Playing Around With Stock Photography

This photo was accepted by the stock agency, Dreamstime.com

The folks over at dreamstime.com want you.

They want you to submit your photography to be evaluated for use as stock photography.

No bad images need apply.

Stock photography is a tough business.

You have to:

1. have a clear photograph while looking at it onscreen at 100 percent resolution (that means you must blow it up very large on your screen so much so that only a portion of the photo will show up on most screens at 100 percent resolution).
2. have engaging subject matter.
3. not infringe on any copyrights.
4. submit large files.

There are many more stipulations also, just check them out on the Web site.

Use Dreamstime as a photography teacher...

That's right you can use Dreamstime to critique each and every photo that you have taken.
Just submit the photo and their staff looks at it and tells you what's wrong with it in an email.
So...if you want to improve your photography, register and get started...

Oh, and as far as making money, the time you'll have to put in for the amount of money you make probably isn't worth it.

Business Week Blog

The Business Week blog, Blogspotting, asked for some help in how a blog was different from a print publication.

Here's my take on the matter. As a good blogger, I posed this in the comment section of their blog.

Hi Heather, I'm Matthew Bamberg, a Southern California freelance writer. I have a blog called the Digital Traveler. I write for the Press-Enterprise in the Inland Empire. Since I switch from one type of writing (for the on-ground press) to another (for my blog); I've got a few notes that you might want to take into account.

1. Use numbered and/or bulleted lists on your blog. People really like them because they are easy to skim at the same time as picking up the needed info in a short period of time (gives more time for looking at ads : )

2. Keep your writing in narrative form; tell stories of business successes as well as the interesting flukes of the trade.

3. Make your posts focus on something that can help your readers, say, a tip on investing in the publishing business.

4. Every once in a while focus on a successful business and/or an investment everyone seems to be jumping on. Invite readers to share what they see as the next up and coming business trend.

5. Every once in a while, skip the "we" perspective and get more personal and tell viewers about you, using an "I" perspective.

Last an image never hurts, maybe you guys can take a photo or two for the blog. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Right now, I'm teaching Photography for Writers and Bloggers at Betterphoto.com, a class which I detail all kinds of these things.

I'm author of the book "Digital Art Photography for Dummies."

Woman of Butterflies

I really couldn't tell you why I like this subject. I took her picture in the butterfly refuge. Her whole looked interested me and I caught her just after I told her her hair was pretty (Su pelo es bonita...Puede tomar foto, por favor?)

She is an interesting photographic subject. At least to me anyway.

Scorpions Bite

As I photographed the scorpion with my macro beaming inside the glass tank where the beast calls home, I wanted to get close, but then the thought of "What if this black blob with claws jumps up and gets me."

My camera suddenly drifted upward as the lens drew close.

It was dark in his abode. I tried flash, but I got a blast of white bouncing off the scorpion's handsome black outer shell.

Then I set the camera to 1000 ISO and drew the lens toward the wiggling wild thing.

Don't know if you know this, but I was shooting with a Sony point-and-shoot (7.2 mp and 12X optical), that, when there's little light, puts out a golden-red spotlight to help it focus on the object.

After the light went down the annoyed scorpion looked as if it could be in a Scorpions Gone Wild TV commercial.

Enough of this. Here's the beast of venom.

American Palace

Did you know that Hawaii had kings and queens, and it wasn't all that long ago. King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani lived in the palace, which was built in 1882 in Honolulu.

On January 17, 1893, Queen Lili'uokalani was deposed, leaving the palace absent of the monarchy. The palace served royalty for only 11 short years.

The palace is located at 364 S King St in Honolulu.


*****If you're interested in this blog and want to keep it going, please check out the book, "Digital Art Photography for Dummies" by clicking on "Release Your Inner Artist" above.

Tivoli's Villa 'd Este

This, my fellow bloggers, is a photographer's paradise.

More...see earlier post : )

quintessential dolly

Another pic of Dolly hits Digital Traveler. This one was taken at 300 mm with my Tamron (28-300 mm lens). I was nearly half a football field away from the country singer, a place where they like the media to be for some celebrity performaces. Apparently the stars don't like to be photographed close up.

I had originally set out to the concert to get clear, up-close images of Dolly so I could submit them to "People" magazine.

No dice, though, I wouldn't even get near to sending this or any of the images to such a big mag as I wouldn't want my rep to be diminished as a photographer.

Darn. If I could only have bought tickets and sat up front.

Minimalism

I'm going to take a walk from minimalist architecture to minimalist art. Check out the photo here, it's minimalist. In real life it's minimalist architecture. As a photograph it's minimalist art (photography). I've cornered this building to show the upper floors of a building covered with a vertical-blind-like stucture that's built to cover the glass underneath.

This isn't just a decorative element. Here in Palm Springs, temps can rise to 120 degrees F in summer, so the design element here is functional in that it reduces the heat coming into the building.

Now on to the art part. Look long enough at this picture and it starts to elude you optically. That, really, is the objective with this shot. At first it appears simple, even boring, but look at it long enough and you see it even after you turn away.

Minimalism originated in the 50s and 60s and can--

1. create an object of interest
2. use repititive patterns
3. be hard-edged
4. delineate space
5. lacks emotion

Minimalist architecture is easily photograhed with any lens, but to give a photo focus, a telephoto lens is best because you can pick one or two elements of the structure (whether it be a sculptural element or an edifice).

No Dwelling on Rejection

As a writer and photographer, I know the feeling of rejection. Blogging can help alleviate that pain. I've tried a number of times to get these photographs in an architectural magazine. No dice and no sweat, I can just put them here.

Buy My Photography or Sell Yours

Copyright, 2006, Matthew Bamberg
Download high res of this for $20.
For high res, click on image.
Then pay by clicking on paypal link.

Digital Art Photography for Dummies author teams up with Palm Springs Consignment Gallery, a mid-century modern themed business to offer the finest in mid-century modern photography of the 50s and 60s. Framed photography of color and style from all over the world at 2100 N. Palm Canyon Drive, (760) 416-0704.

Staff takes special orders of specialty-made, framed, mid-century themed photography by Matt Bamberg. Order prints for your home, business or hotel that will have people ponder a style of streamlined geometry in architecture, signage or stylized items from old radios and televisions sets to phones and typewriters.

Learn to start a similar business through Bamberg's book, Digital Art Photography for Dummies, available at amazon.com

Herman Leonard and Beyond

Musician in Orange, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Let's call today Herman Leonard Day. This jazz photography giant photographed the best--from Louie Armstrong to Billie Holiday.

Hundreds of his photographs can be found here.

Tip: If you see someone playing music--a group, or an soloist--get in there up close to catch facial expression details or anything from the musician tuning up to being prepared to wipe the sweat off of his face.

Book Signing Promotion

I was ready, ready at the beginning of the week cause I'd done my book signing homework.

Two weeks prior to signing: I emailed a couple of television stations and newspapers about my signing, a fun email, really...including the humor about how I got started in photography.

One week prior to signing: Received an answer from City Beat and Fox 6, a heads up that they will publicize my book signing.

Two days before signing: Appear on television, goes well...I'm interviewed by an anchor who lets me know that it's her first day on the job.

Day before signing: Prepare what I'm going to bring...my cards, my framed image, my portfolio (12X16 samples of my work in black leather case)

Day of signing: Pick up local paper "San Diego City Beat" and find that my book signing is the "pick of the week." Get to signing and it's a full house (okay, about 20 people show up, filling up all the chairs that Borders has set up for the event. Pass out my strange 60s collage, giving people a little bit of a retro shock. People hang out, talk photography, share their work and listen to my tips.


My Roll-Top Desk

During the signing, I found myself referring to past experiences to form the foundations of ones photography. For me, this brought up my fascination with roll-top desks. I can remember being 11 years old and letting my mom know that I wanted one. Not one time, but so many times that it became a nagging experience for my mother.

She finally broke down and bought me one.

Hence if I see a roll-top desk, it's, without a doubt, gonna be a subject for my photography.

Oh So LA

Caught this at the Grove in LA. A bit of candid photography.

Fox in the Morning

Good morning, San Diego! Please catch me on Fox in the Morning for some digital photography chat tomorrow on San Diego's Channel 6 at 7:30 a.m.

See ya then~!

Shooting the Sun

Shooting the sun is a difficult proposition. I've done it a number of times--when it's low in the sky, under mostly cloudy conditions and when there's a halo around it.

During the day of this shoot from a cruise ship on the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California, I watched the sun for a perfect shot. I couldn't look at it too long, but after a while I found those spots in my eyes, an effect that told me to stop. But I didn't.

I just would shoot to the side of it, and keep shooting until it went down.

After playing around with f-stops, exposure compensations and shutter speeds, I came up with these numbers which seemed to give me a good effect (in terms of a clear-cut sun).
ISO 200, 1/1600, f/7.1 and shot at 271 mm with a Tamron 28-300 mm lens.

Arab Signs

Caught these signs in Marrakech. Written Arab language is very artful.

Look for the Light

One of the most interesting things in the Medina of Marrakesh is when you get out of the dark tunnels and into places that are partially covered overhead there are beams of light everywhere.

This is one of those places.

UFO Film Festival

Happened to be in Gallup in Oct. 2005 during their UFO film festival.

Just so happens coming up next month is the UFO conference and film festival in Laughlin, Nevada.

Just in case if you've made a UFO film the entry deadline is Feb. 7. So come on you youtubers, get the celluloid moving.

If you look in the sky hard enough you may find this.

Toronto Architecture

Caught this in Toronto a few months ago. Just goes to show you how shadow can turn your photos into art.

The Best Zoo in the World

Where do I think the best zoo in the world to photograph is? Yangon in Myanmar. Sure this country abounds with problems--a torturous government, a limited itinerary for travelers and not so great lodgings (especially in the capital city, Yangon).

But the zoo is wide open and you can get close enough to any animal to pet it (if you dare).
Check out the bottom of these hippos' mouths. My camera's lens practically was inside one of them.

I vote this the best zoo for animal photography.

For a travelogue of my Myanmar trip go here.