Category: Photography

Ideas for working with NGOs & Companies using Storytelling

by Stanley LearyPhotography
 
 
A friend wrote me, asking, “Were you ever able to make progress on ideas around working for NGOs?” Here are my comments to help him navigate this from what I have learned.
 
Today, it is easier than ever to become a photographer and publish. The gatekeepers are no longer in the way for the most part. So you can go and shoot a story and post it today for the world to see.  
 
Today worldwide travel for us is the easiest it has ever been—minus some visa and security issues. So the ability to go and cover the world is somewhat attainable. More accessible travel is why many today have traveled internationally compared to years ago.
 
 
What is the one thing stopping then most storytellers? The finance side. 

Matthew 6:26 reminds us “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

The scripture reference doesn’t mean you sit back; you are just like the birds—The early bird gets the worm.
 
NGOs
 
I think I have found that these NGOs tend to be run by people who are now experiencing an all-time high in volunteerism. Volunteers include the “GWC Guy With Camera,” which in a way, makes what we do more difficult to sell to the NGO.  
 
Today we need to create better PR for ourselves and what our work can do for them. We have relied too long on results our results and expected the person to get how this can help them.
 
You are also competing with untold numbers of great storytellers trying to do the same thing. They are not just GWC but great storytellers. So, how do you stand out and get the attention that can pay the bills?
 
 
ROI—Return On Investment
 
You need to do more than creating a portfolio of your work for an. You need to develop a portfolio of success stories. Stories are different from the portfolio. You illustrate in the report how there is an ROI. 
 
Two essential elements are needed to convince NGOs to spend money when they already get so much for free. First, they need to see numbers and testimonies.
 
If you can demonstrate how one of your packages helped increase the support for an NGO, then you have their ears. Once you have their ears, you give them the second punch for the knockout—a testimony from that client. 
 
 
Two ways for you to market
 
First, if you do an excellent job for a client, others will see it and ask who did their work. Also, often they are so excited they tell your story for you. Clients telling your story is the best way for your marketing to work. The second way is for you to capture this from a client and use this material to market to other NGOs. Maybe this is a brochure with photos, some charts showing giving going up, and then quotes from the clients.
 
 
 
Why do I not see this?
 
It is being done by many. Most of us stumble into it. We go on some missions trip or go volunteer and create a package for telling the story because we like to do that. Then we share it. A personal project is how Jeremy Cowart jump-started his business. He covered a trip to Africa and put a book together. He shared it, and then Britney Spears people saw it and asked him to work on their next tour.  
 
I think those who can find a great emotional story and invest in doing the story can best show their abilities for Storytelling and capture how this story helped as a change agent [ROI] may launch quickly into more NGO coverages.
 
I can tell you NGOs may not be the best place to monetize what we do with Storytelling. However, today the trend in marketing is to use Storytelling as the content for marketing. Here are some links about this today:
 
  1. Five Storytelling Strategies » Digital Marketing » 435 Digital Internet … 
    Nov 13, 2013 – When it comes to the content on your site – whether it’s a weekly blog or occasionally updating a module on the homepage – it’s never a bad 

     

  2. How to Use Storytelling as a Marketing Strategy | Wired Advisor Blog Everyone has a story to share. We are shaped by our life experiences, both personal and professional. Sharing stories about our own lives and also the lives 
  3. The story as Strategy, How Social Storytelling Leads to Business | Social
    Social Media Marketing Podcast 69, in this episode, Gary Vaynerchuk Gary shares why Storytelling is essential for your business.
  4. 5 Secrets to Use Storytelling for Brand Marketing Success – Forbes
    Learn the five secrets that brand storytellers understand and use, and indirect brand marketing initiatives have become a strategic priority.
  5. Integrate More Brand Storytelling in Your Content Marketing Strategy Jun 26, 2013 – Discover how your company can easily integrate characters and stories consumers want to share into your content, as well as examples.

Carrying my Fujifilm X-E2 every where I go–for a good reason

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Fujifilm X-E2 with 55-200mm, ISO 2500, ƒ/5.6 & 1/125 with OS turned on and handheld.

Being ready is why it is essential to take photos all the time. I tested my new FUJINON LENS XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS on Sunday.

Cropped to about 100% from the photo above

My daughter’s choir was singing as well as the kindergarten class singing “Deep and Wide.” I was sitting on the balcony. You can get an idea of how far back I was with the photo below I took last year with my Nikon Coolpix P7000.

Nikon Coolpix P7000

Here is that photo above cropped at 100% approximately.

By shooting when I can for myself and not a client, I am building experience with the camera, and this results in my knowing what I can and cannot expect from the camera.

Fujifilm X-E2 with 55-200mm, ISO 2500, ƒ/5.6 & 1/125 with OS turned on and handheld.

I love the Fujifilm X-E2 from tests like this that I am doing. I am comparing it to the Nikon P7000 I carried all the time until I got the Fuji X-E2.

100% size cropped from the photo above.

I attribute the photo above blur to hand motion. I now know the shutter speed is up to 1/250 or faster when zoomed out. Better to know this now than with a job.

You need to know your camera like your stick shift car. You have to know when to make those adjustments so they are second nature, or just like a car, you could stall out and miss the moment.

I continue to play every day with my camera. I just went out one afternoon and played around near City Hall for Roswell, GA, near my house. So here are those photos for you to see as well. Can you tell I am having fun with this camera?

Fujifilm X-E2 with 18-55mm, ISO 640, ƒ/16 & 1/125 with OS turned on and handheld.
Fujifilm X-E2 with 18-55mm, ISO 1250, ƒ/16 & 1/125 with OS turned on and handheld.
Fujifilm X-E2 with 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/16 & 1/40 with OS turned on and handheld.
Fujifilm X-E2 with 18-55mm, ISO 800, ƒ/11 & 1/125 with OS turned on and handheld.
Fujifilm X-E2 with 18-55mm, ISO 1250, ƒ/11 & 1/125 with OS turned on and handheld, Macro mode.
Fujifilm X-E2 with 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/11 & 1/420 with OS turned on and handheld.

Successful photographers focus on two things others do not

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Benjamin Franklin says he wasn’t sure if the painted image carved on the chair used by George Washington during the Constitutional Convention was a sun rising or setting. However, when the Constitution was finally approved and signed, he declared, “I have the happiness to know that it is a rising, not a setting sun.”

What Changed?

The key to seeing things in a positive light, like Benjamin Franklin, is to focus on the future and not on the past.

I cannot go to a single photographer forum online and not see a lot of heated, sometimes bitter debates going back and forth about how things used to be and how something has now changed.

Instead of people looking at how to go forward, they are looking for whom to blame.

Years ago, executives didn’t write their letters. They didn’t even have a typewriter. They had secretaries do all this for them. They dictated their letters and memos. I remember this being the case until the mid-1990s for many companies.

Then came along computers. It took a while for their adoption in the workplace. Executives today do all their correspondence for the most part and may have someone help if they are that busy and have the funds for the assistance.

I can see more and more executives in the future doing even more due to the ease of the technology to create.

Where professional communicators are going to be finding work in consulting and helping executives but doing the day-to-day work will disappear.

The problem is monetizing the new model of the future–whatever that will be, I don’t know.

Facebook is one of the ways I get a lot of news, and no, it isn’t all from newspapers. Instead, many are from Twitter feeds and people posting their content–what Patch is doing.

We need to quit bitching and complaining about the model we know is disappearing. Instead, we need to be relevant and create content that commands attention. Just because you have been shooting for 20 years does not mean everyone needs to hire you to accomplish their goals.

Stop overanalyzing what was and focus more on the clients and your audience. We have focused way too much on the subject and gear and forgotten what we create is for–an audience and a client.

1) Audience and 2) Clients

To get a job as a photographer, you must have a portfolio showing that you are what clients need to solve their problems today and in the near future.

You must first master the craft before people can hire you to shoot. The problem is that this is where most photographers stop in their growth.

Like their clients, most photographers’ problem is understanding what their audience wants and needs. Unfortunately, too many photographers focus so much of their attention on a subject that they are unaware that the audience doesn’t care about it, or just as bad that photographers are crowding the market shooting that subject that it is almost impossible to monetize that subject.

Great examples of two markets saturated with photographers are weddings and sports. Even with many in the market, it is not to say you cannot be highly successful, but just hanging a shingle out and offering photographic services will not make you successful.

Successful photographers are migrants.

A migrant is an itinerant worker who travels from one area to another in search of work.

If you are also willing to learn another language, you open the door to even more possibilities with your camera. While one town may have its market saturated with photographers, other communities worldwide do not. If you desire to stay where you are in the house you grew up in; then you may have to become quite creative to find or create the market for your talents.

When the Audience and Client are the same, this is when you have a Business a Customer [B2C] model. For example, B2C is the wedding photographers and most portrait photographers market.

When the Audience and the Client are separate, this is the Business to Business [B2B] model for a photographer. B2B is where the media, corporations, and small business use photography to reach an audience.

Whoever pays you is the Client. The audience is not always your Client.

The thing that is appealing about B2C is you only need to understand one group rather than two when doing B2B.

When you are staff, it is pretty easy not to understand the industry’s business side. Someone else, your employer, is taking care of it for you. Not knowing your business’s audience is where the lack of understanding can mean that your employer turns many of your ideas for subject matter down. For example, you fail to understand how this story has a Return On Investment. As a result, the idea you pitched lacks an audience. Start thinking like the publisher and connect with your audience; you will help grow the business.

“If you build it, they will come.” — Field of Dreams (1989)

“This is bad advice from the movie Field of Dreams. Why bad advice? Most startups focus so much on the product (building it!) that they forget about customers and network: Customers, because they need to pay for it, and network, because without a community of power fans around your startup, it will be very hard to scale.” — Scott Case, chief executive of Startup America and founder of Priceline

I love the movie Field of Dreams. There are some great things to learn from the movie, but I would have to agree with Scott Case on the odds of this model working.

Your success will determine if you are forward-thinking like a chess player. While you might still be starting, you must think and move ahead.

You can still have problems just like a chess player. But by planning and thinking about the Audience and Client, you are now focusing on your revenue stream and not just the fun of shooting photos.

How to make the change

Let’s say you have been photographing a subject for years and are an expert on it. For example, maybe you have been covering coffee as I have been.

Take a moment and write a list of all the people who would be interested in your subject. For example, here is mine on coffee.

  • Coffee Farmers
  • Coffee Cooperatives
  • Coffee Roasters
  • Restaurants
  • Coffee Industry
    • Trade Organization
    • Media for the market
  • Coffee Drinkers
You get the idea that there could be more to add to the list. So first, go back through the list and distinguish if a client or the audience. Further, break it down by identifying the audiences for each Client.
Here is an example:
  • Coffee Farmers’ Audience
    • Coffee Roasters
      • Cooperative
      • Local
      • International
    • Coffee Drinkers
      • They roast and sell directly
      • Providing content to their clients that help them connect to their customers [drinkers]
After doing this, you go and start looking for content that will help them. Then, when you pitch this to those clients and audiences, you do so with a hook that addresses the simple question-WHY?
The second question that follows the Why?–is the How? Question. How will this help the audience and connect with them?
Focus your action plans for your business on the audience and the Client to succeed.

Photographer how’s your memory?

by Stanley LearyPhotography

I bought some of the Case Logic hard drive cases, which I continue to use today. The cases outlast the drives.

Here is a link to those cases in Case you want them.

I haven’t done a lot of research on hard drives. I have read about which ones are doing well, but when I get to the store, often there are newer models available.

My preference is the firewire connection hard drives. But with the prices on these so high and the availability of choices so low, I have only a few of the firewire drives. Most of my drives are the newer USB-3 or, the older USB-2.

Whatever at the time is the largest hard drive with a competitive price is what I have been buying, and most of the time, I drive to Frys, which is close to my home in Roswell, GA.

Two external hard drives

When I travel, I always carry two external hard drives. One is a complete mirror backup of my Macbook Pro 15″ computer. I use SuperDuper! For cloning my hard drive. I do this about once a month. Usually, my next trip is what prompts me to back up

If I ever have trouble on the road, I can do a complete reinstall from this hard drive or launch from this hard drive by holding down the option key when starting my computer. In addition, by choosing the external hard drive, I can now run off of it. The advantage here is now I can run DiskWarrior to clean up any problems on my hard drive while I am on the road.

I have had to save my bacon more than once with this backup.

The other hard drive is for images and photos. So I ingest all my memory cards using PhotoMechanic; the destination is always the external hard drive.

I will leave you with one last tidbit. I also have CardRaider Photo Recovery when I need to recover images from my memory cards. I accidentally mixed cards up and formatted them before I ingested them. I thought I had one card in my hand and had reversed them. This software is for the Mac.

Fuji X-E2 Manual Focus

by Stanley LearyPhotography

Here in this photo is the setup I am using to demonstrate the manual focus of the Fuji X-E2.

When you switch the focus mode selector to M (manual), you can turn the focus on the lens.

The switch is on the front of the camera, as you see. It would be excellent for you to override the Auto Focus and grab the focus, but that isn’t possible now with the camera. Overriding autofocus is something I would love for Fujifilm to add as a feature in the next firmware update.

When you look through the finder or on the back with the LCD screen, the view will look like this before you touch the focus or push the shutter release halfway down.

When you start focusing, the camera will zoom in if you have the MF Assist turned on. I highly recommend using it because it is better than the traditional DSLR because you cannot zoom in and see the details to focus on this critically.

By pressing and holding the center of the command dial, you display the MF Assist menu. You get to choose between two options: Focus Peak Highlight or Digital Split Image.

The Focus Peak Highlight–highlights the high-contrast outlines. Rotate the focus ring until the subject is highlighted. Focus Peaking works for me the best or most of the time. For example, I used it to get the image below here.

Digital Split Image: Displays a split, black-and-white image in the center frame. Frame the subject in the split-image area and rotate the focus ring until the three parts of the split image are correctly aligned.

Here you can see the Digital Split Image. The clue that you know which one you are using is the Digital Split Image assist in B&W.

Press the center of the command dial to zoom in on the active focus area during shooting, which also works in AF Mode. It will show you the focus point where ever it is in AF Mode. Just press again to return to full frame. Focus zoom is unavailable in focus mode C or when PRE-AF is on.

My Fuji X-E2 travel kit

by Stanley LearyPhotography
The Fuji kit looks like what is becoming my go-to system. Unfortunately, I am missing the new 10-24mm ƒ/4, which will not be out until March.

If they made a 28-300mm equivalent to the Nikon system, I would use this and maybe just a super wide zoom like the 10-24mm slotted for March. Right now, the X-E2 with the 18-55mm and the 55-200mm will have to suffice. They do a great job right now.

I see replacing the 18-55mm with the newer 16-55mm ƒ/2.8. I can also see replacing the 55-200mm with the 50-140mm ƒ/2.8. I think that the faster ƒ-stop will improve the camera focusing in low light and give me a shallower depth-of-field.

I am very interested in learning more about their flash system. Imagine if they could develop a plan with a radio remote built into the flashes and cameras in the future. Of course, I am dreaming but I also hope Fujifilm is paying attention to the pro’s desires. I think they are close to taking a chunk of the business away from Nikon and Canon.

The one thing I hope they continue to do, leading to them ultimately dominating the camera market, is updating firmware on cameras. They are doing a better job updating older cameras with newer software capabilities.

The XF lens lineup that Fujifilm has planned for the Fujifilm X series through the end of 2014. Zeiss is making two lenses right now for the system.

Photographers we are part of a community

by Stanley LearyPhotography

A few days ago, Dave “Mullet” Martin, Associated Press photographer based in Montgomery, Ala., died after collapsing on the Georgia Dome field after the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Tuesday night.

Dave Martin is on the left wearing the blue shirt in this photo of photographers covering the Chick-fil-A Kickoff earlier this year.

In the days following Dave’s loss, people are telling stories of “Mullet” and “Vern.” Of course, he called just about most other photographers Vern.

Sean Bush commented on the Facebook Tribute page:

“Hey Vern, one of my members so an so is sending you this can you get it turned around for so an so’s deadline. Oh and by the way Vern yer still ugly.” I had a great admiration for Mullet not only as a photographer but as a person. Dave had a drive like no other, a love for what he did, and the ability it teach by example and kindness.

Mark Lent said:

I have many things to thank Dave for… He encouraged me and always treated my abilities as a photographer as equal to his own, even though they were not.

There were many stories about Dave, and the theme I continued to hear was how hard Dave worked and competed against everyone. You also heard how much he mentored so many. What was also special is how he often gave others shooting for him a better angle but always came away with great shots from wherever he was shooting.

He loved to joke and give everyone a hard time, but he also respected others in the profession. He was not putting you down to elevate himself. What he was giving to all the photographers that knew him were respect and acknowledgment.

Tami Chappel, Reuter’s photographer, posted on the Dave Martin Tribute page that a gathering at Manuel’s Tavern occurred this past Saturday night. As she said, Dave had a restaurant in every town he loved to go to, and Manuel’s was that place in Atlanta.

Tami printed some pictures of Dave that we put on the tables as we gathered to tell our stories with Dave.

We all stood up together and toasted our friend and colleague who brought us all together in his honor in his death.

Here is a photo of Michael Schwarz showing a new camera to David Murray and David Tullis. Sharing is typical of Dave’s friends. We love to share what we are learning and know that while we all compete, we are also close because we have so much in common.

You can see the joy on everyone’s faces as they share experiences. We enjoy not just telling our stories but listening to one another.

I can almost hear Dave giving John Bazemore hell for the photo on John’s computer in the image above. “Why did you shoot that photo?” I could listen to him say.

Then I guess Dave went back to editing, thinking I didn’t get that photo that Bazemore got. Later I can hear him complaining that pictures of John’s ran everywhere. Sometimes he was joking, and other times, he was trying to figure out why that photo worked with more editors. He would then beat us all the next few times.

While John Bazemore was shooting with every other photographer at the end of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, competing for the space to get the shot, he noticed it wasn’t as tricky, and that is when he saw Dave was not there.

Every year, we notice that it is easier to get that photo. I hope we all realize it is because Dave is gone and remembers a class act.

I am sure Dave “Mullet” Martin would tell me, “Just Shut Up and Make A Picture!”

Fujifilm X-E2 testing the 18-55mm and 55-200mm with Test Chart

by Stanley LearyPhotography

I bought the Large High-Resolution Test Chart for Camera Lens off eBay for $27. Here is a link if you choose to do something similar.

Here is the setup where I had two soft boxes at 45º. I did a custom white balance using ExpoDisc.

Put the chart on a music stand and then moved the camera back as I zoomed in.

I made all the photos at ƒ/8, 1/180 @ ISO 200. I also used a tripod to be sure I didn’t introduce any camera shake into the pictures.

Below each photo is a link where you can download the high-resolution JPEG as the camera captured it. The color space is ADOBE RGB, and I chose the standard color setting comparable to the Provia color space.

Fuji 55-200mm @ 55mm [High Resolution]
Fuji 55-200mm @ 135mm [High Resolution]
Fuji 55-200mm @ 200mm [High Resolution]
Fuji 18-55mm @ 18mm [High Resolution]
Fuji 18-55mm @ 23mm [High Resolution]
Fuji 18-55mm @ 35mm [High Resolution]
Fuji 18-55mm @ 55mm [High Resolution]

My conclusion is that both of the lenses are sharp. Now, this is at ƒ/8, and later I will test the lens at all the apertures, but this is to give you a glimpse into how nice the lens performs.

Fuji XF 18-55mm ƒ2.8-4 and XF 55-200mm ƒ/3.5-4.8 at the Chick-fil-A Bowl game

by Stanley LearyPhotography
[Fujifilm X E2, 18-55mm, ISO 640, ƒ/2.8, 1/60]

I am not entirely comfortable enough to shoot an assignment with the camera alone. The reason is nut the camera’s capabilities but my knowledge of how to use it. Shooting with the Nikon D4 is second nature.

I must get to this point with the camera where I am not hunting for the control to change something on the camera.

[Fujifilm X E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5.6, 1/105]

I set the camera to shoot on Auto ISO RAW. So the lowest ISO would be 200, and the highest is 6400. I also set the shutter speed to 1/60 and would change that to 1/250 and 1/1000, depending on the situation.

[Fujifilm X E2, 18-55mm, ISO 640, ƒ/4.5, 1/220]

For every camera I have owned, the autofocus has so many options that if you choose the proper setup for a situation, you get incredible results. Autofocus issues are why most pros ask other pros if they are having trouble with a similar camera. Then if they are not, they ask them what settings they are using for a situation.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 2500, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

Mostly, all these photos were custom white balanced using the ExpoDisc.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/4.2, 1/500]

I like the skin tones with the Fuji X E2. I also think their lenses are super sharp and have great dynamic range and color.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

All the images I processed using Adobe Lightroom 5.3.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

I had just bought the new Fuji 55-200mm, my first time using it.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 2500, ƒ/3.6, 1/500]

I loved how the lens felt in my hands. It was well balanced and well built.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

Shooting the coin up close with the 55-200mm and shooting from the press box were two extremes where the image stabilization showed how good it worked. In addition, I was pleased with the results of handheld photos in both of those situations.

The reason I am so excited about the Fuji is its weight. My wife took a photo of me in the press box shooting.

Photo by Dorie Griggs

I was carrying all this on me using the backpack, and the ThinkTank modular belt system from 1:00 pm to 1:30 am.

  • 2 – Nikon D4 cameras
  • Nikon 14-24mm ƒ/2.8
  • Nikon 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6
  • Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8
  • Sigma 1.4 converter
  • Shure Wireless lavalier microphone system
  • Nikon SB900 with spare batteries
  • 2 – Spare batteries for the Nikon D4
  • 10 – CF, XQR, and SD cards
  • Fujifilm X E2
  • Fujifilm XF 18-55mm
  • Fujifilm XF 55-200mm
  • Manfrotto MonoPod
I could cut this down to 20% of what I was carrying if I just added one more Fuji X E2 and let go of all the Nikon gear.
I will keep my Nikon system until I can comfortably shoot sports and videos with the Fuji system as I can now with the Nikon D4. There is a chance that some of this is just my ability to use the Fuji X system.
I can tell you I will be shooting a lot more with the Fuji system.

Best moments of 2013 for me

by Stanley LearyPhotography
These tourists are enjoying Hawaii Volcanoes, National Park. [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 160, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000]

What a year it has been. I have had a great year of moments and feel incredibly blessed.

Lili’uokalani Park, Hilo, Hawaii. [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 250, ƒ/7.1, 1/60]

Each year starts with me in the Georgia Dome covering the Chick-fil-A Bowl. This year will be no different. In addition, my wife Dorie will be celebrating her 20th year working the press box.

Tom Butler, Kona Coffee Grower [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 2000, ƒ/10, 1/200]
I am returning to Kona, Hawaii, to teach lighting and business practices to Youth With A Mission Photography School 1. I love meeting these students every year that are from all over the world. I learn from them, if not more than I probably teach them.
Anacleto Rapping is on the far left, and Joanna Pinneo is on the far right and is reviewing a student’s portfolio at the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference. [Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 1600, ƒ2.8, 1/30]

This year I am also working with the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference in Fort Worth, TX. Southwestern Photojournalism Conference takes place the first weekend in March.

Bill Bangham, Eugene Richards, and Stanley Leary at the SWPJC. [Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 1600, ƒ2.8, 1/60]
Dave Black looks at a person’s portfolio at the SWPJC.  [Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 1600, ƒ2.8, 1/50]
We took our daughter Chelle to Los Angeles during Spring break for her first visit. We visited all of her uncle’s friends.
Pam Goldsmith is a world-renowned violist who was Richard Zvonar’s partner for more than 20 years. Richard is our daughter’s uncle. Pam took time to help Chelle, who had also taken up the viola. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/9, 1/60]
Chelle visits Richard Bugg, who works with Meyer Sound. Their sound system is what was in the Beijing Olympics and other major productions throughout the world. Richard Bug is another one of Richard Zvonar’s business associates. Together, they built this sound design system.  [Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 400, ƒ2.8, 1/6]
Dorie and Chelle are standing in front of Chick-fil-A in Hollywood, CA. We stopped here for lunch while seeing the sights of Hollywood one day. [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 100, ƒ/3.5, 1/800]
Dorie, Stanley, and Chelle Paradise Cove in Malibu, California. [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 1/200]
Another friend of Richard Zvonar is Ronan Chris Murphy, who has a recording studio in Santa Monica, where we visited him. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/6.3, 1/25]
Chelle and Dorie are standing in front of the Hollywood sign. [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 280, ƒ/29, 1/60]
Now you don’t have to go to Hollywood to meet the stars. Many live near us in Roswell, GA.
Chelle met Pip, an American singer who participated in season 2 of The Voice as part of Team Adam Levine while she was a model in the show with Pure Fashion.  [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/5.6, 1/125]
I get to live out much of my life through my kids. So her school had Mark Wood come and do a workshop with the orchestra  Wood was one of the violinists and an original member of the symphonic rock group Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which he left in 2009. He has also played with Celine Dion, Billy Joel, Steve Vai, Westworld, and Lenny Kravitz. As a solo performer, he has released seven CDs featuring his versions of popular rock songs. On these CDs, he is accompanied by “The Mark Wood Band,” consisting of one member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, several other musicians, and his wife, Laura Kaye.
Chelle even got to sing with him on stage.
Mark Wood is leading the workshop. [Nikon D4, 28-300mm, ISO 10000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100]
Chelle is performing on her Viola with Mark Wood. [Nikon D4, 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 Sigma, ISO 12800, ƒ/4, 1/320]
Chelle is singing with Mark Wood. [Nikon D4, 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 Sigma, ISO 12800, ƒ/4, 1/320]
As you can see, photography is helping me remember and share my moments with you and the world.
1st Lt. Nelson Lalli returned this past summer after serving our country in Afghanistan for nine months. We were so thankful he returned home. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ISO 10000, ƒ/8, 1/60]
While many other moments were unique, I will close out this past year with my coverage in Mexico. I was thrilled to cover a coffee cooperative that is turning not just the farmer’s lives around but their communities.
David Cifuentes Velazquez, the coffee grower and member of the Just Coffee Cooperative enjoys sharing with a visiting group how coffee has grown. The joy on his face and family captured the restoration of their family because of the coffee cooperative. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/5, 1/80]
Remember, everyone has a story, and I would love to help tell your account. So give me a call if you need any help.

Check out my latest package I translated into English from my coverage of coffee cooperative in Mexico below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xryLb6Buzs]

Fuji X E-2 16M is it enough megapixels?

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Fuji X E-2, ISO 6400, ƒ/3.2, 1/50 handheld

Can the Fuji X E-2 16M sensor do the job for a working pro?

As you can see in the photo above, the quality is there for available light shooting full frame, but when people ask if the 16M sensor is good enough, they want to see the photo at 100%.

100% view of the image above

Here is a low light situation: how many street photographers and photojournalists would capture their images? Of course, if you are shooting a commercial job, you would likely be shooting with a low ISO.

Fuji X E-2, ISO 200, ƒ/18, 1/180

Here is a portrait of my daughter shot with the Fuji X E-2. Again the question is, what about at 100%?

100% view of the photo above.

From my perspective, it would be a rare moment that any of my clients would ever need anything with more megapixels than this camera gives me.

Now, my lab is telling me that if your camera is a 6M size sensor and they can make any size print from this file size, then it would appear that 16M is more than sufficient.

PPRPix Tips

So I wasn’t surprised to hear that Hiroshi Kawahara, Fujifilm’s Operations Manager, also said that 16M was enough.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gGsoBUIFrM]
If the other camera manufacturers do not learn from what Fuji is doing, Fuji will crush them. What is essential to listen to in the interview is how even while they think 16M is enough, they still listen to the customer and are researching to improve the megapixels.

One coolest thing about Fujifilm is its firmware upgrades for all its cameras. They continue to upgrade their cameras because they are listening to the customer. The firmware upgrades for the cameras make them even better. For the most part, if you want the latest camera design from other manufacturers, you must buy the latest one. While you might think this could hurt sales, it is doing just the opposite for Fuji.

Conclusion: The Fuji X E-2 exceeds the needs of my clients right now. It is a camera I am shooting now for corporate jobs.

What’s the key ingredient to successful business?

by Stanley Learybusiness / Photography
Young boy in Salvador Urbina, Chiapas, Mexico

Most of us think you will succeed when you do everything right. The problem is the best companies make mistakes and are not perfect, so how do they rise from the ashes?

Take a moment and see what you can learn from a coffee cooperative in Mexico. See if there is something for you to take away from their story that can make your business brand more robust and more profitable.

Last month I traveled to Mexico and Guatemala, covering Coffee Farmers of the coffee cooperative Just Coffee. You may not realize it, but coffee is the number 2 commodity traded globally, right behind oil.

Commodity

The problem the farmers were having problems before they formed in 2000 was the price of the coffee. So you see, the buyers were exploiting the small farmer. Most coffee farmers around the world have a two-acre farm.

What had happened in Mexico and much of the world was the exploitation of the farmers was putting them out of business—avoiding exploitation why some of the coffee growers like Edmundo Ballinas Domínguez crossed the US border illegally. He worked on the golf courses here where I live in Atlanta.

As you hear in the video, due to the cooperative’s changes, he is sending his two daughters to nursing school to get healthcare for his family. Before the cooperative, his daughters would not have gone off to school, and he would be in debt to save his family due to a lack of healthcare insurance.

Migrant Workers

A migrant worker is someone who pursues work. They are not people that look for entitlements without work.

Many people around the world migrate to survive. But unfortunately, many people are forced from their land due to their race, becoming illegal immigrants.

Fair Wage

What I realize more and more is that many people who buy services do not care about the people they are purchasing. Instead, they want the lowest price. As a result, people were missing honor, dignity, and respect.

I also have discovered treating people fairly; I will work harder and even go that second mile.

Listen to Carmina Sanchez talk about how not just being paid a fair wage but being flexible so she can be a good mother is important to her.

Everyone has a story.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HHFAHnJkBc]
Listen to how Adrián González talks about not just how Just Coffee is blessing him but he is excited to be a part of something that cares for others.

The Key Ingredient

Robert McKee, the world’s best-known and most respected screenwriting lecturer, believes that executives can engage listeners on a whole new level if they toss their PowerPoint slides and learn to tell good stories instead.

What is a story? It tells why and how a person’s life has been changed. Here are some key things you must have in a report for it to grasp the audience.

First, you need to have a crisis of some sort. Blake SnydeSnyder’s Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’lYou’ll Need talks about how you need something to overcome in the story. Then you help your subject overcome the crisis.

What makes you like your protagonist is how believable they are. I often see how screenwriters will have a crisis that the actors are to overcome, and then they have thrown into the mix a flaw in their character. To overcome their problem, they must also overcome their weakness.

Some of the best storytelling I have read is in the Bible. King David is an excellent example of a lovable character with many flaws.

What is critical to the great Bible stories is GRACE. Grace is where a character gets a second chance. This second chance is crucial because they genuinely don’t deserve it.

What is THE essential ingredient to a successful business–GRACE. When you are known as being gracious, you know that you are working from being humble and appreciative. You don’t take people for granted.

Listen to what touched Joshua Ediger in the stories of the coffee growers that he is now telling their story. His comments are what they call word-of-mouth advertising.