Emerald Bay Photography News and Updates

Yes, I suffer the fate of every freelance photographer - trying to balance work life (shooting assignments, stock, and charity gigs) with the fun life (stuff I really want to shoot, but never have the time to).

For almost 9 months now, a file has been simmering away on my hard drive. It's been whispering to me "Open me! Work on me!", but I've been ignoring it, opting to focus on the work life. Lately however, that file's call has been getting louder, and I've decided to harness a few minutes every day to work on and post its pictures.

They are from my trip to Europe last September. The old world is so rich on eyecandy, so overwhelming - that you come back, your visual cortex brimming and singing with imagery. It takes a while to digest them, and the same went for that file. But I think I'm ready now.

So here's the first of what I hope will be a daily installment of fresh images from that file:



Prater, Vienna - Funride, blurred. Handshot @ F 6.7, 1/4 sec.

Vienna is famous for many things. But one of the only ones you should go to at night is the Prater - that's when the one of the oldest amusement parks in the world really comes alive. With almost 150 rides and a huge Ferris Wheel, it's an exhilirating experience, both visual and tactile.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Just happened upon this random image today and thought I'd post it:


Statue of a couple embracing, Schoenbrunn Castle, Vienna, Austria

Notably in this image is how damaging the environmental effects of chafing rain, triggered by the immense industrial and vehicle exhaust in Europe, are to the ancient and delicate outdoor artwork sprinkled all over the Old World.

This marble statue must have been gleaming white only half a century ago. Now, the black streaks tell of poisened rain and upclose, one can see the brittle surface slowly eroding away.

What a shame.

Labels: oregon stock photography, photography, travel, travel photographer

Today, I'd like to address an issue that a lot of freelance photographers face: The task of buying individual health insurance.

Like so many of my peers, I want health insurance, but cannot afford the premiums even my husbands employer wants from me (something like 250 bucks a month). So I've been on the lookout for good, affordable health insurance by a reputable company for a while now.

A few months back, a fellow freelancer warmly recommended Pacific Source, an Oregon-based company with terrific rates and a very high consumer satisfaction rating. I instantly downloaded their lenghty application, filled it out and sent it in. 3 weeks later, I get a letter of rejection.

Now, I'm one of those blessedly healthy individual who doesn't see the point of going to the doc unless something seriously traumatic happens (like I'm suddendly missing a limb, or the like - for which I *do* would like to be insured though). But apparently the fact that I was honest and told Pacific about a rotator cuff injury I sustained (and healed out) last winter while shoveling snow, was enough for them to turn me down. I was bummed.

Suddenly though, my mailbox filled with ads for health insurance for the self-employed. I didn't bother to take a closer look, until today, when a lady named Sally Hite called me and wanted to set up a meeting to "customize a quote" for me. I indulged her for a bit, telling her about my Pacific Source experience (she didn't seem to concerned with my rotator cuff problem), trying to glean as much info as possible from her through her hard sales pitch about the company she represented . She told me she worked with/for Mega Life & Health Insurance, but upon requesting she'd send me some information about the company prior to the meeting, she told me she'd rather not send anything because "most consumers don't understand the information anyway, and I'd rather not get you confused". Aha. I'm an idiot. News to me. But hey. She fussed even when I asked for a website URL.

So while still on the phone, I pulled up the company's website - where I found no information of any use, except the impression that for a national insurance company, they sure didn't splurge on web design costs. I finally hung up, and smelling the rotting fish from a mile away, went looking online for more information on the company.

Of course what I found was less than encouraging:
The Texas Dept. of Insurance had a lengthy profile of the company, complete with a history of fines Mega had incurred in the past years for "market conduct".
Selfemployedweb.com had an interesting article on deceptive practices some health insurance companies employed to get people to sign up - with Mega Life and its parent company, UICI, highlighted as an example for just such practices.

And then there was this interesting note in the article, saying how insurance companies employed associations and other similar groups to help them sell insurance. That's when I remembered that Sally had mentioned that I would need to sign up with the NASE (National Association for the Self-Employed) to be eligible for her insurance. And looky here - the NASE wants $96 just for their basic membership, with "benefits" that seem only a thinly-veiled list of companies that just love to market to the self-employed.

Add to that this fascinating thread in the Google Answers forum - and I swiftly cancelled my appointment with Sally. This little gem from a PR Newswire report in particular did it for me: Since late 2002, UICI has been beset by lawsuits alleging the company sold insurance policies through business associations without properly revealing close links to those organizations. The associations, including the National Association for the Self-Employed and the Alliance for Affordable Services, were managed by executives with direct ties to UICI.

So the moral of this rather lengthy post? Fellow freelancers out there beware - there are insurance companies on the loose with less than stellar morals, trying to take advantage of you. If you can, instead sign up with the AMSP, and get insurance through them. Of course the hang-up here is that their conditions specify you to need "three or more consecutive years of substantial publication experience" and you need two ASMP members to sponsor your application...

I'm not quite there yet, so I'm still looking for insurance. If any alert readers come up with any bright ideas, email me or post in the comments.

Labels: photographer advocacy, photography

Thanks to Luke for pointing me to the website of this Chicago-based wedding photographer. Jean-Rene Geoffrion's portfolio is a study in the art and craft of wedding photography - lots of close-ups of flowers, the cake, beautiful rings, exquisitely adorned brides' dresses etc - but with a delicate and crafty twist.

Of particular interest however is his tight integration of architecture with the photojournalistic style of shooting a wedding. When you browse through his portfolio (sorry, no direct links - the site is 100% flash-based), you feel almost like the opulent churches and sleek Chicago metro-scapes substitute a character of their very own in the wedding story.

Of course, at $6k per wedding, only the wealthy can afford him, and consequently, he has the priviledge of being able to shoot in some truly spectacular locations (all aside from the diamond-and-pearls-dripping brides...).

In any case though - even if you're not particularly into wedding photography per se, his site is worth a look just for the juxtaposition of weddings and architecture.

Labels: photography, photography gear

As read today in Dave Beckerman's New York Photography Blog:

"Tokyo - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce an exciting new technology that makes it easier to take high-quality, sharply focused portraits. Called Face-priority AF (Autofocus), this technology is an industry first and will be initially available on the new COOLPIX 7900, the COOLPIX 5900 and the COOLPIX 7600 compact digital cameras.

Franko Furkunholder, the spokesman for Nikon has announced that they are also at work on several new features such as: rule-of-thirds, leveling, tilting, and automatic expression evaluation (AEE). This last feature will not only detect a person's face but will be able to judge whether they have the expression that you want: smile mode, pensive mode, and sexy mode are currently in beta testing.

One additional feature will be a stylus touch screen enabling on the back of the camera to allow potential subjects to sign their release on the camera itself."

Sigh.

Where is is going to stop? I mean - the face priority AF doesn't sound half-bad, but "automatic expression evaluation"? Come on...

If you're too lazy (or too blind) not to know what the hell you're looking at in your view finder, you don't deserve to even be holding a camera.

As far as collecting signatures on your screen goes - I can see the whole of the privacy-protection community rise up in protest... and justifiedly so. It's about as stupid of an idea as I've ever encountered (ever heard of ... paper?). Leave it to Nikon ...

Labels: photography, photography gear

I really need to update my blog more often.

I don't, and I get totally back-logged with stuff I've been meaning to put out there, but just didn't have the time to.

So here's a quick round-up then:

- After a successful first run, the Photographer's Slideluck Potshow is back.
The new date is Friday, May 6th, and if you want to attend, email me and I'll give you directions. The event is being hosted this time by Bend photographer Robert Agli.

In a departure from our first Slideluck though, we plan to set aside a portion of the night for pictures related to a theme. This time the theme is DROUGHT.

Now, we all know the low snowpack figures, and we've all heard warnings of a hot, dry summer. So dig up any work that speaks to the specter of scarcity and assemble it in a five minute slideshow. Or, better yet, seek out new photos.

But don't feel limited to physical representations of the theme: maybe you've had a recent stretch of social or emotional drought? Or perhaps your spiritual well has run dry? Bring work that shows that, too. Of course, good old non-themed work is fine as well.

We welcome new faces, but Robert's space is limited, so please don't roll in with a huge posse....

- I've tinkered quite a bit with my new gallery software, and must say it's pretty sleek. Of course I'm far from
being done uploading my entire portfolio, but I expect to have it all done in the next few weeks. So go browse, but don't get your panties in a knot when you hit a deadend with no images ...

Labels: photography