Comet NEOWise

Got this photo last week off my 9th floor balcony looking northwards over Gatineau, Quebec.  Hopefully this Saturday it will be nice and clear so I can go out of town to get a better photo.  I want to go to Moosecreek and get better photos and videos of the comet.  The photos are available for sale on my own website.  It’s also available for sale on my Adobe stock portfolio.  Since this is my only form of income right now, please consider purchasing something from either site.  Thank you and I appreciate it.

Free Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom Classic CC

As of today, I had 372 photos and videos accepted on my Adobe Stock portfolio.  As per the Adobe site, once you reach 300 photos or videos accepted, you get either the photographer or the all in package for free for a year.  You'll receive a code within 6-8 weeks to redeem this offer.  Typically I wouldn't install any Adobe stuff on my computer or at least I wouldn't pay a subscription for software.  Now that I get it for free for a year, it's not that bad.  Once the year is up though, I will of course cancel the subscription and only use Pixelmator and Affinity Photo to edit my photography.  I'm actually using that right now and submitting it to Adobe Stock.

It’s happening again

So I’ve been looking for another job for the past few weeks.  Could not find anything at all.  Now I’m getting multiple calls for contracts.  Today I got three calls asking if I was available.  Of course I am.  The one job from SSC sounds interesting.  They’d fly me out to the maritimes for a week or so and out to Vancouver.  If I get his job, I’ll of course be bringing you Sony RX100 Mark VII and my 2018 iPad Pro.  

I just hope that Apple will release the new iPadOS by then.  I don’t like using my Windows 10 laptop.  It’s not bad but it’s just the form factor that I do not like.  I used my Canon Vixia HF R800 this morning to do a sort of introductory and RX100 Mark VII review.  I can actually import the HF R800 footage onto my iPad Pro and work on it in LumaTouch.  I just have to go home and upload the video.  I have 20 megabit upload at home which is about 10 times faster than the Timmies WIFI.  I did not know that the Canon Vixia HF R800 footage would import onto the iPad Pro.  Learn new things every day.  Now I have to learn how to use LumaFusion on the iPad Pro.  Too bad I can’t import the Sony RX100 Mark VII footage onto the iPad Pro yet.

I hope, I hope I get one job so I can pay off my credit card debt by March of 2020.  I don’t want to be in Ottawa anymore.  I totally miss being out in Calgary and the mountains.  It’s such a different lifestyle out there then it is here in boring Ontario.  

Finally pushed over the edge

I have been pushed over the edge.  I've been pushed to do the photography full time now.  After 19 years of doing the I.T. career thing, I'm done with it.  It no longer makes me happy.  Actually, I haven't been happy with it for about 4 years now.  

Back in October of 2010, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer.  That was a shock.  I had my first surgery in November 2010.  I had my surgery on a Wednesday.  The following day, I got a phone call from the agency that I was working for at the time that my employer no longer needed my services.  A few years later, I came to find out my boss, whom I worked for for 2.5+ years thought I did nothing anyways.  Her words.  Why keep me for 2.5+ years if I did nothing?  Had my second surgery in August of 2011 because the cancer had come back into my lymph nodes behind my stomach.  I was on the table for 9 hours being dissected like a pig.  I was told to basically stay home from November 2010 to September 2011 when I was going through the cancer battle.  

From April 2010 to May 2012, I was taking photography classes at Algonquin College.  From November 2010 to September 2011, I was battling cancer, chemotherapy and finally my 9 hour surgery.  I missed once class during this time.  The only reason I didn't go to that class was because I was stuck in a hospital bed.  I was in the hospital for 5 days.  I hated those 5 days with a passion.  I could not even wipe my own ass because I was being pumped with pain drugs.  They finally let me go because I could finally take a crap.  It took me three or four weeks to recover at home.  My license was suspended and my then wife had to go to work.  I was basically stuck at home alone with my dog which wasn't that bad having a perfect golden retriever at home with me.

All through that one year, the only thing that kept me was my photography and my dog.  My soon to be ex-wife was a complete bitch.  So was her mother.  Come 2015, I finally got a divorce.  Best thing ever.  Through cancer and my divorce, photography kept me going.  I miss my dog too.  

I am having a really hard time in 2019 again.  The last couple of contracts have been a farce.  Basically I come to do a certain job and it's the polar opposite of what I'm supposed to be doing.  The people I worked with were uncaring, unsympathetic bleep bleeps.  Keeping it PG here.  I'm basically done with the whole I.T. thing in Ottawa.

The only good thing about doing the I.T. thing is that in 2017, just as I was starting to date my current girlfriend, I got a short contract in Calgary, Alberta for 4 months.  That is when I fell in love with Calgary, Alberta and the mountains.  Since then, I've been wanting, needing to go back.  I can't stand it here in Ottawa anymore.  The weather and people suck.  No one will give you a chance.  You need to have 5-10 years experience before you're given a chance to prove yourself.  Even with nineteen years worth of experience in I.T, I have either too much or too little experience in doing something.

I really want and need to move out west to Calgary or somewhere close to Calgary and do landscape, nature, wildlife photography full-time.  I know it's going to be hard.  It's going to mean long hours but I've been through worse.  Damn, I beat cancer.  If cancer can't stop me, nothing else will.

If you're a photographer out in Alberta and you need help, hit me up.  Message me through the blog here or email me at joe @ joeknows.photos.  I'm a good guy.  My photography is pretty good I think.  It could always be better.  I could always sell more on Shutterstock, Pond5 or Storybooks.  I'm a good guy and a hard worker.  Just don't screw with me.  I hold grudges.  For a long, long time.  LOL

This is not hype

CI have been watching a lot of YouTube videos on the new iPadOS lately and I cannot wait for the new O/S to come out.  It will completely get rid of my need for a laptop or desktop.  Just the ability to access portable hard drives via USB-C is a game changer.  I can edit footage, photos and music anywhere.  In the car, in bed, on the couch, in a park, on a plane.  I have the 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 512GB hard drive.  Honestly, it’s the perfect device with a perfectly sized screen and internal hard drive.  

Apple typically releases a new O/S once a year in fall.  This summer cannot go fast enough.  I will not install any beta software on my main production machine.  I need the software and hardware to work flawlessly.  I also want to do a lot of travel this summer and fall so that’s another reason for the Apple iPad Pro 12.9” iPad with the 512GB hard drive.  It is so portable.  I can travel easily with the iPad, my Sony RX100 Mark VI and my Canon Vixia HF R800.  

I am honestly thinking of getting rid of my Sony A7ii with the 24-240MM lens and the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder.  Yes, they are more pro level devices but I shoot mainly for stock agencies and in the end, it’s not the equipment that makes the photographer.  It’s the photographer that makes the photographer.  I’m thinking of just replacing the Sony camera and Canon camcorder with another Sony RX100 VI.  Just to have a backup.

I could also shoot 4K with the Sony RX100 Mark VI since I only shoot 30-60 second clips to upload to sites like Shutterstock, Pond5 and Videoblocks.  Honestly the Sony RX100 VI is an awesome point and shoot camera that fits into your pocket.  The 24-200MM lens is honestly all I need for what I shoot.  I can shoot landscape, wildlife, architecture and portraits with the camera and the Canon Vixia HF R800 shoots at 1080p at 60fps.  So its all good for me.  

And yeah, the new operating system for the iPad can’t get here soon enough.

Milestone

Just 2 weeks over 5 years after joining Shutterstock, I sold $6,000 worth of photography on 4,822 sales.  Considering 3 years ago I didn't even shoot video cause I wasn't a videographer, videos make up about 30% of my sales on Shutterstock.  I'm not the best or worst photog/videographer out there but it's kinda nice that people buy my stuff.  Just need another $4,000 to get another pay raise from Shutterstock.  You can see the links on my website to my various portfolios by clicking here. 

May 16, 2014

May 16, 2014.  That was the first day I got accepted at Shutterstock to sell my photos.  Today I had my 4800th sale.  I sold my first photo a few hours after my photos were accepted.  It was an exciting time for me.  I had 7 photos that were accepted.  This is my first photo sold.  This is my 4800th download that a buyer bought.

As of 16:36 EST, I have 14,462 photos accepted and 1,527 clips accepted at Shutterstock.  I cant believe it's been five years already.  I only now post to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.  I really, really enjoy photography and videography.  It's so much fun.  Please support me by buying from either my microstock portfolios or my website.

New place

Street corner at dusk

So, it only took 3 weeks to fully move in and get everything setup.  Finally pulled out the Sony A7ii camera with the 24-200MM lens.  We live on the night floor facing north ward towards the Gatineau Hills.  We had a really nice sunset tonight.  I wanted to do some long exposures tonight of the cars passing by.  This is probably the best shot I got tonight.  I really miss using the camera.

From the best month to the worst

So sales on Shutterstock completely tanked this month.  Compared to January of this year, sales in February are abismal.  Didn’t even make payout this month.  The only thing that saved me this month were two sales on Fine Art America.  You can click visit the site here.  I sell a lot of prints and other products that you can display wherever you wish.

In other news my contract with my employer is finished today.  I have tomorrow off but I’m supposed to start a new contract with the same employer on Monday.  We shall see what happens.  Tomorrow I want to buy an air mattress, two sleeping bags and two pillows for the summer for the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe.  This summer I want to do a lot of camping on the weekends in the vehicle.  We will just need to buy a cooler for the food and drinks.  Otherwise we really don’t need a tent.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately that I want to quit the I.T. field and just focus on the photography.  Starting a YouTube channel maybe.  Definitely do a podcast.  I have the equipment and the software to do it so I don’t see a reason I can’t.  I have to increase my photography sales.  I want to write on my blog as well.  Get the blog more focused on the photography and the business side of photography.  Thankfully I have tomorrow off so I can do some more work and actually concentrate on the photography aspect of my life.

Some good news. Some bad news.

So I have a friend from high school who works as the finance manager at a local Jeep dealership here in Ottawa.  Hopefully on Monday before three in the afternoon I will get a good news phone call from him telling me I got the 2018 2 door Jeep Wrangler.  The only thing that's not good news is this past year I co-signed a loan for my girlfriend for a 2015 Jeep Patriot.  Her ex really did a number on her credit and now it affects me.  Maybe I shouldn't have signed it but I thought it would be better for her to not pay 20% interest on a loan.  Instead we cut it down to 8% I think.  Now it affects me which totally sucks.

I do hope I get the Jeep Wrangler.  I totally hate the Hyundai Elantra.  It's not good for my body anymore.  I find it difficult to get in and out of the vehicle.  After driving my girlfriend' Jeep Patriot I enjoy the SUV much more.  We shall see on Monday.

I was hoping to do some photography today but it's just so cold out.  It was -14 degrees celsius this morning and now it's -7 degrees celsius.  I think I need to do more photography at Parc Omega which I can do from the warmth of my car.  I haven't been to Parc Omega in a month.  The girlfriend doesn't like doing the photography thing.  That is not good for the relationship as I love photography and shooting footage of nature, landscape and animals.

It's very weird

I've noticed that I sell every day on Shutterstock except for Saturdays.  I've been adding various shots to my portfolio trying to diversify it.  It's weird that my old stuff from 2-5 years ago sells but new stuff barely sells.  One of my 2017 shots from my time in Calgary is my number one seller.  This shot from 2014 is my second most popular shot.  This shot from 2015 is my third most popular photo as far as dollar value goes.  This shot is my fourth most popular downloaded shot.

But it's been a long time since I sold anything on a Saturday at Shutterstock.  It's like the whole world just shuts off.  I honestly do not know why.  Pond5 and Storyblocks are not selling either.  It's been months since I've sold a video on either site, let alone a picture.  I've been adding photos and footage to all my sites but sales are stagnating.  I've recently sold a picture on Fine Art America (FAA) for $70US which is awesome but that's my third sale on that site.  I have to renew my domain name for my http://www.josefpittnerphotography.com or I'll just let that one go and set up just a http://www.josefpittner.photo site.  I'll probably do that in the next couple of weeks.  I am really busy with work this week and we are moving next week so I've been kinda busy.  I think this weekend I'm gonna head to Parc Omega by myself so I can take more photos and shoot more video.

Also, my own site isn't earning as much as far as clicks are going.  Mind you I haven't been posting as much as I should.  I will try and keep up with my photography and footage.  I will try to be with my cameras more.

Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder

I never liked the form factor of a DSLR or a bridge camera to shoot video.  I've always like a real camcorder feel to shoot video.  I bought the Canon Vixia HF G40 about 2 years ago because it's a prosumer camcorder for a really good price.  I bought it for $1249 Canadian.  3 years ago I never shot video for my stock business.  I was actually at Parc Omega one day and I had my Canon EOS 6D and a Sigma f5-6.3 150-500MM lens attached.  The light that day was simply amazing.  I decided to shoot a video of a coyote on a hill thinking "Hey that would make a cool video."  Shot a 30 second clip and a few days later it sold on Shutterstock for $120US.  That got me hooked on shooting footage.  Currently I have 1495 footage clips on my Shutterstock portfolio.  I've shot video with my DSLR cameras like the Canon EOS 6D, a Canon Vixia HF R82, my Sony RX100 Mark II, IV and V.  I've shot with my Sony RX10 Mark II.  I've shot with a Sony FDR ax33 (4K) and a Sony FDR ax100/b (4K) camcorder and my Apple iPhone 8 Plus.  I also have a drone that I've shot video with (DJI Spark).  Out of all those cameras, I've always enjoyed the Canon Vixia HF G40.  I think the Canon lines of cameras and camcorders reproduce colour the best.

Yesterday I sold a 4k video for $1.80US which is insulting.  Today I sold a video for $17.29 which is still pretty low.  I wish Shutterstock would let us price our videos the way we want like Pond5.

Which micro stock agencies are worth it?

I have a portfolio on a few micro stock agencies.  There are small, medium and large agencies.  Here is my list of all my portfolios:

• Canstockphoto.com
• Bigstockphoto.com
• Depositphoto.com
• Dreamstime.com
• Pond5.com
• Shutterstock.com
• Storyblocks.com

Are they all the same?  Do all perform the same way?  The answer is of course no.  The first four on my list are not worth your time.  I make 90%+ of my sales on Pond5, Shutterstock and Storyblocks.  Shutterstock also has a referral program where if in this case I sign up a photographer or a videographer, I get a bit of a payback from Shutterstock.  Granted, it's not a whole lot but could turn into a bigger paycheque if I sign up a lot of people.

Photography and using my camcorder to crate footage is an awesome hobby for me.  I also make a few bucks with it every month.  I really, really enjoy doing it and I wish I could do it full time.  With 4 plus years experience with microstock agencies I'm only uploading to 3 agencies now where the return is half descent.  With Pond5, I'm able to set my own price where with the others it's a set price set by the agencies.  I may say 1-4 videos a month on Pond5 and generally it's a good return.  Currently I sell my videos for $299US per clip.  I get half of that.  With Shutterstock, I sell my photos starting at $0.36US a photo and videos start anywhere from $12US to $120US.  The clips are generally 5-60 seconds in length.  I only shoot 1080p/60fps so it takes a few minutes to edit my footage and about 10-20 minutes to upload my videos to each agency.  Of course this depends on how many clips I have and how fast my internet speed is.

Overall it's a really good passive income for me.  It's something I enjoy and wish I could do full time.  So if you're looking for a photographer who does photos and videos, hit me up.  I'm sure we can work well together.

My most popular image

My most popular image so far has only been online for just over a year.  I shot it in Banff, Alberta while on a weekend.  I've been doing micro stock for about 4 years now and this image just keeps selling on average every 3 days.  At first I thought it would be a throw away image when I shot it and looked at it on the computer.  Then I had the bright idea of turning it into a black and white image.  It got accepted and I keep selling it.  You can find the image here.

The best camcorder ever!!!!!

Yes.  It's the best prosumer camcorder ever built.  It shoots 1080p/60fps.  No it does not shoot 4k.  I'm glad it doesn't.  Yes 4k televisions are falling in price.  In Canada, the major cable providers only have 1 or 2 4k channels.  With dwindling cable subscribers  I don't see the major providers upgrading their equipment to fully support 4k in the near future.  I have a 4k television at home with an Apple 4k TV set top box which we, being my girlfriend and I don't hardly watch.  We don't watch a whole lot of television rather looking at our phones or iPads or computers which only support 1080p or 1440p.  But on a phone, you cannot differentiate between 1080p and 1440p.  There are a few phones that have 4k displays but again, they're a small screen factor.  That is why I'm still shooting 1080p.

Lets get back to the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder available for purchase here.  Like I've written previously it does shoot at 1080p/60fps.  What Canon does right with this camcorder is colour reproduction.  It does come with 20x optical zoom and 300x digital zoom.  Thanks to the sensors enhanced sensitivity, the Vixia HF G40 provides vivid, accurate recording through an improved signal to noise ratio.  The camera shoots in both MP4 and AVCHD with MP4 being web ready.  The camera provides dual SD card slots for never ending storage.  I have 2 64GB cards in the camera and I can shoot the whole weekend and not fill up both cards.  You can record to both cards at the same time just in case one fails.  I did buy an extra battery for longer shooting.  I can shoot about 90 minutes with the battery that comes with the camera and with my larger battery I can shoot over 220 minutes on a single charge.

The OLD screen is big and bright even during sunny days.  The electronic viewfinder shifts to 45 degrees and is easy to use and see thru.  For a guy with glasses, it's a big help.  The optical image stabilization is great when you want to shoot that is far away from you.  The lens is great on this camera being a f1.8 to f2.8 which means it's great in low light and is extremely sharp.  

Here are some of the pros of the camera:

1. Great price
2. Great lens
3. Portable
4. 1080p/60fps
5. Focal lenght
6. Multiple hot shoes to attach accessories
7. OLED screen
8. Viewfinder
9. Comes with remote control and lens cap
10. Weight of 1.7 pounds
11. Reach of 26.7MM to 576MM (35MM equivalent)
12. Wide angle and zoom lenses available
13. Has Wifi and FTP 
14. Superb video
15. Superb colour reproduction

Here are some of the negatives:

1. Does not shoot 4k (is that a negative?)

You can buy two teleconvertors.  One wide and one a telephoto.  I currently have the wide lens and it's amazingly sharp.  The camera does have audio in which unfortunately doesn't provide phantom power.  I currently use the Rode Video Mic Pro+ available here.

When I was in Calgary last year for work I brought this camera with me.  I decided to buy a Sony 4k camcorder thinking 4k is the future.  Let's just say I sold the 4k camcorder and I kept the Canon.  With the Canon I don't need that many hard drives as the files are smaller and I don't need as much processing power.  If I wanted I could use my iPhone 8 Plus running iMovie to edit my Canon clips for my portfolios.  You can check my portfolio links on my blog to see what the camera is capable of.

FInally, I see ads!!!!

Well it took forever but I got all my Google accounts cleaned up.  Closed a myriad of accounts and services.  Forwarding my domain to the blogger site.  Correctly setup Google Adsense on the blog.  Correctly set up Google Adsense account, Google Analytics etc and for the first time, the website is able to display ads on my own, personal website.

From now on I hope to post daily or every other day and raise traffic to the site and all my various photo and video portfolios so that I can expand my photography business.  I live and breathe photography.  I am constantly thinking of what I want to photograph next.  It's an amazing hobby that gets you out into your city and local nature around the area you live in.  It's a great experience to explore and capture memories.

Finally

Finally got my domain name pointed to Blogger.  Finally got Adsense to work with Blogger and my own domain.  I've had so much trouble with setting this up.  So many errors.  So many issues.  I haven't posted here in over a year because I've been so busy with work.  My girlfriend has had both her knees replaced in the past year so I've been helping her a lot this past year.  Driving her to physiotherapy, doctor's appointment etc.  But I am back and I'm looking to do more blogging and more photography.  I've wanted to have my own domain name pointed to the site for so long and have Adwords run on my site.  I finally had the time to sit down and do this.  

I am finally back.  Now I wish it would stop raining so I can fly my new drone.

Still adding photos

Still going thru my photos from my trip to Arizona and I keep finding more and more photos that I like.  I'm of course adding them to my Shutterstock portfolio and my own personal website.  Arizona is certainly a beautiful state with extremely nice people.

It's been a while

Sometime, life gets in the way.  I've been doing a lot of photography but haven't been posting to the blog.  I wish I could post daily but I've been uploading my fall photos to Shutterstock, Bigstock etc.  Just trying to get more money.  I recently booked a vacation to Arizona.  I'm going to the Grand Canyon, the horse shoe bend near Bend and Monument Valley.  

The above picture is from Mud Lake located here in Ottawa.  I've been there a lot this fall doing video work.  I was able to get a juvenile egret up close which is awesome.  

Photo & Video

Lately, I've been doing shooting a lot of video as I have had plenty of photos on the various micro stock agencies.  I'm just trying to build up my video portfolio.  It's time consuming doing both but I do love doing both.  Video clips sell for a much higher price but they are far and between what I typically sell.  I do still sell a lot of photography.  Not as much during the summer as most people are on vacations.  I'm hoping sales of both video and photos pick up again in September.