Toys, Tools and Guest Blogging
April 18th, 2009
Published in
Photography
Tags: community, crossword, inspiration, microstock, Photography Review, spcg, tools
Lately I’ve been having fun with all sorts of things that are only marginally related to photography. I’ve been making a couple of toys, just for kicks. First it was the Microstock Crossword. Not that I’m a big crossword fan (mostly because I’m not that good at them). I just like making stuff. So I made this puzzle, put it on the internet and got some encouraging comments.
They say critique is a better way to move forward than a pat on the back. I say it depends on what you’re doing and where you need to go. In my case the encouragement egged me on to produce another microstock inspired toy. Re-using an old php script to make funny, random sentences, I tweaked it to produce the Stock Photo Concept Generator. And this time, the response was downright overwhelming. So much so, that I ended up integrating Twitter and putting a couple of banners on it, referring visitors to some real stock photography tools.
Basically, the generator has three lists. A look, a subject and an action. An element is picked randomly from each list, combined and turned into a sentence on screen. I wanted to make it funny but also, hopefully, inspiring to some extent. So I populated the lists with stock photo clichés/stereotypes and a few silly elements thrown in for good measure. The result was a record breaking spike in traffic on this little blog of mine. I am as surprised as I am humbled.
I also got a few suggestions for expanding the Concept Generator. I’ll be saving those for next time, I feel like doing something like this. Also, I plan on adding new elements to all three lists, creating many new combination possibilities. All because of the positive reception the tool got. This right here, is the reason I love the web.
It’s really all about networking. Not to make a profit but to exchange knowledge and ideas through which we may grow as creative human beings. That very philosophy made me jump at the offer to write a guest post at Photography Review. I was asked to submit a short, very basic introduction to microstock. Basically condensing the Microstock Guide down to about 500 words. A wonderful challenge.
Most of my personal projects and shooting has been on hold lately, while I’ve been dealing with some of those obstacles Life throws at all of us from time to time, but being able to express myself through other outlets has kept me going. And the encouragement and support from the microstock community has been hugely motivational and inspiring.
Photo credit: skodonnel
