wlotus | Updating My Shop and Other Creative Pursuits (Reply)

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.

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