Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s what looks like another fun event put on by my friends at Gangpank,in Chandler, AZ. (If you don’t know about Gangplank and their importance to the tech/creative community in Arizona – please read this article.)

The Chandler Photo Throwdown is a photo competition where Downtown Chandler has been divided into 20 small areas. 20 photographers (professionals and amateurs) will shoot photos of designated areas and post to Flickr – tagged with Chandler Throwdown. (I believe the initial concept for the Chandler Photo Throwdown came from James Archer of FORTY Agency – I didn’t want to not mention that.)

One winning photo will be selected from each area. Plus 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards will be given to the best photos overall at the conclusion of the contest on September 25th.

I was honored to be selected as one of the 20 photographers whose work will be juried for this photo competition.

The above photo is an example of my submission for Grid 19. This photo was taken during Desert Bloom Phoenix Two. (Here’s a cool video of some time lapse photography I did during the same session.) With my camera on a tripod across the street, I set the camera at f11 with a 4 second exposure. I wanted to capture the essence of what was happening inside plus the stream of cars traveling down Arizona Avenue. It was almost as if the cars were passing by not even knowing about what was happening inside or what happens at Gangplank.

I will continue to post updates here as I make progress with my Chandler Photo Throwdown photos.

What do you think about photo competitions? Leave a comment and share your experience. Thanks.

A last minute photo/video assignment came up on Tuesday that has me headed to Rocky Point, Mexico this morning. Chadwick Fowler, one of the people who holds the bar for music photography, asked me to assist him on an ambitious project he is working on for RCPM.

The magnitude of this project is larger than anything I’ve ever worked on and the only time I’ve worked a series of events as a team. I am headed to Mexico, ego aside to work on something special. This project falls perfectly in line with my model of collaboration – I love it.

Circus Mexicus is a weekend of festivities hosted by Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers. We will be working a preliminary show at JJ’s Cantina with all the opening bands, a beach soccer tournament, the main show Saturday night at Changos and then we’ll return to JJ’s for the “Hangover Bash.” I said it was ambitous.

The expectations I have for the weekend are to have some fun, learn a lot, come back a better/smarter photographer, devise a comprehensive PR strategy for the project and GRT2 Studios plus make something we are all extremely proud of afterwards

¡Adios amigos!

The biggest photo fail of the year. Yeah that’s a bold statement but I’m running with it. My Photo365 Project has ceased. (Click here for a link to previous photo 365 video post.)

I have a million reasons why. Well, maybe not a million but there are some reasons why it happened. The main reason – I lost interest. You know I’m a fan of transparency, so there you have it. I lost interest in the project and I’m disappointed.

I noticed interest started to wane when I stopped editing the photos in Aperture. After that I start I stopped importing the shots from my camera. Now we are at this point where I have missed several days in a row and I don’t seeing it starting up again. (Plus, self portraits everyday is harder than it sounds.)

It’s been said that true success can’t be measured until after you experience failure. I look forward to being on the other side of that coin soon.

Have you ever experienced an artistic or photography failure? Please share it and get it off your chest.

Blogging is a great tool for photographers to push their work out into the world. Here are 8 reasons why every photographer should blog…

1. People Get To See Your Work
2. You Can Get Critique and Feedback
3. It Humanizes The Person Behind The Photographs
4. You Can Connect With Other Photographers & Build a Community
5. It Helps With Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
6. It’s a Great Way To Get Hired
7. Position Yourself As A Subject Matter Expert
8. The Amount of Work to for the Payoff is All Worth It.

Do you blog about your photographs or about photography topics? Here’s your chance…post a link in the comments to your blog and let other people find you.

When people ask me what’s my favorite camera they are usually surprised at my answer. I think they expect me to say Canon blah – blah – blah or the Nikon hmm – hmm- hmm. My answer is always the same: The one I have with me.

Usually I have to explain that I am not trying to be flip. That’s my serious answer. Think about it – it doesn’t matter what cameras I have in my in my studio if I miss the shot.

I had the pleasure of listening to Joel Meyerowitz lecture at ASU’s Flinn Foundation Centennial Lecture Series last year. Among the many tips he gave the audience was, “Have a camera with you, expect nothing but be prepared for something.” Great advice from one of the modern masters of photography.

It’s hard for me to expect nothing. Sometimes I think because I have my camera with me some great photograph will be made. That’s not always the case but if I don’t have my camera with me I don’t have a chance at taking a photograph at all.

I like portraits. Portraits that are natural and spontaneous. The other day we were all hanging out in our front yard for Kristina’s birthday. I had the camera with and I was able to shoot the photo above. Sure, I could probably find faults with the photograph but I choose not to. I had the camera with me and I was able to capture  a moment.

Don’t get hung up in the gear – just make sure you have whatever you own available and with you.

Please contact me at grt2@grtaylor2.com if you are interested in a portrait session

I don’t care who you are, at times everyone gets a creative block. Musicians don’t want to play, writers can’t write, painters won’t paint – so why would photographers be any different?

It’s not my place to say why it happens, so let’s focus on what can be done to break through creative block. (This may also be interpreted as what I do to combat creative block.)

(in no particular order:)

1. Exercise – the body fuels the mind
2. Get some fresh air, go for a hike, do something outdoors – anything that allows your mind to wander
3. Have a couple of drinks (*not too many and only if you are of age)
4. Read – Non photography subject matter is usually best for me
5. Watch movies – I find documentaries helps me to fight the block
6. Just walk away from your frustration – Deal with it tomorrow
7. Blog – write an article about something you’re passionate about
8. Paint, Draw, Play Music – participate in another artistic discipline
9. Admire someone else’s work – studying others is a great way to spark ideas
10. COLLABORATE – invite someone else into your artistic world and work on a project with them

I’ve used all of these methods at one time or another and they work!

How do you fight creative block? When you realize you haven’t taken a photograph in days, weeks or months what do you do?

I’m often asked – How many photos of a concert is appropriate to post? Great question. My 100% honest answer is – I don’t know. I don’t know what is right for you but I’ll share what I do.

I have three channels to “push out” my photographs. When I say “push out” I am referring to a post on a general forum whether it be Facebook, Twitter or Flickr. Someplace where I am inviting the general public and fans of the bands to go and view my work.

Almost all of the photos I “push out” are hosted on Flickr. From a storage and accessibility standpoint I really put Flickr to work for me. (It almost always hosts all the images I use in my articles also.) My rule of thumb for Flickr is no more than five (5) photos per concert. (I broke this rule with my RCPM New Year’s Eve photos I posted ten – but that was an extra special concert.)

I think five is a good number. It’s not too many, it’s not too few. You can display shots with different lighting, different movement and use different composition plus highlight different band members. I don’t think you run a high risk of losing viewers by displaying five photographs.

Here’s an analogy: Have you ever been bored to death watching someone else’s vacation slideshow? It’s the same principle.

When it comes to Facebook I post only one or two photos. (If multiple bands are playing then it’s two or three of each band.) The last thing you want to do is inundate your friend’s Facebook stream with your photos and your banter. The same holds true with Twitter. I’ll tweet with links to of my best photos and let people find the other photographs. In some instances, if your photos are really good – other people will be happy to post them for you.

When it comes to my professional portfolio (www.grtaylor2photo.com) I only post the very best shot (singular, meaning one) from the event to my concert photography gallery. That’s it. Nothing less than perfect.

My portfolio is a means for me to secure photo jobs. This is not a place for my friends can see what they missed the night before.

Again, like everything else these are the general guidelines that I use. I use them because it works for me. How do you handle posting your photographs? Do you post them all or just a set number? Leave a comment – let’s talk about it.

Thank you for indulging me with my last blog post and letting me rant about something that has been bothering me. (In case you missed it here’s a link to the last post.) Now back to the matter at hand and my positive demeanor.

The theme for today is simple: Giving Back. How can I help make you a better photographer?

Every time someone visits this site I want them to take something of value away from the experience. It’s a give and take thing – right? You give me your time and for that you should get something in return.

Here some things to give thought to and give me some input on how we can grow together:

What types of articles do you want to read? Post processing, Composition, Equipment…

Do you enjoy the FOCUS series? (Previous FOCUS webisodes: One Two Three) Other photos you’d like to see highlighted?

Should I write more about concert photography? Landscape photography? Portrait photography?

Do you want more quick tip lists? (Like the Three tips for beginners post – click here)

What am I missing? Post your comments with what you want to see more or less of on this site and I will do my best to accommodate. (I am taking requests here…)

The forum is yours – let’s do this together. Thanks!

I woke up the other morning and checked my email. Nothing good so I browse some photography sites and come across an article entitled “A New Type of Theft – Can Post Production Settings be Owned?” on Digital Photography School.com. Unbelievable – someone wants to do what? Seriously?

I left a comment on the site and moved on.

Then I check Twitter. One Concert Photographer is freaking out –  multiple tweets saying he may have to call out this other photographer for biting his site layout and colors. The tough guy even posted the link to the site he was referring to – thereby calling him out. Seriously, you are a photographer in St. Louis and he is in Europe. I really hope no one confuses the two of you. In my opinion you are being a bitch. Deal with it…I said it.

What are you afraid of? Yes someone’s site is similar yours – big deal. Yeah, Adobe Lightroom has an infinite combination of post production corrections, bells and whistles and someone happens to use settings close to what you have used – deal with it. Pissing and moaning and being a baby isn’t making your photographs any better. (Please note: I do think the people I am referring to are talented photographers and this is not a knock on their images.) Why your insecurity is coming out? I really struggling to understand.

Stealing my property is one thing. If you steal my images – I will be pissed and take legal action. If you use anything I have that is under copyright without permission – I will take action. We’re not talking about that here – right?

We are in an era of people (artists) wanting instant millions and instant notoriety. That’s bullshit. No one owes you anything because you can take great photographs. We owe you nothing. If you think you deserve critical acclaim and fortune out of the gates – I’m here to tell you that you don’t. You are owed nothing.

When we take time and try to elevate others we enhance our path. It’s one thing to collaborate with your brother on concert photography but the magic of collaboration happens when you help a complete stranger. Am I to assume that you were born with amazing talents in lowlight photography with your Nikons? No one helped you? If that’s the case – then I stand corrected. If it’s not the case get down off your fucking high horse.

Shepard Fairey & Glen E. Friedman have been known to work together. They came together and made some amazing things happen. (Check out Shepard’s Illustrations of Glen’s photos – by clicking here.) I’m sure their collaborations started with a mutual respect and a desire to make great art. Whatever the case neither one had to work with the other but they did – and we are better for it.

It’s time every eases up and steps their own photography game up and stops worrying about this garbage. Make great photos and you’ll be noticed. Bottom line. If you keep bitching you’ll also be noticed but for the wrong reasons.

And if anyone thinks I stole the title of this article from Glen E. Friedman, you’re dead wrong – he gave me permission. Peace.