Mercury transit of the Sun

So I got to shoot the Mercury transit event on Parliament Hill.   A few MP's showed up along with  Canada Astronaut/Politician Marc Garneau.  I don't usually photograph people, let alone Liberal members of Parliament but photography has no sides in politics.  I spent about an hour and a half on Parliament hill spending the time photographing the event and the people.  The event was put on by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Ottawa chapter) and the federal government.  About 28 telescopes and 32 volunteers showed up for the event.

Several media outlets like the CBC, CTV News along with one or two radio stations showed up to document the event along with several photographers such as myself.  The good thing about lugging around a Canon EOS 6D and a Canon EF 70-200MM L series lens makes you look really professional.  I could get up really close to the speakers and get an unobstructed view to photograph the speakers.

After getting home from work, I uploaded all photography into Lightroom CC and finished editing fairly quickly.  I've uploaded a few of the best shots to Shutterstock, Bigstockphoto, 500px,  123RF and my website.

Hoping to have most, if not all shots accepted on the various websites.  Check back soon!

Selfie rant

Descent sales seem hard to come by.  $0.33 here and $0.33 there but where are the sales for $20 or more?  Or larger sales like $120 per file?  Or $500 for a sole picture or video?  In a tough economy where people are working 2 or more minimum part time jobs to make ends meet is a tough market to try and sell your photography in.  

With people using iPhones and Android devices to take pictures, it's harder and harder to sell quality photography.  People think they take quality photos with their phones not realizing they're using tiny sensors with tiny pixels to take their photos.  People store their photos on their devices not ever printing them.  Just share them on Facebook or Pintrest.  The online world is killing photography.  Specifically social media is killing photography.  Instant selfies.  Instant gratification.  As a society, we have devalued quality with quantity.  How many bathroom selfies can you only take?  Narcissism at its best I suppose.

People spend $200-$500 on an iPhone or an Android phone every two years to take selfies that they shoot and forget but bitch when they go to a photographer to have a proper photo taken.  Photographers spend literally thousands of dollars on equipment alone.  My Canon EOS 6D, battery grip, SD card and Canon EF 70-200MM L series lens cost roughly $5000 Canadian.  That's one camera, battery, lens and SD card.  Then there's the computer and software which cost me roughly $3000.  Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Lightroom cost roughly $14 monthly for me to run.  Then there's the education which cost me roughly $4000.  Upgrading my education costs even more.  Learning online costs money.  Watching YouTube videos costs me time and money in a sense instead of watching a Youtube video using a different technique I could be marketing my skills and photography.  And yet people wonder why photographers charge $100 an hour or more.  You're asking a professional to make a memory for you.  Clients just tell you, you're just pressing a button and the camera does the rest.  I'm here to tell you the rest costs money.  

If you want a selfie, use an iPhone.  If you want a real photo, a real memory, something that looks professional, use a real photographer with a real camera.  Hire a real photographer!