Filling up the cup; Awards news

 © Wasim Ahmad 2009

Sometimes, you just need to be reminded of why you got into something in the first place, and this weekend, I made sure I did just that.

I took a trip to Montauk Point with a couple of friends this weekend, and made it a point to make pretty video - just pure candy for the eyes. No real story, no real background, just me, Montauk Point, and a 5D Mark II. It's been a while since I've pointed the camera in the direction of something I wasn't paid for or needed to do for work. 

Once again, though I was reminded of how demanding the 5D Mark II is on a computer - I decided to try a video triptych, layering three different HD video clips over one another for the intro. Needless to say, there is a reason the triptych is only in the introduction. Ordinarily, my computer almost chokes on 5D video. In this case, I had to render out that portion separately from the rest of the video and then insert it as a standalone video file. Not ideal, but it worked. I think my computer would have given up otherwise - it crashed several times just trying to render it out without doing that.

There's also another motive to shooting the video - I've been contemplating a move to the 7D - a lower model camera in terms of sensor size, but better spec-ed in every other way compared to the 5D Mark II. I wanted to be amazed again, and I think I was. I suppose the upgrade (downgrade?) can wait. I need to remind myself that my job isn't one of a daily shooter.

So there you have it. Check out the video on Vimeo (if you actually go to Vimeo's site, you can see it in HD):

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In other news, I never did mention it on here, but I won an award for "A Gold Rush Town No More." I am never one to enter competitions, but a professor at Newhouse (Thank you Jon Glass!) entered it in for me, and it's a good feeling all the same. You can read about it in a news article from Newhouse. I'm glad to see this video is getting around - it highlights something that is important to know about.

"Sometimes, they can be a little racist out here"

Esther sounded like such a sweet old lady. That is, until she started talking.

The line of strange questions came in ever-increasing levels of absurdity.

"Are you Asian or are you White?"

I indulged this question. She's just curious about who she would be renting her apartment in Smithtown to, that's all, I figured.

"Are you the lighter-skinned kind of Asian or the darker-skinned kind of Asian?"

I have a nice year-round tan, but that's not really any of her business. All I'm interested in is renting an apartment from her.

"What does it matter?" I asked. Perhaps I should have been more indignant. Or shocked. Both reactions came with her next response.

"Well, you know, some of the neighbors wouldn't be happy if I rented to a darker-skinned person," Esther said. "Sometimes they can be a little racist out here."

Clearly. She's just proven it. I'm sure it was her neighbors and not her.

"Well come on by tomorrow so I can have a look at you," Esther finished.

A look at me so she could, what, buy me?

You'd think after growing up in a mostly-white town, with my brother and I being called every derogatory term for South Asians under the sun, I'd be used to this. You'd think after facing outright racists in Minnesota who didn't even try to veil their disgust under the guise of their neighbors, I'd be used to this. You'd think after being called a terrorist by a now ex-girlfriend's parents upon meeting them, I'd be used to this.

But the truth is, I'm not. How can I be? How can anyone be?

When racists attack, whether it's with veiled or not-so-veiled threats, or with just sheer ignorance (which is what I suspect was more Esther's problem) I wonder if they have any idea how deep the psychological scars they leave are.

Years ago, I lived in Minnesota. In the first month of living there, I read an article in the paper I worked for about a basketball coach whose home was vandalized in a racially motivated attack. I saw another article about a white power group handing out white power CDs to elementary school children on the street. I read many stories in the news each day, but these are the ones I remember.

And one day, just like this recent day where I spoke to Esther, it hit home. I was driving to work in St. Cloud, Minn., and I had my windows down at a stop light, when a beat-up, old mini van rolled up next to me.

"F---ing terrorist s--t," the driver yelled at me, before speeding away. That was five years ago.

He probably doesn't remember me. But I sure do remember him. And unfortunately, for the same reasons, I'm going to be remembering Esther.

A must-see piece: Is it where video journalism is going?

 © Brad Horn 2009

I don't normally post others' work on this blog, but maybe I should. There's nothing "normal" about this piece from Brad Horn.

The video, called "Colors" is a feature on diversity (or the lack thereof) in Skaneateles High School in upstate New York. It was produced as part of Syracuse University's Fall Workshop this past weekend in three days.

If you asked me to do a piece on diversity, my first inclination would be to interview minority students. Shoot video of them talking to other students. Interview other students. Interview guidance counselors. Maybe advisers of minority student organizations. In short, pretty standard stuff.

But the question is: Will anybody spend the time watching pretty standard stuff in this age of Web journalism?

Brad, in this piece takes pretty standard stuff and turns it on its head, producing a unique piece that makes a powerful statement. It's something that has stuck in my head longer than most traditional news pieces, precisely because it's not a traditional news piece. It's more like a photo essay in motion. Think of the work that Dai Sugano is doing at the San Jose Mercury News. Just beautiful stuff that breaks the boundaries of traditional videojournalism.

I showed this to many people in addition to showing it to my journalism class that I teach, and the video seems to have a polarizing effect - people react to one extreme or the other. My thoughts on this piece are probably pretty clear. But I want to know - what are your thoughts?

Have a look at the piece below:

Wedding photography 2.0

I was at a wedding this weekend for the happy couple above, two friends of mine from Florida. It was nice to just enjoy a wedding and not be pressured as the official photographer.

Being there though, and watching the official Disney photographers (the wedding was at Disney World) got me thinking about being a wedding photographer in the digital age.

I'll preface this by saying that I don't have the vast wealth of experience that many other wedding photographers do, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Thinking more like backpack journalists could benefit the wedding photography industry. I saw the wedding photographers holding 5D Mark II's in their hand for the still photos they were taking at the wedding. These things are (arguably) the best video cameras you can get in the class right now, but it's a feature unused by many photographers. In fact, if you check out message boards on DPReview, you'll actively see people that DON'T want their next camera to have video. Sorry, but you can't stop the technology train from rolling on.

Now I'm sure that video is an extra fee in a Disney World wedding, but hey, if you have the tools right there, and the manpower to do it (three people) why not, right? I thought it would have been cool, anyway. One day, maybe Disney will too. Then they'll hire me so I can teach this stuff to their photogs on the side.

As an example of what I'm talking about, I did this as one person:

Puccini-Johnson Wedding from Wasim Ahmad on Vimeo.

At it's core, it's more slideshow than video, but the point is that it was appreciated by the couple with little extra work on my part. Especially since I had all of the tools at my disposal in one camera. This was a surprise for them, and the number one rule of customer service is to deliver more than expected.

Wedding photography for the digital age is changing, and soon no one will be able to get away with just being a photographer anymore. The journalists have already figured this out.

On selling prints

Many photographers work on a per-photo basis - selling off prints of photos piecemeal all the while retaining all the original files. But then there's another, younger generation of photographers that don't see the value in printing at all. In fact, it's not just the younger generation of photographers, but the younger generation as a whole. When young people want to share photos, they don't pull out a dusty old album - they go to Facebook. My friend's dad showed me an electronic USB keychain frame with photos on it the other day, so it's not just today's teens doing this.

How many of you keep a shoebox around of photos? Honestly? When was the last time you added to that shoebox?

It's with that in mind that maybe a better model would be to just give the bride and groom all the photos with a copyright release with all of the original photos. Of course the price would reflect this, but in the end it would be worth it to the bride and groom because they could do whatever they want with it - make a mug, or a T-shirt, or plaster the side of their home with a photo, for example. And it would save the photographer the headache of having to catalog all the photos for reprints, and of course, the reprints themselves. At least I think it's a good idea, anyway.

High School J-Camp

This summer, I had the opportunity to work with a group of high school students from around the area in a high school journalism workshop, called J-Camp. I was a teaching assistant and resident adviser for the camp, which meant I pretty much spent 24-7 with these folks for a week.

We took 10 students, gave them digital cameras, and taught them the skills to write two stories, shoot video and photos, and create illustrations in Adobe Illustrator. Then we taught them how to post all of those pieces to a Web site hosted by blogger.

Considering this multimedia journalism stuff was new to all of them, they did some fantastic work, that I'm proud to share here. Click on the image above to check out their work, or go to http://j-camp.blogspot.com.

The camp was put together by Professors Charlotte Grimes, Robert Lloyd, and Sherri Taylor, and also had some help from the other talented teaching assistant Cassia Brooks and professor Sung Park.

This was the first time Newhouse has ever hosted this camp, let's hope for many more.

Simplicity

While I'm all about photographing everything, there are times where you just need to pull your eyes out of the viewfinder and just look and marvel at the world around you.

After enough years of trying - sometimes in vain, sometimes not - to get good fireworks photos on July 4, I decided I'd just leave the giant-sized DSLR at home and shoot some photos with my point-and-shoot camera, a Canon SD780 IS.

The reasons were two-fold - in previous years, keeping a DSLR handy, along with all of its attendant accessories, was a but unwieldy to carry. Second, having the DSLR meant I missed both the show and time with whatever group or person I was with. Not this year.

I was able to get some pictures and video, and enjoy the show with my own eyes for once. It was a wonderful thing.

I even put together a short video, in case you missed Syracuse's show at the fairgrounds.

Independence Day Fireworks in Syracuse from Wasim Ahmad on Vimeo.

It's a wonderful little device.

Light! On the importance of ...

While the above looks like a simple natural light portrait of Untied Magazine editor Allison Tong is actually lit with two separate flashes, one with a diffuser dish in front (directly next to the camera, head on at low power to fill in her face), and one with a two-foot softbox attached (paramount lighting, 45 degrees above her face to camera right). I threw in a reflector for good measure.

When I taught the Type & Image lab here at Syracuse University, I tried hard to impress upon everyone the importance of flash.

After watching Joe McNally's demonstration of effective small flash usage last semester when he came to Newhouse, I've been smitten with small flashes. When I teach folks how to use flash (after a semester of not using it, per the requirements of the basic photo class - and rightfully so, for learning purposes) I find that there's a lot of fear and uncertainty attached to flash usage. Some of my students were quite reluctant to pick it up.

And I understand that.

That's because when you first pick it up, it's like you're holding the sun in your hands - it's wild and uncontrollable. In the past, I learned to bounce it off of things, and fiddle with it off camera via a wireless transmitter, Canon's ST-E2. But I was never truly successful at cleanly, evenly, or creatively lighting anything.

I think if I were teaching a class on this stuff, I'd make Joe McNally's "The Hot Shoe Diaries" required reading. It's everything I wish someone had told me before I had started messing with my first bit of flash photography, and it's told by example, showing misfires and mistakes along with the finished product to get the message across.

The long and the short of all of this? Take a look above, not just at my photo, but at Joe McNally's site and book. Look at all that flash can do for you, and then go out and take another stab at it. Then go check out this site too.

And to throw in one more for good measure: How do you make a brightly-lit church go black except around your subject! Flash! With a grid, of course.