PhotoShelter Collection goes live

The PhotoShelter Collection officially went live to buyers on Monday morning. To the best of my knowledge, there have not been any sales as of yet, but there are over 250,000 images [and counting] that are available. I have only managed to get 52 images in... but considering I've only submitted 64 in total, I'm OK with my numbers [I definitely have room to improve, though]. This week I've been perusing the collection trying to get a better feel for what the editors want to see, and then digging through my archives accordingly. I've also decided to stop submitting uncompressed TIFs, and go with high res JPGs instead. It seems many of us new to the stock world took the technical requirements a bit literally and suffered through long upload times with 29mb TIF files... you can view my contributions on my microsite. There are few new images there, and many old favorites. As always, feedback welcome!

Remodels, portraits, & logos, OH MY!

It's been a busy month... In the midst of remodeling our own bathroom, I spent a day shooting professionals remodeling the bathroom of a family in need for REACH Community Development. My volunteer assignment started with a dart game at the Lucky Lab a couple months ago. We met several folks who'd just arrived in Portland for their AmeriCorps assignment, and one of them asked if I'd be willing to do some pro bono work on their behalf. Last Thursday I covered two sites, one with a new wheelchair ramp installation, the other a bathroom remodel and living room window replacement.

The crews were from Belfor and were all very courteous, accommodating, and fun. Some were more aware [and wary] of the camera than others, but that is to be expected. The bathroom job turned out to be much more involved than they had anticipated, so I just tried to stay out of the way and document their work.

Prior to that I designed a logo for Yoga for Weddings... I haven't done a lot of illustration, but I must admit I am very happy with how this turned out. I started out by sketching in my notepad, then a more refined sketch on bond paper, which I scanned and brought into Illustrator. The rest was all vectors and some transparency layering.


I'll be working on the website creative direction next...

I also did another portrait shoot, this time of a young family--our friends Andy & Amy & their son, Theo. Three people at once proved much more challenging, but there were definitely a few keepers. I did decide it was madness to attempt to do that without an assistant, though. It's much easier working one-on-one or in a documentary fashion.


Now it's back to our own remodel... Perhaps I should rename my venture "h2meyer creative"...
[last night my mother asked if I was "bored"...]

PhotoShelter Collection

PhotoShelter has launched a new edited stock photography site called "The PhotoShelter Collection" and aims to shake up how stock is bought and sold in today's digital world. Among its notable qualities, they offer photographers a 70% commission, and give you the freedom to also post/sell through other means. It is free to join, but there is a pretty strict application process with a long list of requirements, and each photo is reviewed by an editor. This almost scared me away, but I submitted my application on Monday with 10 images, and found out this morning that I have been accepted as a contributing photographer. What's more, 9 of my 10 original submissions have been approved, and two of them are Editor's Choice.

I've long pondered entering the world of stock photo sales, but to be honest, have never particularly found the process or the companies all that compelling. Until PhotoShelter, that is. This is definitely a good fit in terms of content, style, attitude, and compensation. I am very happy.

It's getting easier to be green

American Photo recently published "Assignment Earth: A Photographic Mission to Save the Planet". This is a series of articles including ways for photogs to embrace sustainability, (Thirteen Ways to be a Greener Photographer), and several galleries by "conservation photographers"--those who shoot with the intent of raising awareness about environmental issues.

There is also a mini feature of products that are "low impact", but with the exception of a solar panel, rechargeable batteries and recycled photo paper, they are products that would inspire "upgrade" behavior that would likely lead to more stuff ending up in a landfill somewhere. It is a slippery slope to recommend buying new products to become more "green"--sustainability is a mind set, not a product line. That said, there are times when it is simply necessary to purchase new products, and at those times, it's nice to see the market being populated with more responsible choices.

One product I've been experimenting with that didn't make the list is ViaStone. This is a tree-less paper made out of limestone. I first read about it on TreeHugger, and managed to get my hands on some earlier this year. I've only been able to try the matte finish papers, but the print quality is very nice. The finish limits its useful application, but it works well for brochures, letterhead, and the like. I'm hoping to find a more artful use for it as well, like b+w prints, for example.

The double sided business cards are microperfed, but do not separate as cleanly as some other similar products. Tiny ridges are unavoidable, and unfortunately lend a less than professional presentation.

Website updates!

Made several functionality improvements to my website. Lots of new text content--an about page, contact page, and pricing guidelines. Will get fresh images up soon. In the mean time, I'll post images onto the blog... hoping to get a new one up every week. Feel free to send feedback!

trapped

A honey bee is hopelessly ensnared in a pumpkin spider's web.