August 29th, 2006 by admin

I’ve heard it 1000 times.  Your camera doesn’t matter.  This is true.  However, the same people go on for days about how you have to have the best tripod with the best ball head in order to make a decent image.  In the total scheme of the final image the camera provides maybe 2%.  The tripod 8% with the remaining 98% being creativity and the synergy of being in the right place at the right time.

Case in point.  The other evening I went down to the beach to capture the moon-set.  I have a great tripod, ball-head, and camera setup.  So did many of the other 25 photographers I saw next to the pier.  You see there was a rare moon-set during sunset over the Scripps pier in San Diego.  Camera types love these scenes.

At the start of the sunset there were 25 people.  Immediately after sunset 5 left.  Afer only 20 minutes there was only myself and another fellow with a compact digital camera and a $25 tripod remaining.  We alone captured the shot all 25 people were after.  Granted this other fellow’s shot was softer, but the colors and feeling were there.  It is these colors and feeling that make up  90% of an images enjoyment.  Below is the image I captured afer the crowd had left.

August 28th, 2006 by admin

Outsourcing can be a valuable tool that allows smaller companies to take on jobs that are either too large for them to handle internally or may lie outside their area of expertise.  However, companies incur hidden costs when they use outsourcing as a means of augmenting functions that are already handled internally.

Being part of a start up affords me the opportunity to be involved in aspects of the business that I would not otherwise have access to if I were siloed away in the marketing department of a large corporation.  Outsourcing is a slippery slope.  It might start with jobs that are beyond the capabilities of the firm, but transition into jobs that could be handled more efficiently somewhere else.  It is here that the hidden costs become most apparent.

There are tangible costs

• Dormant equipment that has already been paid for
• A workforce that is not being utilized to the full extent.

There are also intangible costs

• Outsourcing erodes morale. Companies who choose to outsource need to consider the internal marketing message they are sending to their employees.  Outsourcing implies that the employees are incapable of handling the job.   This is especially true with jobs that could be handled internally, but are outsourced because of efficiency constraints.  If employees are treated as inefficient cost centers, then they will act like inefficient cost centers. 
• Outsourcing erodes efficiency.  Here lies a vicious circle.  Often times, larger jobs are outsourced because an outside specialist can handle the task more efficiently.  Efficiency comes through practice.  If employees never get the chance to hone their skills, then they will never become more efficient.  This lack of efficiency causes more outsourcing.

It is impossible to directly compare the costs of an outsourced job with an internal job on a per hour basis.  For example, it is incorrect to assume that a job outsourced at  $45 per hour is cheaper than one that would cost $90 per hour internally.  First, there is the cost of the equipment that lies dormant because the job is outsourced.  Second, there is the cost of labor.  Third, there is the intangible costs.  These three costs must be added to any outsourced dollar figure.

Once these costs are weighed in most companies will find that it is either best to keep a job completely internal or the job must be completely outsourced.

In the words of the venerable Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid, ""Man walk on road. Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk down middle, sooner or later, get squished just like grape."