You might have noticed numerous websites “going dark” a few weeks ago to protest the anti-piracy bills, Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). I seriously doubt that Google or Wikipedia have any desire to promote IP theft, but they did have valid issues about the way those bills implemented that IP protection and the unknown technical, economical, and socio-political ramifications. And when push comes to shove, people care more about uninterrupted Facebook access than they do about protecting a studio’s content, plus as we saw with the music industry, the people trying to protect their IP often come across as villains. We as an industry need to create a reason for people to care about stopping piracy. Gamification can provide that incentive.

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For a while now, I’ve been part of an educational photography site called DSLRU (DSLR University). It was essentially like the iTunes store for photographic learning material, having a mix of video, text, and downloadable content (like Photoshop actions). The main idea was that you’d own any content you purchased, unlike other subscription sites, and that the content would be available in low-cost chunks so that you could buy just what you wanted.

Unfortunately, we recently decided to shut the site down because we weren’t breaking even from it and didn’t see a viable way to increase our business. I wanted to share my experience in case anyone else finds it helpful.

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This past weekend, I was playing with an infrared flash trigger and some water droplets. I have to say it was pretty neat but very hard to control the splash. More after the jump:

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Recently, my friend Erik helped update my site, making it easier for me to update the content here. For one, galleries containing a selection of images from my Photoshelter Archive are now integrated into the site. That will make it easier for me to share new images with everyone. The second big change is this blog, which will make it easier to get the word out on different projects, especially now that O’Reilly has moved away from the Inside Aperture blog. Look for a trip report from the Falkland Islands in the near future.

Happy shooting!