Blogebrity

The Un-interview of Heather Champ

I recently sat down with Heather Champ on AIM and instead of a traditional interview, I decided to have more of a conversation with her. Well, I actually think of it as a intellectual discourse on photography, blogging and flickr in general. Heather Champ has been around on the internet as a web designer since 1994, and as a blogger since January 1st, 2000. She currently works for Flickr, and also keeps her site as up to date as possible.

Kevin Myrick: Well first off, how long have you been blogging?
Heather Champ: I launched my first true “blog” on January 1, 2000
Kevin: Oh man. So you were like “screw this Y2K crap. My computer still works… I’m writing!”
Heather: It was a progression from my home page.
Heather: Heh.
Heather: No, just a different format for my web publishing.
Kevin: Ah
Heather: Here’s a brief visual history of my site.
Heather: I launched my first home page in August of 1994
Heather: Harrumph.com is the blog.
Kevin: That’s some cool stuff man. I wish I had saved a screenshot of all of my projects. It would be interesting to see
Heather: It’s worthwhile to keep a record.
Kevin: I wish I had. You know, you seem to be really into a visual identity, specifically with your photography. I look at your photographs and think “this is what I bet she sees through her eyes.” I know it sounds kind of scary, but that’s what I think.
Heather: Initially, harrumph.com was text but by 2001 I was mixing in photographs.
Heather: then in 2002 the emphasis was more on the photos with some text underneath.
Kevin: I can see that, and it looks awesome.
Heather: It might sound a little trite, but I think of my photography as capturing the small moments around me that mostly go unnoticed.
Kevin: I especially enjoy the dinosaur photographs…

Kevin: What kind of camera do you use for your more current pictures?
Heather: I’m currently in love with film and I’ve been experimenting with a couple of different rangefinders that I bought of eBay.
Kevin: ah that sounds awesome.
Heather: A Minolta AL-F and a Canon Canonet GIII QL17
Heather: In addition to the Holga.
Kevin: I’m jealous. I wish I had that kind of equipment to play with.
Kevin: But unfortunately, I’m relegated to my lowly life of a 2MP Canon Powershot A60.
Heather: There’s a certain austerity to digital that I’m fighting with so I raised a query about it in my Forum. I got some great feedback and have been fiddling around.
Heather: That’s a great camera.
Kevin: I want to find a new lens for it. Apparently from what I’ve been told from a person who has a camera like mine, you can put a new lens on it.
Heather: Depending upon the size, there are all sorts of wide angle adaptors built for video cameras that you can use as well for neat effects.
Heather: That are all relatively inexpensive
Kevin: Hmmm, interesting food for thought.
Heather: People are hacking around with cheap stuff and coming up with interesting options.
Heather: I have a friend who’s created a series of “frankenlens” cameras that are truly astounding.
Kevin: You got any links?
Kevin: For your friends, that is…
Heather: I’ll have to dig them up.
Heather: I’m not sure what he posts online.
Heather: What mm is your lens?
Kevin: It came standard. 5.4-16.2mm.
Heather: I’ve also seen people holding up lenses in front of lenses for neat effects.
Heather: Like an even lower tech lens baby kind of thing.
Kevin: Maybe I’ll find a way to experiment a little.
Heather: Places like Flickr and dpreview are also wonderful sites to mine for ideas.
Kevin: Dpreview?
Kevin: Ah.
Heather: Maybe I got that wrong.
Kevin: Digital camera reviews and news site?
Heather: They have forums.
Kevin: I see them.
Heather: With very active and opinionated users.
Heather: Who come up with neat hacks and stuff.
Kevin: I’ll definitely have to check that out
Heather: It’s a great resource for someone who wants to get the lowdown on what camera to buy.
Heather: Pros and cons, etc.
Kevin: My dad would find this useful.
Heather: Perhaps a little stiff, but thorough.
Kevin: Ok, I’m done talking about cameras now. Anymore and I’ll probably end up wanting to go out and take pictures. And I can’t do that since I’m at work…
Heather: I know that feeling.
Heather: Kevin: Anyhow, how long have you been shooting?
Heather: From when I could convince my parents that I wouldn’t drop their cameras. Heather: My mother and father were both incredible shutterbugs.
Kevin: My dad and sister are. I’m mediocre.
Heather: There’s no such thing as mediocre.
Heather: You shoot what’s important to you… It’s all good.
Kevin: Good way of thinking about it.
Heather: People have different “eyes”
Heather: and different interests in capturing what they see.
Heather: For some, it’s about capturing a time or event
Heather: For others, there’s a nod towards message, etc.
Kevin: That’s a good way of thinking about it.
Kevin: It makes me feel special.
Heather: There’s a notion that photography is exclusive, but I’m more about being inclusive.
Heather: Given the breadth of cameras available, it grows more.
Heather: Who am I to say that my photos are any better than yours?
Heather: I might sound like Miss Hippy Utopian.
Kevin: Oh no, I totally agree.

Kevin: But here’s a question that goes with exclusive versus inclusive: the argument between film and digital
Heather: Film and digital both have their pros and cons.
Kevin: But when it comes to inclusiveness, I have to say that the cheaper digital cameras have helped.
Heather: I agree.
Kevin: It seems the internet is gaining a huge body of images that the world would never have seen before.
Heather: It’s a wonderful way for a photographer to develop their own eye given the eventual lower cost and ease of shoot, review, reframe, etc.
Heather: That’s harder to do with film.
Kevin: And with sites like Lulu.com (Ed. Note: Also Cafepress.com, etc.), people who thought of themselves as amateurs can suddenly start selling their photographs.
Heather: Absolutely, it’s only a matter of time before more and more options are available for getting work offline into more “accepted” formats like prints and books.
Heather: It’s not that photos are trapped online, but there are limitations in not being able to share them as tangible objects.
Kevin: Maybe in a physical sense, but in an emotional sense I disagree with that.
Heather: How so?
Kevin: Because a photo of a baby that is just been born to relatives e-mailed from a laptop with wi-fi in the hospital (or wherever you can get it) is just as powerful as holding that photo six weeks later after people have it printed and then remember to mail the photo to said relative.
Heather: True, but long term, I print out favourites and pin them up. We have a kind of clothesline thingy in our kitchen where we pin up favourites — family photos, etc.
Heather: The immediacy of digital is very compelling — being able to share events as they happen.
Heather: But long term, I want more.
Kevin: I see where you’re coming from.
Heather: Maintain that initial euphoria, etc. One of the silliest photos from our wedding is a photo of a friend picking up something that one of our dogs left behind as we walked up to the ceremony. It’s not a typical wedding moment, but it never ceases to make me smile and I’m glad that our photographer captured it.
Kevin: Now that’s a moment worth saving.
Heather: I guess it’s a moment of unexpected and that’s very much what I like to surround myself with.
Kevin: But I think technology is helping to make the viewing of photos more personal in some ways, specifically when you can make a slideshow CD complete with music.
Kevin: I mean, I remember when I would sit with my grandmother and listen to her drone on and on about these places she’d been and I’d be sitting there thinking “man, this is boring. I wish I had some Beatles to listen to.”
Heather: It’s not just the technology, but the event of putting those options in the hands of someone who has a bond with the subject. Like if you were to take photos of your friends at a wedding… what you would capture and the music that you would choose is much more likely to be more intimate than the professionals.
Heather: That’s the true power.
Kevin: Well, sometimes it would be intimate. If you’re like me, you tend to try to appeal to a greater audience. Which in some ways is how I see your site. Your photos are personal, but can appeal to a wider audience.
Kevin: But I could be wrong, since most of the time I tend to be.
Heather: Heh… I’m not trying to appeal to a greater audience.
Kevin: But I guess that all really depends on how many people you’re getting to your site and for how long you’ve been up.
Heather: Very true. I’m a dinosaur, and been through the various cycles of blogging behaviour.
Kevin: my site is newer, so I have to obviously work a little harder to get that to work (even though it seems like a well placed link to a post about how to make a duct tape messenger bag does the trick)
Kevin: Speaking of blogging cycles, from what I can tell the wonderful purchase of Weblogs Inc. by AOL has forced a new cycle of networks to begin. What do you think about that?
Heather: “cycle of networks” can you give more detail on that? I’m not sure I understand.
Kevin: well, there seems to be the old guard, Gawker Media, Weblogs Inc. and others. Then there’s new ones like Fine Fools Network, Instablogs and others… no offense, but you and Meg Hourihan seemed to be behind the times on this news.
Kevin: Anyhow, these blogging networks are created to a) generate ad revenue and b) to have some decent content. Of course, not all of the networks do this.
Heather: I know what your talking about, I was trying to make the connection the conversation.
Kevin: Oh. (Ed. Note: During this part of the conversation, I was feeling like an idiot for thinking she wasn’t up on the times…)
Heather: I think the networks are somewhat parasitical.
Kevin: Well, you were talking about blogging cycles, and I think that a persons blogging cycles reflect what’s going on.
Kevin: On the internet, that is.
Kevin: Anyhow, how do you see it being somewhat parasitic?
Heather: Honestly, I don’t think about the networks all that much.
Heather: I’m more interested in people using the tools for self publishing.
Heather: The networks have more of an agenda and are based upon a desire to generate money.
Heather: There’s nothing wrong with making money, but it feel like trying to engender a sense of legitimacy that some (mostly outside of blogging) feels that is lacking.
Heather: It many instances, the networks are created by people who’ve not been content generators themselves. Does that make sense?
Kevin: Yeah, that makes sense.
Kevin: And sometimes it can leave a nasty taste in your mouth.
Kevin: But I think on the whole, it is allowing some talented people to generate some money for what they love to do, and that’s just as important as self-publishing in some ways.
Heather: Are the talented people making the money?
Kevin: Some are.
Heather: Or is it going to the network creators?
Kevin: Depends on the revenue split, or how they get paid, etc.
Heather: Right… I don’t know that aspect of the business. I would hope that they aren’t selling themselves short.
Heather: And that when the deals are done, they reap a bit of the benefit of their work. I’m suspect of that happening.
Kevin: Well, I can’t say much. I’ve been looking into a few, and they seem pretty legit.
Heather: That’s good news.
Kevin: So I’m trying to stay as unbiased as possible.
Heather: Heh. Well, I think it’s obvious where my thinking is Kevin: Obviously.

Kevin: Now to go completely off the radar, what are you using to publish your blog?
Heather: Hchamp.com is powered by two installations of Moveable Type version 2.66. I’m a wee bit behind the times, but I’m having trouble upgrading.
Kevin: Mhm.
Kevin: You should look into Wordpress.
Kevin: It’s free. And much better in my opinion.
Heather: Not so much. I’m happy with Movable Type and I’m big Mena and Ben fans.
Heather: Free isn’t always the best way to go.
Kevin: Not that Moveable Type is bad or anything, I just don’t like it personally. I had the same problem with Blogger. It’s harder for me to use the interface, etc.
Kevin: Blogebrity uses Moveable Type. I’m not a huge fan.
Heather: I guess that with all the options, there’s something that fits everyone’s needs.
Kevin: True
Heather: I have a Flickr badge and an installation of phpBB for a forum.
Kevin: And when it comes to self publishing, free is always good. Not to say that sometimes you shouldn’t put some money into it, but if it’s free and good then it’s better than paying for something that’s five bucks and good.
Heather: I would rather pay 5 bucks and good.
Heather: Than use a free version…
Heather: Thinking that if a developer offers something for 5 bucks, they have an investment and a community of committed users. If something is free, I feel like I’m more at the whim of that individual — “I can do x, because it’s not like anybody was paying for it…”
Heather: Just a thought.

Kevin: What do you normally do for a living, if you don’t mind me asking?
Heather: I’m Flickr’s Community Manager.
Heather: I joined the team in May, leaving behind what seems like a gazillion years of web design.
Kevin: Hey, if you ever want to take another crack at it, you can have a go at my site. I might not be able to pay you, but I can give you my soul in trade… Heather: I sometimes wonder why I don’t miss it, or if I should miss it a little.
Kevin: But working as the Flickr Community Manager (which you can really do mostly from home) must be pretty cool.
Heather: I typically work out of the Sunnyvale office with the rest of the team. Luckily, it is something I can do from anywhere with a net connection, but I would miss the team.
Heather: It’s a great bunch of very smart people.
Kevin: Flickr is cool. Well, it was until it told me I couldn’t upload anymore photos. Then I decided it might be a good idea to host them myself. Which is what I’ve been doing. Nothing against Flickr though. I’m just impatient.
Heather: Ah… the free thing again.
Heather: Kevin: Well, self publishing is all powerful when it is free.
Kevin: But once again, I do like Flickr. Especially the community it has.
Heather: It’s a wonderful group of people. It’s very much how I get much of my news these days.
Kevin: I found it especially interesting the amount of Hurricane Katrina photos, or photos of the London Subway Bombing… everyone seemed to be uploading them to Flickr or something like it, and then CNN runs that content.
Kevin: And I looked at some of those photos and went “wow, this is the real power of the internet. When it makes it on CNN, you know you’ve got something that you’re giving back.”
Heather: Professionals have certain ways they look at things, what they think the story is.
Heather: What I’ve seen on Flickr goes way beyond that into those “small moments.”
Kevin: And I bet it’s just sort of an everyday thing now, isn’t it?
.Heather: I think that the media outlets get the power of the people on the ground capturing those moments.
Heather: It’s stunning how the timelines have collapsed.
Heather: It used to be days then hours and now mere minutes for images to be shared.
Kevin: That’s real power too, isn’t it?
Heather: Very much so. With no editing (though there are pros and cons to that) it’s very real and raw.
Kevin: I don’t think “raw” really captures the feeling it can bring up emotionally sometimes. More like “jaw-dropping I can’t believe this is real” moment. Wait, there’s a word for that. And I believe it’s incredible.
Kevin: ok, I think I’ve been taking up enough of your time, and I need food. I’m about to run down to the cafeteria, you want anything?
Heather: Diet Coke, chocolate and popcorn.
Heather: Food of the Gods.
Kevin: Dude, so not the food of the Gods. That would be Cheezits, Vanilla Coke and a Jimmy Johns JJBLT minus the Tomato with extra bacon. That’s the food of the gods.
Heather: Cheezits?
Kevin: yes
Heather: Ok, but Vanilla Coke is very suspect.
Kevin: Dude, so good.
Kevin: I’m addicted
Heather: Nasty.
Heather: Nas-ty.
Kevin: except not
Heather: Well, if we’re stranded on a deserted island, a la Lost, we’ll be fine.
Heather: It’s not like we’ll be duking it out over Vanilla Coke. Kevin: true
Kevin: we’d be duking it out over something far more silly
Kevin: like, brains. We’d be zombies.
Kevin: hold on
Heather: Braaaaaiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnssssss!

This entry was posted by Tomas on Thursday, October 20th, 2005 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Featured, Fine Fools, Flickr, Gawker Media, Heather Champ, Interviews, Jason Calacanis, Jessica Coen, Meg Hourihan, Movable Type, Nick Denton, Wordpress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...