A View from the Ranch in Argentina and Guest Hosting on This Week in Photography
HDR Workshop Update
In less than 24 hours, you can register for the HDR Workshop! At last count, after the announcement a few days ago, we had over 130 responses. There are going to be 12 spots available when registrations open, so you'll have to be fast! Be sure to check back on the HDR Workshop page just after midnight CST on Friday, November 13th (to be exact, in case you are confused by midnight, the midnight between Thursday and Friday!).
Guest Hosting on This Week in Photography - The technique reveal
I was honored to be invited to guest host TWIP on Monday by Frederick Van. There is a live version of the show where perhaps you saw me in video action! If not, now it is available for audio-download. You can get TWIP Episode 115 here. I had a great time - and I thank Joseph, Ron, and Frederick for humoring me... I think I could talk to those guys all day and geek out on photography!
I revealed that video technique which a clever commenter coined "Stuck In Motion". I put ALL the information there on that link. It should tell you everything, in addition to what you hear on the show. The original video posting gathered over 240 comments, speculation, and more. I think it's fantastic how people guessed, poked, and prodded. Experimentation is great!
My friend RC Conception chimed into the chat, and I hijacked his question as an opportunity to talk about HDR not being a fad. Hehe... Anyway, you guys should also check out the great RC on Layers TV if you want to learn some new tricks in the Adobe suite of products.
Daily Photo
I've always heard about how wonderful it is to have a ranch near the wine country in Argentina. But not until I was down there did I really find that out in person. The idea of walking across a ranch during the nether hours of the day and seeing something like this... well... it kind of makes me want to just go ahead and retire down there. All I need is broadband and these kind of vistas... that's the life, eh? I hope I was able to adequately capture the majesty of that place with this photo.
Some rights reserved
Uploaded on Nov 11, 2009
31 comments
5 Great Twitter Contests
The Best of Breed
If you have some more ideas, Tweet me at @TreyRatcliff!
I've been asking all my social media pals, photographer-friends, and others about some of the most successful and fun Twitter contests that have been run. I was sitting down with my publisher at @Peachpit, because we need to Give Away a few copies of "A World in HDR". While we thought of a few ideas, I thought we would open it up the Internet to see what we can find!
Frankly, and this might offend some people, I think that straight give-aways are crass and obvious. I think it can get you followers, but I can argue those are ill-gotten followers. You may disagree.
I think there are more fun, engaging, and productive ways to run Twitter contests. So, to that end, I've assembled some of the best below. If you have MORE, drop me a note in the comments, and I'll do a redux soon! :) Also, please, tell me your favorite contest idea and we can try to do something similar for the new book! I'll probably have @Peachpit run the contests, since I don't want to Tweet about give-aways once an hour on my personal Twitter account (@TreyRatcliff). Besides, you guys should follow Peachpit anyway, since they are a good company that publishes fantastic books.
1) The Michelle
So named, because it is the idea of Michelle Greer, a clever Twitter user and social media smarty-pants at Rackspace.
We pick a non-photography related blogger who frequently uses pictures in their posts to act as a judge (who's interested??)
Judge announces a theme for the day (Landscape, architecture, etc) and announces via Twitter. We'll get that Retweeted widely and repeatedly.
Contestant picks a photo that fits the theme, "Hey @TreyRatcliff and @Peachpit, this #hdr is inspiring (link)." Note this does not have to be MY photo...it can be yours, or anyone's!
Judge picks the winner and uses it on their blog with attribution. Winner gets a the prize!
Why I like this idea:
People get to find and share great art online
People get to discover new photographers and new sites that feature them
I'm a big fan of Creative Commons (all my work is CC, no Commercial Use allowed without contacting us first). I think bloggers out there should know about all the beautiful photos from photographers that are available. And photographers who believe in creative commons LOVE to be featured on blogs.
Everyone likes eye-candy on Twitter!
2) The Trvial
Thanks to Eugene, a frequent guest on this site!
Send people on a scavenger hunt through a particular website to find something hidden
For example, we could ask, "How many nights in a row was Trey forced to eat borscht cooked by three Russian women in Argentina?"
The contest judge accepts tweets with real, creative, or funny answers.
The winner is selected randomly amongst those that got the right answer in 24 hours.
Why I like this idea
It's fun and game-like
People get even more engaged in a website and might find some hidden gems
You have 24 hours to play, and you don't have to be "quick on the draw"
3) The Macleod
A frequent guest of the site, Barbara Youngleson, brought this one up. Thanks Barbara!
This idea appears to have come from Hugh Macleod, the clever cartoonist and consummate cooligan
It works like this (more or less):
Purchase a book by any means, and send the PO over Twitter
A limited number of winners are chosen
Receive a second book, signed, for free. Give one to a friend!
Why I like it:
It is non-pushy
It rewards people that are real-enough fans to buy the book in the first place! Hehe.
Hugh did it, so it must have some coefficient of cool
4) The Threadless
This idea is being successfully executed at Threadless.com
If you see a Tweet you like, you can submit it to the contest
It is then voted on by the Threadless community
The best Tweets end up on T-Shirts and the Tweet author gets sweet cash.
Why I like it:
It's incredibly fun and engaging.
It's super-viral. I found out about it because someone nominated one of my Tweets: "If I get another dog, I shall name him 'ROFL'."
Threadless is cool, and it is fun to be associated with a cool brand.
5) The Moonfruit
Moonfruit (a website buildin' company) ran a good promotion where you can use the hashtag #moonfruit in any kind of Tweet
They selected a random person every day and gave away a MacBook Pro
It resulted in the #moonfruit hashtag being a trending topic and gaining over 30,000 followers
Why I like it:
It was very easy to enter
It was viral because you wonder why your friends are all talking about Moonfruit!
Today's Photo
The photo today was taken at an awesome Indian restaurant in San Francisco called "Dosa". The manager was nice enough to allow me to move around and take a few photos after dinner. I was dining with the marketing and PR team from Peachpit (@Peachpit), who is publishing the book. Taking roll-call, we had Scott Cowlin (@ScottPeachpit), Sara Jane Todd (@SaraJaneTodd), and Laura Pexton (@Laura7). We sat around all night talking about having some fun Twitter contests for people to give away books... so here we are, and you get to vote on your favorites!
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Some rights reserved
Uploaded on Nov 10, 2009
31 comments
Exploring Kyoto at Night
Twitter and Facebook Contests!
Tomorrow, I'll be posting some of the best and most successful Twitter and Facebook contests I have seen. We are going to be having the good people at @Peachpit run a few contest to give away copies of the book after release! I'd like you guys and gals to pick your favorites. So please, if you have more suggestions, let me know. I've got a great list already, so let's keep 'em comin! Note that I don't want to do just boring, obvious contests. I'd like them to be fun, different, and engaging. Know what I mean? So, if you've seen some that are successful, please pass them along!
Today's Photo
I think I could stay in Kyoto for a few years and go out taking photos every day and night! What a picturesque place... I feel like someone designed it a thousand years ago just for HDR! Now, I think this is a pretty darned good example of HDR. When you are there, you do see all these colors and light levels. Absolutely! Thank goodness for the sweet lady HDR and all her little tricks.
from the blog www.stuckincustoms.com
Some rights reserved
Uploaded on Nov 9, 2009
52 comments
The River Runs Through the Andes
Kiva and Stuck In Customs
Today, I am announcing that a percentage of all book profits for "A World in HDR" will go to Kiva. I have written a little bit about Kiva on the Charity page here on the site. Also, I made this little video to tell you what the heck Kiva is. If you haven't heard of it before, it's probably not what you expect!
To get started, come join Team Stuck In Customs and let me know your experiences! You can either put it here or on the Charity page.
Live Interview Today (Nov 9) on TWIP (This Week in Photography)
Watch LIVE HERE!
At 11 AM PST (1 PM CST), tune in live to the video at Leo Laporte's TWIT cottage here on live.twit.tv. I won't be talking about HDR today... I think that is being saved for a future interview when the book comes out. However, I will be talking about that video method I used to make the "Moments Between" video.
Come tune in Live and send Tweets along the way to @frederickvan! If you miss it, you'll have to wait for it to be released on Wednesday! Don't let that happen!
Today's Photo
Our daily photo today comes from deep in the Andes. Getting to this position was not as long a hike as the others around Patagonia, but it was no cakewalk! It was one of those strange river-rock strewn areas where the rocks seemed to be the perfect size for spraining your ankles. I had the tripod extended to act like a walking stick, although it's not the most handy walking stick with a giant Nikon on one end of it!
From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
Some rights reserved
Uploaded on Nov 8, 2009
96 comments
The Alien Garden I Found on that Away Mission
Workshop Update
Thanks again for all the interest in the HDR Workshop we announced a few days ago. All sorts of people have come out of the woodwork with great ideas, bonus offerings, and the like. It's gonna be awesome. The available slots go on sale on Friday morning (right after midnight CST.) From the looks of the first responses for HDR seminar, I think we could get over 100 there! But, I'm only opening 10-15 slots because I want there to be plenty of one-on-one time.
Woopra Review
I wrote a short Woopra Review and included a video. What the heck is Woopra? You should know if you have a blog or website! Cali Lewis from www.geekbrief.tv/ told me about it - so a big thanks to her! (watch her show... she's a member of the Stuck In Customs Community List!)
Today's Photo
Okay, here is a great mystery. I know you guys like it when I post a photo and you have to guess where it is. Y'all are so dang smart that you figure it out in just a few hours. This one is harder. I'll be very impressed if anyone can figure out this humid place. Look at those wonderful trees! Who can believe something so cool is here in Earth...
from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
Some rights reserved
Uploaded on Nov 7, 2009
78 comments
|
|
