so i spent a few years living in japan + time between + after that traveling around se asia shooting + taking in the asian culture i had until then only read about. college provided me with a fantastic worldview particularly of that region of the world + i spent countless hours working on projects related to the hmong + other ethnic groups. so by the time i was able to pound the pavement i had a voracious hunger to see things for myself.

when one is living abroad vs simply passing through everything tends to change. i came to adopt a mindset that i feel has served me well to this day. in a nutshell, that is to live as those around you live – barter if bartering is necessary, eat what is served, indulge in a few fresh insects, a dip in the river, a kind ride across town. it always amazes me how people can show up in a land they are unfamiliar with + proceed with the mindset they live with back home.

i spent a month + a half in lao pdr (please don’t rush) as i enjoyed the slow pace + had always wanted to visit. the economy wasn’t exactly booming at the time (mid-late 90′s) + the country doesn’t have a surplus of resources. i mean how many lao restaurants do you see popping up anywhere today even? i remember going into the bank to exchange us dollars + coming out literally with a plastic bag full of bills.

as you can imagine food, lodging, etc were all on a much different economic scale then what we in many places are used to. the key was/is to recognize this + adapt. simply because a serving of sticky rice was going for $1 doesn’t mean it was necessarily cheap. if you think in terms of your old life back ‘home’ then that might be the case but in lao you were getting ripped off. paying this amount works against you, other visitors + the economy in general i’d argue but spiraling things upward artificially.

what does all this have to do with anything you might be asking about now. reading about money + photographers lately left me thinking that it works the same way. when small businesses or individuals come up against larger clients offering good work many people have a tendency to stick with their current mindset. an offer for $50,000 comes in + we think that’s a lot of money. don’t get me wrong, it is. but to be successful in any business i believe that you need to take your client (or anyone for that matter) into mind – what are they expecting, what do they need + what are they used to? this pertains to money as much as it does bottled water. if your working for one of the world’s largest brands + they spend $2 million a pop on ad placement alone, not the campaign, then you have a very valuable skill set to offer + $50,000 isn’t an outrageous number.

don’t knock yourself down. believe in the value you create. put yourself in other positions to more clearly see where you stand.

and if you’re ever in lao, then take a good bag to carry all your money in…

stealing this straight outta the APA playbook but a solid one page take on the latest + greatest from everyone’s photo hero over at aphotoeditor. rob haggart busts out a slew of material along with a great interview with suzanne sease covering the spectrum of pricing in today’s market. nice to see photographers laying out examples +

… are you?

we’ve all been there – down, questioning ourselves, directionless – wondering if this is the right path. put that in the context that exists today that (in the words of a long time visual media industry veteran in the bay area i recently spoke with put our industry around a 4 out of 10) + things can seem rough.

regardless, though, of how crazy things may appear i doubt any of us are anywhere near making the $75 million commitment that clifbar founder + owner gary erickson has. believe in yourself, hold fast to what’s important, maintain your integrity + in the words of seth godin be a laser.

great quick read as frog design‘s director of product strategy, adam richardson interviews erickson on maintaining vision + values. use your strengths to turn the tables. don’t feel like you need to give in to the the rules of a larger field. more on this via innovator malcolm gladwell in the new yorker. together these two pieces provide a great picture of what it takes to not only stay in business but keep your creativity alive.

in my ongoing series TEN we’re highlighting steps that any location photographer can easily incorporate into their business to green things up a bit. specifically we’re looking at recycling – from batteries to the material laden computers we all spend too much time in front of. i’m a tech guy as much as the next customer but with the amount of equipment needed in this industry today we need to be responsible about what we’re doing with it when it’s time has come.

1: one of the first things i do after computer gear goes downhill is to incorporate it into shoots if possible. this image is one of a billion possibilities.

2: if you are done with the stuff think about turning it over to a local charity or school as oftentimes they’re in need of machines(check out freegeek). just because it doesn’t function up to our standards of heavy image lifting doesn’t make it useless by any means.

3: if that doesn’t do it for you then definitely recycle the machinery. companies like apple, epson + canon will make it easy on you. and you can always hit up third parties like flipswap as well.

4: don’t print so much. at least set up a b+w setting for all the paperwork.

5: if you do find yourself spitting out the pulp products, use services such as greenprint that allow you to drop pages or cut out what you don’t need prior to inking it.

6: this is a big one for me but carbon credits ( who doesn’t want to recycle our air!?!?). sure it’s not a perfect system but it’s in place and better than nothing. i’ve talked about this before here and am working it into my workflow for all clients (merrell, cosmo, 24 hour fitness…). see terrapass for more and if you’re a business then keep an eye out as i’ll have an in-depth update on this soon.

7: aside from computers, your cell phones can easily be processed via any number of companies including flipswap mentioned above.

8: ink cartridges can be sent in via prepaid shipping bags as well from places like best buy, etc.

9: work the old school water cooler rather than all the bottled stuff.

10: when was the last time you walked to your studio? rode a bike? skateboarded? busted out the roller skates or the stilts?

and not to let you off easy by thinking it’s all about after-the-fact feel good actions try thinking ahead maybe using refurbished machines, your locations + even grants available.