ken zirkel

So, my father died last week, and I wanted to put together a photo gallery of photos of him. Digital was easy, I have everything keyworded, and a few minutes of searching came up with all my photos of him, as well as my “picks” of him, thanks to my photo organizing software. I have [...]

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Here’s one of my stock images in use, on the back of a brochure for a college.

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The furor across the web about microstock has largely died down, but clearly there are still people out there who are (understandably) threatened by it. The argument, most recently expressed by Kenneth Jarecke in The Online Photographer, goes something like this: Time Magazine used to pay $4,000 for a cover photo, but now they only [...]

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My iStock image of Pomham Rocks lighthouse was used on the cover of this street atlas of Rhode Island. Original image here: Somebody at American Maps must like me, since they used another of my lighthouse images on their Cape Cod street atlas.

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Someone on Reddit asked advice on becoming a professional landscape/wildlife photographer. I’m not a pro, but I’ve followed the industry for a few decades from a few different angles, and I have met a lot of professional photographers. Anyhow, this was my reply: I don’t want to discourage you. I’d never want to discourage somebody [...]

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Constantly look at the media all around you. Pay close attention to commercial photography; not photojournalism or art. I’m talking about photos that are used in posters and advertisements, magazine articles, travel guides, church newsletters, even (to some extent) magazine feature articles (not news), etc. What kinds of imagery are they using and why? What [...]

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I found myself headed for the in-laws house over Columbus Day weekend; they live in Nassau County, Long Island. My wife agreed to let me take an overnight lighthouse trip, and I decided that, starting from Nassau County, a tour of coastal New Jersey lights would be just the ticket. My timeframe was short: just [...]

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While browsing a bookstore in Hyannis, we came across this Cape Cod street atlas. On the cover is my iStockphoto of Nobska Lighthouse in Falmouth. Original image at iStockphoto:

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In January of 2008, the NY Daily News asked if they could run a photo I took, for their print edition. “It will probably run as a thumbnail,” the photo editor said. They offered me their standard rate, which was US$150. Last week, the Huffington Post asked if they could run a photo of mine [...]

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People are always asking me what kind of point-and-shoot camera should they get. They want the best! So, I immediately start thinking of some great cams in the US$400 and up range. Then they come back with, oh, it has to be under US$150. Um, right. So, here are the standard links I send folks [...]

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