I am finally doing it.

I've got my big 2015 Apple iMac formatted and at some point later this week, I'll format my early 2013 MacBook Pro and bring both to the Bayshore Apple store and get some credit for both computers to get my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I'm only going to get the 512GB model as I have two external hard drives that I can use to back up my photos and footage.  There is a small device you can buy online that can be used with the iPad to attach external hard drives to backup my photos and footage.  

I am so excited.  I need to upgrade my computer equipment.  When I get my tax return in March I will buy my Sony RX100 Mark VI.  My Sony RX10 Mark II is a fantastic camera that I am using right now.  I just want the Sony RX100 Mark VI as a backup camera or main camera when I'm going downtown to photograph street life.

I cannot wait for 2019 to come.  I think there will be a lot of new and exciting changes next year.

Need some photos, footage or some illustrations?

If your website needs some professionally shot photos, footage or some other art work, you can purchase it here at Shutterstock.  I've been a contributor for almost 5 years now and if I needed something for my website or YouTube channel, I'd buy it at Shutterstock.  Shutterstock offers affordable plans from a small blog to a multinational corporation.

Another great place to get photos and footage is Pond5.  I prefer both Pond5 and Shutterstock as they are both great sites for both the contributor and the customer with fantastic support and fantastic photos, footage and illustrations for any kind of website or documentary.  Please stop by and purchase something during the Christmas season.

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.

I actually have a day...

...to myself.  Girlfriend is gone out with friends so I have the day to myself where I can do what I want and where I want.  I just finished breakfast and I think it's time to go buy a new vehicle.  I've been wanting a Jeep Rubicon for about the past year.  I've been driving a 2015 Hyundai Elantra and I can't stand the car anymore.  I just need a bigger vehicle.  Since I'll be moving out west in early next year, you need a bigger vehicle out west.

I also bought a new laptop.  It's a Windows 10 based laptop.  I'll be using it a backup to my new 2018 iPad Pro whenever I buy that.  I still don't trust that an iPad can be total desktop replacement.  Apple laptops now are way too expensive for what they are.  You cannot even replace or upgrade any parts so bye bye Apple laptops.  I'll be selling my early 2013 Apple MacBook Pro and my late 2015 Apple iMac at some point this year.  Well, whenever I get my new Windows 10 laptop.  I plan on upgrading the hard drives and adding more RAM to the new laptop.

Time to go get a new vehicle.

Head west middle aged man!!!!

I have pretty much made up my mind to head out west in the spring of 2019.  I've been living in Ottawa since 1983 I absolutely despise living here.  The winters are harsh and the summers are short. I realize it's pretty much the same in Calgary weather wise.  Ottawa is located in eastern Ontario in a valley that spreads pretty far and wide.  So you get damp winters with lots of snow and a lot of rain in the summer which turn out to be hot and muggy.

When I was in Calgary last year, I loved it from the start.  I could see the mountains whenever I wanted.  They were a 45 minute drive.  I'd spend every weekend travelling the mountains exploring what I could.  Photography and shooting footage was an incredible experience.  

I did not make any friends when I was out in Calgary as I was basically working all the time and travelling on weekends.  If I was at home, I'd be FaceTiming with my girlfriend.  I wasn't going to the gym then as I am right now.

I am planning on going to Calgary in late March 2019 or early April 2019.  Hopefully I will have a job in Calgary by then.  I hope the NDP is out of power by then so the economy will pick up and people can start working again.  My plans are to work, work out and get healthy and do more photography and shoot more footage.  That would make me really happy.

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.

2018 Apple iPad as a computer replacement

So I'm 100% sure I'll be replacing my early 2013 MacBook Pro and late 2015 Apple iMac with a 2018 Apple iPad Pro later next year.  Considering I only write this blog, visit a few websites, edit photos and videos on my laptop and PC, I'm pretty sure the 2018 Apple iPad can handle all of my needs.  I visit maybe 10 websites that I can use Safari on.  I'll need an FTP client upload my videos and photos to sites like Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.

I want to get the 12.9" with the 1TB HD and the 6GB of RAM model.  Go big or go home as they say.  I don't who "they" are but "they" are right.  From the benchmarks that I've been seeing on Youtube videos, the 12.9" iPad outperforms both of my computers by a huge margin.  The only thing I'm worried about is space because I do shoot a lot of photos and videos.  I'm sure I can find a work around to upload my raw files to an external hard drive.  Apple will have to give the iPad some support for external hard drives.  I can use the Apple Pencil 2 as a mouse.  iOS still has to be upgraded to access a better file system.

I will also be using an Apple iPhone for the foreseeable future.  As much as I like Android phones, the Apple ecosystem is much better.  I find the apps in the Apple ecosystem are much better built and provide much more enjoyment and entertainment.  Youtube, Netflix are my go to media consumption apps.  I use a few astronomy apps such as Star Walk 2, PolarAlign, Solar Walk to name a few.  There are a few apps I would like to get once I buy the iPad such as Affinity Photo for the iPad and Luma Fusio to edit my footage to upload to my micro stock sites.  

All in all I think I'll get the Apple iPad in March of 2019 once I get enough money saved up.

One more month to go

So we have just one month to go in 2018.  I am looking forward to 2019 and see what the year holds for myself and my girlfriend.  My current contract will probably end at the end of February.  I really don't want to be in Ottawa or Ontario in April.  So we are looking for jobs out west. 

On another note, going to the gym has its benefits.  I feel stronger and healthier.  I have more energy and I actually look forward to going to the gym.  I haven't weighed myself but I probably have gained weight due to increased muscle mass.

On the photography and footage side of things, November sucked.  I sold one video on Pond5, nothing on Storyblocks and barely made payout on Shutterstock.  I think 2019 should be better.  At least I hope it is.  This year has been a disappointment in the way of photography and footage sales.  I haven't sold $1000 worth of photographs or footage on Shutterstock yet.  I really need to start going back to Parc Omega more often to get more footage and photographs.  I really do enjoy it there.  I haven't taken a day off of work since I started this contract back in March of this year mainly because I've been the only tech here.

I've still been saving for the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  Instead of getting the DJI Mavic Pro 2 with my tax return money, I've decided to get the 2018 iPad Pro with the 1TB of hard drive space.  I am going to sell my 2015 Apple iMac and just keep the 2013 Apple MacBook Pro until I can make sure I can fully do my photography and footage business on the 2018 Apple iPad.  I think it might take me a month or two to get used to just working on the Apple iPad.  I do wish Apple will upgrade iOS so it's more of a competitive operating system.

I just want to use my Sony RX10 Mark II, Sony RX100 Mark VI, Canon Vixia HF G40 and the Apple iPad Pro for my photography business.

Finally getting some help at work. Maybe!

It's been a month and half since I came back to my employer.  I was supposed to get some help a month ago but that didn't pan out.  Then I was supposed to get some help two weeks ago.  That din't pan out either.  Then I was supposed to get some help this week.  I was supposed to get help this week but that is not happening.  Again.  I.T. is becoming a total crap show.  Working for government is a waste.  So much red tape, they have meetings about meetings about meetings.  People are so oblivious of what's happening inside the government, they're too blind to see it or wilfully ignorant of the facts.  It has gotten worse since the election of twinkle toes back in 2015.  

I want to start and run a streamlined and transparent photography business.  I haven't shot a wedding in years.  I try and stay away from weddings.  I'm thinking of running a travel photography type business.  Of course there are positive and negatives to that.  

I am getting really tired.  I haven't been on a vacation in months.  I haven't taken a day off in months because I'm the only guy here working.  I haven't gotten help in the last 6 weeks.  It's pretty much all on me here and I'm making mistakes because I'm being pulled in different directions.  I just need a few days off and recoup.  I want to do what I enjoy and do some photography.

Wow!!!! Just wow!!!!

So the day is pretty much over and I've finally sold three photos on Shutterstock.  Not a one footage sale yet for the month.  I'm hoping I sell at least one clip this week.  I need to sell $2.42 to make payout this month.  I have till Friday to do that.  I'm still saving money for a Sony RX100 Mark VI point and shoot camera.

I'm thinking more and more of just ditching my early 2013 MacBook Pro and my late 2015 Apple iMac desktop computer and just going with a 2018 Apple 12.9" iPad Pro with the 1TB hard drive.  It would seem to meet all my needs for photos and footage editing.  I want to try and do a video blog on YouTube.  I can use my Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder to shoot footage.  I can use my Sony RX10 Mark II for photos.  I want the Sony RX100 Mark VI to shoot incognito while in the city as it's a pocket sized camera.  I'm not really a people photographer but it would be good for editorial photography.  

In April 2019, I want to end up in Calgary, Alberta.  I really enjoyed myself out there in the mountains.  I've been in Ottawa since 1983 and while I've had a good time and grew up here, I think it's time to just move on and explore another part of the country.  I've been doing this contract since April of this year and for more than half of it, I've been doing it myself.  I think I need a break from the I.T. field.  I do love and enjoy photography a lot more.  It's a lot more fun and interesting

This is a drought!!!!!!

I've sold one photo.  One photo in the last 4 days.  One photo on Canstockphoto.com.  Nothing on Shutterstock.  I realize it's Thanksgiving weekend in the States but I haven't sold anything in Europe or Asia or the rest of the world on Shutterstock.  Nothing.  Bupkiss.  Nadda.  I haven't had a rut like this in years.  I was hoping to buy the Sony RX100 Mark VI in March.  But if it keeps going like this, I may never get a chance to buy it with photography money.  It looks like I may not even make the payout threshold on Shutterstock.  I have to sell a whopping $3.50 by Friday to make payout.  I have not sold any footage at all this month on Shutterstock.  51 of my 55 sales on Shutterstock have been $0.36 sales which is just awful.  

I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  It looks to be an amazing piece of hardware.  I don't think iOS is close to being a world class replacement operating system.  It needs a proper file system, external hard drive support and mouse support.  If it gets those things in iOS 13 thru iOS 15, then you will see a lot of people ditching their laptops for a tablet.  

I really, really have to do more photography.  With short days though and the location where I work at in the city, I don't have the time or place to go out and do some photography during the day or on my lunch hour.  I have to do it on the weekends.  Or do some night photography after work.  Looks like we're going to have some warmish type weather during the week.  So it might be a possibility.

The way I look at photography

Photography for me is not a job.  It's not a career.  It is not a hobby.  It is not for making money.  It is like heaven for me.  I am outdoors in nature photographing the beauty of the universe, the beauty of what was created for us to live in.  Photography tells a story that cannot be told again.  You cannot recreate a photograph exactly.  In nature shadows change, colours change and the light is different.  You can try and attempt to recreate a photography exactly but you will fail each and every single time.  

Today is Black Friday in the States.  The "holiday" migrated to Canada as well.  I have not sold anything since Wednesday.  Nothing yesterday on American Thanksgiving and nothing yet as of today.  I had eggs for lunch and I'm still hungry.  I might just go grab a snack at some point before my deployment at 1pm. I'm trying to write some more blog posts during the day.

It has been really cold here in Ottawa the last two days.  In the low minus teens and minus twenties celsius.  Needless to say I haven't touched the camera in a while which I am missing badly.  We've been going to the gym a lot over the past several weeks.  I'm also trying to save my photography money to upgrade some of my camera equipment.  I still want to purchase the Sony RX100 Mark VI before March 31, 2019 so I can use it on the way when we move to Calgary in April of next year. I think I can use the Sony RX10 Mark II with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  They are both fantastic cameras.  When we move to Calgary next year, I want to do a lot more landscape photography.  I've done a lot of wildlife photography at Parc Omega since 2010.  In the Rocky Mountains I can actually get real wild life like black bears, mountain goats, some wild bobcats etc.

I am hoping photography sales pick up next week.  I want to get my Sony RX100 Mark VI soon.  

November has been a bad month

Typically I'd make payout by now on Shutterstock.  But I've only sold 55 photos this month and no footage clips.  I've sold one clip this month on Pond5 for a hair under $130.  But that's it.  I've only made $31.50 on Shutterstock so far this month.  If I miss payout, it'll be the second time this year I haven't made a payout of $35.  I haven't sold anything on Storyblocks in months.  Probably April of this year.  They've increased their prices and payouts and maybe that drove customers away.  Plus I've Googled Storyblocks online and there are some not so good reviews out there.

I've been asked to join OnePixel but they sell all their photos for $1.  So I would probably get maybe $0.25 to $0.30 a shot which is insulting.  At least on Shutterstock I have the chance to make $120 per shot and video.  On Pond5 I get to set my prices and I've been pretty consistent at $199 per clip and photo.  I've sold a few videos at that price and higher depending on the licensing deal.

I've been so busy these past few weeks that I haven't even had a chance to touch my camera or camcorder let alone open up my Affinity Photo book.  That has to change.  I have to set my priorities again.  I usually get home now between 7pm and 8pm.  Before I even sit down it's past 8:30pm and I'm just exhausted from the day.  I have to reprioritize my goals.  I have to go to the gym and I have to study.  

I was looking at some classes for the winter session at Algonquin College.  They have nothing computer related and if they do, they want an exorbitant amount of money for the course.  Plus I don't think I want anything to do with the I.T. industry after my contract is done here with CMHC.  

Like I've said before, I'll be making a few life changes over the next few months as far as relationships and careers go.  I have to make myself happy first.  I can't be making everybody be happy and me ending up being miserable.  I have to move out west to Calgary.  I can't stand living in Ottawa anymore.  When I woke up this morning and got ready to go to work it was minus twenty degrees celsius outside.  One of my goals is to end up being in the United States.  I want to start a Youtube photography channel and do that full time.  I've been stuck in a basement since April of this year imaging and deploying computers.  I don't get to see the sunshine.  I don't have any windows.  It's depressing.

Google doesn't pay that well with the blogger thing.  I've made less then ten dollars doing this.  I know my blog isn't the biggest or the best.  But I am trying.  I'm fighting for success.

Follow your dreams

I should have followed my dreams when I was a teenager.  I should have gone into photography when I finished high school and gone into college.  I hated accounting.  I hate I.T now.  I should have followed my dreams when I was younger.  I got my first camera when I was probably around 12 or so.  It was a Minolta film camera.  Back then there was no digital photography like it is now.  Now you carry around a phone that does basically everything for you.  It shoots photos and footage.  You can immediately upload those clips and pictures to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube.  Back when I was a kid in the 80's or early 90's, we had no cell phones, or computers or the internet.  Today, I sell my photography all around the world.  My images have been used in books, on news websites and countless blogs.

I've been doing I.T. for 17 years now.  I'm not getting anywhere and I'm not satisfied.  My life feels empty.  The only thing that makes me happy is when I'm out in nature with my camera and camcorder.  And my girlfriend of course.  I hate being stuck in an office sitting behind a computer all day.  I feel really, really unproductive.  I enjoy shooting photos and footage and then editing them on the computer or an iPad.  I like when someone buys one of my photos or clips and uses it in their work.  I can't really be creative in the I.T. field.  Unless I'm a programmer which I'm not.

Back in my teen years and early twenties I was and still am good with numbers.  That's why I was pretty much forced to go into accounting.  I had one boss where I worked that totally turned me off of accounting.  She was a real bitch to put it nicely.  Then late 90's rolled around and computers were all the rage with the doomsday bug.   The world was supposed to end at midnight on December 31, 1999.  It didn't.  We're still here.

The only constant for me was a love for photography.  Only photography.  I started doing photography with a passion around 2006/2007.  I bought my first digital camera which had a two megapixel sensor on it.  Then I upgraded to a 5MP sensor.  Then an 8MP.  Now I shoot with 20.1MP sensors which is enough for what I do.  In 2015 I started shooting footage clips on a whim.  I uploaded a short clip of a coyote in a fall scene.  That sold within a few weeks of me uploading it for $120US.  That got me hooked.  Now I just do photos and footage.  I have a YouTube channel that I don't use.  I hate appearing on camera.  I think once I lose some weight, I'll be more comfortable being on camera.  Till then, not so much.

The next couple of months will be very important for me as I try to change my career path and life.  I want to get back to a minimalist type of photography.  Just travel around with a Sony RX10 Mark II, a Sony RX100 Mark VI, the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder and an iPad.  I think I can shoot all my footage on those cameras and edit everything with a 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  I just wish the Apple iPad Pro had a better file system and mouse support.  Although I think you can do pretty much everything with the Apple Pencil 2.

Going computerless

So I just watched an interesting video on YouTube.  It's a video by Unbox Therapy about ditching your computing hardware for an Apple iPad Pro.  Granted I don't do much on my 2015 Apple iMac or my 2013 MacBook Pro that I can't do on an iPad.  I just edit my photography and footage that I shoot for my photography business.  I can write and edit any document on an iPad with Apple Pages. I can do spreadsheets with Apple Numbers.  I use Apple Safari for my blog.  I can edit my photography with Affinity Photo.  I can edit my footage with iMovie.  I honestly don't need Final Cut Pro X on my laptop.  Right now all I shoot is 5-60 second clips and edit them for stability and shakiness and a bit of noise reduction.  

All I would really need is an SD card dongle to transfer in my footage and photos.  I would probably get the maxed out Apple iPad Pro with the 1TB storage option.  I'd get the Apple Pencil 2 and the keyboard to type and to protect the screen.  I think the Apple iPad Pro would just add to my minimalist life style that I am aiming for.  One of the failures of iOS is the lack of support for external hard drives.  I'd like to export my photos and footage to an external hard drive and use an FTP client to upload my files to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.  But I think with the 1TB storage hard drive, it would take me a while to fill that up.  I'd eventually clean up the hard drive by getting rid of old and unnecessary footage.  I recently lost my 6TB hard drive storing my footage.  The hard drive just failed on me.  I pay about $1.50 a month for 50GB of storage with Apple so I can store unique footage and photos there.

I think the Apple iPad Pro is 90% of a laptop right now.  If I could just attach a USB-C hard drive to it and export my footage and photos to it, it would meet all of my needs.  Also, mouse support would be fantastic.  The Apple iPad Pro does have Bluetooth support so you should be able to pair if with the Apple mouse.  The file system in iOS should also be changed to support drop and drag functionality. 

The Apple iPad Pro can run Affinity Photo for my photo editing and iMovie for my footage editing.  With the recent Apple iPad, you can run Adobe Photoshop on the Apple iPad Pro.  So the software and hardware is getting there.  It's close.  It's not there yet though.