This Is Getting Serious

I started this site a few years ago (well, seven and a half, to be precise), thinking I'd be doing well if I could keep it going for a whole year.

Well, look what I just got—

I think this means I'm getting serious. Like I plan to keep this thing going for a while.

Either that, or it means I'm just about to win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes* and shut down for good. Because that would be just like the Universe, to leave me with 1,000 useless business cards.  :-)

The lens block diagram, by the way, is of a Zeiss Tessar (the early Leica Elmar was one copy of many, collectively known as "Tessar-types"), which I was just mentioning yesterday.

Mike

*And wouldn't that be ironic!

Original contents copyright 2013 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
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Comments

[Alberto Bengoa]

I can't believe you didn't use the diagram of the Pentax SMC Takumar 50/1.4 for the cards. Congratulations on this great site you are running, and let's hope it stays here for a long time.

[Richard Tugwell]

Congratulations! Em - new website design on the way?

[Francisco Cubas]

Congratulations Mike, TOP has been one of my main sources of photographic education. I can't remember if the first post I read on 2006 was "Great photographers on the Internet" (your famous satire) or one of the TEN TOP Photographs, but you won me over with your mix of equipment and art writing. Back then I use to spend many hours looking for technical information on the web, those were the transitions days, when we agonised about digital finally taking over film and Lightroom was still on beta (remember all the talk about scanners?). I just searched for those post and felt nostalgia reading titles like "Large sensor + Fine lens" about the Sony R1:
http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.mx/2006/03/large-sensor-fine-lens.html

Looking those first months, seems to me like you had become gradually less about equipment and more about the meaning of photography. Did you do that Beatle trick? First selling "Love me do to" to make The White Album later? Or that's a reflexion of the maturity of the digital medium, as we are now past the days of pixel peeping and focus ourselves on the really important things?

Anyway, It's been a great ride so far. Thanks truly, and I hope I can read TOP for many more years.

[Another Phil]

All you need now are as many reader's comments on a photography post as you get on a car post and you'll have it made. ;-)

[Borf]

At first sight, I thought that the lens block diagram was your position at the company: CEO
:-p

[Taran Morgan]

No one uses .mac anymore, .me is apple's preferred nomenclature imho, and looks better on cards as it makes you seem platform agnostic to luddites. I'm not sure apple will deprecate .mac anytime soon though, so your email should be good for at least as long as the cards you had made. Just something to remember for the next batch you have made. I'm guessing Apple will shut it down in the next 3 years.

Also, I like to put a QR code on the back with a link to my site and information. My clients under 30 seem to like that. They can scan and don't have to input any of the fields for contact sharing.

http://qrcode.kaywa.com

[Frank]

Mike,

Your site is my favorite photography-related site on the web.

I always take it seriously. There are so many touching, beautiful, thought-provoking materials on it.

Thank you very much!

Sincerely yours,
Frank

[Thank you Frank! --Mike]

[Michael Steinbach]

Cool!

[Mark kinsman]

I call dibs on the site name if you win ;-)

[Richard Man]

As soon as I saw the card, I said - look at that Tessar, he should have used a Triplet :-)

[Rodger Kingston]

And here I thought it was a burger with one of those long toothpicks through it like a club sandwich.

[n r von staden]

Good for you...I visit everyday with many thousands more waiting to see what your fine taste most everything you write about....thanks

[Miserere]

Great card design, Mike. I like them simple, direct, to the point.

Plus, you didn't bother with "Editor-in-Chief", "CEO" or any other such title. There is no need — you are TOP. End of story.

[Stephen S. Mack]

Very neat, Mike! And +1 to the comment that you are my favourite photo site on the and you've got many, many wonderful and thought-provoking articles.

With best regards,

Stephen

[Robert Roaldi]

Oh wow, business cards. So, like, this is serious then? :)

You don't know how glad people are that it's working out.

[James Sinks]

I looked at that and all I could think was that the T needed a top hat at a jaunty angle, the O should've been a monocle, and the P should've been a cane. Nothing whatsoever to do with photography, just me being...me.

[Tony Rowlett]

I'd like one, please. (One of your business cards, not the Tessar.)

[Wells_dc]

May you need and want many reorders. And may you win the Publisher's Clearinghouse and still be the TOP.

[Sarge]

"TOP" and the Tessar block diagram would make for a nice tattoo. {g}

[John Robison]

Neat card! Can tell from the logo you are, as you have said many times, a lens person.

[Jim Kofron]

Mike,

Count me among the many readers who think this is the best photography site on the web. I'm fortunate that you haven't gotten me hooked on all this expensive camera stuff you write about—on the other hand, you have gotten me hooked on sushi, which is an expensive habit in it's own right.

[David H]

Mike,
There are very few photo related sites on the net that offer the intellectual level you present to us.
Not long ago, Kirk Tuck was about to throw in the towel, and just yesterday a fellow blogger of equal stature, Ming Thien, announced that he is so totally overwhelmed by the work necessary to keep up his blog,while at the same time support himself, that he is rethinking how he can maintain the level of excellance we have come to appreciate from him.

http://blog.mingthein.com/2013/03/07/the-commercial-reality-of-blogging/

We need you guys!

May you all live long and prosper !!

David

[Steven House]

Business cards. I suppose the obvious question is ... are they still useful when you can pass your details around in other ways (digitally) ... if you didn't need one for 7 years ... why now?

I'm interested as I've just started a new thing myself and am contemplating whether a card is necessary. (Notwithstanding the fact that in the past one has never been to hand when you need it)

[Mike Johnston]

Steven,
A good question. I would say that I get asked for a card no more than a couple of dozen times a year (mostly when I tell someone about the site and they want to remember it so they can tell a photographer friend or relative), but on some of those occasions I really wished I'd had one. There might be a few more dozen more times that having one might come in handy.

I did get too many, but the second 500 cost less than $20 additional. I'm a big spender with things as cheap as that. [g]

Mike

[Bruce Crawford]

Mike,

A really nice simple design. A good font, good use of colour and the lens diagram is interesting enough to perhaps prompt questions from the curious. I wish you better luck than I've had with mine. Got a box of 500 when I was promoted in '05 and I pretty much still have them. I never remember to take them with me.

Cheers,

Bruce

[Rob Smith]

I'm assuming you cleared the copyright on the lens design.. LOL!

[Ian M]

I go to two sites every day to see what's new in the photographic world... yours first, and then Michael Reichmann's. Amazing to think it's been 7 1/2 years!!!

Thank you Mike for opening up the world of photography in such an interesting way.

[Phil Maus]

That's ironic - Even though I've almost never been a working (make that selling) photographer, I've always had some kind of business name and logo ready to go and my logo has always included a representation of lens elements.

The first couple iterations, the elements were just stylized and didn't correspond to any particular lens, the last one was based on a Biogon design, the current one is a Plasmat. They are still somewhat stylized for looks though.

And all along I thought I was being all slick and was the ONLY ONE who ever thought of using these (instead of an aperture diaphragm hole like everybody else) in a logo design! I knew you and I think alike.

...Musta been my Midwest upbringing, across the river from you in Minneapolis.

[Simon]

Business cards are never useless... you can always fold them in half to stick under a table leg at a restaurant with dodgy furniture ;P

[jr cline]

The Universe is funny like that.
lol

[Steve]

Mike, you should sign the back and sell them to your fans.

[Bob Rosinsky]

"A card is a card is card is a card." Did Gertrude Stein say that?

[John Holland]

Congratulations on joining the rat race ;)

[phxxer]

Let me guess: you started with the lens outline in the upper left corner, but then everybody does that, so you moved it to the upper right corner? Just to be a little different.

I like it, clean and simple.

It reminds me of a joke, but......

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Of course the obvious question is why the heck one needs physical business cards for a virtual business!? ;-)

That aside, I would have expected something more like a carte de visite for you.

[Armand]

Thanks Mike. I love your site - one of the few sites I visit regularly.

[Bruno Masset]

Adding this blob to your business card as a nod to the smartphone-toting generation might also be a good idea ;-)

[Dave Karp]

Love it!

[Eduardo Cervantes]

Congratulations Mike. Keep it going. Great blog and unique in its particular form. I like reading it because you provoke and inform with a mix of 4 of my favorite things in life: Beautiful women, great photography, cool music and unique cars. Thanks for all.