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.
Need something to do but want to be productive? Revisit your old files and take a fresh look at them. Perhaps you missed an interesting image or, it just wasn’t edited right. Here are three images that I shot in 2012 back in Kansas, where I grew up. This one I particularly like. I missed originally that it was sitting in a pocket of light shining through the trees. Once I started working on the file I also saw the subtle pink and magenta tone sitting in the low laying clouds. I was stoked. I’ve shot thousands of images from Kansas over the years and many views get a repeated look. Different times of the year, different times of the day. You never know where that special light will occur, or if it’s already in your images. Revisit….
My website: www.zwink.com Techy stuff: post production in Adobe Lightroom 5.
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
Portrait of Ken Caminiti. Concept was to show his toughness and grit.
I used to be a sports photographer. Then reality set in….. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I grew up in a small Kansas farm town, Macksville, and I loved sports. I don’t ever remember sports not being a part of my life. My two oldest brothers excelled in whatever they did. My next oldest brother Mark was a pretty good pitcher, my sister, Debbie, was just as talented as my older siblings and my youngest brother was probably the best of us all. The only problem was he was ten years younger than me. I only learned his exploits from Mark’s writings in the local newspaper. But what about me? I was short changed in the talent department. As hard as I worked and studied sports, the reality was I didn’t “have” it. But boy it sure took me a long time to accept it.
I played on the high school team and then was the backup place kicker on the Mesa College football team. Looking back I think it was only because Coach Smorin didn’t cut those that wanted to be there. I wanted it bad. So I stayed. During the offseason I was in the first car accident of my life and as a result had to quit playing. That was one of the best events that ever happened.
During the offseason I had gotten married and my sister-in-law, Carole had loaned me her 35mm Yashica to play with. I was quickly hooked and soon photographing sports for the school paper at Mesa College which allow me to stay in touch with my team mates. An obsession to learn followed and within four years I was working in the newspaper realm, covering news and the sports I loved.
After eight years as a staff photographer at the San Diego Union Tribune I started my own business and became immersed in the sports photography profession. I worked for the wire services, trading card companies, San Diego State University and then got my dream job. Along with a former Sports Illustrated photographer we started an in-house full service photography department for the owner of the San Diego Padres. It was a sports photographer’s ideal job. We were on the inside documenting the team and the franchise, the players and the owners. We were given access that few photographer ever are given.
During the six year stint we lived a great life. I photographed hundreds of games and saw a rare insight into what some people call the Greatest Game. The Padres had a good team and even better marketing. Their quest to expand their brand took us to Mexico several times, once to play the Mets, to Hawaii to play the St. Louis Cardinals and then the winning began. We went to the playoff and then the World Series. I saw Tony Gwynn at his prime, I saw him injured and I saw him retire. On his final game he personally gave me an autographed bat which I have to this day.
But times change. Due to internal politics I was not renewed. And to add insult to injury I was replaced by the mailroom clerk…. the timing was terrible. They waited until ten days prior to spring training which precluded me from working with another company.
Losing that contract was the best event that happened. I’m now an architectural photographer. I miss sports but I love my new challenge. But that’s another story. Check out my website, www.zwink.com
About the photo: This was a portrait of Ken Caminiti done for the Padres Magazine. Camy was one of the most intense, dedicated hard working people I ever met. He loved baseball. Padre fans loved him.
This past year was a big one for me. I’ve made a concerted effort to improve my work and to understand the market and potential competition. What I’ve learned are there are some extremely talented artists in this speciality. I’ve been very fortunate to talk with several photographers and as a result have expanded myknowledge and passion for my photography. Jeffrey Jacobs, http://www.jeffreyjacobsphoto.com, has become a mentor to me, tirelessly talking sharing his views about the profession, art and business we share.
Recently at a workshop he looked at my work and was very honest. All he said
was “slow down, shoot less and shoot better.” I have, and I am improving. May
you all either have or find the right person that can tell you to slow down.
I’m no expert but it appears the economy is improving. The first two months of 2014 were the busiest I’ve ever had. I know it’s a small sample to base the year on but other photographers have told me they’re off to a good start also. If photographers are working, businesses are marketing and looking to growth. That’s what we do, we help our client market, sell and grow their business.
I spent a lot of the month on the road. Several trips to Orange County surrounded a couple San Diego projects and then I went to the Bay Area for a couple shoots up there. After a quick respite back home and starting a new local project, I went to Alaska for a quick shoot. I know, why send a San Diego photographer there, it’s because my client trusts me to get what they need. Maybe an idea for a future blog.
Well I need to wrap this up. I have another couple projects in Orange County and LA this week. I hope everyone else is busy.
About my image gallery: All images shot with my iPhone while traveling. Post was in Snapseed.
I was in SF last week on an extensive corporate photo shoot for Swinerton. When I was leaving I decided to take the Treasure Island exit on the way back to the airport. The last time I was on TI was in 1975 when it was a Navy Base and I was a naive young seaman in Electronic Warfare school. So many memories…… I first decided to do a quick photo shoot of the skyline which was etched in my memory. I first shot it with my Nikon D3 and then decided to try my iPhone on Hipstamatic mode. Ugh…… it looked as flat and hazy as the skyline. So then I opened my new favorite app. Snapseed. With a few adjustments and then a frame adjustment the above photo is what I ended up with. I know, it looks grainy and it does. But, the end result is that I’m going to print it on watercolor on my Epson inkjet printer. A few years ago I did a similar series that I printed on the watercolor paper and it looked great. Now, we’ll find out how IPhone photos hold up.
The techy stuff: camera: iPhone 4 (the 5 is on order)
What a stupid title…… This is my first post in this blog. I have another cool blog (at least I think it is) that is a little more serious look at how photography interacts with my life. I have used my Iphone regularly since they first came out.
I love to shoot, to capture life around me. Everywhere I turn I see photos ready to be shot or created (a big difference). I want to use this to showcase some of my more interesting images shot in different situations. Some I’ll explain and some will have to speak for themselves. Hope you enjoy.
