Our rights as photographers!

Here's an interesting issue to think about. In the US, it is our constitutional right to be able to photograph people in public places. And there are some great materials out there that explain these rights. Here's a guide to your rights as photographers put together by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Here at ATMI, we know there are times when it is appropriate to ask permission to photograph people rather than just firing away. But there are also times when permission is not necessary at all! Know your rights and use your best judgement and you'll make the world a better place through the images you capture!

ATMI's Max Dan found an interview with photographer Shawn Nee about his experience with the Los Angeles Police Department, which he describes as unjust.

CAMERA VS. LAPD

There's also a pretty fun ACLU video that explains our rights. It was put together by Joseph Gordan-Levitt and The Gregory Brothers.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

New local blog: Alaska Video Shooter

Slavik Boyechko, one of the producers of the INDIE Alaska series on alaskapublic.org, has started a new blog at alaskavideoshooter.com.

The site will include information on videos he's working on for Alaska Public Media, behind-the-scenes content from some of his other projects, interviews with local producers and other stuff he learns while producing film in Alaska.

AND, he started things off right by posting this fun meme.

Shutter speeds & Frame Rates

RIDE CHANNEL So, ATMI's Rob Stanley has been shooting a lot of longboarding video lately and has been browsing the internet for tips on how to make his footage even better. He found out that every other Monday, RIDE Channel shares info on how to film, edit and shoot based on tips from videographers and photographers in skateboarding. Here's a link to more of these videos!

Shooting video on your cellphone!

Mobile Video Tips and Techniques from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.

Some helpful pointers from the fine folks at Vimeo about shooting quality video on your celly.

Using your DSLR and available lighting!

Do More With Your DSLR I: Working with Available Light from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo.

You're out in the field getting ready for a shoot. Things are falling into place and right before your start to roll you notice that something is off with the lighting. External lights aren't an option at this point, so what are you to do? Vimeo Video School put together this helpful lighting check list to go over before you start your shoot. Enjoy!

Give your project some perspective!

Wally Wood was one of the founding cartoonists of Mad magazine in 1952. He is known for coming up with a way to inspire himself to mix things up and be efficient. He taped comics to his drawing table, each with a different scene layout or way of composing a scene! He used these for his comic strips but these days people use them for inspiration for art, photography, video, etc.

He would also tell himself:

"Never draw anything you can copy, never copy anything you can trace, never trace anything you can cut out and paste up."

Wood's ex-assistant Larry Hama, who became an editor at Marvel Comics, thought Wood's advice to himself was spot on. Hama pasted the tips up in the bullpen at Marvel Comics. A bullpen is a cubicle style office where artists, journalists, etc might not have a permanent space but work where ever they can find a space at the moment. This is kind of like the ATMI office!

WALLY WOOD's 22 PANELS



NOTE: Special thanks to former ATMI member Andrew Aquino for pointing us in the direction of these fun tips!

'I want to be a youth radio producer'

Anyone and everyone who has been, wants to be or has worked with youth radio producers should get a chuckle out of this. :P The teens from Radio Rookies in New York made it!

Roping the wind in Texas

NACHO CORBELLA

Roping the wind in Texas from Powering a Nation on Vimeo.

When you watch this, think about the composition of this guy's video. It is very artistic and has the feel of still photography, which is very beautiful!