Wednesday, October 5, 2011

About Those Assignment Awards

Okay, so you may know that on the final night of the Workshop, awards are given in the form of assignments or small scholarships, gift certificates or equipment, internships and the like.

I want to make it clear that in my experience, these awards are NOT based on how well you shoot your assignments at the workshop.  They are based on general attitude of professionalism, on your work as shown at the 11:30 club or just sitting around, and other things, but for the years I've been involved with the workshop, I cannot think of an instance where your take during the weekend of the workshop has led to an award.  On the other hand, almost all awards were given, I would say, based on a history of strong work and, even more so, great work ethic, professionalism, attitude, helpfulness, maturity, leadership.  You know: the kind of qualities editors want when they send a shooter out for the first time.

I say this so that you can best relax on your shoot, roll with it if anything goes wrong (and it does!  I have some stories that I will be happy to share without naming names), and put your best foot forward at the 1130 Club.  I want you to enjoy the weekend and the total immersion in the craft, to make a lot of friends and contacts.  We will not stress.

Thanks guys!

Late Tour

I spent yesterday driving through Sullivan, Ulster, Orange and Delaware Counties of Upstate New York to check on my assignments.  Mostly, I wanted to make sure they were all "go", because the recent post-hurricane flooding had washed out a lot of bridges and closed things down.  Whole towns, in fact.

But it was a gorgeous autumn day, the kind the Eddie Adams Workshop is famous for.  Pumpkins were already on the porches and with the window down the air smelled variously of smoking chimneys and fallen leaves.  I stopped at an apple stand and picked up a bag of Cortlands and homemade doughnuts & coffee (free!).  My last stop of the day was at eel fisherman Ray Turner's smokehouse, and I left with three pounds of smoked salmon, cured in late summer honey and brown sugar.  Ray's weir is mostly under water, so we'll see if that assignment pans out.  I'm hopeful.

Bundle up!  There's definitely a snap in the air.  See you all soon.

Almost there...

...a couple more things to add to your checklist of stuff to bring. 

This is most important: bring a sandisk card (the little one -- not the CF card that goes in most cameras).  This is because each of you will be given a GoPro camera to use in small part for your assignment, and it only takes a sandisk card.  It's very important you bring one along.  You can pick up one at CVS or Staples.

Also, you may want to bring a GPS if you are driving.  One reason is, because we are the sports team and our subject is adventure sports, we will be traveling a little farther than everyone else to get to our assignments.  I'll have maps for you but GPS's are cool.

Warm weather clothing is a good idea, as well.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Back on Board....

...after a harrowing couple of weeks where I was unable to access this blog & board.  I almost set up a brand-new one, but here we are.

I have a couple things to mention:

IF YOU OWN A GOPRO CAMERA, please oh please bring it with you.  And let me know if you have one and are bringing it.  We are scrambling to get enough for the whole team.  This is a very simple camera that shoots video and stills and is so small you can mount it just about anywhere.  Very useful.


IF YOU HAVE A FEAR OF HEIGHTS, please drop me an email so I can take this into consideration when making assignments.

DON'T FORGET TO BRING whatever you need to show at the 11:30 Club, be it business cards, your physical book, your laptop.

Once again, the weather looks fabulous for this weekend.

Sorry about the incommunicado, guys.  See you soon!

Suzy

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Keeping Physical

If you don't have them, maybe now is the time to make sure you have a "leave behind".  The second-biggest mistake of my time as a student at the Workshop was not having a business card to give out.  I was such a doof.

For two years now I have been impressed by the level of self-promotion -- in a good way! -- happening during those rare downtime moments in the barn.  During lunchtime it was common to see members of the sports team sharing books they'd made (physical books never go out of style, btw), or postcards, or anything else that requires hand-to-hand contact.  And really there's no excuse for not having a business card to leave behind at the 11:30 club, when you're showing your book to editors and other photographers.

Now's the time to make sure you have business cards or postcards to leave behind at the Eddie Adams Workshop.  If you don't have them, order them up!  Check out Greenerprinter.com for decent rates on business cards and promo items; if you're looking for inspiration, check out this article in Smashing Magazine.

Suzy

Friday, August 19, 2011

Climbers? Anyone?

Besides Dylan, anybody on the team come with climbing credentials?  One of our assignments is in the 'Gunks, mecca for New York-area climbers.  Let me know!

Suzy

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Get Out There

This year, what will separate us from the other teams isn't just what we shoot; it's how we shoot it.

Adventure photography is unique in that, as a photographer, you are expected to not only just shoot the sport, but participate in it.

Think of the great surf photographers and climbing photographers.  What sets them apart from mere sports shooters is their willingness to play the game.  They put themselves in the scene and, as a result, they come back with pictures from the heart of the sport, both literally and figuratively (they also have a reputation for innovation and invention).

We're going to do that.



It is important that if you have a special skill/talent beyond photography that just might come in handy for an adventure-based assignment, you let me know.  Foreign language, climbing, skydiving, diving, fearlessness in small, dark spaces(!) -- anything.  We'll try to work it to our advantage!