Call Me Ed

I'm not sure how or why it happened, but template is apparently a cuss word in our industry now.

It seems every Tom, David, and Harry getting into photography websites these days must let the world know that what they're offering is NOT a t······e.

Call it a "website tool". Call it a "fully editable custom website". Just don't call it a "t······e".

I can understand the allure to some degree. If everyone could afford it, they would pay $10,000 to sit with a designer and have a 100% custom website built. But they can't. Saying "this is my new t······e site" is admitting that you only had $500 or $1,000 to spend. Trust me, however, that's a good thing.

At BIG Folio, we make websites for photographers. I don't care if you call them t······es, editable websites, customizable designs, or a bowl of meatballs. The point is, we did the hard work designing and programming a beautiful Flash website and provide you with a content management system. It doesn't look like anyone else's site because its a different color. It has different fonts. It has your images. It has videos. If there's something else you want in it, we'll do it for you. If someone says "this is more updatable than a t······e," don't believe them. Once you have a site with CMS/control panel, it doesn't get "more" updatable.

At a conference earlier this year, a well-know photographer came up to me. He wanted to refer photographers to us because, in his words, "I have a custom site but I don't want to refer people to my designer." Guess what? His site sucks. Its ugly, hard to navigate, and hasn't been updated all year (I just checked again).

Trust me, having one of our sites is usually better than having a "custom" site.

So, at the end of the day, are you worried about what other photographers think of your website? Or, are you worried about a website that brides can find easily, navigate intuitively, and get the stunning pictures and information they need?

My name is Erik. I own BIG Folio. We make t······es ... or do we?

If you don't have a wedding or shoot this weekend, here's some links to kill the weekend time.

1. Happy Leopard Day everyone

2. Did you know Nintendo is now the 2nd most valuable Japanese company? Guess who they just passed up ....

3. How come I never get gigs like this?

4. If you're a museum/gallery nut like me (or want to be), here's a great article by Fred Sanders on how to look at art

5. Here's a fun and inspirational video of Chase Jarvis at Photoshelter's Town Hall Meeting in NYC ... it's an hour long, so you might want to wait until the kids go to bed ...

Have a great weekend ...

Today, October 15, is Blog Action Day, when bloggers around the world unite to discuss a single issue—the environment. This is my humble contribution.

"Most Christians are Republicans. Most Republicans don't care about the environment. Therefore, most Christians don't care about the environment."

Quite a faulty syllogism in my mind. Yet, unfortunately, it's probably a common one among those who care about the environment.

I'd like to state, for the record, that just because I put God first doesn't mean I put the environment last. In fact, I'm tempted to argue that one with a God-centered, creationist world-view (like myself) has more responsibility to the environment than a humanist adhering to common evolutionary theories. After all, if our species and environment are merely the result of evolutionary processes, aren't events like climate change and consumption of resources simply part of the process?

Scripture has much to say about the environment—much more than I can cover here. Paramount, however, are the ideas that we are stewards (literally managers) over creation and that creation serves to testify to God's power and glory.

Therefore, for a Christian to neglect environmental concerns or, worse yet, wantonly abuse creation is to both ignore our call as stewards and forsake that which serves to testify on behalf of our creator.

If you are a Christian, continue to keep stewardship at the forefront of your thoughts. If you are not, I pray that you will understand that because Christians put God first, the environment should be important to them. I also pray that you will continue to catch a glimpse of God's glory through his creation daily.

I love tasty, authentic Mexican food. That's a problem here in Oregon. The mexican food in downtown Bend is neither. Jeff and I had lunch at El Caporal today. It's a big restaurant–with a bar, fancy tile, cowboy decor, a 4 page menu, and real plates. I had a chicken burrito. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great.

But it was $9.

Back in Grover Beach, I could get a burrito at Taco de Mexico ("TDM" to the locals) for $4.25. It comes wrapped in foil and placed in a paper bag. Or, I could go to Juanita's and get some carne asada tacos for $1.85 each. They come on a styrofoam plate with a radish and a mint. Go to TDM and they'll say "hi" as soon as you walk in the door. Go to Juanita's three times and she'll remember what you like. The food is amazing and the people are real–a combination that makes me want to keep coming back.

Yet the price is less than half. Why? (My guess is overhead, but I'll save that for another post.)

I fear some people will never enjoy a TDM burrito. They'll stop at the big restaurant. The one in the new building. They'll pay $9 for a burrito. Sure, they get to eat off a real plate ... but are they getting twice as much as the person who only spends $4.25? I would say no. In fact, I would say they're getting less in some regards. It is funny how a business can create the illusion of being luxurious or superior simply by being larger or more expensive.

Occasionally, I feel we suffer from the same problem. I'm almost certain some photographers will never choose BIG Folio because our prices are too low. It's too bad ... we make a mean burrito.

Update: What about you as a photographer? Do you ever feel some brides will not consider you because your prices are too low? Do you care?

TechCrunch has a good article on Getty Images and their new Soundtrack service.

With a huge library of songs, photographers now have a ton of options for legally setting their websites and slideshows to music. This is a good thing.

The downside, of course, is that it poses a major threat to the smaller royalty-free music providers–Triple Scoop and Music Bakery come to mind.

The small guys will have to find creative ways to compete.

The Red Sox and Angels start their playoff series tonight at 6:30 EST. I'm rooting for the Sox–they're my favorite AL team.

I created a Red Sox vs. Angels chat room. If you'd like to drop in and chat with us during the game, feel free. I'll post the link right before game time.

In my late teens, I really wanted a job waiting tables. I heard you could make good money from tips. There's a problem, however. No one wants to hire a server without experience–and you can't get experience unless someone will hire you. A classic Catch-22. Eventually, I landed a job waiting tables at a Chinese restaurant. I did make good tips–of course, no one told me I'd smell like egg rolls every night when I came home.

Right now, we're experiencing a similar situation with WED Shooter, a side project we started a little over 2 years ago. The idea was simple: have high-profile photographers contribute monthly instructional and inspirational articles to a single blog. Traffic would explode as photographers flocked to the site. Advertisers would follow and soon we'd be swimming in money (exotic flooring and swiss watches don't pay for themselves, ya know).

It started strong. Some amazing photographers agreed to participate. Traffic was hot coming out of the gates. We booked some initial advertisers. And then ...

Nothing.

And then we discovered it–the Catch-22. Advertisers want to see traffic. Traffic doesn't grow unless there's fresh, consistent content from big names. But the contributors don't want to write unless they're already getting advertising money. Heck, I'll admit even I stopped contributing articles (although I wasn't on the payroll personally).

To be fair, some photographers have been wonderful (David Beckstead and Jose Villa, for example). But, overall, WED Shooter has been a failure. I'm definitely not afraid to admit that. The question now is–what to do with it? We've had ideas and offers, but nothing too compelling. So, it just sits there circling the drain.

What do you think? Ideas or comments for WED Shooter are certainly welcome. Feel free to leave them here.

I was recently tagged by the talented Sofie at Amorphia Photography. Apparently, I'm supposed to reveal eight little-know facts about myself and then choose eight new victims participants, thus creating a never-ending spiral of eight-ness. So, here goes ...

8 things you probably didn't know about Erik Dungan
(and probably didn't want to)

1. I am allergic to two foods: pomegranates and shark meat. Strange, I know. The one time I ate a pomegranate, I broke out in hives really bad. Every time I eat shark, I start vomiting violently 2 hours later. Please don't feed me either.

2. I am mixed/cross-handed, but not fully ambidextrous. I am left-handed for some things (like writing and eating), but right handed for others (like throwing a football or baseball). I can do a few things with either hand, such as hit a baseball and pick my nose.

3. I have really fast reflexes and I enjoy trying to catch things that get knocked over or dropped. Just a few days ago, I was having coffee with San Luis Obispo photographer Cameron Ingalls. He got up to use the restroom and tripped over his PowerBook cord. His laptop flew off the table ... I grabbed it out of the air (with my left hand). Everyone in the coffee shop stared in awe. It was amazing.

4. I have never seen the movie Titanic.

5. I am a Mensa member. I haven't been real active lately, but I did pass their test a few years back. In case you're wondering, that means I'm smart. Not sure why I keep getting into other people's cars or losing stuff though.

6. When I was in my early twenties, people often mistook my daughter for my younger sister. I was 19 when she was born, what can I say ...

7. I've never had a cavity.

8. I love anchovies on my pizza.

In the spirit of payback giving back, I'll tag 3 random people from the BIG Folio blog, 3 of my favorite photographers from the 805, 1 sister-in-law, and 1 spouse.

Elyse Hall, Courtenay Lambert, Brad Barr, Kenneth Morgan, Lisa Maksudian, Cameron Ingalls, My Sister in-law, My Wife