looking forward to being closer to clients, the coast, voodoo + the freaks. sad to see the office go as it’s been a great space but it’s up for the taking now.

large shout out to everyone around whitefish as the last decade+ has been unbelievable. couldn’t have done it without you. stay tuned for the thank you show later this spring.

it’s all laid out here by the well named heath brothers. the idea being you have to have indicators. who has low budgets despite what they say? who has the skills beyond the resume? who can produce the project despite the weather? to really make it work these days you have to be able to read all of this.

talking with my wife who works in medicine, she says it’s amazing what you can tell about how people take care of themselves simply by how they relate to time, ie, whether they’re on it or not. i’ve found it uncanny the other way around as well that when you’re sitting in a medical office or the hospital how they relate to customers by how well the plants are taken care of. i’m mean really, a dead plant + i’m supposed to trust you with my health!?!?

van halen + specifically david lee roth had the m+m’s. i’ve got a thing or two i’ll run by you next time we meet. you?

1. the three elements we have as for control as photographers + filmmakers have always been aperture, shutter speed + iso. can’t do much with the first two in most situations but i’ve always wondered what happens when we blow the roof off of iso limitations (this is the one i was saying was already on the table). to some extent it’s not really future but now. nikon + canon, among others, have especially has pushed up to what, 12,800 most recently with readings depending on how you measure over six figures. that’s not iso that’s some poor wall street salary. the crazy thing being it’s only bettering exponentially.

what i see this doing is really altering the way we collectively shoot in many environments. dark + you’ve got this thing with depth of field, now it’s doable. hate the blur? game over. i’m not saying this is happening overnight but i know i can’t wait to really use iso variations in my work. think about the days shooting film – how many of you actually used to use that funky film puller to extract a role midstream ’cause you were heading inside (or vice versa)? (that’s it below in case you never had the pleasure.)

2. the altering + increasing tech assistance working with imagery will forever change the way we compose as well as the final product. like something out of csi or whatever the latest tech oriented crime drama maybe here’s a very real, though not photo specific, example via wired. this idea of compressed sensing could vastly change the landscape of storage + battery life for us. if the industry starts to see, “instead of steadily improving compression algorithms …steadily improving decompression algorithms that reconstruct the original image more and more faithfully from the stored data”, well then, hell, the future has arrived.

i’ve also read about researchers + uber geeks playing with computer technology that could lead to variable focus done in post production. the two together make you wonder how long craft will be involved with visual media.

3. i claim no brain power on this this last one but picked it up somewhere along the way from a communciation among shooters on what the future holds some time ago. the actual opinion (if this is yours feel free to claim) was that images would be wirelessly transmitted (i’m down with that) via satellite (ok) directly to editors anywhere in the cubicle world (have to try this to believe).

that said, i do see the bottle neck of transmission + after the fact editing losing ground quickly to the efficiency of technology. while eye fi may be a good start, it’s just that – a start.

so give it some time + we’ll see if i need to head to vegas at some point down the road. you’ve got better predictions?

I Swear To Good You Are God At This from Holiday Matinee on Vimeo.

funny that you mention point+shoots. my brother had a bunch laying around and the kids went crazy with them. at some point my darling niece came up to me and the following conversation took place:

zoe (5): anna, you need to exchange the card, or download the pictures, my card is full – i can’t push the button anymore
anna (31): there is no card in there – it’s film and it ran out because you took all the pictures
zoe: what’s film?
anna: mmh, it’s in there and you put the pictures on there when you push the button and then you develop it later
zoe: what’s developing?
anna: you drop it off somewhere and they make negatives for you
zoe: what are negatives?
anna: i think your dad should explain all of this to you
zoe: why can’t i see the picture in the back?
anna: because it’s not digital
zoe: why can’t we develop the pictures?
anna: we’d need a dark room and chemicals
zoe: what is a dark room – and what are chemicals?
anna: FLO!!! come over here!!!

what was even funnier was when zoe took a picture of the bride’s father with a disposable camera she said: “i am sorry, i can’t show you the pictures in the back, because you can’t see them with this camera. a long time ago all cameras were like this one.”

+ if that’s not enough, the gold medal stories with shaun white, shani davis + lindsey vonn yesterday should really give you a bolt. luv seeing athletes going for broke + making it happen.

tying that in with imagery, platon has a great shot of shaun if i recall correctly + moreso, especially inspiring this week is his latest in the new yorker piece covering civil rights in the promise. tore a few out for the wall myself. brilliant processing on silver gelatin look he’s featuring in this piece. the skin tones make your wonder if he’s part of the film renaissance we’re seeing.

still up for more? kevin michael connolly is a photographer with a story to tell. just on the today show a few short months ago he’s got a traveling show about time on his skateboard called the rolling exhibition, a book called double take + a refreshing take on life with a camera.

In a recent AP-GFK poll, 72% of Americans said they’re optimistic about what 2010 will bring for the country. That’s a dramatic difference from their same poll answer where almost 75% of them thought 2009 was a bad year for the country.

Despite the recent earthquake tragedy in Haiti (and who knows what else the year will bring), I’ve noticed that people are generally much more hopeful this year. I know I am!

Here are some resolutions you can make, to have a great business and a great life in 2010:

1. I will first schedule for the year all activities that support my health and family (including workouts, doctor appointments, vacations, family events). Why? Because without these, I won’t be able to be productive in my business.

2. Each day, I will put appointments with enough time (and some extra built in) to complete my day’s top 2 business activities. I will work on these even before I check my email (thanks for this great idea from Tim Ferriss of the 4-Hour Work Week fame – it really works!). These will be my business priorities for the day. Once they are completed, I can work on other business activities.

3. By the middle of each day, I’ll make sure to take a moment and determine if I have helped someone today. If so, continue with my activities. If not, take action to help someone in need – anything from returning an email from someone who needs help, making a phone call to someone who suffered a recent setback, or even just giving a compliment to someone.

4. I will backup my files in the easiest way possible, automatically, by using Carbonite.

5. I will meet regularly with my trusted advisors. These advisors may include my business coach, accountant, publicist, and banker. These folks are critical to the success of my life and business.

6. I will put aside a reserve of money, or get a line of credit, so I will never feel “desperate.” I know that clients can sense desperation, and I won’t attract them if I feel that way. Plus, if I am not desperate for the money, I won’t have to take on clients who will drain me.

7. Each day, I will put a 30-minute appointment on my calendar to learn something new. In today’s world, we all have to be learning constantly, just to keep up. Each time I realize I need more knowledge of something, I’ll put it in one of my 30-minute appointment slots.

8. I will include marketing and business development activities in my business activities. This means that I may be scheduling time for social media promotion, Website updates, customer contacts, etc.

9. I will develop a consistent way to stay in front of current and potential clients. I know that this is the best way to grow my business. I can do this in many ways – through a newsletter, a regular Send Out Cards program, scheduled meetings and more.

10. If something doesn’t feel right, I won’t do it. I need to trust my gut. It’s usually right.

am i a tablet owner or ipad fan – no. have some stock – nope. + i sure as hell didn’t ditch the paperback on my latest international flight. all i’m looking at is the future. how does visual media fit into the continuum that it essentially started back when the first cameras fired + the first tv’s began to roll.

do i like the schnazz of aperture 3 that rolled out yesterday – yeah. but is that real multi media? do slides mixed with a voiceover constitute the latest in the melding of media – not so sure about that. i’m into the idea but i’ve always been wary of multi media disciples running slideshows with audio or something to that effect. + it’’s been happening far longer then the recent aperture edition.

those in the industry (or outside of it for that matter) actually pushing new media are doing fantastical things that by definition aren’t within the bounds of a mass market product. the more one thinks about this the more the more clear it seems that rules, the rules that have governed visual media for so long in particular, are warping more then ever. + actually need to be broken to make a difference. think about what stands out for you. + then try to picture what the future holds? will ad’s + editors really be a voice in an earpiece while we’re half a world away shooting hybrid still + footage projects?

(btw, don’t miss this inspiring piece on dan winters from flyp.)