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Contact - Spring 2010
American Society of Media Photographers-Central Virginia Newsletter
President's Letter: An Introduction to ASMPCV's New President
ASMPCV Unveils New Website: Tour the New site
What's Happening: Who's Doing what in the Chapter
New Members: Meet the Chapter's Newest Members
Raise Your Rank in Find a Photographer: Why some rank higher
Copyright Matters: February Member Meeting Review
Getting What You're Worth: March Member Meeting Review
Christopher Winton-Stahle ASMPCV President 
On March 1st of this year I officially stepped into the presidency of the Central Virginia A.S.M.P. I realize that many of our members do not know me well and I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself. What follows is a story about why this organization / chapter means so much to me, and why I believe in its’ overall success for the future.
I have always believed in Karma. I have tried to lead a good life, to be honest, good to others, and bring joy to those around me. But life is not always that simple and in hard times it’s easy to see how the phrase “it’s just business” could make sense. When time becomes limited, money scarce, and relationships strained, it’s our natural response as human beings to panic and focus on preserving our own wellbeing and while this is important, it’s not the entire picture.
I was less than a year out of college and had started my career by assisting established photographers and shooting small editorial projects. I was confident and cocky and felt that I could do anything I set my mind to. I thought that getting ahead at any cost was the goal. I was sure that I had a bright future ahead of me and was excited about all the possibilities when the unthinkable happened. On January 1, 2005 I was involved in an automobile accident that nearly ended my life. My car was T-boned by a truck going 50 mph. The accident left me with severe injuries to my head, shoulder, spleen, and wrist. Even after the injuries had healed I had limited mobility and strength of my right arm and with no health insurance to cover the emergency medical bills, I had other problems too. My future in photography was suddenly looking very bleak. I felt desperately alone and fearful of the future.
It was at this moment of true desperation that a Central Virginia ASMP member by the name of Charles “Stretch” Ledford, who I had been working for, stepped forward to help me. He sent an email out to a group of his friends, clients, and ASMP colleagues as a call to action. The response to his letter was overwhelming and the turnout of ASMP photographers that offered moral and financial support was staggering. I couldn’t believe their kindness and was often brought to tears. I have never been embraced by a group of people that way and many of them didn’t even know me. In my mind, these were people with whom I would eventually be competing for work and, at the time, I couldn’t quite wrap my mind around their generosity. I have no doubt that this act of kindness has redefined the direction of my life and my work. I began to see the importance of relationships within the photography community, the strength that is gained in numbers, and I wanted to be a part of it. After that, I got involved with the ASMP. I have learned so much from the ASMP about business, photography and the issues that the industry is currently facing. I have come to understand how important it is for me as a photographer to get involved, and to help clear the road so we, as an industry, can move forward.
It has been over five years since my accident. In that time I’ve learned some things about happiness, good business, finding the strength to endure, and the truth of a karmic reality. I understand now that my life is what I make it and that I’m never alone unless I choose to be. I have learned that I cannot stand alone and get to where I want to go in life or in business. For me, true success is defined through my relationships with others and the camaraderie that I establish with my peers. I am honored to be a part of such a fine group of talented individuals such as those found in the A.S.M.P. and I believe in the mission. Our industry has been hit hard from every direction. With the combination of the most difficult economy that the United States has experience since the great depression and a rapidly changing industry that is evolving faster than one person can keep up with, many are panicking and feel backed into an inescapable corner. But this is not the time to stand alone. We can help ourselves by helping each other. I admire every single one of you and know that if we pull our wisdom, talent, and resources together that we can find ways to grow and change in this new business environment. This is our “American Society of Media Photographers” and we will get out of it what we put into it.
Christopher Winton-Stahle ASMPCV President
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Chip Mitchell ASMPCV Webmaster
If you are reading this newsletter, then you’ve already started using the new ASMPCV website, which launched April 5th. The new site is based on the design of the national site and is hosted on ASMP’s servers, so the chapter will no longer have to pay hosting fees.
Here’s a quick tour of what’s on the site.
The home page features member images, which will rotate randomly. In order to get the site up and running by our deadline, we chose to use photos recently submitted members for the ASMPCV slideshow. Unfortunately, due to the design, we can only use horizontal or square photographs, so we had to eliminate verticals. Any member is free to submit different photos if they wish, or if you did not submit photos to the slideshow and want to be included in the home page rotation, just email us for the specs at webmaster@asmpcv.com. Each member can have up to five photos in the rotation.
The first item along the top navigation menu is Find A Photographer. Thi is the member portfolio section. When someone clicks the FAP button it returns a search from the national ASMP database of ASMPCV members portfolios only. Unfortunately, since you must be a general member in order to be included in FAP, associate members no longer have portfolios featured. If you are an associate member and meet the qualifications for general membership, it’s worthwhile to upgrade your membership. Just click on Join ASMP.
Next up is Find an Assistant. This works like FAP, only you can search for assistants anywhere in the country. Assistants must be ASMP members to be included in this database.
Next to that is Join ASMP. Pretty self explanatory.
The last item along the top is Business Resources. This is a drop down menu where you find information about copyright, licensing, releases, business forms, terms & conditions and analysis of bad contracts.
Down the left side is another navigation menu, starting with the Home button. This will always return you to the home page. You can also click on the ASMP logo at the top to return to the home page.
Next is Upcoming Events, which gives you information on member meetings and upcoming programs. You can also find information on past events here.
Below that is Chapter News where you will find the ASMPCV newsletter, Contact. The current issue is at the top and past issues stored below that.
Next comes Member Roster, which contains a current list of ASMPCV members along with their contact information and links to their websites.
Member Roster is followed by a Calendar which will list member meetings and programs along with events from other organizations which may be of interest to our members.
Photo Resources is where you find assistants, stylists, rental equipment, etc. Each category is broken down by geographical area, either Richmond, Tidewater or Charlottesville. Under Assistants, we list any ASMP member before non members and include some additional information about them. If we have not included someone who you think should be on one of the lists, please let us know, by emailing webmaster@asmpcv.com.
You can contact any board member with suggestions, complaints, requests or even compliments by clicking on Contact Us.
Finally, you can join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. We’ll use Twitter to push interesting information or inform you about discussions which are taking place on the Facebook page.
Below the member photo are three boxes. Spotlighted Features will be links to interesting reads and will change every so often as we find new stuff that we feel will benefit members.
News will feature links to current news happenings. It could be about a member’s award or a story that will affect your business, such as orphan works legislation.
The third box is Upcoming Events, just to make it a little easier to see what’s on the horizon.
We hope you like the new website and will use
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A Roundup of What ASMPCV Members Have Been Up To
Brooke Mayo and her husband are expecting their first baby, Poppy Daye Wright, the end of April and published a book, "Diving Doggies: A Celebration of Play Underwater." The book came out in November and is available on www.underwaterdogs.com, www.amazon.com and large booksellers across the country. In November last year Brooke was voted by the Artistic Guild of Wedding Photojournalists as the #7 Artistic Wedding Photojournalist in the World.
Chip Mitchell completed a three ad campaign for Dominion Power, working with Creative Director, Ladon Roeder of Proof. In February he traveled to the Sundance Festival in Park City, Utah and the Snow Show in Denver shooting for Swedish Match North America. He also shot a series of executive portraits for Bon Secours and Free Agents Marketing.
Chris Crumley's military supply client recently won a $45 Million contract using his product/lifestyle photography. See http://blog.chriscrumley.com (March 21 entry). Chris also generously offered ASMPCV members (first the Board, then Tidewater Members) wide body printers he wasn't using enough to keep in his studio for FREE. The Epson 7600 now has a home in John Henley's studio; the Canon iPF5000 at Mark Atkinson's.
Chris Tyree was profiled in Harvard University's Nieman Reports, the magazine for the Nieman Foundation For Journalism at Harvard University. The title of the issue of the magazine: Visual Journalism-Fresh Approaches and New Business Strategies for the Multimedia Age. Article here.
Christopher Winton-Stahle recently shot the cover and feature article for SC Magazine. He had a fine art opening of the VMFA traveling exhibition "Through Different Eyes : The Faces Of Poverty In Virginia" in Abbingdon VA on March 26th . Chris is also shooting the album cover art and campaign work for a rap artist and record label from Boston in April.
Chuck Savage is working on a pro-bono project to produce a coffee table book for Richmond's Congregation Beth Ahabah. The book will be on the history of the Reform Jewish congregation's Franklin Street Synagogue and in particular the sanctuary interior. The synagogue, built in 1904, was designed by the Richmond-based firm of Noland and Baskerville, noted for other area landmarks like nearby St. James' Church and the wings of the Virginia State Capitol.
Elaine Odell is shooting a continuing project for the Virginia Community Colleges Scholarship program "Great Expectations" with CRT-Tanaka. For the project she is creating portraits of young adults transitioning out of the foster care program into independence, work and college life.
Elisabeth Flynn-Chapman recently returned from two months in Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin and London and is working on a show tentatively titled "Travels with my Camera and Cane."
Jenny McQueen was included in an article about assisting in the April issue of Shutterbug Magazine.
John Henley is dusting off his panoramic film cameras to shoot the cherry blossoms in Washington DC for Circle S Studios. It will be a part of Worth Higgins' "Worth Seeing" campaign. He will also be shooting the sculpture of King Neptune in Virginia Beach for Virginia Tourism. John also launched a new website in January.
John Matney recently created a video for the Athens, GA band, Supercluster, which was released in January and screened at Cinefamily in Los Angeles. LMGFineArt Gallery is his new space and is scheduled to open in April in Williamsburg, VA. He was recently engaged and will marry fiance Susan in July.
Keith Lanpher just completed video and still projects for Virginia Beach Tourism. He was also interviewed by Shutterbug magazine for an upcoming article on his work with the Virginia Tourism campaign.
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Adam Lacy, Richmond, joined February 2 as an Emerging Associate member. See Adam's work at http://pushbuttonmedia.blogspot.com
Christopher Tyree, Portsmouth, joined March 9 as an Emerging Associate member. See Christopher's work at www.weyo.org
Clem Britt, Richmond, joined in February as a General Member. See Clem's work at www.clementbrittphotography.com
Elizabeth Gottwald, Richmond, joined March 17 as an Emerging Associate member. See Elizabeth's work at www.elizabethgottwald.com
Frederic Wiggins, Petersburg, joined February 2 as an Emerging Associate member. See Frederic's work at www.munrophotography.com
Hassan Pitts, Richmond, joined February 17 as an Emerging Associate member. See Hassan's work at www.hassanpittsphoto.com
Jacob Cunningham, Richmond, joined January 11 as a Student Associate member.
Jenny McQueen, Richmond, joined March 31 as an Emerging Associate member. See Jenny's work at www.capture-weddings.com
Jessica Derstine, Charlottesville, joined March 15 as an Emerging Associate member. See Jessica's work at www.jessicaderstine.com
Roberto Westbrook, Norfolk, upgraded his membership to a General member. See Roberto's work at www.robertowestbrook.com
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Raise Your Rank In Find a Photographer
The new website uses ASMP's Find a Photographer for member portfolios. When a client want to see member portfolios they click on the Find a Photographer button in the top menu and enter their search criteria. While the results are supposed to be random, FAP actually uses a sorting algorythm to display the results.
The first thing it looks at is the distance radius the client has chosen. The default is 50 miles, but they can choose as near as 10 miles and as far as 300 miles. Anyone within the radius is ranked equally in the results. The farther outside the radius you are the lower you rank.
Next it looks at the number of photos you have in your ASMP portfolios. The more images you have in your ASMP portfolios, the higher you will rank in the results; however the system only considers the first 14 photographs. A portfolio holds 9 images, so in order to have 14 photos, and get a higher ranking, you will need two portfolios. An additional portfolio of nine images costs $20.
The algorythm also considers specialty when it looks at portfolios. If the client is searching for an animal photographer, the algorythm will only consider photographers who have listed that specialty.
Finally, if all things are equal, the algorythm uses a random number, generated once a day, to sort the results.
The best thing you can do to move yourself up in Find a Photographer searches is have at least 14 images in your FAP portfolios.
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Copyright Matters February Member Meeting Review
Photos: © Chris Crumley ASMPCV
The February 24, 2010 member meeting was entitled Copyright Matters; what it is, why it's important and the filing details. The meeting drew twenty-eight members.
Chip Mitchell gave the Keynote slide-assisted presentation demonstrating an easy workflow to generate the small image files needed for filing, from both Adobe Bridge and Adobe Lightroom. He then assisted everyone in setting up an account (via networked laptops) with the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
Once everyone had created an account with the Copyright Office, Chip led the audience through the steps to build a template for future electronic registration of unpublished images as well as how to fill out Form VA on paper in order to register published images. In addition, he showed attendees how do do the actual upload of unpublished images.
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Getting What You're Worth March Member Meeting Review
Jeff Saxman ASMPCV
Photos: © Chip Mitchell ASMPCV
On the evening of Wednesday, March 24, about a dozen members of Central Virginia ASMP gathered at Guy Crittenden's studio for the program, "Getting What You're Worth," a discussion of strategies for maintaining your value in the new economy. After warm greetings, cold beer, and hot pizza, the group assembled into an intimate, informal circle which encouraged a loose but productive look at pricing trends within our industry. Chapter President Christopher Winton-Stahle got things started by inquiring about our recent quoting and billing experiences. Without getting into specifics, the group related general trends, which, it was discovered, are across the board heading downward in terms of fees and outward in terms of the usage requested.
What is contributing to this trend? Many things, obviously. A key factor discussed is the lower threshold for entry into the business due in large part to improvements in, and affordability of, technology. A reasonable kit can be had these days for less than $1000 (less, if rented!) and learned in a day, whereas many of us recall when the hallmark of a professional was a $15,000 Sinar or Hasselblad system. Secondly, the proliferation of images on the web has created the impression, particularly among many of the younger AD's and art buyers, that individual images are not valuable and can be had cheaply, if not free. The commonality of misappropriation of creative content (not just photos-take a look at the ipod of a young art director for pirated songs and movies) was noted. Lastly, the increasing prevalence of a "cover your ass" approach to usage requests has been experienced by many of us. Perhaps originating in legal departments, clients seem to request the misunderstood "buyout" in an attempt to allow for any and all contingencies, when in reality it is unnecessary and, if priced accordingly, cost prohibitive.
The discussion progressed to the topic of what can be done to stop the downward spiral of fees, and all solutions basically boil down to one element: creating value for what we do. However, what contributes to that value is varied: we must set ourselves apart from those who are giving away broad rights not only in terms of shooting style, but also in terms of a business style that exudes professionalism and inspires confidence; we must brand ourselves so that it is clear what a client can expect from us; we must fine tune our craft so that we can use our talent and experience to deliver a superior product; we must foster both personal and professional relationships with those in our industry; and finally, we, ourselves, must value our own work in a way that demonstrates its worth.
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Virginia Beach board members Chris Crumley and Skip Jones looked for ways to minimize the time needed to attend monthly ASMP Board Meetings. Apple's iChat provided the answer and cut the drive time by nearly four hours for each of them per meeting.
Chris sets up a small folding table in front of a studio cart with a MacBook Pro and NEC 26" monitor and they go on-the-air with Richmond board members via Apple's iChat. For iChat to work well in video mode, it takes a good broadband connection. The audio connection needs an auxillary speaker and an omni-directional mic at each location. The fuel for one trip to Richmond paid for most of the gear needed.
It took a few meetings to work out the bugs, but it's smooth and functional now.
Monthly Board meetings are generally held on the first Monday of the
month. Any member who would like to attend a board meeting is welcome.
Just email info@asmpcv.com and let us know you
like to attend so we can send you time and location. Occassionally board
meetings need to be reschduled, so it's best to check the calendar or
with a board member.
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