Written By:
James Wong
Speaker, Photographer, & Blogger


It’s hard to beleive that less than a decade ago, 35mm film photography was still the dominant form of photography documentation, with the exception of Polaroid camera and Kodak APS (24mm) platforms.

In 2002, digital photography outsold traditional film photography, and ever since then, the photography industry has never been the same.

Shifts In Technology

2003, saw the introduction of disposable digital cameras which fueled the public’s curiosity for the new photography medium, but at a cost-effective price point. Once everyone became more comfortable with the technology, and the price began to drop to reasonable levels, the general public flocked to digital.

However, it wasn’t until 2004, when digital camera resolution and pricing made the medium a true competitor to film quality. Once cameras hit the 6.0MP and 8.0MP (MegaPixel) milestones, consumers could now take and print photos up to 8×10″ with little distortion. This technological feat met the consumer requirements for 95% of the average consumer. By the end of 2004, Kodak announced that it was abandoning the Kodak-branded film camera industry altogether. Nikon followed suit in 2006 that they would stop the production of all but two models of their film cameras; the low-end Nikon FM10, and the high-end Nikon F6.

In the same month, Konica Minolta announced that it was pulling out of the camera business altogether, but would later be purchased by the Sony Corporation just prior to it’s introduction into the Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) market with their ALPHA series of camera platforms.

This shift in technology, consumer expectations of quick project turnaround, and elimination of expensive film packs, drove the mass migration of most photographers from the film to digital medium.

The Industry Saturation of Photographers

Unfortunately, this migration while cost effective, also broke down the barrier between professional photographers and amateur photographers, since most consumers could now purchase high resolution digital camera platforms at relatively affordable price points. Previously, the unreasonably high-cost of photography equipment and supplies kept the industry better controlled and monitored, as most photographers knew one another and collaborated on various projects. This saturation of a once elitist-industry, has spurred much suspicion and distrust toward the industry.

The negative reputation focused on the photography industry primarily revolves around the fact that there now exists so many self-proclaimed “professional photographers” in any one area, that consumers assume they are all the same. Therefore, when a client receives unprofessional or poor quality service, they assume this is standard throughout the industry. This of course is an inaccurate judgment, but an assumption shared by many.

Suggestions on Photographer Selection

As a full disclaimer, it should be quite obvious that I myself am an experienced photographer, but even I don’t classify myself as a “distinguished professional photographer,” though many would disagree. The reason being, is that I provide media services (Photography and HD Video Productions) on a side-project basis.

My full-time professional job requires much of my time, and I value having a personal life. This is common, since the photography industry is so competitive, and few photographers can afford to do it full-time.

What to Look for When Choosing a Professional Photographer:

• Ask to see their portfolio — Most legitimate photographers have websites.
• Request client references and testimonials — Legitimate photographers should have experience with clients of all types, including organizations.
• Ask about their equipment — Camera platform, lighting, backdrops, etc…
• Inquire about their experiences — Ensure that they have the experience in the type of photography you need.
• Ask about their studio — Full-time photographers typically have a private non-residence located studio. Part-time photographers will either rent a studio, or have a private in-residence studio. Location doesn’t matter so much, as long as their portfolio, references, and studio seem legitimate. It’s fine to request photos of their studio.
• Bring a friend — If this is your first session with a new photographer, and you’re not comfortable, it’s best to bring along a friend for security. If the photographer refuses to allow you to bring a friend, DO NOT use that photographer.

These are just a few of the things I suggest to all my clients and friends, when in the process of selecting a photographer for their special events. Of course, these are just suggestions, and you may choose to add or omit certain criteria as needed.

Ultimately, sometimes the best choice is the one that feels the most comfortable. If you trust the photographer, and you get along with them well, and their work is of the quality you require, then they’ll most likely be the best choice for you.

I hope this article helped to shed a little light on the transitioning photography industry of today. Feel free to view a brief summary of my Media Production Experience, and let me know if there’s anything I can do to assist you or your organization.

Photography By:

James C. Wong
10-23Productions.com & NauticalUrgeMedia.com


View the Full Flickr Album: American Cancer Society’s Durham County Relay for Life

We spoke in detail about the Film Industry and emerging technologies affecting video production studios worldwide.  We ultimately talked about film formats and even camera platforms, and stumbled upon a discussion about the Sony HDR-FX1, which is a camera platform that I love dearly and still own to this day.

The Sony HDR-FX1 is a 3-CCD High Definition Prosumer-Level Camcorder that records in 16:9 aspect ratio onto mini-DV tapes.  It’s a solidly reliable camera platform that is able to get into places and angles that most other cameras of it’s day simply couldn’t.

In the office at my day job, I use the Sony HDV-XR520V exclusively for high-definition video productions.  It’s small, extremely reliable, and uses the latest on-board Hard Disk Drive technology to store recorded video data.  However, this camcorder lacks many of the industry standard options that the HDR-FX1 contains.

As a prosumer-level camera platform, the HDR-FX1 uses optical zoom technology, and allows for full manual control over such settings as: focus, iris, shutter speed, EV, saturation, audio and more.

This conversation brought back memories of truly rich and wonderful video production projects that I have worked on while using the HDR-FX1. Having the type of manual control over even the most trivial of settings, allowed me to have the ability to customize the picture to my ideal look and feel.  A level of video customization that just isn’t available in even today’s high tech consumer-level point-and-shoot camcorders.

It was a pleasure speaking to this individual on my flight into Las Vegas, and I wish him and his production company the best of luck in today’s competitive video production industry.  Our conversation brought back many fond memories of various projects long forgotten. In fact, it’s rejuvenated my interest in producing low-budget film projects that have been on the “back-burner” for years.

Thank you to the gentleman that will remain unnamed on last night’s fateful flight.  Your life’s calling has reignited the fire within myself to revisit those projects left unfulfilled.

Sincerely,

James C. Wong
Passenger, US Air #Flight 383

“I am a passionate photographer and video production specialist who has had the opportunity to shoot such people and events as: The Carolina Opera Company (Puccini’s Madama Butterfly), Miranda Lambert, Brian Davis, Jason Michael Carrol, Jake Owen, Ariel Down, Jam Pain Society, Sonic Flood, Selah, Toyota AMA Arena Cross…, Southern Extreme Rodeo, and many more special events.

I also shoot real estate, scenic, weddings, and modeling photography… if any of this subject matter offends you, please simply un-friend me. Thanks.”

Photographers have long had a horrible reputation by those outside the industry.  This is due to the few bad apples and less than professional “photographers” in the industry.  The problem isn’t so much that there’s a small percentage of unethical photographers, but the fact that there’s a huge percentage of individuals with little experience pretending to be legitimate photographers.  In fact, only a small percentage of photographers possess the equipment, experience, and clout to have earned the right to identify themselves as professional photographers.

Luckily, I am not one of those aforementioned individuals.  I have always treated my clients with respect and dignity, and shortly after posting the above statement, I received a flood of support from past and current clients in my defense.  I appreciate all of the support and kind words, and I wanted to share their testimonials with those who were lead to believe that my work and professionalism was anything less than respectable…


Courtney Garrett
I’ve loved working with you, you handle things very well in a professional and mature manner. Your work is very well attentive to the subjects and something anyone and everyone can appreciate.

Lilyn Hester
Wow, you’re really multi-talented James…I didn’t know you did so so so many things. I’ll keep you in mind. Good work.

Heather Lovvorn
I really enjoyed working with you, you’re extremely attentive to detail and its been a very pleasant experience!

Ellie Hathaway
You are always so much fun to work with, and make it a great experience for everyone. You have such a talent for capturing just the right moments!

Lauren Wong
I support my husband 100%. If you don’t like what he does then unfriend me as well because I am not going to tell him to stop doing something that he is passionate about!

Kate Williams
well you made me look beautiful which takes skillz so I’d totally recommend you to anyone!

Brandi Westover
You are an AMAZING photographer with a winning personailty! Not only do I love working with you but I love being best friends with you! I LOVE YOU BUNCHES! XoXoXo

Lauren Liles
All of those people are lucky they have someone so passionate about photography to shoot them. Not to mention you are a great person and an awesome friend. You know you’ve got my support

Jenny Kincaid
James is like Ricky Bobby. He wakes up in the morning and pisses EXCELLENCE. Lmao. Lovers you Lil Penguin!

Natalie Wester
James you are amazing at what you do and not only that you are an awesome person! I have loved working with you and look forward to working with you in the future…. You’ve got my support! I LOVE THE WONG!!!

Heidi Jo Turner
James & Lauren…I really enjoy ya’ll and love the work u do. I really hope to be able to do things with yall again because u guys are awesome and I love yall. i dont know whats goin on but u r great and keep ya head up with all the beautiful work u do!

Angela Brown
James I’m sure what ever is going on will blow over. You and Lauren are wonderful people and make an excellent team. Love you both!

This was strictly a studio photography session, with arctic white and jet black (Savage) backdrops.  Lighting was provided by two softboxes with warm accent lighting provided by two modeling lights. As always, the camera platform was the Sony Alpha A-700 DSLR.

Though we have known each other for a few years now, this was our first photo session together, and her first ever photo shoot.  We genuinely had a blast, and are looking forward to shooting again soon, especially for a new project that I’m currently working on — details to be announce shortly.

Selected Photos from Amanda’s Photo Session

However, in lieu of providing the services myself, I decided to take this opportunity to see what my young protege, Courtney Garrett (@C0urtzCrazy), could produce. I was pleasantly surprised by the photographs produced by Courtney, as this was her first professional event. I look forward to seeing her portfolio and professional experience expand in 2010.

Since she is still working on constructing her own blog, we’ve decided to feature her work here on NauticalUrgeMedia.com.

Location:
Solas Dining & Lounge in Downtown Raleigh, NC

Event:
Triangle Interactive Marketing Association (TIMA) Social Networking Event

View the Full Album on Flickr.com

A recent CNN article highlights the controversy surrounding BeautifulPeople.com, a dating site that markets itself as an elite community for beautiful people with a “strict ban on ugly people.”

The admins of BeautifulPeople.com have recently exiled 5,000 members for gaining too much weight over the recent Holiday season, and the public is outraged, as can be expected.

While I disagree with the discrimination of  individuals for gaining a few pounds over the Holidays, I must however, agree with the admins of BeautifulPeople.com for upholding the principles and values of their online community.

I understand that to many, the above statement seems contradictory, and in some ways it is.  An individual must look at both sides of the story to truly understand the purpose behind the actions taking place within this community.

Why Did This Happen?
BeautifulPeople.com was founded as an elite online dating community; founded on the niche premise that all members must be “beautiful” in the eyes of community members.  Therefore, under those terms, the 5,000 members in question were flagged by their fellow community members as no longer meeting the criteria for membership within the community.  The administrators simply upheld their principles and values of their niche community and swiftly retracted membership to the affected 5,000 former members.

Is This Wrong?

Well, in the court of public opinion, is seems that many are outraged by the decision and have taken a negative stance toward the site.  However, in terms of proper community management, values, and standards, the site admins did exactly what should have been done to preserve the community of which they founded.

Why Should Communities Uphold Fundamental Principles?

One of the fundamental challenges of both online and offline communities/lodges/clubs, is that failure to uphold the fundamental values and principles of such communities, can and often will be detrimental to the membership quality of said community.

Many online communities boast about their niche memberships, yet they often allow anyone to join their ranks for sheer numbers.  Facebook was once a niche community of College and University alumni, until they opened their doors to the general public.  With the sudden influx of members that did not share the commonalities of the original members, some of Facebook’s original membership have since moved on to other communities that still preserve the types of niche communities they value the most.

As a former Sysop/Admin of various online communities, I urge fellow Community Managers and Admins to setup fundamental principles and values for your communities, and to preserve them as much as possible.  While this strategy may hinder membership growth initially, it will however, dramatically increase membership quality.  Some of the most successful online communities are based on a high quality membership base which acts as the foundation for future growth and success.

Selected Photos from Melanie & Heidi’s Photo Session

MorrisonPoe performing at the Berkeley Cafe in Raleigh, NC on May 27, 2006

Recently, I decided to revisit the photos that I had taken at the concert, and digitally edited them for creative effect. These are a few of the photos that I selected for creative edits…

Location:
Downtown Raleigh, NC

Concert:
MorrisonPoe

Selected Photos from this Album

Miranda Lambert performing at City Limits Saloon in Raleigh, NC on February 26, 2006

It was a pleasure photographing Miranda Lambert at CLS.  Her energy and passion for her music energized the crowd, even though it was quite apparent that she has just gotten into town just for this specific concert.  It’s truly amazing how musicians are able to keep such a hectic lifestyle.

Recently, I decided to revisit the photos that I had taken at the concert, and digitally edited them for creative effect. These are a few of the photos that I selected for creative edits…

Location:
Downtown Raleigh, NC

Concert:
Miranda Lambert

Selected Photos from this Album

Melanie and I have been close friends ever since we first met.  Her personality and humor is contagious, and anyone that has ever been touched by her friendship, knows how truly special people like Melanie are in the world.

For weeks, we’ve talked about doing a downtown themed photo session, but due to our schedules and weather, we weren’t able to get together.

However, this weekend we were finally able to coordinate our schedules and shoot out in downtown Raleigh, NC in the beautiful North Carolina weather.  Accompanied by her long time best friend Heidi, and my beautiful wife Lauren, we produced some great shots in just a few hours and two locations…

Location:
Downtown Raleigh, NC

Model:
Melanie W.

Camera Platform:
Sony Alpha A-700 DSLR

Selected Photos from Melanie’s Photo Session

Video & Photography By: James Wong, NauticalUrgeMedia.com

So my good friend Taylor Barr needed some help with his Ford Fiesta Movement Mission for August 2009, so we got together on Saturday, August 29th and rocked it out!

I shot with a Sony HD Camcorder (as always), as well as some “vblog-style” (VBS) video via my Sony Webbie and Taylor’s Flip HD. The post-production editing was done Sony Vegas Pro 8.0. The entire production and post-production time frame was basically 24 hours, so it was a quick job, but the entire project came together quite nicely…

This Month is Social Activism Month. We took the time to visit one Big Brother and one Big Sister from the Big Brother Big Sister of the Triangle. In between hanging out with the two stellar mentors, we ran into the Panther Creek Marching Band, donated some money, and listened to some great music! Enjoy.

- Taylor Barr

Executive keynote presenters from Forrester Research, Hewlett-Packard, Intuit, Xerox, Intel, Welchman Pierpoint, Portland Trail Blazers and more; sharing their insights and ideas about Internet strategy — How to best leverage the Internet & integrate it into business strategy.

Having attended this conference last year, I had huge expectations for the 6th Annual Conference, and to my delight, all my expectations were once again satisfied in excess.

Featuring highly respected speakers from some of the world’s most established brands, the Internet Strategy Forum has once again provided a highly detailed and thorough conference which allowed these business giants to share their unique insights into how their organizations have been able to leverage the power of the internet, and to develop their brands and following while decreasing overall marketing expenses through Social Media strategies.

The Featured Speakers & Keynotes Included:

• Jeremiah Owyang
  Sr. Analyst, Forrester Research
• Katherine Durham
  VP of Marketing (Imaging & Printing Division), Hewlett-Packard
• Johan Jervoe
  VP of Creative & Digital Marketing, Intel Corporation
• Sheila Tolle
  VP of Marketing Small Business, Intuit
• Duane Schulz
  VP of Interactive Marketing Xerox
• Lisa Welchman
  Founding Partner, Welchman Pierpoint
• Chris Dill
  Chief Information Officer, Portland Trail Blazers

As was the case last year, and which I hope to continue in years to come, I posted many of the key points to my Twitter Stream (@CommunityMGR), and the following are the key points which were included in my stream…

• Amazingly, my @BrightKite posts from #ISF 2008 are still on PG #1 of the Portland Governor Hotel: http://su.pr/30bHmM – #ISF09

• Katherine Durham, VP of Marketing, Hewlett Packard. 50% of Top10 sites are Social Media related. #ISF09

• Mobility Trend: 85% of Consumers have Mobile Access. Video Trend: 77% of Americans watched a video last month… #HP #ISF09

• Review Trend: Instant Credibility via peer reviews. Negative Reviews can actually convert at higher rates due to ALT Peer POV. #HP #ISF09

• RT @caseorganic People spend 14 hrs/wk or 40% of time online, whereas advertisers are spending 5% of budget online. @KatherineDurham #ISF09

• HP Success Factors: Maximize Online In-Store Integration, Integrate Social Media, Commit, & Experiment. #HP #ISF09

• HP Consumer Data: 96% of Consumers Research Online, but 79% of those Consumers still purchase In-Store! #HP #ISF09

• Social Networking at HP: Listening is good! Talking is good! Collaboration, Sharing, Developing FRIENDS: Trust, Context, Ideas. #HP #ISF09

• Social Networking: Make it easy…Give to your friends…Tell a story…Share the spotlight…Be a good friend! @KatherineDurham #HP #ISF09

• Neg. Reviews can drive conversions because what doesn’t work for one consumer, may be PERFECT for another consumer. #HP #ISF09

• Measurement: Targeted Auduence, Blog Mentions, Tweets, Social Bkmrks? Est baselines and rank. What’s the current tone? Be innovative! #ISF09

• PPL have always talked about your products, but now what they say is permanent and worldwide. Power shift from Company to Individual. #ISF09

• CEOs and Journalists are some of the LEAST trusted. Only 30% Trust what Companies say, and are more inclined to trust peers. #Intuit #ISF09

• New Norm: Voice of Individuals is unleashed. Cost of publishing is $0. Individuals about belonging, self-esteem, self-actualization. #ISF09

• Fastest growing group on Social Networks (ie: Facebook) are over the age of 45! Social Equillibrium from young to older. #ISF09

• The Traditional News Cycle is too slow. News outlets are picking up stories days to weeks behind emerging Social Media Channels. #ISF09

• Channels like Twitter allow companies to help customers WHERE THEY ARE. Personalize with indiv photos, NOT logos as avatars. #Intuit #ISF09

• “Crashing” other peoples Communities without engaging = FAIL. Choose the SM Communities which contain your audience and engage! #ISF09

• Top 5 Challenges: Low Budget, Lack of Staff, Lack of Career Path Opportunities, Not High Enough Management Level, Competitive Salary. #ISF09

• Businesses which fail to realize the importance, role, and potential of the Internets’ impact on business are subject to dying off. #ISF09

• “Without STANDARDS, Wikipedia would look like most of your websites…” quote by Lisa Welchman ~ Ouch, and yet so true! LOL #ISF09

• Ice Breaker: “Cursive is a dinosaur language. It’s all about DIGITAL today!” (ie: “idk”) #ISF09

• Power continues to shift to communities over brands- ultimately resulting in institutions. @jowyang #ISF09
• Technology Changes > Drives Consumer Behavior > Business Adoption… #ISF09

• 5 Eras of Social Web: Relationships, Functionality, Colonization, Context, & Commerce #ISF09

• Linkedin’s Application Framework: The Intranet has been outsourced to Social Networks. “Fishing where the Fish Are…” #ISF09

• Trend of applications becoming more important than traditional websites. Corporate websites continue to fragment into Communities. #ISF09

• The Era of Social Context: Social Contracts will emerge. Consumers will share info in exchange for improved experiences. #ISF09

• Social Networks will become next-generation CRM Systems. Advertising Agencies could flip to representing the Community to Brands. #ISF09

• SM Challenges to Consider: Privacy, Social Network Burn Out, Legal Issues, Noise from Ambient Intimacy, and Extremism. #ISF09

• Era of Relationships: Join the conversation where it exists; Fish where the fish are! #ISF09

• Era of Functionality: Shatter your corporate website; let it spread to the Community. #ISF09

• Era of Colonization: Focus on advocates, and aggregate the conversation. #ISF09

• Era of Context: Flexible Websites, and more content inventory. @jowyang #ISF09

• GI Gen (84+) and Baby Boomers (44-63) are both Generations concerned with things GREATER than themselves… So what happened? #ISF09

• 28% of the typical workday is interrupted by unwanted info. Most B2B Companies waste the bulk of their digital marketing investment. #ISF09

• Chris Dill, CTO of the Portland Trail Blazers agrees… there are SERIOUS problems with the C-Level Execs not getting it [trends]. #ISF09

• When Marketing and IT Departments don’t collaborate on initiatives, you ultimately set your business up for failure… #ISF09

Shortly after the Internet Strategy Forum Summit West in Portland, OR last week, I stumbled upon an excellent article written by Amber Case that visually graphs the Twitter trends, volume, and buzz from the ISF Conference.

Not surprisingly to myself nor @TaylorBarr, quite a few of my tweets were picked up in this blog post, and I wanted to share it with those interested in tracking and visualizing Twitter trends, volume, and “buzz” resulting from events.

Visualizing the ISF Summit 2009
By Amber Case, a cyborg anthropologist, internet marketer, and speaker from Portland, Oregon.

You can contact her at CaseOrganic[at]gmail.com, or on Twitter at @CaseOrganic.

I couldn’t help but see the humor in the fact that when Jeremiah arrived at the SMC Meetup which was held at @WebTrends, the crowd was energized like the scene from Intel’s creative commercial featuring Ajay Bhatt, the co-inventor of the USB.

This was a particularly interesting SMC event for me personally, because while we were gearing up to start @SocialMediaPDX (SMC Portland, OR), I was feverishly tweeting away in the #SMCTriangle SMC-RDU Tweetup in Raleigh, NC.

Nonetheless, once @SocialMediaPDX began, I was solely focused on our featured guest speaker, Jeremiah. The following are just a few of the key points (and tweets) that I took away from the Q&A Presentation…

• SMC Portland’s Summer Social, feat. @JOwyang, and moderaterated by @UncleNate. #SMCPDX – Photo: http://bkite.com/09TJX

• POST = People Objective Strategy Tools… Methodology to a successful Social Media Campaign. @jowyang #SMCPDX

• “Should my small business be on Twitter or SM Channels?” – Is your target audience on the SM channels you’re planning on utilizing? #SMCPDX

• Social Media doesn’t scale – 1:1 Relationships don’t scale! Focus on word of mouth; also encourage audience to support each other! #SMCPDX

• “The biggest Social Network is EMAIL… fairly untapped resource…” by @jowyang #SMCPDX @iContact FTW!

• Yahoo is typically a yr behind the “ball,” but their new platform integrates enough SM tools to be a potential “player.” @jowyang #SMCPDX

• SM Trend for 2010: Social Pollinating and Aggregation… Integration of various trending SM tools into a centralized application. #SMCPDX

• Most brands are just spewing content, but aren’t ENGAGING their clients. This is a MAJOR mistake. SM is a dialogue, NOT a monologue. #SMCPDX

• CRMs are starting to integrate SM tools to log SM data about clients. Challenges: Mapping of Identity & Companies are NOT ready! #SMCPDX

• In Asian cultures they only use their mobiles for calls 4% of the time! Mobiles are used more for SM, Data, and Community. #SMCPDX

• As this Virtual Generation (“Digital Natives”) enter the workforce, Email becomes essential to Online Communications. @jowyang #SMCPDX

While the session did not involve any nudity, the images produced were still quite sensual and accented Heather’s emmence wealth of natural beauty.

It was important to Heather that the images captured both her light side, but also preserves the intrigue and dark seduction that defines her as an individual…

Location:
Apex, NC

Model:
Heather L.

Camera Platform:
Sony Alpha A-700 DSLR

The weather was gorgeous, so we decided to venture out to the lake for a few shots. Heather is a pleasure to work with and her photogenic smile and poses come so naturally to her. We’ve already scheduled a follow up shoot, and I can’t wait to see what amazing photographs we’ll produce from that shoot!

Location: Jordan Lake
Model: Heather L.
Camera Platform: Sony Alpha A-700

The weather was gorgeous, so we decided to venture out to a few local parks before venturing out to Jordan Lake.

Emily is as sweet as they come, and her personality  bubbles through in her photos. It was so much fun spending part of the afternoon with her, and I look forward to shooting with her again!

Location: Cary and Raleigh, NC
Model: Emily W.
Camera Platform: Sony Alpha A-700





















View the Entire Album on Flickr.com

It was a pleasure shooting with Melanie, as her personality and attitude made for very relaxed photos. Her friend Heidi also made the time much more entertaining as well. Melanie is as delightful and fun to work with as she is beautiful, and I truly look forward to working with her again.

Location: Jordan Lake
Model: Melanie W.
Camera Platform: Sony Alpha A-700


















View the Entire Album on Flickr.com