Some Bye Bye 2009 Lists

Some off-the-top-of-my-head favorites for the year that was 2009.

5 Worthwhile 'Best of 2009' Photo Edit Posts From Well-Known News Sources
Best News Photos (boston.com)
Wall Street Journal
Time Magazine
National Geographic Traveler
Reuters

15 Bands I Listened To A Lot In 2009 (not necessarily from 2009)
The XX(Young Turks)
Grizzly Bear (Warp)
Animal Collective(Domino)
Visqueen(Local 638)
GIVE Seattle (www.giveseattle.org)
[...the rest of the music list and lots more lists after the jump. click the 'continue reading' link below for more good lists...]
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(music continued...)

Kings Of Leon(Sony)
The Cave Singers(Matador)
Cold War Kids(Downtown)
Mad Rad (Out For Stardom)
Head Like A Kite(Mush)
Blue Scholars(Self)
Common Market(Self)
Hey Marseilles (Self)
SantiGold(Downtown)
White Lies(Polydor UK)
Bon Iver (Jagjagwar)

5 Popular Posts From ChaseJarvis.com in 2009
The Best Camera: iPhone App + Book + Community
Shake Your Tree Today
Deconstruct This Photo
What Are You Going To Shoot Today?
Chase Jarvis TECH: Strobed Photo Sequences
$100,000 in 140 Seconds: the Nikon Festival

2 Posts That Made Great Waves From Some Other Photo Friends
Zack Arias "Transform"
Jeremy Cowart "Help-Portrait"

1 Great Photo Exhibition I Wished I'd Seen When I Was in NYC Last Week
Robert Frank Looking In. The Met NYC.



5 Non-Photo Blogs That Always Did Me Right in 2009
PSFK
Daring Fireball
Wooster Collective
Seth Godin
Neatorama

And I could go on forever, but I'll spare you. You've got some stuff to add to these lists, I know you do. Or better yet have other lists to share? Tell us all in the comments. Happy 2009. Bring it on, 2010.

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Create. Share. Sustain.

We used to require permission from others to put our work into the world with any sort of scale. That permission came in the form of getting hired to shoot a news story, a magazine feature, or an advertising campaign. "They" sat up in fancy corner offices and if you were good...no, scratch that, good AND lucky...'they' would say 'yes' and then you'd be permitted to share your work with the world.

Not any more.

It's the first time in the history of the world that you can share your work with any sort of scale--whether that's a photograph, a video, a story, or whatever you're making--without anyone's permission. What are you waiting for? Spend your own time and your own money. And hit post, publish, share, send, or whatever makes the software push it out into the world.

Create. Share. Sustain.

No, seriously, what are you waiting for?...[click the 'continue reading' link below]
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Why is this important? Because I think that making stuff over and over is the key creativity. And especially the key to creativity to the next era of media. And especially for creatives. Don't be fooled. It's painfully simple. The road may be a long one, but it's certainly not complicated:

Create. Make something. A photograph, a video, a poem, a piece of software.

Share. Send your thing out into the world. Post it to your Facebook, your blog. Tweet it. (And still share it with your mom).

Sustain. Start out by waiting tables. Or keep your day job. Or sell your spouse's socks on ebay. Or do something out of the genre of what you want to do until you can afford not to do it. Or do all of these so that you can keep creating and sharing without requiring "permission" from anyone.*

And repeat. Create. Share. Sustain. Repeat.

And soon enough, if you so desire, and if you listen to yourself and your network--your creating and your sharing will become your sustenance. Whether it's via Kevin Kelly's 1000 true fans, or whether it's some new adaptation of your vision, you will have the ability to sustain yourself in connection with a sea of like minded people.

Never mind the man in the corner office.


[If you give a rip, the first time I formulated this create-share-sustain into any sort of a cohesive thought was here:
Video: Consequences of Creativity and the ADCD. I've preached it a billion times since then, but written the words here on the blog, curiously, until now.]
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Chase Jarvis FRAMES: 21,112 Party Pictures

Typically, the end of each year marks a time for celebration.

In that spirit, each autumn our studio has an anniversary party where we celebrate with our clients, business friends and co-collaborators. It's an eclectic mix of about 600 people, from graffiti artists, restaurateurs, musicians, ad execs, city officials and the whole spectrum in between. Everyone lets their hair down and unwinds with the mission of having a darn good time.

This year's event was no exception, however something rather exceptional DID happen.

For a bit of childish fun, we set up a photo booth using state-of-the-art camera and lighting equipment and captured 21,112 photographs in under 5 hours. That's more than 1.5 images every second--the camera shot almost continuously for the duration of the party. That's gotta be some sort of bizarre record or something... The resulting "movie" of those photographs tells a pretty funny tale. Please indulge me here in a little bit of goofing... If you're not hip to some intermittent debauchery, some tomfoolery, and the occasional PG-13 flasher, don't watch this. If you're lighthearted and have been there before, watch and enjoy. And stick with it. Just when you think it's on repeat, somebody ups the ante... [click 'continue reading' link below]

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Huge thanks to everyone for celebrating with and and especially to the bands that played our party:

The Presidents of the United States of America
Head Like A Kite
Hey Marseilles

Links above take you to their iTunes pages. Already looking forward to next year's shindig. Also thanks to Cantinetta, Pyramid Beer, 42 Below Vodka, Molly Moon's Ice Cream, Jones Soda, Small Lot Co-op Wines, Mark Naficy, Stuart Hallerman at Avast! and everyone else who helped pull off the evening.

For those techie types, this kind of firepower is only made possible with the Nikon D3, Broncolor Scoro A4s lighting, and SanDisk Extreme Pro 32G card. Check out my gear page if you're interested. Huge thanks to those folks as well.

Have a great weekend.

[And if you're interested in embedding this video, feel free. You can get the Youtube window to format vertically by changing the height to 740 and width to 480 (or anything on that proportion.)]

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Chase Jarvis TECH: Underwater Camera

I'm going to the bottom of a pool and I'm taking my Nikon D3 with me.

If you're curious about taking your dSLR underwater, I assure you it's safer and easier than you might think. In this vid, I lightheartedly kick off a new series of pictures (a fun and growing project) AND I show you the gear we use to get it done.

Bloody Marys optional. Watch the vid, details after the jump... [click the 'continue reading' link below]
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Some hurdles and how to jump em:

1. Can't get my camera wet: GET A HOUSING
I have an underwater housing for my Nikon D3/D3s/D3x made by AquaTech. It rocks. They're a tad pricey, but worth it if you're doing any underwater work on a regular basis. Here'a B&H link to my AquaTech rig - different lens covers are optional. And Remember if you can't afford to buy, but want to play around consider renting them from local camera shops like Glazers.

2. Don't have a pool. CRASH YOUR NEIGHBORS
I don't have a pool either, but I have some friends that do. Erin and Norman were gracious hosts - all I had to do was ask (and bring the BBQ fixins). Obviously, most lakes and oceans are free for you to swim in as well...

3. Don't have scuba gear. JUST SNORKEL OR RENT GEAR.
I don't own scuba gear, but I rented the whole tank setup for around $50 bucks.

4. don't have a subject: FIND ONE.
Surfer buddies are good. Belly floppers are good too. Canine friends would be interesting. Big fish in a pinch.

4. Don't know how to make a bloody mary. FOLLOW THIS RECIPE.
Get yourself some 42 Below vodka. Good stuff. Some tasty tomato juice or organic bloody mary mix, in a pinch, some Mr.T's. Dash of tobasco. And for those who think the drink is complete, think again. Here's the secret ingredients that my grandma taught me (I swear): tablespoon or two of dill pickle juice. Celery salt and pepper. Generous squeezing of lemon and/or lime. Pickled asparagus spear. And put some chunky salt on the rim if you can swing it, ala margarita style. Olives are gross and should be left out (and banished from the earth).

Hope this helps you enjoy some underwater shooting. Happy Friday - have a great weekend. Special thanks to Head Like a Kite for the music behind this track. Check them here on iTunes.
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Chase Jarvis RAW: Nikon Festival BTS

Meet the stars of my Nikon Festival video: Joshua Roman (cellist), Saba Mohajerjasbi (Sabzi playing the Beat Gorilla), and Ellie Sandstrom (choregrapher/performer), and check out how we made my 140-second film in just a day and a half.

Reminder: there's still 6 days for YOU to enter your 140 second film into the Nikon Festival and let yours truly--along with Rainn Wilson (from 'The Office') and Justine Ezarik (iJustine) decide if your vid should capture the $100,000 cash prize. I'd love to see your entry when submission period ends and my judging begins at midnight on December 15th.

For more deets visit www.nikonfestival.com, the festival's Facebook page. To stay tuned in, you can also follow the festival on Twitter via @nikonfestival.
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What Are You Going To Shoot Today?

Get out from behind the computer and shoot something you've been dying to shoot today. It's easier that you've lead yourself to believe, it costs less than you think, and is more fun than you remember.

In fact, tell us all in the comments below what you're going to shoot today or tomorrow or this weekend. Don't be worried that someone's gonna copy you, because it won't happen. If you're doing it right nobody CAN copy you.

I'll tell you right now, in 10 minutes I'm going to begin shooting a music video and some stills today for Head Like A Kite.

But what are you going to do? Who's got the huevos to tell us all? (Trust me this is for you, not somebody else. Just engaging your brain and writing the words is half the battle.)

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Introducing GIVESEATTLE.ORG

The holidays are a time for cheer, but they're also a time for giving. As such I've joined forces with some friends here in Seattle to help bring you GIVESEATTLE.ORG.

GIVESEATTLE.ORG is simple: we've compiled more than 30 amazing tracks from some of Seattle's best bands/musicians and wrapped it into one compilation that is downloadable for just $7. And 100% of the money goes directly to support Arts Corps and Seattle Area Food Banks. (Yes you read that correctly 100% goes to those in need).

Please download this amazing compilation NOW at www.giveseattle.org. And also important: Please tell your friends. This music is not to be missed.

To promote this unique form of holiday giving online, a handful of us are making music videos. We're aiming to...[click 'continue reading' link below]
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...make these in one take, or close to it, with zero budget. These creative restraints are resulting in some really simple, beautiful concepts. This is the first one, featuring the band Fences, directed by Brad Curran over at CityArts. (Separately, you may recall us featuring Fences as part of our SFEAD project too...beautiful stuff).

We'll release one video each week or so throughout the holidays. I'll be posting them all here. I hope you enjoy.

The list of partners who have come together to create this is too long to mention here, but please check them out here on the GiveSeattle.orgpage. Happy holidays and please give your $7 in exchange for some great new music.
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Stop Worrying About Your Business Cards

In case you're still more worried about your business cards and your website than your photography, Leila Courey, Art Buyer at Leo Burnett will set you straight:

I don’t mind if photographers want to bling out their promos for extra attention as long as the quality of the work goes along with it. What I don’t dig, is photographers spending what looks like a ton of money on business cards, expensive promos or portfolios meanwhile they really need to spend more time crafting their work.


When an artist is more established, or has been off the radar for a while, I can understand wanting to brand/re brand themselves to let it be known that they’re still available for assignment but even still, this won’t sway me. It’s all about the work.

Now that we're clear on that, get out from behind the computer and go shoot something. [click the 'continue reading' link below]
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[Via the awesome Heather Morton Art Buyer. Collage above was a rebranding study by Michael Clinard.

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Anarchy and The Value Of A Photograph

Fabien Breuvart pulled off what I would call a lovely stunt great piece of performance art last week in Paris. He and a half dozen accomplices scrounged up several giant garbage bags full of anonymous vintage photos and--in a fit of anarchy--dumped these thousands of photos into a huge pile in front of the VIP entrance of the posh Paris Photo 2009 gala underway at the Louvre.

Inside the event, some of the worlds most valued photographs were aiming to fetch $60,000, but thanks to Breuvart, the international art crowd seemed more attuned to pile of vintage photography amidst cries of "free photos!" out front...seemingly a choice to stay outside to collect, even cherish, free and unusual images that had "no value", rather than sip champagne and salivate over art whose value was chosen by others.

Is it tomfoolery or a breath of fresh air to see culturally-literate adults scavenging for pictures on their hands and knees as if they were kids and the pinata had just exploded at a birthday party. Is this a story about a stunt, about the power of photography, the maligned "value" of what the art market assigns to be worth our attention?

Video of the anarchists in action after the jump...[click the 'continue reading' link below]
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(Note: the vid is in French, but that doesn't keep you from understanding the "event" perfectly. You clearly get the sense that it's there's a disconnect present between value and no value, whos who and anonymity, the posh and the streets.)

[via the lovely blog Lens Culture.]



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We're on A Rocketship

"The good thing about being young is that we are not experienced enough to know we cannot possibly do the things we are doing." - Gene Brown

How dope is this? I hope I'm not alone in thinking how amazing it is that there's a cross section of our culture that's getting to make stuff like this in public high school film & media classes. (Note: this was probably inspired by an earlier lipdub vid from some college students...)

On a daily basis I feel lucky to be in the middle of what I'd call a typhoon of media democratization, opportunity, and creativity. But give these teens in Mr. Mitchell's 4th period class (at nearby Shorecrest High School) a couple of years and some more technology, and they're gonna bottle up this current typhoon and eat it for an after-school snack. And I freakin' love it.

I'm totally inspired and optimistic for the future of creativity. And I think you should be too. (Or at least dancing with these kids from Shorecrest.)
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Gift Idea: VisionMongers

"I hate cameras. They interfere, they’re always in the way. I wish I could just work with my eyes alone."
-Richard Avedon

I had some sushi this week with David DuChemin, author of the new book VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography. David's a great guy--and one of the few photography authors writing today--that actually gets it. It's not about gear or gimmick or guise. It's about vision. Developing it and putting it to use. If you're looking to do some in-front-of-the-television "black friday" shopping for that photographer in your life (ahem, yourself) this would be an excellent investment of your $29. (Amazon VisionMongerslink.)

Anybody already got a copy and care to share a review of VisionMongers or David's other book, Within the Frame, below? [click 'continue reading' link below...]
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[Hey, FWIW, I just got a tweet from David's @pixelatedimage account that told me his ebooks are on sale today only for 50% off. Errr, that's $2.50. Pretty wicked pricetag electronic books bearing such titles as: Ten Ways to Improve Your Craft and None of Them Involves Buying Gear. You can buy his ebooks at www.CraftandVision.com]
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Thanks and Giving

Thanks and Giving. For USA readers, today is a holiday where we're encouraged to take pause and give thanks for all the wonderful people, health, things, and moments in our lives. For the international readers, I'd encourage you to join in.

I'll start with the THANKS. Most every year, I find that what I'm thankful for boils down to health, family, and community.

Health. I'm thankful that I have had mine for almost every moment of 2009. Traveling and working as much as I do can often take its toll on health, but it rarely does mine. I believe that creating a life for yourself that you want to be living means a lot toward personal health. I'm also thankful for whatever gene I got from my parents or luck I've continually received on that front. So thankful.

Family again played a gigantor role for me in 2009. My wife Kate is my superhero, my inspiration, and my best friend. I'd be swimming in circles without her. Dexter, our giant cat who thinks he's a dog, continues to show me how to love unconditionally. My Dad stared down cancer and... [click 'continue reading' link below]
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...kicked its ass this year and my mom celebrated her 11th year of being cancer free. They both somehow laugh more each year and keep getting younger despite adding a few more wrinkles. I was humbled again by the warmth and unwavering generosity of my in-laws, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my brother and sister in law for co-creating my first, one and only nephew. He's both a lover and a little tank at the same time ;) A great reminder of how every new life is so precious. I'm again thankful to my aunts and uncles and grandma with whom I grew yet again closer. I wasn't around as much for them this year, but in true form they were always there for me. Our extended family continues to inspire, and they remind me so eloquently--and seemingly without effort--of what that word 'family' really means.

Community. In 2009, 'community' was a constant reminder of what made my life rich beyond my dreams. When I say community, I mean my friends, my co-workers, my co-collaborators, my neighbors, and most definitely YOU. The staff at CJinc brings the love, the passion, the hard work and the dedication to the table everyday, not just Monday thru Friday. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and inspiration. YOU, the photography, art, design, and popular culture community that exists here, on other blogs and virtual salons, gives so much value to the world. Especially as the web somehow more and more viscerally connects translates/maps back into the "real" world. This is a wonderful thing to celebrate. YOU are a wonderful thing that I celebrate and I'm thankful beyond words.

I've said it before, but it must be said again today: Within the thousands of comments posted and the millions of visits each year, I draw a ton of strength. I laugh inside when you thank me for this post or that, because in my brain I'm so thankful for your words, your support, your visits, your comments, your ideas, your links to this site, and every ounce of your energy that is spent on your daily visit here. You are the guts and, in many ways, the driver of this pile of words and videos and pictures. I'm thankful. To the max.

Now the GIVING portion. Giving back should be a core component in everyone's life. Sometimes we're better and sometimes we're worse at giving back, but the action should always be a part of both your moment and your horizon. It's easy to give back at a distance, but this year, between now and then end of 2009, try giving back in the trenches. Hand someone a wool hat on the street, give your old camera to a student in need, get involved with Help-Portrait, Blue Earth, Youth in Focus, your local 826, the Red Cross, or some other grassroots-dependent organization that requires you to do something rather than just write a check or click 'submit'. You'll feel better and the world will get more of what you have to give: the experience of YOU, not just your tax write off.

Lastly. If you feel so inclined, share with us in the comments section below some things YOU'RE thankful for. Anything sincere. I'll select a handful of comments at my discretion, I'll track you down, and I'll send you a signed book, or an iPhone app or something else.

Thank you. I mean it. Have a great holiday weekend. And don't forget: "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward

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No One Wants Ordinary Photographers Anymore

"No one want ordinary photographers anymore. No one wants regular photographers. They want someone that can bring some kind of special lens or special expertise to the conversation."

"You have convictions, you have ideas. They may not be perfect, but just get them out there. Give them a shot."

Want to make a living in commercial photography? The above quotes are my adaptions from some brilliant strategic minds within advertising. While I was watching this video, it occurred to me that nearly every sound bite applies equally to photographers and photography, as it does "planners", the subject of this video. Simply substitute the word "photographer" for "planner" and you'll see what I mean.

Yes the video--and the forthcoming video series over at PSFK--talks about "planners" (a position within an advertising agency that creates strategies which subsequently drives an agency's creative pursuits), but if I were you, I'd tune in to what they're saying. Because it applies to everyone in commercial art. No in advertising one wants anything ordinary anymore, whether you're a photographer, a director, a planner, or hell, even a client.

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Shooting Lights

Not Shooting Lights as in photographing with strobes, but as in a new SFEAD track from The Blakes.

If you hang around these parts online, you know all there is to know about my Songs For Eating and Drinking project with my buddy Hebb. No frills, world class music, good vibes. Stills, video, audio. Here's another exclusive performance from one of those evenings this summer. Take a break from pressing your face against your camera and enjoy.

If you like this vibe, you'll find 4 new tracks over at the SFEAD site, as well as an archive of one-of-a-kind performances by musicians from Pearl Jam, the Dandy Warhols, Blue Scholars, and many others.

Happy music Friday. Have a great weekend.

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Other related posts here:
[The Blakes: Ramshackle Hearse]
[Brand New Songs For Eating and Drinking]
[Chase Jarvis RAW: [not] Getting to Portland]
[Songs For Eating and Drinking on the Boob Tube]
[Songs For Eating and Drinking #2.0 - Hip Hop]
[SFEAD: Arthur & Yu]
[New Project: Songs for Eating and Drinking...Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam]

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Purists Beware

I just recently overheard a self-described "purist" photographer ranting on about how we're all cheaters and that the photographic masters before us lacked our current luxury--even desire--to "customize" (read: manipulate/photoshop) images. It was "...all about the the composition, a beautiful subject, and a properly exposed picture".

I call horse-pucky.

Above: Avedon's instructions to his printer.

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[Via Monoscope.]

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My "Trade Secrets"

[Update: just got an email from Zeke at Trade Secret Cards. He wanted me to let you know he's already sold about 25% of his inventory in just 3 weeks. He's hoping to have unloaded the 5000 number by the end of the year... Let me put some of that money back into the photo industry... He's also posted a YouTube clip of a photo tip I gave him from the interview here.]

I love it when people--especially members of this community--take ideas and run with them. This one is no exception...

A couple months ago, I was approached by blog reader and founder of a company called Trade Secret Cards, Zeke Kamm. He had a business proposition: He'd come to Seattle, pick my brain about various different pictures in my portfolio and then he'd put together a pack of 22 glossy, high-end cards that illustrate "how to" re-create each picture. Soup to nuts. Diagrams, equipment used, what I was thinking, etc. He sells 'em and gives us cut.

We agreed to his proposal and for about $20 you can--starting today--buy these illustrative card packs here at www.tradesecretcards.com or at national photo retailers like Midwest Photo. Cool idea on Zeke's part - 100% his thingie.

And, fwiw, what's with our 10%? I'm giving it away. Here's the fun twist. I'm putting 100% of our cut back into the photo community. Zeke has printed 5,000 sets of cards. They go for roughly $20 each. So if my math is correct, we'll give every dime of $10,000 bucks back into photo community if Zeke sells all his cards.

How shall I put this money back into the community? You tell me. I'm all ears. Let's not put the cart before the horse, of course, we've got to help Zeke sell these cards, but I'd love to get your ideas in the comments below about how you'd like to see the money spent back into the community. My 10% is actually your 10%.

Another card example and link to other cards after the jump. Click the 'continue reading' link below.

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And lastly, if you like the Trade Secrets concept, Zeke has also done a set with my good friend David over at the Strobist community. Buy those too, also available at the Trade Secret Card site.

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Help-Portrait Is A Good Thing

I wrote about Jeremy Cowart's great idea for a collective "give back" holiday project earlier. Behind the scenes, Jeremy and a handful of fellow photogs have been doing some legwork. There's now a Help-Portrait site with more information and inspiration. We're all planning to help. Please consider getting involved. Tell us below that you plan on it too, and then begin to organize your efforts and/or efforts in your area now.

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Podcastius Maximus

I've had the good fortune of being invited to join distinguished hosts on a handful of photo industry podcasts recently. Here are a few links if you might be interested in hearing us yap. Many thanks to the gracious podcasters below.

Photo Focus
Listen to the podcast here.

This Week In Photography (TWIP)
Listen to the Podcast here.

Typical Shutterbug
Listen to the podcast here.

Camera Dojo
Listen to the Podcast here.

MACiLife/KZYK Radio
Listen to the podcast here.

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Chase Jarvis TECH: Strobed Photo Sequences

Of all the behind the scenes stuff we've showed in recent vids, the one techie thing that far-and-away led to the most questions from readers was the part in this video where I'm photographing X Games uber-skiers Simon Dumont, Colby James West, TJ Shiller, Peter Olenick, and Nick Heine in New Zealand using strobes at 8 frames per second. That's right, all that stuff for the SanDisk campaign you remember reading about earlier. Rail slides and 100 foot airs. 8 frames per second. Strobed.

I know why you had questions.

To be honest, I too didn't think it was possible to shoot any pack at 8 fps for 40 or so frames straight, covering more than 100 feet of distance without frying something or something whimpering out. ...Which is why I tested the concept a number of ways before the shoot. The above video briefly chronicles those tests, the actual shoot, and the cool results.

More images, 2 lighting diagrams, a full gear list, and a couple more tech points after the jump...[click the 'continue reading' link below]

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Using this idea, we got results like this:



From the diagram below, you'll see that we've got one Broncolor Scoro A4s pack run off a Honda 3k generator. I've moved the heads so they're each front-lighting the rider. My VALs (voice activated light-stands...ie humans! - thx McNally for that term...) are in place and are pointing the Broncolor Unilite heads with Par reflectors at the subject (sorta like shooting a machine gun). The first of the two heads picks up the rider from takeoff to about mid-flight. The second head picks up the riders from about midway thru flight to landing, some 100 feet down the hill.



The other lighting diagram I sketched (below) outlines similar stuff to the one above. We've again got the Broncolor Scoro A4s pack, two heads with VALs, but this time we're running one of my time-tested "sandwich" techniques... a light on each side of the subject. Here, it's Simon.



And that gave me results like this:



Unreal, eh? We actually had to remove about 8 frames during the making of this composite since there was so much overlap...

For you techie's, here's a gear list:
Nikon D3
Nikkor 14-24mm lens
Nikkor 24-70mm lens
Broncolor Scoro A4s pack
Broncolor Unilite heads
Broncolor Par Reflector
SanDisk Extreme Pro card 32GB
Pocket Wizards
Aperture (to process)
Photoshop (to make layered file)
Honda 3.0k generator

Here's a link to B&H if you want to buy stuff.

What to do if this sort of equipment is outta your budget? Try renting stuff. Experiment. Use some of that birthday money from your mom and teach yourself how to use this stuff. And here's a secret: try pickup after 3 on Friday. Rent for Saturday. Most places are closed on Sunday, return gear Monday. 3 days for the price of 1. Don't tell them I told you.

And some tech details:
_Camera set to its maximum sync at 250th of a second (fastest base sync speed for camera)
_Camera set to its highest frame rate - this case 8fps
_Camera on a tripod (for ease in compositing frames later in post production...)
_Broncolor pack output scaled to about 60% or less of full power to keep up with 8fps. Your results must vary. But you should know this is an absolutely incredible statistic. A 3200 watt-second pack at 60% (roughly 2000 w/s) at 8fps for 40 frames or more until my camera buffer was filled.
_Remember from this vid, and the vid I did last friday it's the super short flash duration that's really stopping the action - not the shutter.
_For more on the shutter/flash duration thing, check out the kissing cousin to this vid here, the Chase Jarvis TECH: High Speed Photography vid.
_We're using Photoshop to create the layered file...shooting on a tripod, laying each frame of the jump on top of the other and masking away the unwanted parts of each frame to reveal just the rider on the background...

Lastly, hope this has been informative. I hadn't intended to do a video on this, but there were so many questions about it--plus I truly didn't think this was possible--so I just had to put something together. Lemme know what you think.
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Best Business Practices For Photographers, by John Harrington

If chapter titles like...

_Working with Reps, Assistants, Employees, and Contractors: The Pitfalls and Benefits, or
_Transitioning to Freelance, or
_Licensing Your Work, or
_Setting Your Photographer’s Fees, or
_Releases: Model, Property, and Others

..don't get you to buy this book, perhaps my assessment of the book will:

I think Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition is essential reading for anyone even thinking about licensing an image, starting a business in photography, or dreaming of taking their photo game "pro".

Long time photographer, author, and blogger John Harrington today delivers his 2nd edition of this book in epic detail. The thought of creating this book makes my head explode because it's so loaded with details, facts, and examples. It's dry reading - but a lot of this stuff mission critical, or at least sets the stage for your understanding. John is a vocal advocate of photographer's rights. And while things in our industry are on the move, John's got a smart, conservative, and worthwhile voice for dotting your business i's and crossing your business t's. We should be thankful that he's done the work to assemble a strong reference guide. Consider thanking him and informing yourself by spending the $23 on Best Business Practices for Photographers, Second Edition right now.

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Happy Friday: Some New Music + Fresh Visuals

If you're a regular here, you'll know exactly want I mean when I say please enjoy some new SFEAD vids here on this lovely Friday, skip the next paragraph and head straight to the music.

If you've not been around for a while then you should know I'm passionate about music. And you'll want to know (or be reminded) that SFEAD stands for Song For Eating And Drinking, a project I created with my pal Michael Hebb, where we invite world class musicians to a huge dinner table in a remarkable setting, we feed them well, we encourage them to sing songs to one another, and then we record these songs--video, stills, and audio--to share them with you and the rest of the world online. It's about music, art, food and new media. See the most intimate side of some of your favorite musicians from huge bands like Pearl Jam and The Dandy Warhols and discover new music from emerging bands like Head Like a Kite, Blue Scholars, The Dutchess & The Duke and dozens more.

These tracks are from a recent SFEAD evening... above is from emerging artist the Pica Beats. Catch my stills from the recent evening, visit the SFEAD site, or after the jump catch 3 videos...Steve Turner from Mudhoney, John Roderick from The Long Winters, and Peter Holmstrom from The Dandy Warhols playing his side project Pete International Airport with Jason Adams [click the 'continue reading' link below...]








Related Posts:
[Brand New Songs For Eating and Drinking!]
[Songs for Eating and Drinking on the Boob Tube]
[Songs for Eating and Drinking #2.0 - Hip Hop]
[Songs for Eating and Drinking - Arthur & Yu]
[Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Songs For Eating And Drinking]
[The official Songs for Eating and Drinking site]
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Unlocked iPhone 3Gs Goes to Dan Marshall

In the 5 short days it's been public, thousands and thousands of images have been shot, edited and uploaded with our new iPhone app, Best Camera. Watching the images roll by on the visualizer on the phone and the site have evaporated hours of my life, and made it better. Some really impressive imagery.

Of the those thousands of images, I'm awarding Dan Marshall the fully unlocked iPhone 3Gs for this lovely image of a little girl. I tend to like more abstract stuff with the iPhone, but perhaps that's why I'm attracted to this shot. It's different from my usual and there's a great story within this image. Seems that you all liked this image as well...it's seen thousands of views and has nearly 100 thumbs ups...so our tastes are somewhat in line here. I get the feeling it could be a snapshot, a fine art piece at Yossi Milo, or the anchor to a bigtime ad campaign. Wonderfully transcendent. Consider checking out Dan's photographer page of images uploaded with Best Camera in just a handful of days. Looks like he's been using just the 3G, so now he's got himself the suped-up 3Gs. Congrats Dan.

Check out other images voted "popular" by the community here.

We now return you to your regular programming. Dan, ping me offline to get your phone.

Shoot. Edit Share.
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Chase Jarvis RAW: Freeskier Action NZ

[Update: reposted the above vid in a refreshed post here since I had new work from the campaign to show and since SanDisk just made an announcement. But do check out the crew vid below - takes a village to make something like this come together....]

As promised, we've dug out from all the data and our primary function of actually shooting this SanDisk campaign enough to show you an initial look of the actual work. These video clips aren't deliverables for us, but rather they're cool, quick and dirty behind-the-scenes clips highlighting the scenarios from which our still image deliverables will come. Although the finals stills won't be selected for weeks--when we get back to the ranch and work that out with the client, AD's, etc--this stuff here should give you a wicked sneak peek, and we'll be sure to post some obvious outtake stills when we get another tiny breath in our schedule.

Given that one of your biggest questions is always "how do you get access to work with particular talent, whether it's a fashion model, a celebrity, or--in this case--a world class skier or snowboarder?", I thought I'd rope in my good friend Christopher Jerard to help introduce this clip. Why? Because the short answer is that models come from a variety of sources. Sometimes we work with modeling agencies--we like a look or a vibe, and we book 'em. Celebrity stuff often comes via assignment and thru a lot of publicist and media/client back and forth. But HERE, I've reached out to Jerard -- he runs both Freeskier and Snowboard Magazines. Christopher has been our liaison to the snowsports superstars: Simon Dumont, Peter Olenick, Colby West, TJ Shiller, and JP Auclair. Watch them in action in the above video, then learn more about them and the rest of our awesome crew for the SanDisk job in the video below: Chase Jarvis RAW: NZ Crew. That's right, two RAW vids in one post. A two'fer if you will....

First, big Ups to my homies from Common Market for the music in the action vid above- they always crush it. Check them out here on iTunes.

And lastly, before diving into the crew vid: in response to all the inquiries pouring in via Facebook and Twitter, the video dSLR that we're using to pull most of this together is indeed the new Nikon D300s, shooting 720 HD video, complete with the 'auxiliary audio in' that we've been asking for...(and we're using this Rode Stereo Video Mic). We are fully digging this setup. Here's the B&H link for all y'all to oogle.



Thanks again to SanDisk for letting us share all this stuff. Mad props.
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Related posts:
[Behind The Curtain: Guts of a Commercial Shoot Video]
[Video Report From the Heliworks Barn]
[Video: Packing Quick 'n' Dirty]
[Chase Jarvis RAW: NZ Basecamp]
[UPDATED behind-the-scenes snapshot gallery]

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Quick Video Report From NZ

Here we are, already more than half way through our job here. Great stuff today, again working with some of the best skiers and snowboarders in the world. This little recap vid, shot at 9pm last night--just before heading back to the villa for some data wrangling--shows me pretty darn tired, but still kicking. I'm on camera with my friend Chris Jerard from Freeskier and Snowboard magazines. Chris is our subject matter expert and snowsports industry liaison.

I feel like we're finally dialing in our separate and additional workflow for sharing this stuff amidst all the other priorities we're balancing. So that should mean that we'll be able to roll some serious outtakes and a wave of more videos here tonight and tomorrow and the next day.

Planning to bust out a quick vid that answers a bunch of the questions you've been sending my way, so now's a good chance to shout 'em out if you have some--via comments or twitter, per usual.

If you can't see the vid, take a peek here at the vid link on my Facebook Fan page. For those requesting more youtube -- that's coming soon, I promise.
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Behind The Curtain: The Guts Of A Commercial Shoot

Whew. If you've tuned in at all in the past few days, you're aware of what I've got cooking. To my knowledge this is one of the first (perhaps THE first?) global, multi-week-long, play-by-play commercial shoot to have its behind-the-scenes life chronicled and broadcast almost in real time via blog, Facebook, and Twitter. This will be the deepest look into the black box of photography that I've been able to share to date. By a country mile.

So two things coming at ya here in this post. One, the overview of what I'm doing. Two, the why I think its cool.

First, the overview:
1. I'm working on the south island of New Zealand--and it's winter down here in the southern hemisphere.

2. The campaign I'm shooting is for SanDisk, the company that invented flash memory and is the maker of most of our industry's memory cards.

3. The subject matter is skiing and snowboarding. Some helicopter access, some terrain park, some half pipe.

4. The athletes I'm working with are some of the best in the world. Guys like X-Games gold medalists Simon Dumont and TJ Schiller. Epic.

5. My contractual deliverables for the project are quite specific, but you know me - I'm shooting a ton of formats. Everything from the Nikons and the Hassie's to video to the iPhone, so you'll see all sorts.

6. Since daylight is short in winter, since there are often weather holds, and since we're here for a couple weeks, I'm really making an effort to paint the largest picture possible. I'll dive into the creative process, art direction, interviews with the crew and talent, a little gear talk, hell, even production details that normally give me the willies to think about.

7. As I said in my quick intro vid a couple days ago- the content I'll push your way will be largely unpolished. It's a choice I've been forced to make between putting out polished behind the scenes stuff or putting out volumes of behind the scenes stuff. I chose the latter based on feedback from lots of you from this community. The video you see above is the most polished thing I'll put out. And we only had the chance to do that because today was day 1 of shooting and the weather crapped out on us.

8. There may be things you think are sucky or boring. But everything I'll post will be relevant to questions I've received or things I'm passionate about. It won't be candy coated, but I tend to have an overtly positive attitude, sometimes to a fault. I won't brood or linger when stuff goes sideways, but content will run the gamut of our experiences here in the trenches.

9. I want this to be as interactive as possible. For it to be a collective success, please send in your questions, comments, ideas. I'll do my best.

So that's the what I'm doing. The why I think this sort of thing is cool is after the jump... [Click the 'continue reading' link below...]


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Now the why I think this is cool. Generally I think it's cool because it represents a shift in several things:

1. The technology to be able to do this wasn't ripe until just recently. Now, that technology is right at our fingertips. Let's use it.

2. Taking on such an endeavor is a substantial workload add-on to the normal campaign effort - which tends to be all encompassing as it is. Posting images, videos and words while on breaks and/or in the evening after really long days can be rough when you're so deeply immersed in the primary task at had - making great pictures for a client who is paying real bucks. My crew is so effing hard working and wants to do more for the community; and SanDisk actually gets it - that sharing is cool. Those two things are sorta game changers.

3. Today almost everything in high-end advertising still lives under the tightest of wraps until well after the campaign has come out - or even longer - like forever. No one gets to share, disclose, or discuss much of anything, really. Historically speaking--for a myriad of reasons, some legit, others flimsy, spurious, and unjustly fear based--nobody wanted to be first in shedding light on the gritty details of how stuff really got done...the "making of the sausage" if you will. Regardless of the industry. But this--and other things like it--are signs that times are changing. Sure 90% of the commercial work that we pros do is still kept under wraps. And of the 10% that's even remotely "transparent", there are still many elements of those gigs that are kept under strict confidence and non-disclosure. But I love that its all evolving.

Lastly, like a woodworker loves a mortise and tenon joint, or a biochemist loves the cells in a rat's liver, I love what I do, in case you can't tell... and I hope you enjoy following along.

Mucho content on the way.
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Jeremy Cowart: Help-Portrait

Public Service Announcement. I meant to get this up last week, but was buried. Great idea pulled together by fellow photog, Jeremy Cowart, that he ran with first over at Scott Kelby's blog and then followed at Help-Portrait.com.

We don't need to know the details here, but if you are planning to help, say so here. It will inspire others to do the same. I plan to help. Will you?
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Coffee and Donuts With Scobleizer and Friends

[UPDATE: I dunno why Facebook has relegated me to this still image here above, when it's really a video. In many cases, when we've posted a video that's been flooded with traffic, they've stopped serving the video to ease up on their servers. In any case, I'm not sure what's going on, but if you click 'continue reading' below, you will get to see the vid...]

Posted this to Facebook yesterday, but thought it should go here too... Photography lover/tech guru Robert Scoble and I decided to get together during his visit to Seattle for an early morning wander with our cameras last Friday. We both dropped a quick tweet to see if anybody wanted to join us. Results? Met some great people from as far away as Michigan, Portland, and Vancouver.

As a followup, I'm creating another free photo community meetup--this time providing pro gear, models and location, kinda like this but a little different--on the evening of Monday, August 31. Space will be limited and you'll need to follow me on Twitter to get a slot/find out details.

My fav couple of images that last Friday's photo walkers posted to my Facebook site, plus a prize, after the jump.

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Link to my fav submitted image (because I haven't got permission to post it here and it's 5am right now...)by Katie Ford here. Lots of personality to this portrait she snapped. I heard thru the grapevine that Katie likes wine, so for her effort I'll kick over a de-lish bottle of Brunello that I carted all the way back from Italy myself.

Link to my second fav image from Friday, this one by Bruce Hemingway, here. Love the dreamy and abstract feeling of this one. Nice job, Bruce.
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Painting with Light, Hip Hop Edition

Alright. This is just plain cooler than cool. All y'all have seen photography's "painting with light", the technique where you leave the shutter on your camera open for a long time, use a light and drag it around in the frame, and get some cool stuff, writing, shapes, etc. But what do you get when you fuse this technique with one of hip hop culture's oldest pastimes? You get HALO, the brain-child of Parisian artist, Aissa Logerot. From Logerot's site:

"Halo is a handy light-writing tool, preserving the techniques and gestures that graffiti artists use with spray cans. It is possible to change the color and the brightness of the led to change the graffiti’s styles. If the light doesn’t have enough battery, users simply have to shake it to have energy again."

In case you're having the same ideas I had, I've already been in contact with him about getting a production model and he was kind enough to respond immediately: "Chase...Unfortunately, by now, Halo is not produced yet. I am currently in contact with some companies and manufacturers which are interested to develop and produce it. If the product will be industrialized, I will inform you about the distribution."

Well, congrats on HALO, Aissa. I think it's cooler than hell and I hope it gets "industrialized". I get dizzy just thinking of all the possibilities.

[more sweet photos and some links after the jump...]
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the prototype:








[via my homies from Mad Rad at their site Out For Stardom. Crush it guys!]
[check out Mad Rad's stellar performance at an earlier edition of our S.F.E.A.D. project.]
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Morning of the Shoot: A Quick Video Tour

You asked for more behind the scenes stuff, so I'm doing my best to deliver. This quick, very recent vid is from the morning of a shoot for a global ad campaign. Contracts and lawyers make it so I can't show any details, but I thought there's plenty to take away from the general buzz that's going on. Sort of fun. I know this is super lo-fi, but we're all crazy busy, so you're getting the one-take non edit. Hope you enjoy. I'll do my best to answer questions below. I won't get to anything on Saturday since it's my birthday, but I'll get to them tonight and Sunday/Monday as best I can, so ask away.

As an aside, this vid went up earlier on my Facebook Fan page. I keep content moving around to a handful of channels based on a variety of factors (ease, production value, timing, etc), so if being in the know sooner (sometimes days, sometimes weeks) is of interest to you, I recommend tuning into some or all the channels you frequent most.

Become a Fan on Facebook.
Follow Me on Twitter.
Subscribe to this blog via RSS.
Subscribe to this blog via email.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Subscribe to my iTunes podcast.

Have a great weekend.
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Priced To Sell: Gladwell vs. Anderson Considering Photography

About 18 months ago, I wrote about Chris Anderson's 'Free' in the context of the ever-evolving landscape of photography, video, and their relation to new media. In today's New Yorker Magazine, Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point,Blink,and Outliers,) offers some cogent analysis and great counterpoints to Anderson's claims that are well worth the read:

"...And there’s plenty of other information out there that has chosen to run in the opposite direction from Free. The Times gives away its content on its Web site. But the Wall Street Journal has found that more than a million subscribers are quite happy to pay for the privilege of reading online. Broadcast television—the original practitioner of Free—is struggling. But premium cable, with its stiff monthly charges for specialty content, is doing just fine. Apple may soon make more money selling iPhone downloads (ideas) than it does from the iPhone itself (stuff). The company could one day give away the iPhone to boost downloads; it could give away the downloads to boost iPhone sales; or it could continue to do what it does now, and charge for both. Who knows? The only iron law here is the one too obvious to write a book about, which is that the digital age has so transformed the ways in which things are made and sold that there are no iron laws."

Counter to some predictions, photography and video are are not bound to 'Free'. I'm in agreement with Anderson that 'Free' is most certainly carving out its space--even reasonably so--in every digitally based industry, but I'm in complete alignment with Gladwell that the two markets 'Free' and 'Not Free' can and will continue to co-exist reasonably nicely. The trick is/will be in...[click the 'continue reading' link below]

--
...finding the balance. I find this to be the case in my own personal preferences, both in regards to how I obtain digital content as a user, as well as my life as a content creator and distributor.

Suffice it to say, this article is an essential read if you're at all interested in the intersection of art + new media. Get it here (for free ;) at the New Yorker: Priced to Sell, Is Free the Future?

Update...Featured Comment: I thought this comment by Craig Swanson of CreativeTechs was particularly smart and did a nice job of bridging the gap between Gladwell and Anderson. As such I'm featuring it here. I'd also say you could sub my name out of his thoughts and insert any independent artist who has taken a similar path...be it you or any other photographer on this march...

I've spent the weekend listening to the abridged audiobook of Chris Anderson's FREE. Which I (of course) downloaded for free as digital MP3 files. I think there is a tremendously important, and frequently missed point in the concept of "Free" as a business model tactic in today's digital economy.

In Chapter 3, Chris Anderson compares the results of abundance vs. scarcity in the prices of digital items in today's information industries.

I can't easily find the specific quote in the audiobook (which is one reason I've already ordered and paid for the printed edition), but Anderson compares the prices of digital commodities that are racing towards "Free" with other digital products such as Microsoft's Windows, or Adobe's Photoshop which have held their prices even while the marginal cost of manufacturing individual copies has dropped to nearly nothing.

The difference being that, for the moment, Microsoft and Adobe have maintained a level of monopoly with their products. If you want "Photoshop" there is only one company who makes it (Leaving out piracy and theft for the moment).

The question becomes where you and your creative work falls.

Today, we've seen the great abundance and availability of stock photography reducing the value and revenue from individual stock collections. Based on results, I think it is fair to note that generic stock image libraries are among the digital products already on a steady march towards "Free".

Meanwhile, the value of time and creativity from certain specific photographers (like you Chase) have increased greatly over that same period. While photography as a whole is quite abundant (abundant digital items are racing towards "Free" status), the availability of, for example, "Chase Jarvis" is quite scarce these days. (Scarce items maintain and even increase their value).

So I think this has a lot to do with how we manage our careers and art in the future. To maintain our value we must become our own monopoly. Become a "generic" photographer, designer, copywriter, or in my case Mac IT tech, and watch your market value drop as the world shifts.

Become a monopoly of one, and watch your value grow. I may be able to hire a generic photographer at a wide range of prices (including free in some cases). But if I want to hire Chase Jarvis, there is a single person who controls the price and availability of that particular monopoly.

It isn't easy. It isn't even fair. But it is the world we're living in.

[Thanks @mcbill for the tip! Gladwell image by C. Davidson/Hastac; Anderson image by Joebeone.]

Fake Photojournalism Wins

Two French students were awarded the annual Grand Prix du Photoreportage Etudiant last week to honor a photographic story that presented images documenting the precarious lives of students today and the things they must do in order to survive and succeed.

The only catch is that the entire story was a fake.

And during the award ceremony, the two "winners"--Guillaume Chauvin and Remi Huberr, art students at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs of Strasbourg--instead of claiming their trophy and prize money, stood on stage and revealed their hoax. The images were not photojournalism but staged images featuring many of their peers. I'd have love to been a fly on the wall in that auditorium. Ouch.

From Horses Think blog:

The winners claimed that the idea was hatched a year ago when they looked at all the work students were competing with for the 2008 prize. They realized that the “world view of this work was limited and seemed more like vacation photographs as opposed to photojournalism. The photographs depicted small children with big wet eyes in order to illustrate the misery abroad.” Speaking to Le Figaro, Guillaume Chauvin confided that they “wanted to enter the contest in order to show the codes used too often in photojournalism and to prove that something real could be translated into something staged.”

Is this genius? Is this mocking an industry that can't tell true plight from a staged...[click the 'continue reading' link below]
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set of pictures? What have they done?

I think what they've done is not to make brilliant photojournalism, but to make brilliant art. There was certainly a significant price to be paid for that art, or perhaps many prices: the reputation of the award, the reputation of the judges, even their own reputations perhaps--and only time will tell--but they've surely made some brilliant statements about the nature of such imagery, called into question the cliched nature of the traditional canons recognizing that work, and made us all pause, even if just for a moment, to consider what photojournalism really is. By blending genres (PJ + perhaps advertising photography?) and creating staged images that were stunning enough to win a Grand Prize (hard work in it's own right), I'd argue that they've achieved their end goal. And they've done so in an incredibly creative way. Subversive and meta.

It sure worked on me. I dunno about you, but if I hired artists for a living, I'd want those guys' brains and talents on my team. Of course they might stab you in the back in the name of art, but they're clearly good at finding a point and making it clearly.

Genius or just plain disrespectful in an arena that has no room for shenanigans?

[If you read French, follow this link to view the story as told by Le Figaro and as the "win" appeared in Paris Match.]
[All this via Horses Think, via Conscientious. Thanks guys.]

Irrelevant Award-Chasers

Jeff Goodby, pilot of the mighty Goodby, Silverstein & Partners advertising agency has rightly said of the advertising industry:

"We've created a system that rewards work that is increasingly unknown to anyone outside the business. We have become connoisseurs of esoterica. And in the process, we're becoming more about us, and less about changing the world. We are becoming irrelevant award-chasers. Sure, some of the best things we make nowadays are internet experiences with necessarily specific, limited audiences -- that cab driver might not be expected to see them. But for the ones I'm talking about, the only intended audience is, well, us..."

Having just judged the Art Directors Club of Denver's annual award show with some bigtime judges, even one from Goodby (winners announced September 25), I've seen this first hand. It came up. And when I went to vote for best in show, I couldn't throw my vote around lightly. It was ultimately a vote away from the obscure reference and toward a more inclusive, understandable message without ignoring the cultural cost of such a decision. Like 'less is more', clarity often finds the win in any situation, regardless of niche, metaphysics, or content of the message.

The rest of the Ad Age article...[Click the 'continue reading' link below}
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can be found here.