Work or Whine. A Rant.

In Life Is Short, Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons, VisionMongers by David129 Comments

Shooting sunset in the Maasai Mara, while a ranger keeps an eye out. Photo credit: Regis Vincent. When Nicole S. Young’s ebook on MicroStock came out last year on the Craft&Vision site, we caught some flack for “supporting the microstock model.” We were told how unfair the model is, how it’s going to put photographers out of business, and how …

Photographically Speaking: I’m Done.

In Books, News & Stuff, Photographically Speaking, VisionMongers, Within The Frame by David54 Comments

Just a quick update on the newest book, Photographically Speaking. I was genuinely worried how far we’d have to push the deadlines out on this after my accident but if there’s one things everyone knows, including publishers and Kathy Bates, it’s that a writer with broken ankles gets way more done than his colleagues that waste all their time with …

Sustaining The Practice of Art

In Freelance and Business, Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons, Vision Is Better, VisionMongers by David50 Comments

“The practice of art isn’t to make a living. It’s to make your soul grow.” ~Kurt Vonnegut Chase Jarvis recently posted about his Create-Share-Sustain paradigm. I’ve referenced it, linked to it, quoted it several times this past year. In that paradigm, the notion of sustaining the create-share cycle is generally seen as a financial one. It’s the grease on the …

Doomed(?) Revisited.

In Pep Talks, VisionMongers by David5 Comments

2008. Sleeping on the train to Tunis, Tunisia. Or Sfax. I can’t recall now. Photo credit: The Legendary H. On Friday I posted a letter from a photographer asking a very pointed question about his future in the craft. I put the note out there and invited replies from you, and boy did you ever step up to the plate! …

Doomed To Mediocrity?

In Pep Talks, VisionMongers by David82 Comments

I got this question in my inbox this week: In the past two decades I’ve learned at least one thing about myself:  I don’t do expert well. I do bouncing around, try everything once well.  Chalk it up to my being Gemini, too much coffee or ADD. I can get good, and focus for short periods of time but when …

Learning

In Marketing, Self-Promotion, News & Stuff, Pep Talks, VisionMongers by David18 Comments

A short post this morning as I’m swimming (drowning?) in the business and task-management end of things. Consider the brevity a chance to catch up on other reading 🙂 My learning curve feels endless and steep these days. New software, new business models, new cameras, shooting film and remembering what it’s like to get a bunch of crap back from …

VisionMonger Questions

In VisionMongers by David9 Comments

This one might win for lamest illustration I’ve ever posted. Remember the buttons I (over)did for a while? Any more of these and you’ll be begging to go back to them. The other day Peachpit hosted a webcast chat with me and about 70 other folks. It was a fun conversation, though these things always feel a little one-sided to …

Join Me This Evening

In Books, News & Stuff, Resources, VisionMongers by David8 Comments

This evening my publishers – Peachpit – are hosting a video conversation with me at 5pm PST. The disussion begins with me addressing some issues related to VisionMongers, then the bulk of the conversation becomes just that – a conversation. You can ask questions which will be moderated and fed to me, and we’ll have an hour to hash out …

Credit Where Credit is Due. Or Not.

In Freelance and Business, GEAR, Pep Talks, Rants and Sermons, VisionMongers by David99 Comments

I got this email yesterday, and I’m quoting it here in full with only a few edits to protect the identity of the one who sent it: Dear David, What do you know and think about stock photography, and which stock photography company would you recommend using? Really any information you have about stock photography will help. I’m seriously thinking …