As I posted last week, today has been recognized as Blog Action Day as a single day to comment & question issues regarding the environment and all things green. In the spirit of the day I’ll share a few ideas for working within a less destructive (non-destructive?) paradigm, after all that’s how we work with images.
One of the most exciting ways we’ve incorporated green concepts into the business is via carbon offsets. Not only can you do this for electricity and power consumption at your studio but we are now making it an option for all our clients. It’s simple, just include a line item for carbon offsets.
Traveling often and often long distances got me thinking about what I could do to turn this around. It’s ironic that making a living as a location shooter one travels frequently to reach those locations and by doing so contributes to a growing problem.
You can add this line item in any of a number of ways – (1) purely for travel expenses based on the specific job requirements or (2) for a percentage of your yearly energy use based on number of days on project. The sites below offer a variety of services and methods for computing figures and getting involved:
be green now
carbon counter
terrapass
climate friendly
target neutral
Aside from carbon offset here’s a handful other colorful actions you can take to join the fray:
rechargeable batteries – check out this great discussion on the one and only Strobist.com
recycle ink cartridges – free service via nearly every major manufacturer out there
recycle ipods & phones – apple’s quick & easy system for handheld gadgets
One Percent for the Planet – a look at one option for businesses that’s growing in popularity
Central Asia Institute – if you haven’t read Montana resident Greg Mortenson’s book ‘Three Cups of Tea‘ there’s never been a more appropriate time
onehundredthings – a comprehensive look at what the creative fields can do including not going to meetings
Design Can Change – a non-commercial initiative out of smashLAB design in Vancouver, BC
Here’s another look into the future of image presentation – interactive, multi-level platform done as a 3D Flash site called TiltViewer. It was built using Away3D a branch of Papervision and only works via Flickr images for this round. It’s a very simply, intuitive interface that holds hope for future searches and presentations. In this example and you can flip any image over to get the photographer info. Can’t wait to see round two.