The next to last day of the first month of the year of the owl pellett

I think that I have started another winter cold, so bring on the Zicam and I'll stay indoors for a bit. Need to work on the site anyway, adding a big number of new images so stay tuned to that site. http://skipwillitsfineartphotography.ifp3.com/.

Last year we found a place called "The Center for Birds of Prey" just outside of Charleston, SC. We had a delightful day watching the birds in their cages and the few birds the staff flew for the tourists. They eventually had a photographer's day a couple of months later for about thirty of us. The birds were brought out into almost natural areas and most were flown so we could get some good flight shots. The Red Tail hawks on this page are two of the images I made. The key to scheduling something like this, or even an animal farm, is that you often get closer to wild critters than otherwise.

For the uninitiated photographers, a staged or set up shoot can often provide better images than hanging out in the wild waiting for the critter to magically appear. However, a day like we had takes planning. First, to find an event or farm where decent photos can be made. Then, if possible, consider the lighting/weather available on the day or time of year you choose to make your "Adventure". Often we just have to take what God gives us as far as weather is concerned. Then of course you must prepare all the equipment, luggage, and scheduling arrangements you need for the trip.

Some years ago, I photographed the lighthouses of Florida in 10 days, two of which were apent in airplanes. I was told by colleagues and friends that September was not the month to go because of the possiblities of bad weather. Namely hurricanes. September was the only time I could go because of a number of constraints, the major of which was a publication deadline. Well, no hurricanes but some really great afternoon thunderstorms made the images just plain dramatic. The rest of the time we had blue bird skies. Go figure. But planning under constraints is a very important part of an adventure.

We spent about a half day with the staff and colleagues at the center and got some pretty good images. We met and made friends with the staff, so that return trips now will be a gathering of friends as well as a working event. Their website is http://www.thecenterforbirdsofprey.org/index.html, and is certainly worthwhile giving a look.

The 28th day of the year of the owl pellett

The Riverwalk was almost deserted this morning around eight and the temperature was in the mid fifties headed for seventy. Sorry, my Mid-Atlantic friends who are getting a big ice storm and my New Hampshire friends getting yet another snow storm. But, been there and done that and do enjoy this warmer clime. A great website to actually see what is going on in the lakes region of New Hampshire is http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/watch.htm. A bunch of webcams some of which work all winter and some don't.

I realize that I allude to the RW quite a bit in this blog and haven't shown many images of the place. It is a concrete and boardwalk running about five miles along the Congaree River in the towns of West Columbia, Columbia, and Cayce, SC. What a great way to spend tax dollars.......Hear that Washington?

Pondering the imponderables is something that we all do from time to time. Sorta like why do we keep banging our heads against the wall, always expecting a different result. It always hurts till we stop doing it. People walk along the RW for allot of reason. Joggers get their exercise as do the walkers, both categories endeavoring to better their health. Bikers, skaters, and skate boarders all doing the same thing. Some of us looking to make photographs too. Well, if this is the case then why do people cut corners in a effort to make their walk, run, or ride shorter? The top left image shows just such a short cut on the walk. Why? They're there to get exercise, so why make it shorter. Staying on the concrete is 30 feet and the cutoff to the left is 24 feet.....save six feet of effort. Whoopeeeeee! Lazy, well maybe, but that contradict as well. Just can't figure it out. It's similar to finding trash on the ground right next to a trash bin. Yes, some of it is from raccoons, but some of it is also from negligent people. I guess I will never understand some folk's motivation to do that they do.

The 26th day of the year of the owl pellett

A wise man once said that "I'd rather be ignorant than dumb, because I would be able to tell the difference". Another wise man added "I'd rather be smart than ignorant because I would have enough information to process it." And the wisest of all said "I'd always want to be lucky rather than smart, because a higher power was looking out for me."

Well, today I got a little bit of all three. Smart, not ignorant, and dumb lucky! Yesterday on the Riverwalk I thought I saw a flock of Cedar Waxwings perched in the tree tops. They were impossible to identify by color because of the back lighting of the sky. But today, I looked for the kind of stuff they love to feed upon, found a Buckthorn tree loaded with fruit, and low and behold 75 to a 100 migrating waxwings. These guys are a temporary lot here in South Carolina because this is part of their winter range. Eventually they will reach as far North as the Canadian Provence's. The coloration is wild with a bright red band on the wings and equally bright yellow band on the tip of the tail. The body itself is a golden brown to brownish yellow. The deep black and bright white mask around the bill and eyes gives the bird the ability to look very threatening when looking directly at you. It is always a treat for me to find something which is somewhat out of the ordinary and even more of a treat to be able to photograph it. Enjoy what I saw.

25TH DAY OF THE YEAR OF THE OP

If you need a definition of the "OP" in the title, go to the first posting to find the meaning of the abbreviation. Walked about five miles today on the RW (River Walk) in about fifty degrees of cloudy damp sky. Not a good day for photography with such bad light........all grey. I did manage to pop a few that did invoke some thought. The first image is of the Congaree River with Columbia, SC in the background. Not a good image, but does contain about 185 sea gulls (yes I counted them) sitting on the rocks. First congregation of this sort this year, but it did bring to mind the fact that there seem to be an awful lot of seagulls in our world. There are over 350 million people in the US, but who counts the seagulls? Of course all the seagulls breed and only fifty percent of the human lot should be allowed to procreate, but that's another story or argument depending your point of view. But I digress. Someone counted the Ring Billed Gulls in Chicago around 1975 and came up with 3-4 million of that species and in that area alone. Talk about needing a life! Lots more species and a few more towns not counting all the coastal beaches. Oh and let us not forget those gulls in the parking lots of the malls feeding on some kid's happy meal remains that an ignorant parent left out of the garbage can. All told, I bet there are at least three gulls for every man, woman, and child in the country. Reminds one of an old Alfred Hitchcock movie about "Birds". For the young among you, just Google it. All that brings up the second picture taken on the beach on Assateague Island in Virginia a few years back. The boy's sister buried him up to his neck and scattered bait (crackers) around his head for the gulls. Some acute sense of humor she had and I understand she is now auditioning for '"Saturday Night Live".

Finally, meet Britania. She is an 11 month old English Bulldog belonging to a couple I met on the walk today. She was a first wedding anniversary gift to the lady from the husband. This is a face only a mother could love. Or a first year bride!

24th day of the year of the owl pellett

Saturday morning and raining lightly at 8:30 AM. The temperature around fifty five. A pretty good day to walk the RW and I will probably do that later. I'm a little whacked by not stupid enough to actually go out in the rain. Funny how people react to different things. One person said they loved the Blog while another asked who had the time to read such BS. I take both in stride and too bad, you all are still going to have to read this stuff, cause I'm driving this bus.

It took me a few years to join the digital photography world. At first the cameras were just too expensive to do what I needed to do and the computer software was also out of reach to mortal man. I over-stayed with the SLRs and bought slide film until it was no longer easily available, paying somewhere around $18 a roll for film and development. The old yard stick was if you got one printable image from a roll of 36, you were doing just peachy! I cannot tell you how many rolls of film I shot over the years, suffice to say I have over 20,000 slides in the files.

My first digital was a little point and shoot at six something megs. I actually used it for a couple of years and made some pretty good pictures from that little Nikon. I just had to get closer to wildlife than before. No more 300 mm lenses with doubler's bringing them up to 460 mm or more. I just had to get closer using what hunting skills I had perfected at my father's tutelage. God bless him, he taught me well and we had such great times in the woods huntin and on boats fishing. Since I took up the cameras I have put down the guns but still use the fishing rods.

I did succumb to the digital last year before a trip to the Alligator Farm in Saint Augustine, Florida. Trading in all of my old equipment in a market which wanted only digital, meant that over $8,000 worth of original equipment brought only ten percent of the original cost. Well, it did got me a Nikon 40DX (10. something megs) with a little zoom lens 18mm to 135mm. I love it. I can put 250 eight by ten photos on something that is no larger than your thumb nail. That trip to Florida, I shot 500 images and culled about as many mistakes off the camera.

Now I have gone nuts. Spending as much time on the puter as behind the camera. The attached image is a digitally merged photo of two of the old slides I made of the Barnegat Lighthouse in NJ and a cloud shot made elsewhere. The resulting image is dramatic, probably to the extreme, but has sold quite readily. This is old Barny as no one has seen. It is original, creative, and unique. The key however, is to make sure that my buyers know that it is digitally enhanced. Digital art is a different art form which should not compete on any level with pure photography. Please enjoy!

23 rd day of the year of the owl pellett

OK, my brain is about to explode. See the top picture! While it is actually a sumac tree in fall colors taken with a moving zoom lens, it's like my brain on political steroids. Congress is about to approve a proven tax dodger who has behaved in a dishonest manner to head the IRS! Only in America. What is wrong with people to allow their government to do something as boneheaded as this. Or do we just not care? Probably! No wonder congress (with a small c) has an approval rating under 10%. That means that 90% DO NOT APPROVE. But what are we doing about it? End of Rant.

Cold this morning, around 29 degrees but sunny and will probably get to somewhere near sixty. Been stuck working on the files, the pages, the photos and not able to get out and walk/and or photograph. Perhaps this afternoon. I have also been baby sitting my neighbor's new pet. Her name is Gracie Belle. Now is that southern or what! Fun dog that will eat them out of house and home within a year. She is just a puppy with big feet, and you know what that means. Eats two cups of dry dog food and a can of cat food (she's as screwed up as we are) every day. She's going to be huge but is fun to play with now, and will probably have me for lunch within a year.

Year of the owl pellett, 20th edition

We did get some snow this morning. Dribs and drabs all day long with no accumulation. So, no great photos of the RW in snow but I did do a couple of miles in what turned out to be a bit of a cold morning of solitude. Nothing like Washington, DC though, those poor people certainly had no solitude and way too much adrenlin for normal folks.

My annual fishing trip to New Hampshire will be somewhere around the end of April and of course is one of the highlights of my year. The accompanying image was made one morning two years ago as I fished for landlock salmon. Lake Winnepasaukee is like this, early on most mornings, if the wind hasn't blown all night. If it blows all night, you can bet it will be a windy day. But in the flat and calm and you can even see the fish feeding on smelt, which is their forage fish of choice. Quite a wonderful place to be on a calm morning without pressures from the rest of life. I can also get that same feeling of solitude on the RW when the rest of the world is not there. Such was the walk this morning. No photos, no people, and lots of introspection. Gotta love it.

The nineteenth day of the year of the owl pellett

Well we had the first photographic adventure of the year on Saturday. In the profession we call it a "shoot", but I prefer adventure. I was asked to get some images of places in and around of Lake City, South Carolina. Specifically the shots were for an article about an infamous serial killer who reputedly murdered over a hundred souls during his life. He was born around 1933 and left the stage in 1991 by execution. "Pee Wee" Gaskins (Donald) was the guy who was seen around town driving a black hearse and evidently quietly killing for sport and recreation. His childhood was marked by an unmarried mother who entertained her boyfriends and who in turn molested the boy. From early childhood on he preyed on young girls and some boys. When in prison, he was a sexual target due to his diminutive size. After being raped in jail many times, he supposedly decided the only way to gain respect was to kill the strongest guy there. This he did and the rapes stopped.

The pictures here are of the place where he was reputed to hang out called Sam's place. A bar then and junk shop now. The cemetery of his name is in the area around Leo,SC, but does not house his remains. He evidently wanted his ashes to be spread over an area called the "Neck" where he was fond of burying his victims. What a guy! I could not find that location. The house where it is thought he grew up is included, but cannot begin to show the desolation of the area where he perpetrated his crimes. A more full story can be found at http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/gaskins.htm.

Thirty five degrees this morning and the RW was almost deserted at nine o'clock and was a little icy underfoot. Tomorrow, snow is expected and maybe another adventure on the RW. We'll just have to see.

15th day of the year of the owl pellett

Getting cold here in South Carolina, but not as cold as the northeast. Thirty seven this morning and going to make fifty later. Tomorrow to be colder, so today I will include one of the better lighthouse images in my library. The rest of the lighthouses can of course be found in the website. This is the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in Maine and is kinda classic photography. It embodies a good subject, combined with vertical lines leading the eye to the subject (the striation in the rocks), and a secondary image in the reflection pool. I must admit that the genius of this shot is not my own. Whenever I go into a state to shoot the lights, I try to buy a local book with images of each light. That's where I got the lead for the angle of this shot. The reflection pool was in the book and I looked for the angle when I got there. This way I am never at a loss as to which specific light I shot.

I photographed the Maine lights over the course of two years, travelling in the spring of each year. I, along with the same five men, go on a fishing trip to Lake Winnepasaukee in New Hampshire at the end of April. We have done it for over 35 years, but that's another story. I spent the week fishing and then took another week to go over to Maine to shoot the lights.

Pemaquid Point is at the end of a neck of land between rivers, these necks define the Maine coast. Pemaquid is south and a little east of Augusta and about 2/3 of the way up the coast. This lighthouse is one of the ones you think of when you visualize the rocky Maine coastline.

Old Route One is the most scenic highway on the east coast and of course one of the oldest roads in the country extending from Maine to Florida. From Route One in Damariscotta one takes Rt. 130 south to Pemaquid point. The light stands on the tip of Pemaquid Point which is at the west side of Muscongus Bay.

The first light at this location was built in the 1824-27 period and was made of undressed stone with a lime mortar mixed with fresh water. The top was then a soapstone slab upon which the light room was constructed. The whole thing cost the government $1,395 but didn't last long. The mortar gave out and by 1835 was replaced with the current tower. Amazingly the number of people who have seen this photograph at various art shows and exclaimed...."Hey I/we have been there". It is out of the way and not easy to get to, but allot of people have been there. If you have not, I suggest you do so. It is a great location, but as with all lighthouses the trick to photographing them is getting the shot when there are no people around. Takes patience.

13th day of the year of the owl pellet

This morning was 44 degrees at 9:00 am and not supposed to get much over fifty, so the walk was more obligatory than not. Grey sky and showers were supposed to be coming. Hasn't happened yet but all the folks on the RW were regulars there doing their walk on some imagined/required medical or health agenda. Me, I walk for health but also to see stuff and take pictures of stuff, yada, yada, yada. Thank you Sienfeld! I don't know how I missed it before but there is this huge sycamore along the walk that must have been there for thousands of years or maybe hundreds. My wingspan is about six feet and it would have taken three hugs for me to get my arms around it. The image today is of that tree.

At any rate, a retired couple I see almost daily came by as I was standing under the tree. His comments were "I thought you were fixin to climb it"! Being witty and a man "tomorrow repartee", I said "no, but there were people who would pay good money to see me fall out of it if I tried". "Tomorrow repartee" is that thing to say in response, that you think of tomorrow, which you wished you had thought of today and didn't.

The conversation did get me to thinking of "Southern speak". "Fixin" to do something is definitely southern. I know cause I spent most of my life in a border state and heard both sides of the argument. A "Border State" is a place where the Civil War never ended and never will. Each side are good friends but "Fixin" to fight and win it all over again.

Miriam Webster does not define "Fixin" unless you add an "s" and then it becomes fixings as in turkey dressing. Well I am sure the man did not mean "I thought you were turkey dressing that tree." Add a "g" to it and he might have meant "I thought you were repairing that tree". Again not the meaning. I guess in falls in the the "Yall" (plural of you) of southern speak. As in "Yall fixin ta use that pin?" Funny, I guess I will just have to ask my friend Jesse who grew up in the south and had an owl and fox as pets. Another story! I still buy tars for my car, change the earl, and am supposed to be retard!

The 12th day of the year of the Owl Pellett

I did my obligatory three miles on the River Walk today. It started out around the low thirties this morning so I waited till later in the day when it was closer to sixty. Hey, I'm old and don't have to take all those low temperatures anymore. Not cranky, just old.

Met with my friend the local policeman (cop) who patrols the River Walk on a choice of one of three atv's or an electric car. I think that the town has too much money! His attitude towards his work just made me think about how we all ought to conduct our daily business. John is retired from some meaningful profession and works for the Cayce police force just to keep busy, get out of the house, and or to pay some bills. However, he is always cheerful and has a story for me whenever we meet. He doesn't work particularly hard as in plowing the fields, milking the the cows, selling insurance, etc. But he does work smart and knows how to make his day pass quickly. Sure he has a micro-managing bunch of bosses but that is to be expected, he works for a bunch of politicians for crying out loud.

Our meeting served to remind me of just how one is expected to conduct his business. He stops to talk with everybody along the way on the walk, knows us all, is interested in what we are doing, and is just a generally all around good guy. The point is though--------he knows what's going on down there all the time. He knows who belongs and who does not. He has fun but is deadly serious about protecting the public. He cuts off problems at the pass and as a result has it under control for the most part. And he does it in a way that entertains himself and others during the day. He does it all in a friendly, serving, fun way. I need to remember that when I am talking next to my customers. I think that his example that will keep me in good stead long term. What am I talking about long term, I don't buy green bananas. With my growing business,I should pay attention to John's example. I will be more successful and have more fun at the same time.

The river's down again. Not at normal levels but down probably 15 or 16 feet in the last day or so. Even though I walked later in the day than usual, the regular group of songbirds were in full voice. The cardinals flew ahead of my walk and are always just one step out of camera range...how do they know? The irascible mocking birds get into camera range but I end up with thousands of images of them, cause their so easy. In fact I had one published last year. The carolina wrens make the leaves rustle just enough to stop me for a look. They do it every time, I think just for fun to watch me stop and then flit away. The ruby head kinglets were darting around. Their movement is the easiest way to find them because they are so small. Smaller, or at least equal to, the size of a chickadee. I include one of the digitally improved images of a little kinglet I made last year.

DISNEY MARATHON 2009 PART II

The second edition of the 11th day. He made it through the marathon which I failed to mention earlier was his first. Twenty-six miles in five hours, thirty-four minutes and fifty-four seconds. That's a rate of 12.46 minutes for each mile. Pretty neat stuff, but you can see from the picture of him in the previouse entry and the one in this entry............26 miles can be rough on the body!

Disney Marathon 2009

The eleventh day in the year of the owl pellet, and my son is in the midst of the 26 mile Disney Marathon. He just passed the half way point and is running at a pace that should get him across the finish line in just under five hours. I don't even want to drive 26 miles, let along run it. I think that I am doing great walking six miles in four hours, but of course I am 31 years older than he. God bless em and I just hope that he makes it through the thing. I guess there are now two "Goofy" dogs in Orlando. Waiting for the next text message as to where he is on the race course. Good luck Todd and I am so proud of you for all that you do. Course, his sister is a pretty good person as well and is someone else of whom I am pretty proud. They both have some of the best kids on the planet. Guess that makes me a grandparent.........Jeeeeeeez where has all the time gone!

The ninth day of the year of the owl pellet

I have been spending time working on the website, adding new images, products, and attending to general organizational duties. Getting ready for the upcoming end of the recession after the new president is issued into office. I am sure that the media will find that the economy will amazingly get progressively better under the new and liberated guidance of our one-sided government. And that should come sooner rather than later, so I am preparing to take part in the vast opportunities presented to us by our esteemed leaders. I won't tell you which stocks I am buying but needless to say that one makes bandaids and the other starts with an F and makes SUV'S. But alas I am not a stock analyst! OK! enough tongue in cheek.

After spending over fifty years in Maryland and not seeing but one Baltimore Oriole, I have discovered that they like South Carolina better. I did trap one female into camera range over the last two days. She (as well as he) seem to like to feed on the flowers on our Camilia bushes. Seems to me it is analogous to a vegetarian having a steak for dinner, but what do I know? Enjoy the photo because they are amazing colorful.

It is my intent to put some entries in here on almost a daily basis, so keep posted but remember I always tell the truth or at least as close as I can get to it---so it maybe not every day.

Creek's up!! My walk on the River Walk today revealed that the river rose over 20 feet in the last two days. We have had showers for the last three days off and on, but no big deal. Upstate has had alot of rain and that's where it comes from. Thank goodness because they need it. It always amazes me the amount of change in water levels that can occur in a short period of time. Most of the "Flood" pictures on TV just don't bring it home. And I feel very sorry for those who must endure those big floods, unless of course they persist in living in the middle of a flood plain which infact floods every year. The two photos will give you an idea of the extent of the rise in the creek! The pictures were taken from both ends of ancient lock.

The fourth day of "The Year of the Owl Pellett"

Here in Cayce, SC it was fifty seven degrees at 8:00 am, a heavy fog, and just the right morning for a photographer to stroll about on his/her morning constitution. Most photographers will tell you that the real fun of the business is in actually taking pictures. Well, I agree! But we still have to justify our existence somehow, and that is why we to have figure out ways to sell this stuff. But, this morning was devoted to what we like to do best.

I love to shoot (photograph) in the fog. That way you can't see my mistakes. Fog does two things for me. First, it isolates specific micro images within a macro scene. The smaller becomes more apparent. Everything is condensed in the mind's eye because we cannot see that far to get the overriding and sometimes cluttered view. Second, and I love my fellow man but, I love the absence of my fellow man more. It's Sunday morning and the rif-raf are either preparing for or going to church and not on "My river walk".

The Cayce "Riverwalk" is a five mile walking path of concrete and raised wooden boardwalk along the Saluda and Congaree Rivers which runs between Cayce and Columbia South Carolina. There is another two and half mile walk on the Columbia side of the Broad River which joins the Saluda just above Cayce and forms the Congaree. Look at a map, it's easier to see than explain. Suffice to say the walks are in ancient floodplains and as such offer numerous opportunities to study and photograph nature. I do about three miles each day always with my camera. I learned long ago to take the camera everywhere I go. About the time I don't have it, the killer shot magically materializes. It's simply Murphy's Law. BUT, remember Skip's law says that Murphy was an optimist! So I always carry the camera.

The total of the two legged critters this morning were two lady and one male jogger over a two hour period of about three miles. Sweet! It's interesting that not only does the fog concentrate the photo images in my mind but also tends to concentrate my thought about everything else. You know the meaning of life and other esoteric stuff like that. But thirty seconds later I come back to my senses. There are a number of cobwebs along the walk which are just different. I am going to have to Google to look for the type of spider which makes such an elaborate weave.

Accompanied only by the shrill, shrill, shrill call of a banded kingfisher somewhere in the murk above the river, my mind drifts to the things which must be done to the blog, the website, and the planning of sales campaigns. Then I am saved! My eye catches the branch of a sycamore tree over the river, in the fog with it's leaves gone, but fruit still attached. Now I must concentrate my thoughts on composure, angle, light, and elimination on unwanted clutter. The "Work" part of my business is put off for another but different creative moment.

Photography is an art! Want to start an argument? That statement will do just that. But I view it this way. My mind's eye saw the tree branch, composed the image (the art part), and the camera (the technical part, tool or brush) froze that 250Th of a second of natural history forever. Simple!

A hearty welcome to 2009

And a welcome to my customers, colleagues, and friends to what I hope will be some intuitive dialogue regarding our photography. Yes, this is another photography blog! This is our place to rant! Primarily about photography, but not necessarily excluding economics, politics, joy, disgust, achievements, and any other stuff we want to kick around. And since it's my blog, I get to do the majority of the kicking.

On January 1 the first image of the year I made was of an owl pellet. For you urban buffs, this is the remains of the owls dinner regurgitated after digestion of the juicy parts has occurred. I guess if I were in China, this would mean that 2009 will be "The Year of the Owl Pellet". That is if you're into omens. I am not however, of the opinion that the omen would suggest that 2009 will be crappy! But rather, the sustenance of a majestic bird occurred to the detriment of a lowly field mouse. It's called nature folks. The mouse had to deal with the cards which he/she was dealt and we selling photographers have to do the same thing. Note that I said "Selling photographers". I will be operating this blog as if it is they I address, but I will also hope to make it fun for all readers. You will also note that I tend to be irreverent and sarcastic at times, but as an idol of mine says "I am just a loveable old fuzzball", so enjoy!

The economy? Well they tell us it's bad and has been for eight years. So much for media accuracy! But we have to look at 2009 as a year of opportunity with simply a different set of operating parameters. I participated in two art shows late last year during the midst of a "Reputed" unprecedented economic decline. Scared to death that I wouldn't even make expenses. I did rather well. Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in awhile. So people will still spend if, and it's a capital IF, the product is of quality and the sale is structured to fit a need under the current circumstances. That's a mouth full! It takes into consideration such important points as quality, needs, and economic circumstances.

All those things we learned in Sales 101, glossed over, and forgotten. Now in difficult economic times, it's back to the basics. Review and do! That's how I am going to treat 2009. Last year I did only two art shows down from 16 the previous year and it's a good thing. Costs were up and sales were down. I sold more to publishers, but they too are buying less. But it cost me less.

Re-tool to work under these conditions and try to increase the volume of customer contacts and service. That is what will pay off in the long run.

As selling photographers, we need to recognize that the objective is to sell and not pump up our egos about nice photos. A perfect example of fitting the need in an adverse market was displayed last year in November at the Easton Waterfowl Festival in Easton, MD. The photo which won the best in show was fantastic. Normally at that show, the best in show image sells right away. Not this time. It was priced too high for the conditions of the market. People wanted memento pictures from the show AND/OR images which were priced right as Christmas gifts. That meant the lower tier of photographs sold better and the middle high, end which was neglected. The best in show image was priced around $500 and didn't sell. It probably would have if it was priced it at $200 (taking a loss) or $1500 which might have seemed outrageous to the artist. However, if you're not selling at five hundred you might as well not sell at fifteen hundred. Talk about an ego buster, but what the heck! And maybe you will get lucky. Because the other side of the blind hog story is that either you're the hog or the acorn. The bug or the windshield! We have to make that acorn stand out so the hog can stumble over it. Kinda takes the luck option out of the equation.

Nuff rambling! I do think that 2009 will not be the disaster that the doom sayer's hope for but rather something far better. Our prices will have to be a little lower, product packaged more attractively, sales efforts pumped up, and the old adage about the customer always having the right to be right. We have to work for the sale and as such it should be a fun 2009.

The first photo on this blog therefore is a pile of "Stuff". Trust me, they will get better!

If any of the ornithological publishers out there are interested in this image please contact me for a really good deal on this particular pile of "Stuff"