Brendiver's World

From Photograph to Byline workshop

For the budding photojournalists among you I've just put the finishing touches to the next, "From Photograph to Byline" workshop - an ideal opportunity to learn the skills required to break into diving photojournalism. How you could, in your spare time, get your photographs published and become one of the 'names' in the diving press.

                                                                     

The workshop will be run over the weekend of 4/5th October at Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire.

                                          

      

                        

Not your run of the mill location, this hotel, with its modern conference facilities is really quite stunning.

                                                   

                           

                              

                                                     

Co-host

                           

Maria Munn from Oceanvisions will be co-hosting this event, she'll be taking care of the "photo" while I cover the "journalism."

                           

Guest Speakers

                                              

Mark Evans, the editor of Sport Diver magazine (UK) will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about approaching editors, the role of the freelancer in the magazine industry and ultimately, how to get published. Mark will also be joining us for the workshop dinner on the Saturday evening.

There may well be more guest speakers from the world of diving photojournalism - watch this space.

                                                   

What the weekend will cover

                                                                              

For the "journalism" in photojournalism:

                                             

Establishing your dream - what you want to get from the weekend

Market research - where are the opportunities?

Editors - what are they looking for?

PR / Marketing Agencies, dive travel companies - the part they play and how you can utilise their services

Different ways to get your foot in the door - looking beyond the obvious

House style - why yours may have to wait

Commissioned assignments - your key to travelling on someone else's budget

Magazine photography - why you won't win any competitions

Practical issues - the best £ you will ever spend

Structure - completing the jigsaw puzzle

The art of the 'wordsmith' - how to use simple and eloquent descriptions

Interview skills - how to get the effective quotes

Identifying new angles - from hospital beds to industrial wastelands

The route map - knowing your destination and how to get there

                                                                                                   

Maria will be covering magazine photography skills using a digital compact camera, and in-case anyone is thinking you'll have no chance of getting published using one of these, Mark Evans from Sport Diver and Steve Weinman, the managing editor of DIVER magazine both use a digital compact on their assignments.

                         

The price

                                                                     

£299 for both days based on one person or £279 for two people, both prices include bed & breakfast - the Saturday evening meal will be an optional extra.

                                                         

Our Credentials

                                                                        

The UK's leading underwater photographer, Maria Munn, LRPS, specialises in teaching underwater photography with digital compact cameras.

                                                            

Maria has taught hundreds of divers using her easy-to-understand, jargon free  methodology and she has a reputation for dramatically improving photographic abilities in just a few hours.

                                                      

The Royal Photographic Society recently awarded Maria a licentiateship for her underwater photographs taken on a compact digital camera. Maria will combine her experiences of using these cameras with her genuine passion to help others develop their skills.

For more information on Maria's courses, click on the thumbprints for an article I wrote last year for DIVER magazine.

                                                                                                

The proof of Maria's abilities? Simple - her students are now winning underwater photography competitions and getting published.

                                                

See my website's introduction for my story. Briefly, for the past 12 years I have been published in Sport Diver, Scuba World and DIVER magazine and for the past 10 years I have freelanced exclusively for DIVER.

                                                                           

During this time I've been on numerous assignments across the world. I've interviewed diving celebrities, covered issues, events and competitions, reviewed books, DVDs, hotels, restaurants and even apres dive bars. In total - over 300 articles, features and news stories.

                                                             

With a background in adult education (I have a Masters in Education as well as a host of vocational training qualifications), you can be confident you will be learning with someone who has an established track record as both a photojournalist and educator.

                                                               

For further details of how you can join us e-mail me at: [email protected]

                                                                     

What people have said about previous "From Photograph to Byline" workshops and seminars:

                                    

Elizabeth Quinn, Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Enjoyed your seminar, you taught very well.

                                                                                                   

Mina Cassandra Kuhn, Miami - The seminar was awesome! Thank you for sharing it - full of practical and important information, unwritten information that nobody wants to give away, except you. I think everyone who attended your seminar found doors to underwater photojournalism. Your new blog site is as great and informative as your seminar.

                                                                                              

Doug Counts, Scuba News, Jacksonville, Florida - I learned a lot in the short time I was at your seminar as you were talking about international dive travel, this is a new area for our publication and I'm learning as I go.

                                                                                    

Craig Koltasz, Australia - Superb insight into the magazine world, your enthusiasm really helped.

                                                                              

Bob Yee, California - The course was great, not what I imagined it would be, saved me a considerable amount of time.

                                                                                 

Chris, Boston, USA - It was eye opening and your encouragement and involvement was really amazing.

                                                                                                             

David Kittos, UK - Lots of insider tips and insider info about magazines, plus ideas about how to come up with new angles, all very useful. You could have charged twice as much!

                                       

Virginia Fage, London - I really enjoyed it, I now know I didn't have a clue before.

                                                      

Christian, Singapore - The Top Tips were useful; even if they all seemed obvious, but they are the things you don't think about beforehand, like how to contact editors.

            

I hope you will be able to join us.

                                           

Keep writing...

                                                                           

Brendan

Contributor Guidelines - California Diving News

Back in the early 90's I used to visit San Diego a few times each year to visit my good friends Steve and Renee. As well as diving, we'd knock around the dive stores poking around at the latest stuff and collecting as many diving magazines as we could.

California Diving News was one of my favourite free reads - it had really interesting reviews of diving locations up and down the coast as well as fascinating write ups of spearfishing adventures (mention this in the UK and you'll be cast out to an eternal hell!).

If I'd known then what I know now I would have written up many of the dives we did in the San Diego area for them, but I mistakenly believed back then that you had to be a professional journalist to get published.

Last year CDN had "Editorial Guidelines" available on their website, now you have to write in for them. However, Dale and Kim from the publication are pretty sharp, they've always replied to my queries within 24 hours.

There have been a few changes to the guidelines, the pay has gone up, the word count has dropped from 1000 to 800 max and the want list of diving destinations (Northern and Central CA, San Luis Obisbo and San Diego Counties) has disappeared to be replaced by inland diving sites. This is an example of how it is always worth checking for current guidelines and editor wants - as the magazine develops these will always change.

CDN has a media kit available on their site for download and just in case it disappears for any reason you can find it here:

Download CDNMediaKit.pdf

I've included this as it provides a massive amount of useful information from the circulation data to diving interests and the next purchases of their readers. To demonstrate the importance of knowing your readers to this extent I'll add these snippets to my analysis of the contributor guidelines.

Editorial Guidelines

                                                                        

California Diving News is published eleven times a year and dis­tributed mainly in the Western United States. The editorial drive of the publication is to inspire and inform the beginning through intermediate divers into seeking the full underwater experience that California waters have to offer. All material is upbeat and positive. Please, no “Why this diver died” or shark attack type articles. Our goal is to encourage divers to get out and enjoy California scuba diving more often.

                                                             

The media kit outlines the fact that the majority of their readers are PADI OW to Rescue, so, there's no point in trying to write about a deep technical dive in the La Jolla canyon. As their readers also tend to be 'local' there would be no harm in contextualising your copy to include some local interest anecdotes.

                                                                     

Subject matter is 90% California oriented. All equipment and “How to” articles should have a California slant.

Article lengths are generally 500 to 800 words. Shorter, light pieces are preferred over long pieces. Submissions should be emailed to [email protected].

                                                                            

As they have trimmed down the word count max from 1000 to 800 words this should tell you something - make it easy for the editorial team to say 'yes' by not going over the word count limit.

                                                                  

The large majority of our articles are done on speculation. Queries will be considered only from well known and experienced writers.

                                                                     

If you're a budding photojournalist you'll need to submit the whole package, but as the word count is really small, and their articles tend to be quite factual this shouldn't be too much of a bind.

                                                               

Articles should be emailed with good quality photos and/or graphics. No photos or poor quality photos is frequently a cause for rejection.

                                                                        

So don't submit rubbish shots! Take a look at what they like to publish and take pictures like these.

                                                                        

If possible accompany dive spot articles with good quality original maps.

                                                                               

Watch out for copyright issues here - you may have to draw one but make sure it follows the style used in each copy of CDN.

                                                             

CDN buys first time North American publications rights. Payment for articles range between $40 and $150 with most payments rang­ing between $60 and $100. Payment is on publication. Payment is based on article length, amount of editing needed, quality of photos, experience and notoriety of the author, and publication’s need for the material in question. Although submissions are usually evaluated in a couple weeks, they may be held for up to four months before acceptance or rejection.

                                                               

"Notoriety??" Not sure if this is what they really mean? If they haven't replied after four months an e-mail or phone call nudge would be acceptable.

                                                                        

DIVE SPOTS: Specific dive locations up and down the California coastline and around its offshore islands. Prefer locations the aver­age diver can dive. Cover marine life, bottom terrain, depths, facilities, how to reach, etc. Include a “Dive Spot At-A-Glance” (see publica­tion) and a map if possible. Unknown or little known dive sites are always appreciated. We also have need for inland freshwater dive sites. Write-ups on general areas such as “Diving Catalina Island” should overview and highlight the location’s best dive sites. Again, good quality maps are a must.

                                                                               

If you want to get in with this publication I'd submit my first story on an inland freshwater dive site that hasn't been covered yet. Kim from CDN is really good at answering e-mails, the below response on the question of what they are looking for came back within 48 hours:

"We seem to be fine for most areas. Well written factual articles satisfy the most important criteria."
                                                                     

“HOW TO” ARTICLES: Approach this material not so much a “How to” but more as a “How to do better.” Deal with how to better handle particular situations for better diving enjoyment. Subjects covered in past include: Freshwater Diving, Surf Entries, Night Diving, Deep Diving, and Boat Diving.

                                                                                 

And as 14% of divers want to buy a kayak I'd go for Kayak Diving - if the list above is up to date, they haven't covered it yet.

                                                                           

MARINE LIFE: Stories should be accompanied by excellent photos or illustrations and briefly give an interesting and informative and perhaps humorous view of the animal in question. We are also looking for first person stories on unusual marine life encounters. Stories of this nature done in the past include: Encounter with a Giant Black Sea Bass, Diving with Seals, and Gray Whale Encounter.

If you're new to the photojournalism world I would avoid humour - really hard to do unless you really are the next Bill Bryson. The CA coastline is full of encounter opportunities, plenty of mileage here.

                                                                        

WHO’S WHO IN CALIFORNIA DIVING: Brief personality profiles on those that make diving work in California.

                                                                              

Who do you know? Or does someone you know know someone? Make sure you take advantage of every chance meeting to exploit this editor want. I'll give you an example, I mentioned my blog and my 'other world' of diving photojournalism - how I was looking to interview individuals connected with a certain aspect of the industry. Turns out his wife is good friends with one of the chaps who is top of my list - they're going to speak to him and arrange an introduction. Result!

                                                                                                

PRODUCT REVIEWS AND DIVE BOAT REVIEWS are generally written by the staff. Must be upbeat and positive yet honest. We like to highlight advertisers.

                                                                                                 

If you use a dive boat, make sure it is one who advertises - nothing to do with impartiality, this is about doing what the editor is asking for. As this is a free publication they have to cater to advertisers needs, and is there anything really that wrong with highlighting a quality operation that advertises with them?

                                                                                                

There is rarely payment for NEWS BRIEFS and HEARD THRU THE KELP VINE and never for NEW GEAR and NEW BOOKS

EQUIPMENT BUYER’S GUIDES are generally written by the staff. Specific guidelines are necessary if interested.

                                                                            

I wouldn't bother with the above - they don't sound keen.

                                                                                          

"HOW TO" PHOTO ARTICLES: Focus on a specific aspect or technique of underwater imaging (still and video).

COVER PHOTO SUBMISSIONS: Cover photos are usually purchased in conjunction with a story inside the issue. California orientated photos only! Must be very sharp, light tone with bright colors preferred.

                                                                                        

Take a look at previously published cover shots and duplicate the style they have used before.

                                                                            

CARTOONS are occasionally printed. Will consider regularly submit­ted strips. Pays $25 per cartoon or strip.

BEST SHOTS: This section highlights diving related photos of our readers. California material preferred. No pay.

                                                                        

Good way of getting exposure, although I would go for pics and words if I could.

                                                                         

Tips:

• Tie articles into current advertisers. CDN loves to support those that support us.

• A well written dive spot article with map and good photos are always welcome.

• Submit articles in by email with excellent quality JPG images

• We would like to develop working relationships with good, reliable, regular writers.

                                                            

Second time they have mentioned advertisers - take note.

                                                               

They want to develop a working relationship with you!

                                                            

Keep writing...

                                                                        

Brendan

Blog Coaching - The Next Step

The blog coaching 'experiment' has started!

Martin Heyn from Seattle has a dream of getting published in a diving magazine. For anyone out there thinking about writing for magazines this is a very realistic goal - the industry survives on freelance contributions and there is no reason why the next byline shouldn't have your name in it.

By using this blog and no other means I'm going to help Martin achieve his dream, which means you will be able to follow his progress and learn from his successes and setbacks.

Following on from the last Blog Coaching post Martin has asked a few good questions (my answers in blue, but bear in mind, there is no right or wrong in this field, just 'stuff' that works):

Question number 1.
To start small or go big? There is a local, Pacific Northwest publication that takes submissions from the general diving public. It mainly focuses on cold water, local diving but does often feature tropical trip reports. Going big would be trying to submit to one of the big print magazines we all know like Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, Fins and the like.

It's really up to you Martin - follow your dream.

What I would say is balance up the probability of getting published with your dreams - North West Dive News (is this the publication you refer to?) has been around for a while and although it doesn't pay, it is a magazine that would be good for your clip file.

In their Contributor Guidelines (I have a post in draft form on this publication) It has the message,

"At NWDN, we are ALWAYS accepting stories and photographs from non-professional writers."

I didn't put the capitals in 'ALWAYS,' they did - what does this tell you? And as you are from Seattle you are a local diver telling it as it is for the rest of the North West Diving community - ideal.   

Question number 2.
Does it have to be Print Media only? Take Underwater Photography (UwP) the free online magazine for example. To me this would also fall in the category of going big.

Again - up to you, UWP magazine has been the springboard for quite a few photojournalists.

Question number 3.
To adapt one of the trip reports I have done recently or do something entirely new? Trip reports at my website are a little dry as their aim is to try to give people the "facts" about the location and dive operator. They are not really written to entertain.

Here's some feedback Martin - I found them quite entertaining, which is why I chose you.

Your write ups could be the foundation of some interesting articles - at all times written in the style of the target publication. Plus - the destinations you have visited are all accessible for west coast residents. In reaching this decision you might want to look through back issues - no matter how good your article is, if this destination has just been covered in the past year your chances of publication are slim.

However, it's often hard to completely change the style of an article, you might want to consider starting afresh with a local dive site or issue?

Looking forward to the journey.

Martin Heyn

Me too - should be interesting.

So, the first task is to pick a target publication.

Message for Martin, please remember to post your questions, replies and findings in the comments box.

Keep writing...

Brendan

Dive Briefs - the State of Diving

Here's another opportunity for you, one that would get you a high profile 'clip' for your file.

In the July 2008 Sport Diver (USA version) there's a two page section called 'State of Diving' in the Dive Briefs section.

This months magazine has a description of the diving off California's Point Lobos, "Home to Sea Wolves," together with a fact file column and three pictures. The author is a chap called Bill Becher, his website confirms his freelance status.

This really should not be a hard part of the magazine to break into:

It's about diving in the USA, so it will be close to home for many of you.

You don't have to have any underwater photographs! Out of the three used for this section, only one was taken by Bill (divers getting into the water) the other two were provided by stock photograph agencies.

It's written in a factually descriptive style with an advertorial slant:
"you'll be greeted by..."
"Divers sometimes see..."
"You might see..."
"Once you descend..."
"Lucky divers might see..."
When I read this type of article I often go through each paragraph and work out if I could do this with just a little bit of Internet research, some cosy chats with local divers and no dive at all at the site. This section of the magazine ticks all of those boxes. I'm not saying Bill didn't dive here, I'm simply highlighting the easy and rather impersonal style of writing (which appears to be quite popular in the USA).

I'm not sure what the pay rate is for Sport Diver, but whatever it is, if I were a budding photojournalist, I'd go for this section of the magazine for my first attempt.

Keep writing...

Brendan

Contributor Guidelines - Spearing Magazine

If you think writing about scuba diving is a niche, then you should check out Spearing Magazine - devoted to the art of killing stuff underwater.

I'm not being flippant here, killing fish using a speargun or one of those slingshot thingy's really is an artform, especially if you are freediving.

The magazine has just released Issue One, so now is a good time to get onboard. Charles, the chappy behind this venture has given me a brief outline as to what they are looking for:

"We're looking for interesting articles related to spearfishing. These generally include trip reports, scuba safety as related to spearing, equipment tests and reviews, hunting techniques, travel spearing, and spearfisherman profiles. We prefer original photos not yet posted on any forums, and underwater photos are a plus. Articles range from 500 to 2000 words."

Not much there about the style etc. - which in my opinion means as long as your copy kind of fits, they'll probably go for it. No indication of any $ for publication, but if you operate in these circles, there's bags of kudos in having your name at the top of an article about killing stuff.

And before any of you think I'm against spearfishing, have a read of the Deep Breath (from DIVER) column to the left about the killing of a really big fish for a BBQ (I think this was published in 1998).

The editor loved it as he got a huge sack full of letters he could publish - so many that the next DIVER hosted a four page feature on the for and against of killing stuff called "Burning Spear."

If you can write copy that generates this much interest editors will love you forever!

Keep writing...

Brendan

The Blog Coaching Experiment - First Task

It's taken a while to review the entries from those of you who volunteered for the blog coaching experiment - it was a tough choice as many of you clearly had the enthusiasm and skills required to make a good start.

I've finally chosen Martin from Seattle as the first candidate - his website has some good photographs on it and more importantly, some interesting trip reports.

So, Martin, for your first task, you need to identify which magazine you are going to target. It doesn't have to pay, nor does it have to have diving as its main focus. You might have always dreamed of being published in a local outdoor sports magazine or your local newspaper travel supplement. The key thing I need you to look for is whether they accept freelance contributions.

Easiest way to find out?

Check for any contributor guidelines on their website or any comments in their masthead to the effect that they are not responsible for unsolicited contributions.

Follow this by checking the status of their writers - are they all on staff? Or are they freelance (a quick Google on their name will do the job).

If your target media accepts contributions or it is clear they utilise freelancers then this is the one we will go for.

Let me know via a comment on this post or by e-mail, once I know which media you want to target we'll take a look at the next stage.

Best of luck Martin - I look forward to seeing your article in print.

Keep writing...

Brendan

Opportunity to Meet...

... the folks from DIVE magazine.

On 14th June they will be hosting a roadshow at Stoney Cove (one of England's most popular inland dive sites) - if I were a budding photojournalist I'd be heading down there to speak to the editor or if Simon isn't there, one of the editorial team.

E-mailing and phone calls are no substitute for meeting an editor in person. So if you can, get yourself down there and introduce yourself - Simon Rogerson is the editor, a really affable chap who loves to talk about journalism.

But think first about what you might want to say:

"Hi - I've been reading your magazine for years and would love to write for you one day, how would I go about it?" would be a good start. Just be yourself, in my experience when people try and be someone they're not they come across as right old Dufuses.

And if you already have a clip file, ensure it is presented professionally and offer to leave it with him (on this day he probably won't have the time to read through it).

In my opinion this type of event is a golden opportunity - well worth the journey.

Keep writing...

Brendan

Contributor Guidelines - Asian Diver

You'll find Asian Diver's Contributor Guidelines under the "About Us" section, where you will also find the editor listed as Carol Lim. I had heard she had left the magazine so this information may not be up to date. 

In 2007 I met and dived with Carol in Mauritius where she told me about some of her thoughts from an editor's perspective:

• Send in a proof sheet with your photographs - it helps her see what they will look like on paper.
• They are essentially a one person magazine - she relies heavily on freelance contributions.
• She admires UK's DIVER magazine and would love to be able to print similar honest stuff. However, the culture of the area her magazine covers is such that the readers might not appreciate it. Carol cites DIVER's 'Mystery Diver' column as one she would love to do if the culture ever changed.
• At the top of her 'Most Wanted' list are good front cover shots.

The below is a reprint of the current guidelines together with my analysis:

Asian Diver is a bi-monthly consumer publication aimed at a wide spectrum of scuba divers in Asia and the rest of the world. Readers include recreational, professional, commercial, as well as would-be divers. Editorial contributions to the magazine are welcome.

                                 

Good opening paragraph - tells you who the customers are. The fact Carol highlights that contributions are welcome means you have a good chance of getting published.

                              

Text

Articles can be emailed to the editor at [email protected] preferably within the body of the message. Articles can also be submitted on a CD Rom (PC-compatible format, MS Word file) together with a hard copy. Text requiring rekeying (eg. faxed or mailed hard copy alone) are unacceptable. Generally, any article should not be longer than 1,200 words. Ideally, an article should include sub-headings and pull-out boxes or sidebars for digestibility. All articles should be accompanied by a short (30-40 word) biography of the author.

                                                    

You should read this paragraph as if it were set in tablets of stone - if you ignore this guidance you will make it harder for the editor to say yes and your copy will end up in the round file. Even if your writing is really good, if it's just too much work for the editor it will end up being binned.

                                                                  

Photography / Art

Photography is of paramount importance and should ideally accompany any article. Pictures must be duly captioned and credited, with the necessary copyright releases. Hi-resolution first generation scans of at least 320dpi (full page size) on CD-Rom are preferred. Pictures for location reports should include both underwater as well as topside shots. We reserve the right to use pictures from other sources to illustrate an article, if we deem those provided by the author to be unsuitable or insufficient. Images emailed for preview purposes should be no more than 72dpi in a JPEG format.

                                                                      

If photography is of "paramount importance" make it easier for the editor to say yes by including a good variety of shots she can select from. "Should ideally" needs to be read as, "You must include photographs" And bear in mind the verbal top tip Carol provided above. I would also add to this that your pictures stand a much better chance if they contain a mixture of vertical and horizontally formatted shots - gives the art editor more to work with.

                                                                  

Want List

Cover shots. The Asian Diver cover, should evoke the beauty of the sea. Technically, it is a vertical shot with colourful dramatic subject, ideally a marine animal (preferably with a diver). Potential cover shots are framed in such a way that the yellow Asian Diver masthead can be placed across the top without interfering with the subject. There has to be sufficient negative space for inserting cover-lines.

                                                                                          

The old rule of thirds goes out of the window for front covers. Take a look at previous cover shots, the top third is used for the masthead, and either side of the shot must have space for the contents. I'd go as far as looking where the barcode will go prior to submission. The front cover is a golden opportunity to get published without writing anything to go with it, and if you do have copy that links in with the front cover, your article is more likely to get the precious lead as opposed to stuck away on page 88.

                                                                                    

Location reports for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines; the Pacific islands; Australia; and islands of the Indian Ocean. Dive location reports must include a 'Bearings' section which lists weather, travel and medical information, prices, best time to dive, facilities for kids, accommodation and dive operators (preferably email and web addresses; alternatively, telephone and fax numbers) and other pertinent travel information. Maps of dive sites and places mentioned in an article should be provided.

                                                                  

Anything outside of the areas mentioned is likely to get rejected. Once you are a recognised photojournalist in this title you might be able to squeeze in other stuff as long as it is good and relevant to the reader. Maybe the west coast of the USA or The Red Sea?

Where it says preferably - I'd consider this a must, and make sure you have the right numbers and addresses. The kiss of death - providing duff info.

                                                                     

Unusual sites/places to dive - Please include safety pointers relevant to that site.

Encounter - First-hand anecdotes on awesome or rare underwater encounters with marine animals.

Personal experiences or 'mood' pieces - These look at diving from different perspectives.

Lesson Learned - First-hand anecdotes about how potentially dangerous/fatal situations were avoided.

Celebrity interviews (Profile) - Interviews with celebrities who dive; or celebrity encounters with marine animals.

Dive-related skills learned through experience.

Environment - Protection, conservation, research etc.

Technical diving - The science, practice and equipment involved, and missions undertaken.

Expeditions - To recover lost ships/treasure; for scientific research; to film phenomena, etc.

Photography on marine life, coral reef and the environment

                                                          

Loads of options here - fill your boots!

                                                                                 

Rates

SIN$0.20 per published word; SIN$40 per published picture; SIN$150 per cover picture. No payment is made for images and text in the Portfolio section. Payment is made one month after publication date, and a complimentary copy of the issue will be forwarded to each contributor once the issue is off the press.

                                                                                 

They pay! SIN £150 is at the time of writing about £55 or £110 US. A 1200 page article will earn you £88 or $178 with the photographs providing some icing on the cake £/$.

             

This is by no means a lot of money - remember, you're not doing this to get rich. I didn't ever get round to asking Carol if she provides regular freelancers with press trips, I'm guessing they get their fair share, this is why you're trying to get published, to live the life of a photojournalist, travelling on behalf of a magazine as a guest of an island or country.

                                                               

Copyright

All submissions shall automatically constitute an expressed warranty by the contributor that all materials are original and in no way an infringement upon any rights of others. The copyright status of an article must also be stated. We require one-time print usage rights including the rights to reproduce the article online and translate it to Chinese for the Chinese edition.

Asian Diver Online

We reserve the right to publish selected articles and photographs electronically, on our online magazine www.asiandiver.com and via selected online partners.

Submission, Usage and Return

Contributors submitting material must state their full name, address and email address. Anonymous submissions will not be considered. All submissions must be accompanied by a self-addressed envelope and an international reply coupon if you need the materials returned. Please state if the contribution is complimentary. Contact will be made with contributors whose submissions are accepted, or likely to be used, as to publication dates and other details. Any material accepted is subject to such revision as deemed necessary in our sole discretion to meet our requirements.

                                                                                                      

Make sure you comply with this legal and technical stuff - I can't believe they had to mention you should not submit anything anonymously, some Dufus must have submitted an article without saying who they were!?!

                                                                        

Please direct your correspondence to:

The Editor, Asian Diver

MediaCorp Publishing Pte Ltd

Techpoint #01-06/08, 10 Ang Mo Kio St 65, Singapore 569059

Email: [email protected]

                                          

Keep writing...

                                             

Brendan

Sport Diver (UK) assignment update

I had a quick chat yesterday with Mark Evans, the editor of Sport Diver magazine (UK).

For those of you who have been following the progress of the attendees on the last "From Photograph to Byline" workshop in the Philippines, they have all been working on an article for Sport Diver magazine as part of an assignment

Download Brendan_Letter.pdf

they received from Mark at the beginning of the workshop.

However, only one of the articles will be selected for publication. Mark told me he hasn't had time to look through each submission in detail, however, he did tell me how, "from what I've seen of the opening paragraphs it's going to be a tough decision."

It'll be a week or so before Mark makes his final decision and the result will be announced on this blog.

What Mark said reinforced my belief that you have to have a strong lead paragraph to catch the attention of the editor. Mark also told me how he reads far too many unsolicited submissions which start off with, "we were in XXX to..." followed by a chronological account / diary entry of what they did. I won't say what happens to these submissions, it would be unfair on those who hope they will be published.

What I will say is, how many articles do you get to read that start like this?

A strong catchy lead, essential if you want to succeed.

Keep writing...

Brendan 

Your Story - Cor Bosman and Julie Edwards

Here's a question for you, at what point would you consider yourself to be a photojournalist? Is it when you have your first article published? Or maybe when you 10 articles published in a variety of magazines. Or is it when you go on a nationally recognised course or get a qualification in this field?

The answer? I have no idea. I guess it's when you feel comfortable with the label - if you believe you are a photojournalist then others will to.

Cor Bosman and Julie Edwards aren't yet convinced, but the thing is, they've been published on more than several occasions in a variety of magazines (see the thumbprint to the left for an example). I believe they are photojournalists and the evidence for this is their stunning work.

To highlight their abilities I've added some of their work to this post (with their permission of course, for which I am very grateful).

You should take note of Cor and Julie's learning curve in respect of using photography competitions and writing for free as a means of getting your name out there - wise advice.

Although they haven't mentioned this - Cor and Julie are active moderators and contributors for Wetpixel. There's another message here - unlike the media world of yesteryear, I believe it is highly unlikely you will get on unless you are contributing in a similar way to the body of knowledge in your area of expertise, for an example click on "Finding Macro," Cor's contribution to UWP magazine (for another example, look at Alex Mustard's contributions to digital underwater photography on the Wetpixel forum). This is typical Generation Y behaviour - sharing information, expertise and ideas using social media.

Unlike the mid 90's when I got started in this world, there's a lot of writing going on out there, on blogs, travel and club websites, non profit making e-zines and magazines - so much that it's almost a certainty you will need to start off by writing for free. But it's all good practice, it gets you to the point where you don't suck at it any more and provides you with the clips the editors of the magazines that do pay might ask for.    

Keep writing...

Brendan     

Your Story - Cor Bosman and Julie Edwards

It is telling that when Brendan asked us to write a piece for his blog he directed his question to the both of us. This is really our story, as Julie and I have been in this together since the very start. My first reaction to his question was that we’re not photojournalists. He insists that we are but I remain unconvinced. If anything we’re extremely enthusiastic photographers. Neither of us was trained in journalism or photography, but we have both taken photography classes. I do find it interesting to see though that a lot of people educated in Computer Science like myself have become skilled photographers.  Somehow the creativity necessary to become good at programming, design or other CS related fields must translate well into photography. 

It all began when Julie made me go diving in 1994 during a family visit to St Croix. She in turn had been  pushed into diving by her mother during high school. Obviously an indispensable skill for a strong independent woman.  That same year we bought a small underwater camera and underwater photography has taken over our lives ever since.

Our journey into being published coincided with passing a certain image quality threshold. Our first steps into having an article published were rejected and looking back at those attempts I can see why; the images were just not good enough. This changed when we found ourselves placing in international contests, which definitely opened some doors.  The first person that gave us the opportunity was Peter Rowland and I’m grateful for that chance. Writing for Underwater Photography Magazine for free helped us to land several paying assignments very quickly thereafter. It helps a lot to be able to show something to an editor when you’re presenting an idea.    

We’re now in a pretty comfortable zone. We write for magazines and our own travel journal, but it’s not our primary source of income. We enjoy what we do, and try to pass that on to others.