Photos from Iran on The Big Picture

A few weeks ago I mentioned The Big Picture blog and how consistently great the material is that they post. The last two galleries have been no exception.

Last Friday, The Big Picture posted a series of photographs from the elections in Iran. Today, they've posted a follow-up gallery detailing the chaos that has followed those elections.

Both galleries are full of incredible photographs that tell a compelling story... Seeing this certainly serves as a reminder of how great our system is; even if we have a few bumps along the way.

Seoul, South Korea Image Gallery

Earlier this year I spent some time touring South Korea and Japan with other students in Xavier University's MBA Program. Though I've gone through several of the photographs, I've not had a chance to post or discuss any so far.

Given the recent news surrounding the nuke tests, journalists being arrested and other nonsense happening in North Korea, it seemed like a good time to post some photographs and associated observations from my time in Asia. Periodically I will update the galleries with new photos and will announce/discuss them here on the blog; clicking on an image will get you to a larger version.

Sea of People in the Streets of Seoul, Korea - Myeong-dong
March, 2009 -- Ryan R. Dlugosz

The above photograph was taken on one of the many bustling streets of Seoul's Myeong-dong district. With a metro population of around 25 million people - 10 million of whom live in the city proper - it doesn't matter what street you're on - they all look like the above! Fortunately everyone is fairly polite, which makes walking around far less stressful than it would appear to be.

Seoul is a very fashionable city and bears some resemblance to New York with its wide variety of shops, towering buildings and inhabitants who embrace an urban lifestyle.

Much more to come - stay tuned for future updates!

New Media Cincinnati at The Pub

This past Saturday I spent some time with the folks from New Media Cincinnati to discuss the latest trends on the Internet, debate Twitter, talk photography and, of course, drink some beers.  This was my first time visiting with this group & it was a good time... I'll be back for future events.

I won't rehash all of the topics here but you can check out some of the Twitter activity to get a sense of it via #newmediacincy.  I will drop some link love to a few of the folks I met who left me with their cards; here goes:

First up, Daniel Johnson, Jr. (@danieljohnsonjr) - coordinator of the meet-up.  Daniel is involved with a variety of things including the Ohio Podcamp and can be found on the various SM (that's Social Media, note the lack of an ampersand!) sites linked off of his Virtual Business Card.

Next is Kyle Louis (@kydlo).  Kyle is in the Industrial Design program over at UC.  He's got a lot of really interesting ideas about product design and was very interesting to talk to.  Check out his site at kylelouis.com.  He also has a product design podcast.

Also a design student over at UC, Amy Johannigman (@amydoesdesign) is an SM queen (again, note the lack of ampersand!).  She has a lot of very interesting, informed opinions on the whole social media scene and it will be cool to follow her thoughts on the topic via Twitter.

Two photographers I talked with at New Media Cincinnati were Christiaan Todd and Chris Bergman (@chrisbergman).  A lot of what we discussed had to do with how photography has been changing, business, and rights grab issues.

I met a variety of other folks as well, but beyond following them on Twitter I don't have other links for them to post here.

Oh, last but not least is Dylan Combs.  Dylan has a 24/7 video stream of his life running at Dylan.Combs.tv.  He is pretty well known for this on the net and has a significant following - I just stopped by and there are 30 or so folks watching the live feed.

Also, I believe Dylan was the one who left the Hak5 stickers lying around - a great tech podcast!

Review of Epson Stylus Pro 7900

At around $4k, a high-end printer such as the Epson Stylus Pro 7900 is not something I'll be adding to my office any time soon but I nonetheless enjoy reading the reviews. Michael Reichmann over at the Luminous Landscape website has just published a hands-on review of one of these beasts and it's worth a look if you're into printing.

An interesting feature of the 7900 is that its color gamut actually exceeds that of AdobeRGB in some areas (though *not* in overall terms). While this capability is only available in a top-of-the-line printer today, it may be more accessible in the next several years... Reason enough to always work with your selects in the largest space available - leave those "Open in Photoshop" settings at their default (ProPhotoRGB/16-bit) in Lightroom and Camera RAW! (And, just in case you're reading this and thinking that you should do this for all of your images, note that you should always convert to sRGB when outputting for the web and for many (if not most) online printing services. "Work with" in the previous comment refers to your master Photoshop files only; not your output files which should be created with a specfic use in mind.)

Here's hoping that some of this technology eventually finds its way into Epson's more affordable models!

The Big Picture wins Webby Award

A quick note to mention that the 2009 Webby Award winners have been announced and that The Big Picture blog by Alan Taylor has won for Best Use of Photography.  I was previously unaware of this blog, but immediately added it to my feed reader after visiting.

The Big Picture (not to be confused with Barry Ritzholtz' (also great) financial blog by the same name) is a thrice-weekly look at large, amazing photographs documenting the world around us.  The site is owned by the Boston Globe, but imagery is sourced from a variety of places.

Be sure to also check out a few of the other sites listed on the Webby Awards site; lots of good stuff there if you're interested in new media.

Krohn Butterfly Photo Contest: Rights-Grab Warning!

Krohn Conservatory is presently hosting their annual Butterfly Show here in Cincinnati, which is a great event & runs through the 21st of June. What's not so great are the terms and conditions of their Butterfly Photo Contest. Read on for the gory details and a great, free alternative.

In an unfortunately common rights-grab, the official rules (archived here) of the contest contain clauses which transfer ownership and grant an exclusive, unlimited license to the submitted photographs. Adding insult to injury, the lucky "winner" of the contest must agree that they will not display their photograph publicly without permission.

Some prize, eh? At least you get a $25 gas card...

Though targeted toward amateur photographers, if you've ever been to the "photographer nights" at the show you'd know that these folks all take their work quite seriously. Whether or not they ever plan to sell (or even show) their photographs, you can bet that photographers entering the contest would be hurt to realize that they are forever signing over their top shots to Cincinnati.com (Gannett Co.).

Here are the offending paragraphs; highlights are added for emphasis:

All entries become property of Sponsor. Contestants acknowledge and agree that Sponsor shall have the right to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, publish, promote, create a sound recording of, broadcast, or otherwise display or use entries in any way it sees fit without limitation or compensation to entrants.
...
8. Copyright. By entering the Contest, each contestant grants to Sponsor an exclusive, royalty-free and irrevocable right and license to publish, print, edit or otherwise use the contestant’s submitted entry, in whole or in part, for any purpose and in any manner or media (including, without limitation, the Internet) throughout the world in perpetuity, and to license others to do so, all without limitation or further compensation. Each contestant further agrees that if his/her entry is selected by Sponsor as the winning entry, he/she will sign any additional license or release that Sponsor may require, and will not publicly perform or display his or her submission without the express permission of Sponsor.

The way I see it, the only way this set of terms could be more offensive is if they promised to slap you on the rear and yell "Booyah!!" if you win.

But the contest is for amateurs - why would they care?
True, some will not care & that's just fine. But, most people who shoot in any professional capacity started off as an amateur and likely have a large library of quality photos created before they ever thought about a paying gig. Also, many non-pros who enjoy displaying their work in a coffee shop would be affected by these terms...

Besides, the business isn't the point here. The real problem is one of pride - the pride you take in your own photographs, regardless of whether you care to make a sale or not. Doesn't the fact that Gannett forces everyone to sign all of your rights away (with a clause buried deep in the terms, no less) make the whole thing feel just a bit... dirty?

Visit the Butterfly Show, but Steer Clear of the Contest!

I'm a big fan of the Krohn Conservatory and especially the annual Butterfly Show - it's always a great photo op and it's very cool that they reserve Monday evenings exclusively for photographers. Please do check it out if you have a chance, but think twice before entering this - or any (especially any Cincinnati.com or Enquirer; their Travel contest has similar terms) - photo contest.

As an alternative, why not post your favorite photographs to a site like Flickr? Tag your photos with krohnbutterfly2009 and everyone can have a look at the great images you've created.

After all, who are you hoping to share your photos with - other photography enthusiasts, or a big company in a crumbling industry looking for alternatives to hiring photographers?

Provident Camera to Close: local business owners take heed

The most recent victim of the economic downturn and (more so) the tendency of consumers to shop online is downtown Cincinnati's own Provident Camera. Open for over 80 years, the end of a place like Provident is a reminder of the negative side effects that tag along with the good things technology has brought us. Some of my thoughts follow the official message from Provident's owners...

Dear Friends,

It is with sadness that we inform you that on Saturday, April 4, 2009, the Provident Camera Shop at 18W. 7th Street in downtown Cincinnati will be officially closing. We have had a remarkable 80 years in providing photographic services to the greater Cincinnati community. During that time our family has seen many changes in our country. These have included moving people out from a central core to the suburbs. Through advances in technology, many people do not have to leave home to work or shop. There has also been an extended effort to increase retail establishments available to the consumer and move these facilities closer to the suburbs. All of these advancements have caused changes in the way the consumer purchases products. We have tried to overcome some of these issues but taking into account all of these and adding the current economic downturn we have made the decision to close the store.

We want to thank you for your patronage over the years and for becoming much more than customers. Nathan Berkowitz (deceased) the founder of Provident Camera, Barry, Mendy, Rick, Ben and Cindy Lefton, Jim Fausz, Bill Pitzer (deceased), Rob Zeck, Rob Barth, Bob Smith, Andrew Ward, Bess Block, Esther Schatz, and Bobbi Sparto are some of the employees who have contributed to our success and helped to shape our history. We appreciate their efforts in putting our customers first and wish them success in the future. We have made numerous friends over the years, helped to launch many photography careers and helped people take millions of photographs to document special events and individual family histories.

We will be open during regular hours for our official closing on Saturday, April 4, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you have the time, please stop in and say goodbye. Jim Fausz will be in and who knows who else might stop by. Let’s make this last day, one full of positive memories and good wishes. We hope that you will stop in if you are in the neighborhood.

We will have a one day Going-Out of Business Sale on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Stock will be limited to what is on hand and all sales will be final. You may want to browse the stock on Saturday before our final sale on Tuesday.

Sincerely,
Rick and Benjamin Lefton

P.S. Jim Fausz will continue to e mail his P.I.C. newsletter keeping you updated about photographic events in our community. If you wish to be removed from the list, please notify him at jvfausz@fuse.net

While it is certainly a shame, one has to wonder if this closing and others like it weren't simply inevitable. Consider major player Ritz Camera shuttering 300 stores and Columbus-based Cord Camera pulling out of the Cleveland area.

Should I have bought more of my gear at Provident? Sure - but, would it have made a difference? There has to be a compelling reason to get a mass audience shopping locally instead of online and only a mass audience can save this kind of local business. (Shipping, by the way, is a non-issue. Often for free, Calumet Photo ships same-day before 5PM and UPS Ground gets from Chicago to my doorstep the following afternoon.)

Whether it's one or several dozen people making a concerted effort to shop a these local stores it doesn't add up to enough to keep the lights on. Sort of like driving a Hybrid - it's a nice idea, but you aren't going to put a dent into emissions until the rest of the US and, oh yeah, the 2.4 billion people in China and India do the same.

Don't get me wrong - I wish Provident Camera did not have to close. But, unfortunately "being local" isn't a good enough value proposition when it comes to (mostly Japanese!) camera gear. While I make an effort to get the unique flavors created by local chefs and avoid the major chains, that same concept just doesn't translate well into the camera world. Does it make sense to pay more for the exact same product?

You can't entirely discount the atmosphere offered by the local camera store; a place where you can spend hours looking through the variety of old and new on the shelves and talk shop with the staff... at least, that's the theory. My personal experience, both with camera shops and musical instrument stores alike, is that you're not really welcome until you can prove that you're of a certain level of accumen. I've always felt a bit uninvited in these specialty stores... and I suspect I'm not alone in feeling this way. For like-minded social chat I'd stick to camera clubs.

Ever since the Internet hit the mainstream the ice has been getting thinner and thinner for local camera retailers like Provident. While it is a shame to see them close, hopefully this can serve as a message to other local businesses: In order to remain viable, a business large or small needs a sustainable competitive advantage.

The advent of online shopping took away Provident's market and they were faced with a decision to either transform or eventually close up shop. While Provident ultimately succumbed to the latter, other small businesses should take a look around and see what they can do to ensure they remain relevant in the modern marketplace. Being local matters less and less each day. What is the true value you offer your customers? How do you differentiate yourself from the big boys online? Is that consistent with the message you send?

A focus on these fundamental questions can mean the difference between a local business that thrives and one that dies.