When Blogging Goes Bad

Like in all things, it's easy to stick your foot in the proverbial cow pie. Scott Kelby seems to have done this with a post mistake where he said he owned a Nikon 14-24VR lens...no such lens exists. Someone on his blog decided to be a bit ridiculous and ask if this was a lens that Nikon custom made for him.

Appears Scott decided to roll with it and go for the "yeah they did" response. Okay really, you can read about it all here.

I'm a little surprised at a few things:
1.) He'd even consider responding on a blog/forum platform in a sarcastic voice. People misinterpret words on this medium ALL the time. Seems a little irresponsible for someone this well connected to be doing.
2.) How much people really believe this guy. I mean come on people, if Scott Kelby said the sky was chartreuse, would you really believe him?
3.) That Scott Kelby hasn't turned the sky chartreuse in three easy photoshop steps and posted a tutorial about it...yet.
4.) How quickly misinformation spreads on the net: He wrote the fatal post last week on the 23rd and this Monday is telling us that Nikon has been fielding calls left and right and the blogosphere/forumverse has been going off the deep end. Seriously people, go shoot some pictures, read a book, write your own book.
5.) You mean no one else has noticed that Scott Kelby has turned the sky chartreuse!?
6.) That people are that hyped up about proving that Kelby is on Nikon's payroll and insisting he gets access to free stuff....although...I'd like to know how he got that tripod with his name engraved on it that there are only 200 made of that really only wealthy doctors can afford to own.
7.) Scott Kelby is god and the sky is chartreuse?

Really people, use your brains when reading this blog stuff...and cut the guy some slack!! He's either got a personal Starbucks barista that travels in his entourage or is mainlining crack. Between the 80 bajillion things that man has on the go he's gotta get tired and slip up on something at some point.

Kelby has his own Starbucks barista in his entourage!? Okay, now I've heard everything.

More soon...

Friday Linkings

I keep sending you off elsewhere to look at things...

1.) The worst photograph ever made was crowned today by The Online Photographer. I glanced at it quickly this morning, but it wasn't until I saw it pop up elsewhere in my readings that I realized what it was for (Lavazza Espresso) and who it was by (Annie Liebovitz). What is with this woman...she's popping up everywhere this week.

2.) The coolest photo project which took 32 years to make.

3.) The coolest photographer's website.

4.) The coolest retoucher's site.

5.) The most time spent with a wacom tablet.

6.) And just when I thought I couldn't find any more photography related links and blogs...Scott Kelby had to point me towards this site. Sigh...information freaks eat your heart out.

7.) And... Just to add to my Christmas reading list I uncovered Ronald R. Martinsen's Photography Blog and his list of books to read. Great.

I promise I'll do a proper musings type update in the next day or so. With work being nutso and Christmas arriving I'm trying to concentrate my writing efforts elsewhere right now.

More soon...

Warm & Sunny

It's nice and sunny today and although still cold outdoors my office feels really warm which is nice when you're under the weather.

Found a few cool links for ya'll to check out:

1. A DIY Flash Gel Kit - So doing this at some point...although I do have coloured transparencies that I purchased from Michael's Crafts and having just bastardized my flash with velcro the other day I may just test those out first.
2. Brad Moore - ex-Joe McNally assistant and current Scott Kelby assistant shares his "I screwed up bad" story.
3. David Tejada's Basement Bounce...hmmm think I'm gonna keep this in mind for my basement studio.
4. The husband and wife team at Del Sol Photography and their blog at FlashFlavor.com are huge inspirations for me. I want a cave in Mexico where I can regularly stage cool shoots like these.
5. I want me one of these.
6. And most of this reading list.
7. Cool performance art?
8. And how can I use this mouse for photography evil?

There's always cool photography stuff on the net. Don't know if I'll do this update daily, or just collect the ones that I love and share it at some point. We'll see.

Photoshoot tonight...which I can't wait for!

More soon...

Lessons I've Learned

Okay, I thought I would continue the lessons learned part of my last post on another day, but I'm feeling like I need to wrap a few things up in the next few weeks before the next stage begins and so I'll post them now. (Yes, I'm being deliberately cryptic :D).

Further things that I learned in the last year:
-To stop saying "One day I will ______" and just start doing ______;
-That practice may make perfect but sometimes perfection is elusive;
-Digital allows you to make mistakes over and over and over again until you figure out the right way to do it;
-Film is so underrated;
-Patience may be a virtue but I love getting results now;
-When you love a hobby you don't care how much time you spend obsessing over it;
-That it helps to have charged batteries when taking pictures;
-That it also helps to have empty memory cards when trying to take pictures;
-Flickr can become a great way to get praise: "Love my photo! Please tell me it's as great as I think it is! Hello? Anyone?"
-You can have more photography related magazines than you have time to read and still keep getting more;
-Suddenly you critique every picture ever made right down to the ISO, how the model did or didn't flex her foot, or the post work on her left eyebrow;
-Although I've never met them, I have weekly meetings with Kelby, Hobby, McNally, Prihoda, Talkington, Jarvis, Laforet and Ziser;
-Being nervous as hell is okay, just remind yourself that you know what you're doing;
-Making mistakes is all part of learning. Keep screwing up, you'll keep growing;
-Lens envy is a very easy disease to catch;
-So is camera envy;

But most importantly I've learned to shoot what I love.

More soon...