iPad Portfolio vs Printed Portfolio

Over at APhotoEditor.com, creatives are weighing in on if print portfolios still matter. Like with almost anything related to marketing yourself as a photographer, ask three people and you get three different answers. One person says yes you have to still have a print book, another says they haven't called in a print book in over a year. The one thing they all agree on: be prepared for any situation. My question isn't so much about having a print book vs not having one. I wonder more -- if you're going all digital -- what are you showing on your iPad that can't be shown online? What experience are you giving the creative that she can't get by just going to your website?

Consider this. If you're dropping off/shipping your iPad: Just like print portfolios, they have to be delivered, where they take up room on the creative's desk, and then the person has to take time to make sure they get returned to the messenger center or mail room.

If you're looking for an in-person meeting, are you delivering a richer experience on your iPad than they could get by going to your website? I can't tell you how many times I've had to tell photographers that rolling up to a meeting just to show off your website or some folders of images on your desktop is not going to cut it. Aside from the novelty of having someone flick through your on-screen portfolio, are you offering much more than your website does?

Don't get me wrong, I think the iPad is iRad, I just don't want photographers to abandon the process of making print portfolios if they end of doing themselves a disservice by annoying a potential hirer.

I'm sure there are some fab examples out there of killer iPad portfolios and I want to see them! :)

Q&A with Erin Siegal: Tapping Social Networks to Fund Investigative Journalism

In a previous post I talked about how journalists and artists can raise money to cover projects through crowd funding.  Erin Siegal, a photographer, multimedia artist and journalist has been working on a story on corruption in the Guatemalan adoption industry. She used kickstarter.com to raise the money necessary to finish the story. Below is a Q&A with her about the process and why she didn't go the traditional route.

You've been working on Finding Fernanda for over two years. Did you start out thinking it would be a photo essay? If so, was your goal to get it published online or in a magazine?

I fell into the world of adoption corruption entirely by accident, and as a result of being a photographer. My sister and I went to Guatemala on vacation in

December 2007. While waiting for our plane in the Guatemala City airport, we were surrounded by Americans leaving with newly adopted children. On a visual level, it was a very striking scene because of the trans-racial element as well as the sheer number of children leaving. I was immediately curious to learn about what was happening. I decided to do a little research to see if there was a story angle I could pitch to my photo agency, Redux Pictures.

Back in the States, I started reading all the English language clips I could find about Guatemalan adoptions. To my surprise, many of the stories focused on issues of corruption like kidnapping, baby-selling, and bribery. There were numerous clips from 2005-2007, and when I watched the six-part Dateline special "To Catch a Baby Broker," my curiosity was piqued. I just didn't understand how the abuses could keep occurring, apparently over and over again. Where was the oversight? Was the US government turning a blind eye to proven child trafficking?

When I thought about how to photograph the story, it seemed like an immense amount of time and reporting was needed. How else could I start to understand corruption that possibly was rooted in organized crime? I'd also been creeping towards a point in my photo work where I wanted to explore multi-faceted, complex human-rights based issues that couldn't be told with just pictures. I wanted to write the text to go with my photographs. The problem was that I didn't know how, or where, to start.

Columbia University offers a Master's degree in journalism with an investigative specialization, the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism. The Stabile Center takes about 12 students each year. The application requires a pitch for a year-long thesis investigation, so I proposed an examination into the political side of international adoption. Who was calling the shots, and why? What purpose did a lack of oversight serve?

In August 2008, I started as a Stabile fellow and my life became engulfed in adoption fraud. It was a fascinatingly gray subject, with no black or white. A few months after starting my research, I came across the poignant, incredible story of Betsy Emanuel and Mildred Alvarado, the two mothers whose stories are detailed in Finding Fernanda. I was able to spend a month living in Guatemala City generously funded by the Stabile Center in January 2009, and have returned since, paying my own way.

At first, I imagined pitching to Rolling Stone or Harper's. Yet boiling it down to 3,000 words seemed like a disservice. Hundreds of people (including sources who need anonymity for security reasons) talked to me, and I wanted to honor their trust and faith. A book made sense, though I didn't initially set out to write one. The story simply demanded it.

Did you approach any publications, foundations or NGOs about funding the story?

This past January, I immediately started hustling for funding.

The idea of partnering with an NGO crossed my mind, but accepting funding from an advocacy group would obviously damage the credibility of the reporting. The fundraising process hasn't been easy: it's a full-time job to finish reporting and writing a 300-page book in 8 months. Finding the time to apply for grants and awards, learn about marketing/sales, and freelance stories simultaneously is a constant challenge.

In terms of publications, right now I'm working with the New York Times on an adoption-related investigative story. It's a co-bylined feature I'm working on with Ginger Thompson. Since the Times is already one of my photo clients, Ginger and I are angling to have me shoot the story's photos. My photo agency has been getting me work here and there. Unfortunately, there aren't enough hours in the day to be pitching, reporting, writing, and shooting other freelance pieces right now, because of chapter deadlines.

I've also been applying to every grant and foundation I can find! Both the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and the Fund for Investigative Journalism turned down my original proposals for book support, but I plan to re-apply for the online project component. The Pulitzer Center is so overwhelmed by applicants that they've frozen their program until October to review the backlog of submissions! It's been tough, because I'm up against a crazy amount of laid-off journalists with years and years of experience. I have an ongoing dialogue with a few other grantmakers, and I've come really, really close serious backing- I was one of the finalists for Lowell Bergman's $45,000 Investigative Reporting Project Fellowship at Berkeley, but wasn't selected. I'm currently working on applications for the Alicia Patterson Foundation, among others.

Three funding sources have really come through. The first was Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) who awarded me one of two 2010 Freelance Fellowship Awards to support my part-time research assistant, the amazing Fernanda Diaz. Second, the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, an amazing non-profit reporting center, has also kicked me $5,000 towards reporting expenses this spring. The third source had been Kickstarter, which has by far been the fastest and easiest way to fundraise. Finding Fernanda met its Kickstarter target of $3,000 in just six days, and I'm hoping to raise at least $5,000 total by August 20th.

Taking on a project like this requires more than a few leaps of faith. Finding Fernanda is a book both necessary and overdue. It's traditional investigative journalism done in the service of the public good, exposing wrongdoing and holding those in power accountable. The broader appeal lies in the compelling experience of two very different women, one Guatemalan and one American, whose lives accidentally intersect because of one little girl: Fernanda.

What benefits, besides the money raised, have you gotten out of opening your story up to funding through Kickstarter?

Crowd-sourcing has definitely helped raise the profile of the book. People now know why I've been off the radar for so long. Kickstarter also enables more people to become invested (literally!) in your work and your project's success. Finding Fernanda has been on Kickstarter for a little over a week now, and I'm continuing to spread the word through social networking and the occasional email. Folks want to help: I've been offered sources, introductions, and offers for future collaborations. The other amazing thing is all of the encouragement; people out there believe in this project as much as I do. Writing a book-length work is a solitary endeavor, and the support is so warming.  The Kickstarter experience has been incredibly positive.

Are there any potential downsides to tapping your social network for

money to support a project?

In the beginning, it felt really strange, almost like online panhandling. After the first day of being on Kickstarter, I had a moment of absolute terror over soliciting, and considered canceling my project listing all together. Talking about the Kickstarter concept of crowd-sourcing with friends also helped me relax about it. I asked two close friends, one journalist and one photographer, what they thought about the possible sleaze factor. Both independently pointed to the same thing: if the public thinks your project is worth supporting financially, that's a way of understanding your idea's relevance to society at large.

Perspective also kicked in: no one else out there is going to do this work. I'm not making money, let alone breaking even. I'm trying to get by in a media landscape that provides few opportunities and support for long-term investigative/ documentary projects.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I want to say a heartfelt thanks again to not only all of my Kickstarter backers, but to those friends, colleagues, and contacts who helped by reposting, retweeting, and blogging! You are all so wonderful. And of course, Finding Fernanda will be on Kickstarter until August 20, 2010- you can check it out at http://kck.st/c533wf .

The project's website is also currently housed at www.findingfernanda.com. I'm always open to ideas, suggestions, and collaborations, and can be reached at Erin (at) erinsiegal.com

Erin Siegal’s dual passions for photography and the written word led to an education patchworked between New York City’s School of Visual Arts, Harvard University, and Parsons School of Design. She earned a BFA in Photography from Parsons in 2006, and a Master’s degree in Investigative Journalism from Columbia University in 2009, where she was a Fellow at the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism.  Based in the Bay Area, Erin’s clients have included Human Rights Campaign, the New York Times, Reuters, the Urban Justice Center, RollingStone.com, the United Nations, and more. She was an Artist-in-Residence at the School of Visual Arts and the Camera Club of New York, and her work has been shown at the Jen Bekman Gallery.  A 2009-2010 Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, Erin is currently working on her first book, which details corrupt practices and child trafficking in international adoption between Guatemala and the United States.

Eric Kayne's Arcade Fire Images Starting to Circulate

Client Eric Kayne recently shot the publicity photos for Arcade Fire's new album The Suburbs. The images are starting to circulate, most recently appearing on the cover of Billboard. They look great and I'm excited for when some embargoes are lifted and I can share the outtakes with you.

Images shot in a river on Win's property featured on the cover of French magazine les inrockuptibles

Hear two songs from the forthcoming album on NPR.

Goodbye magazines, hello crowd funding?

Long gone are the days when photographers could pitch a great story idea to a magazine and get a guarantee or a nice long assignment. It does still happen, especially with unique ideas that are topical, timely or controversial, but it's the exception to the rule. Crowd sourcing, and specifically "crowd funding", could be the new model to getting those stories produced. Photographers, journalists, artists and other creatives are tapping the buying power of their social networks to make their projects a reality. Through web sites like Kickstarter.com and ProjectSite.com, photographers pitch their stories to the world, raise money and hit the road.

Journalist Erin Siegal has raised over $3,000 to cover her expenses in Guatemala as she completes a two year long investigative journalism piece on corruption in the adoption industry.

Photographer Zoe Strauss has raised $4,000 to do a series on how the BP oil spill is affecting people in The Gulf.

Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler have raised over $16,000 to turn their project on South Africans and their bikes into a photo book.

The great thing about this is you instantly have a built in network of people who care about your story. All those small donations add up and those people will follow your progress, tweet about it and post about it to Facebook. It's like having hundreds of people doing PR for you.

Another big plus is that once you are done with the story, you can take it to book publishers, magazines, gallerists and art buyers and show them, in a concrete way, just how dedicated you are to your craft. Telling someone you have a great project idea is one thing, showing them is another.

Lastly, putting your ideas together and preparing them for one of these funding sites will force you to really think through your project. You might just find, through a lack donations, that it's not the great idea you originally thought it was.

UPDATE: PDN just posted a very informative interview with Yancey Strickler, co-founder of the crowd-funding Web site Kickstarter. It include tips on why some projects exceed their fundraising goals while others don't bring in any money.

"Your Best Shot" series on The Guardian

Have you seen this series of photographer interviews on the Guardian's website called "Your Best Shot?" It's been around since 2009 but I always forget to check it out. Today they posted an intervew with Inez van Lamsweerde about what it is like working with her husband Vinoodh Matadin. I love that she says they want to spend as much time together as possible, and working together just adds to that time. I'd love to work with my husband!  Unfortunately I don't know much about Business Intelligence.

The picture shows Inez passionately kissing Vinoodh, who has been retouched out of the photo.  It symbolizes how debilitating it would be for her to work alone.  Read more at at The Guardian.

Previous posts include interviews with Lauren Greenfield, Ed Kashi and Elinor Carucci.

Thoughtful Advice to Young Photojournalists by Michael Kamber

Michael Kamber took the time to write a long and thoughtful post answering many of the questions he receives from photographers starting out. And as it always happens, people have chimed in with their own words of wisdom. Most of this advice is geared towards photojournalists.  Check it out at lightstalkers See more of Michael's work at http://www.kamberphoto.com

Fabrica F Awards Announced

When I was working at Redux, the very talented Jessica Dimmock won the first F award for her work chronicling heroin addicts in an abandoned apartment in a posh building in New York City.  The award garnered a lot of attention for Jessica (not to mention the cash) and since then she has gone on to do a lot of great storytelling.  This year's winners aren't as undiscovered a talent as she was. Jerome has covered many amazing stories in his years as a photojournalist. Matt, although young, has earned a fair amount of exposure and awards already. Looking forward to seeing more from both of them. F  AWARD

Jérôme Sessini, France

Essay: So far from God, too close to America

“The Jury agreed unanimously that Jérôme Sessini's ongoing exploration of drug-related violence in Mexico at the U.S. border is remarkable for its sustained engagement with an increasingly alarming and dangerous reality, for its attention to concrete particulars, and for its ambition to convey the scope and complexity of the conflict".

F25 AWARD

Matt Eich, USA

Essay: Carry Me Ohio

In an effort to give a voice to increasingly marginalized communities destroyed by nearly 150 years of unmitigated mining, Matt Eich documents the daily lives of the people in Southeastern Ohio. Once rich in coal, salt, clay and timber, this region has been stripped bare of all natural resources—its people left to fend for themselves with minimal opportunities, horrific housing conditions, and sub-standard schools. As occurs in so many impoverished areas, the fabric holding together these communities is slowly disintegrating, as the people become more and more demoralized, often turning to drugs.  Matt’s ongoing exploration conveys their struggles—further exacerbated and contextualized by the current economic situation—while simultaneously pays homage to their strength and resilience in the face of such adversity”.

The F award is a creation of Fondazione Forma per la Fotografia, created by Contrasto, based in Milan and Fabrica, the Benetton Group’s Research Centre on Communication, based in Treviso.

www.fff.ph

The winning F project will receive a contribution of euro 20.000, the possibility of publishing a book and of having an exhibition of the selected work. The F25 winner (for photographers under 25), will be awarded a one year scholarship in Fabrica’s Photography Department.

Preliminary Inventory of Magnum Collection at Harry Ransom Center now Online

As an Austinite, UT alum, former Harry Ransom Center employee and photography lover, it's of special interest to me that the preliminary inventory is now online. Much has been made of the fact that the backs of the photos, with their markings between assigning editors and Magnum staff, are just as interesting as the fronts. I'm looking forward to combing the list and having a few boxes pulled to see for myself.

(Photo courtesy Harry Ransom Center)

See the complete list at http://research.hrc.utexas.edu:8080/hrcxtf/view?docId=ead/00502.xml

The collections are divided up into 5 series:

The first series, Photographers, is comprised of boxes containing the works of single photographers only, and it is in alphabetical order by photographer. In general the boxes follow each photographer’s career chronologically, occasionally ending with a portfolio of exhibition prints. Box descriptions that are seven digits long (e.g., 1944001) are for specific stories; the first four digits represent the year of the story and the last three digits represent the story number within a given year.

Series II, Personalities, consists of images of notable figures from around the world. Included are portraits and snapshots of world leaders, politicians, artists, authors, activists, sports figures, actors and actresses, designers, architects, musicians, and other celebrated people. Each personality received his or her own folder, so the majority of boxes show a range of names rather than a single name. Individual names are displayed either as they appear in the Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) or have been formed in accordance with the Anglo American Cataloging Rules 2nd revision (AACR2r). Dates appearing in conjunction with names are the life and/or death dates of the subject.

The third series, Subjects, consists of generic, domestic topical subjects, and excludes personalities and foreign countries. All subjects are listed alphabetically.

Series IV, Geography, is divided first by continent or world region, and then subdivided by country and listed alphabetically.

The final series, Magnum, is comprised of portraits and snapshots of Magnum photographers, staff, contributors and meetings. Additionally there are groups of images collected by Magnum members for specific projects. Individual names are displayed either as they appear in the LCNAF or have been formed in accordance with the AACR2r. Dates appearing in conjunction with names are the life and/or death dates of the subject.

Teru Kuwayama wins $200,000 Grant

Big congrats are owed to Teru for winning a $200,000 grant from the Knight Fellowship. He'll be using social media to bring the story of the war in Afghanistan to the American people in a way that TV brought Vietnam to our living rooms. The Marines recently lifted a ban on social media, so the Marines, along with the independent embedded journalists will be using social media to report on what is happening. Read more at http://knight.stanford.edu/news/2010/challenge/

Watch Teru talk about the Challenge

Knight News Challenge winner Teru Kuwayama on One-Eight from Nieman Journalism Lab on Vimeo.

See more of Teru's work at http://terukuwayama.com/

In-depth conversation between Michael Kamber and Tim Hetherington

The NYTimes Lens blog often features interviews with photographers but this one stands out. It's an amazing back and forth conversation between two great photographers. If you saw Tim's "Sleeping Soldiers" projection, you'll definitely want to hear more about the project that led to the film "Restrepo". from http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/behind-44/

50,000 euros Grant and Exhibition

Here is a big grant to cover the Pashtun people from Carmignac Gestion, an independent asset management company. I received a packet by email which I'm happy to forward to anyone interested. There doesn't seem to be a web version online. Has anyone else heard of this? It says it's the second year of the grant but I can't find who won it before. Quite a prize! Here's the press release:

Carmignac Gestion aims to support photojournalism since it demands courage, audacity, freedom and determination.

Each year, a reportage subject that is directly linked to current events is suggested to international, professional photojournalists. An independent jury of experts made up of image and information specialists will select a reportage project to be achieved that will receive 50,000 Euros in support. This grant includes the execution of the reportage and the acquisition by Carmignac Gestion of 4 photographs chosen from the reportage.

Carmignac Gestion will also provide its full backing for the photojournalist to develop, promote and distribute the reportage. An exhibition will be organised within 12 months of the Prize being awarded and a monographic book presenting the award-winner's work will be published.

The proposed subject for the 2010 Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award is: Pashtunistan.

The photojournalists will be free to choose how to address this theme, and the angle to cover it from: political, economic, social or cultural.

Deadline for submitting applications : September 30th 2010

Contact: 2e Bureau - Sylvie Grumbach - Marie-Laure Girardon sylvie.grumbach@2e-bureau.com m.girardon@2e-bureau.com

Tel +33 1 42 33 93 18 Fax +33 1 40 26 43 53 www.2e-bureau.com

8,000 Euro Multimedia Prize to be given in Perpignan

For the second consecutive year, FRANCE 24, the international news television channel and RFI, the international news radio station, are organizing the FRANCE 24-RFI Web Documentary Award. This award honours the web documentary that sets itself apart from the other entries in terms of choice of subject, originality and innovative use of new multimedia tools. The award will be presented on the 1st of September at the Visa Pour l'Image - Perpignan festival and is accompanied by a cheque for 8,000 euros.

Further information, conditions of entry and the online entry form, can be found at the following addresses: http://www.france24.com/en/FRANCE-24-RFI-web-documentary-award-2010 http://www.english.rfi.fr/FRANCE-24-RFI-web-documentary-award-2010

For any further information: webdocu@rfi.fr

DEADLINE: 20th July 2010

Aperture Portfolio Prize deadline next week

from http://www.aperture.org/apertureprize/info.php

The purpose of the Aperture Portfolio Prize is to identify trends in contemporary photography and specific artists whom we can help by bringing them to a wider audience. In choosing the first-prize winner and runners-up, we are looking for work that is fresh and that hasn’t been widely seen in major publications or exhibition venues.

First prize is $5,000. The first-prize winner and runners-up are featured in Aperture’s website for approximately one year. Winners are also announced in the foundation’s e-newsletter, which reaches thousands of subscribers in the photography community.

The entry period for the 2010 Aperture Portfolio Prize begins Friday, May 14, 2010, and the deadline is Wednesday, July 14, 2010, at 12:00 noon EST. All entrants will be contacted with final results by November 1, 2010. For more information, see the Guidelines and FAQs pages.

iPad bringing tangible hope for magazines

via aphotoeditor

screenshot from ipadinsider

In the nine days since it launched its $4.99 iPad application, Wired has sold close to 73,000 downloads—almost as many copies as the magazine sells on the newsstand—spending five days in the No. 1 paid app slot. All the attention leading up to the launch has contributed to a 20% spike in advertising pages in the first half of the year, compared with the same period a year earlier, making the magazine Condé Nast's biggest gainer, according to Media Industry Newsletter.

Read more at http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100606/FREE/306069969

Stunning images of wildlife caught in oil

As hard as it is to look at these images, it's important that they are made and widely circulated.  BP would like to keep images like these from getting out, but the public needs to see the horrid effects this massive oil spill is having on wildlife, the environment, the beaches, people's livelihoods and the entire Gulf ecosystem.

See more images by AP Photographer Charlie Riedel at http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

Moving Walls deadline one week away

from: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/focus_areas/mw/guidelines The Open Society Institute invites photographers to submit a body of work for consideration in the Moving Walls 18 group exhibition.

Moving Walls is an exhibition series that features in-depth and nuanced explorations of human rights and social issues.  Thematically linked to OSI's mission, Moving Walls is exhibited at OSI’s offices in New York and Washington, DC and includes seven discrete bodies of work.

Moving Walls recognizes the brave and difficult work that photographers undertake globally in their documentation of complex social and political issues.  Their images provide the world with human rights evidence, put faces onto a conflict, document the struggles and defiance of marginalized people, reframe how issues are discussed publicly, and provide opportunities for reflection and discussion.  Through Moving Walls, OSI honors this work while visually highlighting the mission of our foundation to staff and visitors.

For participating photographers, a key benefit of the program is to gain exposure for both the social justice or human rights issues they photograph, and for themselves as photographers.  When the tour ends, photographers may keep their professionally-produced exhibition to use however they wish.

Ian Parry Scholarship Deadline is July 2

For those of you under 24, from http://www.ianparry.org/

The Ian Parry Scholarship 2010 deadline is Friday 2nd July. Applications are digital. FTP instructions and application forms are available from http://www.ianparry.org/

The Ian Parry Scholarship is designed to award young photojournalists with a bursary that will enable them to undertake a chosen project and raise their profile in the international photographic community. The Scholarship is aimed at traditional or contemporary photojournalism and photographers with strong story telling capabilities.

Ian Parry was a photojournalist who died whilst on assignment for the Sunday Times during the Romanian revolution in 1989. He was just 24 years old. The Scholarship was set up by Aidan Sullivan and Ian’s friends and family in order to build something positive from such a tragic death.

The competition is for photographers on full-time photographic courses or who are 24 years or under. The prize is £3,000 towards an assignment, a commission for Save The Children plus £500 for runners up. Entrants must submit: A digital portfolio of 12 images to our FTP following our guidelines An application form A brief synopsis of a project they would undertake if they won the award

We are delighted to announce the continued support of the Sunday Times Magazine, which publishes an extended feature of all the finalist’s work and World Press Photo who will automatically accept the winner onto their final list of nominees for the Joop Swart Masterclass in Amsterdam.

Once again, our extremely popular and well-attended print exhibition will take place in London at the Getty Images Gallery. The exhibition will run for one week from the 18th August 2010.

Thank you for your interest and continued support, Best wishes Rebecca

Contact: Rebecca McClelland, Deputy Director becky@ianparry.org http://www.ianparry.org/