Going Mirrorless

I am switching to a mirrorless camera. I'm doing it with baby-steps (entry-level APSC size…although the full frame is only a few hundred extra, outside of ISO and CROP, the difference are becoming less impactful for basic image quality, and I can always upgrade).

There is, however, a learning curve with this. I find I am much more comfortable shooting with a traditional DSLR--even though the resolution and IQ are lower on them—I don't yet feel comfortable shooting (and it shows at this point). I find that the images I shoot with the DSLR look like I am more comfortable. It's hard to articulate fully, since its not just one thing (composition, technical, etc.) but things look a little stiff and safe.

There is SOOOO MUCH to learn...The menus (and sub menus, and sub-sub-menus, and hidden menus; and of course the options and sub-options for all) are dizzying. The fact that the lenses take a bit of getting use to, as well as the exciting prospect of using old lenses from a variety of manufacturers on the camera and using "assisted manual focusing" are also part of the curve.

But I KNOW that the payoff is very real. The advantages will be well worth the growing pains.

We (the human animal) love the familiar, and often have an initial fear, suspicion, or confusion associated with the new. When we move to a new location, when we get a new car, or new television (etc.) with sooo many new and unfamiliar features, we need time to assimilate.

So I will continue watching videos and reading up on the new technology. I will ignore the part of me that tries to push me backwards technologically, and push forward and embrace the new (while maintaining an objective viewpoint about those items that are not necessarily better).

Kinda like life, no?

Busy Business and random musings

I have been busy.
Finishing  my Thesis this summer, attended the DT&L conference, did some overhaul work on the house, planning for 7-8 sections–prepping for some I've never taught before, etc., etc., etc.
…and that's not even factoring in family commitments and family life (full of the typical frustrations, pains and sorrows, angers and frustrations…and punctuated with just the right amount of joys mixed in).

I haven't vacationed in about 15 years-- the closest thing is sightseeing when I get a conference grant for a few hours every few years. I forgo a lot of leisure activities (but adopt other hobbies that take less time to help keep me sane).I gotta say that I have been so close to losing hope and giving up when the busy factor gets overwhelming—but I don't.

I often think about my students; some who have full time work, family commitments, and then attend classes to better themselves (not unlike me). How close may some be to giving up? How many have been taught (either by others or the harshness of life) to just give-up or take an easier road when it seems too tough? How many lose hope and cannot see the light at the end of a very long metaphorical tunnel?  How many are dealing with additional pain (literal and figurative) on top of that? Pain and problems that I cannot begin to understand, and are toughing it out in spite?

I can honestly say I have empathy for them. I am often just on the cusp of throwing in the towel. I often deal with things no one knows about as well.

Perhaps the cliché thing to do here is to tell you that "I feel your pain."
Reality is, I do not. I feel MY pain, and you feel YOUR pain. There are things that no one can fully comprehend about another person and their individual journey through life, so the best we can do is empathize.

Empathy doesn't mean turning our heads the other way and pretending that everything is OK. It doesn't mean pretending that you paid something when in fact you didn't. It doesn't mean allowing you to take what you need at the cost of another person… that's actually called "showing preference."

It means acknowledging that we are both dealing with life, and that I (as a fellow human being not wishing harm onto any other) will do my best to help you on your path, and you will do your best to help me. I can relate in some way to your condition, since I also have mine. I will help you (and others) with your pain where I can, and you will also help me (and others) in turn.

We don't need pity. No one really needs pity, it just creates the wrong condition for us to proceed. What we do need is more empathy.
Empathy for everyone.

To All the Cameras I've Owned Before…

Morguefile photo courtesy Michael Rickler

My first camera was a used box camera that my parents helped me buy when I was 8 or 9. The cost of film (as well as the oddball film-size that became increasingly hard to buy)  meant it was short for my world...but not before running its paces through every trick in the "Trick Photography Book" I got from the Library. I was the hit of the cub scouts (for which my younger brother deserves kudos for being pressed into service as a model).

Then came the 110 camera for fifth and sixth grade. The "smallness" of the 110 was novel-y cool for the time, but the absolute crappy quality of the prints and enlargements never impressed me (even as a kid). It was only the fact that every other kid around me had the same style camera--slim little brick with a fixed focus lens (ditto btw on the suburban fad of the plastic molded skateboards of that era) that I kept it for so long.

Junior High (for you young'uns--now commonly referred to as "middle school" and attended a year earlier than junior high) gave me another dose of camera fever. Nothing but a 35mm SLR would do for me at this point,  and they weren't exactly cheap.  I was taking Vis Art electives in school and working on a skill badge in scouts related to photography, and I pled the case to my patient parents for a 35mm film SLR. My dad was my hero when he went out Christmas eve and came back with a set of boxes under the tree! A New FUJICA fully manual SLR, on camera cheapo flash unit, cases and gadget bag.

At that point, I became the "family photographer," constantly shooting anything and everything (often blurry and poorly exposed), but gaining confidence and quality through Junior high and into High School. It was also the first time that other kids (executive's kids that were 'better off' than a teacher's kid) showed up with equipment that was far better than mine. I think it as the first time I remember "holding my ground" on what I had and knowing that my dad worked hard for every cent. It provided me with my first opportunity to learn to ignore that nagging voice of camera-envy in my head, and blunting that tendency of so many to have equipment envy (or G.A.S [gear acquisition syndrome] as it is called in camera circles these days).

The old FUJICA was a camera that I would use for years and years-- in fact into college for my basic film photography classes—despite the fact that it was pretty much a "crappy camera" by most auteur's standards. I guess I learned to do with it what I needed. Compose, expose/shoot, develop.

Then came a string of faceless cameras that served mostly for the pragmatic purpose of capturing moments with family--Polaroid Instant Cameras, Consumer 'point-and-shoot' 35mm cameras, and the like. I vaguely recall at least one Vivitar and early Samsung in the mix. They seemed to lack any real characteristics that would imprint them on my psyche.

In the 90's came a camera that I will always remember. It was a gift from a friend who knew I wanted a TLR; a used TLR Rolleicord. I had always wanted a medium format film camera, and to this day I have to say the engineering on this relatively unassuming camera is one of my favorites.
I think—no for sure I know that its one of the finest cameras I've owned. It was a camera given in kindness, and enabling me to shoot and develop larger format negatives for the first time.

And then came the digital revolution! Along came another string of Digital Cameras that were each good for a while, and for what I wanted at the time. Kodak, Polaroid, GE, Olympus, Nikon, Canon (all PnS and Bridge cameras) followed by my Canon REBEL (which despite using to this day, I am now ready to part with btw). I still love and shoot with my 'hobbyist' Rebel (and it still ranks on the list of top cameras I've owned to this very day)… but …
I'd have to say that the Rolleicord is probably still my favorite overall cameras.

Not having shot with it since the mid-to-late 1990's, I have decide to part with it (although I vacillate between the idea of parting, and just having it near me for memories and inspiration). The eventual decision to sell it comes with the decision to part with anything— not because I don't love the camera, but I hope a collector who can use it more than I,  perhaps even cherish more if not as much, will do good by it. Clean it up and rework it a bit more while I accept the challenge in my life of trying to divest from quite so much "stuff" in  general.

I intend to focus on having one or two really solid cameras that I love and use constantly.

But what a camera!

A Lifestyle to Strive Towards...

I have a hard-drive littered with things that folks have shared. This is one that I have retained and will open every now and then. It's attributed as Zen— and while these are components of mindfulness, in actuality they transcend that and help to codify a lifestyle choice that (I would offer up ) we should all aspire towards.

Typically I credit them, but this one has been re-blogged, pinned, and reposted so many times that I can't find the origin point. Google's image search engine  has many possible source points (goodreads.com and zenquotes.com are two big candidates).

I suppose in the end it doesn't matter where its from. Enjoy (and strive)!

An Interview with a Creative Soul {it got me thinking}…

“There’s often a disconnect between being an artist
and actually working as an artist. It’s one thing to 
be creative and not get paid for it—you can create until 
your heart’s content—but when money gets involved, 
it’s a whole different animal.”
                                             -Ike Edeani

---

I came upon this really good quote while reading an interview by Tina Essmaker with photographer Ike Ediani. To {way} over-simplify: Ike is a creative soul. Like many before and after him, he balanced this "love for creativity" initially by being "practical…" which lead him to an education and career as an Architect (arguably one of the highest paying of all the creative careers)… then later an art-director / graphic designer… and then eventually a photographer.

I think the quote by Edeani gets to the heart of some of the discontent behind those pursuing visual communications. You may be doing wonderfully innovative work when it is scholastic or a self-commisioned (or perhaps even self-indulgent) work. The fact is that in all probability career-wise, you often trade off  unfettered creativity for the much more confining reality of a steady job. The "no-limits, open-budget, avant-garde-euro-fashion-magazine cover job" you've dreamed of is in reality the "monotonous-but-steady" job where you generate forms and business cards in a preset format.

Times used to be that kids who wanted to be artists, but worried about steady employment, went into visual communications (or 'graphic design') to meet those goals. It seems the modern equivalent has become kids who want to play video games all day. There is another thread here in that ones loves cannot always equate to the reality of compensation to do what you want. You have to find the balance that fits you (and that you can live with). 

Regardless, it seems to me there has to be a moderation of what the centrally motivating factor is for the individual with a creative soul. Some will move between careers or employers until they find the balance they can live with. Others will transition out of their desire to"work in the field," and instead work at a job/career that can more adequately provide them with money, while practicing what it is they truly love on a personal level. There is no one correct answer.

I recently met up with some college friends, and found one of them was now in a financial career. One of our [well-intentioned perhaps] classmates commented that it was "a shame she couldn't work in design."

She had mentioned trying to work in design, but hating it. The creative profession she had dreamed of during her studies had became yet 'just another job.' After trying different agencies and scenarios, she figured she may as well work at a job that paid her more while requiring less of her time. 

Through happenstance, she began processing payroll and handling investments. After several years and a few promotions,  she had doubled what she made in design while working an actual 40 hour week (design insiders will get that one).

Now she is able to do painting and photography on her own terms, (which was why she originally pursued design studies in the first place–as a compromise to pursuing fine arts more fully) and had even had several joint/group shows of her work, and an a few individual shows at a local galleries (something neither I nor our "well-intentioned" classmate had puled off).

She figured out that, for her, being a creative soul didn't necessary mean working in a creative career.

Do you REALLY want to Visually Communicate?

I think many who go into this field are frustrated fine-artists in their hearts. That's not necessarily a problem as long as you can differentiate the practice of fine art from the profession of visual communication.

Many folks know how I feel about the discipline of being a "Visual Communicator." I shy away from the popularized 1980's term "Graphic Designer," which (beyond being a bit dated) tends to look 'inward' versus 'outward.' Visual Communications feels like a richer and more diverse term for what most professionals in the field engage in.

It's also pretty concise— you are communicating using visual language versus purely written words. Written words are a part of the arsenal, but they are not necessarily the first line of attack.

You are also communicating "on-task" versus self-indulgently. That doesn't preclude you from inserting your unique personality or style as long as you can stay on the communicative message, and be the most effective advocate for your client's message. In fact, that is the primary objective on any assignment. Like a Realtor legally entrusted to represent the best interests of the seller, we are ethically bound to be the best advocate for a client's message.

In my opinion, the actual "verby" activity of the whole process is brand communication; as long as you don't get too bogged down by defining brand in an overly restrictive sense.
I always tell my students to think of brand simply as personality. That can be a person, a product, a company, a service, or even a "sense of ______."

If you are not encapsulating what the assorted target audiences of your communication messages need to know about the brand, you are off the mark.

Goodbye Signor Vignelli...

Massimo Vignelli passed earlier on May 27. 2014, after a long illness.

Many of my students will know him from the movie "HELVETICA," where he was presented as the elder-statesman for the camp of modernist design voices in the film who were outspoken in their support of the helvetica font.

To me he was the guru of branding in communicative design, and a contemporary extension of the clean and efficient aesthetic expressions of guys like Rietveld and van der Rohe.

I remember (from the early days of computer-driven design) hearing the story of how Vignelli insisted that all designers start their work with a moleskin idea book—pencil and paper first—before even touching the computer. Whether that was apocryphal or canon doesn't matter. It represents a 'clarity of thinking and ideas' (as Vignelli expressed in some interviews) that resulted in a design solution that effectively and efficiently communicated.

RIP  Mr. Vignelli.

check out the Times article on  Mr. Vignelli's passing.

HYPOCRISY? COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

I have dealt with increasing numbers of people who have mentioned dealing with "cognitive dissonance" in their lives in some way. Some may simply refer to this as "Hypocrisy," or hypocritical behavior—which I believe is sometimes too much of a simplification of things.

Here is a great article, in fairly simple language, that deals with the topic.
Check it out when you have time for a good read.

Photography Two-cents…

I am a “graphic designer who does photography…” and not a pure photographer by training.

I  teach photography regularly, and I have always told my students that, first and foremost, I am a graphic designer. During the time that I went through school (early 80's), a part of my training included some basic fine-arts photographic preparation (and the world of darkrooms and black and white film). I feel comfortable around the medium (Although I had to adjust to digital like many of the old salty-dog photographers out there).

At any rate, I always feel compelled to make this distinction because there is occasion for Designers and Photographers to sometimes view things differently. The vast majority of the time though, it is a very complementary relationship, with the added experience and expertise of  each party resulting in a solid visual product. The experienced photographer typically plays a pivotal part in helping an AD achieve a communication goal.

Occasionally, with a media-driven process, there can be differing viewpoints. This is when my design background comes out. My message (the brand, the idea, the concept) has to be king. If it means cropping that photo much tighter than the photographer would like—so be it.

I also appreciate great photographic equipment (while I myself cannot afford it). It's awesome to shoot on a pro's 5DmkIII with pro L lenses! It makes sense for the pros to have great equipment, but anyone who cannot make a return on the cost of investment is not really getting what its all about. An old friend in Arizona  repeated the well recited mantra to me: “ beginners worry about gear, pros worry about light (and money too).”

Too often I also feel that equipment can often become an excuse for students not mastering the fundamentals or understanding basic technique. I have had more than a few students claim their work was subpar because they didn't have “camera X ” or “gadget Y…” as well as a handful with D800's shooting entirely in AUTO.

Learn the camera you have! Master the exposure triangle and light, and figure out stops to light ratios. Take great shots and set up interesting composition and angles.

Once you've mastered the fundamentals (and if you have paying gigs), dropping 5K might make some sense.

WHEN YOU START

An instructor of mine, Steve Quinn, shared this great video on Facebook. It really does apply to any discipline, and is one of the truest things that I have heard.  It is imagery set to the frank introspection shared by Chicago Public Radio Personality Ira Glass.

BE A SHOKUNIN

I've recently seen the movie JIRO DREAMS WITH SUSHI. For those with attention deficits, it may not always be the "easiest" or "action packed" movie to watch to the end, but hang in there and stick with it. The payoff will be if the lightbulb goes off for you.

The documentary is about a man who runs the world's greatest sushi restaurant. If you aren't a fan of sushi, please understand that the reason I'd like you to watch it has little to do with sushi… in fact sushi is the backdrop for the true story. The real story is about being a Shokunin.

Other bloggers have written far more eloquently about this movie (btw I enjoy this one).  Perhaps it is the circumspect that comes from getting old. But I find the pursuit of excellence to be the root of vocation. I don't know if 95% of us ever achieve it… but the pursuit is a part of the whole process.

This quote from Orate (also featured on the Wilson Hoo site)

"… a literal description does not fully express the deeper meaning{of SHOKUNIN}.  The Japanese apprentice is taught that shokunin means not only having technical skills, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness. … The shokunin has a social obligation to work his/her best for the general welfare of the people.  This obligation is both spiritual and material, in that no matter what it is, the shokunin’s responsibility is to fulfill the requirement.” 
– Tasio Orate

I have a standing "extra credit" offer to any students who stumble upon this entry: Watch the movie in it's entirety (don't lie about watching it, don't watch parts of it or give it partial attention while you work on a computer or type, and don't look up a synopsis or google someone else's ideas). Really watch it. I watched this over the course of three late nights (because I fell asleep before the end). I watched it, then continued until I saw the entire movie and processed its message. Then I watched it again.

Watch the movie--really watch it, and do a writeup of what you think. What are your impressions? Are you pursuing the path of the shokunin? Why not?