Calm Photos

Select photographs are now represented and sold for stock usage through Alamy Ltd. Alamy is one of the world’s largest and best known stock agencies. Based in England, Alamy is currently creating one of the fastest search engines for stock photography. Alamy also maintains very high standards for the work submitted by contributing photographers. Click the the link listed at the end of this paragraph and you will be taken to my photographs that are available through Alamy as well an online order form that includes pricing and file size options. Stock photography by James Crotty at Alamy

 See my page on commercial and assignment photography, at www.ohiophoto.org/commercial_photography.htm, for new sample images from recent photo shoots. Also, one of my most recent commercial clients, Aerospace International Materials, Inc., now has a redesigned company website (thanks to the great work of Tahoe Partners and Solve Interactive) featuring the product, employee and facility photographs that I took at the AIM facilities in Camp Dennison, Ohio.

Working under tight deadlines is often the case when working with advertising and web design firms. One of the many advantages of my photographic services is the ability to deliver - on the spot and immediately following the photo shoot - high resolution JPEG or camera RAW files on DVD. This can be quite a time-saver, but one which I only recommend to those clients who maintain in-house expertise with post-processing and digital editing software. I bring a couple of different tools with me for on-location, immediate delivery of digital image files. One is a portable DVD burner. The other is a MacBook Pro (yes, I’m finally making the transition to a Macintosh-based digital darkroom).

New Photographs Added . . . Visit my newest addition to my online gallery of photographs - Spring 2006 - for a variety of images shot from February through May, 2006. This gallery is a great recap of what makes spring so special, with an emphasis on life renewed.

Of all the images I shot this spring - includng nature, landscape, wildflowers, wildlife, scenics, etc. - the one I’ve included with this post is my favorite. This was an image I shot while attending a Cincinnati Reds baseball game on the evening of May 23rd. It was a good game. The Reds beat the Brewers, 7-3. It was also a game when Ken Griffey Jr. decided to show-up and play, knocking out a home run and making a spectacular catch while slamming into the outfied wall.

What really caught me off guard was seeing cheerleaders (yes, cheerleaders) at a Red’s game. Who would have thought? But hey, it worked for me. It also worked for the old guy in the pic. But I don’t think it works so well with his wife.

I knew I should have went. The Annual Conference of the Outdoor Writers of Ohio, held this past April at Salt Fork State Park. One of my published photographs - “Water and Ice” - won 1st place in the category of “Best Black and White Nature Photo.” This image appeared in the “Art Scene” section of the July 29, 2005 issue of the Dayton Daily News.

The journey continues. April 1, 2006 marked my third year of being in business. I started-out in a spare bedroom in our house, moved to a 500 sq, ft. studio in Kettering and I’m now at 1,100 sq. ft. studio and gallery in Centerville. I’ve had so many images - both commercial and nature/landscape - published that I had to get the largest three-ring binder I could find just to hold the tear sheets. I’ve got repeat business from some good clients and solid referrals. All this despite making one bad mistake after another during my first two years, some of which were a bit on the painful side. But I’m learning, and that’s what is most important and most rewarding about owning your own business.

I’ve learned quite a bit. So much so that I frequently receive emails from other aspiring photographers seeking advice. One such email came today. Below is a copy of my response. I thought it would be appropriate to share this with my blogging audience as a way to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of Picture Ohio. You see, that’s one the lessons I’ve learned - always be helpful. If I can help others avoid the mistakes that I made, then well, those mistakes were worth making. And I’m even more willing to be helpful when I know the request for information is sincere and respectful and not coming from some local wannabe who’s on a fishing expedition, which by the way has happened and counts as one of those “painful” learning experiences. Life is a balance. Achieve it.

Hi Erin -

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No, I’m not referring to the taking of snapshots with a camera phone. I’m talking about the new, toll-free phone number for the studio and gallery of Picture Ohio, LLC. Customers (as well as those who would like to be customers) who are located outside the Dayton, Ohio area can now call 1-877-JCROTTY (1-877-527-6889) to place an order for prints, stock images or to inquire about my photography services.

I maintain a passing interest in marketing and advertising. I don’t know why exactly. Perhaps it’s because in a previous life I held marketing manager type jobs in the corporate world, i.e. University of Utah Credit Union and Fujitec Elevators. Or maybe it’s because it’s still the one aspect of doing business that I thoroughly enjoy. It’s probably that whole “creative” thing about it. Regardless, it’s both motivating and affirming when I come across someone who works in the field who not only knows what he or she is doing, but has the courage, confidence and decency to share his or her ideas with anyone who has the good sense to stop, look and listen. David Esrati of The Next Wave is a good example, and one of his most recent blog postings shows why. And I love David’s tag line at the bottom of The Next Wave website: “Our job is to make you more money than you pay us.” What a novel idea!

For those of you in the Dayton area who are business owners and/or marketers, I highly recommend David’s half-day Blogosopher course on the web and blogging.