Keeta iphone blogging

Keeta loves sun bathing!! This is her daily ritual, squeezing up
agaist the wall as the sun fades, soaking up every last ray. This is
also my first blog from my iPhone.

Waiting at Union Station

I went to DC for the holidays to visit some family and photograph some DC sights. I only got around to the visiting. NO photography, except for the 20 minutes i was waiting to be picked up.

Of course, it wasn't that easy either. I checked in my bags for a couple hours, but kept my camera. Except i forgot the neck-strap and Memory card. DOH!!! I spent the two hours holding my camera and walking around. 

None the less, its a beautifully lit train station. The early morning light hits an archway wing, creating great shadows and depth. The stone facade also has some nice textures and aging streaks.  Indoor, the ceiling is a long dome, with a mixture of daylight pouring in through the high glass arches and artificial high-key lighting.

The other thing worth noticing is the presence of Obama merchandise, in stores and on people. The jubilation for his inauguration is unreal. I doubt we'll ever see anything like this again. I really hope to go back for the inauguration. It'll be historic and visual.

I got to use Carolina's  D300, which has a MUCH larger dynamic range than the Nikon D200. It performs better under low light conditions, less grain, less noise, higher resolving. But i also notice a considerable amount of chromatic aberration. Considering i use the same lens on a 200 without as much CA, i think its the body (and with that i learned Aperture 2.1.2 DOES NOT have Chromatic Aberration correction! WTF!!! I've been suspicious about my camera's chip and processing. It's been letting me down a whole lot. Shooting with the D300 confirmed my fears: My camera suck!!

Here are a couple samples. Shot RAW, ISO 250, Nikkor 17-55mm F2.8,  converted with Aperture 2.1.2, processed through Nik Color Efex Pro 3 and Nik Silver Efex Pro. 

the same in color for comparison (just in case you wonder what that looks like).

How to stop worrying and love the blog

So for the past 2.5 months, I've been busy writing my business, marketing  and promotional plans for 2009 (and beyond). Curiously, in all three plans, this blog is featured as one of the main tools to my business and work. Now truthfully, this was not the initial idea when i decided i should blog. I just thought it would be cool to blog, share some tips with people and feel i have an audience! (gotta feed the ego!) But  more and more i realize that blogging will be more than just a cool thing to do... it'll be essential!!

Just yesterday, i had a breakthrough with my promo plan. I was working how how i should send promos, to who, for what reasons, when, etc. It's based on a pyramid system, the higher you go, the more critical and targeted my promotions become. Now, guess what occupies the base of this promotional pyramid?? yup; the blog. The blog will not only be the foundation of my promotional plan and marketing, but i even think, it'll drive more business than any of the other parts of the plan!! Never underestimate the power of referrals!!

Lets face it, the economy is in shambles and there's no end in sight. Due to the internet's scope, speed and availability, print & TV are dying formats. Once fiber optics have been stretched across the country, business will be anything but usual; Working from home, fewer store-fronts,  reduction in transportation & shipping, smaller companies, larger reach, etc. We live in an era which our work and life must be environmentally friendly, economically viable and aid in curing our energy problems. Add to all this, we now have a president who is technologically savvy and is destined to expand our extranet infrastructure. If there are people who haven't adapted and who survive on the fringes of this technology, they can kiss their future good-bye. Not being a part of this wave is equivalent to handmade manufacturing over industrialization.

The internet is all about the search.  We know the data and info we need are out there on the web. We know there is a solution online for every problem that arises in life. The issue will be finding it faster and easier. Marketing online will be about just that; how to be found quicker and easier. How to be listed in the top 10 search results. How to remain inter connected. 

As it turns out, web crawlers, the bots that google and other search engines release out into the wild world of the internet, love blogs. blogs are keyword and link havens and web crawlers have an addiction for both. so they hang out around blogs and constantly index the info and keeping branching like a crazy six-degrees-of-separation junkie.  If i write about using a strobe and mention David Hobby or link to his site Strobist, the web crawlers will add all this info to strobist's already mighty indexed site and by pure web crawler magic, i am linked to any search done for strobist (albeit, i'll probably show up at the end of the list). but the more keywords we have in common, the more we link to each other and the more people click thru our links, the higher the search results will be. (something like that!!)

Therefore my reasons to blog become a necessity of business survival in these difficult times:

A. Sharing info and tips

B. feedback on my work

C. strengthen brand

D. Network and stay in touch

E. free method of promoting my work

F. and finally.... drive up traffic to my website

I already tap into several blogs that have very high traffic: Chase Jarvis, PShizzy, John Harrington, Rob Galbraith, David Hobby, Joe McNally, Trey Radcliff to name a few. These guys are already blogging gurus in their own rights. They're also super-photogs and extremely good at what they do. Chase Jarvis has established world wide recognition thru all his internet activities (blogs, Vlogs and such). David Hobby is invited to every corner of the world for his lighting seminars. Rob Galbraith is the Drudge Report of the photo biz world. The interesting thing about all these blogs is that they more or less focus on different aspects on the industry. They all share an enormous amount of information, valuable tips and techniques and insight. All for free.

And so, it'll be my challenge to 1. have the discipline to blog and 2. find an relevant topic to blog about.

Again, these first few blogs will not be interesting on any level. They're purpose is to prepare me for mid March when the final phase of my blogalizing is complete. (evil echoey laugh)