Calm Photos

One of the many paradoxes in life is the apparent, constant struggle to find that one place of peace that we all strive for.

Everywhere we turn we are confronted with so much fear, doubt, worry.

All of us need that special place to return to when life becomes one big pile-on.

For me, it seems as if the closer I get to being in that place of peace, the mountainside becomes steeper and the fear of falling far greater. What I must keep in my mind and in my heart is that it is those times when I’m about to reach a point on that mountain where there is a clarity of vision and a strength of confidence not previously attainable.

Fortunately for all of us we were given a gift long ago that returns time and again to provide strength to reach and keep climbing, a strength from love that is forgiveness.

. . . lies a better place.

One of warmth, peace and love.

For Emma and Chloe

Updated 4-8-08: Well, so much for that donation. Word got out that I’m relocating to Texas come June, so I’m no longer considered a “local” creative type, not that it made much of a difference anyway.

It’s great in Dayton.

DaytonCREATE

Another cool (and authorized) use of my best-selling Dayton skyline photograph.I like and support what DaytonCreate is doing. They have one heck of a challenge, but at least this is a grassroots effort coming from outside the tired and old way of doing business. So much of what we’ve seen in the past has come from the same ‘ol power/social circles that have dominated other efforts at marketing and growing the Dayton region.New blood + creative thinking + new ideas = change. That’s the only hope for Dayton.

Yes, winter in Ohio is making one last, strong push before moving aside for spring. Right now it looks to be a snow storm on the verge of becoming a blizzard. What better time to start thinking about summer and where to go for some of the most incredible nature and landscape photography within the lower 48 - the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

While getting up to speed on my recently installed upgrade to Aperture 2.0, I re-discovered several raw image files from a photo trip I took to Colorado in July 2006. Applying some the new editing features available with Aperture 2.0 I went through and selected some of favorite images from that trip. I thought it would be fun to re-post a few while providing some basic tips when visiting and photographing this incredible area of alpine scenery.

The San Juan Mountains - with an emphasis on the area between Ouray and Telluride - is one of those summer or autumn destination spots that should be within the top ten list of every nature photographer, both amateur and pro shooters, right along with the Smokies in spring, Zion and Southern Utah, the U.P of Michigan in fall, etc., etc.

A more spectacular display of alpine wildflowers I have not seen, yet. Yankee Boy Basin, which sits far above the mountain town of Ouray, is the most popular area for wildflowers and mountain vistas in the San Juan Mountains. But as always, the best shots are to be found by being a bit adventurous and driving the mountain road (sometimes more of a “path”) that leads upward from Yankee Boy to Imogene Pass then the old mining town of Tomboy and out the other side into Telluride.

   

                 

Here’s my tips for an incredible summer photo adventure in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado:

1) Base yourself out of Ouray. A fun, picturesque Colorado mountain town that is less expensive than Telluride.
2) If you fly in, you MUST rent a 4-wheel drive SUV or Jeep Wrangler. DO NOT - I repeat DO NOT - attempt the mountain road between Ouray and Telluride in anything less. You won’t get very far. I rented a Ford Explorer and it handled the boulders, rocks, mud and snow (yes, snow in July) beautifully.

3) Pack bug spray. At certain altitudes in the mountains you may run into flocks of ravenous mosquitoes and biting flies. Not often, but it does happen.
4) Dress warm with layers. You can start your trek in shorts and a t-shirt down in Ouray and by the time you reach Imogene Pass (13,000 feet +) you could be in long pants, coat and gloves.
5) Have a cover for your camera. I always recommend hotel shower caps. I’ve been using the same one for almost eight years now. Summer storms in the mountains are sudden, intense and unpredictable. The plus side is that all those alpine waterfalls are never dry or slow.
6) Camera body with spare batteries plus a wide zoom for your landscapes, tele-zoom for isolating scenes and macro for flower close-ups. Pro-grade tripod (extends to five + feet) with a solid ballhead, cable release, plenty of memory cards, circular polarizer, split-neutral density filter, detachable flash and hand-held reflector and diffuser are all items that I found to be very useful in photographing the mountains and wildflowers in the summer.
7) Good, sturdy hiking BOOTS. Not your cross-trainers, tennis shoes or Crocs, but boots. This is just as important as that 4-wheel drive.
Lots of extra water. High altitude hiking will dehydrate you quicker than just about anything else.
9) First aid kit, Balance Bars, Marathon Bars, etc.
10) If you go by yourself, make sure you tell someone where you’re headed and when you plan to return.
11) If you have any remote fear of heights, DO NOT drive this mountain road. There are sections where there is less than a foot of space between your tires and 1,000 foot drop-offs.

Since July 2006 I have been using ImageKind.com as my primary resource for managing online sales of fine art prints of my original nature, landscape, wildlife and cityscape photographs.

Before ImageKind I tried to manage order fulfillment by myself here in my studio. The following are the steps that took place:
1) A visitor to my main web site would see an image that he or she wanted to purchase a print of
2) They would select and purchase using my previous service for online credit card orders via buttons and size choices listed below the image
3) I’d receive a notification from my online credit card processor that a purchase had been made as well as the image #, print size selected and shipping address
4) I would fire-up my Epson 7600 large format printer, making sure I had the correct 24″ roll paper loaded and plenty of available Epson Ultrachrome ink cartridges
5) A typical 16″x24″ print, at high resolution and at the top of the line print settings, would usually take about an hour to run
6) I’d manually prepare the print for shipping, rolling and packing it in a shipping tube and then placing that package within a FedEx triangular shipping container
7) I’d go to my online FedEx account and que for a package pick-up
The print would be shipped to the customer along with their receipt as well as some of my promo material

Now here is a lesson in basic economics. Look at all the steps above. Each one has a price tag. Either in the way of my time, material, and/or fees. There was no way I could price my prints high enough to 1) recoup my costs, and 2) allow for a profit margin. Also, the customer has very limited options. They get the print, and that’s it. No mounting, mat or framing. No choices in paper and maybe three size selections.

The process wasn’t much less expensive for me when it came to local walk-in and phone customers. In fact sometimes it would be even more of an expensive proposition when I would hear those dreaded words “can you get it framed for me.” Uuuugggghhhhh !

Now enter ImageKind.com.

For a minimal annual fee, as well as a very low cost per image sold, I have unlimited memory capacity for uploading my high-res JPEG files of the images that I would like to offer for sale as fine art prints, ability to set and mange my own margins, opportunity to create and manage as many separate online galleries as I like, create custom HTML code for each image and gallery and leave the entire credit card processing and order fulfillment process in the hands of the capable staff at ImageKind. Not only that, but customers have a HUGE online selection of custom papers, mats, mounting and frames that can be applied to each and every one of my photographs posted for sale on my ImageKind storefront. In fact any online customer can preview exactly how their selected print will look with their mat and frame choices.

And here’s the best part. I love the print quality and care in shipping that ImageKind provides. In fact it is just as good (if not better) than what I was achieving with my Epson 7600 (which by the way, is for sale as part of my moving/liquidation sale prior to my upcoming move to Texas).

The following is a recent YouTube posting of a Seattle (where ImageKind is based) newscast featuring the president of ImageKind showing just how easy it can be to select and purchase artwork online. Watch it all the way through because at the end Kevin announces a special promo code for free shipping.

“Just get up and go get some coffee somewhere.”

That was my wife’s advice earlier this afternoon after I told her about the phone conversation that had taken place, just moments prior to my call to her.

I was put on a conference call that ended-up being very disturbing. I won’t go into details other than it was disturbingly familiar, a reminder of the frightening manipulations and mechanizations that nearly buried me a little over 13 years ago. The difference this time is that wisdom is increasingly on my side.

So up I went, right over to the coffee shop in the Washington Square shopping center across the street. It was there that I came upon a book highlighting the 60 years of work by Paul Strand - perhaps one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, along with Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. And like Weston and Adams, Strand was a wandering star, rarely at home or at peace in any one place other than within their own artistic visions. Always in search of the “good light” and landscapes that would become the canvas of their expressions and photographic interpretations of life and the world around them.

I can relate. Chances are they too had close relatives who said “you’re always chasing your %$#hole. Why can’t you be happy in one spot, get along and stop all this moving around. Keep your mouth shut. Never get in a pissing contest with a skunk who has more firepower than you. Why are you so selfish.”

I now take those words as a compliment considering what I’ve witnessed here in the south suburbs of Dayton, and considering the quality of life lived and work created by the likes of Strand, Weston and Adams.

By the time I had finished my coffee and browsed the book on Paul Strand, a recent quote I heard on TV started floating once again through my mind. It was few weeks ago when I watched an interview with actor Sir Anthony Hopkins on Inside the Actors Studio - “when I was young a Jesuit priest taught me what is known as the world’s shortest prayer: f*&$ it. ”

And that’s about how I now feel about that phone call.

Hey, I feel better already !

Yes, there is such a thing as press that’s less than positive. Sometimes it’s completely non-intentional and the negative effects aren’t realized until a few years down the road. Shortly after I started my photography business in 2003, the Dayton Daily News ran a full-page story about my work with nature and landscape photography. It was a good article. I can’t complain about that. The problem is that it ran at a time (early stage of going into business) when I held the mistaken belief that I could actually make a living solely based on the fine art market for nature, landscape and wildlife photography. The lasting negative effect of both that initial belief and particular article is that I’ve been permanently pigeon holed as just a “nature photographer” here in my local market, and I accept full responsibility.

I received a quick and expensive education to the contrary once the payables far outstretched the receivables. Even today people in Dayton keep mentioning “the article” and how much they are a “great fan of my nature and landscape photographs.” Daytonians love my work so much that they email or call me quite frequently asking me to donate a print to some silent auction or donate services or donate licensing rights. Donate, donate, donate. “It’s a great way to get your name out there.”

If I hear that phrase one more time I’m going to go out of my mind. Uh, I’m pretty sure that here in Dayton my name is out there. Perhaps that’s part of the problem ??

Here’s one the few certain things I’ve learned now that I’ve been in business as a photographer in the Dayton area going on five years now. The only thing that results from donations are more requests for donations, plus a whole host of hobbyists fishing for free info (that’s why I added paid workshops and lessons to my list of services).

Anyhoo, the truth is that my bread and butter is my commercial and assignment photography services, particularly in covering events, architectural projects, business portraits, products, processes, and a recent pick-up in activity for family portraiture.

Posted below is a new flyer I put together highlighting some of the recent architectural projects that I photographed. If I had to decide which area of commercial photography that I enjoy the most, I would have to say architecture followed closely by editorial and event work.

And yes, I will always hold-on to my first love of nature and landscape photography. However, I like to consider myself as a “renaissance man” in the field of photography. I can’t stand being pigeon holed - whether it applies to my professional or my personal life. What is it about this area of the Midwest that people feel so comfortable being permanently stuck in ruts - ruts of the same old way of doing business, day in and day out, and of applying convenient labels to one another.

Change, expand, adapt, learn, move forward. When things get too comfortable, then I know it’s time to light a fire under my @%# and get moving. In the words of Martha Stewart, “it’s a good thing.” Yesterday an old friend - originally from Dayton but who has also lived elsewhere (and that means out of Ohio) - commented that there’s just this “negative energy” to the area. I think it comes from so many of my fellow Daytonians falling into their comfortable zones and well, becoming permanent residents in the bland land of security and predictability. That’s not living. That’s just simply waiting.