*gasp* shadows!

Came across this website for NYC clothiers, Pencey. I love the photos - a very refreshing move away from the soft focus/even lighting/non-shadow imagery that is everywhere these days. Super simple yet effective.

making a bid

A couple weeks ago I was asked to submit a bid for an intl company with offices in DC. They wanted interesting images of the city (DC) for their website. I was given a 5 day deadline to submit the estimate, and final images were due exactly 12 days after the bid was sent in. I called my friend and AU classmate Tanya, who is a freelance photo producer in NYC. She recommended I use BlinkBid to create the estimate (also recommended by A Photo A Day blog, and was super helpful in helping me breakdown the pricing, especially the usage terms.

This part proved to be the trickiest because no photographer wants to give up the rights to the images they created. However, in this instance, I was encouraged by several photographers to include a buy out option, which basically means the client buys the rights to the image. This is often costly to the client. Again, I got some great advice from APAD - one of their Google group members suggested that photographers ask their client(s) if they want to be able to sell the photos to a third party. More often than not, they don't. That essentially means that they do not really want the buy out, but just freedom to use the images. The opposite of a buy out would be rights managed. In the bid I put together, I gave a usage term of 2 years, with renewal due at that time. This would require diligence in keeping up with your books and going back to the client to negotiate this renewal. For me, I thought that a buy out would be most appropriate for this job.

So I created the bid, broke down the usage terms in plain English and provided a cost of how much the buy out would be. The entire bid was submitted for $5000, perhaps too under-competitive. A few days later, I followed up with the point of contact - the due date for final images was fast approaching and at that point, I had about 10 days left to shoot, not including my full time job, Artomatic, and prepping my prints for the AOM show. I received a polite email saying that the deadline had been pushed back and that they would get back to me with more information.

It's now been a week and no word. I don't mind since it was a really good learning experience to put this thing together and understand how BlinkBid works. However, it does frustrate me especially since I can imagine the client balking at the price bid - which according to my NYC counterparts, is pretty damn reasonable for a short time frame and buy out. I'll post updates to this story if I hear anything back from them.

artomatic

Woohoo! I just accepted an invitation to be co-chair of the Artomatic Marketing and Development Committee. As much as I love creating art, I think that arts administration and advocacy are an incredibly important support structure for artists. I'm learning a lot from the past few months I've been working with this organization; from reaching out to potential sponsors, and applying for my first arts grants, to social networking - a lot of very cool stuff going on behind the scenes to bring together DC/MD/VA area artists.

This year's show is taking place from May 9 through June 15. You can see my work on the 9th Floor. I'm heading to NYC tomorrow to print the images I'll be exhibiting. Super exciting!!

f*ckin awesome

best photo essay i've seen in a LONG time. felt like i was on the boat getting seasick while at the same time stifling my giggles at the irreverent portraits (checking out photographs is not in my corporate job description).

sadness tinged with beauty

Is it so terrible of me to think that this photo is beautiful when the subject is suffering? Tyler Hick's amazing photograph of the effect of the global food crisis in Haiti makes me feel like a hypocrite. Is it through gorgeous imagery of terrible situations that we can focus attention on global issues, or does it serve as another beautiful photograph to admire and move on from?

busy sunday

1) I woke up this morning at 7:30AM in a total panic about whether or not to frame my photos for Artomatic. I still haven't come to a decision, but I did select my space (as well as Marisa's) on the 9th floor. We got core wall space (sweet!), and the best thing about our spots is that we won't need to buy additional lighting - a green and frugal move. All that's left to do is finishing the touch ups, send images to the printer, and hang em up.

2) Finished editing the Saks Beauty Bar images for DC Magazine. Hope to see them published in next month's issue.

3) SONGKRAN!! Thai New Year is probably the most festive and crazy Thai holiday. Over there, traffic is blocked for hours because of the water fights in the middle of the streets. Also known as the water festival, water is used to wash away the bad luck from the previous year - most typically from the monks, but the water fights could suffice. At Wat Thai DC there were no water pistols, just stall after stall after stall of food. I did some shooting, but mainly ate. Am feeling very full and very happy.

Flickr contest

So I kind of mentioned in yesterday's posting that my two submissions to Rob Haggart's A Photo Editor Flickr contest didn't make the cut. Boo hoo. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed; I went in with a let's see what comes of it/probably not much attitude though secretly, of course, I was hoping to make it through to the final selection. I just came across Liz Kuball's blog and I really like her writing style - down to earth and a touch sarcastic. I especially love her posting on not making the cut for the same contest.

So here's the posting, all I can say is "word."

photo blogs

It's become a daily habit of mine to check out the following photoblogs. I'm sure they are quite well known in the industry but for those who are like me and just starting to realise the wonder of cybercommunities, here's a quick synopsis:

[EV +/-] Exposure Compensation
This site is becoming one of my favourites. Miguel Garcia-Guzman covers a broad selection of photographers and styles, tips, and resources that always brings me back to his blog.

A Photo Editor
Rob Haggart's tongue in cheek site is very very informative about editorial photography. He recently held a Flickr photo promotion effort (my submissions didn't make the final cut, but its ok), which according to him "connect(s) photographers with buyers for FREE". I also really enjoyed his posting on photographers' websites.

Mrs Deane
A European take on the photo industry, and features a more international spectrum of photographers out there.

Conscientious
Jorg Colberg has some great insights, particularly on portraiture. However, the more I access this site, the more I notice that it is quite narrow in focus. The photogs profiled have feature aesthetics and subjects, particularly desaturated, low contrast portraits and landscapes. It's indicative of the market - lifestyle photography is huge right now and it seems like everyone is jumping on this bandwagon. My concern is that such profiling drives a very particular look which then affect the acceptance of other styles and visions.

The Year in Pictures
Hosted by James Danziger. Has interesting fodder, especially his insights into the industry as a leading New York City gallerist. As an aside, I personally believe that he has had a strong influence on the success of The Sartorialist.

Subjectify
I don't view this blog often, but it does feature some interesting photographers and I like her discussions.

eco-friendly photography

(image borrowed from American Photo Magazine online)


It's hard for me to differentiate which is worse for the environment, digital or darkroom photography. As a lab assistant during university, I was aware that dumping exhausted darkroom chemicals down the drain was not exactly environmentally friendly, and wondered where the barrels of used negative processing chemicals were taken when filled to the brim. I can only imagine how much waste is produced by factories that making silver gelatin photo paper.

Digital photography has created its own set of issues, from energy output to paper waste. American Photo Magazine offers 13 tips to be a green photographer, and like many other publications and organizations, guides the photographer to offset their carbon footprint. I am in complete agreement that we, people as a whole, should take responsibility, but to place the burden on the consumer alone seems unbalanced.

I first started thinking about this a while back when the Australian airline Qantas announced it would provide ways for its customers to offset their carbon footprint: Under the new program, Qantas and Jetstar passengers can elect to offset their share of flight emissions on an ongoing basis by making a small contribution through qantas.com and jetstar.com. But what happens if Qantas fails to achieve all the initiatives outlined in this press release? How are they held accountable (is it possible to)? And is it fair that customers are solely responsible for paying to offset their footprint? I personally think that Qantas should donate a portion of each sale rather than ask customers to fork over additional dollars. It should be an incentive that the customer takes on his/her own. Interestingly enough Qantas recently announced that it is added a slew of new services and features to their economy flights - which I'm sure require a lot of energy use etc.

So going back to American Photo, I would have liked to read in the article how the American Photo office is implementing their own advice. Additionally, I would like to see how companies like HP, Epson, Nikon, Canon - any establishment with a foothold in digital photography - is taking steps to reduce or offset their carbon footprint.

I believed that every individual - within reason - needs to take responsibility for the environment, but companies should share the burden with their customer base.

humanitarian work

The week I spent in Honduras is, I hope, the first of many incredible opportunities to see firsthand the impact that non-profits have on the populations they work with. I was there for a week in November 2007 for a pro bono collaboration between the Virginia Hospital Center Medical Brigade and my daytime job. In addition to managing the entire project (strategic planning etc) my job was to conceptualise and manage the development of the Brigade's first ever website. All the photos on the site designated as Booz Allen Hamilton were also taken by yours truly.

Although I grew up in a third world country, I have never seen as much abject poverty as I did over there. I witnessed and experienced so many incredible things - a 44-lb tumor extracted from a woman's pelvis, an emergency c-section, trekking up a slippery mountain side through coffee plantations... and met a little boy who would not likely be alive in a year. He suffered from neuroencephalitis, which is when there is so much water in your skull that the weight of the liquid pushes down on the brain and basically causes mental retardation. What broke my heart was to learn that his medical condition could have been prevented had his mother included folic acid in her diet (basically spinach). Prenatal care is so rare, but so needed in a country where many women have their first child at age 14 and continue to have 6 or 7 or 8 kids. By the time the last kid is popped out, the mother herself is malnourished and so can barely provide proper nutrition for her children. Its a mess, and the worst part is, that it's a mess that can be avoided.

Photography plays a crucial role in communicating humanitarian issues to audiences who would not normally have first-hand knowledge. Check out these photographers for their humanitarian/documentary work (list is not comprehensive - just a grouping of my favourite photographers that do work in this area)

Sebastiao Salgado
James Nachtwey
Reza
Ami Vitale
Cameron Davidson
Shahidul Alam

april 2008 issue of DC Magazine

published again - check out pages 108 and 112!

january day

how beautiful is this line?
...life itself will decant the excess salt from the sea...

web variations of my name over the years

I love my last name, which in Czech means black cat or alley cat or tom cat (translation depends on who I speak to), but it really isn't the easiest to spell or say out loud. I've always identified myself through my first name, which is why I still get incensed at the mispronunciation of my name, for the record it's Taaaaaara, not Tear-a. But not my last name. I expect difficulty in its pronunciation. Over the years I've tried to make the use of my last name easier on people by not using it all.

My first email address back in high school was pixie17. It seems typical of my high school generation to have several email accounts that had nothing to do with real names. Among my favourites: drunkbunny18. It gives one a true sense of the nightlife scene in late-90s Bangkok. Or my friend's, at least.

I was in 12th grade when, in helping out as a student facilitator for some school event, I saw how my real name could entertain and be played with. Since my last name was long and could not fit on the name tag, I was appointed Tara Koc. My English teacher, Andy Davies - who remains my favourite teacher of all time - with all his toilet English/Welsh/Australian humour, took the piss out of me for this serendipitous abbreviation. pixie17@_.com was shut down and replaced by tarakoc.

I still keep that email address for nostalgic reasons but, feeling pressured by maturity, updated my current address to one that seems more professional. tarakoc became tara.kocourek. As a consultant to the govt, I've had to use federal email addresses to hide my true contractor identity, and recently assigned kocourt. Sounds like yogurt. This morning while signing up for a web membership, another variation of my name emerged: tarkoco.

I doubt the variations of my name will end anytime soon. Case in point: look at the name of this blog: tara.k, updated from my previous presence as tk photography. I don't mind all these changes though, since they reflect who I am at certain stages in my life.