.

that project has now become quite clear now...Hibakusha. Hibakusha is a Japanese term often used to describe the people who survived the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. the literal translation is "explosion-affected people". loosely translated, the term also refers to others outside of Japan who have also suffered from the fallout of atomic bomb testing and exposure to radiation.

the average age of Hibakusha in Japan is over 75 years old. as time marches on, many Hibakusha don't have much time left.

so i have made it my mission to photograph 65 (or more) Hibakusha from around the world and exhibit the prints in LA and Hiroshima in august, 2010 to mark the 65th anniversary of the bombings.

nobody really knows how many innocent lives were lost, but estimates place it at well over 200,000 while countless more lives were changed forever.

despite the atrocity of the bombings and the tragic losses, the threat of a nuclear war still looms. while North Korea has begun dismantling its nuclear reactors, other countries like the US, Russia and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons with the added fear that other nations like Iran are trying to develop their own. [May 2009 update: NK has resumed nuclear and missile testing]

so the ultimate goal is to not only have the the exhibit travel around the world, but to also publish a book to be sent to the leaders who possess the power to disarm. the book would not be one filled with too many words...let's face it, the world leaders probably won't take the time to read it. but instead, it will be filled with pictures of the survivors and each will be accompanied by a quote from the survivors.

the book will hopefully serve as a reminder of the horrors that a nuclear war can unleash. nuclear warheads today are far more powerful and destructive than the two that were dropped on Japan and no one should have to experience the pain and suffering that the Hibakusha have had to endure for the past 63 years.

i'm not exactly sure what lies ahead, but i will have a new perspective on the world and i predict it will be life altering, not just for me, but for many others. whatever difficulties i may encounter, surely it will be nothing compared to what the Hibakusha have endured. and if times get tough, i'll just have to ask, "What would Bruce say?" "Be like water."

friends, family and kids...

ok...it's been almost four weeks since my last post. my apologies to those that have this on RSS feed and think i fell off the face of the Earth! but i'm still here, just been a little pre-occupied with finding a new direction for my photography. with the economic slow down, photography is one of the first things that is cut from the creative budget. but that is part of my life as a photographer. while it's not always glamorous, i still think it beats working 9-5. =)

so this past weekend, i got to photograph my cousin, her husband and their one year old daughter. often times my family or friends will hire other photographers to shoot their wedding or family photos and they often tell me they don't want to bother me or they want me to enjoy myself at the wedding or something like that. to that i say, PHOOEY! not out loud, just in my head. and then i pray that they found someone good who didn't charge them an arm and a leg.

so for the record...since only my friends and family read this anyways...IT'S NOT WORK to me. =) in fact, it's FUN! even the time i photographed my friend's daughter for their christmas card and it took 8 hours to get 24 pictures on film (and we used the last one for the card *phew*). despite the fact that she was fussy, she had to take a nap, she had to eat, she went poop, etc...it was still fun. i got to hang out with my friends for 8 hours doing what i enjoy doing, taking pictures. on top of that, i know they'll get some nice photos at a reasonable price. how great is that?!?!?!

ok, back to my cousin...so after scouting out the perfect location, i go to their house so we can all drive together. well, sometimes all the planning in the world can go to waste by forgetting one small bag in the trunk of your car. the battery powered strobe head was in that bag but we carpooled in their car. well, there really wasn't anytime to go back for it, so i figure i'll just use my on camera flash (my back-up plan...always have a back-up) and battery pack.

when shooting kids, you never know what will happen. remember my friend's christmas card? well, this weekend, was the exact opposite. sometimes the stars line up and everything just works out. the beach was fairly empty. *phew* no photoshopping people out of the background. the light was perfect. and Liya didn't make a fuss once. not even a peep. she was the perfect angel.

the first shot i had planned in my head was a shot of them walking up and down the shore and getting their reflection in the receding water using available light.

check.

then, a closer shot.

check.

now that i have the two must have shots...now it's time to play and get a little more creative. so i let them just do their thing and just shoot them interacting together. as i walk around them, i see the light. the rim light that is. how beautiful it would be in black and white. so i shot it and after converting it to B&W, i decided to sepia tone it as well.

better than black and white...

after that shot, i backed up more and decided, as overdone as they may be, a silhouette might look cool. if you position yourself just right, when the sun is just peeking around your subject, you can get a nice starburst effect. =)

hee hee...now i'm giddy with the results.

by now, the sun is just about to set and usually i would have been setting up a sunset shot. but since i really don't like the look of an on-camera flash and i had forgotten the strobe in my trunk, we're not doing one. but at this point, i had plenty of shots for my cousin to choose from.

but the lighting has changed from the beginning of the shoot, so i decided to shoot a few more of them walking up and down the surf line. and as they walked away, Liya turned around, gave me a brief glance and that was the final set of photos.

sometimes kids just do the right thing at the right time.

and even though i set up my camera with a bracket and an on-camera flash, it turns out, it was just dead weight. mother nature provided all the light i needed. woo hoo! sometimes everything works out just fine, even if you forget the strobe in the trunk of your car.