The interoverted photographer

I am by my very basic nature an introvert.  I like people for the most part.  I can even be around them.  But, by my very nature, I am an introvert.  I like to go out and do photography by myself.  Just to recharge and get my thoughts together.  I could spend days and weeks alone with just my cameras.  That is why I miss being out west in the Rocky mountains sitting by a lake with crystal clear water and the mountains as a background.

There is something to be said sitting by a river and listening to the water rushing by.  Breathing in the fresh alpine air.  I truly miss the Rockies just to the west of Calgary.  I could get away from the city for days, just driving in my SUV, stopping to take pictures and videos.  There is a genuine peace with no people around you.  Just you and the natural beauty of the Rocky mountains surrounding you.  I would love to wake up at 4am, walk out to a beautiful lake somewhere in the mountains, compose the camera on the lake in the mountains and just wait for the sun to come up.  The Rocky mountains out in Alberta are my heaven.

Nicki and I are getting married at some point this summer and then heading out west.  We hope to find gainful employment out in Calgary.  Thankfully we have financial stability right now to go to Calgary.  I hope to work in some other industry then computers.  I am done with the I.T. field.  I have to follow my true passion.  I do love photography and it is my very passion.  I have the necessary equipment and skills to make a living with photography.  I just need to be more comfortable in front of a camera.

Shooting long exposure photography

 

Oh how you disappoint me Shutterstock

Shutterstock!!!!!!  What did you do????  And why did you do it????  I think I known what the answer is.  Greed.  Pure greed.  Lowered our licenses to 10 cents a photo.  You have become the iStock of the micro stock world.  Shutterstock, I will no longer upload any photos or any footage.  I will go exclusively with Adobe Stock and Pond5.  I will be disabling my portfolio as soon as I can on Shutterstock.  $0.10 a photo download is insulting.  Apparently I made it to level 3 today where I get 25% of the download which works out to about $0.12 a photo download.  Considering I was making $0.36 a download before this hair brained scheme, this new scheme is a kick in the ass.

For any new contributor, do not even upload to Shutterstock.  It is not worth it.  Even living in a third world country, $0.10 a photo download is an insult.  Hardware, software, travel, editing, time.  Not worth the measly and paltry $0.10 a photo download.  I haven’t sold any footage yet under this new payment scheme and I hope I don’t.  All contributors should disable their portfolios immediately to send Shutterstock a message.

Canada’s War Memorial

Decided to go for a walk yesterday after work.  The War Memorial is located 2 blocks from the building that I work at.  It was a snowy, grey day yesterday in Ottawa.  Decided to shoot the War Memorial in black and white as I think black and white does the memorial more justice.  I really like doing photography with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  It’s such a compact and powerful little camera.

Time lapse time

I haven’t shot a time lapse in a long time.  Decided to shoot one this morning going to work.  I shot it using my new Apple iPhone Pro Max with the new camera system.  It was quickly edited in Apple Photos.  I am actually quite impressed with the Apple Photos app on the iPhone and the iPad Pro.  The link is here: https://youtu.be/_BDz-Z4Jfz8  Please feel free to like and comment.  I think I’ll be putting it up for sale on Pond5, Shutterstock, Videoblocks and Adobe stock.  I’ll upload to all of them when I get home tonight.  Luckily don’t have to go anywhere tonight and see anyone so I have time to upload the time lapse.  It’s a short 23 second video.  I wish it took me 23 seconds to get to work.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max and the 2018 Apple iPad Pro

I finally did it.  I braved the crowds on Black Friday at Best Buy in the east of Ottawa yesterday.  Needless to say I was not pleased with the crowds in the store after work.  But in the end I got the Apple iPhone 11Pro Max(64GB) model.  There were a few reasons I wanted the iPhone 11 Pro Max listed below:

1. The 3 camera system
2. New network
3. More portable than the Sony RX100 Mark VII
4. Battery life
5. Apple ecosystem

Ok.  So these are a few of the reasons.  I am really enjoying the three camera system on the iPhone.  I can shoot time lapse, slow motion and standard HD photos.  All cameras use the 12 megapixel sensor which is good enough for stock photography which is what I shoot.  I also sell my photography on Redbubble and Fine Art America.  You can find all the links on the right hand side of the front page on this site.

Secondly, I was on Freedom Mobile.  If you want a reliable network, do not go with Freedom Mobile.  If I was in the middle of downtown Ottawa, I’d have the crappiest reception that you can imagine.  I’d on their, what they call “Nationwide” LTE network.  On this network, I’d have 500MB of downloads per month before I’d hit their limits and my speeds would drop to 3G.  I’d get descent reception in my apartment but I’d be on my own Wi-Fi network.  If I was out of city limits, I’d be on their “Nationwide” network again.  I decided to go with Rogers.  I’m not a big fan of their customer service but they’re slightly better than Bell.  I was with Rogers before I switched to Freedom and not I’m back again.  

Thirdly, yes the Sony RX100 Mark VII is a very versatile and portable camera.  I love it and will continue to use it as my main photography camera.  But for quick and easy stuff, I’ll be using the iPhone 11 Pro Max.  The iPhone doesn’t provide as much control as the RX100 Mark VII but for quick and easy shots, it’ll do.

Fourth, the battery life seems to be fantastic.  I haven’t had it for a day yet but with daily use the battery is great so far.  More daily use will be needed to judge the value.

And fifth, I love the Apple ecosystem.  Especially using the iPhone, the iPad Pro and Apple iCloud.  I pay Apple about $13 a month for 2TB of data storage to back up my photos and necessary documents.  I don’t do any dongles, even with my iPad Pro.  Especially now if I’m going to use the iPhone 11 Pro Max for the majority of my photography.  Especially if just go do walk around photography in downtown Ottawa.  For wildlife photography, I’ll still use my Sony RX100 Mark VII.  Even for my landscape photography I’ll use the Sony RX100 Mark VII camera since I can add physical filters.

The future of photography

I have been pondering the future of photography over the past few days.  I started photography about 15 years ago as a hobby.  I bought a basic DSLR back in 2004.  I had no understating of ISO, aperture, shutter speed etcetera.  I learned over a few years about exposure and such.  I upgraded my equipment as well as I learned more.  I shot Canon from 2004 to about 2017 when I switched to Sony cameras.  In 2015 I started doing videos as well.  I shoot for micro stock.  Primarily landscape, wildlife and such.  No weddings, portraits, or family photography.  I really enjoy the solitude of being out in the mountains with just my Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I used to have full frame cameras such as the Canon EOS 6D and the Sony A7II.  Had pro lenses as well.  They cost a pretty penny.  Now I just use a point and shoot pocket camera.  I get the same, if not better photos out of the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I find that the experience and imagination of the photographer is more important than the equipment used.

The market is also changing.  The biggest change in the photography market I find happened in 2007 when Apple released the Apple iPhone.  That put a camera in everybody’s pocket.  The iPhone has come a long way and it completely changed the photography market.  Now anyone can be a photographer.  I’d say 98% of people can’t tell the difference between a printed photo that was shot on an iPhone 8+ or a Sony A7RIV.  In the end it’s the skill of the photographer using the equipment he/she has..

In May 2020, my contract with Freedom Mobile ends.  I want to get the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max.  I’d need at least the 256GB model.  I find the 64GB doesn’t allow that much storage for shooting 4K/60fps footage.  I want to try using just the iPhone and iPad Pro for all my photography and editing needs.  The iPad Pro is a media consumption device which doubles as a laptop replacement.  Now with IpadOS 13.2.2 released, I don’t need a physical laptop running whatever flavour of the day of O/S.

If you look at my Shutterstock portfolio, you can’t tell what camera was used to take any particular photo with a particular lens.  I have sold photos shot on the iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy s7 Edge, a Canon EOS 350D, Canon EOS 6D, Canon EOS T3i, Sony RX100 Mark IV, V, VI, VII and the Sony A7II.  I bet in that 3-5 years, DSLR’s are going to be relics of a bi gone era.  Everyone, and I mean everyone will be shooting on a smart phone.  You can see the stats now.  The big camera brands such as Canon, Nikon, Sony are seeing their camera sales falling.  There will always be a need for high definition, high mega pixel cameras for scientific research.  You can’t do astrophotography with a phone yet.  There are dedicated cameras for astrophotography.  There will a need for specialized cameras for looking at cells and microbes.  Phones won’t be able to do that yet.  Who knows what the future holds for these kinds of cameras.  100 years ago, we were learning to fly.  70 years ago, we put a man on the moon.  40 years ago, a home computer was non-existent.  20 years ago, the internet was coming into its own.  Who knows what technology is going to be invented in 20, 40, 70 or a 100 years ago.  In the Back to the Future movies we were supposed to have flying cars right now.  

Technology evolves.  Attitudes change.  Tech just gets better.  Some of it for the better and most of it for the worse as it changes society for the worse.  But that’s just my opinion.

Consolidate and simplify your photography

I started doing photography seriously back in 2006 or so.  I bought my first DSLR that year with the kit lens.  I had no idea how to use the camera at all.  I never took a class.  YouTube was not a thing back then so I couldn’t learn off of what others did.  In 2010 I took classes at my local college.  In 2017, when I was in Calgary, I was using three Canon EOS 6D bodies with three different lenses.  I left Calgary with a Sony RX10 Mark II and a Sony RX100 Mark V.  Today I shoot with the Sony RX100 Mark VII and edit everything on a 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 12.9” screen and a 512GB hard drive.

I am consolidating and simplifying my photography setup along with the rest of my life.  In May 2020, my cellphone plan comes up.  I currently have an Apple iPhone 8 Plus which takes really good photos.  I’ve uploaded a few shots to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and some of those photos have sold.  I’m not saying I’m going to get rid of my Sony RX100 Mark VII because it’s really an excellent camera.  It’s portable.  It’s got an amazingly wide lens at 24MM and it can extend to 200MM.   I’ve always stated that the best camera is the one you carry with you.  I always carry my iPhone 8 Plus and my Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I always have my iPad Pro with me as well.  I am totally sucked into the Apple ecosystem.  I subscribe to Apple Music and Apple TV+.  I also have the 2TB iCloud subscription.  Basically I give Apple $25 a month for the services.  I don’t use my Windows 10 laptop and my 2013 MacBook Pro.  It’s too old and slow for me now.  And Windows 10 sucks.  I really enjoy the Apple ecosystem.  It’s really seamless and works really well.

Whatever equipment you have, I hope you use it and are happy with it.  Just keep using it.  Keep learning.  Keep supporting.  And all that fun stuff.  I’m still looking forward to moving to Calgary in the spring of 2020.  

Review of Adobe Stock. And it’s not good.

I started with Adobe stock about 2.5 weeks ago.  I realize my portfolio is small.  About 1150 photos and clips.  I’ve sold two photos on there within the last couple of weeks.  When I started with Shutterstock, I sold a photo on my first day and I had 7 photos accepted.  My portfolio grew and so did the sales.  I have 15,000+ photos and 1,500+ footage clips on Shutterstock.  I make sales daily pretty much on Shutterstock.  Weekends are a disaster on every micro stock agency.  So I should not be surprised that I’m getting very view sales on both Adobe and Shutterstock.  I typically now sell 46 to 60 shots on Shutterstock monthly.  That’s down from 120+ monthly from 2 years ago with a portfolio that is 75% larger.  My portfolio is varied on both sites.  I’m adding to Adobe and Shutterstock daily.  I’m hoping sales increase next year when I move out west.  The last two days here in Ottawa have been miserable weather wise with rain and more rain every day.

I thought Adobe Stock would be much better than it is.  Reading the reviews of other contributors I thought I would get a few more sales than I have.  I am going to continue to upload shots that I’ve taken over the last seven or so years, picking out the best ones and adding them to both Adobe and Shutterstock if I haven’t already done so.  Pond5 and Storyblocks aren’t doing that well either.  Sales have fallen over the past two years to very minimal.  Maybe one or two sales on Pond5 a month.  Storyblocks has a subscription model on their site now.  I sell less than twenty dollars on average over the past two months which is atrocious.  

Also, I’ve decided, today, I am going to buy the Sony A7RII camera, lens and battery grip when I save enough photography money.  I want to do this as my full time job.  I will be using my Canon Vixia HF R800 for my YouTube channel I think.  As good as the Sony RX100 Mark VII is at video, the 2018 Apple iPad Pro with iPadOS just doesn’t function well.  It takes too long to import gigabytes of data just for a 10 minutes video.  The Sony file structure doesn’t work well with iPadOS.  

I just have to weather the next 5 months here in Ottawa till I move.  It’s just very depressing.

It’s not the camera

Still in a conundrum.  Luckily I have until March 2020 to make a final decision.  Now I’m leaning towards just shooting with the Sony RX100 Mark VI and the VII.  I realize the Sony A7RII has more than twice the amount of megapixels which means higher resolution photos and 4K footage.  But I mainly shoot for micro stock agencies and I’ve gotten excellent photos and 4K footage with the Sony RX100 Mark VI and the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I am trying to convince myself to just shoot with those cameras instead of the Sony A7RII.  I could edit the A7RII photos on my 2018 iPad Pro.  It does have enough horse power to colour grade and edit the images unlike my early 2013 MacBook Pro or my Windows 10 laptop which has 2 SSD hard drives and 32GB of RAM.  I want to be as minimalist as I can.  I don’t want to carry around large amounts of equipment.  

There are photographers with YouTube channels who shoot on Sony a6400 bodies with pretty much kit lenses.  I think I can do well with just the Sony RX100 Mark VI and the VII.  I should really save my money for a better drone than the DJI Spark.  I want to go out west and do more drone photography in the mountains.  

I think I’m just going to keep saving my photography money and finally make a decision in March 2020.  I am kind of hoping that Sony comes out with the next Sony RX100 Mark VIII which has more resolution and better battery life.  I should have about $2000US saved, if not more by March 2020 to make a good decision.

Tonight after work, I’m going out to do some more photography.  I want to go to Nepean Point and get an HDR shot of the Ottawa landscape.  It’s a sunny day right now and there are white fluffy clouds in the sky.  I hope to get some good light tonight to get a spectacular image of the Ottawa landscape.  If I do get a good image tonight I will show you here tonight.  

Adobe stock first sale

I’ve been on Adobe Stock for a week now.  I have 800+ photos on the site.  Today I sold my first photo on the site.  It’s a shot from Monument Valley which I visited about 3 years ago.  You can click the following link to see the photo and I hope you view some other photos I have for sale.  The photo is ok I guess.  Not my best work but I like it.  My plan is to add about 100-150 photos/clips a day to my Adobe portfolio.  Hopefully in a month or so, I’ll have 3-4000 photos available for sale on Adobe.  I have 15,000+ photos and 1,500+ footage clips on Shutterstock.  I hope Shutterstock lets me download my footage clips since I lost them all when my hard drive got corrupt when I moved last year.

I really fell in love with the southwest American landscape when I was there back in 2016.  I am going to move to Calgary in April of next year to be closer to the national parks in Canada and the United States.  I love photographing the landscape of the parks.  It is truly beautiful out there.  I think I won’t need a tent or anything.  Just sleep in the back of my vehicle.  The problem I’ll have is finding a toilet.  I’ll just have to watch what I eat so I don’t need to visit Mother Nature as often.

I am back

Well, after a few years of being permanently banned on a particular micro stock agency, I decided to try and upload some of my photography.  I added about 10 photos and 9 of the 10 were approved.  So I started adding more.  And more.  And more.  Apparently a few years back I was spamming their agency with the same photos.  Apparently I was spamming all the agencies but I was only banned from this one.  

Well, after a few years, I guess I am able to upload again.  Which is fantastic. I sold quite a few photos and clips on there.  Hopefully I can replicate the success on this site again.  I hope I sell as many photos as I do on Shutterstock on this site.  The more photo and footage sales, the better.  I just want to buy a better drone for my Ariel photography.

Photo sales suck

Last month I only sold two footage clips for a whopping $79.20 and photo sales were a measly $41.62.  August sucked and September is looking like it's not getting any better.  This makes me hesitant to go out full time to be a full-time photographer.  I have 15,258 photos and 1,544 footage clips on Shutterstock.  On Pond5, I have 1528 clips and 2024 photos.  On Storyblocks, I have 2,148 items from photos and video clips.

I have a really, really strong urge to do the travelling photographer bug.  I've had it since about 2014.  I really, really want to do it but I have a fear of not being able to support the travel.  I want to travel full time in my 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport AWD SUV.  I want to do it in Canada and the United States full time.  I'm going to have a hard time in the States because of not having a work visa or a green card.  I will have to do a lot of research on how people support themselves on the road while travelling.  

If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

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. 

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?

Drone flight at dusk

Was out with the girlfriend last night at a friends place for dinner and a sit down by a fire.  I decided to test the DJI Spark out at dusk just to see how the camera would perform.  It's ok.  But it could be better.  A lot better.  Maybe in the spring I will upgrade to the DJI Mavic Pro 2.  The Hasselblad camera should help a bit.

I edited about 6 clips which I'm currently uploading to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.

Passive income from photography

I primarily sell on 3 microstock agencies that are actually worth the time.  They include:

• Shutterstock
• Pond5
• Storyblocks

Granted, I sell more photos than I do footage but when I sell footage, it makes me a lot more money. If you asked me 4 or 5 years ago if I would ever do footage, I'd tell you you're crazy.  I remember being at my favorite location to photograph animals.  I had taken the day off from work.  The light was just amazing.  At that time I was using a Canon EOS 6D and a Sigma f5-6.3 150-500MM lens.  I shot the video just to see if I could and see if it would actually sell.

I got home.  Dumped all my files onto my computer.  Edited and uploaded everything to Shutterstock and luckily it got accepted.  I believe it was a few weeks later that it actually sold.  And it has been my best selling video since.  You can view it here.

So now I only upload to the above mentioned sites and it's been great ever since.  You too can sell photos and videos as well.  Shutterstock is by far my best website where I sell my photos and videos.  You can sign up here and start today.