Visual Serendipity

 

I found this image yesterday while walking around the Lower East Side, or “LES” as it is called by the locals. I believe it shows how many different and simultaneous things are happening in this city at any give time. Living in New York City can be very exciting, or very exhausting, depending on your day.

Visual Serendipity.

 

Bizarre view of a tiny interior patio at my hotel in Cologne.

Visual Serendipity.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Putting us on the map.

 
We are proud to announce that Eduardo Angel LLC is now on a digital map called, Made in New York, a great resource developed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg for tech companies, investors, developers and designers. Featuring more than 500 local companies across the city’s five boroughs, including 325 that are presently hiring, the projects’s goal is to interactively show what is happening in the technology industry throughout the five boroughs.

“We expect this map to be another tool that helps propel our tech industry forward,” Bloomberg said . “The growth of the tech industry in New York City has been a critical part of weathering the nation’s economic downturn, far better than the rest of the country.” Since the map plots companies by location, job seekers can explore their desired neighborhoods, making this a fantastic resource for anyone who lives or is moving to New York City to find jobs in the technology sector. The map can be also be sorted by digital companies, investors, and co-working and incubator spaces.

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Visual Serendipity.

 

Over the past six years I have been collecting the corks from every wine bottle we drink. We have well over 700 corks at this point. I also try to write tasting notes for most wines. Since 2007 I’ve written 606 notes with an average score of 87.43 points, and tasted 77 varietals from 218 regions in 147 countries.  I do love good wine.

Visual Serendipity.

 

After spending a very hot and humid Sunday afternoon in Central Park we were looking for a restroom, and this is what we found instead. Gotta love this city.

2012: A Communique of technology trends.

 
Recently, we have been thinking about the most popular technology trends seen worldwide.  Here is our top-ten list of tech trends we have witnessed in the last year in no particular order:

1. Tablets and Touch-Screen Mania

Android Tablets and iPads are dominating 2012.  People are now using these devices more than laptops and desktop computers in some cases. Are they making our lives easier? Yes and no. But, we think that this is the future for all computing. Just as CD’s replaced records and cassette tapes, we believe that eventually, touch computing will replace desktop and laptop computers altogether!

There are already a lot of signs that convince us of this already.  For instance, Mac OS X Lion and Windows 8, the latest desktop operating systems borrow a lot from Android Tablets and the iPad, their mobile counterparts. These new operating systems essentially introduce a touchscreen-inspired interface. Most new cars are now even integrating touch screens to operate multiple functions in a vehicle.

Over time, mice will be obsolete, and mobile/touch operating systems will dominate.

2. Automatic Social Actions

People now expect to be able to share media effortlessly on their computers, smart phones, and tablets.  This is now being innovated in 2012, not only through cloud computing, but through social media. Social gestures appear to be one of the leading trends of 2012. For those of you who may not know what I am referring to, you may recognize this on your Facebook news feed, with apps such as Spotify. Social gestures, or the “frictionless sharing” functionality, replaces the need to click a button to share media with your friends. Instead, applications are installed and allowed to share the media you listen to, watch, or read automatically with your social networks. Most apps are even allowed to share your location on a map automatically.  Scary?  Yes, Indeed.

If sharing becomes fully automatic, the volume of content on social networks will grow at an exponential rate.  Our guess is that people will become more suspicious and conscious of the apps they use on social networking sites.

3. Cloud Computing

The technologies we use are increasingly cloud-based and delivered over many different networks.  Photos, Videos, documents and other rich media are rapidly uploaded to different cloud-based storage such as Google Drive and Dropbox.  Eventually, we believe that all cloud-based computing will have infinite capacity and be nearly free of charge.

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Interview with WPPI en Español.

 
For over 30 years, Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) has been a main source of events and education for professional photographers. We are thrilled to be part of their ongoing interview series with photographers and filmmakers. I shared some insights about our work, the transition from architect to photographer, and our passion for everything visual. We briefly discussed how we successfully built a business that is able to maintain an equal balance between technology consulting, education and training, and visual storytelling.

Please take a few minutes to check out the interview, and as always, post your comments and questions below.

Visual Serendipity.

 

Another hidden gem in Brooklyn. If you are willing to bike with me for 1.5 hours I’ll take you to this location.

The Power of Technology in Education.

 
Last week, I watched a repeat of a story from 2011, on how the iPad is unlocking the minds of people with Autism. We encourage everyone to watch it on Youtube here.

It is incredible to see how the iPad and other smart devices are being integrated into classrooms all over the U.S. to use as new learning tools. Interactive applications such as smart boards, cloud computing and e-learning are now being implemented so that students of all ages can obtain degrees; which is fantastic.

Students are also now equipped with personal laptops, smart phones and tablets. Attaining information and sharing knowledge has never been easier or more fun.

However, the benefit of these devices will bring no guarantee to fixing our seriously broken education system.

Smart apps and devices are being used in tremendous ways that help students interact and build social communication skills (I am not talking about Facebook or Twitter).

At the same time, while a lot of students are reaping the benefits, others are not.

Technological innovations are still not available to everyone unfortunately. While the cost of new technology is decreasing every day, schools in poor neighborhoods get about half as much money per student than schools in affluent neighborhoods; school budgets are tied to property taxes.

click to keep reading (more…)

Visual Serendipity.

 

Woody Allen’s, Manhattan, is about a divorced New Yorker dating a high-schooler, and looking for love in the mistress of his best friend. Quite a dark story there. I’m sure the city has changed a lot since the movie was released in 1979.

On Sharing.

I have never understood why so many photographers like to keep information to themselves. Perhaps it is a self confidence issue, or maybe they spent years perfecting a unique technique or system. Regardless the reason, it isn’t smart. A couple of years ago we were hired to produce a series of workshops in South America. Early on, we realize it would not be possible to launch the event. The reason? The local photographers hosting and coordinating the event did not want other photographers to see what they were working on.

Do you become a Grand Master chess player after reading Aron Nimzowitsch’s “My System,” or a great Chef by simply following Mario Batali’s Italian recipes?  Would you become a rock star after reading Keith Richards wonderful “Life.”  Of course not! So, why do you think that by sharing your Lightroom presets, a Backup workflow, cool editing shortcuts or new lighting techniques you are losing something invaluable? Quite the opposite.

Apple observed the flood of illegal music file sharing that began in the late 1990s. Instead of building higher walls and better fences, they built iTunes and started offering legal, easy-to-use, and flexible à la carte song PAID downloads. Record Labels obviously win, artists, who receive 65 percent of the purchase price of digitally downloaded songs, also win, customers who don’t need to purchase an entire CD when they want only one or two songs, win, and Apple clearly wins. In a nutshell, everybody wins. Instead of hiding in your studio so your trade “secrets” are not “stolen”, find better ways to share your ideas, to involve others, and to celebrate often.

Notes from the Field.

 
This is a scan from my journal that I bring with me to every preproduction meeting that I have with clients, directors, producers, and others. In this scan you can see my handy “preproduction notes.”

Here’s how my system works: first, I like to get the conversation going by sharing movies that we like and movies that could be related to the project at hand. This helps tremendously in our effort to understand both technically and aesthetically what the client or director is going after, and if we are a good match for the project.

About a year ago I sat down with a director who began envisioning a project as “film noir meets science fiction/kung fu—but in a funny way,” which saved us both a lot of time, as I was definitively not interested!

Let’s take a look at the other things I consider on every video production:

• Script: Do we have a script? Is it from a book or is it an original script? When can I see it? If there isn’t a script, who is going to write it and when? This is a very important step. Even though I always write the scripts for my own projects, it needs to be clearly defined who will perform this integral part when it comes to someone else’s project. I have been using Celtx, and I am very happy with the results. The script is by far THE most important piece on any video production puzzle.

• Shot list: As soon as I have the script, I start creating a shot list: what kind of gear do we need? Do we own it? Do we need to rent it? How many shots can we accomplish in one day? The answers to these questions can vary greatly depending on location, the scenes’ complexity, permits, and even the weather.

• Location Permits: Since most of us don’t have access to Hollywood’s sets and production budgets, being creative is extremely important. Having access to locations that other people don’t have access to is key. There are several beautiful abandoned buildings on Wall Street that no one knows about. In Harlem there are fantastic mansions that you can shoot if you know the right people. Battery Park is Federal property while Central Park is not. Both require shooting permits, issued by different offices.

• Location Scouting: I am often surprised to see how many people ignore this critical step. In cities like New York things change, and they change fast. The park that you so fondly remember is now a parking lot. And that awesome abandoned building? Well, it’s now a luxury condo.

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Visual Serendipity.

 

A different view of “The Highline” a beautiful urban project in New York City that has become a major tourist destination. The picture was taken from an elevator, through the tinted glass.

Visual Serendipity.

 

 
The other Brooklyn. The one you DON’t know.

Great interview with X-Rite Coloratti on Color Management.

 
Last month, I was invited to join the prestigious X-Rite Col­oratti team, which includes the world’s top pro­fes­sional pho­tog­ra­phers. I was interviewed by X-Rite about my work, as well as my thoughts on color management for digital photographers, and specifically for those shooting video. We also chatted a bit about my views on how video has changed the playing field for all professional photographers. Please take a few minutes to listen to this short clip of our conversation.

We recently shot a series of video tutorials, focusing on the importance of color management and monitor calibration for video editing. Here’s the most recent episode.

If anyone is interested, there are a few spaces left at my upcoming workshop: Inkjet Printing: Color Management and Calibration at the International Center of Photography in New York City, Aug 4th, 2012.

Please feel welcome to leave any feedback, questions or comments below.

Visual Serendipity.

 

Visual Serendipity.

 

Oil paint, canvas and light.

Visual Serendipity.

 

Sea Gate is a private, gated community at the far western end of Coney Island at the southwestern tip of of Brooklyn. It contains mostly single-family homes, some directly on Gravesend Bay. According to Wikipedia, “residents refer to Sea Gate as “the gate,” and venturing into adjoining Coney Island as going “out the gate.” There is no universally recognized demonym for residents of the community: “Sea Gatians” and “Sea Gaters” are sometimes heard.

I was completely unimpressed by the neighborhood, but it was fun, as always, to discover hidden gems nearby.

Visual Serendipity.

 

A very quick shot at the lobby of the famous New Yorker Hotel while attending a BlackMagic event last week. According to the hotel’s website “from Muhammad Ali to Nikola Tesla, late President John F. Kennedy to Jennifer Hudson” have slept there.

Visual Serendipity.

 
Apparently even Ocean Parkway has a VIP Lounge!

Ocean Parkway, located in Brooklyn, NY, covers about five miles (8 km), from Prospect Park to Brighton Beach, and consists of “a central bidirectional avenue of seven lanes, the middle lane being for left turns or a painted median, two small parallel side streets, and two medians with trees, benches, and pedestrian paths.” The west median also has a bike path always full of selfish pedestrians. The parkway is designated New York State Route 908H, an unsigned reference route.

And this is why photographers need to learn video right now.

 
Last week I attended the Silver & Ink event at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I was invited to see the graduate students’ work, teach a video class, speak at a “business of photography” panel discussion, review undergraduate and graduate portfolios, discuss technology trends with faculty, exchange my views about the future of photography with career advisors, and attend a stunning art opening. Among the many questions I received, there were two particular questions that were asked many times over—and I could sense a mix of fear and excitement in those who asked these questions.

Question #1: As a photographer, why should I learn video?

The answer is really simple: access to more future opportunities. According to careerinfonet.org there is a better than average annual growth in job openings for photographers, yet video editors, as well as audio and video technicians make significantly more money—either through an hourly wage (freelance) or yearly salary (part- and full-time employment).

I compared national averages with New York state averages, and the results are pretty clear.

In New York, video editors can make from $35,000 to $102,000 per year. Photographers make from $18,000 up to $81,000. As you can see, salaries for audio and video equipment technicians fall right in between the salaries of photographers and video editors

I personally know very few photographers at the high-end of the spectrum, but I know of several video editors who make a lot more than $100K.

What about employment growth?

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Visual Serendipity.

 
Apparently the traffic problems in New York City not only affects adults…

Catching up with the coolest tech news. Summary.

 

I’ve been on the road for the past 2 weeks, with very limited internet access. Today, I finally had some time to catch up with the latest technology news (1683 articles and 268 emails). These are, in my opinion, the most interesting and relevant announcements:

• Filmmaker Jeff Desom took Alfred Hitchcock’s famous 1954 film “Rear Window” and turned it into a single panoramic time-lapse video.

Two years ago I set up my camera to take a picture every 15 seconds for 36 hour and edited 698 still images into a 29-second video.

• Recently I was interviewed by PDN about the “13 Products you need to add HD Video to your business.” Do you agree or disagree? Did we miss something? We would love to hear your comments below. The article is also available on PDN’s May print issue.

• Blurb posted a cool article about how we use the Book Module on Adobe Lightroom 4. If you are interested in exploring this option don’t miss one of our upcoming seminars. Here’s the sample book (about wine!) we created.

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Conversations with Friends.

 
On the fifth Episode of our “Conversations with Friends” we met with Peter Waisnor and discussed his 5 favorite movies, and why he feels “lost in translation” when visiting Tokyo on business trips. We also had a little “difference” regarding Jim Carrey’s acting skills.

The wine was a special bottle I was saving specially for Peter since last summer, a very beautiful 2005 G.D. Vajra italian Barolo.

“A sweet, inviting bouquet leads to roses, cherries, raspberries, flowers and spices. The wine possesses gorgeous inner perfume and wonderful depth as it hovers on the palate with a Burgundian sense of weightlessness. This is an emotionally moving, delicate wine of the highest level.  Simply put, this is a marvelous bottle.” Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

 

White Balance on fire.

This is funny because it’s (sadly) true.

Learning from Kodak’s failures.

 

Kodak, which was founded by George Eastman in 1889, had in 1976 a market share of 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the United States. The company hasn’t made a profit since 2007, and it declared bankruptcy in January 2012.

The letter “K” was Eastman’s favorite letter, and the name “Kodak” followed his three main branding principles: the name should be short, simple enough so as not to be mispronounced, and it could not resemble anything or be associated with anything else.

Now Kodak is completely exiting the consumer photo and camera business, while trying to unload an extremely profitable chunk of its massive patent library with hopes of obtaining a financial boost from any settlement payoffs over patent infringement lawsuits against Apple and Research in Motion. If all of this works out, the company will most likely focus exclusively on digital printing as a business-to-business company, competing directly with Hewlett-Packard, Canon, and Lexmark, among others.

Kodak’s story is not unique, and it will be certainly followed by other companies who fail to react and adapt to market changes. Kodak’s failure is really a life lesson: define the essence of who you are and what you do (tell visual stories, for example), and not what you sell (film or 5×7 prints); don’t get too comfortable with what you know and do well; never settle, constantly push your comfort zone, and challenge yourself. Remember to talk to people who disagree with you, and listen to their reasoning. And most important, be open to new experiences and opportunities.

The glass is always half full AND half empty. It’s up to you to decide how to look at it.

Rode delivers a customer service lesson.

 
About 30 seconds ago, DHL delivered my new Rode Lavalier Microphones. I have not opened the box, and I already know I will LOVE them. Do you want to know why? Simply because after I ordered them last week, I got an email saying that they were backordered for 2-3 weeks (they must be selling like hotcakes!).  I replied explaining that I needed them for a shoot next week. So what did Rode do? They simply shipped them, second day air, from AUSTRALIA, at no extra charge, so I could have them on time. Unbelievable.

I could spend the rest of the day naming the companies that could use my experience as an outstanding customer service lesson, but I won’t. I’ll go ahead, open the box, and play with my brand new toys. Price is not everything, quality and support is. Keep that in mind.

Visual Serendipity.

 
Serendip­ity: noun; the occur­rence and devel­op­ment of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

I need things to be neatly organized for me to be creative. Unfortunately, the world, and especially the business world, does not often work that way. I try to maintain a personal universe where I keep books, wine, and films as oases that are always within a safe distance from the chaos of the outside world. Are you like me, or, do you thrive in chaos?