Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

29 June 2009

How can they survive?

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:23 pm

This is another photography related rant. (Sorry Mark)

Whilst looking around Facebook yesterday, I saw some photos of a particular formal had turned up. Obviously they had a good time. But what I noticed (and this is not new) is that people nick the photos from the photography company’s website, watermarks and all. I think this speaks volumes about me next point.

These photography companies are contracted by organisers of the formal to take photographs and document. This is in the hope that cash-strapped people buy their photos for ‘keepsakes’. It is like as if they expect you to look back in a few year’s time and say, “Look at me, this was at my formal back in year 11! Wow!” But they clearly don’t seem to notice that people are “stealing” their photos and recognising the hard work of others.

Mind you, I don’t have a problem with this happening. I think it is stupid how photography companies and afford the time and resources to shoot an event where they don’t expect their clients to buy their work. I mean, who spends the few dollars getting a low res file without a watermark? Wouldn’t it just be better to just offer the product pro bono?

This is the principle that I follow with my recent photography work. I don’t feel I have the authority nor the capacity to charge people for photos of themselves. I believe that I have done a good job offering my best service for the greater good of the people. All I ask in return is some recognition of the hard work that has gone into making a good product. Why should people have to pay for something that they may not look at in a few years? Granted, it just keeps the moment lasting for longer.

28 June 2009

Photographer’s Respect

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , , — Ben @ 6:27 pm

When I shoot any event, whether it be a concert, official school event, or a music tour, there are those who are always bugging you for new photos. Having done my fair share of events, I have to say that it sometimes gets annoying, but the satisfaction that you see on your “client” is well worth it. This got me to think, does this happen between photographers on a smaller scale?

I think that everyone would love to live in a perfect world. But this isn’t one. It’s filled with anger, harassment and negative criticism. Nevertheless, there are those that seek to shine a light in the dark holes of the world. I want it to be the same with photography and photographers. Luckily, we are nearly half-way there, with social networks that encourage good photography mixed with the vivacity of life. However, not everyone is willing to share their work with others. Many stay cooped up on Facebook and share only with friends. (Don’t get me started on the Facebook photo argument!)

What I want to see more of is some personal recognition, face-to-face. I think it would be great, if someone you knew came up to you and said, “Hey! I just saw your photos of the art stuff in Sydney last week. It’s sooo good!” I want to see photographers respecting other photographers.

I guess the reason why I am writing this is that I suspect some people out there really like my stuff, and respect me for it. But something is stopping them from saying it. I’m not trying to show off here, I’m just noting an observation.

So can I challenge you to respect a photographer if you really like their work. I’m sure that they’ll thank you for it.

10 May 2009

Weeks 1 and 2

Filed under: Forward Thinking,I Wonder,Rant,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:09 pm

Well, the first two weeks of term 2 have passed. I have to say, that it hasn’t been as pressured as last term. Finally I have some free time on the weekend (at least that’s why I’m writing tonight). I’m glad that this time has been sufficient to plan how this term will unfold.

You know, I’ve been doing those KenKen puzzles that started to appear in the Sydney Morning Herald last week. They’re quite fun, and they also help with developing basic number theory. (Quick, 4 numbers between 1 and 6 that multiply to give 160!) Do these puzzles really make you smarter?

While my logic develops, my social is on the backburner. Though this next term is quiet, unfortunately it isn’t time to let my guard down. I think everyone wants to be able to fast-forward to some time in November, after the last exam. For now, can I suggest to get each milestone through, one at a time, and still feel good about it?

Here ends.

15 March 2009

(Up/Down with/I don’t care about) the Reds

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 9:01 am

This post is mainly for the Barker folk reading on Facebook, because it contains a lot of customs and lingo known to them.

Last Thursday was the CAS Swimming Championship. Now, Barker makes all their prefects and Year 10 go watch either this carnival or the ISA Championship. The ISA is the one the girls swim in, and that was held the Friday before.

As with any School event, there is always a lot of rallying to get as many people supporting and cheering on the respective team. That’s all well and good, except there seems to be a little known thing they weren’t aware of. (For the record, I went to the ISA carnival, so I’ve done my fair share of supporting).

It was heard around the place, that some people (some of the prefects), had tried to avoid going, for some oddly stupid reasons. They had wanted to avoid spending a late night in Homebush, doing almost nothing.

I think that this makes some people (and me), a little bit disappointed, especially those who are enthusiastic about supporting the Reds. (I’m thinking of you Mirko). It only takes a few people to let the team down. I don’t have the capacity to rant this morning as I am writing this, but hopefully that’s all that needs to be said to get tongues moving.

So, select your option from the title. Up the Reds, Down with the Reds, or I don’t care about the Reds.

20 February 2009

I hate the photo nickers!

Filed under: Rant — Ben @ 8:10 pm

So yesterday was a relatively free night. Therefore, I spent some time looking around on Facebook at people’s photos. Only several minutes later, I noticed some pictures that I had taken on people’s profiles. This triggered a big thought.

I hate the photo nickers.

Now, I am a big believer of photographer’s rights. All the photos on my flickr are licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA. That means that you can use this photo for whatever you want, as long as you don’t make any money from it (unless you ask me) and you license your work the same. I believe that creativity is something that should be shared by everyone for them to enjoy. Almost in the same spirit that photographers have when it comes to sharing techniques.

The copyright laws in major countries around the world state that every self-made work is copyrighted immediately. So technically if you use a photo from a website where no copyright notice is placed, you are breaking the law. It’s that simple.

Anyway, back to the point. A good example of this was the recent Europe tour that our school choir and orchestra did last December. We had website (run by yours truly), with photos from some of the students, plus our tour guide, who is an accomplished photographer. Now, people nick these photos and dump them on Facebook or some other site, and people treat it as if they took that massively sharp and beautiful shot. There’s no recognition either!! I find that a bit disrespectful, really. It saddens me that people treat photos like that silly shot of your cat or dog. They don’t respect the hard work and effort that someone has put into composing and taking that shot.

There is my short-lived rant. I hope you understand to look into the copyright status of photos if you want to use them, then give the photographers credit where credit is due!

22 June 2008

The Formal

Filed under: Attended,Rant,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 10:46 am

Last night was the formal. I thought it was going to be a great night. Unfortunately for me, it mostly wasn’t.

To put it simply, the formal was a great idea at first, but it quickly loses its panache as the night progresses.

We started off with a three course dinner. Entrée was a green salad, then the main course was a steak. The steak was done really well. The atmosphere was very positive (as it usually is). Once dinner was over, things went from good to bad.

I was asked to nominate someone to ‘cut the cake’ symbolically and to say thanks. That was slightly surprising to the special someone, but the speech was terrible. (Almost) everyone cheered their head off every few seconds and I felt the spotlight taken away from me. Then came the dance.

In my opinion, the DJ really didn’t satisfy anyone. The music was this new stuff, I couldn’t tell. It did get better towards the end, then it was the end of the night.

I was beginning to question whether the night was worth it, but I didn’t let that get in the way. It is a problem of being under-recognised when you do so much for everyone.

On a lighter note, if you are reading this via Facebook, don’t feel offended. I thank you very much for all your support! In my opinion, the best form of recognition in this situation is a thanks, and a nice hug.

Link to photoset on flickr.

22 May 2008

Birthdays, Happiness and Fire

Filed under: Rant — Tags: , , , , — Ben @ 12:05 am

Today was two of my friend’s birthdays. I gave them both presents. One got a candle, and the other, five dollars. They were really really happy. The rest of the day, I kept the happy vibe going. Until I checked my email sometime in the afternoon…

I got an email from one of the mothers who is organising the formal. (BTW In all honesty, this year’s formal is going downhill). She replied to my email about how to submit photographs. (There will be a screen at the formal showing photos of us. I am coordinating the photography). She called me “rude” for trying to convey information and calling this situation my problem.

Seriously, we are doing a lot of work for the formal, and you are not realising that. For the photography, I have been making announcements, putting posters up etc. It’s not my job to get photos from everyone, it is the responsibility of the people to give photos to me.

Please judge for yourself (after this break). (more…)

15 March 2008

After today’s debating

Filed under: Rant,Reflection — Tags: , , , , — Ben @ 12:04 am

Tonight, I had debating at school. The topic was about health, but it was pretty hard. My team put up a very tough case, but the team from the other school, just got the better of us, but not because of how they spoke, but what they spoke about. Anyway, I took the loss fine and we should be doing well next debate.The real story comes after. I was in the common room having snacks and talking to friends. Then this woman comes up to me and asks where is the toilet? I didn’t know, then… well I forgot what I said.  A girl who was chairing the debates took her to the toilet.OK. In all honesty, why ask a guy where the girls toilet is? It is WRONG!!! Guys only know where the guys toilet is. Girls know where everything is. Cool with that?!!Now I have put this rant on paper, I hope I can get some sleep and get up tomorrow to go to work. 

21 January 2008

An Hour without Power

Filed under: Rant,Reflection — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 3:24 pm

Well, on Sunday morning at about 9:30, the power failed. At first I thought, this is odd, a power outage in the morning! However as the hour went on, this was not an ordinary power outage.

I was cooking breakfast for my parents and I, as I usually do. Suddenly, the kettle stopped working. I stopped and saw that everything else wasn’t working. It has looked like a fuse tripped, so I went outside and checked. The fuse was still on and the safety switch didn’t trip. Ok, so its not only us, it’s the whole street. The power’s out! Now I was only cooking breakfast, but that was difficult now. No power, no stove, no kettle, no fridge, and eventually, no breakfast. Luckily, Dad has a contingency plan, use the barbecue, and so we did.

For about half an hour, Dad cooked on the barbeque. Breakfast was almost ready until, yes, the power was restored. This was when the penny dropped. Our alarm system sounded, and it had ‘forgotten’ the code. Minutes went by, the alarm sounding randomly. Dad eventually turned the alarm off at the wall switch. Even then it still bugged us. There was a battery inside the control box. We took it out and the alarms fell quiet. That was the end.

When we have (rare) power outages, it is hard to imagine life without electricity.

9 January 2008

Email. Does anyone read theirs?

Filed under: Rant,Tech — Tags: , , — Ben @ 2:57 pm

So, yesterday, I sent out an email to people who were in my address book asking whether they were in Sydney. As of the time of writing, only three people out of about 10 replied. It got me thinking, who reads their email?

As of lately, I’ve turned into an email junkie. I keep Outlook open all day, and I check very very often. I find that those people with desktop mail apps (Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird etc…) check often. Those who don’t use them check several times a week. The majority of my friends don’t check often.

I sometimes think that email is dead among teenagers (like me). They like to use their cell phones, talking and texting, not much computer. This is ironic though, as they also like to be on social networks (like Myspace). This leaves me thinking (again), What is the best way to communicate?

Is it email, IM, SMS, talking on cell phones/telephones? Tell me.

« Newer Posts

Powered by WordPress