Monthly Archives: August 2017

Is it “showroom,”  “show room,” or “show showroom?”

In this case I think I’ll settle on “show showroom.”  Photography of interiors is all about showing rooms.  In this case, it’s a showroom for a contractor.  Showrooms always make for great photos as they are designed to be seen.  Of course, interior photos are not by any means limited to showrooms.  Good photos are excellent anytime you want to express what it feels like to be in a space.  It may be your office, a store, a restaurant or a factory floor.

Typically interiors are shot using a wide angle lens to include as much of the space as possible. Stitched panoramas are another great method to illustrate internal spaces.  Stitching means to combine two or more photos to create a single image.  The key is how the photos are taken.  Everything has to be one just right of the photos won’t line up properly.  Below is an example of the same showroom as a stitched 360 degree panorama.  When viewed on Google or Facebook, a users can actually scroll around and view the entire space.

It’s always about engaging the viewer.…

You never know what you will see when on assignment.  At first I thought I discovered a new species, a rainbow caterpillar.  After consulting numerous taxonomic books  realized that what I had actually found  was Girlscoutis innovatum (common name, “clever Girl Scouts”)

What do you do when you get rained on?  Innovate!…

A company is a team of people working together.  The question is, “What are they working for?”

Every business owner would love knowing his or her team is working for the growth and enhancement of the company.  Everyone has a position and a strategic role to play, whether it’s the bat boy or the captain.

Sometimes owners get caught up in the demands of running the business and aren’t able to express their gratitude as much as they would like.  Team members may drift from working for growth and enhancement to simply working for the paycheck.  The best companies are the ones where everyone feels valued and appreciated for what they contribute.

Here’s a question.  How many owners keep a photo of their team on the wall in their office to remind them just what their company really is?  If I had a boss that kept my photo on his or her wall I think I’d feel pretty special.

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Each August the pilgrims pass through Frenchtown on their way to the American Czestochowa in Doylestown, PA.  They start in Great Meadows, make their way across NJ and into PA.  They cross the Delaware via the Frenchtown/Uhlerstown bridge, a narrow, steel truss bridge maintained by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC).   The DRJTBC loves images of its bridges being used and often give me the heads up when events like this are happening so I can get some images for its use.

The pilgrims are just regular folks walking with a purpose.  When I photograph events like this, I’m like a bee, buzzing in and out grabbing shots. The cross bearer couldn’t have cared, less being totally focused on his walk.

I like this.  Focus is everything.   There are more than many distractions everywhere but when we can focus, life is clearer, sharper and more… well, in focus.

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It’s Friday.  It’s August. It’s still summer.

The boss is on vacation…. Have another mug of coffee.…

For some reason it always seem like I’m climbing ladders (or trees or fences or buildings) to get a little higher perspective on a shot.  This was the perfect angle to get some zip-line photos for the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) at Camp DeWitt.  We didn’t have any trouble getting volunteers for this activity, one the kids’ favorites.

Shooting the camp activities for GSHNJ was fun and almost made me wish I was at camp myself.  There is a special feelings at Girl Scout camps.  There is an air of camaraderie and collaboration along with excitement and a lot of laughing.  They never slow down and seem to enjoy every minute being with each other. THe love and support they show each other is inspiring and a model for all of us.

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While on assignment shooting footage and stills at the Historic Red Mill in Clinton, NJ, I couldn’t help but marvel at the quality of craftsmanship and durability of the old iron gears.  They operated for decades, endlessly turning in sync and enduring year after year.  They was made right good!

It got me thinking about the word “gear” and how it can have such a positive connotation.  There is nothing like having good gear, gearing up, getting into gear and getting in sync.  I guess the key is to not grind ’em.…

Stuff we do today will reverberate in our future.

Back in 2004 Chris Anderson coined the phrase, The Long Tail, to describe how some products sell in small quantities over a long, long time outdoing big sellers that come and go. Like many business concepts, this one entered my brain, fermented, digested and morphed into a completely different interpretation from what it really means.  (That’s OK, it’s my brain.)

I like to think of the long tail as a long term effect of things I do now, for better or worse. (ideally for better!)

Nothing ever quite goes away especially if you keep it active by feeding it over time.  The photo above is a shot of Hunterdon County Administrator, Kevin Davis hanging one of my photos in the freeholders’ meeting room.   This is a photo of one of the last covered bridges in NJ, located in Sergeantsville, Hunterdon County.   The shot was originally commissioned back in 2011, as a cover shot for the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Directory.  Six years later it emerges again.

So what I try to keep in mind is “What am I doing today?”…

Mushrooms are funny organisms.  Most of the time they are invisible to us growing networks of mycelium below the ground, out of site.

It’s these networks that collect the nutrients and are the foundation  of the plant.  Mycelium are often symbiotic meaning they may both benefit their environments as well as derive benefits.

When conditions are ripe, they can suddenly burst forth in full fruit.  But the fruiting is temporary.  It’s the foundation that persist to fruit another day.…