Dr. Krist, you’re needed in the O.R., stat!
Wow, what a trip Senegal is! Incredible place but tough on docs and patients using the less-than-ideal infrastructure. Take the above photo for instance. My friend Dr. Al Ruenes and…
A One-Man, Video-Shootin’, Senegalese Band
I’m off to Senegal to shoot a short documentary on the volunteer work of my friend Dr. Al Ruenes. Al is a urologist who regularly visits Senegal to teach new techniques to surgeons from all over Africa, and while he’s there, does a whole slew of pro bono procedures for Senegalese patients.
Also coming is renowned plein air artist Bob Beck. He’s going to make paintings of the trip, I’m going to make the short video, and when we get back, we’re going to try to use this stuff to raise money for an operating theater Al hopes to fund in Dakar.
Originally, my son Brian was coming along to do the video duties, and I was just doing stills and audio. But then, young Brian had to go and get a great new gig as an associate producer for a new series at Discovery Channel and couldn’t get the time off.
(Oh sure, let a little thing like a major career move get in the way of a trip with the old man….sheesh, these kids!)
So it’s up to me to do my one-man band routine.
I’m only mildly panicked, as I’ve spent a lot of the summer studying up, shooting a lot of video to try to get my chops somewhat up to snuff. Even at that, I’ve got a long way to go as a videographer, but I’m ready as I’ll ever be by tonight, anyway!
And just like in my still shooting, I’ve been researching and finding the smallest, most reasonably-priced stuff that will do the job right.
So it’s going to be a little quiet on the blog for the rest of the month. And comment moderation could be very slow, so if you post a comment and it doesn’t show up for a while, it is nothing more nefarious than a bad or non-existent internet connection in my location!
For a look at the gear I’ll be bringing on this one man band gig, hit the jump. (more…)
Meet Joe Photographer: The TSA’s Silhouetted Symbol of a Terrorist
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ay Carumba! As if photographers didn't already have enough problems with overzealous police officers and security guards drunk with power harassing us in public places? Now we've got the…
Hands on impressions of the Nikon Coolpix P7000
I had the opportunity, a few months ago, to work with prototypes of the newly-announced Coolpix P7000 on an assignment in the Southwest US. It was for Nikon’s ad agency in Japan. The P7000 is a fully-featured compact that would be the perfect backup/stealth/walkaround camera for a travel photographer.
This is not a review. So, if you are looking for MTF charts, camera-to-camera comparisons, and all the stuff a full-blown review offers, stop reading now, please.
It is, as the headline clearly states, my impressions of the machine. On these gigs, I’m handed a camera or a lens and I have a limited time to make as interesting a set of pictures as I can, not do side-by-side comparisons. So, tech heads, please forgive me in advance:-).
When I got the call, my client said “bring along your DSLR too, in case we see something special and you want to shoot it on your main camera.” I thought it was a very generous offer, but based on my previous experience with a variety of compacts, I declined. I knew that, in the heat of a great photo opportunity, I’d probably forget to use the compact altogether (Oy! Can say “blown assignment?”).
So, in order to save me from myself, I went out without a “net,” and after a day or so of getting used to using the LCD screen (although there is an excellent, if not 100% accurate, optical viewfinder), I didn’t miss the D90 nearly as much as I thought I would.
In fact, I’m using one of the pictures from this assignment in the oversize calendar that I do as a promotional piece for clients every year. I’ve done the calendar for years and never used anything but DSLR pictures. But I got my early copies last week from the printer, and the P7000 frame is indistinguishable from the DSLR frames. Not bad!
To read more about the camera and see a few JPEGs, hit the jump.
Photog fragged by fair-use-f***ing footprint artist…
When Seattle-based photographer Mike Hipple took this stock picture, at left, of a 1979-vintage, public-arts-financed, sidewalk piece called “Dance Steps on Broadway” by artist Jack Mackie, he had no idea that he had just stepped in the worst s—-t the sidewalk can dish up.
Because Mackie is suing Hipple to the tune of $60,000 for copyright infringement.
Now, we all know the economy sucks. And I usually reserve my outrage for predatory corporate entities bent on the economic pillaging of the individual content producer.
But now, things are apparently so bad, that it’s content-producer eating content-producer…a veritable Lord of the Flies scenario for image-makers.
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In the words of the ill-fated Simi Valley motorist Rodney King, “can we all just get along?”
Apparently not.
Hipple’s stock agency, upon receiving notice from the “artist” and his legal team, took the picture down from their site. But that wasn’t good enough. Mackie, who had wisely registered his piece, is now seeking punitive damages to the tune of the aforementioned $60 grand.
For more information on how this case is playing out, and how you can help (this affects each and every one of us who shoots travel pictures in public places), hit the jump.