Studio portraits at the MySQL Conference
(Please join the Facebook event if you're going, whether you're funding or not!)
The MySQL and surrounding community and the conference itself have gone through many changes in the past few years. It's important to continue documenting the incredible and diverse MySQL community as it evolves. You’ve no doubt seen Julian Cash’s photographs of the community through the years; they’re so great that people love to use them for profile images on Facebook, Twitter, and everywhere else.
However, it takes a lot of hard work to produce these images! Your contribution will directly fund the creation of sensational “white background” studio portraits of speakers and attendees at the Percona Live MySQL Conference and Expo in Santa Clara on April 22nd to 25th in 2013. The community only gets together at this scale for these few days, once a year, so we have to make it count!
Check out some of Julian’s prior work:
Julian has self-funded most of the Open Source shoots that he's done, including all past MySQL conventions.
Why does this need funding?
A temporary “white background” studio will be set up at the Percona Live MySQL Conference (at a location to be announced). We plan to provide:
- Full resolution images (with full image rights) to the people photographed.
- A web gallery of all resulting images.
- A video of the best images, put to music.
- A Facebook gallery of the images.
Including preparation, shooting, picking images, polishing them, building various galleries, and other related work, it typically takes about 80 hours of effort for a shoot like this. In order to be as inclusive as possible, there is no direct cost to the people being photographed, so your funding is very important!
Thank you for being part of our wonderful community and helping to fund the glorious documentation of it!
And another way to help is to post or share the indiegogo campaign on facebook.
More about Julian Cash's photography
Since 2001, Julian Cash has been taking studio portraits at Open Source conventions such as MySQL, OSCON, and ApacheCon. Although this shoot is a “white background” one, Julian has also done “light painting” shoots at Open Source events.
In 2012, Julian formed a team of light painters who were on America's Got Talent, and received great feedback, such as:
- "I've never seen anything like this. I loved it!" - Howard Stern
- "This is what we look for" - Howie Mandel
- "Spectacular" - Sharon Osbourne
- "Amazing" - Nick Cannon
Julian has been taking photographs at Burning Man for many years, and is well known for his instant cult classic white background studio portrait book, The People of Burning Man.
How you can help
There's not much time, so we need to spread the word quickly. You can:
- Help fund the project. Your funding is critical to ensuring the shoot can happen, to keeping it free and inclusive for the people photographed, and to make things happen smoothly.
- Help spread the word. Tell other MySQL community members about this project. Share on Facebook, Twitter, your personal blogs, via email, and by word of mouth.
- Come by at the conference and have your photograph taken. You're part of the community, too!
