Last month I was invited to participate in the American Institute of Steel Construction’s IDEAS² Awards program as one of the jurors. This exciting program was created to honor architectural and engineering excellence for projects that employ structural steel framing systems, and the winners will be announced at the organization’s NASCC—The Steel Conference, held April 18—21, 2007, in New Orleans.

Since I am not practicing engineering currently, I always enjoy this type of opportunity because I learn about the interesting, complex, and inspiring projects that are ongoing in the "real" world, albeit through project descriptions and photos.

Of course, there is much room for improvement in the world of structural engineering photography—a point I was reminded of during the judging process, as well as while working with a contributor for Structural Engineer recently. Having been a structural engineering consultant and a journalist for this industry, I can tell you that structural engineers just don’t take enough photos—not enough during construction or of finished projects, nor of staff during awards ceremonies or company parties. In fact, when faced with the need, most firms are hard pressed to find good (if any) photos at all.

I would encourage all of you to take more, high-quality photos, both of projects and of people. Additionally, take photos in both orientations—vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape)—so that you have options. If using a digital camera, always set it to take the highest quality photos as possible. With current technology, image size is hardly an issue for storing files. You can always downsize images for Internet use, but you can never increase them for printed marketing materials, articles in magazines (hint-hint!), or awards submittals.

Photos are also great tools for teaching staff, clients, or the public about a project or construction type and, obviously, for documenting the structural aspects of a project before they are covered by finishes.

They are also powerful when used in presentations during proposals or seminars. Speaking of presentations, we are currently accepting presenter proposals for the 2007 Structural Engineers’ Building Conference & Expo, scheduled for October 10-11 in San Francisco; see page 17.

I want you to be aware that next month you will receive the first annual CE News/Structural Engineer Buyers’ Guide. This will be quite different in format from anything that we have done in the past, so you’re in for a treat! To complement the May guide, traditional editorial content will be available at www.gostructural.com. The June issue of Structural Engineer will be back to normal, and it will contain a special section dedicated to job seekers—including our annual compensation survey article.

Finally, the deadline to submit your application to be considered as one of the 2007 Best Structural Engineering Firms To Work For is April 20. Visit www.gostructural.com/bestfirm to learn more and download the application forms. Remember, if your firm makes it to the top, we will need good photos to publish in Structural Engineer. Yet another reason to dust off that camera and get shooting!