Moving

Just in case anyone is actually following this, I am moving this blog to my own website.
Please visit alanklughammer.com/info

My Daughter, the protoge

I took my kids to Goldstream today, in part because my daughter needed a "colourful picture" for school.
Since she forgot her camera I let her use my DSLR. She apparently has been watching, because she knew how to hold it properly. She also learned about shutter speed and its relationship to motion, and at the same time, how shutter speed effects aperture to get a correct exposure.
Of course she then started asking about all the buttons on the camera.
On a serious note, it is a real fine line encouraging your children. For the longest time neither of my kids wanted much to do with photography, on either side of the camera. I have managed to convince them (rarely) to pose for pictures, but until today, I have not really seen any interest in taking "art" pictures, even though they both have strong creative streaks.
I guess I am just in Thanksgiving / Proud Pappa mode...

New site

I have finally registered my name. I now have a site under alanklughammer.com

But I still don't write much. Lots of photos though...

Artists

From a post on slashdot

The fact is that any artist is a giant milling machine - in goes ideas and concepts and styles and techniques and disparate things (like banana cereal and dogs peeing against trees) and they all churn and ferment and process and grind and beak down and clump together and then

... ping ... up pops an idea, which because the milling machine is an artist of some description, needs to get expressed in some manner (the non-artist merely stalls at the last step - the process is not unique to artists).

Pretty much sums it up....

More on Copyright

I was reading more on the proposed copyright bill at cbc.ca. It really looks like a candy-coated suicide pill.
There are some seemingly positive aspects, such as it would be legal to format shift content. ie, it would be legal to play your cd's on your ipod. BUT, if the producer puts a "digital lock" on the content, it becomes illegal to break it.
So what constitutes a "digital lock"? How about a text file on the cd saying, "Please do not copy this."

reductio ad absurdum

and further:

Clement has said he would like to fast-track Bill C-32

No I do not trust this ....

Copyright

It seems that copyright (and "intellectual property" in general) is in the news a fair bit lately. Canadian parliament is threatening to pass a highly restrictive "DCMA" style law a la the USA.

As a photographer, I value my work. I do not want someone else taking my art to promote their product, for example, but on the other hand, I do not want to have all art hidden away and unaccessable to the world or, especially, future generations.
A common argument is that Walt Disney's original cartoon, "Steamboat Willy" is still under copyright. In other words, it is illegal to show a cartoon that our grandparents enjoyed as kids. Put in perspective, imagine if Shakespeare could not have written Julius Caesar because the original story was not available. Or if Mozart could not have written his operas because the stories he based them on were tied up in legal knots. Please explain to me how this "promotes the arts".

All art is based on the work of others before. In fact many great works were meant as tributes to masters. My fear is that historians will look back on this century as a second dark ages. Where instead of religion holding all power over publishing works, mega-corporations hold artists hostage.

I read a reply on slashdot that may be on the right track (I lost the link) that advocates aboloshing copyright altogether. maybe the pendulum has to swing the other way for a while to restore balance. It may be rough for artists, but then most artists do what they do for love rather than money...

links:
- Against Intellectual Monopoly

Stuff....

I have said it before, I am not a writer. I am very visual.
I was out this morning with my camera when someone came up to me to ask what I was taking a picture of. I couldn't really explain. I tried to talk about lines and colour, but they just gave me a blank look. Now if they were to see the image, could they then see?

This has happened to me before with photographers as well. I was out taking photos and saw the image below. My friend asked me what I saw. Later he was amazed. He appreciated the final image, but he could not see it beforehand.



I guess I will stick to photography....

Happy New Year

Wow, it is the end of a decade (yes I know the decade officially starts 2011) a lot has happened in the last 10 years. I have lived in at least 11 places, worked for 7 companies, and generally embraced change.
The world outside has embraced this change as well. In the technology arena we have seen the emergence of ipods and cheap, portable computers. Politically the world has seen turmoil and huge changes. Socially we are much more connected via email, internet sites, and cell phones. We are arguably changing faster than ever before in history. Pretty amazing actually...

In this upcoming decade, I hope to get my photography to come into its own, both as a business and as an artistic expression. My two children will be growing up and starting their own lives. I am looking forward to it.

New Photos

Yes, I know, I don't write here very much. A lot of things have been happening. I have started a new job, which has been a huge challenge (and eats a lot of time...) but I have been trying to get out to photograph.
Some of my photos are on my website at http:klughammer.dnsalias.com. Please have a look, and rate them...

Legal Mumbo Jumbo

I found this on Slashdot as a comment on legaleas:

This is like describing cup of coffee as a "insulating ceramic material vessel for the transportation of central nervous system-stimulant-laden liquids of temperatures approaching gradual evaporation adapted to both manipulation and imbibation for the purposes of maximum early-hours alertness and/or circadian rhythm modulation."

I think I will just have a coffee...

Moving

So I have moved into my new place. It is a bit smaller than my last place, but nicer (except for all the damn boxes waiting to be unpacked...) Some day I will be able to get out and get some photography done...
Oh, and go Canucks...

Artist Copyright

I have been thinking a bit lately about copyright. Specifically, the use of others' art to create new art. South of the border, the US seems very concerned and protective about copyright, especially music, movie, and software copyright, with RIAA, MPAA, WTFAA, etc suing everyone they can drag into court.
In the fine art world, copying a work is considered an honour to the original artist. Homage to ...
In fact, when you get right down to it, all art is based to some degree on what has come before. We all learn from the masters, and hopefully extrapolate so the next generation can build on what we have done.
Maybe this is the attraction for me of open source software. Any programmer can build on what has been done before, Thus learning from the talent (and mistakes) of the previous generation.
In the music world, there seems to be a real dichotomy. On the one hand, it is illegal to copy music. You can be sued for exorbitant sums for downloading one song from the internet. On the other hand, a lot of "artists" blatantly copy songs from a couple of generations ago, yet they add little to the original. Of course there are exceptions to this. If it didn't spoil my argument, I might even say many, if not most renditions are unique.
As an artist myself, I don't want anyone using my work as their own, however I would be pretty excited if someone wanted to use one of my photographs as a starting point to build an image of their own. (of course depending if I like the resultant image, and there is the rub...) I want to maintain control of my creations, but the reason I take photos is to share my vision of the world. If someone else were to use my images in a compilation, I would like to see what they could do, but I also think I would want a percentage of any money they make from the image.
I guess there isn't an easy answer.
but after all that, I still want to share my vision. Here is an image I took recently at Francis King park.

What goes wrong on photoshoots

I was reading here about troubles on location shoots...
I have one better...

I used to do a bit of fashion photography and I had one client who produced a catalogue every year. On one shoot we were in a tropical garden (Crystal Gardens. Doesn't exist any more. I think it got turned into a casino....). Anyway, there were a half dozen or so female models, the client, me and my assistant. As I was composing a shot, I backed into a light stand and tore the seat out of my jeans. I had backup cameras, backup lights, but no backup pants. And for those of you that don't know the meaning of commando, lets just say it was not a dignified position. But the show must go on. We finished the shoot, and after the catalogue was produced I am sure a lot of people wondered why all the models has such laughter in their eyes...

15 minutes of 1000 fans

I just read TOP's discussion of 1000 True Fans. I agree with John Scalzi's comments, by the time you can get "1000 true fans" you already have a (untrue?) fanbase well in excess of 1000, or even more likely, 100,000.
I probably have close to 1000 people who enjoy my photography, and maybe even follow what I am doing on this blog, my home website, or my deviant art page. From all these people, I have no "true fans". I haven't made a cent directly from these sites (yet...) But do I resent this? Not at all, in fact I think it is very cool that some people like what I am doing. It lets me show off what I am doing. It gives me an outlet for my creativity.
The concept of subscribers paying a yearly fee is very much a double edged sword. If you are being paid to produce work, you are expected to produce work of the same type and caliber as your previous work. Experimentation becomes much more dangerous.
To illustrate what I think this means, I will use two successful Canadian photographers as examples.
Freeman Patterson has always been an inspiration for me. In my view, he has stayed true to his "artistic vision" (for want of a better term). He does make his living from photography and design, but he still pushes his personal envelope. I hope I am not putting words in his mouth, but I see him as enjoying photography first and foremost. The money and business are secondary. If no one else enjoyed his vision (blatantly impossible, his photography is amazing...) I think he would still be out crawling through grass taking photos of spider webs...
Another talented photographer who I will not mention by name, uses photography as a means to an end. I was at a lecture of his once, right after the release of another of his books. He was recounting a story of a cab ride between interviews. He suddenly asked the cabbie to stop. He stepped out of the car and took a photo. When he got back in the cabbie asked him if he got a good shot. His reply was along the lines of "Not really, but someone will buy it."
I am not saying one of these approaches is better than the other. One stresses "success" as an artist, the other, financial success.
The "1000 True Fans" strategy encourages the second approach. You are producing work for a financial end. Your motivation is to please your existing clientèle because they have already paid you. I think most portrait and commercial photographers already subscribe to this model. Most studios I know have a base of repeat customers that make up a large part of their income.
I guess the bottom line is, What is most important to you? Money or freedom? It is very difficult to have both...

This reminds me of an old joke:
A man approaches a hot dog vendor and notices there are two prices for hot dogs.
"what is the difference?" asks the hungry man.
"If you choose the less expensive hot dog, I mutter "cheapskate" under my breath."


If you send me $100 a year, I promise I will produce more work. However if you don't send $100, I will still produce the same artwork, I will just mutter "cheapskate" under my breath...



.

Sad passing...

London Times Obituary

An Obituary printed in the London Times........

Interesting and sadly rather true...

'Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old
Friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many
Years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since
His birth records were long ago lost in
Bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as
Having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the
Early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair;
And maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial
Policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and
Reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
Charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when
political correctness became the, "in thing", and the
well-intentioned but overbearing, "Human Rights laws"
were set in place

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged
With sexual harassment for kissing a classmate;
Teens suspended from school for using mouthwash
After lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding
An unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked
Teachers for doing the job that they themselves had
Failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required
To get parental consent to administer sun lotion or
An Aspirin to a student; but could not inform
Parents when a student became pregnant and wanted
To have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches
Became businesses; and criminals received better
Treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a
Beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
Burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue
You for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live,
After a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup
Of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap,
And was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents,
Truth and Trust, his wife Discretion, his daughter
Responsibility and his son Reason

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;

I Know My Rights

I Want It Now

Someone Else Is To Blame

I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few
Realized he was gone. If you still remember him,
Pass this on. If not, join the majority and do
Nothing.

Open Source Software

I have said it before, I am not a writer, I am a visual person. I love photography. I also want to create with the least amount of hassle, but with the most control. That may seem like two opposite ideals, but that is what I want...
I also don't want to be forced into working the way someone else works. I have been using Ubuntu for quite a while now, and I really like the workflow.
In terms of Photography, I download my photos into Digikam and do a quick purge of out of focus, badly exposed, and other failed images. I also give the photos "tags" and a cursory rating so they will be easier to find later. Digikam also has some decent editing/correction tools to give a basic feel to the photo. I use these to get a handle on where I want to take the photo.
Once I have decided to work on a photo, I open it in RawTherapee and tweak the colours and process the raw file. I save a 16 bit png file.
The next program I use is either Cinepaint (still a bit kludgy to work with), Gimp (no 16 bit support...yet) or Krita. Here I do any spotting and dust removal, selective area enhancement and so on. I save a final version as a tif, and a scaled down version as a jpg. I upload the jpg to my website (which uses gallery2).
From this workflow, you will notice a couple of things. First, I use a lot of opensource software. What I like about opensource is the rapid improvement of the software. With a lot of eyes on the program, someone somewhere will fix any niggling problems. With a lot of commercial software, these niggling problems are not always addressed. Often you are told (indirectly) to just deal with it. Now don't get me wrong, Adobe's Photoshop, for example is a great program. In fact, I once taught a college level course on Photoshop, and there are a few things that are much easier to do in Photoshop than in other programs, however, the purchase price is getting astronomical. Recent versions are only marginally better than the previous, but still cost the same. And of course there are still the niggling things, Photoshop needs A LOT of memory, files are huge, some people have trouble with the interface... but these things don't always get addressed.
With a program like gimp (besides the very unfortunate name) things tend to move faster. If the program is not fulfilling the needs of a group, someone can "fork" the program to produce something like cinepaint that does address those needs. Innovation tends to move faster int he open source world. Chances are if something bugs me, it also bugs someone a lot smarter than me who can fix it without worrying about financial return on investment. Never underestimate how much some small annoyance can drive a person...
The second thing you may notice (if you use Linux yourself) is that I use a mix of Gnome and KDE programs. In the commercial world, this is almost like using both Microsoft and Apple programs at the same time on the same computer. I think it is better to be able to use the best tool possible for the job, rather than be tied to what someone else thinks you should do. For example, I use Digikam to organize my photos. There is a similar program called f-spot for Gnome, but it does not quite jive with the way I work with my images.
I guess the whole point to this post is to show that open source software is capable of some outstanding results that easily rivals commercial products. The two images linked had extensive editing before they were finished. And open source products do not try to pigeon hole your work or style into what the designers feel is the "best".
I really hate to admit it, but I seem to have become an open source evangelist..... Damn...
Oh, and I guess I better include a photograph, cause this is a photography blog...

What a Sunrise

Yesterday morning I noticed that it was foggy out, so I thought I would go up to Duncan early to take a few photos before I picked up my kids. As I drove up the Malahat pass, I came above the fog, and it looked amazing. I stopped at a viewpoint and captured the image below.




There were many other people taking shots as well, but a stranger came up to me and handed me his business card. He said his camera batteries died, and he figured I would get some good shots.
I looked at his card, and he is owner of a large graphic and web design company.

I guess my point is that it is worth "stopping to smell the roses". Not only did I get a very nice shot, I also got a bit of a business lead.

One more eagle photo

Here is another in the series of photos I took in Goldstream before Christmas.



I have worked on it quite a bit. I moved the top eagle to the right a bit, to get it away from the trees. Getting the colours and tones just right took a lot of tweaking.
And I worked on the whole image with FOSS graphic programs Including DigiKam, Krita, Cinepaint, and Gimp.
It is easy to get into political discussions when talking about open source software, but I do believe we are witnessing the beginning of a new economy.

But enough of that, I really like this photo...

Funny Comic

I find this very funny....

But last night when I tried it, my wireless conked out. It must have just been a coincidence....

Merry Christmas...
We are having a rare white Christmas here, so of course I had to go out in the snow and find some images. One of my favorite places is Goldstream park. This time of year the eagles (as well as a ton of seagulls) come to feed off all the dead salmon.
I was amazed at how much snow we actually got, I mean Victoria is the warmest city in Canada. People here don't buy winter tires. Heck, show shovels are rare...
But I loved it.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots.