A good book is good for the writing and I read many such books while studying history but the one thing that always proved a point more than any other was when a history lesson was accompanied by contemporary images. There is something very powerful about a photograph. There is an intimacy between the viewer and the subject that, I feel, cannot be replicated in any other form of media.

While I worked for a small studio in my hometown, my primary job was in the dark room making reprints of a local photographer whom for the past 60 years has captured every significant event and person that has been associated with the city. As his career–and to an extent his life–faded into the past, he decided to create a book of his work to sell locally. The book was nothing more than his photographs, but together it formed a rich narrative on the past 60 years of the small town.

This is the power of photography. A mentor of mine, who continues to have his work published in the likes of Time, once told me that, as a photographer you do not capture reality. This was a hard thing for me to accept initially but the more I listened to what he was saying the more I understood. In essence, you can capture reality with your camera but it is only the reality as you see it. As a photojournalist you are to be as neutral as possible. It is important to know the power that your photographs may have on history.

Today’s history in photographs

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the infamous Tienanmen Square Massacre.  There was much that lead up to the events of that day that could be discussed for hours. The one thing, though, that comes to mind when anyone utters “Tienanmen Square” is a photograph by Stuart Franklin of Magnum Photos.  The image of a man holding arbitrary bags in front of a line of tanks.  The image has become ingrained in the minds of anyone who knows of the months leading up to and following June 4th 1989.  At the time, the man in the image became a hero and spokesman for millions of Chinese people.

There have been other images like this in the past. Franklin’s photo is only 1 of Life’s “100 Photographs That Changed the World“.  Life’s series, and title, hit home the point I’m trying to make.  Photography has been and will continue to be a central part of World History.  In their stillness, photographs bring the viewer back to the fraction of a second that the image was conceived and allow that person to focus soley on the moments leading up to and after the image.

Cecil W. Stoughton was there when Lyndon Johnson was sworn in on Air Force One following the Death of John F. Kennedy.

Eddie Adams of AP captured this image durring Vietnam.  The image captured one man’s final moments on earth while demonstrating the brutality of war (it should be noted that most probably misinterpret the image, as the man being assassinated was likely the cause of many American’s losing their life).

Air force Pilots were their with their camera’s as atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

John Paul Filo captured this now famous image of Kent State

The list goes on but the point remains; wherever there is history happening, there are photographers capturing it.  The power of photography can’t be understated.  The quicker a photographer embraces this power–the quicker they can harness it.

Snap on!

More Reading
100 Photographs That Changed the World

Flowers laid for Tiananmen Square

As I’ve described in the past I do a lot of work for a local newspaper. They know what they like from me and as a result I’m usually assigned similar assignments. For instance, i cover almost all the basketball for one of our three local high schools and cover every football game for this school.

As a result I’ve got a pretty nice routine down for these events that i do frequently. But it wasn’t always like that. I can’t count how many times I’ve gotten to a shoot only to realize that there were no batteries for my flash. One time, while taking a family portrait for a friend, I actually forgot the battery for my camera. There simply is never an excuse for this. You must be prepared in every aspect that way when it comes time to start taking photographs, the only thing on your mind is clicking the shutter.

1. Make sure your gear is ready. The night before a photography shoot, make sure you have your gear in order. Get your flash cards formatted and your batteries charged. Clean your lenses and make sure that you’ve packed the lenses and lighting equipment you need for the shoot.

2. Know why you are photographing . It doesn’t matter if it’s a wedding or a football game. You are going to be there for a reason and more than likely it’s because someone has asked you (hopefully paid you) to be there.  You should have an idea what they are going to use and what they need. Sometimes my editor will explicitly tell me that he needs a vertical shot, for example. If the only good shot I captured was a horizontal photograph, I have failed. Getting your client what they need is the only way you can gain respect as a photographer.

3. Know what you are photographing. I can’t tell you how many great photographers I’ve seen show up to a baseball game only to come up short because they didn’t understand what was going on.  This doesn’t just apply to sports photography though.  A wedding photographer needs to know when things are happening. A photojournalist covering a political event needs to know who the important speaker is.  In short, you must do a little research before you dive into a shoot. Understanding the subject allows you to photograph it more effectively.

4. Have a plan. Now that you know what you need to get, and you know your subject, try and plan how you’re going to get the shot.  I recently had to gather some photographs of some local landmarks.  The one shot of the series that I planned the most was of the tunnel in town (page 7).  This is a tunnel that only allows for one car at a time to go through, and is mostly used as a train is coming through town as it avoids waiting at the crossing.  I thought a bit about how to capture all of this in one photograph.  The only way was to get a picture of a train crossing the tunnel and two cars coming towards each other.  I looked at the train schedule and picked a time that correlated with a lot of automobile traffic. Having a plan allowed me to get the shot I was hoping for and it only took one try.

5. Be Flexible. Nothing ever goes to plan. Camera gear breaks. Batteries die. You may fail to follow rule 1. The star athlete may be hurt. The priest may not want you on the alter. What you envisioned in your head may end up looking like crap. It doesn’t matter how it happens but it’s going to happen–something isn’t going to go to plan  and you simply have to be prepared to switch gears.

To Conclude…

Photography is never easy and it is isn’t usually routine. However, simply having a routine to prepare yourself is a surefire way to ensure that you will consistently get quality results for yourself and your clients.

More Reading
Digital Photography: Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks (Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks)
More photography tips from The Photo Dictionary

Visit the official site for more details

The 2009 Share the Experience Photo Contest will run from May 4, 2009 through December 31, 2009 and showcases the more than 500 million acres of Federal Lands, drawing entries from all across the United States.

“Our nation’s parks offer amazing experiences from the highest peaks to the most remote coasts and right in your own backyard. Photography enables you to capture and share your experiences with countless others,” said F. Mark Gumz, president, Olympus Imaging America Inc. “We continue to develop new technologies that expand the frontiers of digital photography, enabling you to be a part of the action and capture it all, and we’re proud to support the National Park Foundation’s Share the Experience contest for the second year.”

“I am honored to announce our 9th annual Share the Experience photo contest, which draws thousands of participants each year,” said Jamie Patten, Senior Vice President, the National Park Foundation. “We are grateful to Olympus for their support, and delighted to partner with them again on this successful program, which invites people to our parks and federal lands, and encourages them to share their experiences – and beautiful photographs – with each other.”

All 2009 entrants will have the opportunity to win one of six exciting prize packages, including trips to national parks. The Grand Prize winner will earn the international honor of having his/her winning image grace the cover of the 2011 “Federal Recreation Lands Pass,” an Olympus E-3 digital single lens reflex (DSLR) Camera Kit, plus a five-day, four-night trip for four to the Federal Recreation Area of your choice. The runner-up prizes are:
Second Prize — A three-day, two-night trip for two to a Federal Recreation Area, an Olympus E-620 DSLR Camera Kit, and a Federal Recreation Lands Pass.
Third Prize — A two-day, one-night trip for two to a Federal Recreation Area, an Olympus SP-590 UZ digital camera, a handheld GPS unit, and a Federal Recreation Lands Pass.
Fourth Prize — An Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 digital camera, $250 gift card for outdoor gear and apparel, and a Federal Recreation Lands Pass.
Honorable Mentions — Each of the ten Honorable Mention photos will win an Olympus Stylus Tough-6000 digital camera, $150 gift card for outdoor gear and apparel, and a Federal Recreation Lands Pass.
All winners will receive the Ken Burns The National Parks: America’s Best Idea DVD and companion book.

For an additional chance to win, this year NPF is introducing a special new category to acknowledge the PBS special by Ken Burns entitled, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Take a photo in any of the federal recreation lands that you believe showcases “America at Its Best.” The winner of this category will be separate from the winners from the regular contest, and will be featured in an issue of Parks magazine, in addition to winning an Olympus E-30 DSLR Camera Kit and the Ken Burns The National Parks: America’s Best Idea DVD and companion book.

The public will be able to view an online photo gallery of 2009 submissions throughout the contest period and vote on their favorites from January 17, 2010 – January 31, 2010.
Citizens and legal residents of the United States who are at least 18 years of age can enter by submitting up to three photo entries online at www.sharetheexperience.org; or via mail in a hand-written, stamped envelope to:

Share the Experience Official Federal Recreation Lands Photo Contest
c/o ePrize, LLC
PO Box 8070
Royal Oak, MI, 48068

All photographs entered must be taken in one of the Federal Recreation Agency Lands between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009, must be original creations, and must be submitted by the original photographer. PLEASE SEE OFFICIAL RULES AT www.sharetheexperience.org.

Mail-in entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2009 and received by the close of business on January 8, 2010. Each envelope must include only one entry. All photos will be judged on creativity; photographic quality; visual appeal; appropriateness; ability to show diversity and the richness of the Federal Recreation Lands.

About the National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation is an independent charitable organization chartered by Congress in 1967 to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks. As the official national non-profit partner of America’s National Parks, the Foundation raises private funds, makes strategic grants, creates innovative partnerships and increases public awareness about the need and opportunity for park philanthropy. In its 2008 fiscal year, the National Park Foundation distributed grants and program support of $27.3M. For more information, visit www.nationalparks.org

About Olympus Imaging America Inc.
Olympus Imaging America Inc. is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering award-winning products for consumer and professional markets.

Olympus Imaging America Inc. works collaboratively with its customers and its ultimate parent company, Olympus Corporation, to develop breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality that enhances peoples’ lives every day. These include:

• Digital and Film Cameras
• Professional Digital SLR Imaging Systems
• Related Underwater Products and Accessories
• Digital and Microcassette Recorders
• Digital Media
• Binoculars

Olympus Imaging America Inc. is responsible for sales in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. For more information, visit: www.olympusamerica.com.
Website: http://www.nationalparks.org

This soccer photograph was the first photograph i had published. This lead to another job with The Daily Iowan which in turn lead to other work.

For the 10 of you that follow this blog (ok, 3 of you), I hope a common theme has become apparent. Flexibility.  As a photographer,  you have to be flexible.  Many young photographers have an idea in their mind that they want to be, say, a “sports photographer”. And so they start shooting nothing but sports in the hopes of someday being at the Super Bowl and while having goals and motivation is a great thing, it is not the only thing that will advance your photography.

Recently a blog i enjoy wrote about the need for people to stray from their most commenly traveled path. The notion being that doing things outside of the comfortable pushes personal development. This, as he points out, conflicts with some previous thoughts he had about sticking with what you’re good at, the argument being that there are people who want to be something they can’t be. Instead of focusing on what you’re bad at, you should focus on the things you’re good at.

This photograph (never published as the brand name was too dominant) was taken for an editorial on energy drinks at college campuses. The look of this image was honed at automobile and track races (panning). I honed this skill shooting sports, then given the opportunity applied it to something completely different.

I don’t think these two perspectives are mutually exclusive. As a photographer, you should try and focus on your strengths, but within that context it is very important to expand your talents and your vision.

If you want to become a great photographer you need to expand your photography skills beyond what you are comfortable with. However, at the same time it is important to focus on your strengths as becoming good at one form of photography will allow you the fortune of experimenting and learning at other forms of photography.

I’ll use myself as the example.

I primarily shoot sports. It’s where I make 90% of my photographic income.  I think it is my favorite form of photography. I enjoy the atmosphere of competition and I enjoy capturing that atmosphere.  It is also, I would argue, the form of photography that I’m best at.

Sports photography is my strength. It is what ultimately landed my first published photograph. Through that first photograph at the Woodstock Independent i was granted the opportunity to shoot many many more photographs for the Independent–sports or otherwise.  With that portfolio i went to The Daily Iowan (a school paper, perhaps a portfolio wasn’t needed) I was hired as a paid intern where i continued to shoot sports but primarily worked on day-t0-day photojournalistic shots–politics, editorials, biographies, breaking news, etc.

Since i first picked up a camera about 10 years ago I have worked to hone my strengths and relied on them to advance my photographic career, but the entire time I have worked very hard to broaden what I consider my strengths.

At the end of the day, the great photographers are great at photography–of any kind. By this, I mean that they can take a camera to any sort of event and photograph it. This may be a concert, it may be a football game, it may be a wedding, or perhaps a family picnic. Photography is not about becoming a great “sports photographer” or “concert photographer” or “horse jumping photographer”. It is about becoming a great photographer. For that to happen, you must embrace all forms and you must become great at them.

This is a photograph published in The Daily Iowan of an MTV Marketing Exec (on the large screen) giving insight to a buisness lecture at The University of Iowa. This was certainly not sports but ultimately my skills as a sports photographer led me to this shot.

To prove the point, i encourage you to check out these photos  at sportsshooter.com.  Yes, most of the subject matter are sports, but the sporting events are merely canvases in which great photographers have painted great photographs.

I would also encourage you to check out Magnum Photo’s.  The subjects of these photographs are often vastly different but the result is often the same: you will find yourself staring at the photograph.

Photo by Al Tielemans / Sports Illustrated

For anyone with quality gear and enough experience to have encountered the laymen masses out there in the world, the following sentence probably rings familiarity: “I bet that camera takes awesome photos huh!?”.  If you’re like me, your lip may quiver a bit before you shell out the diplomatic  response with a smile: “It sure gets the job done”.  Or perhaps you’ve been given some gem about the luck that is so frequently bestowed upon you in regards to your photography.

There is an idea that floats around the masses of new photographers, internet message boards, and those who aren’t familiar with the art that getting great and compelling photographs is about the gear you use and a large dose of luck.

Which do you think requires more luck? Catching a last second pass, dragging your toes in bounds, thus scoring the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, or capturing that moment with your camera thus landing the most important cover shot of your career?

I would hazard to guess that most people wouldn’t call what Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes did to win Super Bowl XXXVII luck. Nor would i argue that what Al Tielemans of Sports Illustrated was able to do on that play was the result of luck.

In a recent article Tielmans wrote for SportsShooter.com, he outlines why he was able to capture that photograph that most of us are so familiar with.  The image was the culmination of decades of experience, mounds of foresight, a healthy dose of instinct, and yeah, sure, a smidgen of luck.

Check out the article here

The system is simple. A transmitter sits on the hotshoe of your camera and a receiver is plugged into your strobe. When you press the shutter, the transmitter sends a signal through the air to the receiver on your strobe and the light fires.

This allows great flexibility with strobe placement and reduces messy wires.

A recent system (one that i use) that comes in at a much smaller size and price has made some wonder why Pocket Wizards must be so large? While the Paul C. Buff (Alienbee) transmitter comes in around the size of a quarter, the Pocket Wizard is about the size of your palm. While the PW system certainly works better, the cheaper price and smaller size make the Paul C. Buff version a better choice for many.

It is time for an update. And Pocket Wizard has come through. The new system is somewhat smaller but it also has a number of improvements that can’t be matched.

As of right now, only Canon users will benefit from the changes, but Nikon systems are on the way.

——–

MiniTT1 Canon

The New Shape of Wireless Freedom

The smallest PocketWizard radio ever, the MiniTT1™ Transmitter locks onto the camera’s hot shoe supporting an on-camera flash with its own hot shoe while working with remote PocketWizard units. Remotes can be one or more PocketWizard FlexTT5™ Transceivers connected to Canon E-TTL II flashes or any PocketWizard Receiver for triggering flash or remote cameras.

The MiniTT1 Transmitter is easy to use; just slide in place and begin to shoot. The new PocketWizard ControlTL™ System interprets the complex E-TTL II data being sent through the camera’s hot shoe and digitally transmits it in a reliable radio signal. Change the flash compensation dial on the camera, and those commands pass seamlessly through the system to your remote flash. Adjust your shutter speed, aperture or ISO and the system corrects for those changes. A ratio command set on the flash or command unit passes through the MiniTT1 to set the remotes. PocketWizard ControlTL radio communication allows you to shoot farther, faster, around corners, through walls even at high noon in bright daylight. Now you can deploy a wireless flash system wherever you want, without infrared limitations, in seconds.

Use the MiniTT1 for standard triggering with any PocketWizard Receiver including the FlexTT5, PlusII or MultiMAX. When used this way with a digital camera, you can take advantage of PocketWizard’s HyperSync Technology that allows up to 1/500th of a second camera sync with many camera/strobe set-ups. HyperSync allows you to advance the timing of your flash trigger so that faster than X-sync speeds can be achieved.
Need more speed? Push your ControlTL system beyond 1/500th and go into FP/High-Speed sync mode automatically. No buttons to press or settings to change other than your shutter speed will give you flash sync all the way to 1/8000th.

A new PocketWizard Utility program is provided to support the MiniTT1 via a USB port. The Utility allows you to configure your channel settings, dial in your HyperSync timing, adjust your sleep-mode timers and update your product to the latest firmware.

The PocketWizard MiniTT1 Transmitter is the start of a new era in wireless trigger control.

AVAILABILITY: For Canon, March 1st. For Nikon, Q2, 2009. US & Canadian Markets. Contact your local Distributor for availability in other markets.

FlexTT5 Canon

The Most Versatile PocketWizard Ever.

The dedicated FlexTT5™ Transceiver, with its built in hot-shoe and ControlTL™ firmware, is the perfect addition to Canon E-TTL II flash systems. The FlexTT5 takes the existing benefits of Canon wireless systems beyond the boundaries of infrared technology. When paired with the Mini TT1™ Transmitter or another FlexTT5 Transceiver, a whole new world of wireless flash freedom opens up. The FlexTT5 is also the perfect Transceiver for your manual triggering needs and works with all MultiMAX channels and many of the MultiMAX advanced functions.

The FlexTT5’s simple design comes to life through its hot-shoe connection with a camera or flash. Mount a flash or command unit on the FlexTT5 to use the same zone controls and ratio commands as you would normally. The system tracks your changes in ISO, shutter speed and aperture and reacts accordingly to make sure exposures stay right on target. Use the flash compensation dial on your camera or flash just as you would normally and the changes pass seamlessly through the system.

The FlexTT5 has two channel configuration settings; C1 and C2. Each can be programmed as needed with up to 20 ControlTL channels for TTL photography, or 32 standard channels for manual flash photography. The FlexTT5 Transceiver also has a three-zone selector switch for ease of use with Canon zones and ratios.

With PocketWizard HyperSync™ Technology, the FlexTT5 can precisely advance the timing of your flash trigger so that increased flash sync speeds, up to 1/500th of a second is achievable with many strobes.

Need more speed? Push your ControlTL system beyond 1/500th and go into FP/High-Speed sync mode automatically. Simply change your shutter speed to get flash sync all the way to 1/8000th. No buttons to press or settings to change!

A PocketWizard Utility program is provided to support the FlexTT5 Transceiver via a USB port. The Utility allows you to configure your channel settings, dial in your HyperSync timing, adjust your sleep-mode timers as well as update your product to the latest firmware.

The FlexTT5 also has our Auto-Sensing Transceiver Technology that enables it to switch back and forth between Transmitter and Receiver modes as needed for greater flexibility on the job. When a hot-shoe or other trigger is detected, it automatically switches to Transmitter mode. With Auto Relay Mode you can easily trigger a remote camera in sync with remote flash. Put a camera where you can’t be and use remote TTL or non-TTL lighting at the same time. Expand your coverage and increase your creativity.

AVAILABILITY: For Canon, March 1st. For Nikon, Q2, 2009. US & Canadian Markets. Contact your local Distributor for availability in other markets.

Chinese look at falling stock prices on an electronic board at the stock market in Zhengzhou, China Monday June 4, 2007. China's main stock index plunged 8.3 percent on Monday in its biggest one-day drop since a February fall that triggered a global sell-off.

–Canon Joins the “Bad Economy Bandwagon”

There is no doubt that the global economy is in shambles. Individuals and the companies they work (or worked) for are suffering big time. Unemployment claims are at a record pace and the stock market has pretty much been in shambles itself.

As much us photographers would like to think that photography as an industry is fine, the simple truth is that it too is suffering. Not only are newspapers, which employ many of the worlds photographers, struggling to stay afloat, independent photographers are wondering if they need to adjust their prices due to the economy. It should come as no surprise then that some of the heavy hitters in the photography industry are struggling.

This week Canon announced that its profits have taken a heavy hit. The fourth quarter profits, canon says, are down 91% while profits on the year are down 37%. Canon expects digital camera sales to be down 7% this year and as a result, revenue and profits should continue to fall.

–For those of us who won’t be upgrading our camera’s this year

Last fall Canon released its update to the 5D, cleverly named the 5D Mark II. Many canon “fanboys” weren’t very happy with Canon’s update, arguing that the camera lacked important improvements (perhaps most annoyingly, an updated auto focus system).

One unique improvement was its ability to take high def video, something never before seen from a D-SLR. This is a feature that expands upon the “Live View” feature of its camera’s which was first seen on a special version of the 20D known as the 20Da. Every new DSLR of Canon’s since the 40D has Live View (450D/XSI, 40D, 50D, 1DmkIII 1DsMKIII, 5DMKII) However, the only canon camera that is capable of taking the Live View feature and turning it into HD video, is the 5DmkII–it should also be noted that Nikon’s D90 and Olympus’s E-30 also have this feature.

The feature is neat, at best. It lacks auto focus and an SLR camera is simply not designed to take video (a tripod is a must). That said, it is a very unique and fun tool to have. Fortunately for those of us who aren’t upgrading our camera’s this year (thus contributing to Canon’s lack of profits?) to the 5DmkII, there are workarounds.

A couple of months ago the first attempt surfaced on a Russian website. It is basically just a small program that you download to your computer. With the camera plugged into the computer (via USB), the program activates the Live View feature, and captures what it sees. Many have called this a “hack” but the truth is that it technically isn’t. However, there appears to be an actual hack in the works that will enable you to record video to your CF card–no cables, cords, or computers required.

This is neat. I played around with the program version last night and i must say, i’m impressed. You can watch the youtube video or download the video here.

The growth of what our camera’s can do is amazing. It seems, our DSLR’s are finally catching up to our cell phones, which have long been able to make phone calls, take photo’s and take videos.

–And Congress Hates that

In one of those stories that makes you think to yourself “What are they thinking?” Republican Congressman Peter King  (New York) introduced the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act. The act would require that all cell phones “to make a sound when a photograph is taken.” This would go into place for all phones made after one year of the bill being enacted. You would hate for the Respected Mr. King to worry about real problems, like a financial crisis, actual crime, or any number of things he could be devoting his time to.

One has to wonder how quickly the hacks for those phones would be rolled out…

To learn more about the hack in development click here
For more information on the downloadable program click here

The world is shrinking every day. Technology (as in hardware) is making it easier to connect (as in the internet) in a way that humans have never been able to before.  Social networking websites like facebook are letting people use this technology to make human contact through non-human means.

With the explosion in digital photography both in terms of professionals (which happened, arguably, about 10 years ago) and with consumers (a little more than ten years ago), the world is beginning to see itself more frequently and in ways not possible before.

What better example to demonstrate this than the Inauguration of President Obama?  The website Flickr.com (click here for some of my work) is probably one of the most famous photography hosting websites that is also a social networking tool. Since it’s creation in February of 2004, Flickr (now owned by Yahoo), is host to over 3 billion images. For those math whizzes out there, that’s well over a million photo’s uploaded a day.

As of today (1/22/09), when you search “inauguration” on flickr, you receive 130,000 results. The vast majority of these results are entire albums. What does this mean? This means that only 2 days after the Inauguration of President Obama that hundreds of thousands of non-professional photographers have their work accessible by millions of people from any corner of the world.

Furthermore, technology is also allowing us to actually see things better and differently. A very forward-thinking photographer named Chuck Kennedy with the McClatchy-Tribune Photo Service, mounted a remote camera (a Canon 5D with a 16-35mm lens) to the podium that the President Elect spoke at. He was able to capture the closest ever image of the President and his family as he took the Oath of Office and posted in shortly on the internet for the world to see. The speed at which this was accomplished (and arguably the ease with which it was done) was not really available in previous years.

Flickr is currently working with Getty Images, a world-leading photography stock photo agency, to incorporate flickr’s images with Getty’s. In late 2006, CNN launched a program called “ireport” where user submitted content, such as photographs, would be incorporated into their reporting. What does all of this mean? Not only is the gap of human contact shrinking but so too is the gap between the professional and Bob down the street who owns his own camera gear.

The internet and the technologies that have been implemented to it, such as Flickr, have allowed us to view things faster and more diversely than ever before. We are no longer bound to the New York Times for our coverage of an event. This is truly amazing when you sit and think about it.

A couple of years ago some really intelligent people created some technology that is beyond words. It takes images from flickr and combines them into an interactive collage of sorts. Microsoft bought the technology and it was was utilized for the inauguration of Obama. CNN has utilized this to capture “The Moment”–or the inauguration, with this amazing tool  Words cannot describe so i urge you to check it out.

So what do we make of this? The world has changed. The world has shrunk. Photographers are becoming ever-important and ever-utilized. So, pick up your camera, capture the world, and then show the world.

For more information on Chuck Kennedy’s photograph, click here

To see “The Moment” click here

A self portrait shortly after a ref ran into me on the sideline. As i said, there is a fine line to be had and i crossed it. But i am now forever marked with photography--or something.

The other day i mentioned that to take great photographs you must become completely ingrained in the scene that you are photographing. What does this mean exactly?

When i got my internship with The Daily Iowan i was thrust under the wing of a “photo coach” named Danny Wilcox Frazier. Danny is a Midwestern based freelance photographer who’s work has appeared in the likes of Time (perhaps most notably a double truck following 9/11) and covered many big names like Clinton, Obama, McCain and others. The message here: He knows what he is doing.

One of the first things he tried to stress to me was a need to get over the fear of getting up close and personal with my camera. He took me and another intern out to the streets of Iowa City to observe us photographing what we saw. I was timid, and shy. To prove his point, he took my camera and walked up to complete strangers and started photographing them. He was being extreme but it proved a point.

You must be able to get up close and personal with your subjects. This is true in any form of photography including sports. Timid photographers often ask me how i can sit so close to the court, football field, baseball dimond, etc. My response is usually, “If you’re not close enough to get hurt, you’re not close enough.” This is, of course, tongue-in-cheek, mostly. But the fact remains: If you are unable to become a part of the scene–without disturbing it–your photographs will suffer.

One of my favorite photos required me to get about a foot away from my subject