As of tomorrow

After having fun shooting the Casino Sound of Lights fireworks show with the Sony RX100 VI, I’ve decided to sell my Sony a7ii, the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-200MM lens, the Sony battery grip and my Canon Vixia HF G40.  Today at lunch I went to Henry’s, a local camera store and I ordered the Sony RX100 VII camera.  I will now be the proud owner of two Sony RX100 cameras at the same time.  I’ve used the Sony a7ii maybe a half a dozen times since I purchased it back in February or March of this year.  I’ve used the Canon Vixia HF G40 maybe once or twice in the past nine months or so.  They’ve basically been collecting dust while I go shooting primarily with the Sony RX100 Mark VI

My photography equipment will, as of tomorrow consist of the Sony RX100 Mark VI, the Sony RX100 Mark VII and the Canon Vixia RF800.  It will be the only photographic equipment that I will need.  I of course will still have the regular tripods, SD cards etc.  Editing will be done on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I read an article today somewhere that Apple will be holding its event on September 10, 2019 and typically they release their new software about a week later.  So Apple iPadOS should be out on either the 17th or 18th of September.  Then I can fully ditch editing photos and footage on a Windows or MacBook laptop forever as the iPad Pro will be by only editing/multimedia consumption device.

I am really going to love this minimalist photographic experience.  Pretty much pro equipment in the pocket as far as photography equipment goes.  Editing is portable and inconspicuous.  The only thing I am waiting on now is the Apple iPadOS which should be here in about a month or so.  I am really, really happy.  

For Sale!!!!!!

Just got back from shooting another night of fireworks at the Casino Sound of Light, the Italy edition.  This time I only took my Sony RX100 Mark VI, Sony Remote and a little Joby tripod.  I didn’t want to carry around a big DSLR camera, lens and tripod.  I was a bit hesitant shooting fireworks with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  I’ve not shot fireworks with this camera before.  To say the least, I am not disappointed whatsoever.  Focus was spot on in manual mode.  Colours look just awesome.  No noise whatsoever.  I shot at 2.5 seconds, f9 and ISO 100.  I am truly happy with this little camera that fits right into your jean pocket.  I have no need for a DSLR whatsoever.  I will be selling the Sony a7ii body with the lens and battery grip and I’ll be getting rid of the Canon Vixia HF G40 as well I think.  I just have to wait for the Sony RX100 Mark VII to come out at some point this month.  I’ll only be shooting with the Sony RX100 Mark VI and the VII and editing all my photos on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro 12.9” with the 512GB hard drive.  Once iPadOS comes out next month, I will no long need a desktop or laptop computer.  I’ll be able to do everything on the Apple iPad Pro.  I can’t wait.  I am so excited.  Photography makes feel happy to be alive.

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.

Shutterstock has sunk to a new low

When I say a new low, I mean a new low.  Today I sold a footage clip for a whopping $1.80.  You read that correctly.  A whole $1.80 for a video clip.  What resolution are you going to get.  Less than Standard definition?  A $1.80 for a video clip.  That's more than insulting.  It's amoral to sell a clip for less than $10.  Who in their right mind would buy a clip let alone sell one?  I did not agree to this.  Typically I sell my footage from $14 to $199.  My best sellers typically sell $96 and above.  And that's my profit.  I'm sure Shutterstock gets more than I do.  On Pond5 I sell my footage for $199 and I get $99.50 for each clip sold.  A $1.80 is insulting.  Does Shutterstock not realize they're ripping off the contributor and their client?  I mean really?  How insulting.  My camcorder cost me $1500 before tax.  My Apple iMac cost me $2000.  My editing software cost me $199.  All of course before tax.  So I spent a grand total of $3699 pre tax to sell a video for a $1.80.  It's insulting.  It's immoral.  It's a kick in the nuts.  Shutterstock beats you down and when you think they're done.  They come back and beat you some more.

I have 12,425 photos and 1487 clips currently being sold at Shutterstock as of October 3, 2018.  I've tripled my portfolio in that last 3 years.  Some day I sell absolutely nothing on Shutterstock.  I admit some of my stuff is uninteresting and should not really be up there.  Then again I have photos and footage that I though were crap and have been my best sellers.  But a $1.80 for a 1080p/60fps clip sells for $1.80?  This is the exact reason I've stopped uploading to iStock.  They sell my photography for 2 cents.  2 cents!!!!!  People are pissed with micro stock agencies like Adobe Stock, iStock and Shutterstock.  They are completely devaluing contributors.  They are devaluing photography and videography.  It's an insult to any hobbyist, amateur, semi pro and pro.

The clip I sold for a $1.80 was a 4k clip as well.  The lowest price I see it being sold for is $65 for a standard definition edition.  That's an even bigger kick in the nuts.

Like I stated above, I spent $1500 for a camcorder, $2000 for an Apple iMac, $199 for Final Cut Pro X.  I spent $32 to get into the park to take photos and videos.  I spent roughly $45 for gas.  I probably spent roughly $25-$30 on food during the day.  Plus my time.  In the end, all of that is worth $1.80 for a clip.  

I just have a simple question.  Where and when will the spiral to the bottom end?  Contributors like myself work hard.  We enjoy doing what we do.  You cannot recreate a photo.  Or a clip.  We create memories.  We capture a moment that will never, ever occur again.  The race to the bottom will eventually hit rock bottom.  The question is.  Who will start digging to continue the longer race to a deeper bottom?

Going flying after work

The humidity finally broke and the temps are actually nice.  So after work, I'm going flying with the DJI Spark.  I don't know where I'll fly but I need to.  I need more Ariel footage.

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.

Lac Leamy Casino Sound of Lights

Finally got out to do some photography after taking a break.  This summer has been weird for me for photography.  I didn't really get out much this summer with the cameras.  At least it doesn't feel like it.  I've been doing a lot more video work and uploading to other micro stock agencies trying to diversify my portfolio availability.  

I think this fall, I'll be heading out more to do some more landscape and wild life photography.  I miss shooting my wolves, deer and foxes along with my Algonquin Park landscapes.

A good one has gone home

I was going to do a review of the Canon Vixia HF G40 today after work.  That is not going to happen as this morning, I woke up to find out that one of my photography friends passed away at a young age from cancer.

As a cancer survivor myself, this hit me pretty hard.  I got cancer at the age of 35 and luckily got my 5 year clearance this past December.  My friend got her cancer while in her late 20's and passing away early in her 30's.  

You don't know the unimaginable guilt I feel that I'm still here and she is gone.  It's a total shock to the system to think that someone so young and full of promise could just pass away so quickly and so quietly.  I am still in shock and it's just really upsetting that I'm still here and she's not.  This is not the first friend that I've lost in my lifetime and it won't be the last.

I'm just mad that cancer took a young and promising person and not someone who has done evil in this world.  Death always takes the good ones too early and leaves us to mourn.  

I know she is in a good place now and the pain is gone for her.  I will truly miss you my friend.

R.I.P.

Canon Vixia HF G40

So today I finally picked up the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder.  I wanted this prosumer camcorder so bad.  I upgraded it from the Canon Vixia HF R62.  The G40 provides a few bit more controls when shooting video like Exposure and ISO settings.  I can actually physically attach an external mike as well to the G40.  It's more of a prosumer camcorder rather than a top of the line consumer camcorder. I will post a better review when I actually start using the camcorder in real life situations.

Hurry up and wait

So now that I've uploaded everything to the computer, edited everything in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC or Apple Final Cut Pro X, I uploaded everything to the various websites.  Now I have to hurry up and wait for the various websites to curate all my submissions and update their various databases so my images and videos can be sold to everybody.  Waiting is the worst part as I'm not in control of anything.  Waiting always kills me.  But at least now I can go shoot some more photos and video my surroundings.

I've also added some of my other portfolios for more customer options.  I hope you enjoy!

All time best seller

So this is my all time best selling photo that I have up on several micro stock agencies.  I do really like this shot.  I used to go to Parc Omega quite a lot.   Especially on those cold winter days during the week when people would be working and if they weren't working, they'd be inside because it was apparently too cold.  Yet, I'd be out there with my cameras taking my pictures.  Dedication and perseverance pays off.  You or I will never get this shot again.  

Nature is just amazing during the fall and winter seasons.  The animals are more active.  Their furs are thicker.  They are more hardier. 

When my photography ship comes in

Maybe.  Just maybe, when my photography sugar momma comes in I will be able to purchase one of these one of these spectacular vehicles.  It's just millions and millions of photos that I have to sell. Actually at $0.33 a pop it's about a million photos or so.  Just for a basic model.  So who wants to help a photographer out?  

Holy exhausted Batman!

No new photos or videos today as I was swamped at work.  Plus I didn't get a chance to edit photos that I took yesterday.  I took a lot of panorama photos and some wide field like the one above taken with the Canon EOS 6D and the Canon EF f2.8 16-35MM L series lens.  I think I will do some photography tomorrow.  I haven't been sleeping well in the past week or so.  I'm really exhausted.

Sinkhole

Time to go see and do some video of the sinkhole in Ottawa.  Way to go City of Ottawa.  Ottawa, a city a sinkhole never forgot!

Baby woodpeckers!

Just got home from taking some videos and am editing them now.  Got some cute, little Pileated Woodpeckers being fed by both parents.  Videos to follow.

Glad I went!

I seem to be shooting a lot of video lately.  More video than photography.  I didn't even bother taking my cameras today.  Only took my Canon Vixia HF R62.  I'm glad I went to the Gatineau side of the Ottawa river after work today.  There were big puffy clouds that were moving at a quick pace over Ottawa today.  

I'm sitting at a Timmie's right now editing the videos while listening to a YouTube video on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC and the Google Nik Plugins.  Pretty cool software.

The importance of computers and post processing.

I have two Apple computers.  A late 2015 iMac with a 5k 27" retina monitor with a 2GB video card, 1TB fusion drive and 32GB of memory.  I also have an early 2013 Macbook Pro with a 2.7Ghz processor, a 500GB SSD hard drive, 1TB video card and 16GB of RAM.

I absolutely love both of these computers.  Why?  Because they just work.  They're responsive and I don't have to fix them every couple of days.  They just work.  I edit 1080p 60fps video on both using FCP X and edit 20.2 megapixel photos created with multiple Canon EOS 6D bodies and various lenses.

I use Mac computers because the administration and upkeep is pretty non existent compared to any Windows bases PC's.  I work for a federal government department that use Windows 7 and Windows 8 PC's.  Let me tell you, they are a headache compared to Macs.  Driver updates, software updates, hardware replacements etc.  For home, you go Mac or nothing else.  Yeah, Macs are more expensive, but you get what you pay for.  In my time, I've built my own Frankenstein PC's and used different MS operating systems from Windows 98 to Windows 10.  When I need things to work, I use an OS X based computer.

This weekend

Some people are crazy.  It's roughly plus thirty degrees celsius in Ottawa this weekend.  With the humidity, temperatures are nearing plus forty degrees celsius.  The reason I say people are crazy in Ottawa is because it's Race Weekend where people run either 2km, 5km and 10km or in some cases all three.

I was there in downtown Ottawa yesterday photographing the event.  I heard one of the announcements that they had a record number of people needing medical attention due to heat stroke and heat exhaustion.  Most of the people running wither either my age or older.  These people are going to end up with hip replacements or needing work done on their knees if not now, later in life.  But it does offer great photography.  So keep doing it you crazy people.

First to 2500!

I always thought that Fotolia or iStockphoto would be the first to 2500 images and/or videos to 2500 files available for sale.  Today at about 14:00 I reached 2519 files on Shutterstock.  Shutterstock accepts Editorial shots along with videos and that's what put me over the 2500 mark.

I only started micro stock just about 2 years ago.  I had a pretty good go at Fotolia and I have 2352 files available for sale.  Fotolia was pretty much outpacing Shutterstock until about a few months ago when I bought the Canon EF f2.8 70-200MM L series lens.  After that, pretty much everything I photographed was accepted on both sites.  

I absolutely love photography and videography.

Shot some new video today.

Went on a walk today at lunch with my Canon Vixia HF R62 1080p 60fps camcorder.  Shot some video of stuff I never knew Ottawa had.  I kinda like discovering new stuff in my own city.  A lot of my stuff is getting approved on the various micro stock sites but some of it isn't.  Some is selling.  Some is not.  Just gotta keep shooting and uploading and hope for sales.