Letter From The Editor [April]

Here in Washington, DC, where I live, I’ve had the misfortune of dealing with enjoying the cherry blossom festival. Spring has sprung and the trees around the Tidal Basin are full of these blossoms that people come from all over the world to see and take the generic photo of the Jefferson Memorial conveniently framed by the branches. Tourists stand around with their expensive dSLRs and lenses to capture that one shot that everybody has done before. Don’t believe me? Google it. I dare you. I double dog dare you. See? Annoying, isn’t it? Now, imagine trying to get somewhere in DC from Virginia and having to go on an hour-long detour around the city just to meet up with friends, all because of these knuckleheads that infest the area like the cicadas. Even more annoying, huh? Yeah, you’d be preaching to the choir, my friend.

But that’s not all spring has to offer, and if my sanity can hold up for the two weeks this even occurs, I get to enjoy the beautiful weather, eating outdoors on a restaurant’s patio, and the feeling of being reborn. Starting anew. I know people make their resolutions in the dead of winter, but that has never been my style. It’s when the flowers are blooming, my allergies kick in and the bugs start buzzing around my head when I feel like making a fresh start. My clients come out of hibernation and shoots start popping up left and right. There’s so much to photograph that I begin getting overwhelmed (in a good way, of course).

Because all of this is happening at once, my team of writers/photographers/awesomologists are full of some great ideas for articles and other projects that we’re looking forward to bringing your way. I’ve got yet ANOTHER new writer to throw at you – David – who is going to help me out with this whole “mobile photography” thingamabob the kids are doing these days. I am really entranced by everything my iPhone has to offer and it has become my camera of choice when I’m out and about (if you’re on Instagram, tell me your user name and look me up – my screen name is OnofreShoots). And to compete with the tourists this year, I decided to give in and take photos of the cherry blossoms… except I used my iPhone and am going to create some ridiculous abstract art with it as a result. Think “Andy Warhol meets Mark Rothko for lunch, and as they’re discussing art, Hans Hofmann and Clyfford Still jump on the table and start spilling their coffee all over the place.” Yeah, something like that.

Speaking of spring, there’s usually another word tied with it: cleaning. Ugh. I loathe cleaning. Look at my room for proof. However, since I’ve taken over as Editor-in-Chief, I have been busy with a ton of other projects I’ve undertaken and haven’t given this page as much of an overhaul and I was looking to do… that stupid “life” thing getting in the way. So, I want to start tidying up the place a bit and giving it a little spit shine. (Well, not literally – that would be gross. Eww.) I want to start engaging you, my faithful reader, a lot more with our site. As much as I love standing on soap boxes and preaching the good word about f-stops and proper exposures, I think it’s time we kick it up a notch and actually get YOU involved. Weird, right? Since so many other photography sites would rather talk at you and not to you, I’d like to think FYP is way cooler than that.

This means that I want to hear YOUR thoughts on what you’d love to see from us. What grinds your gears about your camera/this industry/post production/our peers/etc? Where do you think our industry is headed? What kind of articles or projects would you like to see come out of us? Here at FYP, we’re a community of photographers from many different levels, and I would love to encourage everyone to share their experiences with each other. That can also mean guest writing for us if you are so inclined, or just sitting back and enjoying the ride.

We’ve got a lot up our sleeves over here, so stay tuned and be on the look out for some projects and other goodies we have in store for you!

Until next time,

- Patrick
Your Fearless Leader