Fiona Lake | Photographer
Fiona Lake
Phone: +61 7 4728 4922
Reviews
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25.01.2022 Great to be reminded of how easy photographers have it today, even compared to film photography just 2 decades ago. I know I would not have had the level of dedication required to photograph lightning in the 1800s! https://petapixel.com//these-are-the-worlds-first-photos-/
25.01.2022 The last Queensland drone workshops for the year! (The next drone workshop is on Mt Riddock Station, Alice Springs, in late December.)
24.01.2022 Fabulous wildlife images! https://www.abc.net.au//big-picture-competition-n/12238794
24.01.2022 6 weeks away but lots of bookings already, including some from Victoria! The early bird price closes soon, and numbers are capped - so if you know any drone photographer who may be interested in attending, please could you pass the info on.
23.01.2022 Fabulous optical illusions - some great ideas for photography creativity :)https://www.businessinsider.com/best-optical-illusions-phot
22.01.2022 It wasn't a myth, in the 80s and 90s top professional photographers could make a lot of money from stock image libraries. But there's always been more money in selling image use direct to businesses, because there's no middleman trading a profit. (Middlemen in all industries often take 50% of the sale price.) And I've never sold via stock image libraries because I need to control the end use. Animal rights activists will not be using my images, for example. But the essentia...l ingredients in making direct sales are a) specialise - become the expert in your field or region; b) build a reputation in your market; & c) have a website that will be found by Google searchers. Direct sales also helps ensure repeat sales - and that's what matters most. Less than $1 per image - you'd have to sell many hundreds just to cover your time sorting & uploading, not to mention the capturing. https://fstoppers.com//my-stock-photo-made-97-cents-and-im See more
22.01.2022 In a recent interview I was asked how much time was spent preparing a drone presentation (conference or workshop). Great question! Everyone sees the time spent on presenting and attending and can guess how long it took to travel to and from. But nobody sees the work that goes into creating and updating presentations. Even though I've presented countless sessions I still spend weeks preparing. I always presumed it didn't take other people nearly as long, so I asked around to ...check. Apparently, it's common for conference presenters to spend ONE HOUR preparing for every minute of a presentation. IE for a one hour presentation, a week and a half's work is the typical total for preparation. Bearing in mind that speakers only talk on topics they're already very familiar with and it's usual to have years of pre-existing knowledge, it is extraordinary. (And I'm glad it is not just me!) Not only is preparation time rarely valued (the value of foregone work can easily run to a few thousand dollars), the worth of the IP being imparted is rarely valued adequately. The bottomline is: if you're asked to speak at an event, weigh up carefully what is in it for you, and don't underquote. My website blog has a number of posts regarding my own workshops (mostly on how to use drones, these days); and also posts containing advice on how to launch into speaking at events. Below there is an interesting blog post someone else wrote on the topic of time spent preparing. Although written in Finland and several years ago the principles are timeless, global and apply across all industries: https://helifromfinland.blog//how-long-does-it-take-to-pr/ See more
21.01.2022 Fabulous street/architecture photography creativity: https://mymodernmet.com/anna-devis-daniel-rueda-architectu/
21.01.2022 Inaugural potato photographer of the year - some great shots here, and the winner is inspired! https://www.digitalcameraworld.com//potato-getting-a-lockd
19.01.2022 There's only one speaker of this ilk that I follow, this bloke (Mike Lehr) - because he swims against the tide and offers realistic, practical advice and unique views. This quote is for anyone who has been asked to mentor someone or who just fell into that role accidentally, or just a friend in need of business support: "Any idiot can identify our weaknesses; it takes wisdom to see how our strengths can engulf them so they fade as problems. If we’re not a dynamic speaker but... know our subject, focus on delivering exceptional content and examples rather than entertainment and humor. Thus, the question is not, How do I correct the weakness? but rather, How do I use my strengths to overcome them? We need more rural women speaking publicly and at events - and their confidence needs building up. 'Constructive criticism' is an oxymoron. Play to your strengths and quieten the voice of the critic (whether internal or external!) I've written several blog posts to help rural women who want to speak at conferences or run workshops - basically I'm passing on what I've learned the hard way, and wish I'd known from the outset! Australia (and other countries) desperately needs more women stepping up to speak, to increase the diversity of publicly aired views. https://omegazadvisors.com//using-strengths-to-overwhelm-/ See more
19.01.2022 What a photography role model to follow, Ans Westra, of New Zealand (originally The Netherlands). A lifetime taking images that matter : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziE9V8Jnhz0
18.01.2022 This year CASA have been running a program to support #drone training events that impart safety-related information. It was great to receive some assistance for the recent Quilpie drone workshop as it helped fund the cost of having to drive 2,500km to SW Queensland rather than fly. I'm looking forward to running more workshops when the state borders re-open. If you know any government departments, ag organisations or photography/cultural groups that would be interested in ho...sting a workshop, please let them or me know. The aerial pic was taken after the two day workshop had finished but nearly half the participants were still there, asking me great questions and chewing the fat. When I said I was going to take a photograph everyone started to do what we all normally do to help the photographer - move closer together - so I had to quickly sing out 'nooooo! Social distancing! Social distancing! Running an event during a pandemic is a bit fraught! #dronetraining #droneworkshops #dronephotography #KnowYourDrone #CASA See more
18.01.2022 Interesting cinematography history https://thenewdaily.com.au//15/on-this-day-moving-pictures/
18.01.2022 For photographers (ground & aerial), a concerning change to privacy laws in California, that presumably may filter out to other regions. Maybe why Harry & Meaghan chose LA! Meanwhile in New York - a while ago a photographer won the right to take images of people in their own homes, without them knowing. What the world needs is privacy laws that sit somewhere between these two extremes! https://dronelife-com.cdn.ampproject.org//a-new-cali/amp/
18.01.2022 Fascinating, beautiful family farming story. https://www.haaretz.com//.premium.MAGAZINE-in-jezreel-vall
18.01.2022 Fascinating; the history of aerial photography is another reminder of French aviation and photography ingenuity and leadership. https://airandspace.si.edu//bird%E2%80%99s-eye-viewfinder-
18.01.2022 A serious education campaign is required for young staff in charge of company social media accounts. In my experience, hardly any have any knowledge of copyright law or any respect for the work of photographers, let alone their need to earn a living. Whether they are amateur or professional photographers doesn't make any difference to copyright law and nobody should donate their work to companies. (Which is exactly what a photographer is doing if they agree to give away usage rights.) Here's a court case that might help educate company staff: https://petapixel.com//photographer-and-model-sue-volvo-f/
17.01.2022 As well as fantastic stunts - great camerawork & editing. And for anyone not in the film industry - note the number of people involved in making this video (listed in the credits at the end). Not just one person with an iPhone! https://youtu.be/fAEBNEscL0c
16.01.2022 Really looking forward to being a guest on Cynthia Mahoney's 'Wellbeing Wednesday' webinar, next week! And what an honour to be amongst such an interesting and accomplished group of earlier speakers! More details here, plus recordings of the earlier sessions. https://www.cynthiamahoney.com.au/well-being-wednesday
16.01.2022 Last year I stumbled upon Mary Portas, on the the fabulous TV series rescuing ailing high street shops. Full of useful tips! Everyone in any kind of retail business should watch it. In this story Mary talks about the fact that every cent we spend shapes the world we live in. We all need to be more aware of the power our spending has to support our local community. And I really hope that consumers do continue to support small local businesses, long after the pandemic has gone. So many have shown masterful creativity and overnight adaption! https://amp.theguardian.com//people-will-want-brands-that-
16.01.2022 France has an impressive history of aviation innovation, which continues today - with Parrot drones, and jetmen. There's some fabulous videos featuring the jetmen in other countries, and this one gives an interesting insight into the amount of time and energy that goes into planning an operation such as flying near an A380. Worth watching! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCQJ5sYGtI
15.01.2022 There's not a lot of regional photography competitions to enter, but Gen Barlow alerted me to the Fed Photo Prize - which is open right now: https://www.fedphotoprize.com/enter-fpp
15.01.2022 I love judging photography competitions - and here's another great rural award that closes later this week. If you know any keen photographers in Western NSW - specifically in the Western Local Land Services region - please encourage them hurry up and enter. Images taken on any device could win - including phone cameras - if the image is a good effort. (I also have some photography competition tips on my website, for entrants and judges.)
15.01.2022 Such clever use of light! https://youtu.be/QnxsEO-scDY
12.01.2022 There should have been uproar regarding altered images in the media long before today. Newspapers and magazines only really began doing it over the last ten years, as digital manipulation has boomed and professional photo journalists started to disappear. Photographs of separate people are often combined, to make it look like they are together. Or people are cut out. Or significant objects are added or removed. (A century ago, Frank Hurley used to create composite prints and... not feel the need to tell viewers, either - but that was thankfully rare behavior, during the film news reporting era.) It is long past the time when this should have been made illegal (as deceptive conduct, potentially influencing elections and having other serious outcomes). Many people still don't question the accuracy of 'photographs' they see in the media, when in fact many are digital artworks. If media organisations are wondering why the public are increasingly cynical, here's one of the obvious reasons. And don't think its just one media organisation, image integrity is sliding everywhere. Text accuracy is also an issue, with even Australia's ABC using clickbait headlines online. https://www.abc.net.au//fox-news-removes-altered-/12353582 See more
11.01.2022 I wish I could respond honestly with positive news when asked by aspiring professional photographers what my career advice is. It can only be: work as a professional photographer in your spare time, only. If/when it's obvious you can make a full time living, then-and only then-give up your 9-5 job. I'm lucky I have a number of different interests and specialise, building up an unusual combination of experience. It is why my business has survived, in addition to being adaptabl...e. This piece by Kenneth Jarecke sums up one of the main reasons why professional photojournalism is almost non-existent now. These contracts were wheeled out by Australian print media companies roughly 17-18 years ago. Ironically, those who signed just ended up getting screwed down the track because now almost all the remaining newspapers rely on journalists with iphones and free content provided by the public. But that doesn't help the long gone, fabulously talented older photographers displaced by the contract signers. The bottom line is: who do you want to be? The kind of person who thinks long term and about others, including those who have paved the way for you? Or is your soul for sale for a give-away price? https://medium.com/@kenn/the-next-bad-contract-538e5696fc0b See more
11.01.2022 It's hard for anyone in creative fields to come up with something that is new. These photographs are so clever! https://www.forbes.com//2020/08/06/10-funny-photos-of-food/
10.01.2022 The drone industry has been plagued by hype; driven by venture capitalists talking it up at one end, and snake oil service providers at the other. Aided by journalists who don't know anything about drones so media releases have been printed verbatim, without the veracity of claims being checked. Exhibit (a) is the drone delivery trials that have been run in Canberra & some other Australian locations. Here's a dose of reality, via the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com//commentary-drone-delivery-projects-mu
09.01.2022 This is how the media selectively chooses images to steer public opinion in the chosen direction. Two stories appearing one after the other, on Google news today. "We'll make this woman look distressed & ashamed, and this woman look arrogant."
09.01.2022 It takes more than two hours just to pack my gear for a work trip that I fly to, because drones & batteries have to be transported carefully (in carry-on). Now I have to tip this lot out & arrange it for using on the job. I'd leave it until tomorrow but I have to start charging up the drone batteries that had to be depleted for safe transport. Then before I fly home, the process is reversed. Luckily I had the forethought to buy an incentive in Brisvegas (chocolate ginger). All up its roughly 55kgs of gear.
08.01.2022 Every dollar we spend makes a difference to somebody else's life. I can't thank my book customers enough! Think about where every cent of your money goes. Spend within Australia and spend carefully!
08.01.2022 The 30 Wandoan Photo Challenge pics are now online, ready for popular voting! Really enjoyed judging this again this year - the category theme of dogs attracted some great images. Wandoanites are lucky to have such a great photography competition! Check out the entries & put your two bob's worth in - don't forget to click on the images to enlarge them, before voting - details matter! https://wandoanphotochallenge.com/top-30-for-peoples-choic/
07.01.2022 This story represents the pinnacle of what has been rampant in the #drone industry in recent years: media releases that have been accepted as fact by the media and repeated verbatim. Globally, I only know of three journalists who understand the drone industry - and none of them are Australian. In summary: don't believe anything you read about drones in the media, without first thoroughly cross checking with independent sources. Its snake-oil seller central. https://www.altnews.in/prathap-nm-hailed-as-drone-scientis/
07.01.2022 Just heard that #Kraftwerk's Florian Schneider died last week. I saw them in 1981 at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. What an experience! And the icing on the cake - when I was buying my ticket I could hear faint sounds of them rehearsing, so I crept in the partly open door and sat in silence in the empty theatre, to watch the German masters at work, rehearsing. Unfortunately many people have never heard of Kraftwerk - but they are the Godfathers of techno & other electronic mus...ic. I first heard Kraftwerk's music on 2JJ in the 1970s, which just reached Melbourne radios after about 10pm at night (albeit very scratchily) - long before it was 2JJJ (FM). You want groundbreaking creativity? This is truly groundbreaking creativity - way back in the 1970s. Full-on creativity doesn't look, sound or feel like anything else you've ever come across. This is it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkOZNJYAZ7c See more
07.01.2022 Since the advent of digital photography 'rights grab' photography competitions have unfortunately flourished. 'Rights grab' competitions are created by well paid marketing staff to obtain a large number of images for business use with little or no payment at all to the photographers who created the images. Disappointingly this has also spread to agricultural industry organisations, who aren't sharp enough to realise that it would be far better long-term for ag industries to support rural photographers and help them produce more and better quality work, rather than undermine their value. https://www.fionalake.com.au//photography-competitions-th/
06.01.2022 Know someone living in Western NSW? Great to be invited to judge this competition again this year - hope we get lots of great entries! There's also some general advice on entering photography competitions on my website's blog. #photography #photographycompetitions #photographyawards #ruralphotography
06.01.2022 It's been a while since I posted a link to useful photography content - simply because I haven't bumped into anything worth posting. Until today. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked about photography gear, I could buy a lot more of it myself! This is an excellent comparison between two top drawer, professional standard cameras - by someone who really does know their stuff. And I love the fact that he emphasises that it ultimately biols down to personal preference and what you need a camera to do. Worth a watch - because he sums up virtually every feature that should be considered before spending. https://youtu.be/QYAANol8oXY
06.01.2022 If you read one story this week, make it this one. I promise you it's worth it - it's amazing! https://www.theguardian.com//the-real-lord-of-the-flies-wh
05.01.2022 Exhibiting photographs of Australia's largest cattle stations in Australia's US Embassy was a career highlight - nice to be reminded of such a memorable occasion.
05.01.2022 This sums up why you should view all advice in #drone Facebook groups with a great deal of scepticism. Some education can be far worse than none at all! https://www.psychologytoday.com//is-little-knowledge-reall
05.01.2022 Know anyone involved in the creative arts? Most Australian states have arts funding especially to support regions. This is acknowledging how much harder it is to viably undertake creative endeavours outside capital cities; and how import the arts are for regional Australians. In Queensland this funding is called Regional Arts Development Funding (RADF). And these grants are THE best arts grants for individual artists, because they're assessed by locals, who know what is neede...d and what will work and what won't. Most local councils run their RADF grant rounds twice a year. Townsville's current RADF grant round is closing on 28th June. If you know anyone working in creative field, please encourage them to apply (in the region where they live, or where they intend holding an art-related workshop or other creative event). https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/c/grants-and-funding/RADF See more
04.01.2022 Interesting new app. Want to pretend you escaped the lockdown and zipped overseas? Dig up some old travel pics, take a current selfie, download the app and combine them. https://techcrunch.com//photoroom-automagically-removes-b/
04.01.2022 Drone footage is now an entrenched part of cinematography, I really enjoy seeing so much of it on UK TV shows now. Here's a great dose of creativity - including 360 cameras and a disappearing selfie stick: https://www.youtube.com/watch
03.01.2022 Commercial photography, in many fields, is very scientific. Here's a good example - a TV set photographer's explanation (makes my head hurt) https://petapixel.com//im-a-tv-show-set-photographer-and-/
02.01.2022 This year has been the Year of the Interview, with many online presenters looking for new interviewees and stumbling across me. The US-based Drone Radio Show podcast interview with Randy Goers is one of my favourites, because not only did he ask good questions, he did a great job of editing it. The interview contains some points that could be useful for others in the drone and/or photography industries.
02.01.2022 Product photography is not my commercial forte, I am waaay too impatient! But sometimes I do have to photograph something with a problematic reflective surface. Here's some great tips on how to do it, and things to consider that may be useful re outdoor reflections. https://petapixel.com//one-light-product-photography-how-/
01.01.2022 Don't forget to find a window or balcony and check out tonight's rising moon! Tomorrow is the full Easter moon, but the moon always looks better in photographs the evening before, because it's rising closer to sunset. (Drone image below, of the sun rising over Sarina Beach, with a wet season storm approaching. Packed the drone up and just made it back to the motel room when it started bucketing down; last month.)
