LensWork Daily

Moving Strategies

Moving Strategies

There are several strategies that can be employed when one is moving — be it one's residence, or one's business. The intelligent strategy is to live sparingly, purge with consistency, keep only what you need, travel light, live light, and do not accumulate massive piles of stuff. As I say, this is the intelligent strategy and obviously the one we did not employ.

Instead, in the last 12 years that we've been located at our beloved building across from the shipyard here in Anacortes, we accumulated, amassed, piled up, tucked away, and — I now believe — threw away not even the smallest scrap of paper. At least that's the way it seems now that we have embraced the move to our new offices. Almost a week into it and we still have a truck load or two to bring over. Thank goodness we only moved five blocks!

My advice to all of you is to never, ever move. I mean it. Six days after they said they would hook up our Internet, the Comcast folks finally showed up after I threatened legal and bodily harm. They explained that there were no techs available to which I responded that there were plenty of lawyers with time on their hands. An hour later and the good news is that we are back online and have email once again. The even better news is that I didn't stroke out or pop the veins in my forehead. It was dicey, but I pulled through.

So, repeat after me: "I will never, ever move. I will die in the house in which I now live. Change is an evil, bad thing. I am happy where I am." Repeat until you are numb. Then go surfing and shopping at Amazon and take a moment to really enjoy the pleasure of searching for just right slotted spoon amongst the gazillion choices you have to consider online. Read the spoof news over at The Onion; catch a little YouTube from that 1974 blues-rock bank Zephyr; click away and enjoy your unlimited access to data galore. I know that's what I will be doing tonight.

Brooks' books on photography and the creative process are available in print from Lulu.com, and as eBooks for Kindle or EPUB readers. As one of the membership benefits, these eBooks are available in their entirety to members of LensWork Online via download.

LensWork #105 Preview

LensWork #105 Preview
The preview of LensWork #105 is now available online. You can purchase this single issue from our virtual newsstand and receive free shipping in the U.S.

LensWork #105 iPad and Android Portable Edition
The Portable Edition for issue #105 is now available for single issue purchase and immediate download from our online store at LensWork #105 Portable Edition.

If you're a LensWork Online member this issue has been posted for download. Login here.

Details about our new 2013 Road Show Seminars included in this issue!

 

Five Days of Tulips in Rain by Robert Hecht - Final Days at the Introductory Price

Five Days of Tulips in Rain by Robert Hecht
Final Days at the Introductory Price

10-Print Folio

• Folio is 8x10½"
• Images are approx. 7x9"
• Printed on Harman by Hahnemuhle Glossy Baryta
• Epson Ultrachrome K3 pigment inks
• Embossed, die-cut art paper enclosure

Introductory Price

$95
 

Regular price will be $125
as of Mar 1, 2013

Additional information

Iceland by Hans Strand - Final Days at the Introductory Price

Iceland by Hans Strand
Final Days at the Introductory Price

   

This is Our First Folio Offered in TWO Versions:
Black-and-White OR Color!

10-Print Folio

• Folio is 8x10½"
• Images are approx. 7x9"
• Printed on Harman by Hahnemuhle Glossy Baryta
• Epson Ultrachrome K3 pigment inks
• Embossed, die-cut art paper enclosure

Your choice:
black-and-white or color

$95

Regular Price will be $125 on March 1, 2013

OR purchase both for

$175

(A savings of $15)

Regular Price will be $230 on March 1, 2013

Plus shipping and handling

Additional information

We're Moving!

We're Moving!

Truly a "random thought" and definitely a bit of inside baseball stuff, but we are moving our offices this week. We've had 12 wonderful years in this old, historic building, but it's time to move on. The building no long suits our needs, so we've found a new space that will be our new home-away-from-home in the coming years. We've loved being here, and it's been fun being located across from the shipyard, but to be honest, we won't miss the sandblasting, arc welding, and the constant din of their hammers on steel hulls. Our aging knees also won't miss the 21 steps up to second floor. And, the new office has a room for video recording and we're looking forward to bringing more video content to LensWork Online and LensWork Extended.

The official move is on Thursday and Friday of this week. Our phones will be down for a bit, but the website and online store will not be affected. New comments here at LensWork Daily may be a bit thin this week while we move and settle in.

Here is the relevant data:

New address:
LensWork Publishing
1101 8th St, Suite C
Anacortes, WA 98221-1800

Phones are the same: 360-840-1343 and 800-659-2130.
Fax numbers are the same: 503-905-6111 and 800-866-7459

We anticipate being 100% back to normal on Monday, February 25, but will likely be back in partial form even late Thursday or Friday morning. Wish us luck!

Brooks' books on photography and the creative process are available in print from Lulu.com, and as eBooks for Kindle or EPUB readers. As one of the membership benefits, these eBooks are available in their entirety to members of LensWork Online via download.

The Pause

The Pause

Perhaps it's just me, but things sure seem quiet on the photographic front these days. The usual blogs I read seem pretty sluggish; there hasn't been anything exciting in the way of new gear since last fall; there aren't any new hot photographers who've surfaced in the new year — I kinda like it. Sometimes the pace of the race overwhelms me, which I'm sure is a function of my age. So much of pop culture these days is based on the buzz. The buzzless start to this year has been a very pleasant change — although I have no doubt a short-lived one.

Brooks' books on photography and the creative process are available in print from Lulu.com, and as eBooks for Kindle or EPUB readers. As one of the membership benefits, these eBooks are available in their entirety to members of LensWork Online via download.

LensWork Extended #104 Downloadable Editions

 

LensWork Extended #104 Downloadable Editions
LensWork Extended #104 is now available for purchase and immediate download to your computer, iPad, or Android devices from our online store.

All of the audio interviews from this issue are also available for purchase and immediate download.

For current members of LensWork Online, LensWork Extended #104 portable editions for iPad and Android are now available to download. Login here.

House of Cards

House of Cards

According to what I'm reading on the Internet, about a gazillion of you spend at least some time this last weekend "binge viewing" the new Netflix original series, House of Cards. Me, too, at least a bit. I didn't make it through all 13 episodes, but I am thoroughly hooked after having watched the first five. As I am wont to do, I immediately found myself asking if there are might be any lessons we photographers can learn from this pop-culture phenomenon.

First, the very fact that a media distribution company has leapt in with $100 million worth of their feet to produce original content tells something about society's demand for entertainment. Lest we forget, photography, too, is a form of entertainment. The growing ranks of retiring baby boomers, media consumers, and the population at large continue to demonstrate that they are potential candidates for the kinds of things that you and I like to produce.

Second, this phenomenon of binge viewing that Netflix so correctly identified is another indication of a consumer reality I've long suspected: even in the midst of our busy and hectic 21st Century lives, people can and will make the time for artwork — if they are sufficiently motivated. (I trust I need not justify the comparison of fine art photography to mass entertainment cinema.) If you build it . . . may not be quite true, but if you build it exceedingly well, I think you can count on an audience.

Third, what pulls an audience through extended viewing time is the power and strength of the plot. It's often joked that no one finishes Tolstoy's gargantuan War and Peace, but this is simply not true. Millions of people across generations have finished (and even reread) this 1200 page classic because of the power of the plot — in spite of the mind-boggling Russian names. Photography is a beautiful visual medium, but content — often a nondescript word for storytelling — is and always has been king. I'm still convinced that the best way to improve one's photography is to improve the content inside the frame.

Finally — to quote Goethe — Boldness has genius in it. Netflix did not allow themselves to be discouraged that no one before them had done what they planned. They forged ahead. They took a risk. They created something new in a new way. They even dared launch their new series on Superbowl weekend — a strategy that had plenty of pundits scratching their heads. But, Netflix clearly did the research and knew their gamble would pay off — and in doing so has demonstrated that there is still plenty of room for innovation in the world. As artists, we'd best be paying attention.

Brooks' books on photography and the creative process are available in print from Lulu.com, and as eBooks for Kindle or EPUB readers. As one of the membership benefits, these eBooks are available in their entirety to members of LensWork Online via download.