newfoundlandphotographer.ca

I have over the last few months had an incredible amount of trouble with spam traps. Today, again, a client that contacted me initially through the wedding site telephoned to say that they had not received a response to their inquiry. These calls blow me away, because not only do I respond to every message, but I usually do it within a few hours! But without any record of my email address in their account, the recipient will never see my response because my address and message is deemed unsolicited by some brain dead spam trap. The thing is, inquiries through the form are great because it provides me with the info I need to instantly help the client.

Although this case is an exception, it seems that this most often happens with Hotmail accounts (or MSN, or Live, or whatever it’s called this week). Basically, this practice requires that the user wade into their trash pile to look for real messages. I think many Hotmail users are largely unaware of this problem too. It’s easy to just assume that a message (any message) that was sent via a web site form, for example, was simply ignored by someone on the other end. And I’ve heard countless times that Hotmail is unreliable, that the advertisements take too long to load, or it’s just too slow. So why use it?

So this is all very annoying, not only to the account owner, but also to those trying to communicate with them.

I’ve been using another, similar service - Gmail, or Google Mail - for about a year. First I was using a regular Gmail account, but for the last several months we’ve been testing a modification on that - a service they offer to web site owners called Google Apps for Your Domain (I use @kimgoodyear.com, but everything is actually handled by the Google servers with a Gmail interface). Gmail (both versions) has message threading, is fast, has a great spell checker and text-only ads. It also works great with Firefox. But best of all, the spam trap actually works - after months of use, it has only mis-labeled a message an spam once (I’ve watched the trap like a hawk), and I can count the number of real spam messages that have slipped through on two hands.

BUT… because Gmail is still in pre-release, they don’t accept new signups without an invite from an existing account holder. If you’re a Hotmail user that’s reading this and you’re ready for something better, let me know. I’ve got a few invites left, and I’d be happy to send one along.

Just don’t forget to check your spam folder for my response…. _SIGH_

We’ve had some feedback since announcing the changes to our wedding services a few weeks ago - I’m glad to say that it’s gone over well. The majority of comments have been from existing clients. .. here’s a snippet from one such message:

Hello Kim and Jen

“…we are very supportive of your switch to exclusive photojournalistic style. That is why I fell in love with your work and convinced my fiance to spend the money. … Kim’s blog and subsequent changes to the Newfoundland website have given us great ideas. We now have 2 hours we hadn’t initially had between the ceremony and reception that we want to plan to spend time with the immediate family and the bridal party.

Anyways congratulations on your new inspiration. Your change has made our day so much more relaxed and fun. It isn’t that you guys played an influence in it before, but that you have inspired Robert and I to be more relaxed. Thanks again!”

Robert and Renita

It’s so nice to hear feedback from a client, even more so when it’s as thoughtful as this. I’ve been pleasantly surprised upon hearing from people - to think that what we’ve learned and expressed here can have some sort of positive influence on a wedding day gives me a great feeling.

I’m hoping that the type of interaction that should be fostered by this style of coverage will allow me to feel this way more often. It may sounds cheesy, but providing coverage and documenting such important moments in a person’s life is not at all like work. I’m truly happy and honoured to be included in such an event.

A tough question has been playing on my mind:
Is Tyra Banks more convincing on America’s Next Top Model or The Fresh Prince of Bel Air?

Get a load of the requirements for her web site. I feel like a second class citizen with my beat up old clunker. No text version, no HTML… just Flash? …there’s a great joke there somewhere.

There’s not been much activity here lately, mostly because I haven’t been at much in relation to photography. We’re in the process of renovating our home - a complete tear out - so it’s been what seems like one of the longest renovations in history. We had the major work done professionally, but have been trying to complete the finish work in our spare time, of which there is very little. I’ve been trying to use this slow bit before Christmas to get more done on that.

So I’m also trying to arrange a few TFP modeling shoots for the coming weeks - maybe a few before Christmas, but mostly after. Some of the usual crowd that I work with have taken a break as well, so I’m trying to find a few people to get involved, most importantly a markup artist. I’ve also got some new equipment on the way so I’ll be itching to try that out…

On the wedding front - we’ll be offering a new service for next season. We’re doing some research into coffee table books. These are basically professionally printed and bound photography books that contain pictures of… well anything really… I’ve had some done with my travel photography for example. For the weddings though, it will be select pictures from the client’s day. There’s quite a range of services out there, so we’re looking at offering something at a good price, but more importantly, with excellent quality. From what I’ve seen so far, this is clearly a situation of “you get what you pay for”. As I said, we’ve been in touch with a few vendors and have looked at samples, but we’re ordering some of the higher end stuff to see what all the fuss is about. Stay tuned.

So I’ve had a little time to reflect on our wedding work now that the summer season has come to an end. It’s interesting to look back through the sessions and spot the times when we tried something new or different.

It’s not always possible to try something new of course - the opportunity is not always there. It can depend on many things - time constraints, weather, the subjects. Everything has to come together and you have to get some nice solid work before you can go experimenting to capture a really unique shot.

Personally, I think this experimentation is what keeps me going though. One good example stems from something that we tried last year. We had started shooting “candid” style before (aka casual, unposed, documentary, there are about a dozen terms I’ve seen (ab)used), but this one couple didn’t want to pose for anything. It was pretty much a “last minute” wedding, with just the major events and venues booked. Nothing beyond the bare minimum in terms of planning really. Basically the couple had everything arranged, but didn’t stress about the details to the point where it wasn’t fun anymore.

Simply put, the pictures from that wedding came out fantastic. Looking back, it’s clear to see what happened. As we were given the freedom to shoot at will, we were able to capture the natural mood of the bride and groom. We approached or interrupted them just a few times during the whole day, which gave them a type of freedom as well - to be happy and just enjoy each other. In the end, the pictures would tell a story.

So this produces a totally different technique of shooting (I think I got into that a bit before). It was nothing new - in all the weddings previous we had tried to shoot that “photojournalstic” style whenever we could. But we began to talk… How great it would be to shoot in this style exclusively? How far away was that day? We are in Newfoundland - tradition can’t be chucked. Can it?

Then people started to place orders for enlargements, and that answer became clear. They were not ordering the family shot. Not the one of them looking at each other, holding hands either. They already had that from Walmart. They were ordering the shot with both of them laughing. The shot of them sneaking a kiss. The shot of just their hands. Out with tradition? It seemed that way.

I came to the realization that this job didn’t have to be at all like my previous photography gig - and let me tell you - that was a relief.

So in the few years since we’ve started this web site, there has been a trend that, while at first was small, has now become very wide-spread. Initially there were just a few photographers doing it - they were shooting “fun posed” shots and labeling them “photojournalstic”. Now, many photographers do it. The actual, real definition of the term comes from journalism - you know that quote - it’s the “first rough draft of history”. Photojournalism defines a situation where the photographer is documenting an event, as it happens. In other words, for this application “when the subject is not aware of the camera”. But that definition, in my mind, became confused before it became clear.

We questioned the work. Ours and others. We became very critical, mostly of our own. We wanted to do it right. I noticed that when it worked, it really worked.

So, here we are, after a busy year, trying to define our style. While editing, I like to ask myself - “did they know I got that shot?” Is it “real”. Is it emotion?

There is a group that knows. I’ve been looking at the work their members produce on and off for years. The standards are high, and I didn’t know if they’d see that in my work. A few weeks ago I asked them, and I’m glad to say that they did. See what they’re all about on the WPJA web site.

So, starting in 2007, we’ll be shooting in this candid, documentary style as often as our existing clients will allow.

This new direction can perhaps be best summarized by the following quote from the WPJA.

“It is our goal to use photography to tell the story of your wedding day, not dictate it for you.”

We will of course honour any previous commitments and accommodate existing clients regarding expectations for traditional posed portraits. For everyone else - those clients who have booked us based solely on examination of, and appreciation for, the candid work on our web site - we think that they’ll be pleasantly surprised with the way a casual approach can capture the true spirit of the day.

We finally arrived home a couple of days ago. We had a great time in Hawaii. Here are a few more shots…

We’ve got just a few days to go in Hawaii. The weather has been great lately, but we did have a few days of rain earlier this week. It was raining so heavy at one point that the Pali Highway, one of the three major roads that cuts through the mountains, was closed due to a landslide.

We’ve spent all of our time on just one island - Oahu. It’s not the biggest of the islands, but it’s the most populated, know as “the gathering place”. These pictures are from the laid back windward coast where we’ve been staying.

And a few from early morning on the other coast of Oahu, in Chinatown on the outskirts of the capital city, Honolulu.

A few shots from the bustling Waikiki Beach on Halloween night.

And the next morning, hiking the Manoa Falls Trail.