This is my masterpiece of the week. It’s from last Sunday’s drive and was taken overlooking the Columbia river just off Manilla Creek Road. (Here’s the coordinates on the map). You can click the picture for a bigger view.
I did this with two, three shot HDR images of the scene stitched together as a panorama. The view was amazing. We stopped here earlier in the day, so I knew it had potential. We moved on, but at sunset came back for the shoot.
It was late Sunday night on the way home from bible study at my brothers house near Coulee City. I was looking west towards Waterville and there were so many stars. They live in the country, so the only artificial lights are on the horizon.
This was taken with my new Canon 5D MK II. This won’t mean much to non photo geeks, but I shot it at ISO 6400, Sigma 15mm Fisheye lens @ f2.8 exposed for 13 seconds and cleaned with neat image: The heavens delare the glory of God… Gav
This week we talk about nature, travel and general photography tips with Rick Sammon. Rick travels all over the world for photography workshops and has written 30 books in his career as a photographer.
by Gavin Seim (Updated 01/10) — With winter on and economic downturn in many parts of the world, you may find yourself looking at the numbers in horror. OK maybe I’m going too far, but many photographers are concerned about the amount of work on their schedule. I’m a blessed man. And while things are moving along, I too am looking at ways to put more on the calender.
Now I’m not the worlds chief authority on marketing. What I do know is that amazing service is a never fail approach. Beyond that there’s is no instant solution, but hard work pays off and these tips will get you thinking. I’m going to assume you already have great service (you do right?), then keep it short with six tips that can help you get noticed in this competitive market. I also found another cool article by Sean Clayton about getting your phone to ring that you might want to check out.
#1. Give Some Classy Freebies:
Sometimes the best way to make profit is by giving something away. You don’t have to devalue your work by shouting FREE prints to the world. Try sending gifts to past clients for anniversaries or graduations. They don’t need to be photos. In fact something else might make a HUGE impression. Chocolates, a gift card for dinner. Maybe coffee or a bottle of wine. They may have loved your photos, but clients need a reminder to talk about you. I know it sounds expensive, but it will WOW past clients and usually pays. There’s various ways to give gifts and perks. Just be creative and see what matches your style.
#2. Send Images to Venue’s:
Sending out promo images from a venue is a great way to make yourself memorable and build venue relationships. A pile of 8×10’s for their book or some web files for their site is fine, but lately I’ve been taking it to the next level by giving notable things like larger canvas images and albums. Venues nearly always need great images to show off to potential customers and what can be better than them showing off yours. Make sure you put your name on them in a classy fashion and send some business cards along. The venue will appreciate the images, and you can get free advertising, which is always the best kind.
As promised here’s another shot from my recent trip down to the Leavenworth area to shoot nature around the Wenatchee River. This is a few miles up Highway 2, right by the bridge I posted last week.The color and vibrancy of nature in the fall is always so amazing. God sure knows his colors. This is one of my High dynamic range pieces with a few of my effects added. To get the broad range of light I use the tones from three images taken at different brightness levels.