If you have read past posts, you know that back in early March I was hired by NBC to shoot stills for the Ed Schultz show. I took photos in between takes of a commercial Spike Lee was directing in Norfolk, Virginia. Below is the final ad running in Newsweek, The New Yorker and a few other magazines this summer.

I ended 2010 with a flurry of promotional activity, and I’m excited to keep moving forward with this new piece in 2011. I’ll use it as a leave-behind at meetings and as a special mailer to targeted leads. Peter Clark designed the piece and posted about the collaboration on the Wonderful Machine blog. This animated GIF provided by WM is best viewed on a computer. As I learned recently, animated GIFs are not supported on Android 2.1 devices like my Samsung Fascinate. Come on Verizon! Update to 2.2 already.

Wonderful Machine featured one of my photos again. Every once in a while, the editors hide a fun “specialty” among their list of photographer skills. Here is the newest. For all you Tidewater locals, you’ll be pleased to know this was shot on the roof of the Virginia Beach Hilton Sky Bar during a Halloween Party.

The people over at Wonderful Machine made a 2 minute virtual experience of flipping through my print portfolio. It’s nice to have for people I can’t meet in person. Check it out!

I thought my next post would be about Haiti, but I am still trying to wrap my head around that experience and avoid posting a blabbering mess. The first week back was eventful. I was in a minor fender-bender at an intersection. Initially, this was a huge bummer, but it triggered an exciting development. The accident caused me to miss an ASMP meeting in Richmond about estimating jobs. It was put on by a group called Wonderful Machine that represents and promotes photographers. I e-mailed the rep to see if I could obtain the presentation via email, and he emailed back to say he reviewed my website and wanted to bring me in as a member of Wonderful Machine. Boom! My car accident leads to membership in Wonderful Machine. I was told they accept roughly 15% of the photographers they evaluate. True or not, flattery is the way to any artist’s heart! By the end of the week, they featured one of my Halloween Photos for the  holiday weekend. I’m eager to see what kind of work comes from this new relationship. Below, is how my profile looks on their site when searched by region. One can also search by specialty.

Until July 23rd, I am offering large prints of my photos at a special price. Why? I need to raise $4,000 for a marketing campaign to reach new clients. By buying a print — or prints — you’ll help me build new clients. Buy one for yourself. Give one as a gift. The subject matter is heavy on South America, Europe, water and nature. If you care about these subjects, or if you know someone who does, you should check out the photos.

I normally sell these 16×24 and 24×24 prints for $199. Right now, I am offering them at $159. To sweeten the offer, and get things moving, the first 10 people to contact me will get a special price of $135.  For comparison purposes, photos in this size from the NY Times archive sell for $389.

How do you see the photos? Good question. You have three options:

1. I set up a gallery of 15 popular prints here: http://roberto.photoshelter.com

2. If those 15 are not to your liking, browse or search my other Photoshelter galleries. (If you select a photo with the old price, let me know and I will adjust.)

3. You’ll find even more photo options on my portfolio site, http://www.robertowestbrook.com.

Your entire transaction can be completed online with a credit card. I also accept personal checks.

I will fill orders after July 23rd. Prints will be delivered in early August. Prints are shipped in a tube via USPS for $5. If you are in a rush or need a customized size, contact me via phone or e-mail. Virginia residents are subject to a 5% tax.

Earth Day is April 22nd and I plan to send a promo to people I’d like to work with. As with the last time I did this, I’m looking for a funny caption or copy to go with the photo in this post. I was thinking of including some seeds in the envelope (maybe basil?) as well. The person whose caption I choose will receive a free print of their choice (10×15 or 10×10 depending on format). The last time we did this, it resulted in some pretty good laughs!

I’m going to mail a promo to Art Buyers for Valentine’s Day with this photo. Hopefully, most people will find it humorous or odd and not offensive. What do you think? Feel free to add a caption or dialog. Whoever makes me laugh the most will get a 5×5 print, and I may ask to use your text in the promo. I’m not kidding. The MOMA captions were really funny. And Cluadia Mazur truly will receive the Grand Prize (I’m re-gifting the $10 Chili’s Gift Certificate my dentist sent me for a client referral) for best MOMA photo caption. Share this with your friends. It’s time for me to add some buttons to this site for making sharing easier.

Blend Images featured one of my photos in the January Newsletter it sent to clients. I’m told it goes to about 50,000 contacts to show art buyers new work in the collection. A screen-capture is below (my photo is bottom one), but you can see the full promotion here.

Originally taken on an editorial assignment about a high school band, this is now a composite of 2 images for use in self-promotions to art buyers.