A few links to resources you might find useful when commissioning photography, how to get your colour right and keep it there.
Plus a couple to things close to my heart as a diver, sailor, marine conservationist and someone who likes messing about on, in and under the water.
The Association of Photographers: The UK's Professional Photographers Association originally formed in 1968, with the principle aim to educate and promote photography and to ensure ‘best practice’ standards are maintained.
Copyright 4 Clients: A very useful resource from the above for anyone commissioning photography, explaining copyright, the laws relating to it and a very interesting FAQ on 'Why use a professional photographer'.
Pro - Dig: Set up in the early days of digital photography by some members of The AoP and now a very useful source for discovering many things to do with digital image making. Full of links, a forum and a for sale/wanted section.
Pro - Imaging: An international web based group of professional photographers. As an organization, they have campaigned on behalf of photographers and their rights around the world. You have to be a full time photographer to join and gain access to the forum. Most importantly, you cannot be a supplier of any Royalty Free stock images.
L.F. Deardorff and Sons: Manufacturers of large format mahogany field cameras from Chicago used by the likes of Adams, Avedon, Donovan, Evans, Penn, Weston, and myself amongst many others. Unfortunately no longer in business, these cameras were, to my mind, far superior to anything offered by the competition. Equally at home in both the studio or on location and, being made of natural materials, not too bothered by the elements. There’s nothing so enjoyable as framing up and focusing on the ground glass with one of these delightful cameras, whether it’s a studio portrait or a landscape in the middle of nowhere. This link gives you some background to the company, where to buy one, get it serviced and how to look after it once you've got one.
Colour Management: Trying to get your colour right or your prints to look like you're seeing them on screen? Then look no further! Colourmanagement.net was set up by Neil Barstow, who was one of London's top advertising photographers. He has an huge understanding of photography, colour management and digital imaging. He not only speaks in English, he also sells the kit to ensure your workflow, colour and output prints are 100% accurate - time after time, along with all the consumables you'll need - like ink and some serious papers. I cannot recommend him highly enough to solve your colour problems.
Stop Shark Finning: “Every year about 100 million sharks die a slow death because of finning.That's about 2 every minute of the day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - with no time off for Bank Holidays!! Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark’s fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea - All for a bowl of tasteless soup. Not only is the finning of sharks barbaric, but their indiscriminate slaughter at an unsustainable rate is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%". Sharks have a long gestation period and do not breed like rabbits or humans. They're THE apex predators and, as such, keep the World's Oceans and reefs in balance. About 75% of this planet is covered by water and our future depends on these (our?) oceans being kept in check and healthy. A point of interest - 791 people were killed by defective toasters last year while only 4 people were killed by sharks. (Source - www.saveourseas.com)
Sea Shepherd: A non - profit making organisation founded by Captain Paul Watson, with the aim of marine mammal protection and conservation. This has now extened to include all marine wildlife. I really like these guys as they don't pussyfoot about and get on with the job giving the whaling fleets grief (checkout some of their videos), lecturing and generally trying to educate restaurants, supermarket chains and the public at large.