JUST PhotographIN'

I have not been on here in awhile, and there is a list of excuses for why not.  This year has been a roller coaster with good things and the not so good things.  There have also been steps in one direction and then back the other – like a tug-of-war in decision making.  Fortunately, there are more positives than negatives as I am reflecting back and looking forward!

First off, I decided to order a few prints at the end of the last year as a quality check.  Some of the prints that I ordered were matted, framed, or simply just mounted.  The quality of the prints is what I would expect.  Some of the photos are ones that I would like to keep to hang.  Others are for display or for sale.  Two of them sold at a fundraiser auction to support a local PEO chapter.

One venture that is still up-in-the-air is portrait photography.  I did a family portrait session, and the overall experience was a positive.  However, I do not know if I want to dive into portrait photography full time.  It is not really a question of whether I can do it, rather more of a question of how I would do it.

One really positive experience that I had was attending the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Airventure Oshkosh Airshow.  For some reason, this really boosted my photo views.  It was great to see the photo views increase as well as hear and see the comments!  This was probably the biggest boost I had all year.  A second really neat experience was finally getting a decent moose picture.  Again, the increase in views and comments was a boost.  I even had a couple of photo sales produced by these experiences!

Another positive experience was submitting one of my favorite flower pictures – Hedgehog Cactus Flower – to a calendar.  It was selected as one of the smaller additional photos.  However, it is really exciting to know that my name is on the back of the calendar for 2015!  The calendar will be for sale at several of the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Centers in Arizona.

I am currently in the process of working on a neat photography project that some of my local fan club talked me into working on…  This is a little nerve racking, because there are so many little details to think about and need to fall into place for it to come to a final product.  At the same time, it is a nice thing to focus on.  I have a feeling that it will all come together nicely.  My list of things is growing, but each item is just a small step along the way.  I will post more about this project as soon as some more of the details fall into place.

Some of the negative things that happened involved my equipment.  I am in need of sending a lens in for cleaning, as well as my Canon EOS 5D III needs some form of repair for the automatic sensor cleaner.  When the automatic sensor cleaner functions, it produces a strange squeak that was not present until sometime after Oshkosh and the moose.  Both of these equipment issues are not really what I need at this point in time.  “Camera down time,” as I coined the term, means less time producing images.  The lens issue is a little bit easier to work around since I can plan not to use that lens.  I have two other lenses to use instead of that one.  When the camera body has issues, that means no photography at all.

I decided, due to the camera body issue, to buy a second camera body.  It is a Canon EOS 7D.  The price was not terrible since the 7D II was just released, and there was a rebate on the 7D.  I figure this gives me something to take pictures with in the event something happens to the 5D III again.  The sensor issue on the 5D III has not been totally resolved yet.  I am working around it at the moment, since it does not keep the camera from taking photos.

One thing that I have really noticed is what many other professional photographers talk about.  I find myself taking fewer pictures due to time spent working on other things.  There is that “list of excuses” and other priorities that comes before getting out there to take photographs.

I really feel it necessary to extend a thank you to everyone that is following my photography!  Again, the positive boosts from all of the views and comments keeps the passion for getting out there with the camera going!  I will try to get back on with another update about the photography project I am currently working on, soon!