The workspace of writers.
No matter how many years experience we have, or how accomplished we become in our creative careers there will always be an intrinsic fascination with the way our peers work. I love behind the scenes photos of shoots. There’s something about seeing the setup and then the final result that is always awesome.
Lately I’ve been interested in how other writers work. The definitive work on the subject is How I Write: The Secret Lives of Authors
Image © Kyle Cassidy
Many thanks to E over at Cellophane66 for pointing me to this site.
I’ll get you my pretty, and your little camera too.
Just now I was sitting in traffic crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and I saw a young woman with a camera shooting up towards the top of the North tower of the bridge. She was taking shot after shot trying to find the right angle. I could see her passion in her actions. She pressed herself and her camera against the base of the tower and then she backed up a few steps, and then she got down on one knee. I was sorry I had to call the cops on her.
A few weeks ago Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared in a FOX television interview that; citizens should report photographers “when they see something unusual, if they see, for example, somebody continually taking photographs of a piece of critical infrastructure that doesn’t seem to make any sense”. Ahem. If your not a photographer, then nothing that a photographer does seems to make any sense. It’s not supposed to. That’s the magic of the art. The final image that results from the nonsensical lighting-and-composition dance.
With the heightened sensitivity of these times we photographers need to adopt an appropriate protocol to interact with authorities should we be called out as “suspicious”. It is in fact your constitutional right, in the United States, to take pictures freely in public spaces for as long as you want. However if you are approached, there is no reason to adopt an aggressive attitude siting your rights. Yes it sucks that you would be approached in the first place, but the fight is not with law enforcement, it is with the policy makers. Always remember your goal is the image. Be honest and explain that you are a professional photographer. Ninety-nine percent of the time the officer will leave the you alone. Remember what they are doing is assessing the situation. If the situation is as it appears then there is nothing left to do.
So what happens if you are told to leave. Taking a stance to stand up for your rights is a personal decision and can have far reaching effects. The bureaucracies are not swinging in favor of individual rights at this time. Yes, you will win in the long term but you have to keep in mind the costs to career to taking on that fight. Sometimes it’s better to walk away and come back to the location a different day.
As far as the fight I’ll be joining the letter writing campaign taken up by the National Press Photographers Association. I’ve also requested a request for an interview with Miss Napolitano so she can articulate her her side of the story. As astonished and disappointed as I am about what she said, I can’t get fired up until I have the complete story. Unfortunately her office has yet to respond to my interview request from three days ago. I’ll update you with the letter I write and the interview I’m determined to get. This issue needs to be addressed immediately. Because there is no such thing as a photographer who acts normal when they are shooting.
Write when inspired.
Wise words from Jeffrey Zeldman:
Write when inspired; rest when tired.
Whether the task is writing, design, or hanging a picture straight, it is obvious that we do our best work when healthy, rested, refreshed, alert, and eager to do the job for its own sake.
Read the whole piece here.
About you.
I’m reposting this piece that I wrote a few months ago for Resolve as an answer to some emails I’ve receieved and to reiterate its value. The past few months I’ve been doing a lot of cold communications and the About page on my site has been absolutely instrumental in successfully connecting with people.
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These past few months I’ve been reaching out via email to some high-profile writers that I’ve never met so that I can cajole them into an interview for my new book. It’s always difficult cold-emailing someone that you don’t know because you are desperate to convey your credentials, but you don’t want to blather on about yourself imperiling your original point for contacting them.
Read the rest here at the Resolve Blog.
Why lie?
The economic crisis has affected everyone. Which has spawned a new honesty. Which has made practicality very fashionable. Which has driven people to base their identity on brains and ingenuity and not on their material possessions. Personally, I love it.
Image © Yvan Rodic.