Copyright law does not protect blog posts and ideas, yet, but if you want to keep blog etiquette and resist a flamed reputation, reference to blogs that give you food for thought.
It’s polite in the blogosphere and necessary if you’re in the same niche. Otherwise, it’s called stealing.
Link back to the original blog post and add to it. Taking an idea and putting your own spin is the most beautiful things of publishing your own content, however, re-writing an idea in your own words is the stuff of Year 7 essays. Rise above it! If you were a journalist, you’d have limitations and rules but you’re a blog writer so do as you please, but be polite about it and add your own unique twist.
Link and expand, not re-write. As Brian Clark of copyblogger.com says, “Understand first that a unique perspective simply means you see a connection that others do not. So, you can still cite your sources and yet speak in a truly new voice, because the connection makes all the difference.”
And remember, when copyright does get rewritten, “protection arises automatically, without any action taken by the author, from the moment the work is fixed in a tangible form so that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”
I pity the fool that doesn’t know the awesome taste of real hummus. All you need is a handful of ingredients. You only have to wash the food processor and a chopping board afterward. Yay!
You will need:
1 can chick peas
1/2 cup tahini paste (or peanut butter if you can’t find it. I think tahini is worth the extra effort.)
2 lemons, juiced, to make approx 1/2 cup
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Drain the chickpeas in a colander and whack them into the food processor. Add 1/4 cup of the tahini paste, 1/4 cup lemon juice (1 lemon), the crushed garlic and salt.
Blend.
Taste. If more kick is desired, add the rest of the tahini paste and lemon juice. If more richness is what you’re after, slowly add more olive oil. If you’re insane for the spices, add pepper, chili flakes or paprika.
Eat.
You can store this for a week or two in the fridge.
Post-recipe note: I thought I would be way cool by getting dried chick peas and letting them soak overnight and then make the hummus. The canned version is cooked. My crunchy chunky hummus was not. Cook your chickpeas if you’re soaking them from scratch!
Voss outlines his three techniques to turning mediocre photos into something spectacular, and perhaps more importantly, something sellable. “After all, trying to get the digital image to the completed image sets you apart at a high level.”
“When you’re shooting with digital the image that comes out of the camera is pretty flat and lifeless, this wasn’t the case with film, so post-processing is critical.” If you’re shooting in RAW, it would be almost blasphemous to show your work without some kind of post-processing. Shooting in JPEG cuts down on your options as it doesn’t record as much detail. It’s a double edged sword when you’re trying to take your photos to the next level. “The image [that] amateurs show is the image that comes directly out of the camera.” Photoshopping, whether we like it or not, is critical.
1. “Get skin tones right.” Use colour balance wisely to match the skin tones of people exactly to what they would look like in natural light.
2. “It’s all trial and error”, Voss finds work that he admires and tries to emulate it. If you admire someone’s work and try to copy the look, there’s a certain element of yourself that you can’t remove so it won’t be a copycat carbon. While you’re busy in Photoshop trying to get that certain effect, allow yourself to play around until you find something you’re happy with. Some photographers Stephen draws on for inspiration are: Paolo Pellegrin, Alex Webb and Sam Abell.
3. “When you’re trying something out, go a little too far and then dial it back. Once you know what doesn’t work, it’s easier to back track. All my techniques have come from playing around.” Voss suggests trying this out with the contrast, take it too high or too low so you loose some detail, that way you know how far you can push this before it starts to look bad.
For the first three months of living in the States, I was convinced that everyone carried guns.
This wasn’t helped by a driving instructor I hired to explain to me why no one stops at roundabouts or pedestrian crossings. While we were driving around and talking, someone sharply cut in front of me without using their indicator (a very frequent occurrence in D.C and one I still haven’t gotten used to). I asked the instructor what would an American do in such a situation. He replied with “Well, you could always drive up to them and cuss but what if they get out of their car and shove a gun in your face?”
Right. Thanks mate.
It’s been almost 11 months into my stay in the States. I’m not paralysed by the fear of getting shot by a pissed off American but I’m still aware that it could happen. Like any country, there are crazy people, just these ones have the opportunity to be better equipped.
Recently, I went to a D.C high school to photograph an event and the school had metal detectors, my bag had to get x-rayed, it was the works. To a naive Australian like myself, that’s the stuff of American movies, not an everyday occurance.
I know I have some American readers. I’d like to know what it was like to grow up in this country. I can imagine it would have been the accepted norm but was there any scary moments in your life?
David Bowie and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails do an excellent job of describing how I felt when I first moved here. Watch the video, it’s pretty spot on.
Next aim in my life is to be as cool as David Bowie.
