Tag Archives: pinterest

The Met goes Online for the Photo-Sharing Masses

24 Oct

Instagram, meet your ancestors: an exhibit’s digital version bridges the generations of old school photo manipulation and our social media-fueled image sharing obsessions.

There’s an astounding display of pre-computer-era photomontage and photomanipulation now exhibiting at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City: Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop. It’s got everything from vintage trickery to surrealist expressions, all done before the advent of digital tools like Photoshop. In a beautiful irony, the exhibition is made possible by Adobe, makers of the Photoshop software.

But you don’t have visit NYC to see it…

What’s amazing to me, and what inspired this post, is that there’s an equally astounding digital representation of the works available for your browsing pleasure – more than 200 in all. Online, for free. Which is pretty darned sweet.

Faking It - Manipulated Photography before Photoshop at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's website.

Click this link at the site and enjoy.

An innocuous “Works in the Exhibition” link just above the fold at The Met’s website takes you to an incredible look at what’s inside. I call it incredible not just for the content (which is beyond incredible to me), but because it exists online for our easy perusal and sharing. I’m thrilled not only to see such amazing art here, but also to see The Met’s embracing of the digital community in order to promote the exhibit.

The site features an elegant photo slide show, complete with sharing functionality to Pinterest, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and other networks. They even offer hi-res jpegs of some of the works for extra-close viewing or downloading via fullscreen mode.

Download select images from the exhibition

There’s an app for that, of course

Perhaps you would prefer to view these works on your iPad? No problem. The free iPad app accompanying the exhibition offers easy browsing of a handful of the included works and an interactive quiz exploring the motivations and techniques.

There's an app for that.The app’s target audience seems to be the kids, and I bet this would make a fascinating case to a young creative mind about the power of photo manipulation as art and the importance of questioning what we see – with the latter becoming ever more important considering the issues raised by digital photo editing and popular notions of beauty.

More than just “fakes”

Long before Instagram or Photoshop, there was darkroom wizardry. What got me interested in the exhibit in the first place was its inclusion of amazing photomontage art from the likes of Jerry Uelsmann (my all-time top inspiration) and Angus McBean:

More than just "Fakes"

Jerry Uelsmann, “Untitled,” 1976.                       Angus McBean, “Christmas Card,” 1949,

In my opinion, the app and companion website add tremendous value to the whole endeavor, allowing people to connect and interact with historically relevant art in ways that are common these days because of experiences like Instagram, Pinterest – and especially Photoshop. Huge props to Adobe for sponsoring this.

Thanks to the Met’s generous actions in the digital realm, I’m even more inclined now to physically visit the museum, see these works in person and probably buy a catalogue in the meantime (and speaking of catalogues, check out these other more than 300 Met Museum catalogues downloadable for free).

Having been a graphic artist for many years, I’ve practically lived in Photoshop as an operating system, and working there is my favorite part of design, more so than typography or arranging layouts – leading right up to today with my own iPhone photomontage creations:

The Aha Moment - Richard Smith

“The Aha Moment”
More of my stuff at Pinterest or 500px.

I’m happy to have signed up for a My Met membership thanks to this excellent digital representation, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of what’s to come – something I hadn’t much considered until discovering the online component of this exhibit. Props to The Met for harnessing and embracing the power of the Internet for cultural benefit. Now go visit The Met’s site, metmuseum.org and discover something cool for yourself.

What do you think? Does such open sharing increase or decrease the value of museum offerings? Or is that a non-issue in our world of mobile photography, photo-sharing networks and interconnectedness? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Happy Birthday! On One Year of Blogging

12 Oct

This week marks one full year of blogging here at the rsmithing.com. In some ways, it certainly feels like a year. In another ways, I can’t believe it’s been a year already.

Distressed Happy Birthday Cupcake

Original by Keristars, via Flickr. Edited in Pixlr.

First of all, THANK YOU for reading this and thank you even more if you’ve ever commented on a post. I sincerely appreciate your feedback and the fact that you find my ramblings interesting enough to keep on reading.

I started this blog for my own personal enjoyment, education, expression, and curiosity. It’s been a rewarding journey that’s greatly boosted my knowledge of social media in general, and has been a satisfying creative outlet I look forward to growing every single week.

One of the most fun things about this is interacting with some of the folks mentioned in my posts, like Neil Strauss, Delta Airlines, and for-real professional writers such as those featured in Esquire and The Atlantic.

I’ve been contacted to help promote one of my favorite bands, and interviewed some of my favorite artists. I’ve also discovered a plethora of resources on how to get the most out of blogging, and made many meaningful connections with like-minded individuals along the way. It’s all definitely been very fulfilling.

So here’s to the future, and again thank you.

What do you think? How long have you been blogging? What have you learned in the past year, either from blogging or otherwise? Let us hear from you in the comments.
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Image

Mooney’s – Single Image Sundays

12 Aug

When an afternoon thunderstorm sends you into the right spot at the right time…

Mooney's Mediterranean Cafe. Click to see more like this on the Pinterest board of my iPhoneography.

Mooney’s Mediterranean Cafe, Winston-Salem, NC.
Click to see more like this on the Pinterest board of my iPhoneography.

Downtown on a Saturday just after the start of a thunderstorm was the perfect place for this quick snapshot of a peaceful moment, reflecting on the day so far and the future ahead, while anticipating Mooneys‘ excellent shawerma over hummus. In retrospect, I’m grateful for having the technology and inclination to document the moment. It was one of those simple times that’s easy to forget, but worthwhile to remember.

Click to Share this on Twitter…

What do you think? Ever serendipitously documented a moment that you only realized later? Ever wish you’d done that? How do you think you might do that in the future? Let us hear from you in the comments!

Join the Pin Party!

A pin party is where bloggers get together and pin each other’s posts. This is my first time trying one, inspired by Sarah Dawn Designs.

Photobucket

Pin Party Rules:
  1. Visit at least two other links and pin two projects from the authors’ blog.
  2. Add Sarah’s button somewhere on your blog, whether it is in the post itself or on the side.
  3. Link to a specific post and it must be something you wrote or created.
  4. No give-aways or other link parties.
  5. Please limit your submissions to 3 or 4 projects.
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Virgin America Gets PR Right

12 Jul
Click for full-size

Unauthorized Bedtime Nonsense – Click for full size at Pinterest

Safety can be fun, even for big businesses like airlines.

I’ve written in the past about how refreshing it is to see a big company get public relations and customer communications right. In that case it was  Delta Airlines endorsing their mile runner superfans. I’m pleased to report another discovery of a similar company offering up some positivity and humor with their own messaging: Virgin America.

During a recent #PinChat on Twitter, the featured guest was Jill Okawa Fletcher, Virgin America’s Director of Social Media. Ms. Fletcher was sharing insights about Virgin’s use of Pinterest and I immediately referred her to my pin of Virgin Atlantic’s wacky insert card campaign (at right). We then had the following exchange:

And Ms. Fletcher then referred me to Virgin America’s easygoing in-flight safety video:

 

Corporate Wackiness Can be Entertaining

As you may know, I’m a big geeky fan of this type of thing, and true to its brand spirit, Virgin makes the most of an opportunity here with its captive audience. Yes, safety is important, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with it.

Coincidentally, back to Delta…. I first noticed this in Delta’s in-flight safety video, where an attendant’s shiny tooth actually goes “ding!” after demonstrating proper use of a seat as a floatation device. That’s so funny to me just because it’s very subtle and wacky in an otherwise fairly standard video. I’m such a fan that once on a Delta flight, I was ready with my phone to get a picture of the exact moment… voila:

Delta Airlines Safety Video - Ding!

My favorite part of Delta’s in-flight safety video. The guy’s smile literally sparkles. And makes a “ding” sound. Brilliant.

What do you think? Can you name any examples of companies having fun with their otherwise serious messaging? Does this influence your perception of the company or a brand? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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Image

Cheers With A Sleeve Tattoo – Single Image Sundays

1 Jul

Cheers - Single Image Sundays

Dig this pic? Share it on Twitter (thanks).

It just so happened that my phone was ready for a quick snapshot when I got up to the bar last night. This bartender’s ace-up-the-sleeve tattoo, literally up a sleeve (though not the typical sleeve tattoo), makes an appropriate background for a highball glass alight with a candle. Shot with an iPhone4, processed using Noir and Dynamic Light. Check out my iPhoneography board for similar stuff. Cheers.

What do you think? Ever seen a cool tattoo at an appropriate moment for a photo opportunity? Do you take photos more often with your phone or with a camera? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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Social Media Selectiveness

20 Jun
Social Media Roulette

Where are your contacts landing?
Photo by Håkan Dahlström / Edit by rsmithing.
Click for original.

Are social networks a gamble? Do you spin-off your contacts from one to the next?

With each new social network I actively participate in, beyond simply creating an account for, I become more selective with the people I follow. This started with MySpace. Initially, I followed bands and other folks whose profiles seemed vaguely interesting. I made some real friends (still in touch to this day), and as my offline friends got into social networking, I racked up contacts at a steady clip. This was fun until MySpace started to go downhill with spammers and overly customized profiles. But that was fine, because Facebook was ready with open arms as a fresh start.

Facebook Got This Right

Once on Facebook (just after they opened up beyond universities in 2006), I made it a point only to add familiar folks and people I knew in “real life.” What a difference this made! Pretty soon, I was reading status updates on MySpace about how folks were abandoning their profiles there and going to the cleaner, faster, more relevant Facebook. It’s my theory that this “fresh start” element was part of Facebook’s early mass appeal. That they got other things right also helped — photo sharing is what really sold me on embracing Facebook.

The one exception is Twitter, where following can become a free for all. Being selective there is somewhat counter to the experience, because content there moves so fast. I personally tell folks new to Twitter that until they follow about 200 active users, the experience just won’t be that interesting. I also use lists to sort those I’m interested in, some of whom I may or may not follow.

That said, I’ve been selective about my Instagram, LinkedIn, and now Pinterest accounts. As I’ve become familiar with Pinterest, I’ve found the experience at the site more rewarding now that I have a stream of cool and inspiring images coming in– rather than lame pictures from folks I don’t even know (or may actually know, but whose tastes don’t match mine).

So did LinkedIn

LinkedIn is another example of the fresh start approach, at least in my experience. The longer I’m there, the more steadily my colleagues trickle in. And I can truly say I’ve worked with, done business with, or somehow professionally interacted with each contact there. For me, LinkedIn represents quality over quantity rather than a numbers game.

Who’s Next?

My theory is that Pinterest will experience similar adoption, but these are still early days, and the site is more about visual content than social interaction. Only recently have I gotten serious about the site, and it takes some work to find boards to follow that really catch my eye. I think that’s a good thing for now, since it keeps the content I see relevant – not unlike when I signed up for Facebook after ditching MySpace a few social networks ago.

Did you welcome Facebook as a fresh start from MySpace? Do you welcome Pinterest as a fresh start from Instagram, now that Facebook owns Instagram? Do you follow people on different social networks all the same way, or does your criteria change from one to the other? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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Image

Dream Catcher – Single Image Sundays

3 Jun

20120603-222100.jpg

I put this montage together over the weekend. I shot the elements separately with Hipstamatic, adjusted lighting in Noir, then assembled everything in Photoforge2. Inspired by the work of the great Jerry Uelsmann.

If you like this, check out the full-size version at Flickr, and follow the “My Creations” board over at Pinterest.

What do you think? Are you into montages and/or collages, and what is your opinion on the difference? Have you ever heard of Jerry Uelsmann, or been influenced by another artist? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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Fast Food and Fast Lessons in Public Relations

17 May

Social MeDia LessonsThe new PR reality of social media and brand engagement means accepting the fact that the audience can drive the conversation, and that the days of top-down, message-from-on-high broadcasting of positions are long, long gone for any organization looking to engage in the digital realm. Because the whole point is…

Engagement, not broadcasting.

Big difference. This point is certainly not lost on McDonald’s, a long-standing brand and corporate giant by any measure, who has long been making strides in new media. And their realistic acceptance of this new truth is serving them well as they recently experienced and rose above what could have been a major PR/digital disaster for the history books, what with having a promotional hashtag hijacked for unintended (read: negative) purposes.

As summarized at Ragan.com:

The promoted hashtag #McDStories led to some unwelcome comments about McDonald’s experiences and some plain old trash talk….The hashtag was part of a campaign to showcase the company’s food suppliers. Initially, the campaign used the hashtag #MeetTheFarmers, but it switched midstream to #McDStories. Soon after the changeover, the conversation started to change. The brand saw about 2,000 mostly negative comments in about two hours.

Crisis! Negative comments! Oh noes!

But Rick Wion, director of social media for McDonald’s U.S.A. puts this in its proper perspective:

“There are a lot of people who are trying to make a name for themselves by trying to be funny on Twitter,” he says.

McDonald’s switched the promoted tag back to #MeetTheFarmers within an hour of noticing the adverse reaction, and in about 15 minutes or so, the whole thing was over, Wion says. He notes that in the time people were using the #McDStories hashtag, people mentioned Egg McMuffins five times as much.

“The rest of the conversation that took place that day, #MeetTheFarmers, there was 10 times more conversation about that, and it was almost all positive,” he says.

The whole incident showed that some hashtags can open brands up to a beating. “If anything, the lesson of #McDStories is that we can be an easy target for people who are uninformed.”

Good for McDonald’s, staying on top of their messaging, then monitoring and quickly adjusting to avert a complete and total fail on Twitter. The company took an important step by reacting appropriately, and seeing the whole of what was happening with sentiment and their foray into digital PR via public engagement.

And this has only helped the company, in my opinion. Just last night I participated in #Pinchat, a weekly Twitter chat session about Pinterest, which happened to feature the corporate tweeters from the company. I got a kudos for a photo I once took in a drive-thru (don’t worry; my car was in park) and, more importantly, got a look at the approach of the brand in the new social media world of Pinterest.

From the Drive-Through

Taken at my local McDonald’s drive-thru. Please Note: the car was in “park.” Friends don’t let friends photograph and drive. Click for more like this at Pinterest.

So let this be a lesson for any company, business, or individual participating in social media: you are part of the conversation, but only part. It goes both ways, and you need to be ready to deal with both the good and the bad. Respect to McDonald’s for working to get it right.

What do you think? Can you name another company getting it right by addressing the good and the bad in social media? How would you have handled this? What about your company or favorite brands? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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Link Instagram and Pinterest with Flickr

9 May
Flickr to Facebook: I'll see your Instagram and raise you a Pinterest

Flickr to Facebook: I’ll see your Instagram and raise you a Pinterest. Photo by Courtney Patubo / edit by rsmithing. Click for full size.

Flickr to Facebook: I’ll see your Instagram and raise you a Pinterest

Hot on the heels of my post on using Pinterest for Instagram images with sites like Gramfeed, Flickr has made this even easier by including Pinterest as an option under the “Share” menu at the top left of any Flickr image. And the best part is, all photos are automatically attributed to the owner – including all photos ever previously pinned from Flickr!

Pinterest for Flickr

This is HUGE, because not only does it mean easy and proper posting from a site with millions of great images, but also it makes posting from Instagram easy as well, since Instagram users can easily link their accounts to post to Flickr when uploading at Instagram.

I personally only started using Flickr seriously as a result of Instagram’s integration, and I now swear by it as a great tool for managing your images with some neat social functionality thrown in. It’s highly customizable, easy to use, and a great value whether you subscribe for free or have a Pro account.

Just two steps gets any Flickr image on your Pinterest board. Click for full details at Flickr’s blog.

Bottom Line: Flickr Gets It Right… First

Maybe they were too busy being bought by Facebook to notice, but the folks at Instagram missed out on being the first major image sharing site to hook up so seamlessly with Pinterest. I’m fairly sure that day is coming, since Instagram already integrates with Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, Foursquare, and of course, Flickr, but given the competitiveness in Silicon Valley these days, it’s not a given.

Pinterest’s growth is impossible to ignore, and Flickr did the right thing by integrating easily with the site. Rather than interfere with its own goals, this makes an already great platform like Flickr even better.

I don’t work for Flickr, but if you haven’t checked it out – and especially if you want to pin your Instagram images like a boss – definitely give Flickr a look… even if only to find cool images for your Pinterest Boards.

Impress your friends: share this on Twitter!

What do you think? Do you use Flickr in conjunction with Instagram? Do you use Pinterest and have you pinned Flickr images there? What has that been like? Will you be trying this now that Flickr makes it easy to share images originating on Instagram? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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Pinterest for Instagram Images

24 Apr

S I N C E   U P D A T E D – You might also like:
>> Link Instagram and Pinterest with Flickr <<

How to post Instagram Images on Pinterest

how to use pinterest with instagramYou probably already know that Instagram and Instagram-web-interface sites like Gramfeed are great tools for discovering amazing images, sharing your own creations and connecting with others through visual art. And you’ve probably also heard about the social and image-sharing website Pinterest, with its incredible growth as another medium for sharing and discovering based on compelling visuals.

Here’s a basic guide to using Instagram and Pinterest together that will help you share what you like on Instagram with others on Pinterest. This also will show you some best practices for crediting Instagram artists for their work, which is not only proper etiquette for Pinterest, but is the right thing to do whenever sharing any artwork anywhere.

If you find this useful, share it on Twitter — thanks!

There are already plenty of resources on how Pinterest works beyond the scope of what’s covered here, so this post will assume you have a basic understanding of Pinterest and an account there.

Post Instagram to Pinterest?

Can you pin pictures from instagram? Absolutely. To link Instagram to Pinterest is just a matter of selecting what to share, and pinning the right way. Now, let’s get started sharing the great images you already like on Instagram at Pinterest, with the help of Gramfeed.

Use Gramfeed & Always Give Credit

Gramfeed is not only a great way to participate on Instagram via the web, but it also gives you a convenient way to share and properly credit Instagram images on Pinterest. And it’s easier than you might think, for your own images as well as those of other Instagramers. Just follow these five steps:

  1. Open the image at full size to pin on Pinterest.

    Open the image at full size to pin on Pinterest.

    Browse in Gramfeed to a photo of your own you’d like to pin, or photos you have liked. “My Likes” in Gramfeed’s top menu is a good place to start — since you already like those images.

  2. Click on the photo you would like to share on Pinterest to open it at full-size view.

    3.  

  3. VERY IMPORTANT –  Pin directly from the image’s Gramfeed page. Just click the red “Pin it” button in the lower right corner on the image’s page.

    EASIEST WAY TO PIN IMAGES FROM INSTAGRAM: Using Gramfeed, just click on the photo you like and click the “Pin It” button to the lower right of the image. Select a board, and pin away. Click for larger view.

     

    Do NOT just pin the small thumbnail images from the list page using the Pinterest tool you may have installed on your browser. If you only share from a page of small preview images, the links associated with your pins will not work, and Pinterest viewers can’t click through to the original sources. By sharing from the full-size image page, visitors can click through your pin to the artist’s actual page, thus giving the proper credit to the owner – while also showing a beautiful full-sized image instead of a small preview. This is important, since larger images get more repins on Pinterest.

    If you pin this way, you're doing it wrong. Artists won't get credit and images will be way small.

     

  4. Finally, to give proper credit where it is due, I suggest you copy the artist name from their photo page and then paste that into the comments box of your pin with something like, “From Instagram by Instagramer-name-here.” You will then have given full credit to the artist whose work you are sharing, and lessen the chance that others may accuse you of stealing or taking credit for someone else’s work. Here’s an example of how I’m doing this with my own Pinterest board I’m calling “Instagram Magic.” Note how all images link to the creators of the images and mention them on the pins.

Bonus Points: since Pinterest is more fun and you will gain more followers by interacting, try to say a few words about what it is that makes the photo special to you. Do you like the contrast, subject matter, or apps used? Say so in the comments when you’re giving credit and ask others what they think. Pretty soon, you’re likely to get comments and start discussions with other like-minded folks on the site.

Pinterest Boards for Instagram Categories

Pinterest is a great way to categorize images you find on Instagram. Just do a search in Gramfeed for a subject you’re passionate about, then set up a new board when pinning those images (while always giving credit). Do this a few times, and before you know it, you’ll have several visually-rich Pinterest boards with your favorite images, and you’ll be establishing yourself as a Pinterest pro.

What do you think? Are you on Pinterest and/or Instagram? Do you have any suggestions on how to share images through Pinterest? Let us hear from you in the comments!
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