My journeys into the desert are usually one of solace and being one with nature. This last trip was quite different.
I was asked by the Vegas Pictage User Group to speak to them about WordPress and Search Engine Optimization for photographers.

WordPress and S.E.O. are a couple topics I’ve been speaking about more and more. It’s really been so much fun teaching and sharing this kind of knowledge with others. I feel like the whole thing is snowballing into something really great and a wonderful expression that I enjoy more and more.
As I move into creating a new business as a web developer/designer/marketer, the workshops and teaching it all makes sense.

The future of William Bay Photographic Arts
Since I’m forming this new web development business, the though may arise “will you still do wedding and portrait photography and a business too?”
And the answer is yes.
But, the great part is that no I get to be very selective about who I want to work with, and I get to do things ‘my way’ without any compromises to my artistic vision.

This year is one of freedom. And I’m in love with that.

William Bay is a Las Vegas Workshop.

One thing that most people will agree on is that they really only want to get married once, and it would be a huge blow to you and your future mate to need counseling shortly after your wedding. I personally believe that outside counseling should not be necessary for a successful marriage.

As long as you stay honest with each other, as the blog suggests, you and your partner will develop a stronger marriage.

And after you go through the list make sure you call me to photograph that upcoming wedding!!!

William Bay is a 7 “Before the Wedding” Steps that Initiate a Successful Marriage.

Well I recently ran across a photographer on Flickr that has combined my childhood love of Legos with my adulthood passion for photography. He has taken classic photojournal images from the last century and recreated them in Lego format. Going by the name of Balakov, he has managed to create a set of nine benchmark photographs ranging from Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “Behind the Gare Saint Lazare” (my favorite), to the ever romantic VJ Day in Times Square by Alfred Eisenstadt shown below.

Additionally, Balkov has some other great Lego creations he has photorgaphed. I highly reccomend you taking a look at his profile on Flickr. I would also take a look at the original photos that are linked to. These are images that have become societal changing, I still remember the Tieneman Square Protest so many years later because of that one photo of the singular student in front of the tanks. Photos are just a slice of time in our lives, literally a fraction of a second. And taken at the right time, and the right place (what Cartier-Bresson called the Decisive Moment), photos really can shape and impact the world.

William Bay is a Gettin’ some Leg-o.

The image above is taken with a Holga camera. It was taken by a user on Flickr named Jen Mo. I’ve been looking at potential for using one of these little plastic cameras in weddings to get a similar look to the picture above. It would have an edgy, shoot from the hip, kind of photography. Unfortunately it’s not something that can quite be duplicated in Photoshop. The quality (or lack of) comes from the plastic lens, the tendency for light leaks and the film. Yes FILM… It’s not just “stuff that forms on your teeth when you don’t brush” As Vincent Versace claims.

Now, I will admit, I haven’t needed to or wanted to shoot much film since about 2003, but the grainy structure and characteristics of different brands give it that 1960-70′s retro look. Much like Super 8 movies (which I will be blogging about a little down the line).

I’m thinking I might be purchasing one of these Holgas to try it out around town, and then bring one to my next wedding shoot. If you are interested in seeing more photos go the the Flickr Holga Group.

William Bay is a Holga-tastic.

One of the most used and, in my opinion, useless buzzwords is “Timeless.”

“We will take outstanding images so that you can cherish your timeless photos, bla bla bla.” “So-and-so wedding photography delivers timeless images for that once in a lifetime day, yadda-yadda-yadda.”

I tend to have a more refined “fine art” idea of photography, due to my background. My heroes are the old dead guys like Paul Strand, Edward Weston, and of course Ansel Adams. I learned from them what “true” art is. “True” art is what everyone confuses with the “Timeless” aspect to photography, and even then not very well. …If you follow.

Let’s look at it this way:
Photographers catch a notion that something should be done a certain way, (take the rule of thirds or any other rule of composition). Run of the mill photographers latch on to those ideas and concepts and make them dogma for their existence to have some order. Yes, deep inside every photographer is a little engineer demanding it be done a certain way. Some listen to it more than others.

Now one of those concepts is “Timelessness.” No-one breaks out of the mold when it comes to that term. It is impossible to have a timeless image. To prove the point, run and grab your parents photo album, then ask your older friends to see theirs. And for kicks check out something from the 80′s. They will all show some age, some funky fashion, and, for the owners of said albums it will bring them back to that day and reminisce about that day, what happened that morning, the crazy stunt whats-his names’s golfing buddy did right before the wedding.

These are not timeless thoughts! Neither are the photos. They are indeed very dated. As well they should be.

While photos may stand the test of time, they are never ever timeless! Remember that when looking at these photojournalistic ideas and trends. They are just that – trends and they will change. So the photos you take this year will look completely dated next decade. And you should embrace that fact.

William Bay is a “Timeless” has past its expiration date.