A Payphone as Journalistic Art

February 13, 2010


Whenever we stay in a hotel - as we did last night - one of the highlights is the ability to wake up around seven and enjoy a newspaper. No kids. No work. No dog. Nothing. Just us, a foreign bed, a coffee and a newspaper.

Every time, I’m reminded why great feature journalism is both inspiring and necessary.

Case in point: the New York Times’ story about one Brooklyn pay phone and the people who stop by throughout a 24-hour period.

The lede to Manny Fernandez’s article, “Listening In on a Pay Phone in Queens”:

Benjamin Patir called his son because he was lonely and, perhaps more important, because he had a quarter. Robert J. Covelli called his son, too, to find out if, at some point during the more than 24 hours he spent in custody, he had become, for the first time, a grandfather. Frank Federico, fresh from a courthouse jail cell, called his mother, who spared him any lectures and asked him if he needed a ride home.

It’s not breaking news. But it’s not a throwaway puff piece, either. It’s just pure quality. And it’s why, as long as people are willing to think creatively for stories that truly interest their readership, there will always be an audience for great journalism - either online or in print.

Now, to only monetize it in a way that continues to support the craft without placing the onus of cost on the average reader.

Check out Piotr Redlinski’s pictures in the slide show (about half-way down the page: “Still a Quarter to Call”) for shots that perfectly capture the tone of the article.

Tags: Journalism, Photography, Writing |

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Another graphic day at Graphic Content

October 20, 2009


Someone over at Graphic Content - the region’s premiere art and design blog - must have me confused with an actual artist. For the second time this month, something I’ve created has made the cut: this time, some photography from D.C.

Humbling, as always.

For more photos, I implore you to check out the photoblog (Much More Sure) or our Flickr page. And get Graphic Content into your feed reader, if you haven’t already.

Tags: Blogging, Career, Photography, Random Links |

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Gone fishing

September 2, 2009


Very few of us perform our work – or even our hobbies – in a vacuum.

I don’t write, or take pictures, or do whatever it is, simply for my own enjoyment. Though that is the main reason, I also do it because I have pride in the work I do, and because I hope that others will find value in it.

Such is the case with most creative fields. We spent hours at our craft not just to have a finished product we’re proud of, but also to have a finished product that others are proud of.

The problem is that I’ll never accurately know the impact that finished product has. (At least, not without blatantly fishing for compliments.)

Chances are, we all care about our standing on the Web, or at work, or in whatever arena we fill. Yet, there’s no way to effectively gauge our impact – readership, influence, whatever – without making a plea for loyalty. I’ll never know until I can get a roll call, and even then it’s not likely.

It’s a Catch-22. I’d love to know if some of the people I follow – whose stuff I’m inspired by, local or national – follow me back. But I can’t let anyone know about it, because those same people are confident enough not to fish for confirmation.

It sounds pathetic to wander up to people you respect and ask, “DO YOU LIKE ME?” Even more so when you understand that they’re stuck – either answer yes, regardless of feelings, or stay silent in a perceived admission of distaste.

Tags: Career, Meta, Photography, Writing |

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Penta-seen

August 31, 2009


I don’t want to get all High School Biology Teacher on you, but This. Blows. My. Mind.


©IBM Research - Zurich | Photo from IBM Research - Zurich’s Flickr page.

It’s a pentacene molecule. 22 carbon atoms. 14 hydrogen atoms. Smaller than I can even comprehend. And, for someone who spent two hours a day in science classes throughout college, surprisingly breathtaking.

Not because it’s so small. And certainly not because it’s a clear picture, or because of the technology involved.

It’s breathtaking because it’s exactly the way we always thought it would look. Five circles of atoms, hooked together in the same way as my Organic Chemistry 201 textbook.

But seriously. THOSE ARE ATOMS. IN A PICTURE.

(Via Make the Logo Bigger. Funny how I learned about a major breakthrough in science from an ad blog.)

Tags: Education, Photography, Science |

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Pressing pause

August 20, 2009


(c) Jerry Lodriguss

Great sports photography.

Seriously. I could look at this stuff all day.

(c) Jerry Lodriguss

From Jerry Lodriguss’s collection.

(Via Ball Don’t Lie)

Tags: Basketball, Photography, Sports |

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Drive-in opportunities

July 22, 2009


A week before Isaac was born, I received an e-mail from The Lutheran.

The Lutheran is a magazine dedicated, naturally, to Lutherans around the country. It’s a national publication that most Lutheran churches subscribe to – I assume, as I’m not Lutheran – and their product line includes The Little Lutheran, a mini-mag that focuses on kids for kids.

It was through The Little Lutheran that I was introduced to the flagship publication. My connection to the Lutheran church is through Kerrie, who works at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls as a newsletter designer and communications manager. A photo I had taken at this past year’s First Lutheran Church Bazaar had caught the eye of the magazine’s associate art director, and she asked if it could be purchased for use in the 2009 Holiday issue of The Little Lutheran.

I said yes.

More accurately, I said, “OH WHAT – SOMEONE WANTS TO ACTUALLY PAY ME TO TAKE PICTURES ??? OMG OF COURSE.”

I was flattered. But I chalked it up to chance and moved on.

Then this e-mail comes.

Would I be willing to drive to Okoboji and photograph a drive-in worship for the main magazine?

Oh, and we’ll pay you.

And, just like that, I went from a professional writer to a professional writer/photographer. (That is, if your definition of professional is that I actually got paid to do something.)

The shoot was officially four days past Isaac’s due date. Kerrie sent me along anyway, assuming that the second I left town, she’d go into labor. (She didn’t. She waited another three days, actually.)

It was a thrill, for sure. I’m very proud of how things turned out. My favorite pictures weren’t the ones chosen for the print version, but I still like the ones they chose.

More than that, though, it proved to me that, again, as life as always proved, the only way you can do what you want in life is to barge in with the weight of your convictions jarring you forward.

Take the bull by the horns and all of that, you know.

Because opportunities show up when you least expect them.

Tags: Journalism, Photography |

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Creative momentum

May 27, 2009


When things are going good, from a creative standpoint, they typically continue to go good. One thing leads to another, and before long you’ve spilled out several great things in a matter of days. It’s the nature of creativity – it feeds off of itself.

In all things creative, momentum drives us from average to heady.

When I encounter these peaks of momentum, I cherish them. Like anyone who considers themselves part of the creative industry – whether a freelance artist or a copy slinger – I understand the fragility of creative momentum. It’s easy to rest when you’re at that peak, to coast for a while as your mind continues to work. But you pay for it later.

Oh, man. Do you pay for it later.

Let’s quickly define something. By “creativity,” I’m talking about the act of creating something original. Not just thinking quirkily, but – in my case - actually writing something, or photographing something.

Thanks to our recent move and a lack of opportunity, the past month has seen my creative momentum hit a screeching halt. It’s hit the bottom, begun on the next hill in earnest, and rolled backward, resting finally in a valley of uninspired funk. Some call it a rut. I call it a chasm.

Some may find solace in this. It has certainly brought me back to earth. During those times when I have convinced myself that there is such a thing as creative talent, that it’s not simply a tweak of perspective and is an honest skill (and trust me, despite my sarcastic leanings otherwise, I rarely feel confident enough to claim a heightened creative talent) it’s humbling to find myself at the bottom again.

Struggling for ideas. As if creativity was something you had to work at.

And there’s the rub. Even the most creative people have to work at this. Even those to whom writing – or photography, design, music, acting – come naturally.

In fact, the people who work the hardest at being creative are the people who are the most successful at it.

They’re successful because they never stop trying. During their downtime, they stay creative. They continue thinking. They continue working. They are always working.

Charging up the same hill. Gaining speed to overcome the troughs. Continuously thinking harder to maintain the momentum of creativity, to gain speed, to leave the uninspired moments behind.

For me, it’s one blog post, a handful of pictures, and a few projects for work. Nothing amazing. But at least I can say I’m finally beginning the climb out of this chasm.

Again. And certainly not for the last time.

Tags: On..., Photography, Writing |

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