A CAUTIONARY TALE - WHERE ARE YOUR CAMERA PHONE PHOTOS TODAY?

Some weeks ago, buoyed up with minutes of research under my belt and a recommendation from a friend I ditched my old phone and invested in a shiny new Android powered Samsung Galaxy S2. From there my relationship with my phone has been a happy one, I've very much enjoyed getting to know it and the Social Media apps I can run on it and we've had some fun times together. I'm typing this blog on the Google Blogger App and until now everything has been rosy in the garden.

So what's changed?

Afew weeks before I got my phone I joined Google + and at some point whilst exploring the Android Marketplace I happened upon the Google + App which I installed and almost forgot about along with Google +. Imagine my shock, when logging onto Google + with a purpose for the first time in weeks, to find a copy of every single photo I had taken and stored on my phone, probably since installing the app, also residing in Google +.

Don't get me wrong .. the photos themselves remained private to me and hadn't been shared but I feel really aggrieved that Google by default enabled an option which allowed the Google + app to upload copies of my photos without explicitly asking me.

There are two issues for me here, one of privacy and trust and one of my phones data plan.

Privacy and Trust
I guess it was probably in the Terms & Conditions somewhere to allow Google to do this and the images weren't displayed in my circles but nevertheless they are mine and I will decide where I upload them to be it for backup, storage or display. Organisations must be aware that not only are the words and images of the people who write and capture them their property but may also be deeply personal to the individual who may  not want them shared on any platform no matter how 'private' that platform may be.

Data Plan
Those who know my home city of Bristol will be very aware of the 60ish statues of Gorillas which adorned the city to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Bristol Zoo and it became the summer time challenge of many to visit as many of the Gorillas as possible and have your photo taken with them.

I had been struggling to work out how I was going through so much data on my data plan so imagine my shock when I found copies of dozens of hi-res photos from my Gorilla trail and other adventures on Google +.

It's No Suprise Then .... my view is that Google should NOT be enabling this function called 'Instant Upload' by default. Luckily it can be turned off by doing the following:

Start your Google + for Android App then perform Menu -> Settings and un-check  'Instant Upload'.

NO REGRETS

In common with many parents at the moment I have been doing the rounds of the Universities to help my son short-list those he'd like to attend when it's time to go. I've been surprised by our reactions to some of the Universities which has ranged from 'just don't get it' to the 'wow factor'.

One such wow visit was to the University of Bath where, building on what had already been a good day, I went to the 'welcome talk', albeit that it was at the end of the day.

One of the presenters was Microsoft Vice President Neil Holloway . Now I'm no Microsoft fan and I envisaged a Microsoft skewed presentation on something or other but Neil presented a well reasoned and understated presentation on his thoughts about University life, life after University and life planning that really made me sit up and listen.

The phrase that really did it for me was 'have no regrets'. Neil qualified this in terms of how when making any decision you need to know your objective, weigh up the options and make a decision. What ever that decision is, whatever the outcome, don't regret it. I thought this was such a bold and brave or maybe even foolish statement to make. Initially I couldn't imagine not being able to make a decision without having regrets if the decision turned out to be the wrong one or didn't provide satisfactory results, but the more I thought about it the more I realised how much easier our decision making processes and lives would be if we didn't have the risk of regret behind our decisions.

I wonder if this state is really possible to achieve?

At this point, as is often the way when I write a piece like this I have taken a few days off from writing it whilst I process my thoughts in the background. I had a concern that what Neil had said in some way conflicted with 'relationships' or family life or whatever label you'd want to put on it.


In my view the answer to that question is 'no'.

The beauty of Neils point-of-view is that he talks about considering the options before a making a decision and having no regrets once you've made it. This is in pleasant contrast to those who talk about life planning as a roadmap to wealth and success but make no room for others and the considerations that must be factored in where relationships are involved.

To conclude, I'd like to thank Neil Holloway for his considered and inspiring talk but I wonder what your thoughts are on the matter. Do you have a life plan? Is it working? Do you have regrets from making decisions? Does it work for you?

My First Portrait Shoot

It was a match made in photographic heaven. On one side there was an aspiring photographer looking for the opportunity to practice his photographic skills and on the other a local business woman who needed a portfolio of pictures to place on her various social media sites. 

She was a good sport and patient enough to let him practice his technique in return for a set of photos she could use at the end of it.

The aspiring photographer was me and the willing subject was Paula White from White Social Media and it was my first opportunity to see if I could really cut it at taking good usable portrait photos.

This is the story of the shoot ......

After an initial meeting to discuss what was required, and deciding not to try to use a studio environment it was agreed that the shots would be taken outside in various locations to take in as many different styles of background as possible.

They would be mostly head and shoulders most with a bokeh background. The style would be a relaxed but professional to demonstrate Paulas personal style.

On the appointed day we set out and spent five hours in various locations looking to get the right background and atmosphere for the shots. The weather was dry but it was blustery and the light changed from sunny to shade with annoying regularity.

Nearly 200 shots later the shoot was over and it was time to go our separate ways and reflect on the day's work.

The next day we reconvened and agreed on the photos to be discarded. We both had copies of the rest and agreed that we would both build our own favourite portfolio. Paula wanted a set that best reflected the image she needed to portray and I wanted a set which I believed best showed off my own skills.


Strangely enough we were very similar in our choices.


So how did I do? Well I think I did OK, Paula has updated the photos across her sites and her followers thankfully love them.

Now whether I am on Paulas Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or the White Social Media website I see the results of my work starting back at me. It gives me the most incredible feeling to know that I helped to create them and every time I see one I just have to stop and have one more look.

Of course I could never have achieved it without Paula. 
















But what do you think? Please check out the full set on Flickr and if you like them leave a comment, if you have any suggestions then I'd be pleased to hear from you.

Thanks Paula.

Kevin

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Are Social Networking Sites Killing The Photo Album?

Will Social Network Sites Kill The Paper Photo Album? How Safe Are Your Pictures? Will Modern History Be Lost Forever?


Wow - isn't it strange how an discussion on angle of photography and social media that you have never even thought of crops up twice in two days. In this case, I was enduring my daily commute and had my camera with me as I wanted to firm up on an element of its functionality.


This prompted a conversation with the lady opposite who turned out to be a lapsed 35mm photographer who was now entering the digital world. At one point she said to me "You know, these days very few people print their photographs and I'm really worried for history and genealogy". Her point being, to which I readily agreed , was that so many people were posting their pictures on social networking sites rather than printing them that in years to come all that family and local history will be lost forever. 


There'll be no more digging through boxes or albums to show of pictures of old Uncle so and so or to look at the car someone had 30 years ago. That could all be gone.


So I was amazed when this article from the Paisley Daily Express titled 'Social networking sites could be consigning Buddies photo albums to history'
popped into my in box.


It relates a similar story about the so called 'Facebook' generation and quotes Liz McNamara, marketing director for GetTheLabel.com as saying:

“This research reveals the real culture change there has been around the way we use and display our photographs.

“The switch to digital is almost universal and for the Facebook generation, paper pictures and albums are obsolete.”

The report also discusses how backing up images is of little concern to some so there is a far higher possibility that history really will be lost forever.


As someone who can add history to his list of interests I really find this quite scary. I always looked on today as being 'the history of tomorrow' and photography as being the ultimate archivist. It seems that this could no longer be true and it's something I find quite disturbing.


What are your thoughts? Do you print for posterity?



Kevin


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