After an inspiring conversation with my homie Jeff Holt about finding things that inspire you, and putting them in once place. Being inspired is a huge piece of being creative, and being creative on a consistent basis.
This whole conversation inspired me to create http://inspired.nickonken.com, which is really a public scrapbook of imagery, videos, quotes, and other things that inspire me. I’ve talked a little bit about this in my Vision Board post a while back. Curating imagery that inspires you is a way to help you hone your visual style. I think it’s a great exercise that teaches you to see. Curating is similar to editing in the fact that you are culling together images that are appropriate for a certain outcome. This outcome being “what you’re inspired by”. You can then break down what it is you like about this palette of imagery and integrate elements into the way you see your for your work.
Jeff showed me his tumblr blog, and the tumblr blog engine finally made sense to me. It’s an extended version of twitter in the fact that you can follow people, reblog their posts, add your own posts, and search the tumblr databases. I had my tumblr interface custom coded by my friends in Mexico, GL Pepper. I wanted a mood board/magazine style format that has a lot of images on the page so it creates a feeling. The great thing about tumblr, is you can scroll through your past posts, and one of my favorites is viewing your archive. http://inspired.nickonken.com/archive It thumbnails everything (like this screenshot). You can find the archive here: http://inspired.nickonken.com/archive. Doing this in a public fashion will allow me to find imagery through the tumblr community, and be able to access it anywhere. I really found it great on this last editorial shoot we just did this weekend, in the fact I could pull it up on my iPad and have the images as reference right there for the team. I think it will be great to see as an ongoing log and evolution of what inspires me, and in turn, share that with a community.
Nick, your last few blog posts have been spot on and quite inspiring for me personally and professionally. Thanks for your efforts and ideas.
Hi Nick, your post reminded me of something I just stumbled upon last week. Its a program in beta called Pinterest (check it out here http://pinterest.com/boards/ )
Yeah Nick I like this concept alot. I too haven’t found a use for tumblr yet, I like how you are using it. And the fact that you customize it to look like just another extension of your website is even better, building your brand. Must look great on the iPad. Can you add tags for particular projects/concepts so that all images can pop up that are similar so you can show client/crew?
So I’m curious – how do you feel about appropriating other peoples work into something that is posted under your name/brand? Especially without even a link back to the original content source.
Tumblr is an interesting concept, but it skirts around copyrighted content doesn’t it?
FWIW – I really like the idea and think a lot of people will borrow it. I just don’t know what to think about the ramifications of re-posting other people’s content in a public context. Making a private mood-board seems to be a very different thing compared to this.
This word, CURATE, really, aren’t you just collecting and grouping and swiping images; isn’t CURATING more of a museum staffer’s position, based on a deeper knowledge than “I like the light here,” or “this chick’s got great ‘tude?”
I love your work, really love it; I’m just saying — CURATING — c’mon, that’s a bit much.
I just really connect with everything you, SarahRhoads, and Lara Casey talk about. I am really thankful that I have people like you who stretch me to push myself and be better. Thanks!
I’ve been on Tumblr for months and still don’t quite understand it but I love your approach to the whole thing. Can’t thank you enough for the daily inspirations.
I absolutely love the idea – but am also confused about the legality of using the images on a commercial site.
@StevenNoreyko I understand where you are coming from and you bring up a great point. I think the web 2.0 world has changed the digital world we live in. I thought I was clear enough in my “mantra” paragraph, but it seems I need to clarify and preface the site better. In no way am I making claim to these photographs, but show casing them in one spot. If you do look more in depth at most of the posts, I’ve credited every photograph where I know who the author actually is. A lot of these photos are reblogged from other bloggers that have no credits.
I find people blogging my images all the time, and in that respect it doesn’t bother me because they arent’ using my images for commercial gain. Other photographers blog my work all the time, and I have no problem with it. Credit is always nice, but I don’t always get it. If I find people blogging my images without a creditline, I just kindly ask them to credit me.
As with this tumblr blog, If I don’t credit the image, it’s because I don’t know the author. If anyone knows the author to an image that isn’t listed, please contact me so I can properly credit them.
On one side it’s a great use of technology of something most of us do, or should be doing. But there is a fine line between ripping pages out of a magazine (done for decades), or saving a website image to your own hard drive and on the other side actually republishing it on a website.
Having it on a website makes that process more public, and in some ways more transparent about who inspires one, and following the thread of that inspiration in one’s work, allowing judgment on of how much is original vs. highly leveraged.
I frequently save images that inspire me and put them in a Lightroom gallery. I take pains to use a different preset that attaches a note in IPTC data clearly stating that copyright is with original photographer – just in case a file were to inadvertently get out despite measures to the contrary. I do frequently visit my Lightroom gallery when planning a shoot, copy a collection of them onto my iPad, or put a private gallery online only shared with the team.
I’ve found this process to be extremely valuable in refining and identifying what inspires me – or as Selina put it on her podcast, what the few images are that I’d like to have shot before I died.
But I’ve also found that at times while it can help people on the shoot see what inspires you, it can also make them attempt to copy that instead to the dot. Then you have to undo it by directing them even more to capture your vision as influenced by your inspirations. Showing them during pre-pro only, but not on set unless needed has minimized this tendency for me.
PS: Where this subject has been somewhat tested on the copyright question are blogs like fashiongonerogue and fashionisto. In fact fashiongonerogue recently encountered legal trouble for repurposing images, even though most agree that their particular use is actually a PR benefit to the image’s owners and in many cases they source images from the photographer or creatives on the shoot.
See story here: http://fashionista.com/2010/07/fashion-gone-rogue-sued-for-copyright-infringement-goes-on-hiatus/
Looks great! You should implement an rss feed for the tumblr deficient.
@nickonken sez: “… I’ve credited every photograph where I know who the author actually is.A lot of these photos are reblogged from other bloggers that have no credits.”
I think you’re trying to be responsible here, which is great. Responsible in terms of the original artist getting credit for the work you’re sharing.
I think if you’re going to post the material, you need to do the research to find out who shot it and give them credit. If some other bloggers are lazy and didn’t bother to find the original author, then don’t continue that cycle and re-post it again as a orphan. Google, PicScout or TinEye could be able to track down where the image originated.
You’re rockin’, Onken! Great work.
I’ve used Image Spark in the past for this. It’s really helpful to organize ideas. Also cool b/c you can layout images on a virtual board like a big puzzle and resize images and what not so you can place emphasis on certain images.
Image Spark Screenshot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jewboyflava/4869092093/
Image Spark
http://www.imgspark.com
What’s that Jim Jarmusch quote? oh yeah:
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”
Precious admin, thnx in the direction of sharing this blog post. I start it wonderful. Best regards, Victoria…
well, pinterest is the new tumblr inspirational board then! Wish I could see you there Nick!