Signed and Released: Side Projects Are So Good
Common thinking in the photography industry is to always have a side project going in addition to your main job. Work, even photography work, is tough. You've got to have a personal project going to keep you sane.
Turns out having a side project can lead to some really good work too. Just ask Google about their 20% rule.
After a long time of not following this sage advice, I am now fortunate enough to announce two.
The Vancouver Project
A good friend of mine, Andrew Burton, and I have been talking for a couple of months about the rise of DSLRs with video capability and what it the implications for sports photographers.
Andrew had the foresight to see that this new technology would come to head in the very near future – namely the coming winter Olympics in Vancouver. Exploring thought, we also realized that this Olympics would be the first since the rise of the real-time web, live video broadcasting from cell phones, Google Wave, and, and, and.
Our realization lead to a plan of action which we're calling The Vancouver Project. Stop by and check us out.
Shameless plug: if you're in a position to help by spreading the word to the right people we'd love to hear from you.
Linked Photographer
In other news, I'm writing a book.
That is a very weird sentence for me to write. I write posts, tweets, cutlines… not books. But, apparently, that's happening :)
An excellent friend of mine, and phenomenal fashion photographer, Lindsay Adler, approached a few months ago saying that she was looking into writing a book, would I be interested in co-authoring?
Today, I signed the contract. We'll be writing a book that's got the tentative title Linked Photographer. It will be part treaties, part howto, and part reference on how photographers can use social media for business. It's a bit more than a for-dummies book, but
We'll be launching linkedphotog.com soon, so stay tuned!
NBC Olympics: Annoying, Incompetent, Liars?
NBC is doing a heckuva as the US's only provider of the Olympics this year. They've got tons of coverage on TV, and an extensive online coverage system too. Naturally, with such a huge operation there are … difficulties.
Annoyances
Watching the coverage online requires Microsoft Silverlight, which (now) supports Macs, but it means installing some Microsoft bloatware onto your system (yuk).
Silverlight is competitor to the ubiquitous Adobe Flash. In this blogger's humble opinion, MS has no chance to take the market. It's annoying to have to install the software just to watch the Olympics. Of course, kudos to MS for getting their software in such a preimo spot (we'll ignore the MSNBC connection). I sure do wish NBC had provided a Flash alternative though.
Incompetencies
On Technically Incorrect | CNet, Chris Matyszczyk blogged about his experience watching the Olympics online. Let's just say that NBC was less than professional:
Wait, wait.
The scrolling commentary has political news: "Iran, USA detente at the head of the main peloton as Iran's climber Hussein Askari takes a flyer and is joined by (we think) USA's Jason McCartney."
We think? We think? This might be a U.S. assault on Iran. And all they can say is "We think"?
-Censors not able to keep up with NBC's online Olympics coverage | CNet
And, it seems that NBC has concluded that if their talking heads are writing, and not talking, they can spew even more BS than they typically do:
This is how he has just spoken to me in writing: "The first time up the major climb of the finish circuit has substantially damaged the peloton, but we are still waiting on names and time gaps."
So this commentator is telling me he has no idea who is winning, no idea who is second, no idea who is third, and no idea of the time differences between the riders.
Lies
Slashdot is a news aggregation site for nerds. If someone on that site notices something fishy going on with the news media, you can be pretty sure that a) What they say happened, happened. b) It's pretty out of the box because, this is not a site that usually notes this kind of thing. Below is the full text of the blurb on Slashdot.
"Viewing the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony online at NBC's Olympics website, you can see that the order in which the countries were presented was very different from the actual order of the countries in the ceremony, as listed at Wikipedia. NBC skipped roughly 100 countries ahead, then jumped back and forth, apparently delaying the appearance of the United States in its home market until later in the broadcast. (In fact, the US team was shown on the infield before they were shown marching!) NBC did not acknowledge this in its broadcast. Is NBC altering the reality of the broadcast to boost ratings? Was this true only online, or also in the live broadcast?"
-Slashdot | Did NBC Alter the Olympics' Opening Ceremony?
Bear in mind, that if you live on the West Coast of the US you got to watch these opening ceremonies a full half day after they happened – just so that NBC could show it to you in primetime.
I'm going to enjoy the Olympics throughly, I'm also going to take everything that NBC shows with a grain(s) of salt.
Update
Technically Incorrect has posted another article about digital fakery in the opening ceremonies and the continued use of the word 'live.' Read it here.
In case there was any doubt – NBC is raking in the dough from this Olympics. According to Sean McManus, Olympic commercials cost $1 million a piece.
‘Olympicpix’
©Vincent Laforet for Newsweek-Visions of China: A 2008 Olympics Picture Blog
Newsweek has their photographer's blogging their experiences at the Olympics. Very cool for photo junkies (like me). There are some interesting photography anecdotes, and a lot of the stories give you a glimpse into how China is running their Olympics.
Read the blogs here.
CNN.Com Survives Random Outages – CNET News.com
To make the attack on CNN a literal truth, Chinese Hackers have launched a DoS attack on CNN.com. They've got so far as to launch a downloadable tool for all those interested in assisting in the next attack.
How does bringing down a media outlet help stop western media bias? …when the bias is that the Chinese society is closed and not open to hearing outside opinions?
Chinese ‘Free Press’
That's the image that has served as the banner on top of China's largest internet portal Sina.com. C|Net notes the violent imagery against CNN is disturbing, to say the least.
All of this in protest to CNN's 'media bias' against the Chinese.
China Urges ‘Rational’ Protests – BBC
The official Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily, said patriotism should be expressed rationally.
They also accuse the West of supporting Tibetan separatists, and the Western media of bias.
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China urges 'rational' protests
Sort of the anti-protest protest in China, I find this to be… ironic.
- China has heavily state-controlled media. It censors the internet, specifically western news sources and sites (like wikipedia) that could contradict the State's version of events. Complaints about a western media bias are, needless to say, ironic.
- There were less than 1000 protestors. In China, the most populace place in the world, the number '1000' doesn't mean much when it comes to people. It is a very weak show of force. 1,300 people protested in London in the same time frame against the alleged media bias. If Londoners can gather that many people for this cause, than certainly, the Chinese conter-parts can at least match them in numbers. It's almost like a PR stunt by the State as a way to show that their people are behind them.
- China has a history of stopping free speech that they don't agree with. Clearly, they allowed this protest to continue despite being "closely patrolled by police."
All that said. The right to protest and voice an opinion is a welcome improvement to China's state-controlled politics.
Sidenote: a rather funny comic I came across the other day that pertains:
China Spurns Apology, Keeps Pressure on CNN – washingtonpost.com
China's fight with CNN is part of a broader effort to challenge those who question its response to last month's protests in Tibet or criticize the Olympic torch relay, which traveled Thursday through New Delhi under heavy guard on its way ultimately to Beijing.
China Spurns Apology, Keeps Pressure on CNN - washingtonpost.com
There's a great example of how free the Chinese media is – no word of protest against the regime is to be tolerated. Granted, CNN certainly editorialized in their coverage – cropping a photo to eliminate protestors.
Nonetheless, this latest 'offense' took place on the show The Situation Room which is a FOX inspired show on CNN. That is to say, it's full of opinions and not facts.
The Chinese media seems to make a habit of taking a bit of truth (usually a rightful complaint) and spinning to the point where it's unrecognizable.
China ‘Gold Medal’ For Executions – BBC
In case you're wondering what all the Olympic torch protestors have been complaining about, the BBC is running an article about a recent report from Amnesty International on the death penalty around the world. The article focuses on China.
"As the world's biggest executioner, China gets the 'gold medal' for global executions," said the organisation's UK director, Kate Allen.
"According to reliable estimates, on average China secretly executes around 22 prisoners every day - that's 374 people during the Olympic Games," she added.
Apparently, the idea of capital crimes is a bit different in China than the rest of the world:
More than 60 crimes can carry the death penalty in China, including tax fraud, stealing VAT receipts, damaging electric power facilities, selling counterfeit medicine, embezzlement, accepting bribes and drug offences, Amnesty [International] said.
…and the idea of due process is a bit different than western states:
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Beijing, says justice is usually swift - most of those sentenced to death are executed only weeks after they are found guilty.
The article then goes on to discuss the findings in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries – where the death penalty is also prevalent. Iran was the only country to have more reported capital punishments than China.
The report and article end with a call for the world to stop employing the death penalty.
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Olympic Torch Travels on to Oman
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Olympic torch travels on to Oman
Unsurprisingly, the Olympic torch hasn't sparked any protests in the non-democractic country of Oman. Of course it helps that the country is controlled by the Sultan who is an absolute ruler. His interest in limiting any protests is this:
Oman has strong economic ties with China, a major importer of its oil.
It seems that the stop in Tanzania was equally uneventful. The country is democratic, having developed it's government after it's British colonial experience. I suppose that the people of the country have worries greater than the human rights violations of China and/or the freedom of Tibet.
A Lighter Day for Torch in Argentina – washingtonpost.com
Capping a week in which protesters snuffed the torch in Paris and forced organizers to reroute its course in San Francisco, the South American leg of the relay was more festive than disruptive. Small groups of demonstrators held signs decrying human rights abuses in China, but the most serious threats to the torch's progress Friday were a few lobbed water balloons -- easily swatted away by the Chinese security forces that jogged alongside the torch bearers.
A Lighter Day for Torch in Argentina - washingtonpost.com
Well… good news. There were protestors, and they did make themselves heard. It's a shame that they tried to put out the torch – but it's comical that their attempts were primarily using water balloons. …The security people explained before going to Argentina that the torch was propane powered and a rain storm wouldn't put it out, I doubt water balloons will have any effect – let alone enough accuracy.
Looks like the run the Argentina was uneventful, which is great, but the article did have one great quote at the end from an anonymous Chinese blogger in regards to French protestors trying to put out the torch:
"France, I thought you were a romantic and beautiful country but now I realize you are ugly and full of rubbish. No country can stop China from being strong and developing," said one anonymous online commentator.
Me thinks that the Chinese media is putting a pretty strong 'spin' on why these people are protesting. It appears that this guy believes that the West is upset at China's strength and presumable economic progress. I'm pretty sure that the protestors are upset with two things:
- China's human right's violations
- Freeing Tibet from Chinese rule
Chinese economic progress has nothing to do with it, but here's to Chinese censorship!
Olympic Torch Stops in Argentina – TIME
Authorities are deploying 1,300 federal police, 1,500 naval police and some 3,000 traffic police and volunteers — enough to ensure security "without going to the extreme that nobody will be able to see the torch," Irarrazabal said.
Olympic Torch Stops in Argentina - TIME
HAHA…haha…hoho…hehee… *sniff* – oh dear. Well, at least we can still see the torch.
Comm 'on people … isn't this getting a bit ridiculous? I think that Mayor Mauricio Macri who "… urged protesters to stay away and not make "politics" of a sporting relay," is half right. I mean, yes, it is a sports relay – but you're kidding yourself if you think politics aren't involved. The Olympics were created to show international unity – if there isn't international unity (don't know if you've been checking the news recently, but there's not), then people have the right to protest the Olympics.
Protesting is the right of all people who live in a free state. They even have the right to try to challenge something as symbolic as the Olympic torch. Granted – they risk bearing the consequences (and they well should); but they do have that right.
The security around the Olympic torch should lighten up. It's good that they're so vigilant, but they need to understand the right that people have to protest is going to be used. It's their job to 'secure' the torch not to hide it, put it out, put it on a bus in case of rain, or somesuch.
Also on Friday, the chairman of Japan's National Public Safety Commission said Japan will not accept Chinese security guards when the city of Nagano hosts the torch relay on April 26.
"We should not violate the principle that Japanese police will maintain security," Shinya Izumi said at a press conference. "I do not accept the idea that they will run in Japan as they did in other countries."
The Chinese runners, who wear bright blue tracksuits, ran to protect the torch in London and Paris, where chaotic torch protests interrupted the relay. Beijing has said only that the unit's mission was to guard the flame.
Way to go Japan. I'm well aware that there are greater political statements to be made hear than: 'the Chinese security are overbearing and out-of-line,' but I'm hopeful that Japan at least will host the torch correctly – displaying it proudly and let the protestors do what they may.
What the Heck Is Going on…
"The men in blue perplexed everyone," she said. "Nobody actually seemed to know who they were officially or what their title was. They were kind of very robotic, very full on."
Top Cops Protect Olympic Flame - TIME
My last post encouraged me to do a little bit more searching into the Olympic torch journey. Apparently, these Chinese men in blue are the official security detail from China. They're the ones who decided to put out the Torch in France and have been very rough with … everybody. Be they protestors, torch bearers, or the Chairman of the Olympic Committee (really, read the article).
Several thoughts occur to me:
- If the Chinese are this serious about security, then the chances of a terrorist succeeding in Beijing are very small, go China.
- The fact that these high ranking security guards only understand basics of other languages and were chosen based on how "tall, handsome, mighty, in exceptional physical condition similar to that of professional athletes" they are means that the Chinese are just going to run this Olympics their way – forget everyone else.
- That's not necessarily a bad thing. It might help us westerners better understand the Chinese way of doing things.
- …or it will just piss us westerners off and cause all kinds of incidents
(oh, yea, and I really do like this slideshow from Time that I keep pulling pictures from.)
San Francisco Takes Olympic Torch Off-Route – washingtonpost.com
"I took my kids out of school early to see it," said Greta Keegan, waiting patiently on a curb along the announced route with Cormac, 9, and Maeve, who turned 12 on Wednesday. By 2 p.m. there was no sign of the torch
San Francisco Takes Olympic Torch Off-Route - washingtonpost.com
I thought the French were stupid when they put the Olympic torch out themselves and put it on a bus surrounded by roller-blading cops. But we Americans, have topped that. In San Francisco, they changed the route and didn't bother to tell anyone.
The whole point of the torch going through a city is so that people can see it. Hiding it for security concerns is just dumb. If people want to protest, then that's their right, for that matter, it should be encouraged!
Having the Olympics in Beijing is very controversial, the US and French governments agree (in part) with the protestors. Here's to the Brits for handling this right.
