Category Archives: location shoot

Aerial, Blog, Business, Lightroom 5, location shoot, photography, San Diego, Solar, Uncategorized, work

Going solar?

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According to the UT San Diego is ranked #2 in the nation for solar. We put solar on our home a few years ago and our electric bill for last year was $176. Protecting the environment, saving our budget.

San Diego County ranks No. 2 in the nation for solar
trailing only Honolulu for installed solar power, per capita

Solar installations which add to job growth are a key part of the city of San Diego’s climate action plan that aims to achieve 100 percent renewable energy use citywide by 2035.

Details: Photos are from commissioned projects. Camera, Nikon D600 and D810 and a Phantom 4 drone.

Activities, Aerial, Alaska, ART, Blog, Cruise, Fishing, friends, location shoot, personal, photography, Travel

Where are You?

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Everyone has a special place.  I think mine is Ketchikan, Alaska.  I change my mind quite often.  Sometimes it’s Kauai, other times New Orleans but for now it’s Ketchikan.  I was introduced to the area by my great friend Charley Starr.  Charley moved his family and photo business there 10 years ago.  It is a small seaside city, population over 13,000 and is dependent on the cruise ship industry to survive and thrive.   Charley has generously hosted me on four visits and on the fifth I finally brought Patti, my wife.  The geography is unlike anything here in San Diego.  We were able to see waterfalls, bears, eagles and the salmon were running.  I wish I was a better writer so I could describe the area and community.  Wherever we went Charley was greeted and the people were pleasantly friendly to us strangers.  I’ve started to remember names and now know places to go.  It’s truly a small town environment with a Walmart.  I can’t wait to go back.  Where is your special place?

More of my work can be seen at www.zwink.com

Architecture, ART, Blog, camera phone, Lightroom 5, location shoot, personal, photography, Snapseed, Travel, Uncategorized

Havana on the Move

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Havana, Cuba is not New York City yet, but it’s streets are busy during the days.  Predominately carefully maintained l1950s style cars, many with original motors and others that have been converted to Russian diesel motors with the telltale sounding diesel noise.  We rode to a jazz club in a 1956 Chevy Impala with the owner styled and groomed to match his cherry red Chevy.

Delivery trucks, freight trucks, buses and horse drawn carriages are interspersed by the rare modern Mercedes and Toyotas.  Road rage a rarity.  It will come.

Aerial, ART, Blog, career, Lightroom 5, location shoot, personal, photography

Can You play with your Paper airplane anymore?

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DJI_0077APersonally, I would not mind if there was a basic certification to regulate the industry. The fact is there has been an increased interest from photographers, hobbyists and business owners to integrate into their offering. With the advent of gps in the “drones” it has become easier to fly. But stuff happens, how many pilots will know how to safely react and land without injuring anyone or damaging property? And if you’re flying without FAA knowledge or permission will your insurance still cover you?
I just wish the FAA would do their job and let us get back to ours.

Architecture, ART, Blog, Business, career, Kansas, location shoot, personal, photography, Travel

Is Diversity Good for the Career?

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0010600147I just spent the week going thru my Hawaii archives….and I came across a folder from a trip back home a couple years ago. Not sure where it is exactly, sometimes I just drive.  As a documentary photographer I’m drawn to places like this, to get a glimpse into our past.  I think then I’m partially a historian.

But in my day to day life I promote myself as a architectural and corporate photographer.  Can I do both?  Not if I want the big boys to take me serious.  This was a concept I struggled with mighty in the past.  I was trained as a photojournalist.  As such you had to learned to be good in several specialties.  The more diverse, the more value you were to the editorial brand.  I took pride in being able to venture into unknown situations and produce, it’s what we did.

As a “commercial” photographer the more you specialize, the more value you bring to the table, the more you can charge.  The perception is that your image as a specialist will bring more value to their product, brand and reputation.  It isn’t always who is the best image maker, who is perceived as such.

In my financial portfolio, I diversify, as a business owner I’m an Architectural Photographer (and don’t tell anyone, a darn good documentary, travel and corporate one also).

My work:  http://www.zwink.com  My editorial archives:  http://www.bigstudioz.com

Aerial, Architecture, Blog, Business, career, Lightroom 5, location, location shoot, photography, Video

A New View from Above

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I have done a lot of aerials for clients the last several years.  But as clients tightened their budgets the number of aerial assignments drastically decreased.  As an alternative we invested in a DJI Phantom Vision + and are in the early stages of testing.  They are several potential issue ranging from the paranoid uninformed public, insurance and future FAA regulations.  The plus side is being able to achieve lower level views than from a $650 per hour helicopter, work within tighter budgets and product creative imagery.  The times are changing but change can be fun.

More of my work is at:  www.zwink.com

Business, camera phone, Cruise, family, Iphone 5, Kansas, location, location shoot, personal, photography, Travel

How I get a week’s worth of Work!!!!!

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North Shore Turtle

GO ON VACATION…… SERIOUSLY!!!

  I have a phobia of losing clients by going on vacation.  So I try and be the good communicator and notify my clients of upcoming trips and vacations so they don’t (hopefully) schedule or plan anything during that time frame.  This way clients know and I have a few days to pack or relax before heading to the airport.

  WRONG…. I don’t know if it’s the law of attraction but 90% of the time I end up  shooting during the week and finishing the post production just before the early morning trip to the airport.  I end up catching up on my sleep on the flight to our destination.

  The last time I failed to send out my obligatory email was when my father died and I flew back to Kansas.  My primary client at the time called me the day of the funeral and asked if I could do a major rebranding shoot in two days.  No, I replied my father just passed away, can we reschedule the shoot for a week later.  No they replied.  That week I lost two very important parts of my life.  One can’t be replaced.

  btw, I’m going on vacation next Sat. and I sent “the email”.  I’m shooting for four days, doing one day of post production and then off to New Orleans.  I hope your thoughts of vacation are as productive.

Some of my vacation photos are at:  www:zwink.com

Blog, camera phone, Cruise, family, friends, Lightroom 5, location shoot, personal, photography, Travel, Uncategorized

Treasure your Vacation photos

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“Get yourself in the picture. Nothing is worse than a vacation with no shots of the family photographer. Get in the picture by using a tripod (or a steady surface such as a wall or a car hood) and the camera’s self-timer to make sure you’re included in the family memories.”

Borrowed quote from a Nikon site…..good advise.

 

More of my work at:  WWW.Zwink.com

ART, Business, career, Lightroom 5, location shoot, personal, photography, San Diego, Sports, work

Why you don’t work for Free

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_JDZ2667

This portrait of “Monty” was one promotion he used to raise funds for the CAF. (We did a trade, the shoot was not a freebie.)

 

I used to have the contract for San Diego State Athletics.  I provided all the photography for them including game coverage.  Being a state university the contract was on a bid basis.  Although I was awarded the contract I was told by the then SID (sports information director) it would be in my best interest to find a working relationship with the previous photographer.  After a couple strenuous, stressful years in that arrangement I finally had my golden parachute.  The San Diego Padres were looking for a change.  My new partner, former SI photographer Andy Hayt and myself were chosen to run their new photo operation.  For six years it was a well run operation.  We were well paid, made strong imagery and operated with sound business principals.  Our images had value to our client.

Often I’m told by younger, inexperienced photographers that they are working for free in exchange for the exposure.  How is exposure going to pay your rent, to pay for your cameras and computers?  Listen hard, this practice has been going on for a long time.  Ask yourself if the people asking for free imagery are working for free?  I don’t think so.  Their skills have value and they get paid for it.  If you have the skills, your work has value.  Get paid.  You can only work for free so long before your credit card payment for the camera you bought is due.

Btw, another talented photographer later temporarily got the SDSU contract.  The other photographer I had worked with previously went back and offered to work for free as a volunteer.  He didn’t offer to work with their current paid photographer, his approach was to replace him.  They jumped at the free offer and my friend lost out.   He lost income and State is accepting a lesser quality product.  Don’t condone photographers that lowball, that work for free, even if they are “giving back to the university”.  They diminish the value of our work and create one more potential client that views photography as a low priced commodity.  These are not your friends.

“IF YOU LOSE A POTENTIAL JOB, HOPE IT’S BECAUSE THEY PREFERRED THEIR WORK OVER YOURS, NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE CHEAPER”

My work is featured at:  www.zwink.com and www.bigstudioz.com