A lot of people have been asking, "What's up?"

Scott_Quier

ETA: Disclaimer: Re-reading this, I get the feeling that I might have a bloated sense of self-importance and, if this is the case and it offends anyone, let me apologize in advance. But, a lot of people have asked sooo.....

As many may have noticed, I've been selling off a lot of gear in the last week or so. This has generated more than a few PMs asking, "What's up?", "Are you OK?", and one that really touched me (in a very positive way! and you know who you are - thanks), "Is there anything I can do to help?"

For those with a short attention span ... the short answer: Everything is perfectly fine. While I freely admit I have a lot of mental issues to deal with :wink, I'm not facing any employment, financial, marital, emotional, or legal problems ... at least none that I know of. I'm simply changing my photographic direction. The sell off is in an effort to (partially) fund this re-direction.

The long answer:

I got into photography and the wedding business for a number of reasons. These are, in no particular order:

• I attended a couple of weddings as a guest, taking my camera, and had so much fun! I'm a romantic at heart and I just loved the whole idea. Still do, but ....
• Photography provides me an opportunity to be creative, something I don't really have in my 9-5. I was getting up, going to work, coming home, watching TV until dinner, watching TV until time to go to bed, and repeat. That is/was a short trip to the grave.
• I had no hobby and my DW was afraid that I would retire one day and die the next day due to lack of anything to keep me mentally active. She encouraged the photography.
• So I start the wedding photography business, charging enough to cover my costs and a little bit more. I was underpriced in the market, figuring that this was a good idea and that the less well-to-do B&G couples with whom I contracted would appreciate it. I was wrong on both counts. More on this below.
• But, the primary reason I picked up photography as a hobby is because it was FUN!!!!

As Paul Harvey used to say, "And now, the rest of the story..."

All I ended up doing was:

1. Contributing the the photography market depression and injuring those photogs (some of whom are my friends) who do this as their sole source of income. This was not a goodness and ended up injuring me as well.
2. Getting used and abused by my clients - they didn't pay a lot and so they didn't value the product or the service I provided. That was a rude awakening and, in hind-sight, I should have known better. That's an example of a simple first-year psychology and/or business class case-study.
3. Finally, I burned out on photography. Can you imagine - there were months in 2009 when I didn't even pick up my camera. I got more than one PM commenting, "It's nice to see you posting again."

At the end of 2008, I met with my accountant to discuss the process of shutting down my business. She convinced me to continue with it. So I did. Dec 2009, I was a second shooter for a friend and, IMO spent too much time "watching the clock" .... not so much that it interferred with getting the required product but enough to demonstrate to me that my heart was no longer in the business.

During this time, the photo-club to which I belong "sponsored" a couple of road-trip photo-outings (similar in nature to the DGrin shootouts, but much smaller) and the DGrin Acadia Shootout happened. I learned a couple or three things: (1) I know almost nothing about landscape photography, (2) I could learn a couple or three things about landscape photography, and most importantly (3) I had a h311 of a good time - the feeling I had when I first started was back!!!

I read in a recent post from either Pathfinder or Swartzy or someone of that caliber that (and I'm going to paraphrase now) it's sometimes necessary to go back to your roots, find what interests you, get's your creative juices flow, and start over. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get up too early, stay up too late, and chase the sweet light - at least on a part-time basis. Who knows, I might even loose 20 or 30 pounds of ugly fat in the process:dunno

I will continue to visit and contribute to the Wedding and People forums because I feel I may have something of value to offer there. But, my focus will be on landscape photography and the occasional Operation: Love Reunited gig. I may never (OK ... probably won't) ever be as good as Andy or Marc (too many examples from which to choose an appropriate link), but I'll have a lot more fun than I've had in some time.

BTW - Anyone know where I can find a copy of the new Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II? All the usual haunts are out of stock and/or back-ordered! :cry

Sam

Scott,

Thanks for the info. I think a lot of us were wondering.

You are smart to stop doing photography / creative work you can't put your heart into. It's not in your, or your clients best interest to continue.

One direction / photographic challenge you may want to look at is a pano head for stitching large panoramic scenes.

Good luck and keep up posted!!

Sam

angevin1

Congratulations on turning the corner and finding..you are still there!

Self nurturance is underrated~

What a great story!

Scott_Quier

Sam wrote:

Scott,

Thanks for the info. I think a lot of us were wondering.

You are smart to stop doing photography / creative work you can't put your heart into. It's not in your, or your clients best interest to continue.

One direction / photographic challenge you may want to look at is a pano head for stitching large panoramic scenes.

Good luck and keep up posted!!

Sam

The $$$ from the sale is intended to purchase a TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II and a RRS pano-rail for my RRS BH-55 ballhead with B2 Pro II clamp. So, yes, I agree with your thinking (and that of many others) in this regard. Thanks for the warm wishes.

Awais Yaqub

Goodluck with Landscape Photography Scott, but keep doing other stuff too.

RogersDA

Good to find out all is great with you. Scott. Keep eyes out for a (hopeful) Shenandoah trip this year. Trying to wrangle Andy and his bio-engineered body to do some walk abouts there in spring after the Death Valley trip...

dlplumer

Cuong

Time to put your IR-20D to work.

Cuong

CWSkopec

Whew!! I saw the selling (was going to buy one of your items before I remembered I'm broke! ) but the thought you were getting out of the hobby/business honestly didn't cross my mind. First thing I thought was that you were switching to the Dark Side (Nikon)! Happy to hear it's neither!!

Looking forward to seeing you in the landscape forum and congrats on getting back to the fun part!

pathfinder

Welcome back to photography for fun!

I'll give you a secret too - you really can shoot landscapes without the latest version of a tilt shift lens.

Maybe I'll see you out and about again.

Scott_Quier

Cuong wrote:

Time to put your IR-20D to work.

Cuong

Yep, that's part of the plan!

wrote:

Whew!! I saw the selling (was going to buy one of your items before I remembered I'm broke! ) but the thought you were getting out of the hobby/business honestly didn't cross my mind. First thing I thought was that you were switching to the Dark Side (Nikon)! Happy to hear it's neither!!

Looking forward to seeing you in the landscape forum and congrats on getting back to the fun part!

Thanks!

wrote:

Welcome back to photography for fun!

I'll give you a secret too - you really can shoot landscapes without the latest version of a tilt shift lens.

Maybe I'll see you out and about again.

Shhhhh! I know that but we need to keep the DW in the dark! Really, I do know this, but I'm a toy kinda guy.

I want a TS lens and I only want to buy it once (learned that lesson the hard way). I know the new one is better then the Mark I and that would always be in the back of my head.

Until I can get my hands on the Mark II, I'll be playing with a number of different lenses - mostly in portrait orientation - and stitching together two and three image panos. The panos are why I'm getting the RRS pano rail.

Agnieszka, in a PM, expressed concern that I might be selling off all my gear. For better or worse, what I've listed for sale doesn't even come close to being 1/2 of my "inventory". I fully intend to continue playing - just in a new direction.

And, yes, you will see me as more or less frequent poster in the Landscapes and/or "Other Cool Shots" (for the IR, doncha know) forums. So, you've been warned.

Tango

Scott, I'm rooting for ya!

You are right about the T/S mark II, but the T/S mark I is no slouch.... (I sold my first T/S MI, tryed to buy it back from the guy with no success, so I went and bought another new one)

but, definatly get the MII simply because you can quick change the Tilt to coincide with the Shift. (the mI is a pain switching back and forth due to the four screws but not $1000 worth of a pain).
maybe the sharpness is worth the extra $1000, but I dont know for sure...
lab testing shows it is sharper, but I would like to test head to head out in the field and peep to decide if it's "all that"...
Marc flipped over the 17mm T/S so I would guess the 24mm T/S MII is also worth flipping over... but I dont know...

IMHO, I would hold off a little while with the pano gear, maybe the T/S "shift" feature will satisfy your pano needs.?? and if your going for the 100mm ~ 200mm range of panos any head will do. (well of course RRS would be the best choice)

dlplumer

pathfinder wrote:

Welcome back to photography for fun!

I'll give you a secret too - you really can shoot landscapes without the latest version of a tilt shift lens.

Maybe I'll see you out and about again.

Thanks for that Jim.:ivar You just saved me a bundle. Now, just tell us how?

Scott_Quier

AaronNelson wrote:

Scott, I'm rooting for ya!

You are right about the T/S mark II, but the T/S mark I is no slouch.... (I sold my first T/S MI, tryed to buy it back from the guy with no success, so I went and bought another new one)

but, definatly get the MII simply because you can quick change the Tilt to coincide with the Shift. (the mI is a pain switching back and forth due to the four screws but not $1000 worth of a pain).
maybe the sharpness is worth the extra $1000, but I dont know for sure...
lab testing shows it is sharper, but I would like to test head to head out in the field and peep to decide if it's "all that"...
Marc flipped over the 17mm T/S so I would guess the 24mm T/S MII is also worth flipping over... but I dont know...

IMHO, I would hold off a little while with the pano gear, maybe the T/S "shift" feature will satisfy your pano needs.?? and if your going for the 100mm ~ 200mm range of panos any head will do. (well of course RRS would be the best choice)

I've seen sames of side by side images ... one taken with the MI and the other with the MII. A real and distinct difference. I also sent a quick PM to Marc and he confirmed that the two lenses are real close brothers.

As for the pano rail, I've seen Andy use one and I completely understand why one would want to use one, especially when shooting both close and far objects with a shorter lens - I think it's called parallax.

Scott_Quier

dlplumer wrote:

Thanks for that Jim.:ivar You just saved me a bundle. Now, just tell us how?

See post #11 in this thread - there's a clue there.

Elaine

Scott,

I'm glad to hear all is well and that you've found a new twinkle in your eye, so to speak. We folks of DGrin have benefited from your input so often and I'm so glad you're still around. Have some fun!

Snowgirl

Happy to hear that your experience at the Acadia Shootout was a positive factor. I think we all left feeling rejuvenated - and having made some new friends as well.

JAG

ahhh..that explains it. So we gonna see you back here in Ak for the gorgeous scenery Scott? I know of some sweet spots!

Scott_Quier

JAG wrote:

ahhh..that explains it. So we gonna see you back here in Ak for the gorgeous scenery Scott? I know of some sweet spots!

Yes. Do I know when? Haven't a clue. But it will be more than a year or two away as the DW has other plans for my vacation time! Oh, and are you volunteering to act as guide? That would be sweet!

Sam

OK, I give up what the heck is "DW"?
I am thinking the W represents she who must be obeyed, wife, boss, etc, but I am having trouble with the D. Can't be divorced. While I could understand demon, or devil who in there right mind would actually write this in a forum knowing the need to sleep sometime?

Sam

RogersDA

Sam wrote:

OK, I give up what the heck is "DW"?
I am thinking the W represents she who must be obeyed, wife, boss, etc, but I am having trouble with the D. Can't be divorced. While I could understand demon, or devil who in there right mind would actually write this in a forum knowing the need to sleep sometime?

Sam

Dear Wife. Or Deer Wife if you are really wierd.

Moogle Pepper

Well I am glad that you are still shooting. Even though I though you were just upgrading to the uber gear, 1d mk IV before Andy does...

But I think you touched an important facet in your post. Going back to doing what you absolutely love and canceling out the jadedness.

Sam

RogersDA wrote:

Dear Wife. Or Deer Wife if you are really wierd.

Thanks!!

I knew it would be something simple.

Sam

CavalierPhoto

Scott, good to hear you'll be sticking with it after all that and really looking forward to some of your IR work :lurk.

Originally posted by RogersDA
...Keep eyes out for a (hopeful) Shenandoah trip this year. Trying to wrangle Andy and his bio-engineered body to do some walk abouts there in spring after the Death Valley trip...

Keep us all posted on this. I'm not far from Shenandoah and would love to take part.

Dee

I'm basically an introvert, and although I've actually done a few weddings over the years and have been fairly fortunate with my brides, I quickly tired of the "clerical" part of things. Now it's easier, just hand off a CD or DVD, but there's still the post work which can be tedious.

I can't even imagine going into the wedding business in this day and age. Young people are different, their expectations way greater than they were in the film age. Young people are more educated but yet more "just press a button" minded and I'm not sure they really can appreciate all the work and effort that goes into taking wedding photos. And they don't want to pay!

There's a lot of salesmanship, education and salesmanship that goes into being a successful wedding photographer, qualities I sure don't have -- so I admire anyone who is making a go at the industry.

You are lucky to know enough to hang up the wedding hat and move on to something you enjoy more. If you had the patience to deal with all the wedding stuff, you surely should have patience to quietly wait for the light, so to speak.

I wish you well with quieter kinder pursuits of landscape photography.

Good Luck.

sweet caroline

Scott, you've been quite a presence since ever since I became a member. I think you were one of the very first to welcome me a year and a half ago. I'm happy to hear what you're up to.

Caroline

ChatKat

Interesting
Scott,

We both started at about the same time frame (shooting events). I am just back from a Black Tie gala and I have been shooting and seeing what sticks. I;'ve bencome a community photographer do evnets and business shooting besides kids and headshots

Landscape and travel keep me focused on the people stuff. But since I have to make rent and deliver work, the time factor marketing my business 8is much more than then time shooting. i still have personal projects that I did 11 months ago and I haven;'t done more than file them on the hard drive.

Business and pleasure are different. You have to do whats right for you.

WizardWig

Scott_Quier wrote: »

ETA: Disclaimer: Re-reading this, I get the feeling that I might have a bloated sense of self-importance and, if this is the case and it offends anyone, let me apologize in advance. But, a lot of people have asked sooo.....

As many may have noticed, I've been selling off a lot of gear in the last week or so. This has generated more than a few PMs asking, "What's up?", "Are you OK?", and one that really touched me (in a very positive way! and you know who you are - thanks), "Is there anything I can do to help?"

For those with a short attention span ... the short answer: Everything is perfectly fine. While I freely admit I have a lot of mental issues to deal with , I'm not facing any employment, financial, marital, emotional, or legal problems ... at least none that I know of. I'm simply changing my photographic direction. The sell off is in an effort to (partially) fund this re-direction.

The long answer:

I got into photography and the wedding business for a number of reasons. These are, in no particular order:

• I attended a couple of weddings as a guest, taking my camera, and had so much fun! I'm a romantic at heart and I just loved the whole idea. Still do, but ....
• Photography provides me an opportunity to be creative, something I don't really have in my 9-5. I was getting up, going to work, coming home, watching TV until dinner, watching TV until time to go to bed, and repeat. That is/was a short trip to the grave.
• I had no hobby and my DW was afraid that I would retire one day and die the next day due to lack of anything to keep me mentally active. She encouraged the photography.
• So I start the wedding photography business, charging enough to cover my costs and a little bit more. I was underpriced in the market, figuring that this was a good idea and that the less well-to-do B&G couples with whom I contracted would appreciate it. I was wrong on both counts. More on this below.
• But, the primary reason I picked up photography as a hobby is because it was FUN!!!!

As Paul Harvey used to say, "And now, the rest of the story..."

All I ended up doing was:

1. Contributing the the photography market depression and injuring those photogs (some of whom are my friends) who do this as their sole source of income. This was not a goodness and ended up injuring me as well.
2. Getting used and abused by my clients - they didn't pay a lot and so they didn't value the product or the service I provided. That was a rude awakening and, in hind-sight, I should have known better. That's an example of a simple first-year psychology and/or business class case-study.
3. Finally, I burned out on photography. Can you imagine - there were months in 2009 when I didn't even pick up my camera. I got more than one PM commenting, "It's nice to see you posting again."

At the end of 2008, I met with my accountant to discuss the process of shutting down my business. She convinced me to continue with it. So I did. Dec 2009, I was a second shooter for a friend and, IMO spent too much time "watching the clock" .... not so much that it interferred with getting the required product but enough to demonstrate to me that my heart was no longer in the business.

During this time, the photo-club to which I belong "sponsored" a couple of road-trip photo-outings (similar in nature to the DGrin shootouts, but much smaller) and the DGrin Acadia Shootout happened. I learned a couple or three things: (1) I know almost nothing about landscape photography, (2) I could learn a couple or three things about landscape photography, and most importantly (3) I had a h311 of a good time - the feeling I had when I first started was back!!!

I read in a recent post from either Pathfinder or Swartzy or someone of that caliber that (and I'm going to paraphrase now) it's sometimes necessary to go back to your roots, find what interests you, get's your creative juices flow, and start over. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get up too early, stay up too late, and chase the sweet light - at least on a part-time basis. Who knows, I might even loose 20 or 30 pounds of ugly fat in the process

I will continue to visit and contribute to the Wedding and People forums because I feel I may have something of value to offer there. But, my focus will be on landscape photography and the occasional Operation: Love Reunited gig. I may never (OK ... probably won't) ever be as good as Andy or Marc (too many examples from which to choose an appropriate link), but I'll have a lot more fun than I've had in some time.

BTW - Anyone know where I can find a copy of the new Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II? All the usual haunts are out of stock and/or back-ordered! :cry

Thanks for posting this thoughtful reflection.. looks like the post is a few months old, and I hope things have gone well for you. I can relate to the draw of quiet landscape.

Scott_Quier

WizardWig wrote: »

Thanks for posting this thoughtful reflection.. looks like the post is a few months old, and I hope things have gone well for you. I can relate to the draw of quiet landscape.

Thank you for the kind words. Things have been going pretty well - just not enough time to shoot as I would have liked. Life just keeps getting in the way of what I would really like to do.

Ed911

Scott_Quier wrote: »

Thank you for the kind words. Things have been going pretty well - just not enough time to shoot as I would have liked. Life just keeps getting in the way of what I would really like to do.

Scott,

It's good to hear that you are doing fine. I did notice that you were posting here less and less in the past few months and did wonder why. But, since people get busy...I figured that you had something else keeping you busy. And, I know about that. My daughter started nursing school and her daycare up and quit...so I became her daycare for my 2 year old grandson...and while I could still post here...I had to all but quit photography...shooting very little for four semesters. I am happy to say that she graduated and is now a registered nurse having passed her boards in June of this year. Was it worth it? Yep, it was worth it.

Now, like you, I'm trying to find out what photographically makes me happy.

Good luck, be happy.