Free is Killing Me!

By Matt Brown Stop working for free!
Next time you're in the local hardware store, ask the salesman to give you free tools and tell him in return you will tell all your friends you got your tools from his hardware store.
Or try it at the grocery store. I can see it now, standing at the check at line: "That will be $102.85, sir."
"You don't know me but I will tell everyone I know to shop at Ralph's if I can just get my groceries for free". "
Sure Mr. Brown nobody knows about us yet, here's your food and have a nice day!"
Sweet!
Can you send me a photo? Can I get a photo for free? We will give you credit for the photo!
How many times have you heard that?
Free! Free! Free!
I've had CBS.com, Wilson Sporting Goods Global Marketing, Fox Sports, ESPN.com, ABC, CBS, Fox, Rivals.com, Baseball America, college websites and yes, newspapers, magazines, all ask for FREE photos. Some are even willing to give me photo credit.
Wow! Give me photo credit for a photo I created!
So these companies can take it and make money from a product I provided free. Yes, money. The bottom line here is money. Give me your photos for free and I can post them on their company website or run it in a publication... what a concept!
continued here..... http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1989
(Matt Brown is a freelance photographer based in Southern California. You can see his work at his SportsShooter.com member page: http://www.sportsshooter.com/mattb and at his personal website: http://www.mattbrownphoto.com/. He is also the co-director of the Sports Shooter Academy.)

Anatomy of a Flip

 

Another boat in the surf

 

In the surf!

 

Team Poison Girl negotiating the surf during the 2008 Great Texas 300 Long Distance Endurance Catamaran Race GT300.com

Hooters

No further comment needed.

New Apt

Ok...so I didn't take this photo. It's on the website for my new apt which I move into this Friday.

My apt is front and center, 2nd floor. I'll try to post photos of the inside soon. It's really nice..comes with dishwasher, microwave, washer/dryer, alarm system...and brand new. I'll be the first tenant. 1st month is free.

It's also 5 minutes closer to work and the airport. A little more expensive than my other complex, but for the reasons mentioned above I'll take it. It saves me from buying a washer/dryer ($800), gives me peace of mind when I'm out of town, and saves gas, and should have a smaller electric bill...I chose the 2nd floor so that I'd have insulation from the sun for less AC running, and getting heat from below when it's chilly. (Usually enough heat comes from below that this canuckian doesn't have to turn the heat on all winter).

Just a little post...I keep meaning to flip this photo

Bob

How does that joke go? What do you call a photographer in the middle of the ocean with no arms and no legs? Bob!

My Car

Just a pic of my car at the beach. Not washed, not good side, Shelley driving.

San Antonio Riverwalk at Xmas

 

Just an interesting shot I took at a wedding. Backlight by lighted pillars made of translucent fibreglass. 

Custom Poster for Team Cat Alley

Cat Alley is the nickname for the beach house of Team Cat Alley located just outside Galveston, TX. It also happens to be the finish line to a 300 mile, 4 day race along the Gulf Coast of Texas. To that end, Team Cat Alley likes to keep momentos in the beach house of past races. They commissioned me to create this poster using photos and graphics from the 2005 race to be hung in the beachhouse.

A note of interest is that Cat Alley is located in the projected path of Hurricane Rita, and dodged a bullet when Rita veered eastward by a few miles. 

Taking Shape

Here is a vase taking shape. It is then shoved into a vertical tube and spun until it takes the shape of that tube. 

Start of a Vase

This pull fresh from the furnace ends up being a cylindrical vase. 

GlassBlowers Furnace

Along the waterfront in Halifax you can look in on the Glassblowers of Waterford Crystal. It's a great photo op for tourists and pro's alike. 

Award Photo

Here's a crappy scan from a crappy photocopy of a pretty good photo of me recieving the Cheif of Defence Staff Commendation from the Admiral. The guy on the Right is Brendan ....he was my Departmental Officer at the time, and we went to the same high school. 

Before and After

This is a little exercise in manipulating a photo in Photoshop. Note, this is all done with one photo....no additional photos were copied or pasted. 

A BFC

A Big Freakin' Crane. A photo I took pre-2000, this Crane was the focal point of the harbour for about a month. To put things in perspective, it's sitting in the middle of the harbour, and those are 18-20 story buildings in the background. 

Twins

TJ didn't realize he had a twin brother!

Comprised of two diff photos taken at the same place. Someone had spent alot of time arranging these beach rocks into some wonderful seats with a view of the ocean. The things you find when you go off the beaten path! 

TJ Whalewatching

This is a blend of two photos taken while we were whalewatching in the Bay of Fundy. We camped overnight on an island and left the next day for about a 3 hour tour (ominus, eh?). We didn't spot many whales but TJ, around age 8 then, was fascinated just being on a boat. He spent most of the time at the rail just staring at the water rushing past and was one of the first to spot the white-sided dolphins and humpback whales.