Ta but No to AllMediaScotland.

There's something bugging me about AllMediaScotland's new website and their offerings. I've been checking into the site on a regular basis since it's re-launch and have been itching to place an entry in the Talent directory. Itching isn't doing though. The directory now has 8 photographers listed, each paying £20 per year  to get there. This compares to a much fuller list in the original iteration of AllMediaScotland where we paid £10 for a years listing.

But the increased charge isn't what's giving me the rash. It's the fact that AllMedia seem to be playing gamekeeper and poacher at the same time. Looking deeper into their site you'll see that they offer the services of an 'award winning team of photographers' to suit all potential clients media needs. Unfortunately there are no photographs on display to illustrate the talent on offer so we must take them on their word. They also offer various design services but again without showing a portfolio from the award winning designers or 'celebrated' magazine designer .

But here's where my rash is coming from. They price this service. For £299+VAT you get  'A photography shoot of up to two hours on location, with all expenses, including travel, included' plus either burning to disk on location (sometimes call Dump and Run) or same day post production. Now I charge a bit more than that. But not too much more, in fact per half day or day my hourly rate is lower. But I'd never offer my day or half day rate to include all travel and expenses included in that figure. Nor to commit to post production for free without first seeing a brief and knowing the nature of what's required. So if the AllMedia photographers were to run up £100 of expenses/travel their initial fee would be the ridiculously low mount of £199 in reality.

Hurrah my itch has gone. Gone because of course AllMediaScotland isn't where I should be listing my services. If someone wants to work for these rates with these offerings then fine. If someone wants to commission them then fine. (Photographers looking for a fees calculator can download one here). No it's not for me because why should I spend money to list myself on a website that's promoting competitors offering what can only be a much reduced service at what seems to be hugely reduced fees? Given today's budget led rather than creative led commissioning will anyone on the list offering an upmarket service stand any chance of getting calls?

In fact all you get for your £20 is a link to your website. That's an expensive bit of SEO. Time to rethink it?

Twitter works? Fancy that!

I suspect that if you're reading this 'blog' you might be aware and accepting of the phenomenon of blogging and of Twitter in particular. But in case you're the Thomas in the room here's a little, a very little, story that might illustrate how it can work positively.

In January I was intent on getting to grips with producing interactive panoramas. I'd been dipping my toe in over the previous years but never got to produce a complete virtual tour. So one Saturday I headed to Edinburgh's QuarterMile to shoot a tour around this new 'village'.
During the following week I spent several hours putting two alternate format versions together and happy with the results so far I Tweeted it a couple of times including the QuarterMile hashtag.

The rest of the story is about QuarterMile discovering my Tweets, liking what they saw and seeing it's potential for their marketing, then getting in touch and both of us agreeing a licensing deal and it going online on their website.

Which brings me back to last summer when I asked an online list of photographers if they were using Twitter. Three or four answered instantly in the negative citing how effective face to face networking is. Which of course it is if you can get the appointment .... when you haven't got work on... if they like the look of your website ....... as opposed to the complementary and not mutually exclusive dead quick Tweet that can lead to the face to face.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Poetry on the Rocks?

Well yes and no.
Yes poetry was projected onto

the Castle Rock here in Edinburgh. It's all part of 'Carry-A-Poem', a joint venture between Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, the Scottish Poetry Library and City of Edinburgh public libraries which is happening for the month of February at four locations plus the Castle Rock for St.Valentine's night only.

Poets include Douglas Dunn at Edinburgh Castle where I shot one of three 360º panoramas, Robert Burns on the City Chambers on Cockburn Street, Gael Turnbull on the High Street, Lord Byron and Robert Louis Stevenson.
No poetry isn't dead. Tweets have been whizzing back and forth on Twitter on just this aspect of the poetry. Elsewhere there must be scores if not hundreds more talking about all aspects of the project. Scotland and beyond is clearly in love with poetry.

PS 18th Feb : CarryAPoem have now blogged me. First time I've ever been the subject of a blog at that. Check it out here and leave a comment if you fancy. I'll try to get another couple in the bag over the weekend and add them to my amalgamated page here.

A walk around Edinburgh's QuarterMile

Old hospitals never die, they just move away. Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary closed it's doors a few years ago and moved to the idyllic sounding Little France on the outskirts of the city. There it continues it's proud role in the city's health care. Founded by charter in 1736 this is in fact it's second major move with the recently vacated site at Laureston Place being occupied since 1879. See Wikipedia for a fuller history.
Recession or not the site is now being developed as a 'village within Edinburgh' with a mix of residental, recreational and office use. Situated just north of The Meadows and south of the city centre the site will no doubt prove very popular when it's completed over the coming years.
And as the development isn't finished so my 360º Virtual Tour also includes corners that haven't been touched. There are two formats available; Flash or Quicktime. Flash has a slightly lower filesize while Quicktime is higher quality but doesn't seem to like the Firefox Browser. And with Quicktime you should enable 'hotspots' for each scene to see where to click through for the next POV, while it's obvious with Flash.

Sean goes Dutch.

I suspect I've blogged this image before but as it's just been sold by Trevillion Images to the Netherlands as a book cover I thought it worthy of another spin.
Shot as a favour for friends visiting from Australia it's been a constant cause of "ahs" and  "oohs". At the time of shooting Sean was very concious of his freckles but as soon as I included it on my website and he could show it to his friends he became at ease with his appearance. So some good there.
And once again I'm reminded of the need to think of your images as business assets that over time will realise income for you.
Boring as it may sound and unfashionable as it might be you've got to raise your voice and shout out "long live copyright".

Buzzing

Another new addition to my website is this perfect crowd scene. I'll say no more.

Buzzing1 from Brendan MacNeill on Vimeo.

'You'll have had your tea'

There's a gag told of the parsimonious nature of Edinburgh's residents.... interrupted unexpectedly one evening a houeholder berates their visitor with 'you'll have your tea then' (tea being any meal taken late in the day).

No such lack of generosity with our hosts on a recent 'Scottish Gems' trip for Delicious magazine. These shots come from our visit to Monachyle Mhor and the Kilberry Inn and have just gone live on the food and hospitality section of my website.
Crisscrossing Scotland from Glasgow via the Trossocks, Argyll and Fife we also visited Glasgow's super-deli Heart Buchanan and The Pot Still with over 500 whiskies, award winning Anstruther Fish Bar and quirky 21212 in Edinburgh which has deservedly just won a Michelin Star.
Rolling home after 3 days and nights of fantastic food and hospitality I had to reflect that perhaps photography ain't too bad a job. When there's work that is.

PackShotUK

My friends at Bohemia occasionally get me to shoot some of their products for their online retail business. After one such recent session I was left looking at my studio space wondering when I'd next get to use the still life table. So instead of packing it away I thought I'd leave it up and create a website specifically for this type of work. After all they say diversification is the name of the game.
And today I've launched PackShotUK offering online retailers a competitive, if simple, service that will enhance their websites. But it's not a no frills service as I still provide great level of service and years of experience.
And the projects land on clients desks on time every time.

Happy New Year and burrr!

Since we're having a real winter here in Edinburgh for the first time in many many years there seems to be a rush to post a snow scene image. Even the news media are calling for unpaid submissions for their pages and screens. How sad when the once mighty have to put their hand out.

And so I don't come across as the complete curmudgeon I thought I'd post this image of an Edinburgh bus on it's route. Those of you with a penchant for "what camera/exposure/iso" will be pleased to know that it was shot on my iPhone. And I must say it's a first for me as I've never been impressed with it's picture taking qualities. I particularly love the distortion of the buildings. Or is that the 100 year old bendy glass in my window? Bendy glass! Now there's an idea for a Photoshop filter.

Thanks also to my friends at Bohemia and Bohemia Life for reposting my Christmas image.

Merry Christmas

Oi Olay! You've got Twiggy banned.

It's been on the news and is now doing the rounds of the virtual chatterers and I suspect Olay are lapping it up. One of their print ads has had to be scrapped as they used a little too much photoshop and youthified 60's icon Twiggy. In fact when you see the image at Guardian online you'll wonder how she could have been around in the 60s in the first place!
And YouTube will be happy too as everyone is viewing the various parody movies showing photoshop being used to age people. And if you want to see a beauty re-toucher in action then head to Christy Schuler for a tutorial. I particularly like the enlarged eyes effect. In fact I think it's time I went up to the attic and did some aging on my portrait.

The State of the Photographic Nation.

Many years ago, so many in fact it was well before my time, Noel Coward implored a Mrs Worthington to 'Don't put your daughter on the stage'. For him it was a profession full of pitfalls, dangers and vices. He sang the lines ' The profession is overcrowded, And the struggle's pretty tough, And admitting the fact, She's burning to act, That isn't quite enough'. Some, me included, would say the same about photography in the early 21st century.

If I see a blog post I really like I'll tweet a line or two about it on Twitter. I've never before reproduced someone's blog posting directly but today I'm making an exception (with his permission I hasten to add) as I've been touched by Glyn Davies' latest posing as The Anglesey Photo Artist.
One or two circumstances aside, what Glyn has written could have been written by me or maybe any established photographer. Photography is being hit by the double whammy of the global recession and the effects of the rush to become a photographer now that digital technology has opened the door for all. So we have an over-supply of photographers and vanishing markets. Having watched other industries implode I never thought it would happen to photography. Is digital technology is turning out to be a poisoned chalice?
I could go on but he says it so much better. Please read Glyn's posting and then head to his pages and explore his beautiful work and soak up a bit of his passion. A 'bit' I say because there's so much there and with his talent there is certainly more than 'quiet enough'.

Start:

'Is this the last of the light? A sad post.'

Latest seascape image from last weekend. It seems that escaping to see the light for an hour or so each weekend is the only real joy from all of this game at the moment. The gallery is too quiet, loads of compliments but people are really not putting their hands in their pockets these days unless their fingers are cold. The forecast for next year is just as dull and stormy and they promise more people will be out in the cold :-(

The general view of my career running a gallery, is that I am so lucky - taking landscapes, doing photography, surrounding myself with pictures, getting involved with large format printing and seeing my images nicely framed on walls. What they don't see is the damned hard work it all is, the endless hours of image manipulation, archiving, editing, preparing, printing, framing, ordering, sourcing, administrating, dealing with taxation, Custom's & Excise, accounts, PAYE, balancing books, juggling finance, switching suppliers, energy bills, rates, rent, insurances, overheads, renewing and repairing kit, updating software, learning new techniques and applications, troubleshooting, networking and finally getting that time for friends, family and ME time.

In the meantime, photographers are being accused of being terrorists or paedophiles, they are being stopped and questioned under Section 44 of the terrorism act, they dare not photograph many public places, landscapes or street scenes, they are the only ones stopped when photographing performances, even though everyone else will be using mobile phones and videos - and every family in the UK has at least one person who thinks they are as good as the pros and sets up their own website trying to flog A3 prints or play at weddings.

I have less time than ever to get out to do my own thing. I am getting more and more unfit as the business demands it's attention, and more and more mentally wiped by the sheer survival techniques that so many full-time professionals now have to adopt. I compound my problems because I want to stay true to myself and my art. I could easily knock out cheap canvas sunsets and flog off postcard snaps of iconic landmarks using grossly over saturated colours and cheap HDR techniques, but I refuse. There are too many of those sorts of snappers out there and I don't want to join their ranks.

I went into this nearly 30 years ago simply because I loved landscape and sharing my experiences through my photographic eye. My love is as strong as ever, but the public is presented with a bewildering array of over-cooked photographic nonsense. Prices are being constantly devalued by non professionals seeking vanity publication, and the professional image libraries have managed to create a commodity mentality whereby photography is equated with tins of beans, 'pile em high sell em cheap'.

For those of us still working in this profession full time, trying to put food on our kids tables, times have NEVER been so hard for us, nor has the competition from every man and his dog been so great. For those of us who also have integrity about what we do as artists, those who won't prostitute their art, it is even harder. Many of us never saw this profession as a way of making big money, it was an outlet for our creativity whilst living and breathing our subject, totally connected, intrinsic.

As I sit in my gallery on another quiet day, with stunningly beautiful light teasing me outside, I have to reflect on what is happening to me, to the profession, and what has been a way of life for many of us. I look forward to seeing another beautiful sunset but hope that the light of our profession doesn't go out too soon because more and more pros ARE going to the wall.

So if you've always wanted one of my prints or books, and want to beat the VAT increases in January, and help me out in the meantime, now is a very good time to give me a call :-))

All words and images are strictly copyright © Glyn Davies 2009
The Anglesey Photo Artist.

End.

St Andrew's Day - step aside Mr Salmond.

Well it's traditional to wish everyone all the very best for St Andrew's Day. And may I do so now?
And no doubt by the end of the day we will have had no end of reports of the success of the Homecoming campaign. I'll take the experts' opinion on its monetary and cultural value as I suspect I'll have little access to any data with which to argue one way or the other. But no doubt it's the SNP's White Paper on a proposed independence referendum that will steal all the headlines. Good or bad we'll be chewing it over for the coming months.
And to kick it off can I cheekily offer an outlandish thought? That the Chairman of Harrods, Mr al Fayed, might become the President of a Scottish Republic. He's even got the gear and the throne ready .. so why not?
Shot a few years ago for Scotland on Sunday this portrait is a consistent seller for me and proves the argument that even small creators should retain their copyright and control their IP.

Professional Landscape Photography on Flickr

Well I've gone and done it. Yes I've joined that great photo sharing site that lends it's name to so many comic interpretations of male on female lovemaking. And it's Flickr without the 'e'. And why join? To share? Well yes of course (fingers crossed and nose slightly longer). No it's another part of social networking and it's aim of driving people to my website.
And yesterday Glyn Davies set up a Professional Landscape Photography group and invited members of the Association of Photographers, Pro-Imaging and ProDig to join and add to the group.
My contribution is here. Yes it's meagre to say the least so I'll have to get back into shooting outdoors. But if you want to see more or even join then just head here.
PS Glyn also keeps a busy blog, Musings from the Anglesey Photo Artist, here on Blogger. It's well worth a visit.

Art? No sir, Blackpool.

Ever wondered what photographers do to amuse ourselves? Personally I like to take to a fast car at Knockhill but unfortunately the holder of the purse strings won't allow that right now. Instead, when I recently had a few quiet days, I took myself off to the fab and famous Blackpool during the Illuminations.
How fab is the place? Well very, if you're into the English seaside experience. Otherwise it's best to let the sun go down to hide the cracks and have the 'luminations' come up to distract.
And if you want to see a bigger choice you could hop to Alamy where I've just posted a small set.

It never rains but it shines.

Here's a sneak preview of my latest emailer to clients and would be clients due out on Monday... are you on my mailing list?
The rainbow shot came from a 'right place right time' moment. Actually I'd passed by here a day previously to a Turneresque scene of a clearing storm. A good enough image came from that stop but this one capped it by a mile.
But what to place with it? More landscapes or some food? Scallops or venison? None of that was doing it for me until I remembered this portrait of a far north crofter. Yes it's a couple of years old but now works perfectly with the castle and rainbow.
And where is the castle? What am I ... a location service?

Summer song or Going for a song?

I've haven't been giving this blog much attention of late so to get things rolling again I thought I'd offer you these frames from an editorial job for Conde Nast Traveller for their Room with a View pages. Just simple natural photography. Really? Well yes if you allow for 3 visits to one of the venues and computer time to blend exposures and then lots of time to touch out the builders muck caked on one of the glass windows.
Which brings up an issue I'm having with new clients (not this one)....... make images look natural, simple and easy and carefree and they perceive them as being low budget. Experience counts for nothing. Nor track record.
So when the accounts department next says they have a trainee with a camera I'll reply that I have a stethoscope/calculator/football boots but that doesn't make me a doctor/accountant/David Beckham.
Thanks to the Balmoral, Caledonian and Messoni Hotels.

Rain, rain but not a drop to be had.

We've had a fair amount of rain in the past few days but like buses and policemen when I was shooting this there just wasn't any.
So what to do? Well shoot the scene in broad daylight, push and pull it in HDR and add the figure from a studio shot.
It's a book cover for Cainnt na Caileige Caillte by Alison Lang, published by The Gaelic Book Council, design by James Hutcheson.
Now if they want bright sunny weather can I do it via the Mac or do I have to go to Spain yet again?

Make mine a ....

......... Bowmore. And I won't thank you for a small one.
Just hitting the bookshops is this tome on Scotland's other great export that I shot the cover for. Whiskypedia by Charles MacLean is an essential handbook for an up-to-date grasp of the Scotch Whisky industry and it's regional variations. Design by James Hutcheson at Birlinn.
Slainte.