Jain Lemos » Photography and Publishing

Geese at Balboa Park Lake, San Fernando Valley, California. ©Roli Shalem

Los Angeles-based photographer Roli Shalem sends me a blast email. “Hello there, I have been shooting editorials all over Europe & the USA. I am producing only high quality images.”

So I click through and find this shot that makes me smile. I was surprised to find out this photo was taken in San Fernando Valley. It just doesn’t look like California to me. Probably because Roli grew up in Tel Aviv and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, New York and Vegas. I asked Roli if I could post it here and share with you. Roli wins high marks in my book for adding captions to his photos!

I had a great chat with Sean Arbabi the other day. Sean is always fired-up about his work and his enthusiasm is completely infectious. His new book, The Better Photo Guide to Exposure (Random House/Amphoto), is out and doing well.

On top of his new book, Sean is also producing and hosting a TV show about photography called “Photo Guru.” The show’s premise is to give viewers practical information about everything photographic in an entertaining way. Sean likens it to Emeril Lagasse’s cooking show where audiences learn pro techniques via an engaging personality, a la, “Kick it up a notch.” Photography hasn’t had a singular face for the masses and Sean is filling that gap as demand is growing.

Sean’s lessons are great to share with family and friends who want quick tips on how to make better images. For more of Sean’s entertaining voice, read his blog.

Visions of Paradise, ©2009 National Geographic

The 20 winning images in National Geographic’s “Visions of Paradise” photography contest have been selected. Photographers were asked to submit images that best represented their unique vision of Heaven on Earth. The winners will each receive a customized edition of the National Geographic book “Visions of Paradise,” with their winning photograph as the cover image.

The competition ran in conjunction with the publication of the book “Visions of Paradise,” in which National Geographic photographers were asked to provide images that reflected what they considered as perfect, spellbinding or most divine in the world.

The winning “Vision of Paradise” contest images can be viewed at the competition Web site.

After being on a roll yesterday because I figured out the installation and database config, I’m on the fence right now about ProPhoto2. There are some great features but also some areas that aren’t customizable. Yet. I’ll stick with it for awhile. I have a few goals in mind:

1. Expand my services to include creating photo blogs.
2. Feature publishing projects and photographers.
3. Provide new photo ideas for you to ponder.
4. Spend more time here and less time on Facebook.
5. Continue my own blogging journey, which brings me great rewards.
6. Encourage you to work every day on: One photo, one caption, one pitch, one blog post.

Over the holiday break, I had many conversations about the future of publishing and photography and I’m certain you did, too. It was a mixed bag. The big “thing” seems to be landing projects that have a lot of potential outlets but there is little money up front or on the backend. We are all working for less, hoping for more. The demand for quality photography didn’t go away and won’t go away. But the distribution of work is changing and licensing models are, for better or for worse, more simplistic than ever before. What does all this mean? I’d say: Let’s stay in shape to go the distance. Create something every day and don’t grade yourself too harshly. One photo, one caption, one pitch, one blog post. Yes, we can.

Santa was kind to me, and soon I’ll be experimenting with ProPhoto2. It is one more tool in my heavy kit. Productivity is my game plan for 2009!