Visual Communication

Farewell, Kodachrome

2010-08-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

This article makes me very sad. Kodachrome has been discontinued. The last lab which process it will stop doing so later on this year. I've got to go through my stuff and make sure there are no stray rolls in a camera bag or a box.

Kodachrome is a beautiful film. I love being able to open a box of slides that is older than I am and look at the spectacular color. I know that I won't be able to retrieve images I've made since going digital unless I make a concerted effort to migrate files to new storage devices and the newest operating systems. With Kodachrome, I simply open the box.

Some of my favorite images were made on Kodachrome, with its rich reds and deep saturation. And, unlike many of my Ektachrome images, it doesn't fade easily. I look forward to having my files of photographs easily accessible to me very soon, after years of being in storage. But I know that the slides I made in 1974 and 1975 when camping across the United States and Canada are likely to be in need of restoration.

I processed those E-6 images myself, improvising a dark room in a bathroom. Each tank took an hour, with temperatures that could vary from bath to bath by only half a degree. It was magic, but it wasn't Kodachrome, with its exacting standards and (reportedly) toxic chemicals which could not be processed at home.

I interviewed for a job at the Kodak lab in Palo Alto back in 1974. I needed a job, but working assembly-line style for minimum wage would not have suited me at all. That lab, if it is still around, no longer processes Kodachrome. I think there was a Kodak lab in Gaithersburg, when I lived in the D.C. area. No more. A & I on Highland was my lab here in L.A., but it hasn't processed Kodachrome for a very long time.

It is sad that Paul Simon refused the invitation to be immortalized on the last roll of Kodachrome film. But I still think that his song "Kodachrome" did a great job of capturing what the film was all about.

APA-LA Seminar, May 20, 2010

2010-05-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

I received the following information about a seminar that APA-LA is sponsoring tonight:

"Video: The Next Step" with Fernando Escovar

Video: The Next Step

Photographers are more than just photographers. They are directors and producers and often are asked if they can shoot and edit video along with the current shoot or even asked to direct or shoot video content. The question usually is "Can you do it"?

Fernando discusses the "The Next Step" as a photographer grows and starts to explore and shoot SD video or HD. Whether its YouTube, or a clients video this is the new area that photographers need to get into to develop the language and skills to go next level.

Fernando will touch on various editing software, cameras, editing and out-put as well as encoding and formats. The arrival of Canon's new 7D camera and the FLIP video HD, they both have sparked the film maker in all of us. This is a great time to get on board and blend your photography with your video productions.

Fernando Escovar, photographer turned director producer with clientele like E! Networks, NASCAR, and Discovery Channel. Fernando also produced two DVD's sponsored by Photoflex on Photographing Cars & Swimsuits. You can view Fernando's photography at www.fotographer.com

Fernando will have intructional DVD's available.

Fernando studied at Otis Parson Los Angeles and for the last 5 years produced seminars for Samy's & Helix camera.

May 20, 2010
6-9pm

MIAUHAUS
1201 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles

APA members: FREE
$20 fee for non-members
Dinner and networking included

Valet Service is Available

APA Members RSVP Director@APA-LA.com
Non-Members please make payment by visiting Events Page

APA-LA Digital Workshop on February 28, 2009

2009-02-10T16:12:00.000-08:00

APA/LA Digital Event: Photoshop Pen, Path and Brush Magic with Dennis Dunbar
Saturday February 28, 2009

9:30am registration
10:00am - 1:00pm presentation
Helms Daylight Studio
3221 Hutchison Ave, LA CA 90034 *Please Note: Parking is Located on the North Side of Venice Ave and Helms

Clipping Paths, Vector Masks, Scattering controls, Shape Dynamics, Color Dynamics and More! APA-LA's Digital Workshops series continues on Saturday, February 28th as Dennis Dunbar joins us to discuss Photoshop's Pen and Brush tools.

In this session Dennis will talk about creating clean paths with the Pen Tool, he'll show you what a compound path is and what those "Control Handles" are all about. He'll cover Clipping Paths (including an easy way to make several variations) and how to move paths back and forth from Adobe Illustrator to Photoshop and the power you gain in doing so.

Then Dennis will demonstrate some Photoshop Brush Magic and show you what all those Scattering and Dynamics settings do and how to use them to create your own magic.

You'll learn how to create your own custom brushes and how to use the various controls to make tough jobs easy. Painting fog, smoke and clouds will be a breeze. Creating rough borders will be easy as will adding in extra grass and leaves.

Come join us on Saturday, February 28th for this session on Photoshop Pen, Path and Brush Magic. Doors open at 9:30 am and the class begins at 10 am and will end at 1 pm. See you there.

LIMITED SPACES FOR THIS EVENT PRE-REGISTRATION IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

Pre-Registration:
$25 APA/LA members
$35 ASMP, LADig, Student members
$45 non-members

Day of:
$35 APA/LA members
$45 ASMP, LADig, Student members
$55 non-members

APA/LA Upcoming Events

March 26, 2009 - Photography Awards and Competitions: Which one to enter and why?

April 30, 2009 - Production Panel

May 2, 2009 - APA/LA's Assistant Bootcamp

May 3, 2009 - APA/LA's Assistant Training 101

APA-LA Seminar on January 29, 2009

2009-01-29T08:42:00.001-08:00

APA-LA is holding a seminar on Putting Together a Successful Business Team for a Successful Career this evening from 7-9 p.m. at the Helms DayLight Studio, 3221 Hutchison Avenue, Los Angeles 90034.

Helms DayLight Studio
3221 Hutchison Ave., Los Angeles 90034

Register Now!

$20 APA/LA members, $35 ASMP, LADig, Students, $40 non-members

Consultants, Agents, Producers, Studio Managers, Marketing Assistants - there are plenty of options for a professional photographer to choose from when seeking a team to enhance your business. These partnerships have the potential to change your career - it's important to make an informed choice and know what to expect from the relationship.

Learn how to build your business with the help of a successful team that is right for you. Join APA|LA for an evening with top consultants, reps and producers who will discuss candidly the role they play in helping photographers to achieve success.

Meet our panelist:

Susan Baraz - Consultant, Phototherapy
Susan Baraz was a founding member of Focus on AIDS, the largest global fine art photography benefit, which, since 1987, has donated over 3 million dollars to AIDS organizations. She serves as the Co-Chair of The Lucie Awards, and as the Head of Judges for the International Photography Awards -- the most prestigious award honoring masters in photography. Baraz is an active panelist and portfolio reviewer for APA, ASMP, Palm Springs Photo Festival, Art Center College of Design, Academy of Art University, Otis Art Institute at Parsons School of Design, and the Arles and Perpignan photography festivals. Additionally, she has served as an exhibition curator and book editor at The Museum of Tolerance, Washington DC, the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum, the International Photography Awards and on various fine art galleries nationwide

Rhoni Epstein - Artist Representative. Phototherapy
Rhoni Epstein and Susan Baraz are partners in www.phototherapists.com. The name of their company resonates with both commercial and fine art photographers who have profited from their vast historical and visual knowledge of photography and their deep understanding of the creative process. Rhoni established Rhoni Epstein Associates, Photographers' Representative and has successfully represented renowned photographers since 1975. An Associate Professor at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, Rhoni is considered an expert in marketing and for the past twelve years has taught a required branding and marketing course for all graduating Photography + Imaging students. Rhoni is an instructor, portfolio reviewer, judge and moderator for photography events including: International Photography Awards, Palm Springs Photography Festival, Art Center College of Design, Academy of Art University, Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design, UCLA, Brooks Institute of Photography, PhotoExpo, Advertising Photographer of America, Art Directors Clubs, Graphic Designers Guild, Society of Media Photographers. She is a member of the Adbase Advisory Panel.

Scott Pratt - Producer, Q.A.S. Productions
Scott Pratt is a print producer of 18 years and owner QAS Productions, Inc. in Venice, CA. Clients include Stephen Wilkes, Gregory Heisler, Jeff Dunas, Ron Eshel, Daniela Stallinger, Michael Schnabel, Russ Quackenbush and more! You can view Scott's portfolio of work at http://www.qaspro.com/qaspro/portfolio/index.html

Russ Quackenbush - Photographer, Russ Qackenbush Photography
Russ Quackenbush creates visual images of humanity that reflect the qualities we cherish most in each other. In his portraiture, he gently documents the relics of a subject's life experiences as they unfold and present themselves in the emotions of their face, the language of their body, and the energy of their being. Russ' photography gives us license to laugh, play, rejoice, or to mourn. It is through his images that we are led respectfully and thoughtfully into the life of another.

Photography Business Seminar on February 14

2009-01-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

I got an announcement from the Los Angeles Chapter of ASMP for a half-day seminar on February 14 on Licensing, Pricing, and Negotiating. It looks like a pretty good value and it is on topics vital to running a successful photography business.

LICENSING, PRICING, and NEGOTIATING

ASMP presents two seminars in one program, so get prepared to pack your head with an incredible amount of useful information about the photography business.

Hang out in a historic L.A. house in the historic West Adams District (convenient to downtown and the 10 Freeway), and chow down on some (non-historic) snacks, as well.

WHAT DO I CHARGE?

Susan Carr presents a candid discussion on licensing and pricing your work. Take the mystery out of determining your fees and setting licensing terms. Get real world strategies for pricing in this tough business climate. Learn how to sell your prices with confidence.

Are your clients asking for more and paying less? Are your costs increasing? Are you struggling with how to determine your fees? And, what about talking to clients about price?

Topics:

— What you need to know about copyright. — A real world look at how to license photography. — Why are copyright, licensing and pricing connected? — Pricing models. — Learn the steps to determining what to charge. — Selling your price.

I STINK AT NEGOTIATING

Join Blake Discher for his highly acclaimed Strictly Business 2 lecture on how to win jobs. Blake will teach you the steps to become a top negotiator. This critical skill can change your business in the most profound way--more and better work! Blake will walk you through real world scenarios, show you how to listen and talk to prospects turning them into loyal clients.

Do you panic when you have to discuss money with a client? Do you talk too fast, ramble or sound indignant? Do you give in too fast to a lower price or broad licensing terms?

Seminar Topics:

— Learn how to prepare for a negotiation. — Researching the client. — Increasing your clout. — Listening skills. — When is it time to walk away. — The follow-up is critical.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2009

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - Doors open at 8:30.

LOCATION:

The Wilshire House (built for Mrs. Wilshire),

2501 Fourth Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90018

http://www.asmp.org/commerce/education/register.php?venue_id=153

$50 - ASMP Member

$75 - Professional Association Member

$85 - Non-Member

$35 - Students

DOOR PRIZES

Two copies of Microsoft Expression Media (a $299 value)

A copy of Photo Price Guide from Hindsight (a $99 value)

A copy of METAmachine from Hindsight (a $49 value)

Two copies of The ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography book

This program is sponsored by MICROSOFT

Susan Carr is a professional and fine art photographer based in Chicago. She specializes in architectural photography and has been in business for over twenty years. Her photographs are included in corporate and private collections, most notably the Pfizer Corporation and the Museum of Contemporary Photography.

A past president of ASMP, Susan has long been dedicated to the advocacy and education of fellow photographers. Susan organized and managed the highly successful ASMP Strictly Business 2 conferences and currently oversees ASMP's educational seminars. Susan is the editor of the latest ASMP Professional Business Practices in Photography (2008), published by Allworth Press.

Detroit photographer Blake Discher specializes in people photography for leading editorial publications and Fortune 500 corporations for advertising and annual reports throughout the world.

It's Blake's keen ability to make subjects feel at ease in front of the camera that takes him around the world to produce award-winning photographs for clients such as General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, American Airlines and Oracle. A professional photographer for 20 years, his work can be seen at www.fireflystudios.com. In addition, Blake's other company, www.go-seo.com, consults for small businesses in search engine optimization.

Did the Camera Lie?

2008-10-16T15:54:00.001-07:00

I've been looking for an explanation of this photograph since my son got home from work last night and told me about it. My first reaction was "Photoshop," but others have said no, it actually happened. I erased the overrun on the debate, so I couldn't check it. I also don't think that I saw anything from this angle during the debate.

Josh Olson had it up on his Facebook page and The Huffington Post had a slide show which included John McCain with his tongue equally far out of his mouth in several shots. I found this copy on a British news site. Josh assured me it was real, but he's in the fiction and entertainment industry. I used to be a journalist.

McCain appears to be slightly closer to the camera than Barack Obama is, which would account for the difference in focus. I suspect a VERY long lens was used and the point of focus was on McCain. It might also account for the distortion/fall-off in the out-of-focus script to McCain's right in the background and why the exposure for Barack Obama is soft and a little dark.

While John McCain is not my candidate of choice, I think that going with this image is rather sad. But who am I to talk? I once went out of my way to make the odious Phyllis Schafly look as arrogant and imperious as she came across when I photographed her for the Stanford Daily. I was uncomfortable when the paper went with that image, but I didn't loose sleep over it because it didn't turn her into a laughing stock. It just made her look dangerous, which, of course, she was.

If anyone hears anything about this photograph, I'd sure like to get the story.

Where Lost Photographs and Cameras Reside

2008-09-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Gillian Horvath, I'm sharing the link to I Found Your Camera. If you've lost a camera or a memory stick, this site is dedicated to reuniting you with your pictures. What a great idea. And what a lot of work.

When disasters hit, one of the first thing people grab before going out the door are family pictures. It must be incredibly frustrating to lose the pictures of some important event before you've even had a chance to look at them.

This is such a good idea, that I would encourage people to share the link.

Photojournalism Gone Wrong

2008-07-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

There's been quite a bit of controversy about a photograph released purporting to show the launching of four missiles by Iran last week and news agencies have been tripping all over themselves to show that the image was actually doctored, as evidenced in the side-by-side photographs here:

As a photographer with a lot of years of experience, the first thing I've noticed is that the two photographs were not taken from the same location (look at the mountain ridge in the background) and that the missiles in one are not in the same position in the air as the missiles in the other. It doesn't take any effort to notice that the missile that is missing in the picture on the right has a strange color patch of sky behind it. This might not show up in newsprint, but it is incredibly evident in pixels.

These guys may have Photoshop, but they don't have a lot of skill with it.

Pictures do lie. They lied before the digital age, but they lie even more now. This is not good photojournalism, it is propaganda. I just wonder whose propaganda it is. Without access to the metadata on each of the frames, I don't have much opportunity to figure it out.

Panoramic Imaging

2008-06-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

I found a link to this panoramic photograph on Mark Evanier's website. It appears on the Detroit Free Press website. It's a 360 degree look at the stadium where Al Gore endorsed Barak Obama in Detroit. As the camera pans, you'll see a blond woman, close up, using about a 600mm lens. I'm pretty sure it is Annie Leibovitz. I'll bet she's covering the convention for Vanity Fair.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended makes the creation of a 360 degree image pretty much a piece of cake. As long as there is about a 20% overlap in the frame, you can make such a panorama by turning in place and clicking away (with a digital camera, of course.) You put the "stack" of images into Photoshop and it will automatically stitch them together to creat the panorama. I watched Seth Resnick do this with photographs including the waterway in Miami and even the water trails didn't give it away.

If you own a digital camera and CS3 Extended, it is not only a whole lot cheaper than renting a panoramic camera, it's a whole lot less cumbersome than setting one up. From the description in the caption, I think this image was made using the CS3 method rather than an actual panoramic camera.

D65 in L.A.

2008-06-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

I recently attended my second D65 Workshop here in Los Angeles. I found the first one so informative that I figured I could do with a tune-up and I was not disappointed. As with the first time, there were photographers from all over the country and some foreign countries as well. There were also some art directors. It was a really good group.

When I took the earlier workshop in January, 2007, we were working with an Adobe Photoshop Lightroom beta. The program was supposed to be released on the last day of the workshop, but it was delayed about two weeks. Once I was able to buy the program, I tried to set up things the way we had been taught. I clearly missed a few points, because my hard drive proceeded to fill up on me. One of my goals for attending the second workshop was to get things cleaned up. I think I've done a pretty good job of that.

I'm working on a MacBookPro. At the moment, I don't plan to get a desktop machine. I now have a 500 GB external hard drive dedicated to my Lightroom library and raw files. I've also got a set of portable hard drives which hold the original raw files by year. I haven't yet set up my back-up hard drive for the Lightroom Library and files and I need to buy another drive to hold my exported job filess, but I do feel like I've accomplished a lot.

Lightroom 2.0 is now in beta testing. I've got that on my computer as well. If you own Lightroom 1.0, you can download the beta and work with it until it expires in August; if you don't own 1.0, the beta for 2.0 will work for 30 days.

I'm quite impressed by the changes which look like it will have, but there's no guarantees. Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer, the D65 gurus, are writing a book based on using 2.0 in their workflow plan. We got a taste of it at the workshop, but we'll have to wait until October 1 to actually get the book. The 2.0 beta is scheduled to expire sometime in August, so my guess is that the actual program will be available for sale sometime around then.

As far as I'm concerned, photojournalists and news photographers will have no reason to use Photoshop once Lightroom 2.o is available. It does all of the fixes a good photojournalist should be limited to when using a digital darkroom. Even for photographers who are allowed the leeway to do a lot more retouching or changing, Lightroom 2.0 should meet most needs.

The library will hold a lot more images than the search engine for 1.0 permits. I've got about 18,000 in my library now, and I sometimes get the spinning beach ball.

I expect to spend a lot of time this summer working on key words and metadata for my older images. It will make things a lot easier to find in the future. I'm also planning to practice what I preach and get these images registered before I use them on the web.

During the workshop I took some wonderful pictures of my horse and some of the other horses at the barn which have good potential for licensing. I haven't been represented by an agency since my last agency went out of business last year, so I may start looking for new representation based on these pictures--or maybe I'll just plan on doing my own licensing. I've been so unimpressed by the way stock agencies work these days--I'm stuck in a mind-set that says an agency gets no more than 50% of he license fee. I don't think that Getty or Corbis deserve 83% of the much lower fees they seem to get for photographs these days.

I also don't understand why photographers are willing to sell themselves out for so little. Seth mentioned that magazine photographers are the only category of photographers who are actually making less money than they were 30 years ago. If you want to make money in photography, shoot weddings--if you can deal with the mother of the bride or bridezilla herself. I never wanted to, which is why I pretty much avoided carriage-trade work altogether.

Seth and Jamie do the D65 workshops all over the country, about one a month. The workshop isn't cheap, but I really do recommend it. It teaches a good, practical way of dealing with digital work flow and that is something worth learning sooner rather than later. You can link to D65 from the list on the right side of this page. The other nice thing about doing the workshop is that there is a D65 Yahoo group, so I am part of a daily discussion about workflow, and the group includes people at Adobe who are very interested in what professional photographers think and how they work, in order to make the program more responsive to photographers' needs.

June 20 Program on Copyright and Trademark Issues

2008-06-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

I'll be giving an overview of copyright and trademark issues concerning visual artists next Friday, June 20, for the Simi Valley Art Association. A couple of their members attended the program I did at Continental Art Supplies earlier this year and invited me to speak.

The program will be held at the Community Room of the Simi Valley Public Library at 2969 Tapo Canyon Road, Simi Valley, CA 93063. Admission is free to students with accompanying adults. Non-SVAA members donate $7 at the door. (Proceeds go to the art scholarship fund for high school students.) The room has capacity for 120 people, so ther's plenty of room. My presentation should start about 7:15 after the organization finishes some preliminary matters. There's plenty of parking and it's easy to find asw it is next to the city hall.

Programs like these give artists an opportunity to ask questions they might not otherwise be able to afford to have answered. They also serve as good opportunities to network.

APA/LA Assistant Boot Camp Weekend

2008-04-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

I just got the following notice from APA LA about its upcoming workshops. Assisting is a great way to learn the business of photography. Many of the photographers I know, including myself, spent at least some time assisting other photographers. I had a friend in New York who, at that time, owned a light-rental business in addition to being a good shooter. He was able to connect me with advertising photographers in New York, where I assisted for about six months. I later rented my studio in the DC area to some of those same photographers for their out of town shoots. Assistants get paid better today, but they also need a whole lot more skills.

APA/LA Assistant Boot Camp Saturday May 3, 2008 With so many photographers seeking work, how can a photography student gain an edge? Until you can build a stellar portfolio and use it to market your photos, learn the business behind the business. Whether your goals include gaining more commercial experience or learning about being an assistant, this moderated panel of leading photography apprentices will provide the knowledge and confidence to send you in the right direction. We'll cover career opportunities and the ins and outs of getting hired in the industry. A good resource for film assistants, prop work and film crews. In this course, you can expect to learn:

Insight into industry expectations Identifying potential markets Effective communication and marketing strategies Whom you should know and how to develop a professional relationship Whom to contact to get hired What is expected of you when you are hired, & how to get paid for your work Managing self-income taxesWhat not to do, and things to look out for Demos of various lighting, camera and grip equipment In addition each participant will receive a copy of the APA/LA Assistant Handbook Breakfast and Lunch will be provided
Early Registration: (on or before May 1, 2008) Free for APA/LA Assistant ($125 Annual Fee) Student Members ($55 Annual Fee)
$60 Non-members

Late Registration:
$10 APA/LA Assistant and Student Members
$70 Non-members
* Black Book Raffle * The Black Book will be raffling off a FREE 10 Image Online Portfolio. Our
Blackbook.com website focuses on the work of the artist. This is your chance
to showcase your portfolio to the industry's best.
Photo Assistant Training 101 Sunday May 4, 2008 9:30 - 5:30pm (registration & breakfast: 9:30 - 10:00am) Anthony Nex Studio 3221 Hutchinson Ave Los Angeles, CA 90034 Attendance is limited to 20. Register Now!
(Prerequisite: attendance at APA/LA Assistant Boot Camp (2007 or 2008)

APA/LA is proud to present our new full day Photo Assistant Training course in conjunction with out Assistant Boot Camp. In this course, held on Sunday May 4th attendees will be able to participate in HANDS ON instruction and demonstrations in a more intimate atmosphere allowing participants to have the opportunity of handling the gear under direction and supervision. Basic lighting set-ups will be discussed in length and you will have the opportunity to take notes and draw diagrams. TIME PERMITTING, participants MAY be able to shoot a few frames for your records and note taking.

This course will cover:

Light modifiers: assemble and disassemble soft boxes, umbrellas, etc.
Light meter: work with a light meter
Light control: flags, nets, cutters, etc
Tungsten: hot lights and fresnel
Strobes: assemble different brands of strobe gear
Stands and Grip: work with a cstand and other grip equipment
Travel: what to expect, packing and preparing
Attitude: proper set etiquette
Marketing: ideas old and new
Syncing strobes: in studio and on location
Seamless: set up a seamless and background
Your Assistant "kit": tools for problem solving to make your job easier and help you shine.

What to bring:
Your light meters and SLR cameras (film or digital). (optional)
Notepad
Pen or Pencil
Admission: Breakfast and Lunch are included

APA Members - $99
Non Members - $149
Register Now!

Copyright & Trademark Lecture

2008-03-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

The California Lawyers for the Arts called yesterday and asked me to give a talk on "Copyright and Trademark Basics for Visual Artists," something I could probably do in my sleep since I've done so many of them. I went off to law school to help other creators. It turned out to be a lousy way to make a living, but I do really like to educate creators to help themselves. This was an easy yes, since I don't have to take on any clients from it.

This free brown-bag lunch event is at Continental Art Supplies, 7041 Reseda Boulevard, Reseda, California on March 17, 2008. On-site registration is at 11:15 a.m. and the talk is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call California Lawyers for the Arts at 310-998-5590 or e-mail them at UserCLA@aol.com. Space is limited to 25 people.

California Lawyers for the Arts is a terrific organization and every artist should join (dues are a pittance) and take part in the many free or low-cost programs they offer, including lectures, workshops, lawyer referrals, and seminars.

Copyright Seminar for Photograpehrs

2007-09-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

The Advertising Photographers of America, Los Angeles Chapter will have a business seminar on copyright featuring Michael Grecco, Jeff Sedlik, and Stephen Spataro on September 27. Information can be found here.

Michael Grecco is a terrific celebrity photographer whose work appears in magazines and advertising. Jeff Sedlik is an advertising photographer who was very involved with the sales tax issue as it affected photographers in California. Stephen Spataro was the outside counsel for APA-LA for many years.

This is the first of a series of programs on the business of photography. Space is limited.

Copyright Ownership Isn't a Model Release

2007-09-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Over at f/8 and Beware I wrote about a young woman who is suing Virgin Mobile because a photograph of her on Flickr was picked up by some penny-wise and pound-foolish art director or ad executive and used on a huge advertising campaign for Virgin Mobile in Australia. You can read that piece, but the point is that putting your images up on the Internet means they are going to be stolen. It is that simple. Sometimes it isn't you that's done it. I've had work of mine show up on line because someone scanned the image and uploaded it. Since there are no copyright police, it's very hard to track down those uses and do anything about it. Because of the DMCA, it's very hard to recover--an ISP is effectively shielded from liability and it is almost impossible to track down the individual who can be sued, even if that person had any assets.

In this case, the girl has a privacy claim. Not the kind of privacy you might ordinarily think of, but the privacy right which is really a right of publicity--the right to license the use of her image or refuse to let someone use it for commercial purposes. That is a big-ticket mistake in the U.S., and, as near as I can tell, in Australia as well. Someone might have been able to use the girl's picture in a book or magazine article about vibrant teenagers without a model release, but the second it became about selling Virgin Mobile product, all bets are off. A couple of years ago, a professional model got an 8 figure jury judgment against a coffee company for using his image on a label--a use which exceeded the model release or contract he had signed at the time of the photography shoot almost 20 years before. Ooops.

Then there's the recent case of the photographer who claimed he had a model release for some photographs of Cameron Diaz from before she was famous. He was found guilty by a jury and went to jail because he either didn't have or forged a model release and they saw his attempt to sell the images back to Ms. Diaz as extortion (apparently, a publisher was willing to pay substantial money for the photographs, which pictured her with exposed breasts.)

The photographer in the Virgin Mobile case isn't in trouble with the girl because all he did was upload the pictures for a church group event to the Flickr share site. That's when all hell broke loose.

Let me also note that courts are very reluctant to give a blanket interpretation to a model release that states the subject has given up all rights for all time. Even a model release which is for nude photographs has been restricted in effect by a court who agreed with a plaintiff that she signed the model release for the photographs to be used in Playboy, but didn't want her body associated with Hustler. If the Governator has signed Sheila Kuehl's legislation, model releases or contracts signed by a celebrity may not be honored by his or her heirs, further devaluing a photographers files.

If you are looking to see if any of your pictures are on line, Google's image search is a fine place to start. Because I've photographed so many writers, I can do a search on a writer's name and see what comes up. I can also do a search on my name, because for some strange reason, people think that if they credit the photographer, they can do whatever they want with the image (part of the argument in the Virgin Mobile case, but they didn't credit the photographer.) This is so wrong. I used to make a substantial amount of money every year from the licensing of my stock photographs. This stream of income has almost disappeared, partly because the large agencies like Getty Images and Corbis have greatly depressed the market by selling images for a fraction of what they went for 20 years ago, and partly because there are so many "free" pictures on the Internet. The best I can recommend is to only put low-resolution pictures on-line. At least they'd look like crap blown up on a billboard, but I suspect technology will overcome that limitation pretty soon.

Identity Theft

2007-09-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Not mine, at least not this time.

No, this time it is the theft of identity and credit of a number of photojournalists, which is brought to light by this special story from The Digital Journalist, found at this link. According to the article, an obscure, self-proclaimed "White House" photographer named Joe O'Donnell who died recently has been eulogized for taking some of the most famous images of the 20th century. Unfortunately, he's been taking credit where none was due.

One of the photographs involved is a tightly cropped image of John Kennedy, Jr. saluting the casket carrying the body of his father. It was an image which tugged at the heart of a nation back in 1963 and I have a vague recollection of it even inspiring a poem. The particular photograph, reproduced above, was actually made by UPI photographer Stanley Stearns, a fact easily proved by overlaying the so-called O'Donnell photo with the original.

This is the downside of the digital era: images can be copied easily and there are no copyright police. Often this kind of fraud comes to light only by accident. In this case, someone's house of cards comes tumbling down after his death, leaving family and friends to sort out the truth from the lies.

Remember to register your images and keep good records. Your heirs may need to take action someday when you are no longer around.

New Links

2007-08-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank Kathy who suggested Strobist to me at my other blog. I checked it out and followed the link to Studio Lighting. I've added both to the photography links list.

Summer Time

2007-08-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

School's been out for almost 2 months now, but I've shooting production photographs for What's My Line Live on Stage to keep busy. It has been a lot of fun, but that's over for a while, too.

I am not scheduled to teach in the Fall, but that could change depending on how crowded classes are. I had a great group of students in the Spring and their final projects were generally pretty good. I hope that several of them will go on to other classes and a couple of them might even be able to go higher.

I'll be taking the new Photoshop class offered by the Media Arts Department specifically for photographers. I took a class back when it was Photoshop 4, so an update is a really good idea, especially if we'll be working with CS3.

Felice Frankel's Scientific Photographs

2007-06-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

Felice Frankel's work is featured in today's New York Times and there is a slide show of her photographs which is absolutely stunning. Click here to see it. If anyone has an interest in photography and an interest in science, this would be a possible direction for a career.

Final Projects Due May 30

2007-05-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

As an addendum to our lecture on copyright last week, let me recommend the following YouTube link to a piece that explains copyright using Disney film clips, "A Fair(y) Use Tale."

It is absolutely brilliant.

Also, an op-ed piece by author Mark Helprin in the New York Times on Sunday suggests that copyrights should be perpetual. I don't agree, but you should be aware of his opinion.

We'll have a quiz on the copyright and business practices material on Wednesday. Be prepared to print afterwards.

According to the final exam schedule, we are finished with classes this Friday and our Final Exam period is on May 30. This was not my understanding when I started teaching this class. This means that you all MUST finish your work for your final projects this week and you MUST present your final projects on Wednesday, May 30, during our exam period, which is the same time as our class period. Make note of this, please.

Adjustments and Announcements

2007-04-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

We may not have a classroom on Wednesday, April 25, so be sure to bring your cameras. My plan to give a quiz on Friday may be thwarted by a broken copy machine, but be sure to read the photography time-line in the book appendix anyway.

I was directed to an interesting web site/blog called "Shorpy" this morning. It has vintage photographs. The intention appears to be photographs in the 100 year old range, but there are many from more recent times including a selection from the FSA photographs of the Depression. You should check out the link I've added to this page.

APA/LA has announced a special event on May 10, 2007 entitled "There's Always Room at the Top: How to Get There and Stay There." Three photographers will speak, so it counts for the third writing project. One of the photographers is Doug Menuez, an absolutely wonderful shooter whose photographs documenting the rise of Silicon Valley has been acquired by the Stanford University Collection. Check out his website.

Digital v. Film & Harlan Ellison

2007-04-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, I attended a presentation at the Writers Guild of America theatre premiering a cut of a new documentary film about writer Harlan Ellison, Dreams with Sharp Teeth. The theatre was packed, the film was terrific, and I didn't get home until about 2 a.m.

What does this have to do with photography? I photographed the event, starting with dinner at Pink's Hot Dogs beforehand, during the Q&A after the film, and even a few photographs of the reception and signing afterwards.

One camera, one compact flash card, one lens (traveling light.) The nice thing about digital is that I could change the effective ISO to reflect the different light conditions.

At Pinks around 5:30, with lots of white walls and overcast bright skies, ISO 200 (the lowest speed available to me) worked quite nicely. In the WGA theatre, where shooting with a flash was discouraged--it interferes with video cameras--I tried ISO 400 and moved up to ISO 1000 to try and stop motion. Harlan's always in motion. For the signing and reception, I relied on the in-camera flash on automatic, to allow for ambient light. I did, unfortunately, forget to adjust the ISO back down to 200. The photos will still come out, but they're not what I wanted. I expect quite a bit of "noise" at the higher ISO. In general, the best ISO is whatever is considered optimal for the camera (often the lowest ISO, but it would be the default for Auto settings--if your instruction book gives you that information.)

Next month, on May 22, Harlan Ellison will make an appearance at Pierce College as the first in our planned series "The Creative Voice." During the afternoon, he will meet with students and in the evening, at the P.A.B., students and the public will be able to attend his appearance at 8:00 (doors should open at 7:30, but the theatre only seats 370.) A reception is planned to follow the appearance and books will be available for sale. Harlan will sign books during the reception.

In his 50+ years as a published writer, Harlan has produced more than 1700 short stories, written for television and motion pictures, recorded audio books, hosted the radio show Hour 25, and appeared on numerous talk shows. He is one of the most honored writers of the 20th century, receiving Hugo Awards, Nebula (R) Awards, Writers Guild of America Awards, and Grandmaster Awards from both the Science Fiction Writers of America and the World Fantasy Convention. (Do not use the term "sci-fi" within his hearing.) A colorful personality who is in demand as a public speaker, we are privileged to have him appear at Pierce.

I would encourage all of my students to attend his appearances on the Pierce Campus. It will be a most memorable experience.

The Passionate Photographer

2007-04-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

This morning's Los Angeles Times ran an interesting article in Column One about Martin Schall, a German oil and gas engineer who has made yearly visits to Los Angeles for the past 11 years to photograph the architecture of the city. His website displays many of the images he has taken and he's gained a certain celebrity for his work. While professional architectural photographers would use large-format ( 4 x 5 or 8 x 10) view cameras, Shall's work is done on a 35mm equivalent digital camera (I assume the earlier work was shot on film) with what looks like wide angle lenses. Thanks to Photoshop, the tilts and swings of a view camera can be replicated in adjustments to small-format images and the photographs do not suffer from the kind of distortion (buildings falling backward, for example) that are often seen in 35mm architecture.

This article is a prime example of a photographer whose passion drives him on this very personal look at the city of Los Angeles. While he may not have intended to do anything more than make pictures he enjoys, the website has brought him all kinds of attention and opened other doors to him.

Fine Art Photography

2007-03-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

I discovered a beautiful website with the work of many photographers which you should all check out. It's called Masters of Fine Art Photography, and I've added a link in the list of photography websites. It is an excellent resource for looking at the work of other photographers when you are looking for ideas for your assignments and clip books. I've looked at Yousef Karsh's portfolio, which has 50 years of portraits of very famous people, Sabastio Salgado's, Jill Greenberg's and Joel-Peter Witkin's, some of which are quite shocking.

Also, be sure to look at the link on Monitor Calibration. Although I have not been able to find a gray scale to bring in, this is a nice example of one.

If you are looking for an exhibit to attend and about which to do your gallery review, retired Rolling Stone Bill Wyman has a show running until April 14 at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in Hollywood, 7517 West Sunset Boulevard. The Gallery is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Here are the links to the on-line articles about digital white balance I spoke about last week in class: Apogee Photo Magazine on White Balance and Color Temperature, Urban Fox on White Balance, and another one on Color Temperature taken from a book by Jeremy Birn.

Synching Strobe

2007-03-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

After the incredibly frustrating experience of trying to set off my studio strobes last week, I learned that it is fairly easy to crank down the on-camera flash and use it to set off studio strobes with built-in electronic eyes, as my Balcars have. So we'll give that a try next time.
I also discovered that Hooper Camera on Devonshire in Chatsworth (just east of Topanga Canyon Blvd. on the south side of the street) had the screw-in flash devices I showed you in class. They also have one which will synch by cord to your camera (if your camera has a synch plug, of course) and set off the slaves. There were no prices on them, unfortunately.
CAI Camera, which is on Ventura Boulevard appears to be closing. I stopped by at lunch time today and the security gates were drawn, but no sign was on the door indicating why the store was closed. No one appears to be answering phones, and there's no voice mail announcement either. I guess it is just one less place to shop for equipment these days.
I did notice that Woodland Hills Camera was selling the collapsing reflectors/diffusers I used in class last week, if anyone is looking for them.

Photo Assistant Opportunities

2007-03-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Returning to the topic of learning to be a photographer's assistant, APA/LA is offering an Assistant Boot Camp on Saturday, March 31 at the Anthony Nex Studio, 3221 Hutchinson Avenue, Los Angeles from 9:30-1:30. It is free to APA Student Members ($45 Annual Fee) and $50 for non-members. You can register at www.apa-la.org. I'll post the notice in class, but I'm sure you can find it on line.

Also, APA/LA announced an internship program they've set up with Santa Monica College and other local schools. I will do what I can to see if Pierce is part of that and making it so if it is not.

Photographer's Assistants

2007-03-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

When I finished art school, I spent about six months freelancing as a photographer's assistant in New York. I was lucky in that I had a photographer friend who owned a studio lighting rental business and that my commercial photography teacher had gone back to New York to work in advertising design. Those two sources put me in touch with photographers who were willing to use women assistants (not that common in the early 1980s and a clue as to why I use my initials in my photo credits.) I was able to stay with my in-laws or friends, so I didn't have to pay rent in New York (my home was in the D.C. suburbs at the time.) In addition to the contacts I got from David and Tom, I also sent out hundreds of query letters to advertising photographers from lists I made by looking at work in the "Black Book" as well as by looking at credit lines, articles in photography magazines, and Communication Arts annuals. Today I'd be checking websites and sending my resume by e-mail.

When I set up my own studio, newly graduated photo students found me to look for work as an assistant. Every one of them will tell you they were paid on the day of the shoot and I always fed them well (not something I can say about the photographers for whom I worked.) Luckily, there are many photographers in Los Angeles, and many of them are in the market for assistants, either on a freelance or staff basis.

When starting out, it's a great way to learn. The money is a lot better than it was 25 years ago, but you are most likely to start out as a freelancer, working as needed by a lot of different photographers. If you have digital skills--meaning the ability to do the computer work necessary in today's studio--you can command top rates and will find steady work.

Unlike 25 years ago, assistants have resources for keeping in touch with each other and there are books on the topic of assisting. For some time, I've gotten an e-newsletter from Photoassistant.net, one effort to keep assistants informed and educated. If you check out the link, you can subscribe to the newsletter. It's free.

I noticed that they are offering workshops for aspiring or working assistants. Usually, these are held in New York, but they've scheduled one for San Francisco in April and are planning to hold one in Los Angeles. It looks like it may be a bit advanced for where Photo 10 students are right now, but it is something to think about for the future, especially if one is held in L.A. The price is a bit steep, but the program is quite intense and hands-on.

Many photographers' organizations offer special membership rates to students. This opens you to lots of information about the business of photography and the way individual photographers do things. I belonged to the National Press Photographers Association as a student, and I entered the contest they held annually for student photojournalists (I think I got an honorable mention for a feature or weather photograph one year.) I believe that the American Society of Media Photographers has a student membership rate and the Advertising Photographers of America may as well. Both ASMP and APA have chapters in Los Angeles which put on educational programs and student members are permitted to participate.

When looking for work as an assistant, it is good to know that photojournalists rarely have assistants, although some magazine photographers do. Advertising photographers and corporate photographers almost always use assistants, and the bigger the shoot, the more assistants on hand. Assistants rarely get to shoot, but they do get to know equipment really well. They also learn a lot about business management, clients, client contact, portfolio presentation, and logistics.

The most important skill an assistant can learn is to be one or two steps ahead of the photographer, rather like Radar O'Reilly on M.A.S.H. Needless to say, this is a thinking skill one develops from paying attention to detail and the big picture. Most of the time, a newbie assistant is a second or third assistant who gets to learn from the first assistant. Even if the newbie's job is largely about getting coffee, sweeping floors and keeping track of digital memory cards, it's a great learning experience. (And yes, people will want you to work for free to start, which is why it's easier to start if you still live at home. You might be able to get work/study credit from Pierce, too.)

CLICK! Casting

2007-03-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the information that I mentioned in class on Wednesday about the new reality show which is casting for photographers:

Vh1 Casting amateur Photographers & People interested in Photography

Reply to: Casting@SamRhimaCasting.com
Date: 2007-03-03, 12:05PM PST

CLICK!

A new television show for Vh1 is searching for the next amazing photographer! You will get to work with and learn from one of the Top photographers in the World!

If you are an amateur photographer with little or no experience and believe that you have an unbelievable eye or a natural talent to bring out beauty in pictures…. Then we want you! We are looking for men and women between the ages of 23-40 with a creative edge and great personality to participate in our new reality competition called, CLICK!

The new reality competition series, CLICK! Gives amateur photographers the chance to live out their fantasies as they fight to get the perfect shots and indelible images that make people take notice. The winner will get $1,000.00 cash prize plus the opportunity to shoot a major, national campaign.

To be considered, email your Name, Age, Contact number and a Photo.
Send to: Casting@SamRhimaCasting.com

Sam Rhima
Casting Director
www.SamRhimaCasting.com

Stock Photographers

2007-03-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

Stock Photographers Wanted

I found this information on Craig's List. Because it is a royalty-free agency, I can't recommend you actually sign with them, but you should check out their website to see what they are looking for and their contracts so you can see the conditions involved with payment. http://www.stockfoundry.com

There are many stock photography agencies out there, but the two biggest are Getty Images (located here in L.A.) and Corbis (owned by Microsoft.) These two agencies have led the way on reducing the amount of money photographers see for individual licenses on their images. In the days when I had work with two agencies, photographers saw 50% of each license of their work. These days, the royalty rate for photographers is less than 20% and photographers subsidize a huge amount of the agency overhead.

Reply to: info@stockfoundry.com
Date: 2007-03-06, 1:40PM PST

We are Stock Foundry Images. Partner with us and see your work distributed around the world. We're looking for photographers who are adept at shooting people and scenes depicting business interactions, family life, lifestyles, sports action and leisure. The qualities we most look for are your ability to tell a story with pictures. As most of our images are sold for advertising purposes, it is imperative that your work appeal to creative professionals. This posting invites interested photographers to join us as partners, with remuneration based on a generous percentage of sales.

Technical Requirements:
- Possess own equipment
- Shooting digital, minimum 10-12 megapixel
- Ability to source, coordinate and network with models

This opportunity is open to photographers working in Los Angeles and all other major metropolitan areas. If interested, please reply with 8-10 sample photos (low-res JPGs) and/or a website showing additional samples from your portfolio. Visit www.stockfoundry.com to see samples of the type of images currently associated with our brand.

Tips on Tests and Reports

2007-03-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

When taking an exam, it is better to make an educated guess at a multiple choice question or a true or false question than to leave the answer blank. In a multiple choice situation, you've got a 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 chance of being right--or it might be even better odds if you eliminate the obviously wrong answers first. With true or false questions, it's always 50-50. In either event, it's a possibility of getting the answer correct against a certainty of no points at all. While there may be some kinds of exams where a blank is better than a guess, the tests you take in this class won't be among them.

When doing an assignment, either a photographic shooting assignment or a written assignment, follow the directions. I want to see a solution which reflects what I have asked for. This is practice for the real world where a client will not be happy if you turn in an assignment which has no relationship to what you were asked to do. You can always turn in an additional solution which you think might better illustrate the problem, but solve the problem as asked first.

If I ask you to write about a photographer, I expect to learn something about that photographer. If you are given an image to write about, I expect you to write about that image. As much as I enjoy reading some of the material I have gotten from students about other things, you will not get credit for a report if the report is not on topic.

Assistance for Student Success

2007-02-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

For any of my students who may need help with written assignments, Pierce offers a Writing Lab and help at the Learning Center.

The English Department Writing Lab is located in Room 1612. The hours are Monday and Tuesday 9-3:15; Wednesday 9-2:15; and Thursday 9:30-12:15. One-on-one writing help is available free of charge. One print out of each assignment is free of charge.

The Learning Center provides services to enhance student success and offers help in a variety of subjects, including English skills. All services are free to currently enrolled Pierce students, but there is a $3 minimum printing charge. The tutoring program is in room 1613, which you enter from room 1604, the location of the computer lab. The computer lab has 62 computer stations available for student use. A print card can be purchased at the book store. The hours of the Learning Center are Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday 8:00 am.-2:00 p.m.

In addition to these services, Pierce College has published a Student Success Workshop Calendar for Spring 2007. You may be able to find information at http://www.piercecollege.edu/offices/counseling or check at the welcome desk in the Administration Building for a copy of the schedule. Workshop topics include such things as filing out a FASA, writing resumes, transfering, learning disabilities, stress management, using the library and time management. There are 10 workshops scheduled before the end of the month.

Impressions of Day 1

2007-02-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

It looks to me as if about 2/3 of the class is shooting digital and 1/3 is shooting film. The biggest difference will be that the film students will have the extra step of having the film commercially processed and transfered to cd while the digital shooters will produce their own cds for delivery. At the end of class, one of the students asked if she could shoot the assignment on both her film camera and her digital camera. I think that's an excellent idea, and if anyone else is fortunate enough to have both kinds of cameras, I think it would be a good learning experience for you.

On Wednesday, February 21, everybody should bring in their cameras, lenses, and instruction books (along with the results of Assignment #1.) Enjoy your holiday weekend and shoot lots of pictures.

Welcome to Photography 10, Spring 2007

2007-02-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our exciting experiment in teaching Photo 10 at Pierce College this semester. As some of you may know, Pierce is undergoing great change. This includes the construction of new buildings, which means the demolition of old buildings. Unfortunately, among the buildings slated for demolition is the black and white darkroom located in the old Bungalow cluster near Mason. In a few months, that whole area will be leveled to make way for the Center for the Sciences.

This semester, students in Photo 10 have the option of shooting either film or digital, but post-shoot processing will be handled in a digital work flow. What this means is that for those students who are fortunate enough to have a digital SLR, there will only be a digital work flow. For those students who are working with film SLR cameras, there will be an intermediate step to have your film processed elsewhere, most likely at a place like Costco where you can get a cd with jpgs of your images.

Please bring cameras, camera instruction booklets, and film or digital media to every class. In my own work, I use Nikon cameras and I do not know the intricacies of using most other manufacturers' equipment. I will need to look at your instruction booklets to be able to help you. So the first rule of this class is RYFM--read your f@#!#%! manual.

The second rule of this class is turn your work in on time. This class is part of the Media Arts Department and is an entry class into the photojournalism specialty. Deadlines are important. No publication ever went to press with a blank spot and a caption reading "photograph not supplied by M.C. Valada." Students always want to know how to get an A in this class. It's easy. Turn work in on time ready to be published as is. The photographs should say what you want them to say, be well composed, well exposed, well printed (or otherwise prepared for output), and well presented. The photographs should not need to be better composed, cropped, or retouched. You shouldn't give me excuses such as (but not limited to): the weather was bad, the light was bad, I couldn't find anything to photograph, I didn't have time, I had an exam, I can't afford the class (drop it now, please), or the dog ate my homework.

If you've signed up for this class because you think it will be easy, you've made a mistake. Learning photography is a lot of work because the only way you learn is by doing. I expect you to do a lot learning and a lot of work. On the other hand, none of you is here because a parent threatened to cut you out of a will if you didn't take this class. I assume that each of you is here because you like photographs and want to make better pictures. It might be that there's a new baby in the family or a trip you plan which cries out to be photographed. Maybe there are even one or two of you who realize that you might be able to make a difference in the world by becoming a photographer. So the third rule of this class is have fun. Photography isn't brain surgery and it is unlikely anyone will die if you over- or under-expose a picture. Unless, of course, you make the mistake of agreeing to photograph a wedding. Then you might be the one to die when the mother of the bride doesn't get the photograph she wants.

Rule four is ask questions. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask. You can pretty well bet if you've got a question, someone else does and is too scared to ask. If I haven't explained something clearly, let me know and I'll try it again.

We are all going to need to be flexible about the curriculum this semester. We aren't sure when our computers or software will actually be installed. The only things which are for certain is the class begins on February 14 and ends on June 1, which will be our day for the final. I do not give a final exam. Final projects are due and will be presented that day. Presented means that you each will talk about your project and the individual photographs in terms of technique. I will address this as the semester progresses.

Please post comments and questions on this blog which would be of interest to your fellow students. I will answer them here and, when appropriate, discuss them in class. Keep it civil.

I look forward to meeting and getting to know each of you this semester. If you have any questions about the program at Pierce or your thoughts about transferring or working in the field of photography, don't hesitate to ask. If you have any special needs, or English is not your first language, or if you might have trouble with the writing assignments you'll be doing, please let me know so we can make accomodation or get you help. My e-mail and office phone numbers are in the syllabus.