As I'm looking for a new place, I thought I might post this offer and see if I can gain some interest. I am a professional photographer. I had a photo studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for many years but had to drop it in 2009 for the economy. I am now looking for a new place - Brooklyn (likely williamsburg or bushwick), Manhattan, possibly even LIC or South Bronx or somewhere else. Here's the thought - if 2, 3 or even more photographers get together and find a space that has bedrooms for each plus one space that's big enough to have a studio and combine our studio gear (i already have enough gear for most needs, I sold some in 2009 but still have a full kit) we could each use it as needed to shoot. I'd like to keep individual rent under $1000 because our industry is still in flux, so a 2BR under $2000 or a 3BR under $3000 for example. I have a business model for a rental studio so we could even possibly rent it out when none of us need the studio area and split the profits.


If you think this might make sense for you, email me with your portfolio and I'll respond with mine. Stable people only please, if you aren't currently making your living off your photography please tell me how you do make a reliable income. Other industry professionals (makeup, hair, stylists etc) are also welcome but in that case I'll probably be looking at your work and thinking about whether our work jives well enough that we might be able to collaborate.

I think this could be a fun creative environment for those of us that can't imagine separating our work from our personal lives. Do you?


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Jessica Castellano released her 2012 collection on her site jessicacastellano.com today. Inspired by fire and ice it is a continuation and development of her 2011 collection. The variety of materials she uses in her work creates a mixed media feel while her careful composition results in a harmony that is both exciting and unique.

I'm seeking one or more talented, experienced and connected stylists to join my team. My two go-to stylists have moved on to other things, one to Paris and the other is now busy as a magazine editor. If you are interested, please demonstrate that you have and understand the following things:

1. I will test with you at least once before ever bringing you on a paid job
2. You can create something out of nothing
3. You don't think it's your show. We each have our role, we're a team and we work together.
4. You have connections to pull from showrooms. If you're still at the buy/return stage we won't fit
5. You understand my style and can contribute to making it better.
6. You have a portfolio and other ways to demonstrate 2 through 5.

I have at least two great concepts that I can use to test you out, and if we work well together then they should generate publishable content for tear-sheets, so even if it doesn't result in a long term relationship this could be beneficial for the right person.

Please email me with your information. If you are not a stylist but know people that are, please forward this on.

Thanks!
Sander


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"I need more sales. I need more donations to my organization. I need more people to know who I am or what I'm doing. I can't afford to pay someone to do this so I guess I have to do it myself."

Many of us, including myself, are in this position. It took time to figure all this out, but there are no super-secrets here. I'm putting all the most important components together in an easy to digest format. This way you don't have to struggle through it like I did.

I am writing this primarily to help some not-for-profit organizations I work with. However I will keep the terminology and techniques general enough that anyone can benefit from them.

I'll start with a chart, after which I'll explain each of the elements and how to take advantage of them.

Come one come all! I'm embarking on a new project and I need volunteers to help me out because the budget is close to 0. What I can promise is a fun time and a beautiful result. If you or anyone you know would like to be part of this or can help out with resources, please let me know. Also let me know where you or that person is. Depending on where things come together this could happen in New York, the Poconos, Philadelphia or perhaps somewhere else. If you want to be a part and it's happening in a different place than you are I will try to help with transportation and expenses.

Think:
Fire and Ice
Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Moulin Rouge
Masks
Rubulad
Stage
Carnivale/Carnevale/mardi gras
dreams
And much more

I'm interested in:
A Location - a stage perhaps? An old train? Where can we create this?
Extras
Masks
Costumes
Set and props
Fire dancers
Ice sculptors
Hair/Makeup/Styling that's cosume/fun/colorful
Fun musical instruments/players (hungry marching band style?)
And anything else you can think of that falls into these lines!

Help me create a strange world where anything is possible and please pass this on to others you think may be interested in being part of this!

Thanks!
Sander

sander@sander-martijn.com
347-952-5236


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Often colleagues send me an articles. A lot of times I find them to sound interesting while spreading misinformation. Rarely intentionally, it's much more often that information is left out that the author either thinks is not important or perhaps doesn't know. An articleI read today, "K is the new black" is a good example.

It's an interesting article explaining why color of images can be so inconsistent. However the author makes a bunch of assumptions that are probably too often true on the web but tackles why that creates a problem rather than why it happened in the first place. The article is well written and researched and I don't question the information. I also don't know whether the author knows what I'm about to say and chose to discuss the next level deeper or doesn't know it. 

What's important is that for 99%+ people (including most visual professionals) what he is saying doesn't matter if you read what I say here.

Diamond Ring: $4873.91

Nikon D3s: $5089.95

 I took a deep breath and walked into the small elevator, pulling my light kit behind me. The doors closed but the buttons were locked. I would get off where the elevator took me. If you've never been in a private elevator you'll have to trust that it's a bit disconcerting to walk into a small box and just wait to see what happens.

When the door opened I was greeted by my client, an elegant well dressed man. Standing slightly behind him was a kind quiet woman - his wife. As I looked around at the room behind me I realized I had stumbled into the most luxurious Manhattan apartment I had ever set foot in. It wasn't decorated in my taste, but every detail had been attended to and every single item shouted elegance and high price tags. I suddenly wished I had quoted a higher price.

As a photographer and writer I spend a good percent of my life telling others what I think they should see, how to look at it and even suggesting things to think about. This isn't because I feel my view is better or more important than others, it's just an innate desire to share mine. I, as with most people, am always working to grow, improve, change and do better. Sometimes the best way to do that is to look outwards, and that's what I'm doing here. Today I'm asking for your opinions on how I can do better this year. Your comments on my photography, my writing or anything else will be read and thought about and help me solidify my direction for this year.

Kodak recently announced the likelihood of filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 unless it is able to sell some of its' patents to raise capital. Even if they are able to do this the writing is on the wall. The era where Kodak was a household name has long been over.

You: a fashion designer, musician or someone else that needs professional quality photography work done.

Me: A professional photographer that delivers the quality you need every time.




But 2011 was a tough year for most of us, especially creative professionals, so maybe you don't have the budget you'd like. Sure you could lower your standards, but what if I could give you another option?

In 2012 I'm asking you to take advantage of your network, and if you do, I'll give you something for it. For every single person or company that books a shoot with me and mentions your name, you get 25% off your shoot, up to a completely free shoot for every 4 clients you bring to my roster.

So tweet it, facebook it, send out an email, make some calls - whatever you think would work best, but don't forget to tell them to give me your name when they call me.


This promotion has no limits, no fine print and I won't put an expiration date on taking advantage of the discounts. But if you do still have any questions about it, feel free to contact me.

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Before I was a professional photographer I was a web developer. When times are slow in photography, I have a pretty good fall-back, and that has pulled me through the last year. Many of my clients already have a webhost or choose one without consulting me. In almost every case it supports LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) which are the requirements for the system I build in, but also in most cases it falls short on performance.

As most people do, I take a new year to reflect upon the past one and contemplate my plans for the coming one. I do this twice a year actually, once around the New Year and again around my birthday which is midsummer. It usually won't affect either my short-term goals or my long-term goals, but it can help solidify my medium term goals. In this post I will share some of those thoughts, focusing mainly on the imagery that I am proud of. Not all are "great" images, but all are photos which helped me grow or mean something to me. I'll save the best for last and end with a general outline of my plans for 2012.

When photographing someone else's art, it's important to remember that the other artist is more important. Lighting for flat art (eg. paintings, other photos etc) is a textbook job that should be taught in lighting 101 and is explained in great deal in Light, Science and Magic.Photographing other types of art can be more challenging and also at times more creative. One type of art I have enjoyed photographing several times is tattoos.

Out of curiosity I asked the only politician I personally know for their thoughts on the Occupy movement, This is coming from a young progressive politician, who I will allow anonymity out of respect and because it should probably be edited and reviewed before becoming an official standpoint. That said it's interesting and worth a read and I was given permission to publish it in its' current state anonymously. Near Boston (and this was one of my questions due to the recent violence there), so some of it relates directly to the movement there. 

I had hoped that the movement would have greater direction and clarity by now, but instead it appears to have descended into greater chaos. The number of special interest groups we now have has ballooned - anti-zionists, Puerto Rico Independance advocates, and religious zealots present for example. Additionally corporate interests with tables, widescreen TVs and professional mobile photo studios have carved out a space for themselves. Many seem to be here more for the excitement and free food than for the movement. There were at least as many people with cameras as people protesting and that somehow feels wrong enough for me to put my own away. Seeing people in line for free food while discussing an image on their iPad2 just doesn't feel right either. On top of that the area is largely disorganized and dirty and the flowers are starting to die or have been trampled on.

Note: This is a follow-up to my first article on the subject, This is our time, our 1969 - reflections on Occupy Wall Street - if you haven't read that please do before reading this one.

I've been to Liberty Square (officially Zuccoti park) three times. As I get ready to return there I want to share my thoughts on the movement, what I see versus what media is reporting and the conclusions I came to.

I have a new piece going up in a group art show in Stroudsburg, PA today titled "The monster in the mirror". The theme of the show is Monsters, so I figured rather than go the traditional route I would do a slightly more psychological piece about how you present yourself is not always what's going on inside. Hope you like it, and if you're in the area of Stroudsburg, please stop by Dreamland Creations to take a closer look!



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If you're like me you need all the power you can get out of your Mac. You also either never use the Dashboard or rarely do. The only thing I use it for is I have several instances of the world clock in it set to different timezones so I can check what time it is for various friends and clients before contacting them. Other than that I don't even look at it. Some time ago I had the bright idea that maybe I could make it more useful so I added a bunch of different widgets, arranged them nicely and then promptly forgot about it.

Yesterday and today I have two new articles up on The Phoblographer. Take a look:


Ten Ways to Take Better Photos Without Spending More Money


No matter what your photography knowledge level or equipment are, you can take better photos today than you did yesterday without spending a dime. Every one of my suggestions can be applied whether you’ve had professional training or not, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re using a $100 point-and-shoot or an expensive DSLR. Geared primarily towards amateur hobbyists, perhaps those of you with more experience can get some ideas as well. Here are some suggestions that are independent of gear.










Review: Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Superzoom Lens


When Tamron announced that they had won the EISA award for European Zoom Lens of the Year 2011 – 2012 for their 18-270mm superzoom (Nikon Mount, Canon Mount), I figured it was time to give this superzoom a review and see what all the excitement was about. My first question was what does 18-270mm even look like?











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I've always been ok at doing my own Search Engine Optimization (SEO) work. Not the best, but ok. So I was dismayed last week when I discovered What Page of Search am I on and found that for my most important keyword combination for my main site Sander-Martijn.com, "New York Fashion Photographer" I wasn't appearing in the first 10 pages - which means no one would fine me, at least not with those keywords.

My Grandma once told me a story about how when she was just out of art school she did paintings on commission for a church. Her dad thought that they were going to try to rip her off and suggested she send it C.O.D. She did, and the paintings were returned.

She used this as part of a justification for not being a professional artist.

At the time I took it for what it was worth. After all, as a freelancer I've gone unpaid by my share of clients, so I understood. But today I was thinking about that story and I thought how absurd is that? If someone was supposed to deliver a product to me and then I would pay it but they sent it C.O.D. first off I probably wouldn't have the cash on hand to just pay for it right off, but even if I did I likely wouldn't do it because the idea would piss me off so much. I admit I live in a different era than my Grandmother grew up in - perhaps C.O.D. was a perfectly acceptable form of delivery in that day, I'm really not sure - but it did set my wheels turning.

The other day I had the opportunity to photograph Jessica Castellano's collection. She's an extremely talented young designer who is going amazing places (you can't argue with an Elle spread of your first collection) and I'm excited she chose me to represent her work in photos.

Please check out the ads on this page, and if I link to something I talk about and you want it, buy it through my links. They support my continued writing.
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 A year and a half after the earthquake in Haiti the tent cities are everywhere. The Cholera epidemic is worse than last year, and there is little construction to be seen. There are expensive white Range Rovers and Land Cruisers driving everywhere with the logos of every aid organization imaginable driving around at $5.00/gallon but what are they doing?

Tons of photography sites are built in Flash. I would almost venture to say that most are.  Although building any site but most specifically a photography site this way makes little sense and less sense all the time, I see them every day. My only explanation beyond people not knowing is that it's self propelled at this point - as in "everyone else is doing it" syndrome. Well here are a few reasons to consider other options when building your photography site.

In case you missed the event or if you were and want a referenee, here is a pdf of the slides from my event at B&H "So you want to be a fashion photographer?"

The books I mentioned were Light, Science and Magic for lighting, and Photography: Focus on Profit
for business.


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On my trip to Haiti in 2008 I became close friends with Joel. At the time he was 23 and doing odd and end jobs at Hopital Albert Schweitzer in facilities while working to finish High School. One day he might be painting, another day cleaning, another day working on a truck. Whenever he wasn't working we would hang out. He was a good friend and took me places I wouldn't have been able to get to on my own including trips into the mountains (where I took the above photo), and out to clubs and concerts. We've kept in touch as much as possible since then but with limited internet in Haiti it hasn't been often. While in Haiti last week I was excited to visit him and see what he's been up to. Impressed would be the understatement of the year.

The Phoblographer’s Father’s Day Gift Guide

 My ultimate guide for a Father's day gift for the dad that loves photography. 9 out of 10 of the ideas are under $100 yet he'll love any of them!  Check them out and make him the happiest dad on earth this year. Take a look at my suggestions.



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Today my second installation of my Field review on the LiteTrek Portable Strobe Kit from Impact was published. My recent post Sexy squatter at an abandoned factory is directly related - I was doing the shoot and testing this new amazing equipment at the same time. Its' always fun testing gear, but the LiteTrek Portable Strobe Kit is one I really want to keep as it really opens up the kinds of work I can do.


Please check out the ads on this page, and if I link to something I talk about and you want it, buy it through my links. They support my continued writing.
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I've often said that I shoot when I'm happy and write when I'm sad. As an artist I can say that this is certainly true, that I have the inspiration to take photos when times are good and the desire to write when things are not so good. Now that I do both professionally, I'm not so certain either one can be said.

 Today I review The Lowepro CompuDay 250 backpack at The Phoblographer. Summary: it rocks.  You can buy it here.


Please check out the ads on this page, and if I link to something I talk about and you want it, buy it through my links. They support my continued writing.
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