This week I am the featured photographer on the large Flickr group called “The World Through My Eyes”. I really want to send out a big thank you to all the admins over there, they do a fabulous job! I’ve been a long time member at TWTME and I would suggest to all of you that use Flickr to check it out, it really is an outstanding group. The admin’s also run several blogs for the group and next week my interview will be on the “The World Through My Eyes: Featured Photographer” blog. This group is for all skill level photographers, so see you there!
For those of us that live on the rim of the north Pacific Tuesday was the lowest tide of the year. The extreme low tides are a very exciting event for nature photographers because a lot of critters that are usually under water are out of it. I spent the 2 hours of extreme low tide at Larabe State park which is close to Mt. Vernon Washington. There were many interesting things to photograph including the techi color purple star fish, Rock and Dungeness crab, and a variety of other sea life. I’m going to work up a blog post on a New York Times article that is rather disturbing to copyright holders, but until then here is some shots from the low tide shoot that should hold you over!
Something I have seen time and again is new photographers charging ridiculously low prices for their work. I have seen veteran professional photographers gripe about this issue but there is little in the way of understanding the why of it. The first thing that needs to be looked at is how many people have decided to turn their hobby into a business but have little understanding of business. This is an issue seen throughout creative fields; not just photography.
Artists are famous for not having a lot of business sense, they may have great talent but they don’t know how to sell it. Part of the reason is that many artists and hobbyist come from a lower income level but our patrons often come from higher income levels; this causes a huge disconnect. Many artistic people that are new to the industry can’t imagine paying $500 for an 8×10 photo. Aspiring photographers price their work at what they would be willing to pay for a photo and that is why you see so many $25 prints. It just doesn’t occur to them to charge more; that is for the mythical famous photographers out there, not them.
Confidence also plays a role in this; many feel they are to new, unknown, and they were going to take the photo anyway so why charge much for it. Here is the problem with that thinking:
You’re not fully realizing the costs to produce a photo.
I find many up and coming photographers think only about the actual photo itself, not all the work and time it takes to get the end product. Things like gas, electricity, wear and tear on equipment, insurance, and editing time are often left out of their equation. Start tracking how much time you put into your photography and then divide how much money you have brought in to get your hourly wage. If you’re not making a decent living wage you are not charging enough. You have a right to make a living wage off your work.
If you are guilty of any of the points I have made with this post do some research. There are tons of helpful books and blogs from photographers that make a living at photography. Learn from them and see if you can get a job assisting a professional out in the field. Their experiences can help you be successful.
This is a cautionary tale that people in the creative world should heed. Big business can afford to pay for your work, and don’t let them tell you otherwise. Our tale starts with a corporation that made 1.4 billion in profit last year; yes billion. Google contacted several illustrators because they wanted to make some skins for Google Chrome out of some great artwork. That is all well and good, Google could be a good client; or so you would think. When these illustrators replied to Google to find out the terms and the pay scale they were told that Google wanted them to work for free. That’s right Google didn’t want to pay for any of the art work, they felt the artist should be thrilled that their name would be attached to the drawing and nothing more. Gary Taxali illustrated a prefect reply to Google’s offer; he drew them a one finger salute!
There are a lot of people that want to get recognized in the art industry and they think having their name on a Google skin will help their career; sadly it will not help you at all. Google is playing to a fault many artists have, our vanity. Many artists feel very privileged that a big corporation like Google would pick them. Those are the people that big business is looking for to take advantage of. See having your name on a Google skin or other corporate product (that you gave away for free) doesn’t help you make money, it actually hurts your chances of becoming profitable. It announces to other business’ that you will work for free; see if you gave it to Google for free why should they pay you? If you are just starting out you must demand payment, some will refuse and move on, and others will fork over compensation for your hard work. Don’t fall for their standard line of “we don’t’ have a budget to pay you” or another favorite “you’ll get lots of visibility”. You need to keep a good head for business if you plan to have your creative talent pay the bills. At 1.4 billion in profit I think Google can afford to pay you, and so can all the rest of big business.
I have been looking at a variety of photographer websites lately as new photographers enter my radar. Some of these photographers show a lot of talent and have the potential to go somewhere in the industry. The one thing though that is seriously holding them back is their websites. Now I’m not a great web designer and I don’t require a lot from a website. What I do have knowledge in is business and marketing.
One of the things I have noticed many photographers skipping is “about” pages. It is absolutely vital you have an about /bio page on your website. The internet is vast and there are thousands of photographers with sites people are searching through. Your about page is the world’s introduction to you; who are you? What are your skills, what is your style, and why should I take you seriously as a photographer when there are so many out there? You need to have an about page so the people can get to know you, this also applies to you photog’s with accounts at sites like Flickr; you need to fill out that profile. Your blogs should also have an about page that is highly visable.
Another aspect I see many photographers lacking is a good contact page. Your website is your online business front. People need to feel like you’re a real person and they also need to know how to contact you in a variety of ways outside of email; just like if you had a physical store front. Putting nothing but an email on your website keeps your potential clients really disconnected from you. Example: Someone is looking for a portrait photographer; they come across your site and like your images! They look at your contact page and see only an email. That potential client is most likely to move on because they don’t even know where in the world you are located. That is not good business!
Fonts people, let’s talk about the text. For starters your text should be readable by people that are visually impaired; they also can be potential clients but will pass you buy if they can’t read your site. Your font should not be smaller than 12 pt. Red text in any form is hard on the eyes; just don’t use it! Do not write your text as Flash! Search engines will skip over your site because they do not look at Flash.
Functionality is more important than showy. You site needs to be very simple to navigate because most of your clients aren’t going to be other photographers. When I say simple I mean a 10 year should be able to get around on your site. Marketing 101 is that you make things as easy as possible for your customers. An example is Thomas Bregulla’s website which is written in German, a language I do not speak. Even though I cannot understand most of the text I can still navigate his website.
Load speed… Your site needs to load on all of the most common web browsers and it needs to load fast. Many of your clients may have slow internet connection and are using computers that are made for graphics like an E-machine. These people are your target market and you need to ensure they can hire you; if they can’t get your site to load or if it takes too long to load they will move on.
Do not have a links page on your photo site! You do not want to direct your web traffic away from you. It is ok to have links on your blogs, but not on your main portfolio site.
That is a few basics for you to keep in mind; here are some websites you should look at. These sites are what you should be trying to achieve with your website.
I’ve been meaning to write an informative blog post but I just haven’t had the time to sit down and do it. Last weekend I had 5 photos at the SCAG Spring Art Show where I won the photography division, it was very exciting and I want to thank the Stanwood Camano Arts Guild! Over Fathers Day weekend I will have two photo in the Edmonds Art Festival Juried Art Gallery; I’m keeping my figures crossed I’ll place there! I’ve also been doing photo shoots, planning photo shoots, and trying to work the rest of life into this mix. So, I will plot a more interesting post but to tide you over here are some shots from my photo shoot up on Mt. Baker! Enjoy and thank you for all your support, I really do appreciate it!
7th Annual Spring Art Show winners for 2009
Judges: Barbara De Pirro, Carrie Mood and M. Denis Hill
Best in Show: “Koi III” by Molly Le Master
1) Works on paper-framed under glass Pastels, acrylics, watercolors, collage, drawings. Conte’, monoprint… anything on paper under glass (except photography)
1st Place: “Northern Flicker” by Daryl Deitz
2nd Place: “Copper Pot Series #1” by Ann Curtis
3rd Place: “Coastal Estuary” by Joan Penewell
2) Works on canvas, masonite, clayboard, or wood…NOT under glass Oils, acrylics, oil bars, encaustic, collage, mixed media, glass assemblage, watercolor on canvas
1st Place: “I Used to Remember” by Patricia Robinson Stolarski
2nd Place: “African Violet” by John Delzell
3rd Place: “Cross Island Camano” by Jerry Finn
3) Photography
1st place: “Wedge” by Bec Thomas
2nd Place: “Adirondack Chair” by John Losee
3rd Place (tie): “Shackles” by Indy Behrendt
3rd Place (tie): “Kavai Gecko” by Mark Dodge
4) Jewelry & wearable art
1st place: “Spot Bot” by Vickie Miller
2nd Place: “The Garden” by Dolors Ruscha
3rd Place: “Retro Rose” by Vickie Miller
5) 3-Dimensional Pottery, clay, sculpture, assemblage, glass, carvings (not mounted to canvas or masonite)
1st Place: “Guitar Stand #3” by Dick Meske
2nd Place: “Amber Bay Lamp” by Mary Simmons
3rd Place: “Cabin Circle” by Elaine Iodice
Patrons Party tickets is $6 at the door and is open to the public.
Let’s take a walk through the Cascade Mountains. To be exact I’m going to walk the 5.9 mile Iron Goat trail that is located on US HWY2 on Stevens Pass in Washington State. You on the other hand get to sit back at your computer and enjoy the sites. I know that some of my loyal readers are from the Pacific Northwest and are well versed on the Cascade Mountain’s; some of my readers are not though so let me go over a few things first. The Cascades are a harsh mistress; no matter what time of year you go to enjoy her splendor remember to give her the respect which is her due. The Cascades earned the name do to the massive amounts of water that fall out of this large mountain range. There are thousands of waterfall most of which that don’t have name; many that are seasonal or pop up new on any given year.
I was hiking at around 2700 ft, half of the Iron Goat trail loop is the old railroad tracks; this trail has a 700ft incline. This trail is an easy trail for Cascade hiking and even children are able to hike it. If you are going to be hiking with your dogs there is plenty of water along the trail for them. So let’s get started on this Photo Walk!
Let’s start with a bit of interesting native vegetation. This is a Trillium, a 3 pedaled flower. They come in white and pink and of readily seen in the spring. For those of you that have itchy fingers and want to pick one or guerilla garden some it comes with a hefty fine if you’re caught; so beware!
There is water in abundance year round in the Cascades, but the spring brings a new meaning to water logged, my dog Orion feel that he needs to jump into every trickle and drink.
The Iron Goat trail was originally the first rail line through the Washington State Cascades. James Hill, who was the founder of Great Northern Railway was determined to get tracks through the Mountains. He was quoted as saying “I will make a mark on the face of this earth and no man will ever wipe it out”. He certainly made that mark; this photo is of a snow shed. Many of these huge concrete walls were built to try and stop avalanches from destroying the rail road track. These were built in 1916, they are so old that they are not support will rebar like concrete is today but with lumber.
The Pacific Northwest boasts many varieties of ferns. They start unfurling in the spring and are as thick as grass on any given hiking trail.
With so much water flowing through the Cascades there is a lot of erosion. No matter how diligent the Forrest service is about keeping their trails expertly groomed Mother Nature will do as she wills. Sometimes new waterfalls make trail revisions on they’re own. In this case a temporary bridge of logs is put in place so the trail is passable.
This is what a new waterfall looks like, it is full of debris. Sometimes these new waterfalls form slowly, but often they are created violently taking out any trees and rocks in this path. This is the baby waterfall that caused the need for the log bridge.
Trickles of water can be seen every few feet. Here are a couple examples of how the mountain range weeps non stop.
Washington State is called the Evergreen state; there is good reason for that. My husband says everything up here is monotone; it’s all a shade of green, even our rocks are green. Here is a little sample of the green we are famous for.
The Iron Goat trail also has many manmade tunnels. A few of these are still considered safe to enter, but most are not and have signs warning you about the danger. These tunnels were mostly built as another way to keep snow off the tracks. Here is a look at the twin tunnels. The one I’m standing in is still safe, but the second one is collapsing.
I walk down the trail some more, it is very scenic.
I come across another tunnel that is in even worse shape.
All along the trail you will see water cascading
You will likely see some wildlife like this Chipmunk that came out to see me. I saw a lot of bear scat but no bears this trip…
The Iron Gaot trail has a huge waterfall on the upper grade called Spillway Spur. You will first come across the lower section that looks alot like a spillway from a dam. This is water spilling over a snow shed, they may stop snow but nothing stops the water.
Part of this water has found it’s way around the snow shed.
While these are pretty water features the big roaring falls is behind and above this wall, so I went to take a look. Even though it is the end of May the Spillway Spur is still not clear. It will take another couple of week for the snow to melt off and expose the majesty of this falls. There is water running under this snow so if you do go up to the spur do not walk in the snow, it is very dangerous.
The upper grade of this trail has many snow sheds that double as water features. You also will come across a lot of debris left over from the construction days of the old railroad. The Great Northern Railway Company tried to beat back nature; they failed but the evidence of that struggle is all around.
This is a very well groomed trail but every winter new hazards appear. This huge sink hole opened up between a snow shed and an old retaining wall. The trail has been diverted but remember when hiking in the Cascades always be aware of your surroundings.
These beautiful cascades are photo worthy but be prepared to get your feet wet. Often the tumbling water goes over the trail no matter how many times someone tries to divert it.
Yes this is the trail and yes I did get my feet wet…again…
This last photo wil conclude our photo walk of the Iron Goat Trail in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. It is beautiful up there and has alot to offer photographers. If you get a chance go walk the Cascades!
June is a busy month and I feel like it’s going to go by in a blink of an eye! To kick off June I’m going to have 5 photos at the Stanwood Camano Art’s Guild 7th annual Spring Art Show. The dates are June5- the 7. June 5th is the Patrons party from 6:00-9:00pm and you can buy your ticket at the door for $6; this is the event I will be attending. The show is open to the public June 6th and 7th from 10am-5pm. The Spring Art Show is held at the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center 27130 – 102nd Ave NW Stanwood, WA and is a mixed medium event.
Next up will be the Edmonds Art Festival Juried Art Gallery which will be June 19th – June 21st. I will have two photographs at this event “Bewilder” and “Wedge”. You can get all the information about the show at the Edmonds Art Festival website.
Sometime in between all of this my husband will be going on a business trip to Japan and I will be doing a shoot at Larabee State Park, possibly up on Mt. Baker and on the Olympic Peninsula. That is what is in the works so far, I hope you can make it to both shows to view some great artwork including my photos.
