Dandelion

Something for Carly's Photo a Day

Floral Abstraction

My friend Carly is doing a photo a day for the next 6 months and is looking for photographers to join her.  I would love to do this but I know myself well enough to know that I fall off the wagon pretty quick.  However, I told Carly that I'd really try to post at least a couple of times a week.  The idea is to be committed to picking up a camera at least once a day for practice.  I learned recently that it is conventional wisdom that it takes at least 10,000 hours to truly master a skill.  I guess I still have quite a way to go!

This image was inspired by a talk I heard yesterday.  I attended a meeting for nature and wildlife photographers on Long Island.  We had a speaker who has made a number of visits to Giverny and Monet's Garden and talked about "painting" with her camera.  This is not a new concept by any means but it does take practice to learn to manipulate depth of field to achieve a painterly effect.  I've played with this technique quite a lot, but it's something that' I keep in the back of my mind.  Seeing the speaker's images last night really inspired me to get out and make the most of the spring blooms and all their color.

This image is straight out of the camera with the exception of resizing and border.  I made many, many images today and there are very few that resulted in this level of abstraction.  But I really like this!  I'm tempted to play around with filters and effects and texture layers...and I very well may.  I just need to find a few more hours in the day.

I'll probably stay with this type of work at least while I have spring blooms for subjects.  I'd love to know what you think!

Flowers For Steven

This week, the Round Robin Photo Challenge is dedicated to Steven....a founding member of Round Robin, a fantastic photographer and author of (sometimes) photoblog.  I "met" Steven way back in the early days of AOL journals.  His photography centered around the same types of subjects I love most....macro work in nature, flowers, reptiles as well as his beloved cat Pickles.

I will have to thank Steven for helping me gain confidence as a photographer.  He was a regular visitor to my blog as I was just getting the courage to post my images and he was always very supportive and encouraging.  And his blog certainly served as a great source of inspiration.

We all lost track of Steven a couple of years ago.  He had decided to take a blogging break.  It has now been learned that Steven passed away on October 10, 2009.  I know many of us who shared Steven's passion for photography and had the good fortune to know him feel his loss with a very heavy heart.

Round Robins are paying tribute to Steven this week with flowers.  Wherever you are Steven, I hope you know how much you are loved and missed.




Please visit the linking list here and help us remember our friend.

Steven's Flickr Photostream can be found here.

Travel Plans

I've got some pretty big travel plans in the works for later in the month.  Some is somewhat business related and some is just for fun.  There's going to be lots of photography involved.

I'll be heading down to Florida for an extended stay as of April 18.  The very short version of a long story is....I've got a photographers credential for a 3 day music festival.  I'm very, VERY excited about this opportunity!  For several years I've been photographing Bruce Hornsby and his band at concerts I attend.  Bruce is playing at the Wanee Festival but this time I also get the chance to shoot the entire lineup of the event.  I was stunned that the pass came through and can't wait to add bands like Hot Tuna, The Allman Brothers, and Furthur to my portfolio.  A dear friend of mine who works festivals lined it up and we are traveling to Florida together.  This is not a paid gig but it is a chance to do some networking, expand my portfolio and there's always the possibility that I will be able to sell some of the images back to these bands.  It will be three long (but FUN) days....with many days of editing to follow.  I can't wait.

The festival is being held about and hour and a half from Jacksonville where all my family now lives.  I thought I should extend my time down south to visit with my mom and my siblings.  Then I realized that the Florida Birding & Photo Festival is the following weekend.  I attended this event three years ago, had a great time, learned a lot and came back with some images I was delighted with.  So why not stay just a little bit longer and enjoy the opportunity to immerse myself in nature and bird photography??  No reason, I guess....
:)

I've got a ton of things I want to wrap my arms around here before I go so that when I come back, it's all about getting down to business.  I met with the Small Business Development Center counselor yesterday and I'm pretty clear on what I need to do.  I've got some gear coming in....everything I need for my portable studio.  I'm rebuilding my website to put stronger emphasis on the focus of the business and soon I will be setting up a new blog specifically for business related topics and communication.  I think the most overwhelming thing I need to consider right now is products.  Once I take the pictures,  I need products to offer the clients.  At the trade show, I picked up tons (too much) literature on products.  Now I need to wade through it all, make decisions on what I want to offer (what I think I can sell), and get some samples ordered.  It's going to be busy around here until I head off to the Sunshine State.

Katherine Fisher Photography update

It's slow going but I'm taking steps to getting this business launched.  Last week I did the official paperwork with the county and opened my bank account then  I spent the weekend in NJ at a Professional Photographers conference.  I'm very happy that I decided to make an investment in attending the event. I didn't meet a TON of people, but I met a few and got linked up with a women's networking group on facebook for members in the NY/NJ area.  So I feel like I have somewhere to turn with questions or when I need a little support.

I learned a lot about lighting and got my mind set on what equipment I want to pick up to get going.  I've figured out what I need to put together a functional yet portable studio.  I do not want to have clients here at my house....there are all sorts of liability issues there.  But I do want to be able to produce images that qualify as portraits....not just decent snapshots.

I was a little insecure, being that I am a real newbie to the industry.  Most people there have been shooting professionally for years.  I felt a need to be apologetic each time I introduced myself admitting I was just getting started.  But people were encouraging, especially when I expressed my interest in specializing in pets.  EVERYONE I talked to said it's an great way to go IF I really like animals and have the patience to work with them.  Many photographers don't like the fact that they can't be directed.  It set things more solidly in my mind that this is the direction I want to go.  A bonus in one of the workshops I attended was a video showing how the instructor dealt with pets in his studio.  It was very enlightening and feel much more confident after seeing his approach.  I really think I can do this!

There was a lot of emphasis put on incorporating video into your marketing strategy using an online service called Animoto.  I would have never consider this without seeing the impact of the videos the instructors shared.  The service couldn't be easier to use and the product is pretty cool.  Here's a little video I put together using images and clips I have...it will most likely become the introductory centerpiece of my business site.

Photo Art Friday 3/9

I'm a couple of days late posting for Photo Art Friday but it looks like the links are still open...

I started playing around with one of the portraits I took of my dog Indie.  I posted the originals in my previous post.  This image was taken with my DSLR but I imported it to my iPad to use  a few of the digital art apps I have there.  From there, it came back to my laptop and photoshop for some further adjustments and effects.  I love the original, but I'm continuously amazed at where the software can take you.

Biz Update 3/8

I'm slowly making strides to launching my photography business. Yes, the research and studies continue, but I'm seeing that I could procrastinate real action in lieu of study indefinitely. So this week, I've taken a few baby steps forward.

I have no formal business plan as of yet but I have lots of notes (on paper) and I am getting a vision of what is possible, what is manageable, and what my ultimate goals are. I also have a feel for what my initial investment needs to be, both in terms of money and time. So, armed with this skeleton of a plan, I finally discussed it with my husband. He was good....he managed to listen more than talk and advise, and I came away feeling like I have the support I need from him. That was a big hurdle for me and I'm feeling good that it's behind me.

On advice from my wonderful blog friend Monica, I joined the Professional Photographers Association as an "aspiring photographer". It's essentially a junior membership that's discounted yet comes with most of the full membership benefits. I learned off the bat that there is a weekend long conference in New Jersey at the end of this month. After studying the schedule, I registered for this event. There I will be able to take advantage of sessions on children's photography, portraiture, photoshop techniques, lighting, and internet marketing. I'll also get to visit the vendor floor, learn about product options and get accounts established. I'm hoping to come away much more prepared to schedule my first sessions for portfolio building purposes. I see myself actually opening to business no later than the end of April.

I've looked into my local resources for small business information. Turns out, there is help available for small businesses at the university that's right in my back yard. I'm planning to call them today to see what they can offer and make an appointment for a consult. A mentor would be a godsend.

In the interim, I enrolled in an online class on pet photography which began this week. Pets (dogs in particular) are a niche that I think would be a great fit for me. Clearly, there are unique challenges to this genre. The first assignment was to photograph your own pet in varying ambient light situations. My dog Indie is VERY camera shy. It doesn't matter if it's my DSLR or an iPhone...his tendency is to run from the camera. So, it's been a challenge to get him to cooperate as my model. Many treats later, I think it's finally starting to click that the camera can be his friend. These are the photos that I've posted for the assignment.








Next week, we'll be getting into adding and manipulating the light for more of a studio look. We're also supposed to photograph the pet of a neighbor or friend. I've got someone lined up with four small dogs to be my subjects....so it begins!

I'll admit, I've had moments of severe hesitation over the last few weeks. Am I out of my mind? Especially in light of the instability of our situation, with my husband's lack of a job...I sometimes question the timing of taking this step. But I've decided to approach it from a learning perspective. Regardless of what happens or where I end up going...what I learn, my experience and my portfolio go with me.