Leave it to irrevevant pop musicians to do something inventive with disposable cameras. You can check out his DIY setup almost immediately in the video but have to wait around to about 1:47 to see it in action. Feel free to dance around in the interim.
Leave it to irrevevant pop musicians to do something inventive with disposable cameras. You can check out his DIY setup almost immediately in the video but have to wait around…

Recently I had the privilege of helping judge the San Diego CityBeat annual photo contest. It was fun despite being conducted through Flickr so that no one could hear my snarky comments. It was also a welcome excuse to ponder photography theory: How does one compare unrelated photos and ultimately choose one over the other, and just what exactly makes a successful photo anyway?

I was shooting Le Book all last week, a French company that puts together a book of creative and production companies for others to browse when looking for help in either of those areas. I was at the trade show they have once a year, and, as they are French, they asked me to capture the glamour of the event. I suggested I hold the camera at angles and slow my shutter down to get the feeling right. The employee I was talking to interrupted and said “yes, capture some motion.” The French also seemingly have an inherent knowledge on how to capture glamour to go along with their interest in it.
Perhaps he was a photographer himself, but his statement got me noticing motion in other photos. In the introductory class I teach on photography, one of the first things we talk about is how to eliminate blurriness. There are, of course, many times where motion adds a “je ne sais quoi” to your shot.

This New York Magazine photo accompanied a restaurant review. The photo caught my eye because I didn’t find it particularly up to par with their usual work but the movement shown in the hostess/server redeems the photo. It conveys the fact that she is the one on the move, working, while the guests are still, enjoying their meal. Subtle storytelling!

When shooting events where motion is so inherent, its nice to see it captured as well as this. While we are at it, this picture makes me hear this song:

Enjoy.
I was shooting Le Book all last week, a French company that puts together a book of creative and production companies for others to browse when looking for help in…

An email from a stranger asked me to fill out a questionnaire recently, for a student’s career project. The career this student said she is deeply interested in, according to her email, is photojournalism/photography. Having the time and plenty of thoughts to collect, I obliged and asked her if she’d mind if I posted her questions and my responses on Meridian. So, here are my perspectives on the industry as an emerging photojournalist, exactly as I wrote them on the survey. Not being a firmly established photographer yet, I’d be interested to know whether I gave this student good advice.

The World Naked Bike Ride usually means plenty of completely nude protesters, but not in San Diego.

Musician and producer Bonnie Wright, for San Diego CityBeat.

I am having a pitching challenge with my friend Liz over at Brooklyn Home Companion, each of us trying to pitch a story once a week. So, for a little inspiration and accountability, I thought I would post these submission guidelines from Freelance Writing Gigs You really should be subscribed to this feed.
Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly is a publication covering politics, government, culture and the media. Before you pitch a story to us, we recommend you read through a few of our back issues online or in print to get a feel for the type of investigative, system-analysis journalism we value and promote.
The magazine is published Bimonthly and includes investigative and opinion-based feature articles (2,000 to 5,000 words), occasional short news items and humorous sidebars (500 to 1,000 words), and book reviews of recent political and cultural titles (usually about 800 words). We occasionally print excerpts from forthcoming political books. We never publish fiction, poetry, or celebrity profiles.
Our editors welcome story pitches that suit our editorial mix. We ask freelancers to submit query letters in writing by either emailing us at editors@washingtonmonthly.com or mailing submissions to our mailing address (below).
Due to the volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot respond to every story pitch.
All freelance pieces are submitted “on spec”; we don’t pay kill fees. The pay rate for published articles is 10 cents per word.
Complimentary copies of the magazine in which their articles appears are mailed to freelancers. Published articles are also available online.
Herizons
Herizons aims to reflect a feminist philosophy that is diverse and relevant to women’s daily lives. The purpose of Herizons is to empower women; to inspire hope and foster a state of wellness that enriches women’s lives; to build awareness of issues as they affect women; to foster a spirit of co operation; to promote the strength, wisdom and creativity of women; to broaden the boundaries of feminism to include building coalitions and support among other marginalized peoples; to foster peace and ecological awareness and to expand the influence of feminist principles in the world. Herizons is a non-profit organization based in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada.
What Herizons Publishes
Herizons’ audience is a feminist readership. Articles about applying feminist principles in work, in relationships and organizations, and in social justice are welcome. Our readers are interested in health issues, social and political issues, environmental issues, equality issues, justice issues, spiritual issues; parenting issues and all issues informed by diverse racial and cultural experiences. Articles in which the writer is engaged with the material work best; personal experiences, journalism style articles, interviews, articles which bring in current research and a clear feminist perspective are all things we look for.
NEWS
500 – 700 words. News items of interest to feminist readers taking place in communities across Canada.
FEATURES
1,000 – 3,000 In depth articles on feminist debates, current social/ political/legal/environmental/culture emerging issues or personal stories with a broader social relevance. Can be interview style, essay style or journalism style. Non academic writing is preferred.
REVIEWS
350-words Book, music and film reviews; preference is given to Canadian authors, filmmakers, musicians. $55
Payment License Use:
Payment is made in Canadian funds upon publication. Articles in Herizons are licensed for first time North American rights @ .25 cents per word with an additional .5 cents per word for non-exclusive subsidiary rights, including the right to transfer articles to CD rom for educational/academic libraries and/or secure on-line database services. (Total .30 per word) Herizons reserves the right to post select articles on Herizons’ web site in order to promote the magazine.
Hyphen
Hyphen has limited resources, but we pay $500 for in-depth, feature stories that carry the theme for each issue. We’re looking for writers who can depart from the predictable daily-news structure and tell a story well, with keen observations and strict accuracy. We welcome investigative reporting as well as literary journalism, thoughtful pieces as well as tongue-in-cheek ones.
We’ve got a bit of a split personality, so we want both fun and serious writing. As long as it’s well written and solidly reported, we’re very open. Bonus points if the story takes place in the South or Midwest. Asian America doesn’t exist only on the coasts, you know.
We are interested in issues that affect Asian Americans, but, please, no Asian American Studies 101. We are also interested in tangentially Asian American stories, in quirky stories, and in stories about emerging artists rather than established ones. We don’t have many rules, but here are a few. If you break these, your submission will be rejected:
1) Do not send ideas about people and events in Asia. We cover Asian America, not Asia.
2) Absolutely no reprints, though substantially revised or expanded stories will be considered. This means don’t send us something that has already been published elsewhere.
3) Do not pitch us a story about a conference. There is nothing more boring than a story about a conference.
4) Don’t send us anything that uses the phrase “East meets West.” Just don’t.
5280
5280 is the premiere monthly guide to the arts, entertainment, dining, and lifestyle issues in Denver. First published in 1993, the magazine has a circulation of 85,000 and is consistently among the top-selling magazines on metro newsstands. Many of our stories are written by 5280 staffers and a group of established freelance writers, but we welcome ideas from journalists we haven’t worked with in the past.
Literary Traveler
From the Web Site:
Literary Traveler was launched in March of 1998. We currently have around 80,000 visitors per month and over 5,000 subscribers. Our audience is made up of people who love to read and travel and who are interested in literature and the arts.
We are seeking articles that capture the literary imagination. Is there an artist or writer that has inspired you? Have you taken a journey or pilgrimage that was inspired by a work of literature? We focus mainly on literary artists but …

Election center in San Diego was a banquet hall full of jockeying constituents clustered around their champions.

But I am still hopeful. Or at least I was until I shot the Root’s Picnic and found myself sharing the photo pit with a 9 year old and his Spiderman backpack.

My sidewalk strolls have been replaced as of late by weekend excursions to California’s national parks. Here’s a set from a night hike in Joshua Tree National Park, starting at the popular Jumbo Rocks campground, during which I experimented with the light cast by headlights worn by myself and my brother.