one of the most beneficial though least talked about skills that really shows a measure of a visually involved person is the ability to edit work. and by far the toughest part of that job is editing one’s own work.

this is not a skill that can easily be taught or absorbed but rather is refined over time. there are no hard and fast rules but you will notice guidelines and trends the more you do it. as your self editing skills are tied directly to the work you pursue you won’t see a rise in one without the other. and as you are the one producing and editing the work it is far too often a conflict of interests as your story, or more precisely, the story of the image is drawn into your conscience by merely seeing the work.

after i moved back to the states 10 years ago i had a bulk of slides to sort through but as much of my work was then unpublished my editing had no direction. it took me years to find a market that i felt passionate about and then learn what that field needed and didn’t have. the eye is a funny tool that definitely ages well with time.

this is another reason that i’m an advocate of keeping ALL your work around, personal and otherwise, as you never know when you’ll be reviewing old jobs and find that gem. i’ve done this numerous times and only miss the thousands of slides i jettisoned during that cross pacific move a decade ago.

in case you’re wondering what brought this thought about, i was reflecting on an image (below) that i have in the exposure section of outside magazine this month. though i truly am attracted to that moment in time it leaves me wondering about another ski image that is similar but has remained unlicensed. they both are winter shots, both feature at least one person skinning uphill, both are in stunning landscapes + both are even in canada. why is it that one is more marketable than the other? i have always considered the ‘lesser valued’ image (above) one of all time favorites. is it the work involved, the backstory that creates that personal bond? does that bond affect your editing? does photography require us to remain uninvolved with our subjects to portray them fairly?

if you ever get a chance to sit down with an accomplished pe let me know what they say.

it comes from everywhere and anywhere. the beauty (usually) is not knowing when it’s going to hit. having been on the road for the past two weeks i’ve really noticed it. maybe it’s stepping outside any schedule you have, or simply being in a new place or a combination of the two.

whatever it is, make it happen and replicate the catalyst it as often as possible.

having beers in pdx a 10 days ago with a friend from w+k he pulled out his pre iphone smarttool – it was refreshing to take in the blurbs, sketches and conceptuals all penciled out in the pocket moleskine notebook – love those things. since then i’ve been lucky to catch a few other inspirations and am excited about the ideas they have brought about.

one of the best was a chance encounter with mark van s. a talented brooklyn photographer himself he has recently become known as the brains behind digital photobooth. he’s put together an amazing idea and one of only a few i’ve seen that truly capitalize on the best parts of digital photography. for anyone that’s familiar with japanese purikura and the ‘photo booth’ craze that’s been there for years, this takes it to a whole new level. it’s a portable photo system that can be transported anywhere, doesn’t have a hard booth and not only spits out a perfectly lit print in less than 10 seconds but also projects a version onto as many screens as you’d like. i’ve always wondered about ways to shoot individual portraits for large events and this is phenomenal.

and people not only get it, they absolutely love it – they relax, have fun and don’t stop. mark even told me he’s turned down celebrity offers to purchase one of his units (there are seven right now). the inspiring thing was not only the ingenuity that he’s put into this work he obvious loves but from the very subjects themselves. the scope and variety of portrait ideas that people come up with is astounding. here’s my first of many attempts:

so whether it’s the farmer’s market, the latest stuff the dj’s spinning or the next place you’re heading keep the mind open and a camera ready. you can bet i’ll be doing that today at jfk.

This idea is out there all the time and particularly been on my mind lately. Apparently I’m not the only one as these recent ruminations elaborate.

The first from Jim Casper on lenscultureweblog on the cover image of French mag Enjeux. The prejudice and political nuances of the image seem misleading at best.

The second is slightly older but has a far better title. At photodoto.com – photographers are visual liars delves into the concept of advertising, using an images to sell something, as an example as well.

And lastly, Hollywood Makeovers, Frame by Frame an NPR report covering the film industry is completely compatible with still photography today. This is a great synapsis of how an industry and the public in general have become used to this ‘evolution’ of truth. The idea that “some stars now have digital coloring written into their contracts” doesn’t surprise me at all. In fact, I’ve had a similar clause relating to ICC profiles of delivered files in our Delivery Memos for a years.

To quote photographer Kyle Cassidy,

“Photography is about lies just as much as it is about the truth. We use photography to tell partial truths and thereby to create an imaginary reality. Sure models look like that, but they look like that for 1/125th of a second, and sometimes after two hours of makeup. Sure the landscape looks like that, but only if you stand in a particular place. Sure she was floating three feet in the air, but not for a terribly long time.
In a world where truth can be so discouraging, we all like to be lied to a little about the way that things could be.”

In the end, this job/passion/art/drive to photograph is in it’s simplest form a means of translation. Just the way that high level political interpreters may slightly shift tenses & conjugations to better reflect the most minute inflections of a leaders intentions, it is our job to translate the world as it is, or as we see it, or as clients would like to portray it to an authentic two dimensional representation.

Perhaps my concept of translation is skewed due to a travel and language background but I’ve always felt this conviction. What’s the Czech proverb – learn a new language get a new soul. And it’s gaining prominence, even in the current Lowepro catalog as long time color man Eric Meola is quoted as,

“I found myself transfixed by those eyes. My own eyes became the translator, my way into other worlds; it was if I no longer held a camera in front of me. For the first time I couldn’t remember having made certain photographs, because I hadn’t made them. They had made themselves.”

As a location photographer, I think the best thing one can do is bring back 1/125th of the truth ….. and run with it.

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.

The creators at Airtight Interactive, in case you were wondering, do great simple designs for showcasing images. Their SimpleViewer is a standard at our studio and works perfectly in Lightroom.