Photo Gear Purchases 2018

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If you’re like me, you probably buy too much photo gear. Not so much cameras and lenses but things like bags, light modifiers and various accessories. Here are some of my purchases in 2018:

Rock-n-Roller cart

I’ve been meaning to get a half-decent cart for some time. A homemade dolly-style cart with a bright yellow mat ($55 in parts and plywood from Home Depot in 1985) has served me very well. An over-priced Tri-Kart 800 is something I regret buying about 18 years ago because it was of limited use to me. But many local TV crews use the Tri-Kart.

This year I bought a RocknRoller R12RT. It’s pretty good but it takes up extra space because it’s not small and it weighs 33 lb. Fully extended, the R12RT won’t fit in some elevators.

A RocknRoller R12RT Multi-cart is shown in its smallest configuration. (Photo source: rocknrollercart.com)

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Stock Photo Stupidity

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A TV news article reports on a Canadian photographer who didn’t bother to read the contract when submitting one of his favourite photos to a cheap, royalty-free, stock agency. Apparently he was only thinking about the easy money.

His photo was used on 500,000 calendars and greeting cards.

He earned US$1.88.

Other photographers would probably laugh at this person because this is not news. It’s well known that cheap stock photo agencies have been taking advantage of unsuspecting photographers for 20 years.
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How to Write a Photo Caption

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A very long post on a very simple subject.

 

Every photographer thinks they know how to write a photo caption. Yet many photographers either don’t caption their pictures or they do it very poorly.

Two days ago, I edited 170 editorial photos from a couple dozen photographers to prepare the images for a slideshow. The slideshow will display each picture’s caption.

Many of the captions had spelling and grammar errors, broken or incoherent sentences, factual errors, no names, no locations and/or no dates. All of these captions were written by professional photographers.

 

Retired Finnish ice hockey player Teemu Selanne displays his membership ring after being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, 10 November 2017. Established in 1943, the Hockey Hall of Fame recognizes achievements of players, coaches and others involved with the sport of ice hockey.

Photo captions have to provide relevant information using the least number of words. Easy, right?

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Eyeball This

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My left and right eyes. The bright spot in each eye shows that I’m busy thinking :–) Look how many veins and arteries are in each eye.

A public service announcement for photographers: Get your eyes checked every few years.

We take our eyes for granted but they need to be properly maintained.
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Credit Where Credit’s Due

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Four weeks ago, Google made a small but potentially good change to Google Images.

When someone searches images on Google, there is now a tiny, barely noticeable, new link below the larger version of some images that reads, “Image credits”:

The tiny link to show the image credits appears only if the appropriate IPTC data is embedded in the image.

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A Losing Opportunity

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A well-known stock photo company is currently hiring for many positions including human resources, sales and marketing, numerous tech positions, product directors, business development, photo editors and photographers.

All of these jobs are salaried and come with “first-rate Apple gear, generous vacation plan, health benefits, solid compensation/bonuses and a company culture that values empowerment, passion, integrity, courage and transparency.”

In fact, the company states that their employees enjoy “Stellar medical, dental, and vision insurance”, “Generous vacations. Game rooms”, “Competitive pay”, “Tuition reimbursement. Holiday parties”, “Fully-stocked beverage fridges. Complimentary breakfast, lunch, and snacks”, and “Subsidized gym memberships and fitness plans.”
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