A Year in Trees

It's a bit more than a year, but you get the idea. I did not realize that trees were playing such a central role in my photographs until I started to photograph trees themselves with all their unusual shapes, textures and colors.

In each of these photographs, trees play a central role in the composition. The trees are either the main subject or they frame the photograph. In several cases, the trees create balance and perspective.

This collection of tree photographs spans 4 countries (Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the United States) and two states in the US, California and New Mexico.

I hope you enjoy the tour.
Radzfoto

Using the work of others to build something better

From Schmap selections

From Schmap selections

Recently I received a request for the use of a couple of my photographs (above) from an online mapping and travel guide company called Schmap. This company searches the photo sharing website Flickr for photographs that they like and then ask the owners for permission to use them as part of their online service. As an amateur photographer, I was flattered to receive the requests and I immediately gave them permission to use my images.

When I told my friends and family about this, almost everyone asked: "Are they paying you?" It never occurred to me to ask for money. I was simply pleased that more people would get to enjoy the two photos that they selected. This question made me think about the fundamental idea behind Creative Commons which is to offer a flexibile licensing structure so that others can build on your work. All of my photographs and all the content in this blog are marked as "Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License".

I realize that Schmap may make some money from the use of my photographs. I am happy for them to do that. Some photographers may be angry that the "value" of the photograph is somehow lessened by us amateurs. But I think that photography is going through a dramatic shift from "profession" to "vocation", not unlike what blogging is doing to the mainstream press. This does not mean that professional photographers will disappear. There will still be a place for professionals who are hired to shoot events, models and specific assignments. However, many photographic requirements will be satisfied through the self-organized content on the Internet.

A couple of months ago, I saw a video presentation on ted.com by Clay Shirky entitled Institutions vs. collaboration (see the video here) that specifically addresses the social transition from institution to collaboration. He argues that certain tasks are being done through strong communication tools such as cell phones and the Internet that allow groups of people to self-organize and for others to benefit from this type of self-organization in ways that the individual contributors don't even realize. He describes the use of "tags" for photographs in Flickr and how they help organize searches for photographic content. In my particular case, Schmap was looking for specific content for their travel guides and searched the images that individuals had uploaded to Flickr.

Mr. Shirky does not apply a value judgement to this transition. He merely describes a societal process that is occurring. For me, it is enough to know that my photographs are now published and that others will enjoy them or that they will be useful. I know many amateur photographers from my youth before the Internet and before digital cameras that have large collections of negatives, slides and prints sitting in boxes. It is impractical to scan large quantities of photographs, so they just scan a small number. But, in my case, Schmap selected photographs that would not necessarily have been my first choice. The ability to search through a large collection with the use of tags provides a new way to view and use photographs that was not possible before. Schmap is building a business around that concept.

I hope that others find ways to use my photographic efforts to build bigger and better things.

Radzfoto

Remembering a year and a half of travel, October 12, 2008

I always want to post new photographs with new ideas, but sometimes it's important to look back and remember where you've been. So I decided to do something a little different.

This video is a travel log of the cities, states and countries that I have visited in the last 18 months from mid 2007 until now.

I hope you enjoy the worldwind trip in 7 minutes.

Radzfoto

Good friends

Good friends, Santiago, Chile, September 5, 2008

I have been friends with Pepi since as long as I can remember, and I really mean that I cannot remember a time when I did not know her. My mom says that we met when we were two months old.

I took about a dozen photographs just before lunch on a beautiful September afternoon as we talked together with her husband. I think that the photographs tell a story, a story of love and happiness, but also a story of a life with difficult lessons and great trials and sadness. She is normally very difficult to photograph, glaring at the camera, but for some reason that afternoon she was relaxed and open.

I would rather say no more about her life or the photographs. I will let them tell their own story.

Enjoy!
Radzfoto

Intersections, Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 2007

Intersections, Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 2007

I am primarily a landscape photographer with a portrait here and there. I rarely photograph textures or geometric patterns for their own sake since I like stories. This photograph, however, really captured my imagination.

During the late fall in Albuquerque, you can see hundreds of geese each day migrating to their wintering grounds. Some of the more enterprising, or perhaps lazier, geese stop at Bosque del Apache just 2 hours south of Albuquerque where you can find a congregation of up to 20,000 snow geese and similar numbers of Canadian geese.

I was walking along the Rio Grande river with my wife and spotted this typical flight formation of geese overhead. At the time I was upset that the contrails disrupted this particular frame. It is only months later that I realized the beautiful overlay of angles of flight at two levels. There is the intersection of the contrails which in turn intersect with with the V of the geese formation. But there is another intersection, between two very different kinds of flying objects. The natural world is intersecting the mechanical world created by humans.

I think there is a story here; maybe even a bit of poetry.

Enjoy!
Radzfoto

Accidental Portraits, July 12, 2008

I was sick with a really bad flu. The night before, a terrific windstorm shook the trees and the house all night. That morning the heavy rain started to come down in sheets blown almost horizontally by the wind.

We put on waterproof rain gear and headed up a gravel and dirt road to take some photographs to document an agricultural land survey. The heavy rain and the strong wind seemed to mock our waterproof garments and proceeded to drench us in the cold, winter rain (July is winter in the southern hemisphere where these photographs were taken). As I hurriedly shot a couple of 360 degree panoramas, I trembled with fever and exhaustion from the climb, and my lens was sprayed with the rain that blew against it.

I had insisted on this particular venture, and, as you can see from the hasty portraits that I took of my companions, they thoroughly enjoyed every wet minute of it. I call these "accidental portraits" because, quite honestly, my fevered brain does not remember how I captured these brooding moments. I thank my brother, who knows much more about photography than I do, for the confidence to post these images. He liked the emotions on the faces combined with the sullen weather.

Radzfoto

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2008

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2008

As some you may have realized, I travel a great deal for my work. However, this is the first year in my life that I got to travel to Brazil. I was in Rio de Janeiro for two days and I had a chance to tourist briefly. Here are some of the pictures that I took on this short trip.

This city certainly lives up to its reputation as a beautiful tourist destination. It has wonderful beaches, great night life and amazing views of its harbor.

Enjoy!
Radzfoto