New Toy's Arrived! At least I think it's new..........

Hurray! My new Pentax K20d has arrived!

Boooo! It looks just the same as my current K10d!

Well sort of. It has a bigger LCD monitor and It has a matt black shutter button rather than a shiny silver one but that's it. I am hoping 50% more MP's will be noticeable and I reckon the 16 - 45mm Pentax lens that comes with it will be way better than the 18-55mm I have been using for landscapes, portraits etc. (here's hoping)!

I don't follow these things very closely but has any one heard whispers of Pentax releasing a true pro-level DSLR? I love my Pentax's but I think they really can only be considered as "enthusiast" or "semi-pro" (does that mean working only part time on photography or only being partly as good as a real pro?).

Please discuss! I am starting to think I am alone in cyberspace!

Making Me A Better Photographer?

Being never that happy with my work I am always interested in courses that may help me improve my "skills." Last year I enrolled on Bryan Peterson's (more about Bryan on an earlier post) "Art of Seeing" online course. The course is designed to open your eyes to the creative photo-opportunities that we all have around us.

It was great! I loved it! It probably didn't help me with my stock work much but it was fun, fun, fun!

Being totally on-line it is a slick and efficient process. You can view the work, profiles and comments of the other "class members" - just like school except no one notices if you fall asleep at the back of the class. My class was mainly made up of a lovely group of American citizens many of whom had taken other PPSOP (Perfect Picture School of Photography - Bryan's School) classes which is a good sign. I really chose this one because Bryan himself is the main tutor (I am worried I am starting to sound like a stalker!).

Assignements were delivered on line. You then have a week to post 3 or 4 shots which fit the assignment. It is mostly about getting you thinking about angles (low down, high up, macro), movement, theme etc. Bryan would then deliver his critique on your shots each week and you could look at what others were doing.

At the time the £/$ exchange rate was in our favour over here in the UK so for me it was superb value at around £100 (it would be around £10M with the rates now!). Bryan was very generous with his time and advice and it is probably the best £100 I have spent on photography related stuff. Do check it out! Here are some of the posts I made:

Animals rule!

It must be a spring thing but it has all been about animals on the stock sales front this weekend (apart from the Germans continuing to snap up the rubber dingy picture - see earlier post).

Fotolia delivered an extended license sale for this owl:

And IStockphoto sold this fella (ahh......cute)!

Long may it continue! (Just to pour cold water on my spring theory I have just sold a powerstation shot on Fotolia as well).

Ansel Adams - Another Thought

If I spent all my days wandering around Yosemite National Park I reckon I could get a few decent shots away as well! ;-)

Help! I've Got Photographer's Block!

I am pretty sure I have got photographer's block. Have you seen Top Gun? You know after the crash Maverick just can't seem to get involved in dog fights anymore? He is scared of the bad consequences that may follow. It is the same currently with this aspiring photographer. Based on recent performance I am worried about the horrible consequences that may follow me pressing my shutter release!

I am finding excuses not to get the camera out (the light is wrong, the battery probably needs charging, it is too cold and wet). I am "seeing" less and less when I am out and about. I am becoming more and more critical of my work.

Help me! What do I need to do to get "back in the saddle." Hopefully I won't have to follow Maverick's example and engage some MiGs in mortal combat over the Indian Ocean!

PS. This was my "enhanced" on Shutterstock (see earlier post). Like they say simple sells!

The Power of "Yes!"

This not about photography specifically (but remember - my blog = my rules) but I guess you could apply this to photography; the power of "YES!"

I have just finished reading the book "Yes Man" by Danny Wallace. Please put all thoughts out of your mind of that nut job Jim Carey and the lame film of the same name. The film is supposedly "based" on the book. You judge. Danny Wallace is a 30 (ish) year old English writer and broadcaster living in and writing mainly about London. Jim Carey is a 47 year old nut job neither living in, pretending to live in or indeed writing about London. I rest my case!

Anyway get the book. It is about Danny's experiences of just saying "yes" to offers and opportunities for a couple of months. It is funny, uplifting and motivational. Whilst I would never go that far, as the (officially) most negative man in Europe, I have taken a leaf out of Danny's book by saying yes to things...................very occasionally. It feels good!

In photography terms it has lead me, so far, to embark on the BFP (British Freelance Photographers) course which I will be telling you about later. It has also lead me to buy a prime lens (see previous posts). Who knows what other wild and wacky photographic adventures this may lead me on (bankruptcy probably). Watch this space!

Hooray! A Shutterstock Enhanced!

Hooray! I have sold an "Enhanced" on Shutterstock today! What does that mean (apart from 25 bucks)?

IStockphoto - The Love of My Microstock Life!

Out of all the microstock sites I contribute to IStockphoto is my favourite. Why? Well as the comments to my previous post attest (thanks very much guys for your supportive words and advice) the more art orientated shots generally go down like a lead balloon on the microstocks. IStock, however, seem the most art orientated. They often accept shots that others decline as "low interest / wrong type of photo." The great news is that some of these shots sell pretty well too (for me that is!).

I like the review system as well as viewers seem pretty genuine and considered about their ratings.

The downsides? Because of my history so far with them I am restricted to 15 uploads a week which is pretty low (much lower than anyone else). Also it seems to take forever for shots to be reviewed. I know they prioritise their exclusive photographers but sometimes I have submitted three weeks worth of shots (45) before they review the first one.

This is one of the shots that has done OK. The best seller, however, has been the Canary Wharf and sheep one already posted.

If I ever went exclusive (providing I could reach the qualifying criteria) I would definitely stick with these guys. I love you IStockphoto!

Everyone Is Out To Mug Me!

One of my many limitations as a photographer is that if I am out in public with my camera I think that everyone is a potential mugger ready to wrestle me to the ground and rip my, frankly, average camera from around my neck.

I spend a lot of time in London but due to this irrational concern I spend lots of time in my car, driving around thinking "that would make a nice shot" but not venturing out with my camera to get the shot.

Yesterday I saw a diminutive guy (compared to me at 6'2" and 95 KG) out in London boldly sporting an expensive Nikon for all to see (may have been a D90 or D300 or something). I got to thinking "there is a guy half my size with a camera twice as good as mine. If he can do it then so can I." Needless to say I saw lots of great potential shots through the car window on the way home. Not one made it to my SD card!

Please cure me with your stories and advice!

Is Microstock Bad For Me? I Can't Decide

I have been a microstock contributor for about a year now and I have to confess it frustrates the hell out of me! I make very little money for quite a lot of work and the sense of rejection and unworthiness is high at times.

When I got back into photography I wanted to do something with my shots in order to make it seem a fully rounded and worthwhile experience. To me if loads of shots just sit gathering cyber dust on a hard drive it seems, somehow, wrong. Microstock provided an outlet as well as, perhaps, a barometer for the quality of my stuff.

The problem is that the microstock sites provide no consistency in their acceptance criteria. They sometimes also give spurious reasons for rejection I have discovered. So when you get a "wrong kind of photograph" rejection I have heard from the horse's mouth that they are sometimes being kind instead of saying "poor quality shot." That helps no one.

On the downside that has left me confused and uncertain about the validity of my shots. On the plus side I have learnt shed loads about artifacts, sharpening, noise etc, etc. I have also learnt that viewing shots at 100% is for wimps! It has got to be 300% at least!

It has made me aware of the limitations of my kit also. I can't really shoot anything at more than ISO200 without risking rejection for noise. I also have a lens which seems not that sharp so have to avoid that one generally.

To sum up my microstock adventures have made me needy and insecure about my shots. Not earned me any significant sums. Made me yearn for better kit. But it's sort of been fun in a bungee jump / roller coaster type of way. I have also learnt lots about what can go wrong with a shot.

I would love to hear about your experiences of microstock so let me have it!

(I love this shot but I can't give it away!):

VW Campers - Just For Fun

If only I were this good at drawing! A couple of my son's VW Camper Van toys photographed and messed about with in Photoshop. Just for fun really.

Am I Being Stalked?

How often in your life do you think it would be normal to run into Douglas Hurd (now of course Lord Hurd of Westwell)? What......say........never? Wrong. Three times (so far). Yes! Count them! Three times in the last few years.

First time was in Waitrose in Witney (frozen veg). Second time was on platform 1 at Paddington Station. Most recently was in an unamed London street (not, I hasten to add, that either myself or Douglas would be ashamed of the implications of being in said street if its name was revealed. I simply can't remember where it was).

I wonder if there are any sinister overtones to these "coincidences."

Anyway, suffice to say, as far as jibs go, I do like the cut of his. He is no spring chicken but he walks with an upright and purposeful gait and looks passers by directly in the eye. A fine fellow with a firm handshake I'll wager!

Portrait Lens - Result (I think!)

I have just come from my local camera shop (a proper independently owned one. The staff are so knowledgeable it takes you an hour to buy a lens cloth because they tell you the life history of the Andorran shrew from which the pelt was harvested to contribute the fur which is used to electrostatically attract dust from your lens. The glass for which was polished by the thighs of the widowed mountain dwellers of Cambodia).

Anyway after I bought my Cokin graduated filter (which was what I actually went in for and felt silly when I asked for a 52 mm screw type one. The fount of all wisdom behind the counter then put me right and sold me the frame type with the square drop in filters! That is why I am "aspiring" and not "proper!") I happened to ask guru man if he had any Pentax AF lenses which had been part exchanged. He had! A lovely little AF 50mm prime, nice and fast at F1.4! Should make a great little portrait lens. Cost £79 which I think was OK (but bear in mind I actually have no idea about such things) At current exchange rates £79 is about 3 Euros or $5.45 or 93 Trillion Zimbabwe Dollars.

The only problem is my kids and my wife HATE having their pictures taken.

What am I packing? Not as much as I would like!

"So what kit am I using?" I hear no one ask. Good question. I am a big one for the road less travelled so right at the start I got into Pentax. Why? Well living in the UK it is safe to say that 90% of my photography year is spent in "low light." When I was first moving up from my Fuji bridge camera to a DSLR the Pentax K100d seemed a great low light camera - built in shake reduction, ISO200 starting point etc. It proved to be a great little camera and I had some fun with it.

At 6MP the file sizes quite quickly became an issue and I was lucky to find a second hand Pentax K10D which I got for about £300 (this was 18 months or so ago). So she's my baby now. I have the kit 18 - 55mm lens, a Tamron 70 - 300mm and a Tamron 90mm 1:1 macro. I have a PTTL Sigma flash and that's about it apart from monopod, tripod, remote release etc.

What's the K10 like?

Pros - very well built, solid feeling, reliable, easy to navigate, plenty of settings, warm colour rendition

Cons - slow autofocus (or is that the lens?), average dynamic range

I like it! What next? Hmmmm. I would like to stay with Pentax and the K20d is attractive but it doesn't seem a huge step forward from my current squeeze apart from 50% more MP's. If Pentax did a serious pro level DSLR I would be there like a shot. In the abscence of that, however, I may have to join the road more travelled with a Nikon D300 but it means changing everything. Pricey!

Come on all you gurus out there - what would you suggest?

My first

The first microstock site I contributed to (would have me) was Fotolia (http://www.fotolia.co.uk/). Originally we fell quickly in love. I had recently been shunned by another (Istockphoto) and, frankly, I was on the rebound. To start with all was well. I felt loved and appreciated and Fotolia accepted most of my output. Some sales (by some I mean.....one) soon followed.

And then something changed between us. It changed suddenly. It was almost as if someone had flicked a switch labelled "stop taking just any old crap that never sells."

Now my first love rarely welcomes my meagre offerings, probably because they are.......well meagre. That said some of my first offerings taken with a Fuji bridge camera with a sensor the size of a bee's testicles are still selling well. In Germany. It is still an utter mystery to me why certain microstock sites sell some shots repeatedly and then the same shots die on their arse on other sites. A puzzle!

Anyway the German's obviously have a penchant for rubber dingies as this is the shot that sells most.

So Fotolia then. Well until they turned all my stuff away (my acceptance rates have dropped from about 60% to about 20%) they were pretty good. Pretty fast review process, easy enough to up load, reasonable commissions. Very good for the rubber dingy genre.

Since those early, heady days I have branched out a fair bit (any port in a storm) and I will be telling you more about my other microstock adventures soon!

In the mean time if you fancy a laugh here is my Fotolia portfolio - http://en.fotolia.com/p/200403654

Not stock but more fun

No good for stock this stuff but a bit more fun, less staid, a bit frivolous. A day at Santa Pod does constitute the early signs of a mid life crisis but who cares! Lets rock...........ooh......I think I've put my back out again!

Ansel Adams - my type of photographer!

You have got to love him. Why? He said "There are no rules for good photographs just good photographs." Enough said.

One that sells........and one that everyone hates!

I love this boat. I don't know why I just do. I never told you I was a rational man. This was taken in Dunwich in Suffolk which was once a very large sea port and is now...........basically this boat and this hut (long shore drift........it's a killer!). I don't think one of my stock microsites took this shot. Probably artifacts, non commercial, poor composition / lighting or some such fatal flaw.

This is my best selling shot.......I have sold literally.......a few of these babies! Only through Istockphoto though strangely (I like them, they are nice). For those who care (if you are reading this Mum) this is London's Canary Wharf as shot from Mudchute City Farm. Not many major financial centres of the world can boast sheep grazing but a few fathoms away.

Lets have your comments then! Go on, I can take it! Rejection is my friend.....it just makes me stronger (or more acurately it makes me want to smash up my camera with a lump hammer and then set fire to it).

I love these photo books!

Since the photo-bug took a bite out of me I have loved nothing more (apart from the fruit of my loins, my wife, chocolate, speeding and squirrels) than devouring books about photography. Here are some brilliant ones:

Learning to See Creatively - Bryan Peterson

Bryan is great! As a man with very little (and I mean very little) of his own I love and covet his hair. He also has a very pretty wife. What is not to like about Bryan before you even get onto his photography?! This book and all his books (Understanding Exposure, Beyond Portraiture, Understanding Digital Photography and others) is so easy to read and understand. Bryan is the opposite of those guys who endeavour to mystify their art just to make themselves seem clever. He boils his subjects down into concepts and ideas that even your novice host here can understand. He offers some great tips and hooks which are really easy to remember. I will now always consider f11 as my "who cares" aperture. This book is really more about spotting opportunities for creative photographs but, to me, that is the very essence of really hot shots. He is very generous with his support and advice and genuinely seems to want to help the congenitally hopeless like me.

Bryan also runs the Perfect Picture School of Photography (http://www.ppsop.com/). I took one of his online courses last year (The Art of Seeing) but more of that later..................... (do you see what I did there?)

The Moment it Clicks - Joe McNally

I would love to meet this guy! I am not sure if he is a New Yorker but he was a New Yorker in my head as I read this book. Initially I wasn't sure about this book. It majors on stuff that is really not my bag I suppose. You know - portraiture, creative lighting, great photos, successful freelancing etc, etc. A world away from what I know.

Quite quickly, however, I was swept along with it. It's brilliant! Joe is a creative man and a real force of nature - the sort of bloke who scares the pants (English type pants - not American ones) off shy, reserved and overly polite Englishmen like yours truly. A great book but a bit off putting for an aspiring photog. If you have to be as assertive and bullish as this I may as well stick my kit on Ebay now!

I loved a couple of his quotes - "If you want to be a better photographer stand in front of more interesting stuff." Gold dust my friends, gold dust!

I loved and empathised with his description of how he copes with his three roles of husband, father and photographer (or in my case wage slave) as "Like three men drowning at once." Been there, done that!

Business Nightmares - Rachel Elnaugh

OK, OK it is nothing to do with photography but, hey, it's my blog and I'm in charge. Well worth a read - a very honest account of someone whose business went completely tits up. Helps put one's own overdraft in perspective. What is interesting is how she (and others she talks to) are often happier and more fulfilled post business melt down.