Updating My Shop and Other Creative Pursuits

[wlotus]

After a bit of a break, I've added a banner to my shop and written a welcome message. I've also added my first full-sized print: the violin photo I posted yesterday. It took a little math to figure out the proper cropping--I knew that engineering education would come in handy, one day!--but I managed with little strain on ye olde grey matter. (That's a good thing, because I have school tomorrow, and I kind of need my brain for that.) I have a couple more photos I want to list as full-sized prints, too.

Reading the forums there has been educational. I am getting ideas for promoting my shop, sprucing up my listings, and keeping my chin up between sales. The period of intense dissatisfaction and impatience I went through in my life last autumn seems to have groomed me well for this endeavor. I fully accept the fact that it takes time and persistence to build a business, no matter how small. A year ago I would have given up by now. I know, I know: I have only been at it a month, but I would have given up, anyway. I have always expected and wanted things to move much more quickly. Right now, though, I'm alright with working while I wait.

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I have been taking pictures nearly every day, experimenting with my camera and getting ever more comfortable with getting exactly the shot I want. I noticed I am getting more and more ideas for still life, and I am starting to prefer still life shots to live action. Still life is predictable and controllable, so I can get creative and take as much time as I need to get the image I have in mind. Of course, that would not be the case if I was photographing food, but so far I've stuck to non-perishable items. :-) My brain is constantly buzzing with ideas, some of which I actually make the time to try.

There is still nothing like walking around the city snapping photos, though. Even scenes I have photographed before often offer something new on a different day. It may be the sun or shadow is different on the building that day, or perhaps it's a unique cloud formation over the building that wasn't there, before. My eyes see in 4x6 a lot of the time; it's pretty funny to find myself automatically cropping and composing for that aspect ratio before I've reached for Rebbie, who is usually slung over my shoulder or around my neck. I guess my classmates are used to seeing me show up with her, by now. Then again, with the International Center of Photography located in the same building, they may assume I am taking classes there, as well.

Police Horses on 42nd Street
31 January 2008

Comments

[sixfiftytwo.livejournal.com]

I'm camera shopping.

What is it you have?

Because, wow.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I have a Canon 300D, the original Digital Rebel. Now Canon has a Digital Rebel XT and XTi.

[rockbirthedme.livejournal.com]

I have you bookmarked. I rarely write notes, but I'll tell you what I'll be looking for later. Come holiday time, I'm going to be looking for snow/winter scenes that are specifically *not* Christmas or Chanukah or any other holiday, to use as holiday cards that we can send out to both the Jewish and the gentile branches of the family. Snow scenes, thoughtful candle shots, things like that. Those are hell to find, so if you have anything appropriate, you have a customer.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

I will keep that in mind. In fact, I can work on candle scenes, now (once I buy candles, that is), so I can have new stuff in my stock library come summer, when advertisers will be looking for holiday-appropriate images. I ought to work on that, this weekend...