I’m fat…and happy…are you? [rant]

I make deprecating fat jokes all the time about myself. People invariably give me the same reaction…”Aww you’re not fat…your perfect the way you are”.

Thanks!… But I’m fat…

The statement, “no you are perfect” tells me that that person is being nice, and really does care about appearances.

But in my mind being “fat” has only one meaning… “I am medically overweight, and that carries some serious risks”.

I could give two shits about what people think, of me…Really. I used to…but was never motivated enough to “get in shape” to look better.

Now my choice to lose some weight is driven by the simple fact that I will live longer if I lose some of this extra poundage.
Not by Vanity.

I didn’t mean this to be some sappy personal statement, but getting back into the fashion “industry” is putting me in touch with people who are just so superficial it hurts me to even speak to them. Maybe I don’t have what it takes be in this industry.
Those of you who know me, know that I don’t pull many punches, and I speak my mind anytime I feel the need, and given the opportunity (Clearly).

In an industry that is all about image, and style, and hinges on what other people think…I stick out (Now) as someone who really doesn’t care about all of that. Not only because I’m overweight, I don’t own any “designer” pieces, I don’t go to Socialite parties, but because…
I’m here to be me, shoot what I want, how I want, and if people like it…Great!

If they don’t… Fuck’em

This city is full of followers, and people who just “do”, because someone else told them to.

Not me!
And that makes me happy!

Are you “good” at email?

Now who would have thought that this would be a logical question? I know I didn’t.

But in the last few days I have realized that I am truly BAD at email.
Not bad in the sense I don’t know how to send, read, forward, things like that… but I’m bad at being efficient with my emailing.

I receive on average 30 emails a day, mostly newsletters, and stuff of that nature, with about 5-10 truly important emails in the middle. I know some of you receive WAY more… I’ve heard of stories where people get 500+ a day, and they are all from real people!

This blows my mind! I can’t even wrap my brain around that number of emails…especially that over the last 2 days the influx of an additional 30 (real people) emails has thrown me into a tizzy.

There is a guy named Merlin Mann…he’s a writer and speaker, but I consider him a guru on efficiency. I’ve listened to a few of his podcasts and he mentions being good at email a lot. Most of the time, it was in the context of an office setting (cubicles), where you have a lot of work to get done, but people expect you to respond to their emails. He’s even writing a book on email… called Inbox Zero.
Some of the points he makes in his talks, is to time manage your emailing, combine emails (don’t send an essentially meaningless email that can either wait, or be combined with more important info), things like this. Now a lot of it seems to hinge on other people hopping on board as well, but I’m curious enough now to want to check out the book.

Between, reading, forwarding, CC’ing, Replying, Reply All’ing, I hit a wall where it occurred to me that there has to be a more efficient way to do this. Which there is… I’m sure it’s already built into my email program, but I just need to learn to use it better.
Even though my email load is pathetic compared to some people, I hope that one day (and will probably regret saying this) that I have 100 meaningful emails a day to deal with.

Then again I’ll just hire an intern…meueawhahahahah!

So are you “good” at email?

The Re-Edit (May), Stephanie

Yeah I know… “What happened to April?”

I have no idea… but its May, and it would be silly to do a re-edit and title it April now wouldn’t it?

This time around I am fortunate to have some old school stuff I thought was lost forever!
You know how hard drive crashes go…
But recently a buddy of mine hooked me up and got one of my trashed HDD’s working again, so I chose an old New York shoot for this months Re-Edit Project.

Stephanie

Stephanie was awesome! She was one cool chick, laid back, and up for virtually anything.
Unfortunately she hadn’t done a whole lot of “Testing”, for all tense and purposes she was a new model. You see she was on a TV show called Make Me a Supermodel and hadn’t done much modeling before the show (they had just wrapped the last show a week before this shoot). She didn’t win, but ended up signing with New York Models anyway.
So she comes out to our test with nothing really. No “model bag” of clothes, makeup, nothing, just strolls in with her purse. It was funny because I remember saying to her…”well, I don’t think I would change what you are wearing anyway!”. In her defense tho, she did have a paid gig scheduled after our test, which didn’t require her to bring anything.

We shot for an hour or so in the stairwell of a friend’s apartment building. We got some amazing stuff…simple…yet amazing.
Original Edit

Once again I recommend clicking the “Vimeo” button and viewing the full screen HD version.

Looking back at these images, I once again found more that I liked the second time around. Obviously my tastes are changing somewhat, but one thing stands out to me. I was consciously or unconsciously composing my images in these weird ways, and throwing the focus off here and there (ok.. the focus thing is bullshit), but what I found was images I had marked as throwaways are now grabbing my attention as visually pleasing pieces.

I think of all the little projects I do, the Re-Edits are the most fun, because I am able to simultaneously see my past “vision” and also see what I captured…but didn’t SEE the first time!

Rebel T2i VS. 5D Mark II (pt.3)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! It’s time for the final round!

If you’ve missed the last 2 parts of this showdown, take a minute and check them out!
Part 1
Part 2

To sum up… I haven’t found much to distinguish these two cameras apart when looking only at the images they produce.
Both have amazing high ISO performance, and both are fairly even when it comes to color rendition and dynamic range.
Round one went to the Rebel T2i, mainly because the results didn’t provide a clear winner, and I defaulted to price as a tiebreaker.
Round two went to the 5D Mark II, again, the results didn’t provide a clear winner, but the 5D provided a more visually “pleasing” image straight out of the camera. Not to mention I’m only doing 3 rounds, and needed to keep you all on the line for a 3rd installment!

So now I’m going to break down some of the notable features of the two cameras, and see if we can’t find a clear winner in this race.

To start… I am not going to cover the video qualities of these cameras. Frankly because I know very little about video. But for the sake of thoroughness I will point out the statistical similarities of both cameras video production, and other features (well, the ones I feel are important enough to note)

I used Canon’s website for reference, feel free to compare the numbers yourself at www.usa.canon.com.
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Differences:

Autofocus
This is a crucial area for a lot of photographers, and with each and every passing year we photographers get more and more dependent on autofocus. Don’t tell me the first time you tried doing video with a “hybrid” SLR you didn’t get frustrated with having to manual focus!
Both Cameras AF systems work off a 9-point AF system, with identical features. However, the 5D has 6 more points that Canon calls “assist points”. For all tense and purposes these are just more spots to focus with. The speed of which a camera focuses actually has to do with the lens, so speed isn’t a factor here besides the time it takes for the photographer to put the highlighted AF point on the subject.

Metering
This one surprised me!
The 5d uses a 35-zone TTL metering system, the Rebel… a whopping 63-Zone! (same as the 1D Mark IV). Whats that mean to you professionals out there? Well if you use a handheld light meter… absolutely nothing. But if you’re a Program mode shooter (P,Tv,Av,GB), then the Rebel is taking more information into account when it looks at a scene, and could give you a better exposure because of it.

Video
Well this isn’t my strong suit, but here goes.
Both cameras can do Full HD (1920×1080), and with 5D getting a recent firmware update, they also can capture video the same (as far as frame rates). The difference comes in the file format. The Rebel uses H.264 which from my understanding is the most “web” friendly. The 5d uses MOV. Can I tell you the technical differences between the two? No… Do I care? Not really. They both can do Full HD, they both have Mic ins, and both have HDMI outputs. So I’m going to generalize this and call it even as far as video goes.

Frames Per Second
Same (essentially)… Rebel’s = 3.7…. the 5D’s = 3.9….. OH DAMN! (disappointing in both cases)

File Size/Megapixels
5d has 21.1 Megapixels whereas the Rebel only has 17.9…
Consider this. When you add megapixels to an image, they get added around the outside….(think wrapping a gift). It takes more to make the file bigger… as the file gets bigger. So all you pixel peepers out there wanna guess what that extra 3.2 megapixels amounts to?
1.3 megabytes in file size. 1.8 inches on the long side at 240dpi, and 1.2 inches on the short side. On an image that is already 22″ long how much you really going to miss that extra 2 inches? (minds out of the gutter you pervs!)
But more is better right?

LCD Screen (Monitor)
Surprisingly enough.. the Rebel wins again. Their LCD’s are exactly the same size (3in), but the Rebel has 1,040,000 dots, and the 5D has 920,000. Making the Rebel’s screen slightly higher resolution.

Accessories
Both Cameras offer an additional Vertical Grip. Both grips allow for the use of AA batteries, or 2 proprietary batteries. Both have controls for vertical shooting. Neither increases any of the qualities of the camera its attached to… such as increased FPS. The difference here is price. 5D’s =$250, the Rebel’s =$160. Oh.. but the 5D’s is slightly bigger…(if size really matters…)

Sensor
This is the big one.
Both sensors are CMOS, that capture 14bit native RAW files.
The 5d’s sensor is a full frame 35mm sensor, whereas the Rebels is an APS-C size sensor, with roughly a 1.4x magnification factor when used with 35mm lenses.
For some people the smaller sensor is an advantage, sports shooters in particular. But it comes with problems. You lose wide angle capability, and can produce some unwanted side effects when using native 35mm glass.
For example:
Cropped sensors have more depth of field, that is to say its harder to throw things out of focus with a cropped sensor. This has to do with physics and ray tracing which I won’t get into here. It also can cause the Bokeh of a lens to change, this relates back to the depth of field issue. Another side effect is a tendency for more Chromatic Aberration (color fringing)… again, this relates to the physics of the position of the sensor with relation to how the light rays pass through the lens and where they strike the sensor.
Unlike Nikon, Canon has not committed to producing lenses for its cropped sensor cameras. The most it has done is produce “kit” lenses to accompany these cameras at purchase. It has been brought to my attention that in fact Canon does produce a line of lenses for the APS-C sized sensor… the EF-S series (Thanks Kimani!).

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Conclusion

For me… its clear that neither camera is “Superior” to the other. Both are exceptional cameras, that produce exceptional files. Very few technical aspects separate these two. The most notable is the size of the sensor. And to be honest, is the sole reason I envy the 5D owners. But for the most part, these cameras are interchangeable, particularly when you strip away all the bells and whistles and get down to the bare bones important stuff… which is the file they produce.

Personally, I’ve always believed it’s the photographer not the camera that makes great images. Will these cameras help you make better images? Depends on who you ask. They are tools. Is one screwdriver better than another? Thats how I look at cameras.

When all is said and done, and everything is taken into account. We have the price.
5D comes in at roughly $2750 (including the battery grip, no lens)
Rebel comes in at $960 (including Grip, no lens)
For me the clear winner (taking into account all the factors) is the Rebel T2i.

If you can manage to live without a full frame sensor, and are like me and like to re-check their focus points before firing, then put that extra $1790 into an 85mm 1.2L Lens.

When I start raking in the dough then I will upgrade my camera body to match my stellar collection of glass!
Until then, I’ll keep using the Rebel.

If you can win the race in a Pinto, why buy a Ferarri?

Rebel T2i VS. 5D Mark II (pt.2)

For part two I’m going to get a little (ok a lot) more technical. This will probably scramble your brain (has given mine a good sizzle), but may shed an informative light. I know I was surprised!

The second test consisted of placing a Macbeth Color Checker on the wall, and lighting it (evenly) with strobes. I set a custom white balance on both the Rebel T2i, and the 5DMarkII, and captured one image each at ISO 100. All settings were identical with the one exception being the white balance measurement (dictated by the camera’s WB measuring capabilities).

I then loaded the files into Adobe Camera RAW, not applying any adjustments. Going square by square I took note of the Deviation in the RGB numbers of the image capture, and the “known” set of numbers for the Color Checker.
NOTE: I am not testing the “visual” accuracy of the cameras (since everyone sees everything differently) I’m testing the technical accuracy of the cameras.
Hover over the images to see which is which.

Here’s where it gets rough….

The 5d’s Deviation is as follows:
Red +16.125
Green +29.125
Blue +33.375
Absolute White AVG 237 (Chart =255)
Absolute Black AVG 33 (Chart = 0)

The Rebel’s Deviation:
Red +13.792
Green +29.292
Blue +31.5
Absolute White AVG 235 (Chart = 255)
Absolute Black AVG 45 (Chart = 0)

So what do those numbers mean?
The Red, Green, and Blue numbers represent the average point deviation from the Color Checker’s known value for those color channels, the lower the better. The only difference is the Absolute White and Absolute Black averages (I’ll explain this in a sec)
It may not look like it by the numbers but these are pretty standard numbers from any camera out there today.
“Superior” deviation results are considered to fall in the 10-20 range.

Now as far as how the cameras compared to each other…
The Rebel was more accurate in producing the Red Channel than the 5d, but to be fair, 3 points is really negligible (most color monitors fluctuate 3-5 “points” throughout the day while running). If it were 10, then there would be problems.
The 5D has an infinitesimal edge in the Green Channel
And the Rebel edges out the 5d in the Blue channel as well.

Now for the White and Blacks.
The white balance deviation on both cameras were virtually identical, and was only 1.5 points! So VERY accurate custom white balance computing.
When measuring the greyscale accuracy there are other things to consider.
One.. in the RGB colorspace, each channel’s value represents not only amount of color but brightness of that color.
So changing the brightness of an image effectively changes the RGB colors, and therefore the deviations.
With the neutral tones (which measure identical RGB values for each channel…ie “middle grey” is represented in RGB as R=128, G=128, B=128), I found that on both cameras the deviation increased as the values moved away from “middle grey”.
The “middle greys” on both cameras read 129.5 (accounting for the aforementioned 1.5 color deviation). The differences came at the extreme ends of the scale.

Now as you can see by the images above, the 5d’s image has more contrast.
Its black point number came in at an average of 35 (Chart standard is 0 ), but the Rebel’s only got to 45.
Nearly one stop less!
Both cameras white points fell in the 235-237 range. Negligible.

So does this mean the 5d has a greater dynamic range? No.
Both cameras capture the same white point, but the 5d’s image also represented a darker black. Is this greater range…NO, but it is a higher native contrast. The dark values of the 5d were consistently lower than the Rebel’s which means, straight out of the camera, the 5d’s file will have more visual contrast. But if you guys are familiar with “Exposing to the Right” you’ll know that more information lies in the brighter tones, than the darker ones. So the 5D isn’t “technically” capturing more information. Based on the “expose to the right” standard… it’s a disadvantage. The fact that the Rebel’s black point in comparison to the known value range of the color checker is brighter, means it has more information to manipulate. It may not look as good straight out of camera, but it has more latitude when it comes time to editing.

Ok.. enough science babble…

What does all of this shit mean?

It means that if you really want to split hairs over color that you can’t see… get a Rebel.
If you shoot RAW and refuse to edit it beyond your RAW processing defaults… Get a 5D (but only if you prefer more contrast).

Both cameras performed virtually the same technically speaking. Visually straight out of camera 99.9% of people would pick the 5d as better looking, but based on the numbers, it’s a toss-up.
There is no clear advantage to either camera based on my test results.

For the sake of argument, I’ll give the slight edge to the 5d for being visually pleasing straight out of camera (hey, that’s the end goal anyway right?). But in all actuality in this age of Photoshop, it’s not much of an advantage.

Round 2 goes to: 5D Mark II

Stay tuned for the 3rd and final installment where I break it down feature by feature and announce a winner!

Part 3

Rebel T2i VS. 5D Mark II (pt.1)

Hello boys and girls!

Today I’m going to start showing you how much of a geek I really am!

Over the next week or so, I will be comparing two Canon digital SLRs. The 5D Mark II and the New Rebel T2i.

What brought this on you say? Well I have been shooting a Rebel for the last 3 or so years. I love it…and have never really needed anything more. Lately tho, I have been out shooting with some photographers that have the 5D Mark II (5D) and have had a chance to play around with it. I hear rave reviews about it, and I was curious to see how my brand new Rebel T2i (Rebel) compares.

I’m going to break this down into a couple different posts, so as to not overwhelm you with information. Not to mention there is a lot of potentially confusing stuff that can make one go crazy after looking at it for too long.
So without any further hoopla… Lets get started.

Camera technology is progressing by leaps and bounds with every new release. One of the biggest revolutions is the high ISO capabilities of newer models. The 5D has a reputation for being stellar at high ISO settings… so it only seemed logical to test this first.

Below I have posted an image (click for the full size view) of both camera offerings at ISO 6400,3200, and 1600 respectively.
I set a Macbeth Color Checker on a chair in the shade. I set both cameras to Program mode and Auto White Balance. The only thing I did to the camera was change the ISO setting between shots. Each image was captured at the same focal length (105mm respectively), and was shot from the same distance.
There was no manipulation applied to the images, all were processed through Camera RAW with identical settings with no sharpening. I only tiled them on the screen, took a screen shot, and blocked out the file numbers and file sizes…and of course marked the ISO columns.

Take a look, and you tell me which is which.

Hover over the thumbnail to see the answer.
Did you guess right?
Well, whether you did or not doesn’t really matter. What matters (to me at least) is there is not nearly enough difference to discourage me from using one or the other.
Both perform exceptionally well at 1600 which seems to me to be absolutely usable in most situations. I think the 5D has the slight (I mean VERY slight) edge at 6400 with a slightly smaller “grain structure”, but that’s really splitting hairs.
These images are cropped (zoomed) to what amounts to a one inch square on an 11×14″ print. So unless they are close enough to sniff the ink, most people won’t be able to tell a difference.

So factoring in price…$800 vs $2500…

Round one goes to: REBEL

Part 2

Why I love Apple

Most of you are somewhat familiar with my recent computer problems, having vented about it on Facebook. However I feel the need to really share with the rest of the world so they may learn from my experience.

2 weeks ago:
I have a 2.33 Intel Core2 Duo Macbook Pro (15″). I’ve had it for 3 years, and its been a great machine! I’ve had a nagging problem with the Battery refusing to remain charged. It would drain completely in an hour while the computer was asleep. I’ve had it replaced before, to only fix the problem temporarily. So I take the computer to the Genius Bar at the local Apple Store (I check in with Foursquare). I tell them about the battery issue, and mention an annoying problem with a darkening spot on my screen (Hey, this will be my last chance to fix anything for free!).
Now…The AppleCare Plan I purchased with the computer runs out in 2 days (April 19th), but I am assured that since I got it in under the deadline that everything will be covered! Sweet.

A few days go by…Its now April 21st.
I get the call to come pick up my machine (Lily…named after the super hot Lily Cole). So I get to the Genius Bar (I check in with Foursquare) they hand me my computer and tell me all that they fixed.

1. Battery
2. Inverter (thing that regulates the power)
3. Logic Board  (motherboard for all you PC users)

Ahh but as I open the machine and start it up… I notice the darks spot on my screen, and point it out to the little asian guy in the blue shirt.  Him-”Well if it wasn’t on the original repair sheet…”  Me- *whips out repair request sheet* “whats it say???”
He backtracks and proceeds to apologize profusely.
They write-up another repair request, and voila. My computer is gone again.

2 days later, now April 23rd:
The part has arrived (New Screen) and my computer is done.
FINALLY!  They have replaced the entire top “Flap” of my laptop (sorry “notebook”).
So I pick up my computer (I check in with Foursquare, and get the “Jobs” Badge…3 visits to an Apple store in one week), and take her (Lily) home.

A couple of days pass… I have a shoot on that Sunday (the 25th)….
At the shoot I fire up my computer to dump my memory cards, and I get the dreaded “Blue Folder of Death”. Oh great… Now my hardrive has crashed…. I get it back home, and actually get it started up. I quickly dump my cards onto an external drive, and do a system check. Everything seems ok now.. but it’s getting really hot. Like scalding hot to the touch after only 5 minutes of running!
The next day I call AppleCare, and talk about possible solutions (they assume that it’s a typical hardrive failure, and as such isn’t covered by my expired AppleCare plan). Anticipating having to buy another hard drive, I run down to…guess where (I check in with Foursquare)?
I tell the guy the story, he doesn’t believe me, and gives me this whole spiel about how the computer will never get too hot to damage itself…blah, blah, blah…
He starts up the machine off an external drive, and the hard drive checks out ok, but lo and behold! Lily is hot to the touch after 5 minutes of being turned on!
If only all women in my life were that easy!
The “Genius” is now genuinely freaked out… I’ve never seen one of these blue shirted guru’s so worried…I feel a sense of pride!
He sends my computer to the repair facility in Houston. I go home alone once again.

4 Days have passed…
One more trip to the Apple store…I hope!
I check in with Foursquare (how am I not the Mayor of this place by now?)
I get Lily back and look at the laundry list of things replaced:

1. Logic Board (again)
2. Inverter (again)
3. both fans
4. 160gb Hard drive (original was only 120gb)
5. Various external connectors (USB, firewire, etc)
6. Keyboard and Trackpad

All FREE!

So the moral of the story…kids…Is BUY YOUR EXTENDED WARRANTIES!
The grand total of my repairs (with labor) was just under $2500!
The only thing original on my machine is the bottom case cover (had the Superdrive replaced 6 months ago).
I now have a brand new machine (tho 3 years behind technology), and she’s running like a dream! Had I not had the AppleCare plan, I would have been screwed!

That is why I love Apple.  

What I’m reading

For the last 3 weeks or so I have been stripped of my main connection to the outside world…my computer.
Without being able to be entertained constantly with Facebook and StumbleUpon, and being thoroughly tired of every pathetic excuse for T.V. show on the boob tube. I resorted to the archaic practice of reading books!

I typically have a couple books in rotation at all time, just to keep my wits sharp (or dull them with mindless fiction). But these last few weeks my arsenal has grown to a whopping !

…I have become a bookworm.

The first book (one I’ve just finished) is World War Z by Max Brooks.
This book is a great read! Its told from the point of view of a researcher interviewing the survivors of World War Z (the zombie war). Each “chapter” is broken down into little stories from each survivor, elaborating on his/her accounts of the war.
Brooks does a fantastic job of giving each “Survivor” their own voice and personality, and in doing so makes for a truly interesting, inspiring, funny, and sad piece of reading. Definitely pick this one up!

This next book is by the same author (actually published before the aforementioned WWZ book). The Zombie Survival Guide Is just that…
A survival guide.
It reads like an instruction manual, complete with rudimentary illustrations, and “Dick and Jane” examples. Having read WWZ before this one, I had a heads up on most some of the things he covers. Like which gun is best? You’d think a machine gun right?…Wrong! I’m only around 60 pages in, but this book is funny! It takes a very serious tone to protecting oneself agains the “eventual” rising of the dead. Later on in the book he gives “real” accounts and stories (which I can only assume was the inspiration for writing WWZ), which should be just as fascinating as the rest of this one! If you have a fear of zombies, or are into books that take themselves too seriously (on purpose) this is a must have. I’d read WWZ first, It’ll help add some humor to the instructional part of the book.

To keep with the end of the world theme I also picked up The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
I’m only about 30 pages in on this one as well, but so far the characters are incredible. This story is about a man and his son in a post-apocalyptic world. They are travelling south to avoid the harsh winter, and along the way come across many challenges and choices that really make this book worth reading. This is the same author who wrote No Country for Old Men so if you’ve read that one… you’ll be familiar with McCarthy’s writing style. If not… the best way to describe it is disjointed. McCarthy has a knack for great characters and descriptions of scenes, but it can be tough to follow sometimes without the typical format of: “The man said ‘….’” McCarthy ‘s character dialog floats between the father and son, and occasionally requires a re-read of a paragraph to cure confusion. Flash backs are rampant and unannounced, which often blend in to the story you thought you were following.
Don’t get me wrong… I love McCarthy’s writing style, but for those not used to it… It can be a shock. Nonetheless this is a must read, just for the simple fact it won the Pulitzer Prize. (No I haven’t seen the movie)

On the lighter side of things I’m reading Russel Brand’s Autobiography, My Booky Wook.
Brand is an English stand up comedian most popular for his role as the eccentric rocker Aldus Snow in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I picked this book up because I think this man is hilarious. His attitude, and delivery are classic, and believe it or not can be found in his writing. This guy writes just like he talks…with all the “innit’s”, “mum’s”, and “wanka’s” Brand’s accent is readily prevalent while reading. So far its just ok… but again… I’m only a few pages in, and I’m sure once I get to the good stuff… the good times will roll!

Last but not least is a book I have read before. I’m re-reading it because it was one of the greatest reads of all my life.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

This book is by far the funniest book I have ever read in my 31 years on this earth. Never have I laughed so hard at the written word, nor have I had to put a book down for fear of having an aneurism from laughing so much.
Tucker Max (The main character and author) is the stereotypical college douchebag. He’s rude, he’s obnoxious, he’s disrespectful to anyone and everyone, and he has the most crazy adventures in the world.
Have you seen The Hangover? Ok… take that movie, and multiply it by 100 (or how ever many Tucker Max stories there are). My favorite “friend” that joins Tucker on virtually every adventure is called Slingblade…(gonna leave that for you to find out). He’s introduced in the chapter “Everyone has THAT friend”. From that point on…you’ll never look at going out to bars and chatting to people the same again! Of all the books I’m reading…This is by far the one you MUST read. On a side note, I have the original paperback version which has since been discontinued and replaced with a “movie Tie in” version which supposedly concentrates on stories associated with the movie. (No I have not seen the movie…I don’t want to ruin the incredible awe this book has provided)

So that’s it… for right now… These should keep me busy for a while.

Are you guys reading anything awesome?

Here I go again…[RANT]

So my triumphant return to blogging was to begin with a cheery little piece on what I’m reading now.

However…

I feel compelled to share this little story/rant with all of you…

So here is a little back story…
I’ve been setting up a very cool fashion project with my buddy Greg Noblin. We’ve been working on this for a few weeks now… I have assembled a great team that is on their shit, and everything is going swimmingly.
Time to pick a model…
I go through the local agencies websites, and pick 4 girls that I like in particular (all from different agencies). I send the images to my team so we can vote on who the star will be.
After a couple of days of deliberating we decide.

So today I contact this model’s agency to give them a run down on the project and check her availability for the proposed shoot date. Note: I have worked with this agency before, I have tested their models, and have been PAID by the models at the agencies request to test them (even tho the owner requested a “cut” to encourage bookings).

I receive this (in so many words…) in response:

“Thanks rich please go ahead and submit a client inquiry via the website. Well need all info and certainly talent info in order to approve the shoot. She’ll of course have to approve talent and concept as well. Lastly if this gets published can we have an agreement to have (MODEL) and (AGENCY)’s name placed in the editorial. Finally we charge $25 flat booking fee to arrange the shoot. Thanks for thinking of (AGENCY) and (MODEL).”

Now… To me that reads one of 2 ways…

1: Thanks, but we don’t like your work, and don’t trust that its going to be worth the models time to shoot with you.

or

2: Thanks, we have no intention of sending the model to you*, but lets see if you are dumb enough to throw us $25 dollars just for shits and giggles.

*I had mentioned possibly booking a shoot to said model (just in passing on FB prior to emailing her booker), and she said she was already booked the day I requested her for*

Option one… not a problem… just tell me. I’ve been out of the game for a bit, and wouldn’t hold it against them.
Option two… (The most likely) is just pathetic…

Rather than blow my top through email, and torch a bridge…(kind of pointless now isn’t it…) I responded with a simple…

“Nevermind then…”

—————————————————————————————————————

What gets me about this whole thing is that I was working with agencies and testing models before this “agency” even popped up. I have tested models, and shot girls for editorials for years both here and in NY, and NEVER EVER was I asked to give references for my team, or worse of all…Pay a fucking “booking fee”!

*Lighting the Molotov*

Its fine… believe it or not, I work with other agencies in the city that don’t charge me to shoot their models, nor question whom I work with, and in fact encourage me to shoot their models. OH! did I mention that these other agencies are national agencies? No? hmmm…

*Tosses Molotov*

I may not be the top dog in town, or even the little dog that stays on the porch, but I’ve been around the block once or twice… And the way this “Agency” runs their ship…(based on this little interaction) is just sad.
It just goes to show how desperate some people are in this city that they’ll cannibalize their own industry for a buck.

This “agency” has some good models, and great people that they represent, but from now on (here in Atlanta) I will be sticking with the agencies that were instrumental in my growth as a fashion photographer.

The REAL agencies.

*Glass Shatters!*