Photography has always been a hobby of mine (so much so that in college, it was my secondary concentration, right behind graphic design). It probably started when my now 90-year-old grandfather gave me his old Nikon SLR camera and I needed an art elective. I learned to actually use the camera (no automatic exposure for me) and actually develop the film (granted it was black and white, so the process was easier, but still a time consuming — and a creative — process).

About two years ago, I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself a real digital camera. While I love it, I admittedly miss being in the dark room and waiting for shots to develop. I do not miss manually dodging and burning negatives. Hello, Photoshop.

Anyway, almost weekly I would take myself on walks — sometimes as far as the Arboretum or Eastern Market or as close as Georgetown. I’d have my camera with me for company, and when the mood struck, I’d shoot. Two themes began to develop: flowers (I hope to eventually continue my bugs life series) and food (I love cooking, food, wine, and everything related). On one walk in March of 2009 (probably one of the first warm days that year) I found myself in Georgetown, and in my favorite gourmet store, Dean and Deluca. I remember walking through the aisles being captivated by the displays of cheese, coffee, fruit, and meats and shooting all of it. And, of all the shots I took that day, I chose just one to post on Flickr — a shot of the coffee beans. There was something about the composition and the texture and the little hand written signs that captivated me.

Several months later, I was contacted by a publisher who liked my image and wondered if I’d be willing to provide a high-resolution version for inclusion in a book they were publishing. “Sure,” I said. They asked for a byline and an address and I sent the photo off on its way.

Fast forward several (many) months, and this arrives at my door:

Power Shop 2: New Retail Design Volume 1: Fashion

And, right there on page 10:

Yup that’s my name. And in the upper right hand corner — that’s my shot.

Here’s the full article.

Cool beans.

Late Spring and temperatures in the high-80s made today a perfect day for getting outside and enjoy the city. I spent the morning walking the grounds at the National Arboretum on New York Avenue in Washington, DC. If you haven’t been, the bonsai exhibit, Capitol Columns and koi are always a big hit. Check out their Website to see what’s in peak bloom.

With budgets shrinking everywhere, marketing and design teams are forced to be even more creative when it comes to sourcing low-cost photography. For conference marketing collateral, there are a number of great sources ranging from free to just a few dollars.

Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus — Most cities have a convention and visitor’s bureau and many, especially larger cities, have a fantastic media library with city themed images. Generally, the usage rights on these photos allow use by meeting planners and those hosting an event in the city. Some sites do require approval of registration and/or approval of the use of the photography, so make sure that is factored into your production timeline.

New Orleans CVB

Microstock Sites — Unlike a traditional stock photography site, microstock sites source their photography online, and are willing to accept photography from amateurs or hobbyists. These sites, including www.dreamstime.com or www.istockphoto.com, sell images from between $1 (for a web-quality image) to up to $20 (for a large, high-resolution image).

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Traditional Stock Photography Sites — In order to compete with the microstock sites, some traditional stock photography sources, including veer.com and punchstock.com, have opened up a microstock option on their sites. Like a traditional microstock site, the images range from $1 to $20. Unlike a traditional microstock site, however, these images are not necessarily from amateur photographers; often these images are from their traditional photographers, but are a slightly older shot, or a shot that is an alternative to a higher priced image.

Image 1342957

Subscription Photography — If your organization uses a significant amount of images every year, a subscription plan may be the right choice for you. Subscriptions are usually available by the month, with lower pricing for full-year subscriptions. The images tend to be microstock, but cost the same whether you download a low- or high-resolution image, and regardless of the number of images downloaded. In addition to images, some of these sites have fonts and videos included in their subscription costs. Shutterstock.com and Photospin.com are both good options for subscription photography.

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Flickr — Many photographers choose to make their photography available under a “Creative Commons” license, a customizable alternative to a copyright. Users choose the rights which they want to protect. For example, attribution means: others can copy, distribute, display, copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit. Since there is no cost to use or download images from the site, these images are free. But, you should make sure you give credit appropriately, and honor the creative commons license.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-o/ / CC BY 2.0

Before using and printing any image downloaded from these sites you should read the licensing agreements, and consult your in-house counsel if you are unclear about the proper uses.

As we mentioned yesterday, FotoWeek DC is taking place from November 7-14. As a part of the events, we ventured to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia on Saturday to photograph the gardens.

Below are the highlights of our visit. Click on any image to see the original.

Through November 14th, Washington DC is treated a celebration of photography via FotoWeek DC. Galleries throughout the city are hosting exhibits, events and workshops — many of which are free. The full schedule of events can be found here. To celebrate FotoWeek, we’re using our weekly site seeing column (others can be found here) to showcase some beautiful photography Websites. As always, click the image to go to the site.

Alberto Oviedo Photography

Hel Looks

Lise Goldfard Photography

Greg Gibson Photography

Rion.nu

Mark M. Gong Photography

Jen Huang Photography

Henry & Masci Photography