The difference between utility and utility plus beauty is the difference between telephone wires and the spider web...



Hey everyone! Kind of odd to take it from baby photos and beach/sunset shots to spiders but hey, I've got to keep you on your toes! I took these shots on Saturday night when I was out in the garage. I noticed a spider had built a web from our roof to a bush nearby so I worked in and got a few shots. As I discussed with a fellow photographer who asked me about it, using the 60mm macro that Nikon makes can get pretty interesting when I'm working that close to a subject with fangs. It's all worth it though because I truly believe the 60 is the sharpest of the Nikon macro glass.

I've told the story before but the worst it has gotten for me is having a banana spider fall down my back between my shirt and back while I was shooting another banana spider in front of me. I guess I bumped the web and the spider fell off, right down my back. I still get chills thinking about it but we both survived to live another day.

Here are a few more shots from my nighttime spider shoot:









Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you have enjoyed the shots and hopefully they didn't creep you out too much! Be sure to stop by again soon!

Anna Maria



Hey everyone! Working in a Monday evening post so lets see how it goes! Before I get started: SUBSCRIBE :-) to my blog so you get an email every time I post. I know some of you have blog readers but now that I'm not doing a post every day the feed is a great way to keep up with what is going on, so sign up. I know how many subscribers I have now (not many) and I'll check again in 24 hours and see if anyone listened ;-) I promise no annoying spam or unnecessary emails.

Anyway - on to the show....Friday we drove over to Anna Maria Island for the day to celebrate Brittany's birthday. This was also Riley's first trip to the beach so we really weren't sure what to expect. Don't worry though, we did not spend a ton of time on the beach and only went out near sunset so his sun exposure was low. Being raised by someone who has had a melanoma has made me very aware of the damage the sun can do and I'll definitely pass that knowledge on to Riley one of these days. Anyway, we had a great day. We enjoyed a great lunch at the Star Fish Company seafood market and dockside restaurant and then made a trip to Britt's Aunt's Hair Salon/Bar on the island "Hairs To You Salon & Spa." I'm serious - during the day you can get your hair cut and it is also a full service salon and then as the day turns to night, it converts into a full bar. Really cool concept and we had a great time! Check it out!

After that we headed out to the beach to enjoy one of those great west coast (of Florida) sunsets. Here are some shots from the sunset:







The rest are here.

With all of the difficulties being caused by this oil spill looking at the amazing beauty of our coast and the Gulf waters really reminds me of how beautiful and delicate our environment really is. I hope and pray that somehow the whole Gulf coastline can somehow survive this disaster.

In some completely unrelated and happier news. Today I won something. I like most people feel like I am in the category of "never wins anything" but every now and then I have lucked out and won some type of drawing. This time it was a big one! I found out that I was 1 of 25 people who won free dinner for a year (actually just once a week but still awesome) from Black and Brew in downtown Lakeland. They were running a fundraiser to raise money for the United way and you could donate and get up to 3 entries. I made my donation and got my entries just in time (last week of the contest) and saw their tweet today that said the list of winners was up. I stopped by during lunch and checked the list just to make sure my name wasn't on it (helps with the disappointment factor) but sure enough, it was there! Definitely glad I made the donation to help and happy to win since Black & Brew is one of my favorite hang outs for lunch! Thanks!

Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the photos and if you're in Lakeland check out Black & Brew. Be sure to check back in soon! Let me know what you think and be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter!

Welcome back. Not a ton of time to write a long post but I did manage to work through some more Riley photos to post so check them out:









Thanks for stopping by. Time to head to bed - going to the beach tomorrow for Brittany's birthday. Happy birthday Britt!

Decided to take a break from the golf photos and post a few shots of Riley. These aren't the most recent shots (and actually they are from his first week home) but I took so many shots in the first few weeks I'm still going through them all. Anyway, I promise to get through them but here are a few for now:









Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you back here soon!

See what happens when I cut out the every day posting thing? I got busy and missed a week. Ugh. Speaking of busy I still haven't had a chance to sift through all of my images from the Players Championship last week. Anyway, I have finally found the time to sort through and edit some of my photos from the first round of the Players Championship. Below are a few of my favorites from Thursday's action:



















If you'd like to see the rest of the set from Thursday click here!

A little update as to what is going on with me - If you haven't gathered already I had a great trip to Jacksonville. Shooting the tournament is always an unbelievable experience but it was also great to visit with so many family and friends while we were up in Jacksonville and introduce Riley to everyone. I am so lucky that Brittany and Riley joined me on this short trip - especially since it was Britt's first Mother's Day. If it wasn't obvious before, the evidence continues to roll in, she's the best there is.

Work is going well and busy as ever and every day is a new challenge to say the least. When I got back to Lakeland after our trip I found out that I was elected to the Steering Committee for Emerge Lakeland. I am really honored that I was nominated and elected and can't wait to get started! Thanks everyone - big things to come!

Finally what everyone cares about (and probably the only thing in this blog), a Riley update! He's doing great! Every day he grows and changes. He's smiling, laughing and really turning into his own little guy. He's so funny to watch and play with and there is NO better feeling in the world to have him smile at you. Everyone that has been a parent says that it is the best thing and it changes your life but really you can't know until you experience it, and it definitely is. I'm truly blessed!

I've got to get some more (and recent) photos posted soon and promise that I will try! Be sure to check in again soon and if you haven't already sign up to get notified every time I make a post and/or follow me on Twitter! See you soon!

The Players Championship - Round 4

So it turns out that the photo I posted from the third round of the Players in my blog yesterday ran on the front page of the Times-Union and it was big! What a crazy way to start my day! They also used a few more photos of mine in the section and some friends jokingly started calling it the "Tim Darby edition" of the section on Sunday. It was truly an honor to see my work in print and so prominently displayed and its an honor that I have had the opportunity to work with such a great group!

After that start the tournament actually went pretty well. I actually made a stop at the store before getting to work and when I got back to the media room all hell was breaking loose as Tiger had just withdrawn from the tournament. I immediately ran out and managed to take this shot as he left the fitness trailer and headed to a car which was used in the Times-Union's photo gallery:



Once we were out on the course it went pretty smoothly and I had a great time watching the final round develop. I have yet to sift through all of my images from this week but I will share one more before signing off tonight and going to bed and that is of our winner Tim Clark:



Congrats Tim! If you'd like to see the rest of the gallery and a few more of my photos from the final round click here What an amazing weekend with family, friends, and great golf. I'm so thankful that I have been given the opportunity to work with such a great group at the Times-Union and I hope to do it all again next year!

That's it for now. I'm tired and sore and can't wait to get some sleep! Thanks for stopping by!

The Players Championship - Round 3






What a great day! We all thought it would be a bit less hectic today since the field was cut in half and one putt on the 18th hole on Friday managed to cut the final field from 85 to 70. What a crazy game! Anyway, I had a pretty good day shooting and there was lots of great action. I haven't had a chance to edit any of my shots from today because I don't have all of my cards (had to leave some with the editors at the media room) but you should definitely check out the gallery from the third round and look for my shots! Click here to see the gallery!

Thanks for checking in and be sure to keep up with me tomorrow during the final round! See you then!

The Players Championship - Round 2



Day two is in the books and it was another hot one! Seemed like today there wasn't as much cloud cover or a breeze so the breaks in the air conditioned media room was a welcome relief. Got to see a lot of the big names again today and saw some great golf, including an eagle from the rough on #5. It was an amazing shot! Can't believe we're already halfway done with the tournament. I only have half of my photos today because I left one of my memory cards in the media room to be uploaded and looked at later tonight. I do have a few to share, first off the Times-Union used a few of my shots in their web gallery today and if you'd like to see those click here and be sure to look at some of the other great galleries on the page. Here are a few more that I edited tonight when I got home:

















If you don't already follow me on Twitter be sure to check me out as I am posting some updates throughout the day while I am out on the course. Thanks for stopping by!

The Players Championship - Round 1



Wow what a day! Not a ton of time to post. Got into Jacksonville later last night and it definitely feels good to be back in my "home" while I was in law school. It also feels good because it's time again for the Players Championship and I once again have the amazing opportunity to help out The Florida Times-Union. I'm honored and lucky that they continue to think of me this time of the year! This will be my third Players and it's just as exciting as walking into the media room for the very first time!

It's midnight and I have just now finished uploading and looking through my shots for the first time. I wanted to sift through and edit a few to post and show off on the blog. I am going to ATTEMPT to do this for the next three rounds but that will depend on how much time I have and how late I am at the course each day. Worked the front nine all day and didn't even see #17. Sometimes I have more fun doing it that way as I know I'll see my share of 17 when the weekend rolls around. Day 1 is definitely about getting shots of everyone doing well and it's definitely the most difficult because the field is spread out everywhere so it is tough to get everyone. After lunch I was with Tiger Woods' group for almost the full front 9. It can get really difficult dealing with the crowds and still manage to do your job. Here are a few more shots from Round 1:













Well that is all for now. Sorry for the crappy watermark but I'm not working off of my own laptop and this is better than nothing! Thanks for stopping by. Time for some much needed rest!

Along Came a Rights Grab...



http://www.popphoto.com/travelographer2010/

I rarely post anything negative on my blog but I have decided today to take a bit more of a proactive approach in educating/warning my fellow photographers as well as some of my non photographer blog readers to some things that I don't think are right in the photography world. Honestly there aren't many. Most of the community whether professionals or beginners are very nice and willing to share their knowledge and experiences as a photographer. My first profession is as an attorney and after taking some classes and falling in love with Intellectual Property law I educated myself as much as possible since these laws had a major impact on my #2 profession photography.

My #1 problem with this business that I have only dipped my toe into is the infringement of a photographer's work. Straight up stealing. Up until a week ago I did not have any personal experience of having a photo stolen. That changed quickly and if not for a friend and an internet forum I still may not have known about it. Speaking of straight up stealing, my #2 problem is the rights grab, specifically in the realm of "photo contests." Thanks to reading the Photo Attorney's blog and her book I am way more educated and understand the rights a photographer has and how people and companies attempt to steal a photographer's work for free while making a strong profit.

If you look at the "Travelographer of the Year Contest" it looks pretty cool. Flashy web page sponsored by a very popular photo magazine and some pretty large camera gear manufacturers, nice web page layout, and wow look at those prizes:

- 1 grand prize: 6 night stay for two all inclusive vacation $3,420 value with a lot of cool perks

and

- 5 second place prizes: Olympus E-PL1s with 14-42mm lens; approximate retail value $599.00 (yay?)

As a photographer you may say "heck yeah where do I sign up?" - hold on a sec. Before entering a contest like this be sure to click the rules section as it may wake you up a bit if you can sift through all of the legal mumbo jumbo.

Fortunately for us, Popular Photography magazine doesn't beat around the bush in their thinly veiled attempt at a photo rights grab as the rules section is relatively short and straightforward.

Here are some highlights:

- All submitted entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned

- There is a ten dollar ($10) fee to submit one (1) photograph into the contest, and a fifteen dollar ($15) fee to submit two (2) to five (5) photographs to enter the contest. (Awesome! So not only are you not going to pay me for the rights to my work, I'm going to pay YOU to take them!). That's like you paying me to punch you in the face.

and finally the icing on the cake:

- By entering, you grant to Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to edit, publish, promote, republish at any time in the future and otherwise use your submission, along with your name and likeness, in any and all media for any purpose, without further permission, notice or compensation.

Wow. So in short:

1. You pay them to enter their contest
2. Every photo you enter is no longer yours (whether you win or not!)
3. The "sponsor" now has a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to
- edit
- publish
- promote
- republish at any time in the future with your name/likeness in any/all media for ANY purpose WITHOUT further permission, notice or COMPENSATION

Now lets run the numbers. Before I delve too much into this, I'm a lawyer, I don't do math, nor do I like math so forgive me in advance for anything that may be incorrect here.

Let's take a super conservative guess and say that 20,000 photographers enter the contest and only enter one image each. With a publication of this size that's really not much of a stretch. That alone with the $10 entry fee we are already at $200,000. The "sponsor's" total cost (if the trip and gear wasn't donated to the magazine): $6,415 for a total profit of....................

$193,585.00

not to mention the tens of thousands if not more of stock images they have acquired while charging $10 for each "entry."

Must be nice. Clearly, I'm in the wrong business.

This is a textbook (and horrible) rights grab. Popular Photo Magazine and American Photo Magazine along with their editors, photographers, and sponsors should be ashamed. What is being promoted and achieved from this "contest" is destroying the photography community that we all enjoy as we celebrate and share our work while being properly compensated for it.

The fact that a magazine that I subscribe to would even think of participating in such a joke has already made me reconsider my upcoming subscription renewal. I have also taken a look at sponsors/advertisers of the magazine. Sony, Tamron, Fuji Film, Popular Science, Sanyo, Mentor Series etc. I'm looking at YOU! If the magazine you are advertising with is going to be associated with this kind of thievery, I refuse to send my money (or work) your way either. Period. I also encourage, and challenge, the photographers that are listed or featured in this publication or are in any way associated with it to use your influence to help make the rules to these "contests" more fair to everyone involved. I won't name names but you know who you are.

I honestly wish I had more readers so I can get the word out about this (and other) ridiculous photo rights grabs, but maybe some of my friends will help get the word out! I am not telling you to not enter into this competition or any other "photo contest" but I implore you to read and understand the rules and ramifications involved in submitting your photos. Prove you aren't as uneducated about your rights as they think you are!

Finally, if you feel that your work is good enough for first or second prize in this contest, there is likely someone or quite a few people willing to properly compensate you for your hard work.

Know your rights! Thanks for stopping by and spread the word!