SDuffyPhotography.blog

Reminder! Head over to the new blog!!

Just a quick reminder:

This blog is dead and will not be updated anymore!

Head on over to my new blog by clicking the image below:

Or, if you’re reading this in your RSS reader and want to go directly to the new feed, click here!!

I just posted my first photo essay over at the new site. Come check it out!!

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The End… and the Beginning!

Over the last couple months, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my photography and where I want it to go. I’ve been spending so much time and effort trying to cover all bases with my photography… I started out doing landscapes and cityscapes and more recently I’ve moved on to doing portraiture and even weddings. And I love all of it! But the problem is, it’s just not possible to do it all. At some point, you need to pick a path and commit to it. That time for me is now. In my heart, I want to do photojournalism. And the time has come for me to commit all my resources to that end. So what does that mean?

The Good News

I have two new sites to launch! Well, one is new and the other is more of a makeover and redesign.

The first of those sites is the new ShawnDuffy.com. I’ve completely redone my primary online portfolio. You can check it out by clicking on the screenshot below:

The second is my new blog! It is called Shawn Duffy Photography: The Captions. I’ll be blogging there about my ongoing projects and, in between, I’ll be posting images that you may or may not have seen before and provide a little background information and context. You can check it out (and subscribe) by clicking the screenshot below:

Due to the nature of the blog, it will likely be fairly low traffic but I promise there will be some good stuff there!

The Bad News

In order for me to take it to the “next level”, so to speak, I’ve stopped taking any new portrait/fashion/wedding clients indefinitely. That doesn’t mean I won’t do them ever again. It just means that I am only doing them on a case-by-case basis. It means that, chances are, I will turn down any new work of that type except in very special circumstances. I don’t know what those circumstances are really, I just don’t want to write them off forever. I still enjoy doing that type of photography but it’s not what I want to focus on anymore. And the more time I spend on prepping for shoots and trying to get more clients, the more time I’m taking away from achieving my actual goals. I thought I could do that kind of thing in the meantime and eventually do what I want to do. But it doesn’t work that way. I need to double-down on what I want and put everything into it. Otherwise, I’m not being fair to myself or my clients.

Finally, as you or may not have guessed, I won’t be posting to this blog anymore. I started this blog as a place to meet new photographers and to write about my experiences as someone who wanted to make his passion for photography a career. While I’m not quite ready to make that leap yet, I am almost there and it’s time to start making those steps. While I make those final steps, I simply won’t have time to keep this blog going.

However, I’m not going anywhere quite yet. I’m still around and I’ll still be up for the occasional photowalk. And, yes, I am going to keep working on the 365@50 project!! And, you can still find me on Twitter, or on Facebook, or, better yet, at my new blog!!

This blog will stay up and available for quite a while. There is a ton of content here and I know I’ll be referring to it every now and then. But, there won’t be any new content anymore. I will likely post a few reminders about my move over to my new blog but that’s about it.

I want to thank all of you for reading my blog and helping me to progress as a photographer! I look forward to seeing you over at my new sites!!

  

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No Friday Link Love today

Unfortunately, I simply have too many things on my plate right now to do a Friday Link Love post. Soon you’ll be able to see the fruits of my labor but, for now, enjoy your weekend!!

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A Pittsburgh Wedding

You may remember over the summer I had the opportunity to do an engagement portrait session with Erin and Victor. Well, last weekend, I had the privilege of shooting their wedding. I’ve included just a small sample of the photos from the day. I’m sure you can tell that a great time was had by all:

Click on each image for a larger version…

You can view a few more over at my Facebook page!

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Friday Link Love – 10/09/09

I apologize for the lack of updates this week but I’ve been busy editing photos from the wedding I shot last weekend. In the meantime, enjoy the links for this week!

• Lighting Essentials gives us some insight into his favorite gear.
• DPS wants to know who you have a photography “crush” on.
• Rick Sammon talks a little about how the bad economy can be good for your photography.
• BlackStar talks about something people have asked me quite a bit: Overcoming Photographer’s Block.
• Wanna be a nature photographer? Beware of horny birds.
• Oh, by the way, tell all your friends to be nice to you this month… Why? It’s Photographer Appreciation Month.
• Thomas Hawk talks a little about Flickr’s seemingly nonsensical censorship and obscenity rules.
• Smashing Magazine talks a little about freelance contract tips.
• Do you shoot weddings for a living? I hope you don’t suck. A couple in England just sued their wedding photographer and won.
• PhotoCritic gives us some information about recovering lost images.
• As some of you know, I’ll be working on a documentary photo project with an NGO overseas in a couple months. Photo Business News & Forum talks a little about the NGO mystique.
• Finally, last week I announced my 365@50 Project. Well I’ve just discovered a similar project: Project 10-50. Check it out!

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Friday Link Love – 10/02/09

It’s that time of the week again!

• Photopreneur tells us how to write our way into editorial photography.
• FreelanceSwitch goes in-depth on copyright, Creative Commons, and how it affects freelancers.
• Are you a real photographer? Not sure? Check out this post from Black Star.
• Are you following the right photographers on Twitter? Check this list to be sure.
• Looking for fresh ideas for your photography business? Check out this list of 189 Business Ideas for Photographers.
• DPS gives us 7 Tips for Better First Dance Wedding Shots.
• For a little fun, if you wear bracelets and love photography, check this out!
• Slightly unrelated to photography, but perhaps still helpful, check out 50 Essential Web Apps for Freelancers.
• Finally, I invite you to join in my 365@50 Project.

Until next week!

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Announcing the 365@50 Project!

Ever since I first started taking photography seriously, I’ve always been told how essential the 50mm lens was. So I bought one. However, I was also fortunate to have some other kickass lenses so my small, cheap 50mm, f/1.8 lens just sat and collected dust. I got used to shooting with the 24-105mm, f/4L and then with the 24-70mm, f/2.8L lenses. I felt too restricted with the 50. I was spoiled.

But recently, I’ve been feeling a need to “get back to basics”. A lot of the work I’ve done recently has either involved significant off-camera lighting set ups or were contracted shoots for customers. As a result, I feel like it’s time to simplify things a little and I invite you to join me!

I’ve created a Flickr group: The 365@50 Project.

UPDATE: I’ve created a Posterous site where I will be uploading all of my project photos. You can check it out here: 365@50 Project.

Here are the rules:

“The purpose of this project is to get everyone to take at least one photo every day for a year with a 50mm prime lens.

“Members can submit up to ten photos every day but they all must have been taken by a 50mm prime lens. No exceptions! The group is not moderated but if an Admin notices any photos that were taken at a focal length other than 50mm, the photo will be removed. Repeat offenders may be removed from the group altogether.

“You don’t have to post a photo to the group every day, you just have to take one. So, even though you can post up to 10 photos per day to the group, please only try to post 3 from any one particular day. This will leave you some extra slots for days where you might not have had the chance to upload a photo.

“You can name them anything you like but I would encourage you to include some sort of counter so all of us (including you) know how many you’ve taken and how many you have left. It might also be helpful to include a date. For example:

‘1/365 – 09/26/09′

“Depending on the amount of participation, photos may be featured on my blog on a weekly or monthly basis.

That’s it! If you have any questions, let me know in the comments or over in the group forum.

And, with that, I present to you my first photo, taken yesterday:

I look forward to seeing your photos!!

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Friday Link Love – 09/25/09

And now for this week’s links!

• Chase Jarvis has released his own iPhone app complete with a built-in community. If you have an iPhone, you should really check it out… I’m already using my iPhone camera more than I used to because of this app.
• DPReview has a very in-depth article explaining ISO.
• The French are proposing requiring disclaimers on Photoshopped photos.
• Lighting Essentials gives us a few tips on landing commercial assignments.
• BlackStar talks a little about Creative Commons licensing and model releases.
• DPS gives two great articles: 7 Tips for Better First Dance Wedding Shots and some tips on Rock Concert Photography.
• Google has released Picasa 3.5 with face recognition.

You may have noticed that I also like to include links that aren’t necessarily directly related to photography but may be of interest to photographers. I have a few of those this week for you:

• Mashable gives us two interesting articles: HOW TO: Launch Your Own Indie Journalism Site and some information on PostRank Analytics combines Google Analytics with social media stats.
• AlmostFearless talks a little about how to be a freelancer.
• Finally, FreelanceSwitch talks about some things to consider when putting together your portfolio.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s links!

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Some Shots from Advertising Week

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to cover Advertising Week in New York City for AOL. I was only in New York for two days but it was definitely a hectic two days. One of the events I covered was the announcement that the AOL Running Man had been selected for induction into the Advertising Walk of Fame. I’ve included a few shots of the event below:

You can see a few more over at my Facebook page.

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A Special 13th Birthday!

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen some references to me being hoisted 250 feet into the air on Tuesday. I was doing it to help AOL celebrate the 13th birthday of their well-known icon, the AOL Running Man! In order to mark the occasion, several hundred employees gathered on the lawn in front of the Sterling, VA offices to form a giant Running Man. I was 250 feet above to record the celebration:

Click on each image for a larger version…

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