More pics shot with the Sony RX100 Mark VI

I know a few photographers who would bock at using a point and shoot camera.   Apparently it’s not professional enough.  Can’t control any of the settings on the camera.  That is nothing but snobbery and purely uneducated B.S.  You can control your ISO, f stop and zoom.  The camera has internal stability to take care of camera shake at 200MM.  Yeah it’s not an interchangeable lens camera but it’s not meant to be.  The Sony RX100 Mark VI and VII both come with a 24-200MM lens which is great for wide landscape and up close and personal.  If you need to get closer to a subject, use your feet.  If you want a more panoramic shot, take 2-3 shots and stitch them together in Affinity Photo.  Don’t make excuses for your photography.  Work with the equipment you have.  Adapt and change.  Photography is not static.  Shoot out of your comfort zone.  A few years back, I would not even shoot video because I thought I just wanted to be a photographer.  One day at Parc Omega, I shot a video, edited it and uploaded it to Shutterstock.  It sold within a week for $120US.   That is when I started shooting footage as well.  Money.  Money.  Money.  

Trip to Montreal

The girlfriend, her sister and I went to Montreal just for the day.  I haven’t been to Old Montreal since I was a kid.  I haven’t been to Mount Royal in about 13 years.  Girlfriend and her sister have never been.  It was nice for them to see it.

I only took my Sony RX100 Mark VI to take pictures and footage along with my little Joby tripod that I can pretty much set up anywhere and take steady footage with the camera.  I did shoot footage in 4K video.  Typically I would shoot 4K footage if I’m not going to there again for a long time.

I’m editing my photos on my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I honestly cannot wait for iPadOS to come out.  The only thing that’s bothering with the current iteration of iOS 12 is that it is very lacking in features like importing files and footage from an SD card.  I also wish that Audacity would make their software available for the iPad Pro.  I think it’s the best free audio editing software out there.  I have my Blue Yeti Mic attached to my iPad Pro right now thru a hub.  I have my earphones attached and the provided Apple USB-C power cable to power the iPad Pro.

I can’t wait for the iPadOS to come out in September of this year.  I can then replace all my other computing devices.  I can just use my iPhone and iPad Pro to do all my computing needs.   If I’m travelling anywhere for a long period of time, I can just take the 2018 Apple iPad Pro, my Sony RX100 VI and my Canon Vixia HF R800 camcorder.  All would fit into one shoulder bag with all the necessary batteries, cords etc and I’d be happy.

The Sony RX100 Mark VI

 

Have I mentioned that I absolutely love the Sony RX100 Mark VI as a camera and a video camera???  It's an awesome pocket point and shoot camera.  Much better than any cell phone camera.  Of course it costs more than any cell phone and that is why it's a better camera.  If you think you're a photographer carrying around an Apple iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy or any other phone, you're not a photographer.  You're someone who just takes snaps with your cell phone.  That is it, that is all.  Sorry, not sorry to disappoint you.

My full 2018 Apple iPad Pro setup (Well, almost full setup)

So this will keep me pretty mobile since it all fits in a slim laptop bag.  I have my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with a 512GB SSD hard drive, my Sony RX100 Mark VI camera and a WD My Passport Wireless Pro (4TB) hard drive.  I just got the WD hard drive yesterday so I am still learning how to configure it and how to use it with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  It seems like the WD wireless hard drive is pretty easy to setup over the network.  I’m sitting at a Tim Horton’s coffee shop right now and I’ve backed up a few thousand photos to the hard drive already.  It takes a while to upload all the photos and videos from the SD card used by the Sony RX100 Mark VI but it’s actually fast.

LumaFusion, my footage editing software actually has direct wireless access, once setup of course.  I still have to learn how to use LumaFusion as I’m coming from Final Cut Pro X on an early 2013 MacBook Pro.  I have to of course start watching some YouTube videos on the software.

But this setup is simple and easy to use.  I can set it up quite easily and be up and running in about a minute.  You can of course always email me here.  I am still learning how to be a film maker and such.  I never actually went to school for it.  Just took accounting, computers and photography in school.  This I will pick up on my own.  Oh yeah!  The photo was taken with an Apple iPhone 8 Plus.  Another tool in the pocket of a photographer.

Niagara Falls - Canadian side

Yes, the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is much nicer looking then the U.S. side.  The girlfriend booked a hotel in 3 weeks so we're going to Niagara Falls in the winter.  It's hopefully going to be warm but I doubt it with this polar vortex hanging around eastern Canada.  But it's only going to be the weekend and we'll be in the hotel for the most part.  It'll be nice to take pictures of the frozen falls and something that's not photographed much by anyone else as it's too cold.  

That's why I love the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  It's such a small and versatile camera which shoots fantastic footage and photographs.  It's actually a better camera when the person using it knows how to use it and take magnificent footage and photos.  I want to shoot the falls in 4k.

I think in the next week I will be buying the 2018 iPad Pro with the 1TB hard drive and the 6GB of RAM.  My early 2013 MacBook Pro can't handle 4k video files and my 2018 Windows computer doesn't have the software to edit video.  And I really don't want to spend money on the Windows laptop to upgrade the memory and second hard drive from a 5400RPM 1TB HD to a 1TB SSD.  I could also upgrade the RAM from 16GB to 32GB.  But I really don't want to spend another few hundred dollars on the laptop.

But yeah, I'm looking forward to shooting Niagara Falls and spending some time with the girlfriend.

Sony RX100 Mark VI - The perfect pocket camera

I've had the Sony RX100 Mark VI for a couple of weeks now.  And it's been the perfect little pocket camera packing a 24-200MM lens.  No more need for any DSLR camera.  You have one that fits in the palm of your hand.

The pros of the little pocket camera definitely out way the cons which there aren't many.  The internal ND filter is gone.  No problem.  Still had an external ND filter which I can easily attach to the new Sony RX100 Mark VI.  There is still no mic jack on the camera.  It's actually ok for me as I don't do YouTube videos.  And if I did, I can use my Canon Vixia HF G40.  Since I do not do podcasts or add voice over to any of my footage clips, I really do not need an audio out on the Sony RX100 Mark VI.

Footage wise, the camera is amazing.  Color reproduction is fantastic and the footage is tact sharp from 24mm to 200mm.  Photos are sharp as well and color accurate.  I am so glad the lens goes out to 200mm as well.  No more carrying around heavy lenses such as the Canon L f2.8 70-200MM.  That was such a heavy lens to carry on your back.  Especially when hiking in the mountains.

I can do long exposure photography with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  One downside of the Sony RX100 Mark VI is that it only goes to f11.  Not f22 or higher like most lenses.  But you cannot expect that from such a small camera.  I can carry around my Sony RX10 Mark II with its 24-200MM lens which does go to f16 so I can get the star effect on street lights at night.

I've yet to test the camera for astrophotography.  With it's 1 inch sensor, which is relatively small, I figure it's going to be fairly noisy beyond ISO 1600.  I only do astrophotography in the summers, on weekends which isn't too often. 

I wanted to

I wanted to go to Parc Omega every Saturday till April.  But I've been sick since last week and I just had no energy or will power to get out of bed this weekend.  The cold definitely kicked my ass this weekend.  So just stayed in bed, watched some Youtube and football and relaxed.  Today I am feeling much better.  Although I think I'm at about 90% back to being normal.  I'm back at work for the week and this coming weekend I will definitely be going to Parc Omega with the girlfriend or alone.  Whichever it is.  

We're in our typical Canadian January deep freeze this week with lows in the minus thirties celsius during the night.  It's too damn cold to do any photography in that kind of weather.  Just looked at the weather forecast for the weekend.  High of minus thirteen celsius and 30% chance of snow.  So good enough weather to go to Parc Omega and use the Sony RX100 Mark VI.

Although they lost.

It was still a fun game to watch.  Ottawa has not been doing well at all in the NHL the last few years.  But we still support the team.  I wanted to test the Sony RX100 Mark VI inside.  It is quite noisy shooting at ISO 1600 and above.  It is a small one inch sensor.  Not quite full frame.  I can't sell these pictures anyways on Shutterstock, Pond5 or Storyblocks because apparently when you buy tickets to an event, you cannot sell any of the photography.  Which is fine.  I can sell them on my own website though.  So you can check out my website here.  These pictures were taken at the Minnesota Wild and Ottawa Senators game at the Canadian Tire Center on January 5, 2019.

 

Review of the Sony RX100 Mark VI - Just the photos

I went to one of our local trails today to test out the Sony RX100 Mark VI point and shoot camera.  It was somewhat warm out today so I did a quick walk around Jack Pine Trail located here in Ottawa, ON - Canada.  It was a balmy plus two degrees Celsius with a slight wind.  It was a quick two kilometer walk with a few stops to take some photos to test the camera.  Today was photo testing.  Tomorrow will be photos and videos as the girlfriend and I are headed to the Ottawa Senators - Minnesota  Wild NHL hockey game.  Below you can see the photographs I took on my walk today.  They've been submitted to Shutterstock so hopefully they'll be approved soon and available for sale.  I will also add them to my own personal site where you can download them as prints and other merchandise. 

Year in review of Micro stock sales

So last year I had 72 downloads for a whopping $64 on Shutterstock in January.  In January 2019, I've had 4 downloads for a whopping $94.68.  So far, 2019 has been much better.  I hope it continues this way for the rest of the month and rest of the year.  2018 sucked as far as sales.  I sold $1178.76 worth of photography and footage just on Shutterstock alone last year.  I had 741 downloads alone on Shutterstock.  In 2017 I had 1153 downloads for total sales of $1638.17.

In 2018 I had a rough a 28% decrease in dollar value sales and downloads were down roughly 36%.  So I made $460.31 less on Shutterstock last year with 412 less downloads last year.  I increased my portfolio by about 3000 photographs and clips.

In 2017 I was selling on average of $136.51 a month of footage and photography.  In 2018, it dropped to $98.24.  An average loss of $38.28 a month or roughly 28% drop in revenue per month.  This I think is due to me not shooting as much as last year and the increase in competition since Shutterstock now accepts 1 out of 10 photographs rather than 7 out of 10 photographs when I first joined in 2014.

This is just one site that I use.  Pond5 and Storyblocks are two of my other sites.  It's much harder to sell on those two sites as I think they're much smaller stock sites and sales are less frequent.

On Pond5 I had $618.63 worth of sales with 7 sales all year.  On Storyblocks I had 3 sales worth a total of $99.03.  All sales are in U.S dollars so I get a slight conversion bonus when I convert to Canadian dollars which helps.

	2017 Sales	2018 Sales
Shutterstock	1639.17	1178.86
Pond5	587	618.83
Storyblocks	330.1	99.03

	2017 downloads	2018 downloads
Shutterstock	1153	741
Pond5	7	8
Storyblock	10	3

So as you can see, the only place sales and downloads increased is on Pond5.  Basically I only photograph and take footage of wild animals and landscapes.  99% of my portfolio is editorial free.  I don't like photographing people much.  I think for this year I will go to the Ottawa market more often and start photography people more.  Do some more editorial work in black and white and see if that starts selling more.  Thankfully I can be more inconspicuous with the Sony RX100 Mark Vi and its 24-200MM lens since the Sony RX100 Mark VI is an awesome pocket camera. 

Thrilled to have the Sony RX100 Mark VI

So today I finally upgraded to the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  It doesn't have the apps from the Sony Play Memories App store.  Which is OK because I have all the apps on the Sony RX10 Mark II.  I have to buy an adapter to attach filters to the lens.  Which is OK again because I don't think I'll be upgrading cameras for a while unless I upgrade to the Sony RX10 Mark IV.  I think the next item on my wish list will be the 2018 iPad Pro with the 512GB hard drive.

Today is December 31, 2018.  Last day of the month and year.  I am looking forward to 2019 and see what the year brings.  The girlfriend is sick so we shall see if she comes to Parc Omega with me tomorrow.  We were going to go to the movie today but I think that's out of the question.  In mid February, I'll start looking for a job out in Calgary.  I cannot stand living in Ottawa anymore.

Tomorrow I am looking forward to using the Sony RX100 Mark VI at Parc Omega.  I have a 128GB card in the camera so that should be enough for all the photography and footage.  I just have to bring a few batteries with me.  That's the only thing that I'm not impressed with, with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  Battery life is atrocious with Sony cameras.  We shall see tomorrow how many I will need for a day of shooting.

I am also looking forward to moving out west to Calgary.  I do miss the mountains.

I am finally doing it.

I've got my big 2015 Apple iMac formatted and at some point later this week, I'll format my early 2013 MacBook Pro and bring both to the Bayshore Apple store and get some credit for both computers to get my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I'm only going to get the 512GB model as I have two external hard drives that I can use to back up my photos and footage.  There is a small device you can buy online that can be used with the iPad to attach external hard drives to backup my photos and footage.  

I am so excited.  I need to upgrade my computer equipment.  When I get my tax return in March I will buy my Sony RX100 Mark VI.  My Sony RX10 Mark II is a fantastic camera that I am using right now.  I just want the Sony RX100 Mark VI as a backup camera or main camera when I'm going downtown to photograph street life.

I cannot wait for 2019 to come.  I think there will be a lot of new and exciting changes next year.

It's been busy

I haven't been out with the cameras in weeks.  I miss it.  I really do miss doing photography and shooting footage.  I think it's time to make a few changes in my personal life.  I have to clean house as they say.  I think a few life changes are in order again.  Work has been busy as I'm training two new guys.  We've been going to the gym 3-5 times a week.  I've got two hernias that I have to take care of.  Went to a clinic to get some ultrasounds done today and actually get some pictures taken of the hernias.

Thankfully it's the weekend in one more day and I get to relax.  Girlfriend has a lunch date with some girlfriends so I get some time alone finally.  So I'll just take the camera out and do some photography on Saturday since I haven't done it in ages.

One more month to go

So we have just one month to go in 2018.  I am looking forward to 2019 and see what the year holds for myself and my girlfriend.  My current contract will probably end at the end of February.  I really don't want to be in Ottawa or Ontario in April.  So we are looking for jobs out west. 

On another note, going to the gym has its benefits.  I feel stronger and healthier.  I have more energy and I actually look forward to going to the gym.  I haven't weighed myself but I probably have gained weight due to increased muscle mass.

On the photography and footage side of things, November sucked.  I sold one video on Pond5, nothing on Storyblocks and barely made payout on Shutterstock.  I think 2019 should be better.  At least I hope it is.  This year has been a disappointment in the way of photography and footage sales.  I haven't sold $1000 worth of photographs or footage on Shutterstock yet.  I really need to start going back to Parc Omega more often to get more footage and photographs.  I really do enjoy it there.  I haven't taken a day off of work since I started this contract back in March of this year mainly because I've been the only tech here.

I've still been saving for the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  Instead of getting the DJI Mavic Pro 2 with my tax return money, I've decided to get the 2018 iPad Pro with the 1TB of hard drive space.  I am going to sell my 2015 Apple iMac and just keep the 2013 Apple MacBook Pro until I can make sure I can fully do my photography and footage business on the 2018 Apple iPad.  I think it might take me a month or two to get used to just working on the Apple iPad.  I do wish Apple will upgrade iOS so it's more of a competitive operating system.

I just want to use my Sony RX10 Mark II, Sony RX100 Mark VI, Canon Vixia HF G40 and the Apple iPad Pro for my photography business.

The way I look at photography

Photography for me is not a job.  It's not a career.  It is not a hobby.  It is not for making money.  It is like heaven for me.  I am outdoors in nature photographing the beauty of the universe, the beauty of what was created for us to live in.  Photography tells a story that cannot be told again.  You cannot recreate a photograph exactly.  In nature shadows change, colours change and the light is different.  You can try and attempt to recreate a photography exactly but you will fail each and every single time.  

Today is Black Friday in the States.  The "holiday" migrated to Canada as well.  I have not sold anything since Wednesday.  Nothing yesterday on American Thanksgiving and nothing yet as of today.  I had eggs for lunch and I'm still hungry.  I might just go grab a snack at some point before my deployment at 1pm. I'm trying to write some more blog posts during the day.

It has been really cold here in Ottawa the last two days.  In the low minus teens and minus twenties celsius.  Needless to say I haven't touched the camera in a while which I am missing badly.  We've been going to the gym a lot over the past several weeks.  I'm also trying to save my photography money to upgrade some of my camera equipment.  I still want to purchase the Sony RX100 Mark VI before March 31, 2019 so I can use it on the way when we move to Calgary in April of next year. I think I can use the Sony RX10 Mark II with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  They are both fantastic cameras.  When we move to Calgary next year, I want to do a lot more landscape photography.  I've done a lot of wildlife photography at Parc Omega since 2010.  In the Rocky Mountains I can actually get real wild life like black bears, mountain goats, some wild bobcats etc.

I am hoping photography sales pick up next week.  I want to get my Sony RX100 Mark VI soon.  

Follow your dreams

I should have followed my dreams when I was a teenager.  I should have gone into photography when I finished high school and gone into college.  I hated accounting.  I hate I.T now.  I should have followed my dreams when I was younger.  I got my first camera when I was probably around 12 or so.  It was a Minolta film camera.  Back then there was no digital photography like it is now.  Now you carry around a phone that does basically everything for you.  It shoots photos and footage.  You can immediately upload those clips and pictures to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube.  Back when I was a kid in the 80's or early 90's, we had no cell phones, or computers or the internet.  Today, I sell my photography all around the world.  My images have been used in books, on news websites and countless blogs.

I've been doing I.T. for 17 years now.  I'm not getting anywhere and I'm not satisfied.  My life feels empty.  The only thing that makes me happy is when I'm out in nature with my camera and camcorder.  And my girlfriend of course.  I hate being stuck in an office sitting behind a computer all day.  I feel really, really unproductive.  I enjoy shooting photos and footage and then editing them on the computer or an iPad.  I like when someone buys one of my photos or clips and uses it in their work.  I can't really be creative in the I.T. field.  Unless I'm a programmer which I'm not.

Back in my teen years and early twenties I was and still am good with numbers.  That's why I was pretty much forced to go into accounting.  I had one boss where I worked that totally turned me off of accounting.  She was a real bitch to put it nicely.  Then late 90's rolled around and computers were all the rage with the doomsday bug.   The world was supposed to end at midnight on December 31, 1999.  It didn't.  We're still here.

The only constant for me was a love for photography.  Only photography.  I started doing photography with a passion around 2006/2007.  I bought my first digital camera which had a two megapixel sensor on it.  Then I upgraded to a 5MP sensor.  Then an 8MP.  Now I shoot with 20.1MP sensors which is enough for what I do.  In 2015 I started shooting footage clips on a whim.  I uploaded a short clip of a coyote in a fall scene.  That sold within a few weeks of me uploading it for $120US.  That got me hooked.  Now I just do photos and footage.  I have a YouTube channel that I don't use.  I hate appearing on camera.  I think once I lose some weight, I'll be more comfortable being on camera.  Till then, not so much.

The next couple of months will be very important for me as I try to change my career path and life.  I want to get back to a minimalist type of photography.  Just travel around with a Sony RX10 Mark II, a Sony RX100 Mark VI, the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder and an iPad.  I think I can shoot all my footage on those cameras and edit everything with a 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I just wish the Apple iPad Pro had a better file system and mouse support.  Although I think you can do pretty much everything with the Apple Pencil 2.

It's mid month

I've sold 1 video for roughly $260.  I got about $130 for that.  Other than that, I've sold maybe 40 photos for roughly $0.36 each on Shutterstock.  Shutterstock is somewhat disappointing this month.  I think there's been one or two months where I haven't sold a video on Shutterstock and it really hinders sales and payouts.  I'm not losing hope yet as we're only half way through the month.  After Fine Art America and Pond5 pay out what they owe me, I'll be about a third of the way there to get the new Sony RX100 Mark VI.  If a the Sony RX100 Mark VII comes out in April or May, I'll wait to buy that camera if it's worth it.

I am still editing photos from the trip to Parc Omega this past weekend.  Took a lot of phots and videos so it takes time.  I'm using ON1 Capture Raw 2019 to edit the photos.  It's a new program for me so I'm learning the ins and outs of the program.  So far so god.

I am getting the Sony RX100 Mark V fixed tomorrow.  The latch that holds the battery in the camera broke on me a few months ago while I was doing some astrophotography with it.  It's about time I get it fixed.  I'm conflicted somewhat about getting the Sony RX100 Mark VI as I do have the Sony RX100 Mark V.  The only new feature would be the 24-200MM lens.  It would mean I'd carry around one less camera as the Mark VI would be good enough to shoot stills and footage.  I'd just have to carry around a light tripod with the RX100 Mark VI and that's pretty much it.  I don't shoot headshots for people.  I focus mainly on landscapes and wildlife.  I'd like to get the Sony RX10 Mark IV for wildlife as it does have a 24-600MM lens on it.  It would mean I could sit back at a good distance and not disturb the wildlife.  That I think will be my next purchase with my photography money.

I am finally...

...getting some help at work. I've been back to my current employer for a month now and they've provided me with no help so far.  I was supposed to get help a few weeks back but the guys that they hired bailed on them.  I'm supposed to have a team of five but it's been just me.  I'm finding that working for the feds or quasi feds like the department I work for are getting worse and worse as tech and people go.  They're getting worse people with worse technical skills.  It's this multi-cultural, politically correct crap that is killing western society.  Companies now are hiring, not based on knowledge or merit but race, ethnicity or the sex of a person.  I know I don't know everything.  That's why I keep learning.  

I am totally sick of working in the I.T field now.  Companies are not helping you achieve success.  Everyone is after the Almighty dollar in the short term.  People and companies are looking just six months ahead or to the next fiscal quarter end.  I'm studying Affinity Photo more and more.  I'm saving up for the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  I also want to get the Sony RX10 Mark IV along with the DJI Mavic Pro 2.  

Having the Sony RX100 Mark VI, the Sony RX10 Mark IV and the DJI Mavic Pro 2 would be potent tools for me to get out on my own and actually push my photography business.  That is why I'm saving up my money.  That is why I'm studying Affinity Photo.  That is why I'm going to the gym to work on my health.  I want to concentrate on Affinity Photo and my health in the next five months so by March 31, 2019, I can move out west with my girlfriend and start a new life.

Just as I thought

The month of October came in like a lion on Shutterstock.  It has left like a bloodied sheep.  A lot of high quality sales in the first week of October on Shutterstock.  Now it's whimpering out like a half dead lamb with a few subscription sales here and there.  I honestly don't know what else I can do except for keep shooting.  I haven't heard my camera in my hands for a week or two since we're getting ready to move on Friday.  But I think starting this Saturday I'll be doing more photography.  We've started going to the gym so my focus for the next six months will be weight loss, photography and studying Seriff' Affinity Photo.

Honestly, I'm sick of doing the IT thing.  I've been doing it since 2001 and I think I've been been doing it for too long now.  I've lost my focus and I've lost any joy I've had doing it.  My interests and joy have shifted over to photography and film making.  I am saving up any and all photography money for a new point and shoot camera that I want to buy.  I want to get the Sony RX100 Mark IV in the new year or whenever I save up money for it.  I need to get my Sony RX100 Mark V fixed.  The EVF is broken and the latch holding in the battery is dislodged.  So I need to get that fixed.  There's a local store here in Ottawa that fixes cameras.  I've dealt with them in the past whenever I needed a camera fixed.  They're quick and inexpensive to fix camera equipment.  I'll get the camera fixed in mid November.  Shouldn't be more than $200-$300 to get it fixed.  At least I hope.

I also want to keep writing more on the blog here.  Hopefully it will catch on and get a following.  I know I will also have to get a Youtube channel going soon.  I have to get over the hate of being on camera.  I hope to look better by March 2019.  I need to lose about 50 pounds or so.  I need to exercise and eat better.  I can't be putting it off anymore.

Next April when I move to Calgary, Alberta, I want to trade in my 2015 Hyundai Elantra for a 2018/2019 Jeep Wrangler or a Rubicon.  Some sort of a four wheel drive Jeep that I can modify for weekend trips and holidays out west or down south so I don't have to sleep in hotel rooms.  I am expecting a real life change.  I am sick of doing the IT thing.  I cannot get ahead in this field.  Not in Ottawa anyways as I'm not bilingual.

Slowly but surely I'm gonna make some life changes soon.  We shall see where I end up.