Detroit Photographer Dwight Cendrowski. Musings.

     If you needed another reason to join ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers), view this lead on new insurance coverage by Tom C Pickard & Co. It's quite an upgrade that will now cover all your video equipment also.
 
     As always I highly recommend ASMP membership to all working and emerging photographers, and to students.  Best investment I ever made in my business was joining in 1989.

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has a new 'Find A Photographer' Facebook page to showcase the work of its members. Every other week a new artist will be featured.

I've been a member of ASMP since 1989, and it's been the best investment I ever made in my business.  As you may know, ASMP is the world's largest trade association of respected imaging professionals. The new Facebook page is a portal for locating photographers all over the world.  I invite you to visit this new page which displays the talent and professionalism of ASMP members.

Just read about an intriguing study that discovered people find photographs of the left side of peoples' faces more aesthetically pleasing than the right. Very interesting for someone like myself who does a great deal of executive portraiture.

Read about the study here.

Considering all the ballyhoo surrounding the Affordable Care Act at the moment, I think it's a good idea to get the straight scoop on how the act will affect small businesses, like those of many photographers and videographers.  This guest column in the Ann Arbor News does a nice job of laying out the key provisions affecting small business.  It's written by Rebecca Woodward, marketing manager of the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce.

On an editorial note, I find the reasons to support this act compelling, both for individual families and businesses.  Kind of a no-brainer in my opinion.  Read the article here:

Federal health care reform for small business

 As junk emails keep relentlessly cascading into my inbox day in and day out, I vacillate between anger, grief, resignation, then anger again.  Like anyone running a business, I'm prone to more and more of this unwanted junk.  Over the years I've gotten my website URL and email address scattered over countless websites in an attempt to get my name out and promote my services.  Double edges sword indeed.  The more places your email is posted on the internet, the more likely that junk email spiders will gobble up that address and feed it into the spam maw

I'm certainly not tossing away that email address that I've been using for years.  So, as a cost of doing business, each morning I'll spend 10 or 15 minutes scrolling through the junk, searching for the nuggets of real and welcomed communication.  But you say, why don't you just crank up your spam filter and send it all right to the junk folder?  Well, I've fiddled with those junk settings, and could easily use the highest filtering and have a clean, lean, manageable inbox each day.  But then this nagging worry will creep up, that  I'm maybe missing that one new client with a big, juicy assignment.  

So I continue to scroll, and scroll.  Now I'm going to try a Zen approach.  Stay calm, keep the blood pressure low.  Maybe view it as a treasure hunt, searching for those pearls among the dross.  It is a bit thrilling to see an actual, desired message every now and then.  Treasure found.

Then again, my magnanimity extends only so far.  I still would like to see severe prison sentences for the originators of this junk.  Or maybe sentence them to 16 hours a day of scrolling through emails for diet patches, online doctorates, photo schools, appendage enhancement, awesome stocks picks and dating services.  

ASMP Michigan, along with Canon and the College for Creative Studies photography department, is sponsoring a program with New York based photographer Gregory Heisler on Wednesday, February 16.  The program is open to all and is free.

For information visit the ASMP Michigan website:
http://www.asmpmichigan.org/articles/canon-explorer-light-gregory-heisler.html

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was everywhere during the opening media days of the Detroit Auto Show, touting the state to media visiting Detroit from countries around the world.  The show opens to the public January 14.  The vibe is certainly more upbeat compared to recent dour years for the auto industry. See a sample of my images at www.cendrowski.com/naias_2012.html

I just read a Reuters report that said Kodak is on the verge of declaring bankruptcy.  Wow.  If ever there was an iconic company in the film and photo industry, Kodak was it.  But it shouldn't be surprising, since I've not shot a roll a film in 10 years.  Still, what a melancholy thought.

Time moves on.

I've just paid my dues for the organization ASMP, The American Society of Media Photographers, and I want to recommend them again to anyone running a serious photo business. I've been a member since 1989, and without doubt it's been the best investment I've ever made in my business.  They have an unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise in business issues, especially critical during these turbulent times in the industry.

Check out this short video on the ASMP website, then explore the rest of the site.