I absolutely hate...

...moving.  We just spend the last week moving.  Boxing up our stuff.  Getting a storage unit.  Moving into a storage unit and moving the rest of our stuff that we actually need and use to our new place.  And we'll have to do this again in March.  To boot, I think we'll be moving cross country in March to Calgary, Alberta.  I moved myself to Calgary last year for a 4 month contract.  It wasn't that bad but I did get stuck in North Dakota for two days because of a 2cm snow storm with 95kh/h winds.  Visibility was non existent.

Monday is becoming exciting.  I get a new coworker tomorrow.  That means I can offload some work on a newbie finally in months.  I haven't had a chance at all to do any photography or shoot any footage.

It's Monday morning and I've done one deployment so far.  I'm trying to update the TPM settings on these Toshiba Portege Z30-B machines and it's nothing but a frustrating pain in the rear end.  From now until March 31, 2019, I am studying Affinity Photo after work.  I really, really need to switch career paths.  I am frustrated with the I.T industry.  Nothing ever works right and I feel like I'm way behind in everything.  One person tells me to do one thing and the next one tells me to do another.

I have to do what I want to do with my life.  Do whatever it takes to get my life to where I want it to be.  I have to make myself happy and not someone else.  This is probably going to be my last I.T. contract as far as I'm concerned.  

No social media except...

...my blog, my online media portfolios and maybe a Youtube Channel.  I use Google' Blogger platform only because Wordpress is a nightmare to configure, use and secure.  Wordpress gets attacked hourly because it stores your credit card numbers on its platform for payment and such.  I will not use it just for that.  With Google, they spy on you and use sell your data.  I no longer use the Google search engine personally.  Duckduckgo all the way.

Twitter was completely worthless.  A lot of photo and footage theft.  You can only put low quality stuff on there so you couldn't get any sales on there.  90% of my followers were other photographers who would steal your stuff and call it their own.  Instagram was full of spammers.  I'd say 99% of the users are spam accounts.  Everybody was asking for iTunes gift cards which is a total joke.  I hardly use a Google product.  I just permanently closed my Facebook account which should be done in 30 Facebook days.  

So all I have now is my blog.  I can control the content on the blog.  The size of the photos and footage is limited but better than Twitter or Instagram.  Facebook is crap as well.  Looks like the whole media companies are banning conservatives or anyone with an opposing or different view point.  Media companies are not good for western democracies anymore.  Most are socialist or commie type establishments.

People should support small entrepreneurs and artists like myself.  I saw a quote on the web years which in effect stated that you shouldn't support a CEO of a company to buy his/her new jet but instead support a small business so the owners can support their families.  It may be more expensive than Walmart but you're helping a family business.

And a new month begins again

The month has started off somewhat descent.  3 early morning photo sales from the Far East and Europe.  No video sales yet.  Thankfully no $1.80 footage sales.  The one footage sale for $1.80 was insulting enough.  I don't care how big your client is, you don't ripoff your contributors like that!!!  Shutterstock should know better.

On a side note, we're pretty much packed up and ready to move.  Maybe spend an hour tomorrow cleaning up and packing the tv and other big items.  We'll be moved quickly.  Have I mentioned I hate moving?  

Last month I sold about $150 worth of photography and footage.  $150 closer to getting the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  Next pay I get the Sony RX100 Mark V fixed.  Shouldn't be too expensive I hope.  This fall I am focusing on studying Affinity Photo, more photography and footage and going to the gym to get rid of 50 pounds before we move out west.  In February, we'll start looking for jobs out west.  Ottawa and Ontario just isn't for us anymore.  The weather sucks.  The economy for English speakers here is awful.

Luckily I have a good place to work now with a good boss.  As long as I get my work done, he doesn't care what I do which is fantastic.  And now I gotta go image a laptop.

Just as I thought

The month of October came in like a lion on Shutterstock.  It has left like a bloodied sheep.  A lot of high quality sales in the first week of October on Shutterstock.  Now it's whimpering out like a half dead lamb with a few subscription sales here and there.  I honestly don't know what else I can do except for keep shooting.  I haven't heard my camera in my hands for a week or two since we're getting ready to move on Friday.  But I think starting this Saturday I'll be doing more photography.  We've started going to the gym so my focus for the next six months will be weight loss, photography and studying Seriff' Affinity Photo.

Honestly, I'm sick of doing the IT thing.  I've been doing it since 2001 and I think I've been been doing it for too long now.  I've lost my focus and I've lost any joy I've had doing it.  My interests and joy have shifted over to photography and film making.  I am saving up any and all photography money for a new point and shoot camera that I want to buy.  I want to get the Sony RX100 Mark IV in the new year or whenever I save up money for it.  I need to get my Sony RX100 Mark V fixed.  The EVF is broken and the latch holding in the battery is dislodged.  So I need to get that fixed.  There's a local store here in Ottawa that fixes cameras.  I've dealt with them in the past whenever I needed a camera fixed.  They're quick and inexpensive to fix camera equipment.  I'll get the camera fixed in mid November.  Shouldn't be more than $200-$300 to get it fixed.  At least I hope.

I also want to keep writing more on the blog here.  Hopefully it will catch on and get a following.  I know I will also have to get a Youtube channel going soon.  I have to get over the hate of being on camera.  I hope to look better by March 2019.  I need to lose about 50 pounds or so.  I need to exercise and eat better.  I can't be putting it off anymore.

Next April when I move to Calgary, Alberta, I want to trade in my 2015 Hyundai Elantra for a 2018/2019 Jeep Wrangler or a Rubicon.  Some sort of a four wheel drive Jeep that I can modify for weekend trips and holidays out west or down south so I don't have to sleep in hotel rooms.  I am expecting a real life change.  I am sick of doing the IT thing.  I cannot get ahead in this field.  Not in Ottawa anyways as I'm not bilingual.

Slowly but surely I'm gonna make some life changes soon.  We shall see where I end up.

I am trying to convince myself

I have been watching a lot of these Youtube videos where people live in their Jeep or another vehicle and just drive around North America and discover Canada and the continental United States even going up to Alaska and the Yukon.

I've had the itch for the past three years to do this.  I'd probably say the last 7 years.  Lets just say that when I had cancer back in 2010/2011, I've been wanting to go out on the road and just travel.  I don't get to do much since I work 5 days a week and just pay bills to keep my head just above water.  I don't want that kind of life where I just go to work and pay bills.  There is a lot more to see than just a cubicle and the 4 walls of your home living room or bed room.  Life is more than that.

I've been thinking that early next year, I trade in my 2015 Hyundai Elantra for a Jeep 4 door and just live and travel in that.  I'm very afraid of not being able to buy food or pay for my bills.  I've always worked and I hate living off of donations.  That's why I don't use services like Patreon or GoFundMe.  Those are great for raising funds for like AIDS or cancer research.  But to live off of the donations of others I find troubling.  I don't make a lot of money with my photography.  A few hundred bucks here or there.  I probably need roughly $3500 a month live after tax.  I probably make $200 a month with my photography.  The photography money is not steady either.  Some months I make more and some months I make less.  I make a few bucks a month with the blog, but again, nowhere near where I need to be.  I have a Youtube channel but I hate being on camera.

I would love to travel the United States.  Go from state to state.  But I can't legally work there and I would need to support myself.  You really can't travel in Canada in winter.  Last year when I left for Calgary in early March, I got stuck in North Dakota for 2 days because of a snow storm in a 95km/h wind storm. At one point it felt like my hotel room was going to fly away and end up in Kansas or somewhere.

I don't mind the snow.  I actually love the snow but I do like the weather in Arizona in the fall.  2 years ago I was on vacation in Arizona and fell in love with the state.

Right now, I'm trying to lose 50 pounds before the end of March 2019.  I feel like the next six months will be life changing.  I know the old saying of: the only thing to fear is fear itself.  And that's my biggest fear right now.  Not fear.  But the unknown of how I'm going to support my travel financially. If you have any thoughts or advice, just post it in the comments.

I am saving up

We are currently moving this week and moving is a pain in the ass.  I hate it.  I hate it so much we'll be moving in the end of March again.  But I think that time it'll be much easier as most of our stuff will be in storage and already packed.  In the meantime, we'll be able to save for rent and other stuff while we look for another place to live.  The girlfriend wants to move to Kingston, Ontario and I want to move to Calgary, Alberta.  So we shall see what happens at the end of March.

I'm currently saving up all my photography income for a new Sony RX100 Mark VI and a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone.  I currently use a Sony RX10 Mark II along with a Sony RX100 Mark V.  I honestly want to go down to just one camera and I feel like the Sony RX100 Mark VI would be the perfect camera for me as I want to travel more next year.  Back in 2016 I was in Arizona for a a week and I fell in love with the state because of the scenery and the landscape.

I am trying to minimize the amount of equipment I try to bring on my photography expeditions.  I'm down to the Sony RX10 Mark II, the Sony RX100 Mark V and a Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder.  I want to get rid of at least the Sony RX10 Mark II.  I still find the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder extremely useful.  I like the camcorder form factor for shooting video.  I can hook up an external mic to the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder.  I don't have to have a separate mic for the Sony RX100 Mark V as I shoot mainly stills with it.  I do some time-lapse with it as well.  With the Sony RX100 Mark VI you cannot install any apps from the Sony play store anymore like you can with the Sony RX100 Mark V.  I will be keeping the Sony RX100 Mark V when I buy the Sony RX100 Mark VI in March or April or whenever I make enough money for it from my photography sales.

If you would like to help reach my goal of buying a Sony RX100 Mark VI, please purchase some of my photography or videos at Shutterstock, Pond5 or Storyblocks.  There is also a donate button on my site.  You can also go to my other site here.

October came in like a lion

October came in like a lion and came out like a kitty cat.   A few video sales at the beginning of the month raised my hopes for a good month of October.  But its been just subs (subscriptions) for the rest of the month.  Nothing but $0.36 sales.  Seems like anything of quality sales is hard to come by now on any stock site.  I haven't sold a video on Pond5 or Storyblocks in months even adding a few hundred to each site this month.

We are moving at the end of the month so for the next couple of days, we'll be packing up all our stuff and we both get to work during the move so it's going to be long days and no opportunity for photography or to shoot footage.  We got our first snow last night so winter is pretty much here in Ottawa.  I still have my all seasonal tires on until November 5th.

I think it's time to go for breakfast.

The lake

This past weekend my girlfriend along with her sister and I decided to go out for a drive to the country.  I haven't been here in about a year or so.  It's about an hour west of where I live.  It's really peaceful and quiet.  Gives us time to think and relax.

This has been...

...the worst year for photo and footage sales yet.  It's down 40-60% month over month.  Even though I've increased my portfolios by as much as 100%, sales have fallen dramatically.  I've been marketing my portfolios over the past year, shooting even more, sales have dropped dramatically.  I've tried to stay positive and add customers and contributors to Shutterstock, Depositiphotos, Pond5 and Storybolocks, that has not helped an iota.  Zilch, zero, nadda, nothing.  I don't know if I can market on Youtube.  I hate being on camera.  I don't like self promotion as far as filming myself. 

I don't know if anyone is actually reading this blog or if it's just bots that are hitting this place.  Traffic is not increasing.  I'm not getting any responses to my blog entries.  I know not to quit and post regularly.  I know I have a small blog.  I'm hoping to grow it and make some decent money of off it but the ROI doesn't seem to be good right now.  I think it might take 2-4 years of me doing this for basically free with no return on investment.  I only pay for my domain name which is about $4 Canadian a year.  Blogger is free.  But my time is not.  That is the real pisser right there.

Back in 2010, I was diagnosed with cancer.  I went through one operation in 2010 and another one in 2011.  In 2015 I went through a divorce so I value my time very much.  I know you don't get any of it back which is why I have a lot of self doubt about doing this.  If it's worth my time.  I finally have a job I enjoy but again, it's a contract.  So it will come to an end at one point.  My girlfriend and I are moving at the end of the month to a cheaper place to save up some money so we can move out west to Calgary.  I was in Calgary for 4 months last year and I fell in love with the west.  I fell in love with the life style, the mountains, nature.  Alberta is so much closer to the American west as well.  I'm hoping that if we do move out there to take a few weeks and do some travelling and photography out there.  I love being out in the mountains and in nature.  I love doing photography and videography out there.  It's so peaceful and nice.  I'm hoping to get contract work or a full time job out there so I can support my girlfriend and I.  We both want to travel and we both love being out in nature.  I'm hoping it works out for both of us.

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.

I don't really...

...upload photos or videos shot with my Apple iPhone 8 Plus to the various photo agencies.  I've only sold maybe 5 or 6 cell phone shots.  Cell phone camera are just not there yet.  The sensors are so small, the image quality isn't there yet.  Not when compared to real cameras like the Sony A7R III which shoots at 42.4MP.  But the cell phone is so convenient.  You take it with you everywhere.  It's just very convenient.

Another precarious day with the DJI Spark

Decided to go fly the drone after work today.  I went to Almonte, Ontario today as I wanted arial pictures and footage of the falls.  I setup and started the drone, connected with my Remote controller and started a flight.  Within a second of me taking off, the battery popped off the drone.  I had thought again that that I lost the drone or at least severely damaged it as it fell at least 15 feet onto some rocks.  The battery was easy to get.  Just climbed over the wall and got the battery within 30 seconds. The drone wasn't easy to get.  Had to climb down rocks to the base of the waterfalls.  The rocks were slippery from the spray from the falls.  There was a lot of moss which did not help.  Luckily I was able to retrieve the drone.  It took about half an hour to retrieve the drone.

Luckily the only damage to the drone was to one of the propellors which were easily replaced.  I decided to fly again and the drone started to act weird.  When I tried to land it, it literally took off on my climbing up at least 30 metres.  I luckily got control of the drone and brought it back down.  It would not land at all.  I literally had to grab it by the underside of the drone and remove the battery from the drone to get it to stop. 

After this debacle I wanted to just go home and not fly the drone again as I feared losing a second drone within a month.  But I gave the drone a second chance and flew it out maybe 25 metres and just started taking shots and video.  Luckily the DJI Spark did not act up.  I got what I wanted and I just left.  Luckily the only damage to the drone was the rear left propellors had to be replaced which was easily done.  

Playing around with the DJI Spark

Shot a few clips with the DJI Spark on Tuesday.  The DJI GO 4 app processed and stitched my clips into a short video and added music.  Seems to be a cool little app.  Hope you enjoy the short video.  Most of the photos and videos have been accepted on the stock agencies I deal with.  Just waiting for a few to be approved on them.  They should be up there in a few days or so.

I do love drone photography

I only have the DJI Spark.  I'm planning on upgrading my drone to a DJI Mavic Pro 2 in the spring.  The Spark only shoots in JPEG which limits my editing in Serif' Affinity Photo.  The problems with the DJI Spark is the flight time.  I have 3 batteries and I can only get about 12 minutes per battery in flight time.  So I'm limited to about 36 minutes per location.  There is no RAW file format for photography as well.  I like to shoot video at 1080p/60fps.  The DJI Spark is limited to 1080p/30fps.  The distance also sucks.  Since I lost my first DJI Spark due to connection issues, I won't fly it more than 300 meters away from me.  With the above shot I was over the Ottawa River which really isn't a bright idea since I'd lose the drone in water if it were to lose power or if I lost connection.  I've had my second drone for about 6 weeks now and I haven't lost connection to it which is good.  I am still hesitant to fly it great distance or in an obstructed area where I lose sight of it or where I have a chance of losing connection.  I do want a drone with a bigger battery and longer flight time.  Also I want to shoot in RAW mode and I want to have an option of shooting in 4k.  Next year I want to go to Prague with my girlfriend.  I already have good cameras and a good camcorder.  I want to have a better drone for those arial shots.  I am currently saving all my photography money for a Sony RX100 Mark IV.  I am planning on getting the DJI Mavic Pro 2 with my tax return.  We shall see, the shall see.

And I thought October would be a good month

And I thought October would be a good month on Shutterstock.  3 videos sold in a span of 2 days and now we're back to one or two photos a day at just thirty six cents a day.  Luckily the month isn't over yet and isn't even a third of the way done.  I hope that I sell a few more clips on Shutterstock and a few more on Pond5 and Videoblocks.

After work I took my drone out to fly for about half an hour.  Got the footage and shots I wanted.  It was actually a pretty good day today to take photos and videos.  It was very foggy this morning and I got a few shots I wanted including the parliament buildings in the fog.  I just have to edit and upload them to my three favourite micro stock sites tonight so they'll be available for sale in the next few days.  

On a side note, I'll be going back to my previous employer starting next week to finish off a contract. I honestly do not like working where I am right now.  The red tape is just amazing there.  You can't fart without having a meeting about it.  

The girlfriend and I will be moving at the end of the month and saving up money.  April 2019 our plan is to move out of Ottawa.  Neither of us speak French so getting a descent job is out of the question.  Last year, I was in Calgary on a contract and I fell in love with the Rocky Mountains.  I think our plan is to either move to Calgary or Kingston, Ontario.  I prefer Calgary as there is hardly any French out there and the mountains are 45 minutes from the city.

So if anyone needs a full time photographer and you pay well, let me know.  ;)