A Day in the Life of Tour De France Photographers

By in Photography

A Day in the Life of Tour De France Photographers
[embedded content]

There are few sporting events as grueling and chaotic to photograph as the annual Tour de France, the world’s premiere cycling race. The multi-stage race covers about 3,500 kilometers (2,220 miles) across just over three weeks. To capture great shots of the event, photographers are outdone only by the cyclists themselves.

A video by EF Pro Cycling, as seen on DIY Photography, follows husband-and-wife photographer team Ashley and Jered Gruber as they photograph the 19th stage of the Tour de France.

Working for the EF Pro Cycling team, the Grubers plan their route and scramble from location to location as quickly as possible to get the perfect shot at the right time and from the ideal vantage. While they have photographed the event multiple times, the Tour de France’s route changes yearly, so photographers must devise new plans for every stage.

As seen in the video above, Ashley Gruber is sporting a cumbersome cast on her hand. In a move many photographers can sympathize with, Gruber protected her gear while she slipped on an embankment, leaving her hand to suffer the damage. While Gruber broke parts of her hand, she added that “The camera is fine.”

“He’s a really, really good photographer,” Ashley says of her husband. “It’s super nice to have him as a teammate on a professional level. On a personal level, it’s just nice to have your person with you.”

Jered echoes the sentiment. “The fact that I get to work with my best friend every day is pretty awesome. It’s just the two of us together, and we figure it out…I absolutely couldn’t do this without her,” he says.

“On an average day, I think at this year’s tour, we take about 10,000 pictures,” Jered Gruber says as he browses the day’s photos. “I take a lot of pictures of just pretty much anything that looks in any way interesting.”

Ashley and Jered Gruber are both Nikon Europe ambassadors. In an article for Nikon Pro Magazine, Jered talks about the Tour de France. “It’s always interesting but there’s a certain point, with the routine the same every day, when you’re just kind of over the details of it. But, what’s always interesting and always different are the people on the side of the road. An amazing assembly of humanity shows up to watch the race.”

Can Photographers Actually Make Money on Patreon?

By in Photography

Can Photographers Actually Make Money on Patreon?

I’ve been hearing about Patreon for a while, and I’m officially curious. Join me on my experiment to see if Patreon is actually a viable income source for photographers.

As a photographer, there are numerous opportunities to earn money in this diverse field. From weddings to headshots, wildlife, product, documentary, and music photography, it offers a wide range of niches to explore. Personally, I find it to be an excellent and rewarding profession. However, it’s essential to acknowledge that the field is highly competitive due to the significant number of photographers out there.

To thrive in this competitive landscape, diversifying income streams is crucial, especially considering how fast technology is evolving. Apart from traditional avenues like photo shoots, print sales, courses, stock photos, and leveraging social media, there may be one more promising stream of income for photographers: Patreon.

Patreon is a platform that enables creators and artists to offer exclusive content and perks to their supporters, allowing them to access various tiers of content based on their preferences and interests.

For photographers and other creatives, Patreon serves as an excellent way for their audience to support their work. Content creation is a demanding and time-consuming process, and supporting the creators who inspire you is vital.

Instead of giving away all your content for free on platforms like Instagram or Facebook, Patreon allows you to share more in-depth and exclusive content for a monthly fee. This approach ensures that your dedicated supporters receive special content while also providing you with a sustainable source of income. 

Pros of Patreon

  • Financial support: Patreon provides a stable income stream, enabling creators to receive consistent financial support from their audience.
  • Creative freedom: With direct backing from patrons, creators gain independence and creative freedom, allowing them to pursue projects close to their hearts.
  •  Community engagement: Through Patreon, creators can foster a closer bond with their audience. Patrons become part of an exclusive community, accessing behind-the-scenes updates and exclusive content while feeling connected to the creator’s journey.
  • Diversification: For creators, relying on a single income source can be difficult. Patreon offers a means to diversify revenue streams, reducing dependency on a single platform or source of income.
  • Feedback and collaboration: Utilizing Patreon, creators can gather valuable insights and feedback directly from their patrons. Before releasing new content or business ideas on mainstream social media, they can seek input from their dedicated supporters.
  • Ability to share knowledge: Patreon is a wonderful platform to teach and share knowledge that adds value to others, but you might not necessarily want to give away for free.

What excites me the most about Patreon is its tier system. The platform offers multiple levels, allowing creators to charge varying amounts for access to different tiers of content. This presents an interesting opportunity for photographers. We can utilize Patreon to share exclusive content such as unreleased photos, behind-the-scenes insights, valuable tips, advice, and more while earning from dedicated supporters. 

It is often said that the artist behind the art can be just as captivating as the art itself. People are intrigued by the creative process, the equipment used, and where the inspiration comes from. They also love hearing about mistakes you’ve made or personal lessons you have learned on your creative journey. I see great potential in Patreon being the perfect platform to share this type of content, allowing Facebook and Instagram to be the space for showcasing the finished products. Patreon enables artists to connect intimately with their audience, providing a behind-the-scenes look at their journey and fostering a deeper appreciation for the photography.

Cons of Patreon

  • Dependence on audience support: Patreon’s success hinges on the goodwill and financial backing of your audience. If your fan base is limited or lacks high engagement, generating sufficient income through Patreon can be challenging.
  • Income volatility: Patreon income can fluctuate, especially if you rely solely on it as your primary source of revenue. Patrons can come and go, and their support levels may change. 
  • Pressure to deliver exclusive content: Attracting and retaining patrons may compel you to create exclusive content or perks for them, adding pressure to your creative process as you strive to meet their expectations.
  • Additional administrative work: Managing a Patreon involves administrative tasks, such as creating and fulfilling rewards, communicating with patrons, and handling payment processing. These additional responsibilities demand time and effort.
  • Platform dependence: Building a significant portion of your income on Patreon means relying on the platform’s continued success and stability.

I think the two biggest challenges with Patreon seem to be: How do you reach people and build a community? And how do you show consistent value so that people continue to subscribe each month?

Those are two big challenges to overcome, but if you can crack the code, the potential upside is tremendous. I have no idea how hard that is to do, but if you can figure it out to the point where you can even earn a couple hundred extra bucks each month, it can be a helpful additional source of income that compliments your regular shoots. 

But the question arises: How much effort does it truly take to run a successful Patreon? Is it worth it? One common downside to Patreon is the perceived level of time and energy investment, making it seem not worth the trouble. But does it really take that much time and energy? 

The Experiment

Personally, I have contemplated creating a Patreon for a while. While giving away content for free in exchange for likes and kind comments is nice, having a few dollars accompany it is even more rewarding. I’ve been hesitant though because I’m just not sure if Patreon is a platform people really want to spend time on. The biggest thing that’s been holding me back though is time. Time is valuable, and I don’t want to waste a ton of my own time and energy with minimal results. But I don’t want to regret never trying, so I decided to just go for it and do it as an experiment to see what results I can produce within the next six months. 

My husband and creative partner, David, and I recently launched our own Patreon, offering five different membership tiers starting at $3 per month. We plan to provide behind-the-scenes content of set builds and shoots, unreleased photos, extended blog posts, works in progress, and more. We have a decent following on Instagram, and I am curious to see if those supporters will follow us over to Patreon or not. Currently, we have nine patrons, bringing us a total of $67 per month. I am fully committed to being consistent with it for the next six months to gauge the results. Throughout the process, I will be fully transparent and share my experience and findings with all of you, assessing whether Patreon is a worthwhile platform for photographers and determining which type of content resonates best.

If you have tried Patreon, I welcome your opinions and insights in the comments below!
 

Dense Embroideries Map Celestial Expanses and Abstract Landscapes by Lindzeanne

By in Art World News

Dense Embroideries Map Celestial Expanses and Abstract Landscapes by Lindzeanne

All images © Lindzeanne, shared with permission

“I’m motivated to make my work as a way of mapping myself and mapping my space,” says Lindsey Gradolph, who works as Lindzeanne. An ex-pat for nearly 20 years who is currently based in Tokyo, the artist finds solace in her freehand embroidery practice that produces dense, expressive planes of texture and color. “Sometimes there can be an uncanny feeling of being completely untethered, so I’m creating my own, familiar-to-me topography,” she tells Colossal. “I like to think of each of my pieces as its own little universe, whether that be internal or external. Someplace unfamiliar but perhaps closer than we think.”

Lindzeanne began stitching in order to upcycle clothing, a practical hobby that quickly became more of a drawing practice. Embroidery floss isn’t common in Japan, so the artist instead picked up basic hand-sewing and traditional sashiko threads that she stitches into second fabrics—she references mottainai, the Japanese term that translates to “waste nothing.” “Both those types of thread aren’t particularly useful for creating figurative illustrations or images, so that led me to experiment with different ways of filling a space or creating a design,” she says.

 

A celestial embroidery on green and blue with circular patches and dots in yellow

The resulting works are rife with patterns. Circular forms buttress dots in varying sizes, and stripes bisect planes of simple back stitches. Many of the motifs evoke the celestial and organic, whether galactic forms, the flow of bodies of water, or small bubbles drifting upward, the latter of which she tends to render in white. “To me, colors have a personality to them, and shapes have a weight and character to them, so when I’m thinking of a piece in my mind, or sitting down to cut fabric, I’m always imagining the push and pull, or the gravity that certain shapes and colors have with one another,” she says.

As for how long each piece requires, “it takes the time it takes,” she replies, noting that she’s uninterested in quantifying the hours of stitching. “I don’t think about the time when I’m working,” she says. “I like the tactile nature of textiles, and the repetitive nature speaks to me.”

The artist has a few works available on her site, and you can keep up with her practice, which includes a new tarot-inspired series, on Instagram.

 

A celestial embroidery with dense circular patches and stripes of varying patterns and colors to the left

A celestial embroidery with circular patches across red, yellow, and blue fabrics

A floral embroidery on blue with circular patches and large white dots

A celestial embroidery on red with circular patches and dots

Stripes of dots, simple stitches, and circular patterns cover a piece of blue fabric

A celestial embroidery on blue with circular patches and dots. A large yellow piece is in the center

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Dense Embroideries Map Celestial Expanses and Abstract Landscapes by Lindzeanne appeared first on Colossal.

From Pioneering Women Artists in Greenwich Village to Preservation Battles and More: New Programs for August 2023

By in Native

From Pioneering Women Artists in Greenwich Village to Preservation Battles and More: New Programs for August 2023

Did you know that Village Preservation members receive advance notice of our public programs? Our tours and other programs sometimes offer limited seating or spaces. By becoming a member of Village Preservation, you can take advantage of that advanced notice and register before the general public. Find out how to become a member here.

For videos, details, and other media from our past programs, click here.

On This Spot NYC: Stories of Pioneering Women Artists in Greenwich Village

Thursday, August 10, 2023
6:00pm
Zoom Webinar

Pre-Registration is Required.
Free 

Did you know that only 11% of all major museum art acquisitions in the last decade were works by women artists?

On This Spot NYC is a nonprofit digital mapping project that aims to tell the stories of a diverse group of women artists through short-form documentary videos. It explores the places where they lived and worked, their favorite spots to eat and drink, their dreams and laughter, and the places where they danced and found inspiration and community to create their art. Through these videos, On This Spot NYC shines a light on the numerous boundary-breaking women artists, both known and unknown, who have been at the forefront of the New York art scene.

The project covers various decades, starting from the 1950s and extending to the end of the 20th century. It has begun in the West Village and East Village, and will be expanding to SoHo, the Lower East Side, Chelsea, TriBeCa, Midtown, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and Harlem.

On This Spot NYC aims to play a pivotal role in addressing the gender imbalance in our museums, galleries, and textbooks. Its objective is to inspire a new generation of women artists. Learn more about this amazing new project and the light it shines on trailblazing women of our neighborhoods and beyond.

This program will consist of a screening of On This Spot NYC short-form videos and conversation from the Co-creator and Executive Director Loretta Howard. She’ll explore the origins and future of the project and the extraordinary role Greenwich Village women played in advancing 20th century art.

The 2nd Birthplace Tour (Hip-Hop at 50 Tour) 

Friday, August 11, 2023
Afternoon Tour – 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Evening Tour – 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Outdoor Walking Tour
Pre-Registration is Required. Spaces are limited.
Free

Meeting Place: Washington Square Park 

Did you know that the first place in NYC where all four Hip Hop elements were presented together for the first time outside of the Bronx was at a club/concert hall in the East Village? 

Did you know that rappers like Mos Def and Biggie got their start at an open mic show in the West Village? 

The 2nd Birthplace Tour (Hip-Hop at 50 Tour) is a two-hour walking tour (10 stops) that honors the artists and entrepreneurs, and explores spaces and sites in the Village that were pivotal in introducing Hip-Hop cultural elements (B-Boying, DJ-ing, Graffiti, Fashion and Emceeing) to the world. During a pivotal 20 year period in Hip-Hop history (1979-1999), nightlife venues, art galleries, walls and parks throughout the Village functioned as a secondary incubator and stage for B-Boys, Graffiti artists, Emcees, DJs and designers creating what we now call Hip-Hop Culture. It’s part of a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop, which began in The Bronx, but which grew and developed substantially in our neighborhoods. 

Leading the tour is Tara Crichlow, aka “big tara,” a native of the Lower East Side. As a pioneering B-girl, MC, cultural ambassador, performer, and curator, she is dedicated to accurately representing New York’s underground music and dance culture. She has been featured in books such as Vibe Hip Hop Divas, We Bgirlz, Girls Got Kicks and God Save the Queens.

Wrecking Ball: A Conversation with Adrian Untermyer About How Government Has Shaped New York’s Defining Preservation Battles, with Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman

Wednesday, August 16
6:00pm
In-Person
Pre-registration required
Free

Location: Jefferson Market Library

Preservation battles are fought in all sorts of places — the streets, corporate boardrooms, and the court of public opinion. Sometimes they are fought in the actual courts, as well as in the halls of government, and those legal battles have profoundly shaped how preservation works and has taken root in New York City and State. The intersection between historic preservation, the law, and the great City and State of New York is an often misunderstood and rarely discussed space, but it has a bigger impact upon what is preserved as historic and what is destroyed as expendable than perhaps any other factor.

Attorney, urbanist, and historian Adrian Untermyer aims to lift that veil, and reveal the inner workings of the three branches of government and how they have shaped and affected the preservation movement — its successes and the challenges it still faces — in our city and state. He’s launched a new podcast called “Wrecking Ball” in association with the Historical Society of the New York Courts to do just that, in which he brings in legal and preservation scholars to discuss some of these defining preservation battles, such as those to save Castle Clinton, Penn Station, and Washington Square Park. It’s only appropriate that this conversation, with Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman, take place at Jefferson Market Library — subject of one of the great preservation battles of the 20th century, and itself formerly a New York Courthouse. Come hear more about these battles, about the new podcast Illuminating them, and about Adrian’s fascinating ongoing work.

Native New Yorkers Walking Tour with Evan Pritchard

Thursday, August 17, 2023
5:00pm – 7:00pm
Outdoor Walking Tour

Pre-Registration is Required.
Sold out. Waitlist only.
Free

The meeting place will be shared one week before the event.

One might assume that New York’s streets are as old as Dutch settlement, but many of the thoroughfares we use today actually began long before that. Early Dutch and English immigrants adopted many pathways that were originally carved by truly native New Yorkers, and these routes were incorporated into the more formal city plan as development spread across the island. On this extended tour, Evan Pritchard, author of Native New Yorkers: The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York, will take you on a journey through the history of New York’s streets from west to east. Starting in the Meatpacking District, you’ll traverse the island through Greenwich Village before ending at the St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery graveyard in the East Village where Peter Stuyvesant is interred. Along the way, you’ll see the streets and plazas through Native American eyes and explore how New York’s indigenous history influences our modern streetscapes and public spaces. Drawing upon archaeology, linguistics, and oral and written histories, this walk will link the legacy of the Lenape with Abraham Lincoln, modern luxury, and more.

This tour is free. Please select the $20 option to purchase a signed copy of Evan Pritchard’s book, Native New Yorkers: The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York.

Book Talk: Swimming to Jerusalem with Author Seth Borenstein

Tuesday, August 22, 2023
In-Person
6:00pm

Pre-registration required
Free
Location: Hudson Park Library

Swimming to Jerusalem is a new novel by Seth Borenstein, inspired in part by his many years living in the West Village, which he’ll discuss along with other inspirations for and stories behind his new literary outing. The novel follows Bram beginning in 1980, when he was the coolest, most confident, and self-assured guy in the world – or so he thought. After his discharge from the Israel Defense Forces and finding himself in Paris three years later he is anything but. Aimless and disillusioned, he has no idea what comes next. Busking on the Boulevard Saint-Germain he meets Liz. Following her back to New York, he moves into her apartment on Grove Street.

Thirty-two years later the “next” has happened. Despite any grand plan, Bram’s life took its course. Liz did have a grand plan – and he goes along for the ride. Alternating between past and present, Swimming to Jerusalem is the story of that journey. This includes the family he never imagined, a career he fell into, and memories that are like rogue waves, strong and unexpected.

Everything can change in a heartbeat. But the past never does. We know that memory should be a reference, not a residence – though sometimes that just isn’t possible.

Kirkus Reviews called Swimming to Jerusalem, “A great novel of New York in the Trump era and a tender look at the way the progression of time makes immigrants of us all.”

About the author:

Seth Bornstein has written plays, short stories, and essays. Swimming to Jerusalem is his first novel. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he attended Parsons School of Design and has had a career in urban economic development with positions in the public, private, and academic sectors. He is an avid though very slow swimmer and has participated in winter swimming competitions around the globe. A consummate city guy, he prides himself on never needing a GPS and can usually find a parking space anywhere. He resides in New York City with his wife, Diane Loughran.

Landscape Photographer John Fielder Looks Back on Career as He Fights Terminal Cancer

By in Photography

Landscape Photographer John Fielder Looks Back on Career as He Fights Terminal Cancer
[embedded content]

Earlier this year, nature and landscape photographer John Fielder donated his life’s work to the public, preserving his incredible images of Colorado’s natural beauty for future generations. Sadly, per a new CBS News report, Fielder is battling terminal pancreatic cancer.

After a lifetime of capturing thousands of incredible images and now sharing them all with everyone, Fielder is focused on living in the present moment. As Fielder tells CBS News‘ Barry Peterson for CBS Saturday Morning, he still cannot resist a good photo opportunity.

Peterson first met Fielder in 2015 for a prior story on CBS Sunday Morning where he told Peterson, “I never get tired of being in places like this. It’s my medicine. I’ve been to the park a hundred times in the last 40 years, and it gets better each time I come here.”

John Fielder
Rattlesnake Canyon

Speaking to Peterson this year, Fielder says that 40 years ago, all he wanted to do was be able to quit his department store job and turn his passion for photography into a new career. After authoring dozens of books, and winning numerous awards, it is safe to say that the nationally renowned photographer, educator, and environmentalist succeeded at that and so much more.

While Fielder’s work and career are synonymous with Colorado, he was actually raised in North Carolina. He first visited Colorado on a school trip at age 14.

“In all my life, I have not forgotten my first sight of the Rockies rising up before me over the plains. I was simply smitten by this wall of snow-capped peaks above a treeless plain. And the word C-O-L-O-R-A-D-O, it was the most poetic name for a place I had ever heard. I realized at that moment that someone or something had guided me to this place, and that I belonged here for the rest of my life,” Fielder writes.

John Fielder
Slate Creek, Eagles Nest Wilderness

Fielder’s images have long encouraged others to head out into nature and enjoy the great outdoors. However, he also hopes that his photos will prove critical for scientists aiming to understand how climate change is affecting nature, including the many places in Colorado that Fielder has captured over the last 40-plus years.

John Fielder
Pierre Lakes

The accomplished photographer stresses that the political process is responsible for much of the protected land in the United States, and that people must vote to protect nature. “Unless [people] care, they won’t do it,” he explains. When viewing at the thousands of images that Fielder has collected, it is very easy to care about nature and to feel inspired.

John Fielder
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

To cull his images down to the more than 7,000 that he provided to History Colorado to preserve in the public domain, Fielder needed to go through his huge library of transparencies.

“Good memories when you went through them?” asks Peterson.

“Yes. This was my life happening all over again for the second time going through 200,000 transparencies,” Fielder replies. “It was all very humbling.”

John Fielder
Kepler Pass, Gunnison National Forest

“You have probably seen as much as any man of nature — birth, life, and death. I sometimes have the sense talking with you, John, that it informs the way you are approaching death as part of life. Help me understand this,” Peterson says.

“My mind always tends to think scientifically, logically, deductively, and analytically — trying to understand what’s going on around me,” Fielder replies. “Living in the moment. It sounds like a cliché, but living in the moment, in the present, is medicine for me, and it allows me to appreciate the past and the future but by always being focused on what I’ve been given today and not yesterday or the day before.”

“I never felt that I owned my photos. I felt that was kind of selfish,”

It is worth ruminating on the incredible gift that he has provided for everyone. His selfless gesture of turning over his life’s work to everyone else to enjoy is fantastic. Fielder will also provide History Colorado with various artifacts from his career, including photography equipment, books, papers, and oral histories.

John Fielder
Roxborough State Park

For now, John Fielder is taking life day by day. His work is featured in a new exhibit, “Revealed: John Fielder’s Favorite Place,” at the History Colorado Center in Denver. John Fielder’s photography is available on his website and in the History Colorado collection of Fielder’s work.

“There’s always photos to be taken,” Fielder says.

Image credits: John Fielder

«< 41 42 43 44 45 >»