I love it when someone takes a piece of art and changes it to their own expertise, not copying something, but completely changing by adding a part of yourself.
Björk is one of my top five most creative people in the world and I adore her vocal adaptation of an e. e. cummings poem, Sonnets/Unrealities XI.
it may not always be so; and i say
that if your lips, which i have loved, should touch
another’s, and your dear strong fingers clutch
his heart, as mine in time not far away;
if on another’s face your sweet hair lay
in such silence as i know, or such
great writhing words as, uttering overmuch,
stand helplessly before the spirit at bay;
if this should be, i say if this should be–
you of my heart, send me a little word;
that i may go unto him, and take his hands,
saying, Accept all happiness from me.
Then shall i turn my face and hear one bird
sing terribly afar in the lost lands
Sub-editing can be challenging and intimidating. How can one be constructive and critical at the same time? Here’s a walk through of how to edit a story, piece, article, even if it’s your own work.
Spend 15 – 20 minutes on each page.
Quickly read the first two paragraphs to get a sense of the content. If a headline pops into your head, put it in even if it doesn’t fit.
Start subbing, sentence by sentence.
Keep an eye out for:
Spelling mistakes. If you’re in America, use American spelling. If you’re in the rest of the world, add more “u”s in your words. Double check if you’re unsure. In Australia, if you use American spelling, it’s a mark against your name.
Style mistakes. If you’re working for a big newspaper/magazine, chances are they have their own style guide. I once created a style guide for a company that had eight staff, so always ask.
Keep your eye out for mixed tense. It’s a slippery slope of past and present tense.
Double check every fact with books,the reporter or a (reputable) source from the internet. Since the www, there’s been countless cases where a rushed sub-editor put in the wrong picture/fact about two people with the same name.
Make sure there isn’t too much white space or split words. The text should flow. For example, see if you can see the excess white space on the right hand side column. This isn’t too important for online content, if anything, online, the more sparse an article seems, the better.
Poorly written copy is a mistake. Correct it. On the other hand, don’t re-write it to your own style. Only correct structural errors or glaring mistakes. As a sub-editor once said to me “let the writer’s work breathe, even if it deserves suffocation.”
Check names. Make sure the spelling is consistent.
Never rely on spell check.
Don’t forget to sub captions.
Once done, focus on the headline. If you could fit a verb, some kind of action or colourful word, great!
If you’ve got your own tips, don’t forget to add them.
It involves focusing not just on what the propositional or informational content of a text is, but also how that material is represented or otherwise rendered.
The word is ancient Greek but the modern form of this field was inaugurated by Immanuel Kant in the 18th Century in his studies of critical and aesthetic judgement.
So says Phillip Toledano, a man that left advertising for photography.
He photographs from the heart. I admire that. You may know him from his site, Days with My Father, in which he documents his last days with his declining Dad, a heart breaking drama in which you already know the end but it’s still emotional. My mother and aunty cried when I sent the site to them. It touched me, even though I couldn’t relate his story to any of my experiences.
His photography ranges from an inside look at phone sex operators to disturbingly empty office buildings, whatever he’s photographing, you can see what he’s thinking in his images. I like that.
His biography reads: “I believe that everything should start with an idea, whether it be a single idea, or a series. I also believe that a photograph should be an unfinished sentence. There should be space for questions.”
I’ll learn and use anything if it makes me a more efficient person. I’m passionate about things that make me work harder, faster, stronger. Here are my top three things to staying organised and on top of things:
Write a to-do list for today and for tomorrow. This way, you’ll feel less overwhelmed than if you wrote down everything you could think of, all for one day. Leo Babatua, author of the Power of Less and Zen Habits suggests having a simple text document on your desktop, but that just didn’t work for me, the infinite writing opportunity plagued me with guilt long after a task was ignored. There is a certain satisfaction in taking a black pen and slashing across a task done well.
You feel more productive when you flick through the book and notice all of your things are done.
Tip: I prefer the soft cover moleskin books, so I can fit them into my back pockets and bend it this way and that.
Remember the Milk.com
2. Remember the Milk
Remember the Milk (RTM) is an online to-do list. It’s great when someone gives you a task when you’re feeling light-headed, you can file it away, set a due date and then forget about it until you get an email an hour before the task is due. You can email Remember the Milk, which is handy when you want to write something but don’t want to get out of bed as you’re dozing off. I use it for tasks I’m going to forget straight away or late night rambles. I also email it when I don’t have my moleskin around.
GCal
3. GCal
I used to lug around a big diary everywhere; it had business cards, birthdays, receipts and jewellery somehow attached itself halfway through the year, without fail. Filofax, I loved it so. But I switched about two years ago and even though I am a luddite, gCal is just soeasy.
When my best mate and myself shacked up for six months, she could log into GCal and see when we’d be making the weekly trip between Bathurst and Sydney. When making appointments, I can put it into the calendar and my partner is notified that he has a dentist appoint. next Weds.
Planning a trip? Use TripIt (which I highly recommend) and it can sync to your online calendar of choice. Want it to talk to your mac? I use Spanning Sync.
After reading Tim Ferris’ Four Hour Work Week a year ago, I’ve been obsessed with efficiency. What do you use to stay on top of your world?
He lives on a farm and doesn’t send his children to school. Instead, he teaches them himself and let’s them have adventures with kangaroos, horses and mud. He believes creativity is the way through life and is the strength that tackles problems in the world.
In 1999 he was made an Australian National Living Treasure.
He has wild hair and even wilder eyes. Leunig’s child-like drawings and spot-on observations humble me with every re-read.
At certain parts of his life, he was a factory worker, meat worker and cartoonist for a Melbourne newspaper.
This man is widely successful in Australian newspapers and what’s amazing is the way he’s stuck to his own style and fantasy world as his popularity grew.
Today, I pay homage to Michael Leunig, the only constant thing on my inspiration wall.
Every editor works differently, it depends on their mood as well as the wonderful assingment they task to you, the photojournalist. There are some things that Stephen Voss, Washington D.C photojournalist has learned through his time in the political capital of the States. He shared with us what you can take into account when dealing with magazine, newspaper and web editors.
Essentially, do the job as the editor wants it. Keep them on the loop in the job and deliver pictures on time.
Be professional in every thing you do, every contact you have with your editor. Don’t write emails like it’s a social event, capitalise, take pride in what you’re saying. At the same time, juggle this with working on your relationship with the editor. You want to have staying power in their mind.
Talk about your ideas and ask if they have anything in mind for the shoot. Make it a collaboration process so your relationship is stronger.
Use their cues when it comes to the level of communication. Some are happy with letting you do your own thing, other editors want to know exactly what you have in mind. Be receptive to their level of involvement.
As a freelance photojournalist, you’re working on a per job basis so search old emails when you get repetitive business. Having that personal touch and remembrance is a little thing that will make you stick out from the pack.
When creating photos, Voss shoots what he wants but edits what he gives. “Magazines that I know are a little bit more conservative, I don’t necessarily submit all the photos I take. Others are more open.”
Do everything when you say you’re going to do it. Never make excuses after a shoot, no matter how bad it was or how little time you had.
Above all, create photos that are professional, focus on lighting.
Stephen Voss freelances for the Washington Post, NPR Business Week and the Smithsonian. See his work if you like to see his style.
