I am back

So it's been a while ride the last several years.  My girlfriend and I moved to an apartment in April of 2019.  The Rona hit in March of 2020 and it was a disastrous 2  years.  From about May of 2021, something happened between Blogger and Godaddy.  The two sites stopped working nicely together and I couldn't figure out what.  So I stopped posting to the blog and I started a YouTube channel instead.  During the 2 year pandemic, I didn't realize it then, but I fell into a deep depression.  Didn't do hardly any photography or videography.  Just basically went to work and came home.  Didn't go to the gym, didn't exercise, didn't do any photography at all.

Then on May 10, 2022, I witnessed a car accident where I saw a woman die from her injuries.  May 13th was also my last day at work until my contract was renewed a month later.  On May 12th of the same week, my girlfriend decided to leave me.  So that was a wonderful week.

I am back at work now thankfully.  Have been since June 13, 2022.  I'm trying to keep myself busy.  I'm going out more, though I'm trying to pay off some debt.  I'm doing more car camping.  Next weekend is a long weekend and it's supposed to be nice and clear.  So time to do some astrophotography and wildlife photography.

I also managed to fix this website.  Got it back up and running.  I of course lost over a year of ad revenue from Google.  I've decided not to date anymore.  I've been single 2 years out of the last 25 years or so and I've found that I just don't want to date anymore.  This is the first weekend in years where I've slept peacefully.  I got a full night, uninterrupted sleep for 2 straight day.

I'm bringing my Sony a7R III with me after work and I'm taking more pictures and I'm doing a lot more video with my Sony FDR AX700b camcorder.  In just over two weeks I'm gonna be going to Nova Scotia for a week long trip.  No hotels, motels at all.  Just going to car camp the whole weekend.  I want to save up some money for next year when I move to Alberta.  

I am single now.  I have no family here in Ottawa that I have to support and see if they want to move with me to Calgary.  Ever since I came back from Calgary 5 years ago, I've always wanted to go back there.  Now that I'm single and I'm gainfully employed at Fisheries and Oceans, I'm actually enjoying my time alone.  I'm glad this blog is back up and running.  I'm glad I can write again.  I'm glad I can do my photography again.  I'm glad to be back.

More and more I’m using the iPhone Pro Max for some of my photography

Some time ago.  Maybe a few months back in 2019 I was reading a blog about photography.  The entry was basically about how the equipment we use affects photography as hardly anyone is buying “Pro” gear anymore.  You can check online how the big camera companies are losing market share to the smart phone market and how the computer market is losing sales to either smart phones and devices like the iPad.  I kind of had to laugh as I started out just using a Canon 2MP Point and Shoot camera and using the desktop to edit said photography.  This was maybe 20 years ago.  Since then I’ve went through the point and shoot and upgraded my equipment to DSLR cameras.  First it was a Canon EOS 350D which had an 8MP sensor.  Then I upgraded to the Canon EOS T1i series of cameras.  Then the full frame Canon EOS 6D camera with the Canon EOS 7D cropped sensor lodged in between there.  Then I went to the Sony line of bridge cameras along with Sony RX100 line of cameras.  

In that time I had an assortment of phones as well.  I never really used those phones for photography until my trip to Arizona back in 2016.  I took my Samsung s7 Edge to Arizona with me.  I shot a few photos on that phone and uploaded them to Shutterstock. I haven’t sold one yet selling a few photos and videos shot on my Canon EOS 6D and a few videos shot with my Canon Vixia G40 camcorder.  I later sold all that stuff while in Calgary for a Sony RX100 Mark V and a Sony RX10 Mark II as lugging all that equipment around the Rockies was a little much.  I bought and sold my Sony a7II full frame camera and ended up with a Sony RX100 Mark VII as my primary photo camera.  I’ve sold a few hundred shots with that camera.  I also use a Canon Vixia HF R800 right now as my primary camcorder.  

Recently, and I mean recently, I’ve been using my Sony RX100 Mark VII and my Apple iPhone Max Pro (64GB) as my photo and video devices.  I have sold photos taken with the Samsung s7 Edge phone and my Apple iPhone 8 Plus and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Plus.  Honestly, if you are reading this blog on an iPad or iPhone type device, you cannot tell what the photos or videos have been shot with.  The equipment is getting much, much better along with the software.  I bet you in 5 years, point and shoots will be all but gone and DSLR cameras are one photo in the grave and going down quick.

The DSLR will always have it’s place with a very niche market.  Most people will just use their phone or iPad type device to stay connected and take their pictures.  Advanced photographers like myself with use various type of equipment.  I shoot mainly for stock agencies.  I can shoot with my iPhone Pro Plus for my photos and footage.  For quick snaps I’ll use the iPhone Pro Plus for quick shots.  I’ll use my Sony RX100 Mark VII for the more advanced photography I upload to the various stock agencies.  I think now the iPhone Pro Plus will be my main go to for footage clips as it shoots in 4K/60.

I will also be using my 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 12.9” screen with the 512GB hard drive.  It’s just so easy to use for photography and footage editing.

This is scary Shutterstock

Going on the 4th day with absolutely no sales on Shutterstock.  I've added a few new photos and vids but nothing.  No sales!!!  Nothing.  This is the longest dry spell I've had in a few years.  Sometimes I go one or two days, typically weekends without a sale.

I've taken my Sony RX100 Mark VII to work with me the last week or so.  There is absolutely nothing to photograph around the place I work at.  It's a pretty drab area of Ottawa I work at.  Nothing but buildings from the 1950's.  The area consists of buildings built in the 1950's that were used as a hospital.  Home dwellings were built in the 1950's as well so they are pretty old.  Maybe I can go for a walk tomorrow and do some black and white photography.

I am so looking forward to moving out of Ottawa and Ontario to Calgary in 2020.  I can't stand Ottawa anymore.

But, back to Shutterstock.  I a stuck at 8 sales for the month.  8 measly sales with a portfolio of 15,000+ photos and 1,500+ footage clips.  It is kinda sad.

Update:  I wrote this post and within half an hour, sold 4 photos to someone in San Diego, California.  Went to bed at about 10pm and sold another 4 photos overnight to someone.  Yup.  Thanks shutterstock.

5000

5 years and 6 months later.  I made it to 5000 sales on Shutterstock.  Should have taken me less than year.  LOL  But I will take it.  I have 15,261 photos and 1,544 footage clips on Shutterstock.  I should have started shooting footage a lot sooner.  Footage makes up about a third of my sales as far as dollar value goes.  

My next big milestone I would like to reach in the next year or so is get my sales to $10,000 so I get the final raise on Shutterstock.  I'm earning $0.36 a photo right now.  It would go up to $0.38 for the most basic of photos.

Tomorrow is my 44th birthday so this is a nice present to reach.  Hopefully on my 45th birthday I'll be over the $10,000 mark and the 10,000th sale.   Wishful thinking I think.

DJI Mavic Air

So now that I’ve got the perfect camera setup for me with the Sony RX100 Mark VII, I’m looking at getting an upgraded drone.  I currently have the DJI Spark.  It’s an ok drone.  It’s really a starter drone that you can learn on.  It shoots 1080p video at 30fps and it only does JPEG photography.  I shoot all my photos in the RAW format for greater control.  I also want to start doing 4K footage from a drone.

I have been watching a lot of aerial shots of the Rocky Mountains on YouTube.  Before I go out west for good, I want to get a better drone.  I have decided on the DJI Mavic Air.  If you like some of my photography, please purchase a print at my print site by going to josefpittner.photos. That would be greatly appreciated.