Looks like...

...Shutterstock is picking up.  Although sales are still down 25%-50% they could be worse.  What's saving me is video sales.

Two video sales, one late last night and one really early this morning actually put me over the $5,000.00 earnings mark.  I'm averaging about $1,250 a year in sales right now.  I started in May 2014 where I earned only $5 to $20 a month for the first year.  So that average is probably higher.  I'd say around $2,000 a year.  I am starting this month to actually save my photography earnings to buy a new camera.  I want to buy the new Sony RX200 Mark IV point and shoot.  I want to buy the Sony RX100 Mark IV just because of its size and the fact that it now boasts a f2.8-4.5 24-200MM lens.  It's a perfect little travel camera that shoots awesome 1080p and 4k video.  Plus the picture quality is outstanding.  Next year I want to get into doing some astrophotography so I also want to purchase an entry level DSLR like a Canon Rebel T7i or if they bring out a new T8i, I'd buy that.  I already have a telescope and a tracking mount so I just need the body.

This heat wave!!!

This heat wave we've had for the past month has to break at some point.  29 degrees Celsius not including the damn humidity.  Haven't slept well for the past 3 days.  I want to get out and do some more photography.  I've been only using my Apple iPhone 8 Plus for some random shots in the past couple of weeks.  Luckily it looks like sales are picking up on Shutterstock.  Pond5 and Videoblocks have been totally dead the last few months.  Hope they both pick up soon.

 

On another note, fall is coming and I'll be heading out to Algonquin Park and Parc Omega more often in the coming weeks.  I love those two places.

FInally, I see ads!!!!

Well it took forever but I got all my Google accounts cleaned up.  Closed a myriad of accounts and services.  Forwarding my domain to the blogger site.  Correctly setup Google Adsense on the blog.  Correctly set up Google Adsense account, Google Analytics etc and for the first time, the website is able to display ads on my own, personal website.

From now on I hope to post daily or every other day and raise traffic to the site and all my various photo and video portfolios so that I can expand my photography business.  I live and breathe photography.  I am constantly thinking of what I want to photograph next.  It's an amazing hobby that gets you out into your city and local nature around the area you live in.  It's a great experience to explore and capture memories.

It's been a while

Well 2017 is here and what a year.  Got a new girl in my life, work is going well and finally doing more photography.  Finally.  Busy, busy, busy.

Junior Egret at Mud Lake

Today was a fantastic day in Ottawa.  We're having great weather on the weekends.  Sunny and warm.  I on occasion go to Mud lake in Ottawa to do some photography since there is a variation of birds at the lake from Owls to Great Blue Herons and egrets to chickadees, nuthatches and robins.   WIth the shallow waters this year, you can get to places that you couldn't before.  This junior egret has been hanging around for the past several weeks.  I've managed to get some really good photos and video of this amazing bird.  He is not skittish or shy around humans and will completely ignore you.  Which is good for us photographers.  :)