What’s for sale here?
On the surface, it’s a funky looking squash. Taken just a little deeper, it’s a decoration, a feeling of fall, a memory of Thanksgiving dinners, leaves blowing across the lawn, crisp cool air … A pretty good bargain for a few bits.
What are you selling?
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Google Earth is a powerful program. It provides a 3 dimensional view of the earth’s surface and is designed to allow users to embed their own data and share it with others on the Google Earth platform. And it’s free. You just need to know how to take advantage if it.
I find it invaluable for enhancing my photography when there is a spatial component (i.e., when the location of the photos is important). By incorporating my images in Google Earth or in it’s companion program Google Map, I can add the geographic dimension to enhance the viewer’s experience and better communicate my client’s message. I’ve made use of this many times from preparing proposals for multi-site assignments to coordinating a large regional project with other photographers.
Most recently, Google Earth was the perfect application for a environmental photography study. The assignment was to photograph a certain type of geology in various locations of NJ in order to illustrate the orientation of the fractures. The conventional way to do this is to simply take the photos and then mark the locations on a map. This is effective but the viewers have to jump back and forth between map and the photos and cannot virtually travel around the region like they can with Google Earth.
Using Google Earth is fun and introduces the “WOW” factor. If you’ve ever used Google Earth you know how it flies in and around the globe to various areas and can not only see not only the locations but can give you a 3 dimensional rendering that showing the hills and valleys of an area along with a seamless aerial photo that shows all the features on the ground.
This is an example from my recent project showing the location of three photos that were taken in a stream valley. …
Recognize wisdom when you hear it.
During the past couple months, I did video interviews of the inductees into the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Foundation Business Hall of Fame. When you get to talk one-on-one with business leaders who have made a difference in their communities you certainly pick up a lot of wisdom.
Nobody tried to give advice or promote themselves. Instead they just spoke from the heart about what they believe and what motivates them. It was enlightening.
While I enjoyed hearing from all of the inductees, there were a few words of particular wisdom from Cathy Large Wettstein when she talked about what motivated the people in her life. Plain, simple, powerful wisdom. Here is a little snippet of Cathy’s interview (worth hearing).
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The inaugural event for the Hunterdon County Business Hall of Fame will be held by the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Foundation at the Ryland Inn on Thursday, September 14, 2017, at 6:00pm.
The Foundation’s mission is to advance the interests of the Hunterdon County business community through business resources, economic & workforce development, leadership development, tourism, philanthropy, and the promotion of civic, educational, cultural and economic interests of the region.
The Hunterdon County Business Hall of Fame was established to honor current and past business leaders, businesses & organizations, who have made important contributions to the Hunterdon County business community and to tell the story and rich history of business and industry here in Hunterdon County, and to ensure these stories are preserved and shared.
Brokaw Photography & Video was selected to interview each of the recipients and create videos that offer insight into the views and thoughts of the current leaders of the selected businesses. It was a joy to meet with these leaders and see how truly sincere and authentic they all are.
This year’s Inductees are:
Pioneer Award: Custom Alloy, represented by President, Adam Ambielli, President
Contemporary Award: ShopRite of Hunterdon, by Joe Colalillo, President
Essence of Hunterdon: George Large & Edwin Large, represented by Catherine Large Wettstein
Essence of Hunterdon: Red Mill Museum Village, represented by Paul Muir, Executive Director
Distinguished Leaders: Peter G.Verniero, former NJ Supreme Court Justice & Attorney General
Distinguished Leaders: The Creter Family, Flemington Granite and Architectural Supply, represented by RIchard Creter, President
The Business Hall of Fame will have a permanent display at the Foundation, in the historic Reading- Large House in Flemington. There will be a traveling kiosk which will be exhibited throughout the county at places of businesses, public locations and our schools. The video interviews created by Brokaw Photography & Video and shared through this kiosk will tell the great story of those who have been inducted into the Business Hall of Fame and their contributions to Hunterdon County prosperity through the decades.…
Monkey see, monkey do? Maybe not such bad advice, depending on what the monkeys are doing.
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I came across this guy during a walk this weekend and boy, did he look exhausted. After 17 years underground you get one big chance to party. That must be why they are always singing.
Summertime is the right time if you are a cicada but there is no encore, no second chance. You hatch, you prep, you play and then … well, we try not to think about that, but at least you don’t have to worry about your retirement plan.
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Harry starts every week with total focus. Of course, he has his krypton glasses to give him an advantage. It’s his super power (and for sale for only $9.95 at the Fireman’s Carnival).
I don’t have a set of krypton glasses (yet) but I have a nice hot cup of coffee and am eager to dive into the week. I believe I can focus as well as Harry. I start with short bursts. I figure that if I put all my short bursts I’ll accelerate and build up plenty of momentum and be ready for whatever comes my way.…
When you think about it, there are a lot of steps to just about everything. The most immediate task may be pretty straight forward, but chances are there are a lot of steps leading up to it.
Candid photography seems simple enough. In many ways it is, just point and shoot.
Sometimes that works just fine, but not often. Candids are uncontrolled, As a photographer you can’t pose your subject, because then it’s not candid. But you can control how you create the shot. It’s all about framing and timing. The key is to see the whole picture, so to speak.
You are like a hunter looking for your prey. When you spot your target, you need to zero in to line up your shot keeping your eye on both the foreground and the background. Chances are your quarry is animated, in motion, so you need to anticipate where it likely will be and what it likely will be doing when you take your shot. Sometimes this happens quickly, other times it requires patient stalking. Either way there are plenty of steps involved. Consistently getting good candids doesn’t just happen.
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As part of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Foundation Business Hall of Fame project I had the opportunity to video interview Adam Ambielli, one of the owners of Custom Alloy in High Bridge, NJ. Adam graciously took me on a tour of the plant and allowed me to take photos to go along with the video.
This is truly a heavy industry but it isn’t a smoke stack factory. Custom Alloy shapes and refines metal products for industry, from large scale heavy equipment parts to products for the energy sector. Its emissions are minimal.
It is thriving and growing in the heart of Hunterdon and contributing to its well being. It is great to see when local businesses thrive, communities thrive, too.
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