Huge Rogue Wave Sweeps Businessman Out To Sea

A Giant Wave of Change About to Impact an Unsuspecting Businessman standing on a rock in the water and looking the wrong direction.

Businesses are facing a huge tidal wave of change, and many of them are unaware, looking in the wrong direction and unprepared for what is either about to happen, or already happening. The forces of change are many including environmental issues, digital and communication advances and political upheaval. The baby boomers are about to start retiring en mass and a new generation is coming to political power. It is important to realize that, as they say, the only constant is change. Change happens. Our best strategy to cope, and even to thrive, is to realize that and not stay attached to the old ways of doing things. We must continually seek out new developments and strategies, separate the wheat from the chaff, and retain and apply that which makes sense for use and our situations. We must also recognize that change will come at an ever increasing pace. As Einstein said, "The ability to learn is increasingly more important than knowledge". And when dealing with the enormous body of knowledge, the effective use of "filters" will also become a vital strategy. In photography, for example, in flickr alone there are more photos than any one human can ever see even if they spent their entire lives doing nothing but looking at pictures. In fact, they would continually lose ground as the pace of uploads continues to spiral upwards. Now every man and woman is a photojournalist with their cell phone cameras, that can not only take a picture, but immediately transmit that photograph via twitter and other applications, to the entire world. That is but one of countless paradigm shifting technological developments. If we are to survive and thrive in this new world order, this vast and growing sea of both information and change, then we must learn to stay ever vigilant, ever open, and ever afloat. Swimming against the current is a sure way to drown in the face of the twin tidal waves of change and information overload. This is an image showing paradigm shift as well as challenge, adversity, risk, danger and lack of awareness...or the need for vision and vigilance.

Creating a New Photograph To Illustrate Change, the Need for Vigilance, and Coming Problems

I went down to the edge of the ocean, near San Francisco's Cliff House and ocean beach, where the old Sutro Bath House used to be. I went down because I had heard the waves were going to be particularly large that day, and they were. I wasn't sure exactly how I would use the photos I was going to take, but I was sure that I would find a use. As I watched the huge rollers wash ashore, and at the same time pondered the changes in my own industry of stock photography, it occurred to me that these huge waves could be a wonderful metaphor for the changes that face not just stock photographers, but also businesses and individuals the world over. Back at my studio, having captured some excellent waves, I arranged to shoot a model as a businessman. I then used Photoshop to put that model on a rock in the path of the oncoming "Tidal Wave" of change.

Attributes of an effective, impactful and flexible stock photo.

I wanted this stock photo to not just be effective and hold a lot of impact, but also to be flexible and adaptable for any art director or designer who needed to use it in their advertising, editorial or promotional uses. To that end I composed the image so that it could be cropped effectively for both vertical and horizontal uses. It can easily be used as a magazine spread or billboard, can also be used for a magazine cover or even rack brochure, and yet is a quick read even at thumbnail size making it well suited for Internet and web use as well. In addition, there is plenty of room for type and body copy. The model, being Asian, works to portray ethnic diversity. His business attire makes this image of danger, risk, adversity, challenge and change a great one for the business and corporate communities. A huge rogue tidal wave of change is about to hit the business world in this stock photo of a businessman standing on a rock at sea.

Keywords associated with this image: