Quincy Art Center celebrates World Art Day

By in Art World News

Quincy Art Center celebrates World Art Day

QUINCY (WGEM) – It was a dual celebration for the Quincy Art Center. Not only was Saturday World Art Day, but the center also celebrated their 100th anniversary.

Staff invited the public to a reception which featured a collection of 100 pieces from renowned local, regional and global artists which included pieces by Fritzi Morrison, Wayne Thiebaud and Pablo Picasso.

Experts were available to give a background on each piece for those who attended.

“World Art Day is a celebration in our community,” said the Quincy Art Center marketing director Kelsey Deters. “And Quincy is so lucky because we have such a rich art culture. Visual arts obviously, but all of the arts are huge in our community. We love that Quincy has embraced so many of the arts organizations in town.”

Quincy Art Center has another celebration coming up in May. They are calling all artists in the community to submit their work to go on display. For more information, click here.

Copyright 2023 WGEM. All rights reserved.

Column: Photographers Give Us a Clear Picture of Our Lives

By in Photography

Column: Photographers Give Us a Clear Picture of Our Lives

The heart and soul of any community newspaper is photography. Documenting news visually is a critical element to any publication, but it’s the everyday reflection of how we live that marks the strength of a community newspaper.

The Pilot has been blessed over the years to have community journalists who thrived at doing that. For almost 50 years, the name Glenn M. Sides graced much of our photography. Glenn could race out of the newsroom when the police scanner crackled with breaking news, but he was equally adept at just driving around and capturing everyday scenes across Moore County. Those scenes spoke volumes about how we lived, the pursuits we enjoyed, the sports we played, times of joy and sorrow. His photography over the years told the story of Moore County in ways that millions of words could not have captured.

Behind the Scenes of a Natural Light Portrait Shoot in Costa Rica |

By in Photography

Behind the Scenes of a Natural Light Portrait Shoot in Costa Rica |

If you’re looking for tips on how to shoot natural light portraiture, you might find some useful information in this video. If not, just watch a stunning photoshoot happen in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

If I had to pick my favorite country I have ever shot in, it would be difficult. Trying to answer the question theoretically has me torn several ways, but one of the top contenders without a shadow of a doubt is Costa Rica. There aren’t many places I have been that have given off the sense that you’re in some tropical land quite as frequently and as strongly as Costa Rica. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to utilize the stunning light, natural beauty spots, and attractive locals for portraiture, and this video makes me feel all the worse for it!

Irene Rudnyk is an excellent portrait photographer and going behind the scenes on one of her shoots is always valuable insight. In this particular shoot, you can see Rudnyk work with only natural light, which can be tricky, particularly when the light is dappled and warped by trees and the ocean. Nevertheless, the shoot yields some superb images of local model, Maya.

Do you prefer to shoot natural light, strobes, or do you mix it up?

Frame.io C2C Photography Workflow Introduced – FUJIFILM RAW Images, Plus Capture One Integration

By in Photography

Frame.io C2C Photography Workflow Introduced – FUJIFILM RAW Images, Plus Capture One Integration
Frame.io C2C Photography Workflow Introduced – FUJIFILM RAW Images, Plus Capture One Integration

Frame.io has just announced new updates to its Camera-to-Cloud service: after two years of focusing on video workflows, frame.io is extending the service to still photography. Together with their partners FUJIFILM and Capture One, they have created a workflow for team collaboration on video, still images, and design files. Let’s check out what’s new.

If you are not familiar with frame.io or you even never heard about it, it’s been about two years since they released a Camera-to-Cloud workflow for video, film, TV, and content productions across the industry. Please check out a few of our articles about frame.io here and here, and make sure to watch an interview with Michael Cioni from frame.io here. Even the CineD crew is using frame.io for reporting news from the NAB Show 2023.

Frame.io introduces C2C workflow for photography

Photographers will be able to rely on a cloud-based RAW workflow with the new in-camera C2C integrations when shooting on FUJIFILM X-H2 and X-H2S cameras. Users can upload RAW, JPEG, and HEIF stills into frame.io directly while shooting.

The images are backed up in the cloud pretty much immediately and accessible through the web app, for clients or other collaborators to review. The FUJIFILM X-H2 cameras can also upload up to 8K ProRes clips to the cloud, for teams who are working with both stills and videos. Just keep in mind that this will also be an automatic backup service for everything you create!

Frame.io Photography Workflow: Capture One integration

The photography app Capture One is also integrated to further enhance your C2C workflow. Now you can share images directly between Frame.io and Capture One. That means it’s not necessary to be on-site with a photographer to evaluate what has been created. You can make comments on images and the photographer can view the shots in Frame.io, submit suggestions or make adjustments, then continue shooting.

Frame.io Capture One integration
Frame.io Capture One integration – Source: Frame.io

Photography print and design-file workflow

There are also some new features that can make your print workflow more intuitive. Users will be able to upload and view RAW stills shot on FUJIFILM, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, or Sony cameras. Thumbnails will appear in the correct native aspect ratio and Frame.io will automatically switch from sRGB to CMYK color proxies, so you can see the accurate color reproduction for work destined for print.

Frame.io Stills to Cloud workflow
Frame.io Stills to Cloud workflow – Source: Frame.io

Frame.io Forensic Watermarking

With every cloud service, there is always a legitimate concern about security. Therefore, Frame.io now features Watermark ID and Digital Rights Management (DRM) encryption. The new forensic watermarking adds an extra layer of security to your content. It embeds as an invisible watermark at a pixel level that can’t be obscured through screen recordings, external device recordings, or copying the video file. It also provides an asset ID code that can identify projects, teams, accounts, user location, and playback time.

Frame.io Forensic Watermarking
Frame.io Forensic Watermarking – Source: Frame.io

Pricing and availability

If you are planning on heading to this year’s NAB Show, then you can see these new Frame.io updates in action directly at the convention center in Las Vegas. For more information and pricing, please visit Frame.io’s website here.

What do you think about Frame.io C2C workflows coming to photography? Do you think your next production can benefit from these new updates? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!

Photography exhibition focused on loss, history

By in Photography

Photography exhibition focused on loss, history
Leann Cotton's exhibition for*sak*en is on until April 28 at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts in Sarnia. (Submitted)
Leann Cotton’s exhibition for*sak*en is on until April 28 at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts in Sarnia. (Submitted) Photo by Leann Cotton /jpg, SO

The former Sarnia General Hospital building was destroyed by neglect, says a photographer who documented its demolition.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

It’s demise was a product of years sitting empty and degrading after failed attempts to repurpose the 1890s-built structure amid ownership disputes between the City of Sarnia and Bluewater Health, break-ins, wiring thefts and military training exercises, said Leann Cotton.

“By the time they got any action on it, it was kind of past the point of a renovation or a repurposing,” she said about the GFive Inc. group of five businessmen who bought the site from the city in 2017 for $1,000 and — with $5.4 million from the city to help with demolition costs — gradually and carefully brought the behemoth down to make room for new development.

Her new exhibit for•sak•en, at the Lawrence House until April 28, focuses on that destruction and what might have been for the building that was the site of countless tears and memories, she said.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

“My dad died up in that hospital and I remember that ward very vividly,” she said.

It was therapeutic, she said about paring down her collection of thousands of photos from the demolition, and from other buildings demolished in recent years, into a 17-piece collection of canvases, prints and metal prints.

“And showing people what maybe they didn’t really pay attention to until it was gone.”

The Sarnia native said she’s interested in exploring and photographing abandoned structures.

Old farmhouses off side roads in Lambton, a misbuilt and unused mausoleum near Port Dover, and a tour of abandoned buildings in Detroit that started her fascination with urban exploration are some examples, she said.

“It really got me looking at what was around Sarnia” in terms of abandoned buildings, she said about that Detroit trip in 2013.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

“At that point there really wasn’t a lot, but the hospital was really intriguing,” she said.

Leann Cotton’s exhibition for*sak*en is on until April 28 at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts in Sarnia. (N. Leonard Segall photo)
Leann Cotton’s exhibition for*sak*en is on until April 28 at the Lawrence House Centre for the Arts in Sarnia. (N. Leonard Segall photo) jpg, SO

She spent hours at a time at the Sarnia General site before demolition finished in 2018, she said, recalling some of the animal-like precision of some of the Schouten Excavating machines.

Other sites she’s documented include the Cull Drain Bridge, the former Sarnia Collegiate and St. Clair secondary buildings, the Pere Marquette Railroad Bridge in Port Huron, and since-demolished structures like the Bridge Tavern in Point Edward, Holmes Foundry, St. Patrick’s school on East Street and the Lambton Generating Station.

Some are also featured in the exhibition, though the former hospital site is the focus of the project about structures lost that, under different circumstances, might have been repurposed, she said.

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

“Rather than just becoming a pile of rubble.”

It’s her first exhibition, she said, juxtaposed beside a concurrent 22-piece Parks in Ontario exhibition, also at the Lawrence House, from other members of the Sarnia Photographic Club.

The parks exhibition includes provincial parks, municipal parks, wide vistas, intimate closeups, the beauty of the outdoors and pandemic restrictions, club officials said in a news release.

“I tend to shoot the more off,” Cotton said. “The demolition, the history type of photography work.”

Cotton’s photos, including ones in her exhibition, can also be seen at 500px.com/p/leanncotton, and a similar exhibition of her work is heading to The Hive, a tattoo studio on Front Street in Sarnia, for the first week in May, Cotton said.

“I think it would be nice for people to come out and take a look” she said. “And look closer at what’s going on around the city, what’s going on around the county with a lot of these buildings.”

tkula@postmedia.com

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Join the Conversation

How to Avoid Being Scammed as a Photographer

By in Photography

How to Avoid Being Scammed as a Photographer

Unfortunately, if you use the internet for work, you probably already know that new scams and scammers pop up every day. Recently, I’ve seen the rise in popularity of a new scam targeting photographers. I don’t want to see anyone, especially other photographers, being scammed out of their hard-earned money.

If you’ve ever heard of the check scam, this is a pretty similar beast. In this article, I’ll share 10 red flags you need to look out for to avoid being scammed. Check out the video below, or if you enjoy reading, continue scrolling!

[embedded content]

What is the Check Scam?

The check scam has been around for a long time, probably as long as the check itself. To better spot this new photography scam, it’s important to understand the old check scam as well.

So what is the classic check scam? Say you’re selling a good or service. I potential client will approach you and pay for your good or service with a check. This client will over-pay hundreds or thousands of dollars, and ask for a refund, typically in cash. You proceed to give them a refund… only to find out days later that the check has bounced for insufficient funds. Now the client has disappeared and so has your hard-earned money. This is the basics of the check scam.

A screenshot of a photographer scam underway in a chat on Instagram.

Am I Being Scammed?

This new scam that’s targeting photographers is quite similar to the check scam. Now that you understand how the check scam works, you’ll have a better chance of spotting this new one faster. Here’s how it typically works.

A new potential “client” will reach out to you via email or social media to see if you’ll do a creative service for them, like photography or videography. Everything will seem normal at first. You’ll get a few details about the project and the “client” will be ready to pay you. Awesome right? Who doesn’t love being paid for their creative work?

They will wire the funds via an online bank or money service like PayPal, Zelle, or even a check if they’re feeling a little nostalgic. Again, you’ll be overpaid for the photo shoot and asked to refund some of the money to the client, or to a secondary scammer.

After refunding the money, the scammer’s payment will not clear, but yours will, and your money will be long gone. Sounds a lot like a digital version of the check scam, doesn’t it?

Another screenshot of an Instagram customer inquiry that is clearly turning into a classic check scam.

How to Avoid Being Scammed

I believe this scam is making a comeback because younger generations aren’t as familiar with checks, or the check scam. If you are, consider yourself a step ahead!

Photographers, videographers, and other creatives have to work hard for their income, especially when they’re just starting out. Sadly, scammers know this and are trying to take advantage of new photographers. (You can see in the screenshot above the last time this was attempted on me before I called them out for being a fraud.)

To help you better avoid being scammed, I’ve made a list of 10 red flags to help you spot a potential scam.

A screenshot of a scam through a Facebook chat.

10 Red Flags to Spot a Scam

So to help you avoid being scammed, I’ve made a list of my top 10 red flags to help you spot a potential scam.

1. Bad Grammar

I’ve found that most of these scammers are targeting photographers from primary English-speaking parts of the world. And the scammers typically don’t speak English well or are using a translation tool Google Translate. There’s nothing wrong with English as a second language, but paired with other red flags, it could be a scammer.

2. New or Incomplete Profiles

Now, you weren’t born yesterday, but your scammer may have been. Keep an eye out for new or incomplete profiles. Poor quality photos or the lack of any profile photo may be a clue that your “client” isn’t real.

3. Devil in the Details

Have you received a message identical to the screenshot above? Hundreds, if not thousands of other photographers have received the same copy & paste scam photography assignment. While it seems real, when you ask for more details the scammer tends to get confused or isn’t able to provide the information you need.

4. No Phone Calls

This is a big red flag. Your scammer will typically refuse to speak over the phone or via any other method of communication other than the one through which they initiated the conversation. Always speak to clients over the phone to assure it’s a “real” person.

5. Avoiding Questions

If there’s a lack of clarity, you’ll probably have questions for your potential client. What’s the Budget? Location? Timeline?

When you start asking questions, typically the scammer avoids a clear answer. They’ll likely copy and paste the same details repeatedly.

6. The Robot

Receiving robotic answers is another red flag. These scammers like to go with tried and true scenarios. They’ll likely copy and paste the same details repeatedly, even if you ask different questions. If it feels off, it likely is a scam.

7. Eager to Pay

We all love getting paid, right? As a photographer or creative person, you’ll sometimes have to put in a little extra work to get paid by a client. It’s such a relief when the client is quick to pay… but sometimes it’s too good to be true.

8. The Over Pay

Here is the scam in a nutshell. If your client has overpaid you, it’s a pretty cut-and-dry scam. Again, if it feels too good to be true, it probably is. This is the most important step in the scammer’s plan and should be a huge red flag.

9. It’s for a “Friend”

Is the person doing something “for a friend”? It’s BS. It’s another common tactic used by social media scammers to get your money. If they say it’s for a friend, family member, or relative, it’s usually a load of crap. “I’ll pay, but it’s for XYZ relative” is a common scam to see, especially on Facebook Marketplace when selling goods. Keep an eye out for this trick if you’re selling camera gear!

10. Anger Management

If you’ve never angered a scammer by calling them out as a fraud, buckle up! You’re in for a wild ride on a slip-n-slide of profanities.

Conclusion

Knowing is half the battle of not being scammed. Remember to trust your gut, because if something feels off, it most likely is better to play it safe. Scams and scammers suck, and I want you to have all the knowledge to keep yourself and your income safe.

About the Author: JT Armstrong is an award-winning military photographer and is currently the video director for the U.S. Space Force. He runs the Youtube channel RunNGun Photo that focuses on sharing photography tips, tricks, and hacks. This article was also published here.

SDSU hosts 51st annual Pow Wow

By in Native

SDSU hosts 51st annual Pow Wow

The event was held to bring recognition and honor to Native American communities

Little+Miss+Kumeyaay+Nation%2C+Miss+Kumeyaay+Nation%2C+and+the+Sycuan+Pow+Wow+Princess+for+2023+stand+as+representatives+of+their+tribes+at+the+2023+SDSU+Pow+Wow+on+Saturday%2C+April+8.

Photo by Corinne Davidson

Little Miss Kumeyaay Nation, Miss Kumeyaay Nation, and the Sycuan Pow Wow Princess for 2023 stand as representatives of their tribes at the 2023 SDSU Pow Wow on Saturday, April 8.

Last Saturday, April 8, San Diego State University held a Pow Wow to honor and recognize Native American Communities and First Nation tribes around the United States. This was the 51st annual event by SDSU. During the celebration, Indigenous people came together and shared their traditions and rituals with the San Diego community. 

Indigenous community members and supporters came together to celebrate Native American culture at SDSU’s 51st annual Pow Wow, held on Saturday, April 8. (Photo by Jazlyn Dieguez)

Native American artwork was displayed, children danced to tribal Pow Wow drums, women wove traditional baskets and Indigenous people walked around draped in feathered headgear and colorful regalia which are traditional garments used for ceremonial purposes. Outside the event, traditional fry bread was sold along with Indian street tacos. 

The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Native Americans honor their ancestral roots by performing bird songs that tell the origin story of their unceded lands at the 2023 SDSU Pow Wow on Saturday, April 8. (Photo by Jazlyn Dieguez)

During the grand entry, the Head Staff was introduced along with other important members. The Gourd Dance was also performed which is a dance that honors warriors and veterans. Once the ceremonial dances began, people watching were captivated. Native American men sung songs in their native tongue while indigenous people from all ages and backgrounds danced to the traditional Pow Wow drums. Children as young as five years old danced in sync with other members and laughed as they competed in a dance contest. 

Kiara Love Flores, from the Pala Reservation said that she dances three styles, but for this event she danced Jingle Dress and Bird Dancing. 

Flores said, “Pow Wow dancing is healing for me. I enjoy being around the Pow Wow family I grew up around, and it’s such an honor to be hosted as Head Woman for this year’s Pow Wow.”

Native American community members attend the 51st annual Pow Wow in traditional garments, such as feathered headgear and colorful regalia. Attendees were also able to partake in traditional ceremonies, such as the Bird Singing event. (Photo by Jazlyn Dieguez)

Each booth at the event had variations of handmade jewelry by different Native American artists. One of the sellers collected jewelry and Navajo carvings from different artists to support them and mentioned how he wanted to show how unique Native American art can be. 

At the very end of the day, the 2022-2023 Miss Sycuan Pow Wow Princess, Marlyce Howard, participated in a Bird Singing dance where sage was burnt and Native American men sang. Through this ritual, the story of the creation and lessons learned were told. Young women dressed in beautiful traditional attire came together to perform in unity. 

“It is an honor to be here at this event and that SDSU is able to hold Pow Wows even after the whole boarding school system that was against Native Americans,” Howard said.

Pow Wows are a unity of the indigenous communities and an educational experience for those who don’t know much about the Native American culture. Not only is it one of deep history and tradition, but it is one that is still very alive today. 

«< 100 101 102 103 104 >»